While beer is not my go to beverage of choice, I'm happy to down a frosty cold one or two.
October 27, 1954 -
"... It was all started by a mouse."
Walt Disney's first TV show, Disneyland, premiered on ABC-TV on this date.
All of the ABC episodes were filmed in color, even though they aired in black and white. In general, ABC did not broadcast in color until the mid 1960s. During the years on ABC, the show went by the title of Disneyland, with one of four weekly sub titles, either Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland or Tomorrowland, depending on the category of that week's show.
October 27, 1955 -
The quintessential 50s movie (although quite startling at the time,) Nicholas Ray's masterful, Rebel Without a Cause, was released on this date.
The opening scene in the movie with Jim Stark and the toy monkey was improvised by James Dean after the production had been shooting for nearly 24 hours straight. He asked Nicholas Ray to roll the camera, that he wanted to do something. Ray obliged and the improvisation went on to become the famous opening scene.
October 27, 1964 -
Another Paddy Chayefsky scripted classic from the 60s (although unappreciated), The Americanization of Emily, starring James Garner and Julie Andrews, premiered on this date.
Producer Martin Ransohoff removed director William Wyler from this movie, as Wyler wanted to change Paddy Chayefsky's script. It was a rare instance in which a producer supported a screenwriter over a director, particularly one of Wyler's caliber. As Chayefsky was known to have guarantees written into his contracts protecting his scripts, Ransohoff may have had no choice but to replace Wyler with Arthur Hiller.
October 27, 1966 -
The third Charles Schultz Peanuts special, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, (directed again by Bill Melendez,) premiered on this date.
Actress Cathy Steinberg had almost finished recording all her lines of dialog as Sally when the producers received a phone call from Steinberg's mother informing them that one of Cathy's teeth was loose. Fearing that a sudden lisp would ruin the continuity dialogue, the producers rushed the young actress into the studio to finish recording her lines. Just as Steinberg was speaking her last line, the tooth came flying out of her mouth.
October 27, 1982 -
Prince's fifth album, 1999, was released on this date. It becomes his breakthrough, selling well over 5 million copies worldwide, thanks to Little Red Corvette and the title track.
The album helped propel him to superstar status, a title he lived up to with electrifying live shows and a startlingly prolific output of material, including music, movies and videos.
October 27, 1988 -
U2's film Rattle And Hum, received its world wide premiere in the group's hometown of Dublin on this date.
Many of the songs performed in Rattle and Hum are altered from their original release, most notably: With or Without You, which contains a whole new verse to end the song; Exit, which includes the chorus from Gloria (interestingly, the Van Morrison song, although U2 also had an early hit titled Gloria); and Bad, which adds verses from the Rolling Stones' Ruby Tuesday and Sympathy for the Devil.
October 27, 1995 -
One of the least happiest films ever made, Leaving Las Vegas, directed by Mike Figgis and starring Nicolas Cage, and Elisabeth Shue went into limited release in the US on this date.
Nicolas Cage researched his character by binge drinking and visiting many hospitalized career alcoholics. Elisabeth Shue associated with prostitutes and interviewed them on the strip in Las Vegas.
October 27, 1998 -
R.E.M. appeared on The Jools Holland Show, Later, which was recorded at BBC TV Centre on this date.
Two days earlier, R.E.M. played almost the identical concert for BBC Radio 1 at the Radio Theater at Broadcasting House in London for an audience primarily consisting of fan club members and contest winners.
Another failed ACME Product
Today in History:
On October 27, 312, on the eve of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine had a vision assuring him of victory in the name of the Christian God.
As emperor, Constantine served as a patron for the church, contributing to its rapid growth in the fourth century. (So just that I have this right - if sunglasses had been invented and he didn't have sun glare in his eyes, most of the world would still be engaged in wanton sodomy.)
October 27, 1553 -
Michael Servetus, noted theologian, was honored in Switzerland for his discovery of the pulmonary circulation of the blood, on this date by being burned at the stake just outside Geneva with what was believed to be the last copy of his writing chained to his leg. Historians record his last words as: "Jesus, Son of the Eternal God, have mercy on me."
Throughout history, such important theological questions have caused almost as much bloodshed as important theological answers. That doesn't mean theology's an especially bloody field - there's been just as much carnage from philosophy, politic
It's probably all that blood that puts the 'human' in the humanities or as one of my faith readers put it, the 'hard' in hard science.
October 27, 1682 -
The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded on this date. In 1681, as part of a repayment of a debt, Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter for what would become the Pennsylvania colony. Penn's ship anchored off the coast of New Castle, Delaware, on October 27, 1682, and he arrived in Philadelphia (which did not exist at the time, if you are following along, the Lenni Lenape Indians certainly didn't call this place Philadelphia) a few days after that.
He expanded the city west to the bank of the Schuylkill River, for a total of 1,200 acres. Streets were laid out in a gridiron system. Except for the two widest streets, High (now Market) and Broad, the streets were named after prominent landowners who owned adjacent lots. And no cheese steaks were involved.
October 27, 1858 -
Rowland H. Macy opened R.H. Macy Dry Goods on the corner of Sixth Ave. and 14th St. in New York City on this date.
October 27, 1904 -
The first underground segment of the New York City Subway officially opened on this date, running from City Hall in lower Manhattan to Broadway in Harlem.
The fare was a nickel and on the first day the trains carried over 150,000 passengers. Today it is one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the world. And with any luck, they will extend the Q line to 125th Street within my lifetime.
October 27, 1939 -
John Cleese, actor, writer and all around funny guy was born on this date. (Oh yeah, I think he was in a comedy group in the late 60s, early 70s.)
I hope John continues being funny and stops giving his opinion on how terrible it was to have been in Monty Python.
October 27, 1962 -
The British comedy stage revue Beyond the Fringe, written by and starring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett opening in NYC on this date.
This show is often seen as the beginning of the British satirical comedy of the 60s and many of the members Monty Python found this show highly influential.
October 27, 1964 -
In a private ceremony, Sonny and Cher exchanged rings in Tijuana (on this date) and told others they were married,
they were not legally married until 1969.
October 27, 2013 -
I don't think anybody is anybody else's moral compass. Maybe listening to my music is not the best idea if you live a very constricted life. Or maybe it is.
Music legend (and general major pain in the ass) Lou Reed died on this date.
And so it goes
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