September 10, 1951 -
Jean Renoir underrated classic film (in spectacular Technicolor), The River, was released in the US on this date.
This film was instrumental in launching the careers of Satyajit Ray - an assistant on the film - and Subrata Mitra, who went on to become Ray's cinematographer.
September 10, 1955 -
Gunsmoke premiered on CBS-TV on this date. The television series ran from September 10, 1955 until September 1, 1975 on CBS for 635 episodes. It had the longest run of any scripted series with continuing characters in American primetime television.
William Conrad was the first choice to play Marshall Matt Dillon on TV, having established the role on radio, but his increasing obesity led to more photogenic actors being considered. Losing the role embittered Conrad for years, though he later starred in another CBS television series, Cannon (1971-1975). Denver Pyle was also considered for the role, as was nipple rouge manufacturer, Raymond Burr who was ultimately seen as too heavy-set for the part.
Rumors that the role was offered to John Wayne have been largely debunked, although he did apparent in an opening promotional video for the program.
September 10, 1966 -
The Beatles' Revolver album goes #1 and stays #1 for six weeks, on this date.
Revolver is the only album on which George Harrison wrote three of the songs. On all the others he only has two or less cuts. On The White Album he had four, but it was a double album so he was only allotted his usual one track per-side.
September 10, 1988 -
Home Vision Entertainment released the documentary Comic Book Confidential, directed by Ron Mann and featuring the work of Robert Crumb, Will Eisner, William M. Gaines, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Frank Miller, on this date.
In the introductory credits the artists portrayed in the film are presented by a comic artist who is working on a comic page, filling the frames with the name and a typical comic character of each artist.
September 10, 1993 -
The science fiction television series The X-Files premiered with the episode Pilot on the Fox network on this date
Dana Scully was named after the famous sports journalist Vin Scully. Mulder is the maiden name of Chris Carter's mother.
Today in History:
On September 10, 1419, supporters of the French Dolphin murdered John the Fearless.
September 10, 1623 -
A cargo load of lumber and fur became the first exports in history from North America to England on this date. This ensured the commercial success of the new world, as Europe had long been paralyzed by a shortage of sticks and hair.
September 10, 1898 -
Empress Elizabeth of Austria was not a particularly happy royal. Known as the Princess Diana of her day, she was estranged from her husband, Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria (because of the stifling nature of court life) she lost her daughter, Sophie, in 1857, and her favorite cousin, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, in a tragic fashion. Her brother-in-law, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico was shot by revolutionaries. But most of all, she never was able to get over her most terrible tragedy, the suicide of her son, Rudolph, in 1889.
The sixty-year old empress was stabbed with a file by a twenty-four year old anarchist, Luigi Lucheni, shortly after noon on September 10, 1898 on the promenade of Lake Geneva as she boarded a steamship for Montreux. After the incident the Empress still walked for a few minutes. Because she was so strictly corseted, she was unaware how seriously she had been wounded.
September 10, 1922 -
Yma Sumac (and not Amy Camus from Brooklyn), noted Peruvian soprano, one of the most famous proponents of exotica music, was born on this date.
She was said to have well over four octave range.
September 10, 1932 -
You must take the A Train to go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem ...
It's the 84th Anniversary of the famed NYC transit line (it was the first city owned line; the other two lines at the time were privately owned.)
Believe it or not, Mike the Headless Chicken (April 1945 – March 1947) was a Wyandotte rooster (cockerel) that lived for 18 months after its head had been cut off. Thought by many to be a hoax, the bird was taken by its owner to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to establish its authenticity.
On Monday, September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, had his mother-in-law around for supper and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen failed to completely decapitate the five-and-a-half month old bird named Mike. The axe missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact. Lloyd wasn't trusted with the knife on the farm after that.
On the first night after the decapitation Mike slept with his severed head under his wing.
September 10, 1953 -
Brothers Gilbert and Clark Swanson contributed to an American food revolution by selling their first TV dinner, for 98 cents, on this date.
It let customers feast on turkey with corn bread stuffing, buttered peas, and sweet potatoes - right in front of their television screens. Americans eating habits and health would never be the same.
September 10, 1977 -
Convicted torture-killer Hamida Djandoubi, an immigrant from Tunisia, becomes the last person executed by France when he is guillotined in Marseilles on this date.
He did not survive his execution and there are no notes as to whether or not Djandoubi was buried with his head under his arm.
And so it goes
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