William Wrigley, founder of Wrigley’s Gum, invented direct mail marketing because of chewing gum. In 1915 he mailed a pack of gum to every person in the phone directory in the United States. People are even trying to collect and recycle used chewing gum into new products, such as rubber soles for shoes.
September 30, 1938 -
RKO Studios released the eighth Marx Brothers film, Room Service, on this date.
This is the only film The Marx Brothers made at RKO. During salary negotiations with the studio, erstwhile member Zeppo Marx represented The Marx Brothers, threatening to rejoin the group if their demands weren't met. This was the only time Zeppo represented his brothers, as their agent. He secured a salary of $250,000 for the team from RKO, their biggest payout ever.
September 30, 1948 -
Howard Hawks released his iconic western, Red River, starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift on this date.
Montgomery Clift was nervous about standing up to John Wayne but gained confidence when Howard Hawks told him to play his scenes like David against Goliath. He also urged the young actor to underplay in his scenes with Wayne, particularly the scene in which his character challenges Dunson for the first time. Wayne was also not sure Clift could be convincing as a rugged cowboy, but after that first confrontation scene he told Hawks his doubts were gone and "he's going to be okay."
September 30, 1952 -
The motion picture process Cinerama -- which employed three cameras, three projectors and a deeply curved viewing screen -- made its debut with the premiere of This Is Cinerama at the Broadway Theater in New York City on this date.
Cinerama technicians were working on the system right up to the last minute. The was no time for a trial run. It wasn't until the actual premiere in front of an audience that the entire presentation of this film, from start to finish, took place.
September 30, 1958 -
The first network series to be filmed entirely in New York City, the police drama, The Naked City debuted on ABC-TV on this date.
Harry Kadison played Det. Sgt. Arcaro in the pilot. In episode two, the role was recast with Harry Bellaver. Bellaver appeared in 136 out of 138 episodes.
September 30, 1960 -
The first prime-time animated series aimed at adults, The Flintstones, premiered on ABC-TV on this date.
Fred and Wilma Flintstone were the first animated married couple ever shown on American television in the same bed together. They have been mistaken as the first couple ever shown in bed together on any American TV show, but that title goes to the 1947 series, Mary Kay and Johnny.
September 30, 1965 -
According to Guinness World Records 2008, the character of Jeff Tracy holds the record for the "Highest Earning TV Character", said to be worth an estimated $50 billion; assets included maintenance of Tracy Island, all the Thunderbird machines, and so on. Tracy's enormous wealth came from inheriting his family's agricultural-business which he built-up and diversified to include civil and construction engineering. Not from the fact he was an astronaut.
September 30, 1982 -
Cheers, the comedy television series that ran eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993, premiered on this date.
From the start of the series, writers and producers made it a point to never show anyone leaving the bar drunk to drive home. The series would come to be recognized and cited by anti-drinking and driving groups for depicting and helping promote designated driver programs.
September 30, 1984 -
The inhabitants of Cabot Cove, Maine started dropping like flies when CBS premiered the series, Murder She Wrote, starring Angela Landsbury on this date.
Lansbury earned Emmy nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the each of the show's twelve seasons but failed to win any.
September 30, 1995 -
Mariah Carey's megahit Fantasy went to No. 1 and stayed there for several months on this date.
This was Mariah's 9th #1 hit in the US. It was also only the second single to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The first was You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson.
September 30, 1998 -
On The Drew Carey Show episode In Ramada Da Vida, Slash, Lisa Loeb, Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Dave Mustaine, Jonny Lang, Joey Ramone, Joe Walsh and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen audition for Drew's band, which has a gig at the Ramada Inn, on this date.
Walsh gets the job.
September 30, 2011 -
The TV drama, Pan Am, starring Christina Ricci, Margot Robbie, Karine Vanasse, Kelli Garner, Michael Mosley, and Mike Vogel, premiered on ABC-TV, on this date.
The average career for a Pan Am Stewardess in the 1960's averaged around 18 months due to the strict weight, age, marital status and childlessness requirements. Pan Am required its stewardesses to be at least five foot two and weigh no more than 130 pounds. They also couldn't be married or have children. On top of that the mandatory retirement age for flight attendants was 32. At 5'1", Christina Ricci would have been too short to have been accepted, and at 31, would only have had a few months as a stewardess until she would have hit the mandatory retirement age.
September 30, 2011 -
Pearl Jam wrapped up Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's week-long performance tribute to Pink Floyd by performing Mother from the legendary British rock band's classic 1979 album The Wall.
Their performance was the coda to a week of Pink Floyd tribute performances, which featured The Shins performing Breathe , Roger Waters and Foo Fighters tackling In the Flesh? , MGMT paying their tribute to Floyd's earliest work with Lucifer Sam and country star Dierks Bentley's interpretation of Wish You Were Here.
Today's moment of Zen.
Today in History:
September 30, 1452 -
It's the anniversary of the printing of the Gutenberg Bible in Mainz, Germany on this date. It was the first book ever printed with movable type. What made Gutenberg's invention revolutionary was not that it allowed you to print letters on paper, but that you could print an infinite number of different pages from a small number of letter blocks simply by rearranging them.
Today about four dozen copies of the Gutenberg Bible survive. One of the most recent copies to come on the market was auctioned in New York in 1987 and sold for more than $5 million.
September 30, 1630 -
Pilgrim John Billington, who arrived on the Mayflower, was hanged at Plymouth for killing John Newcomen with a musket, on this date.
September 30, 1846 -
On this evening in 1846, Mr. Eben Frost, suffering from a violent toothache, called upon Dr. William Thomas Green Morton. Dr. Morton administered ether and extracted the tooth.
September 30, 1882 -
The first commercial hydroelectric power plant ,the Vulcan Street Plant,(later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) begins operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, on this date, supplying electricity to private and commercial customers in North America.
September 30, 1927 -
Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season, on this day.
Roger Maris tied Ruth's record on September 27, 1961. Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run Wednesday, tying Roger Maris’ single-season American League home run record. (Mark McGwire born on October 1, 1963, hit 70 home runs in 1998, so this no longer matters to some. Although, the Bambino was only hopped up on booze.)
September 30, 1938 -
The Germans occupied the Sudetenland in late summer of 1938. This enraged the British and the English, who both feared for the loss of the Sudetenland's celebrated pea crops.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain flew to Germany to meet Hitler at Bertesgarden to discuss the situation, on this date.
Hitler assured him of legume security in Europe, and Chamberlain returned to England with the famous proclamation of Peas in Our Time. World War II was therefore avoided and did not break out until some time later.
September 30, 1955 -
Teen idol James Dean was killed in a car accident that probably could have been avoided if he had had his car inspected and tuned up regularly, obeyed all posted highway signs, and driven only when alert and sober on this date.
(Remember kids, if you are going to drink til you drop - And don't drive. If Alec Guinness tells you something, listen to him. Also watch your own PSAs.)
September 30, 1962 -
Labor leader Cesar Chavez organized the National Farm Workers Association, on this date
His union would later merge with one created by Dolores Huerta, another prominent activist for farmers' rights, to create United Farm Workers.
And so it goes
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