The Famous Players-Lasky Company put the film, The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino and Adolphe Menjou, and directed by George Melford into general release in the US on this date.
The film helped established Valentino as the top male movie star and sex symbol of the day.
November 20, 1965 –
The Supremes song I Hear A Symphony hit No. #1 (their sixth No. #1 pop hit on Billboard Hot 100 chart,) on this date.
There isn't a full symphony orchestra playing on this song, but there is a prominent string section, arranged by Paul Riser, that implies it. Otherwise, the instrumentation is more typical, with a saxophone section and piano (played by Funk Brother Earl Van Dyke). The song evokes classical music in its structure though, building throughout to a kind of crescendo.
November 20, 1973 -
The third Peanuts holiday special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.
Lucy has limited role in this special: she has her scene where she torments Charlie Brown by yanking away a football as the beleaguered hero attempts to kick it. But that opening scene is the only time we get to see Lucy.
November 20, 1976 -
Former-Beatle George Harrison appeared with Paul Simon on a Thanksgiving episode of Saturday Night Live on this date.
George Harrison seemed to have misunderstood Lorne Michaels offer of the $3,000 payment for his appearance; Michaels explained to George that the $3,000 was for all four of the Beatles - making the payment only $750 for him.
November 20, 1981 -
Milos Foreman's epic take on E.L. Doctorow novel, Ragtime, premiered on this date.
James Cagney had been advised by his doctors and caregivers that making a film at this point in his life was very important for his health. The actor never flew, so he and his wife took an ocean liner to London, where his scenes were filmed. Despite his numerous infirmities, he stayed on-set during his fellow actors' close-ups to give them line readings.
November 20, 1983 -
An estimated 100 million people watched on this date, the controversial ABC-TV movie The Day After, which depicted the outbreak of nuclear holocaust in the United States.
Twentieth Century Fox invited a group of scientists to preview this movie, to test their reactions to the "science" used in it. None of the scientists were impressed with what they saw, although most conceded that the movie was enjoyable nonsense.
November 20, 1998 -
The wonderful Irish comedy, Waking Ned Devine, starring Ian Bannen, David Kelly, and Fionnula Flanagan, opened in the U.S. on this date.
Writer/director Kirk Jones did not have time to cast the role of Father Mulligan before shooting began. On location, he asked gaffer Larry Randall if he would play the part. Randall agreed, and appears in the finished film.
If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and seek it out.
November 20, 1999 -
John Carpenter became the first world-wide winner of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, on this date. The $1 million question was, “Which of these U.S. Presidents appeared on the television series ‘Laugh-In’?”, with the choices being A) Lyndon Johnson, B) Richard Nixon, C) Jimmy Carter, and D) Gerald Ford.
He knew the answer and used his lifeline to call his father to tell him that he was winning a million dollars.
November 20, 2007 -
The debut album from Amy Winehouse, Frank, (the title refers partly to Frank Sinatra, an early influence on Winehouse,) was finally released in the US eight months after her second album (Back to Black,) and three years after its British release. (This will be on the test.)
It received generally positive reviews from most music critics and earned Winehouse several accolades, including an Ivor Novello Award for the first single Stronger Than Me. Although critically acclaimed and massively influential in her native UK, it fails to set the American charts on fire, reaching its peak of #33 only after the singer's untimely death in 2011.
November 20, 2015 -
Adele's third studio album, 25 album was released on this date. The album was the world's best-selling album of the year for 2015, with 17.4 million copies sold within the year
Adele and songwriter and producer Greg Kurstin were supposed to work together on music for 21, but it didn't work out. When they finally arranged to write songs for her follow-up record in 2014, the American producer couldn't help feeling nervous. But that changed once he set foot in the studio, and they started working on such tracks as Hello, Water Under the Bridge and Million Years Ago.
Another job posting from The ACME Employment Agency.
Today in History :
November 20, 1820 -
An 80-ton sperm whale attacked and sank the Essex, a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts, 2,000 miles from the western coast of South America, on this date.
First mate Owen Chase, one of eight survivors, recorded the events in his 1821 Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. Herman Melville’s 1851 novel Moby-Dick is in part inspired by this story.
So know you know.
November 20, 1913 -
The National Biscuit Co. sold its first Mallomars to a grocer in West Hoboken on this date.
Mallomars are only "in season" from September through March (it's to maintain tradition) and are manufactured in Toronto, but not sold anywhere in Canada, the home territory of Whippets.
November 20, 1917 -
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was held prisoner, whipped, and repeatedly raped by Turkish Army officers on this date. He apparently thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
50 Shade of Grey, indeed.
November 20, 1923 -
American inventor Garrett Morgan was awarded Patent No. 1475074 for the stoplight that included a third option in addition to "stop" and "go."
His invention was a major step forward in traffic safety. Besides the traffic light, Morgan is best known for his work on gas masks.
November 20, 1947 -
Princess Elizabeth married a ne'er-do-well Greek distant cousin, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, in a ceremony broadcast worldwide from Westminster Abbey on this date.
She was so happy that day that it seems to escape her attention that she related to everyone at the church, include the groom's mother.
45 years later, on this date, Liz and Phil (and all the Mountbatten-Windsors) were in the middle of their Annus Horribilis when Windsor Castle caught on fire, causing extensive damage.
It's the 49th anniversary of Generallismo Francisco Franco heroic fight to remain dead.
While he may still working at it today, he is not doing it in peace. A few years ago, he was disinterred from his elaborate mausoleum and reburied in a family plot.
November 20, 1984 -
McDonald's made its 50 billionth hamburger at 12:10 P.M. in the Grand Hyatt Hotel, in New York City on this date.
November 20, 1985 -
Windows 1.0, a 16-bit graphical operating environment was released on this date. It was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multi-tasking graphical user interface-based operating environment on the PC platform. Windows 1.0 was the very first version of Windows launched.
If you think I'm going to make fun of Bill Gates, you're mistaken. (Steve Ballmer, throw him under the bus - he's only the 9th richest person in the US.)
Hooray for Big Brother!!!
November 20, 1986 -
The one billionth Little Golden Book was printed on this date.
Before you go - I thought we were done with British supermarket chains - I forgot Tesco, one of the really big ones in England but relatively unknown here in the US unless you're a fan of British sitcoms, then they're ubiquitous. What would Christmas be without gingerbread? Well, Tesco imagines the world made of cookies.
Youth wants to know - what was in that tea? (You can wipe away the tear.)
And so it goes
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