So many days you passed me by

December 11, 1961 -
Please, Mr. Postman by Marvelettes was released on this date



Marvin Gaye played drums on this record. He was 22 at the time and trying to break into the business.


The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II.

UNICEF provides many types of assistance and help to children and mothers. It receives money from different governments and private persons. It works in almost all countries of the world.


December 11, 1957 -
The movie Peyton Place, based on the novel by Grace Metalious, had its world premiere in Camden, Maine, on this date, where most of it had been filmed.



The real life murder of star Lana Turner's mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato by Turner's daughter was later fictionalized in the movie Where Love Has Gone, also scripted by Peyton Place writer John Michael Hayes.


December 11, 1980 -
Hawaiian shirts and outrageous moustaches came back in style when Magnum P.I., starring Tom Selleck, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



Thomas Magnum was a Vietnam War Veteran. At the time the series began, the war and it's aftermath was still very much a controversial issue. Magnum (along with TC and Rick) have been cited as among the first positive portrayals of Vietnam Veterans on a Network TV series. .


Today in History:
December 11, 1882 -
Fiorello Enrico La Guardia, Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945, was born on this date.

With a boundless enthusiasm and energy to match that of Teddy Roosevelt, La Guardia could be the last Mayor of NYC who really loved his job.


December 11, 1931 -
Rita Moreno (Rosa Dolores Alverio) , winner of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, was born on this date.



She is currently the only Puerto Rican EGOT winner.


December 11, 1964 -
Sam Cooke, popular singer, was shot to death by Bertha Franklin, manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. Franklin claimed that he had threatened her, and that she killed him in self-defense.



The shooting was ultimately ruled to be a justifiable homicide, though there have been arguments that crucial details did not come out in court, or were buried afterward.


December 11, 1967 -
Beatles' Apple Music signs its first group - Grapefruit, on this date.



With unwise business decisions like this, Im sure the Beatles must have gone broke very shortly after this.


December 11, 1973 -
Good art provides people with a vocabulary about things they can't articulate.



Dante Terrell Smith (Mos Def and starting in 2012, Yasiin Bey) singer and actor, was born on this date.


More Christmas Trivia:
Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.

The first charity Christmas card was produced by UNICEF in 1949.

Most artificial Christmas trees are manufactured in Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong.


9 more shopping days until Hanukkah, 14 more shopping days until Christmas.



And so it goes.