Remember, most millionaires are not celebrating this day; they are waiting to celebrate Be A Billionaire Day.
May 20, 1891 -
The first public demonstration of a prototype Kinetoscope was given to an invited audience of from the National Federation of Women’s Clubs at Edison’s laboratory on this date.
A three second 'film' directed, produced by, and starring William Dickson was used for the demonstration. It is purportedly, the second 'film' ever made in the USA
May 20, 1967 -
BBC disc jockey Kenny Everett gave the official preview of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the radio show Where It's At, broadcast on the BBC Light Program on this date.
He was unable to play the final track A Day in the Life, which the BBC had banned a day earlier due to drug references, especially the line 'I'd love to turn you on'.
May 20, 1967 -
The Young Rascals' (later to be known just as the Rascals,) had their second No. 1 hit Groovin' in America, on this date.
This was the second of three #1 hits for The Rascals, after Good Lovin' and before People Got to Be Free.
May 20, 1982 -
The last episode of the series Barney Miller aired on this date.
The producers were approached during the run of the series about doing a feature film based on the show using the regular cast members. The film was never made.
May 20, 1993 -
The last episode of the series Cheers aired on this date.
While the gang was smoking cigars and discussing the meaning of life, Frasier Crane's voice started trembling, as he sounded somewhat emotionally distraught while trying to finish his sentence. Given the fact that the series finale did not end with Sam Malone selling the bar, or anything bittersweet of that nature, Kelsey Grammer struggling with his words was not scripted, as he was genuinely sad while filming the very last scene with his co-stars of nine years. George Wendt adlibbed the comment regarding Cliff's perception of shoes, in an effort to ease Kelsey Grammer's heart a little.
May 20, 1996 -
NBC aired the final episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on this date.
The show was actually cancelled during its fourth season, with The Philadelphia Story serving as the finale. The overwhelming response, with viewers writing in by the truckload to NBC and Will Smith, convinced the network to go back on this decision, allowing it to run for what became two more seasons.
May 20, 2000 -
Director Wong Kar-Wai's lush, visually stunning fever dream of a movie, In the Mood for Love (Faa Yeung Nin Wa), starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung premiered at Cannes Film festival, on this date.
Despite being the two primary antagonists of the piece, the characters of Mr. Chan and Mrs. Chow are never physically seen onscreen, Mrs. Chow only very briefly. Roy Cheung and Paulyn Sun, who played these respective characters, actually filmed scenes as their characters which were edited out of the final cut (these scenes are present on the DVD and Blu-ray as deleted scenes), and their presence only remains in the film as a voice cameo for Mr. Chan, and Mrs. Chow only has two short scenes and her face is never shown.
May 20, 2015 -
Dave said his final goodnight when Late Night With David Letterman aired the last new episode (episode no. 4,261 - the 6,028th episode on late night television,) on this date.
For weeks, just about every writer on staff prepped for what would be said by 10 different celebrities, delivering one line a piece about “Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Dave.” One writer explained the origins behind a joke in which Letterman’s son Harry keeps asking, “Why does Daddy have to go to prison?” The segment producers had to work extensively to make sure Peyton Manning’s schedule was entirely cleared, they had to rewrite a joke for Julia Louis-Dreyfus at the last minute, and agonized over whether Tina Fey, who previously joked she’d never have to wear a dress again on a talk show, would actually wear a dress to the finale.
Word of the Day
Today in History:
May 20, 1498 -
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India by sea on this date. He accomplished this amazing feat by actually taking the correct route and not traveling to the Caribbean, for the tropical drinks and cheap but potent ganja, instead.
His trip helped set up a very profitable trade route for Portugal, which helped it become the foremost exploring power in the early 1500s.
Honore de Balzac was born in France on May 20, 1799 (or May 19th.) The exact date could not be determined as all of France had just started on a drinking binge that has only recently just ended. Balzac created a vast body of literature that he called La Comédie Humaine (A Vast Body of Literature).
It consisted of dozens of novels, short stories, and plays interwoven with many of the same characters, places, events, horses, etc. One of his most popular characters was the brilliant and big-hearted Dr. Bianchon. It is rumored that Balzac’s dying words were, “If Bianchon were here, he would save me!”
The anecdote is probably apocryphal, as Balzac didn’t speak English.
May 20 1867 -
Queen Victoria laid the foundation stones in the Royal Albert Hall on this date.
a.) Who thought she would do it in the road?
b.) Wow, is it true that Keith Richards was there?
May 20, 1873 –
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent (#139121) for blue jeans with copper rivets.
19 years later, George Sampson patents the clothes dryer.
It's just that simple.
May 20, 1921 -
Noble Prize winner, Marie Curie visited the White House on this date.
She did not ask to visit any broom closets with the president.
May 20, 1927 -
Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, N.Y., at 7:40 AM aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France, on this date.
He completed the 33-hour, 30-minute flight and landed at Le Bourget Airport, Paris on the evening of May 21.
May 20, 1932 -
Amelia Earhart took off for Ireland from Habor Grace, Newfoundland on this date, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
She would later land her plane in Ireland after a thirteen-hour, thirty-minute flight from Canada rather than in her intended destination, France.
May 20, 1946 -
Cherilyn Sarkisian, pop singer-songwriter, Academy Award, Grammy Award, Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a People's Choice Award winner was born on this date.
Wig manufacturer's everywhere celebrate this day as an international holiday.
(Probably coincidentally, but I like to think not, the Supreme Court struck down, 6-3, a Colorado constitutional amendment banning laws that protect homosexuals from discrimination on this date in 1996.)
May 20, 1956 -
The first hydrogen bomb to be dropped from the air was exploded over the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific (Operation Redwing), but it was a much earlier (July 1, 1946,) non-aerial atomic detonation that originally inspired the bikini swimsuit.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, $90 million has been appropriated by Congress "to be used by the Bikinians to clean up their atoll" since 1990. How embarrassing must it have been for the guy who had to call the Bikinians and tell them we had soiled their atoll—that we wanted to help them clean their filthy atoll?
(Which isn't to say it'd be a cakewalk being called a Bikinian.)
May 20, 1960 -
Music DJ Alan Freed, originator of the term "Rock and Roll," was indicted in New York in the Payola scandal of the day.
Freed had accepted $30,650 from five record companies to play their records, although to be fair "pay for play" was the accepted practice up to that point. (Dick Clark did it but somehow didn't get penalized - another benefit from his pact with the devil.)
May 20, 1989 -
The Chinese government imposed martial law on Beijing on this date, in response to student-led protests that had brought millions of people onto the streets.
I'm still not winning any friends with the Chinese Government.
May 20, 1989 -
I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they're the first to be rescued off sinking ships.
Gilda Radner, Emmy Award winning American comedienne and actress, best known for her five years as part of the original cast of the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live, died at 42 of ovarian cancer on this date.
And so it goes.
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