Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weismuller first stripped down to his leopard skin loin cloth - Tarzan the Ape Man premiered in NYC on this date.
Tarzan's distinctive call was either created by sound recordist Douglas Shearer from various sounds, or it was indeed Johnny Weissmuller doing the yell himself. Co-star Maureen O'Sullivan insisted throughout her life that it was Weissmuller doing the yell without any technical assistance.
It's the Feast of the Annunciation, which is not a holy day of obligation, (now a days known as The Solemnity of the Annunciation),
I'm not even going to try to explain this one to you.
While you're in church this afternoon, ask one of the old lady in the back saying her decades of rosary to explain it to you. (This is for extra credit,) today is also the feast of St. Dismas, the patron of undertakers and prisoners.
March 25, 1955 -
Richard Brooks's adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel, Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford, Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, Anne Francis, and Louis Calhern, premieres in the US on this date.
The original novel was based on author Evan Hunter's own experiences as a teacher in New York City's tough South Bronx area. Hunter (who found fame as crime writer Ed McBain) said, "I thought I was going to give these kids who want to be motor mechanics Shakespeare and they were going to appreciate it and they weren't buying it. I went home in tears night after night."
March 25, 1967 –
The Turtles song Happy Together hit No. #1 on the Billboard charts on this date.
Despite what the title implies, this is not a song about a couple in love. According to Gary Bonner, who wrote the song with Alan Gordon, the song is about unrequited love. Our desperate singer wants the girl to "imagine how the world could be so very fine," proposing what would happen "if I should call you up." The line in the fadeout, "How is the weather?" is when he realizes they will never be more than passing acquaintances, as he resorts to small talk to keep from bursting into tears.
March 25, 1968 -
The 58th and final episode of The Monkees, Mijacogeo (also known as The Frodis Caper,) aired on this date.
The four Monkees were each paid $450 per episode, raised to $750 for the second season. They received standard royalty rates for their recordings (and publishing, when they wrote the songs), but received virtually nothing for their merchandising. Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones sued Columbia Pictures in the late 1970s, but had to settle for a payment of only $10,000.
March 24, 1972 -
America's first single, A Horse With No Name, rides to No. #1 on the Billboard Charts, on this date.
America was formed in England by sons of US servicemen who were stationed there. Lead singer Dewey Bunnell wrote this when he was 19. Although the song is commonly misinterpreted about being on drugs, it is not: Bunnell based the images in the lyrics on things he saw while visiting the US.
March 25, 1972 -
ABC-TV aired the final episode of Bewitched, The Truth, Nothing But the Truth, So Help Me, Sam on this date.
Running for eight seasons, this was the longest-running of the so-called "fantasy sitcoms" that dominated the airwaves in the mid 1960s (for example, The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, The Munsters, et cetera), as well as the last surviving example of the genre when it went off the air in 1972 (a year after All in the Family ushered in a new era of reality sitcoms).
March 25, 1973 -
The Carpenters' single I Won't Last a Day Without You became their ninth No. 1 hit on the easy listening charts on this date.
Paul Williams wrote this with Roger Nichols - it was the third hit they wrote for the Carpenters, after We've Only Just Begun and Rainy Days And Mondays.
March 25, 1975 -
Linda Ronstadt releases cover of the Everly Brothers' 1960 song When Will I Be Loved as a single on this date. Her version peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, and became her first #1 hit on the Country chart.
According to Rolling Stone, Phil Everly wrote this in his car, parked outside an A&W root beer stand. He took inspiration from his on-again, off-again romance with Jackie Ertel-Bleyer, the stepdaughter of Cadence Records founder, Archie Bleyer. Phil and Jackie got married in 1963 and divorced in 1972.
March 25, 1982 –
The police drama Cagney & Lacey premiered on CBS-TV on this date.
The screenplay for the pilot was originally written in the 1970s for a feature film that never materialized. After the success of Charlie's Angels, producer Barney Rosenzweig shopped an edited version of the screenplay as a possible television series. It took many years for the script to be produced, because the networks felt that there was no audience for a realistic show about female detectives.
March 25, 1986 -
We all got to meet Cousin Balki for the first time when Perfect Strangers, Knock Knock, Who's There? premiered on ABC TV on this date.
The producers originally developed the series to air in 1985. But Bronson Pinchot was already committed to Sara. When that series was cancelled, the producers quickly hired Pinchot and continued developing their series to air in 1986.
March 25, 1988 -
Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas was released in Spain on this date.
Pepa Marcos (the character played by Carmen Maura) lives on Calle Montalbán, which is two blocks away from Calle Antonio Maura, named after Carmen Maura's great-great-uncle (a five-time prime minister of Spain)
March 25, 2004 -
Showtime airs the final episode of The Chris Isaak Show, Suspicion, on this date.
Unfortunately, the entire series remains unreleased to DVD due to music licensing costs.
March 25, 2015 -
James Corden seemed to need to supplement his income from his Late Late Show gig, by driving singers around Los Angeles and pesters them until they sing along with him, their own hits on the radio.
Mariah Carey appears to be duped by James Corden for the first installment of Carpool Karaoke, on this date.
Word of the Day
Today in History:
Anne Brontë was baptized on March 25, 1820. She and her sisters Charlotte and Emily were avid writers. Women were not supposed to write books at the time because novels were still being written in the formal style, and it was feared that women would corrupt that classic form with their penchant for multiple climaxes. The Brontës therefore wrote under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.
March 25, 1821 - (Για τους Έλληνες φίλους μου)
Today is the traditional date of the start of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire on this day, which had been occupying and ruling it since the mid-1400s, (though the war actually began February 22, 1821.) The date was chosen in the early years of Greece's sovereignty so that it falls on the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, strengthening the ties between the Greek Orthodox Church and the newly-found state.
The war for independence lasted nine years, and was only settled after significant intervention.
The Greek people were so exuberant that they proclaimed the country a republic on this day in 1924, and officially deposed King George II (of Greece) and stripped of his Greek nationality, and sent him packing. (As if I needed to remind you, our favorite itinerant Greek sailor, the late Philip Mountbatten was related to all the modern Kings of Greece as well as most of the remaining royal houses of Europe.)
March 25, 1911 -
It's the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, the largest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York, causing the death of 148 garment workers who either died from the fire or jumped to their deaths. It was the worst workplace disaster in New York City until September 11th, 2001.
The fire led to legislation requiring improved factory safety standards and helped spur the growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for better working conditions for sweatshop workers in that industry.
March 25, 1915 -
During submarine maneuvers off Honolulu, Hawaii, USS F-4 (SS-23) sank on this day. Despite all efforts of naval authorities, all 25 of the crew members were lost.
March 25, 1942 -
The late great Aretha Louise Franklin (The Queen of Soul,) born in Memphis, Tennessee, on this date, was a singer, songwriter and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings, Franklin is adept at jazz, blues, R&B and gospel music.
Franklin has won eighteen Grammy Awards in total during her nearly half-century long career and holds the record for most Best Female R&B Vocal Performance awards with eleven to her name.
March 25, 1947 -
Reginald Kenneth Dwight, singer-songwriter, composer and pianist was born on this date as well.
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists"
March 25, 1965 -
Today was the end of a march by 25,000 civil rights supporters from Selma to Montgomery, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after four days and nights on the road under the protection of Army troops and federalized Alabama National Guardsmen. They were refused permission to give a petition to Governor Wallace which said: "We have come not only five days and 50 miles but we have come from three centuries of suffering and hardship. We have come to you, the Governor of Alabama, to declare that we must have our freedom NOW. We must have the right to vote; we must have equal protection of the law and an end to police brutality."
During the rally that followed the refusal by the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated "We are not about to turn around. We, are on the move now. Yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us."
March 25, 1967 -
As part of Operation Green Mist, the U.S. Army detonated explosive warheads containing the deadly sarin nerve agent at Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve on the big island of Hawaii.
Oops.
March 25, 1969 -
During their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono started their first Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel on this date.
They'd married five days earlier at the British-owned Rock of Gibraltar in Spain.
March 25, 1975 -
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew during a reception at Ri'Assa Palace on this date.
The nephew was beheaded the following June: his head was displayed on a spike as a warning for all to see.
Kids don't let this happen to you - remember to immediately pass the Baba ghanoush when dining with your family.
March 25 1990 -
An intentionally set fire at the Happy Land Social Club in NYC killed 87 by smoke inhalation, on this date.
At the time, the fire set by a jealous ex-boyfriend, held the record for a mass murder in the U.S. (until, of course the World Trade Center disaster.)
And so it goes.
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