The first Cannes film festival, the first great international cultural event of the post-war period, begins on this date. Among the selections that year were:
Brief Encounter directed by David Lean
Make Mine Music produced by the Walt Disney Studios
Symphonie Pastorale directed by Jean Delannoy
Anna and the King of Siam directed by John Cromwell
La Belle et La Bête directed by Jean Cocteau
Roma Citta Aperta directed by Roberto Rossellini
The festival was France's response to the world's first international film festival in Venice, Italy, in 1932. By 1938, the Venice festival had become a Nazi propaganda tool, and France decided to hold a rival event focused strictly on film. Its planned 1939 debut was delayed when World War II broke out.
September 20, 1955 -
The Phil Silvers Show (originally broadcast as You'll Never Be Rich) premiered on CBS-TV on this date
Paul Ford often forgot his exact lines which allowed Phil Silvers to improvise during many of the scenes between Bilko and Col. Hall. Both men always stayed in character however, it was usually the other actors in the scene who laughed ruining the scene.
September 20, 1975 -
David Bowie's Fame single hits #1 for two weeks on this date.
John Lennon helped write this song - he came up with the title and also sang the background Fame parts in the high voice. They started working on the song when Bowie invited Lennon to the studio, and Lennon played rhythm guitar on a jam session that resulted in this track.
September 20, 1984 -
Despite his taste in loud, ugly sweaters, Bill Cosby's award winning show, The Cosby Show, premiered on NBC-TV on this date.
Bill Cosby insisted that the show be filmed in New York due to his dislike of working in Hollywood. (Still not clear what I'm supposed to do about Cosby?)
September 20, 1984 -
Tony Micelli first started taking care of Angela Bower's household when Who's the Boss premiered on ABC-TV on this date.
The pilot episode was filmed in October 1983 but held back from ABC executives for nearly a year due to the producers of the series being afraid that the show would be rejected by ABC executives if pitched as a mid-season replacement series.
Today in History :
September 20, 1881 -
Chester Alan Arthur was sworn in as the 21st President of the United States following the death of James Garfield the previous day.
This is the first time the oath of office has been taken in the Vice President's Room of the Capitol. Two ex-presidents (Grant and Hayes) are present at the ceremony. (Also a great bar bet winner - it's the second time there were three Presidents within the same year; Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield then Chester A. Arthur. And even more amazing bar bet winner - Robert Todd Lincoln was at the bedside of three assassinated American Presidents; his father, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield and William McKinley.)
September 20, 1958 -
Rev. Martin Luther King was stabbed by Izola Curry, a deranged woman, during a book signing on 125th St. in Harlem on this date.
Dr. Aubre De Lambert Maynard successfully performed surgery on King who had a knife embedded in his sternum. Ms. Curry was found mentally incompetent to stand trial; ultimately, she was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic.
September 20, 1970 -
A jury in Miami, Florida finds vocalist Jim Morrison guilty of profanity and indecent exposure for whipping out his mojo at a Doors concert in Coconut Grove the previous year.
Oh you naughty Mr. Mojo Rising ...
September 20, 1973 -
A Beechcraft D-18 charter plane crashes into a tree near Natchitoches, Louisiana, killing singer/songwriter Jim Croce, his lead guitarist, and the entire flight crew.
I guess if he could have put time in a bottle, the first real thing he would have done would be chartering a different plane.
September 20, 1973 -
On the same day, in their so-called 'Battle of the Sexes,' tennis star Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome.
In recent years, a persistent urban legend has arisen (again,) that Bobby Riggs had thrown the tennis match against Billie Jean King, to pay off a purported $100,000 gambling debt he owed to the Mafia.
This is false: this scurrilous rumor should have been put to bed a number of times, not the least of which, when Mr Riggs passed a lie detector test denying that he threw the Battle of the Sexes.
September 20, 1988 -
Greg Louganis won the gold medal in springboard diving at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, one day after he struck and injured his head on the board in the preliminary round.
His comeback earned him the title of ABC's Wide World of Sports "Athlete of the Year" for 1988.
And on a personal note:
Happy Birthday Angela and
And so it goes
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