Friday-Sunday, October 28-30, 2005

The lamp of liberty is lit...

This was the day way back in 1886 that the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York harbor by President Grover Cleveland. Originally known as "Liberty Enlightening The World" until wiser heads prevailed and then we started referring to the lady in the harbor as simply "The Statue of Liberty". Thank you, wiser heads, from preventing us from saying "hey today the class will visit 'Liberty Enlightening The World". Huh ???

On October 28, 1936 the Statue of Liberty was rededicated by President Roosevelt on its 50th anniversary and in 1986 as many of you remember we had that big blowout with fireworks and network TV coverage to mark the centennial of the statue...

On a personal note, every time I see the statue I'm amazed at the site and also the size of 'The Lady' which weighs 225 tons and stands, torch in hand, a majestic 152 feet tall. The Statue of Liberty is a must-see, not only for tourists but for natives, as well. It may be 119 years old but it's still a site to behold...

More October 28 Memories...

1636) Harvard College is founded in the Bay State. The first school of higher education was originally called 'Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony' (as happened with the Statue of Liberty name change, wiser heads prevailed changing the name of the school)...

1886) The Statue of Liberty is dedicated (feature story)...

1950) "The Jack Benny Show" debuts on CBS-TV (it will run until August 30, 1977)...

1953) The 'Old Redhead' Red Barber takes his 'catbird seat' to the Bronx to do play-by-play of Yankee games...

1956) Elvis Presley makes his second appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show". On the same day "Love Me Tender" replaces "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" at the top of the charts after 11 weeks. Elvis becomes the first artist to replace himself with a #1 tune ("Love Me Tender" stays at #1 for 5 weeks)...

1961) Ground is broken for the Flushing Meadow Stadium that will become Shea Stadium, the home of the Mets (Shea will open for the start of the 1964 season)...

1962) Giant QB Y.A. Tittle passes for 7 touchdowns stopping the Redskins 6 game winning streak, 49-34...

1962) Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informs the U.S. that he has ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis...

1965) Pope Paul VI issues a decree absolving Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ...

1971) John Lennon and Yoko Ono record "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" in New York City...

1973) Secretariat wins his final race in Canada and then goes to stud with 16 wins in 21 races (the greatest horse of our generation lives to 19 before being put down in 1989)...

1975) Houston's Calvin Murphy begins an NBA free throw streak of 58 games...

1975) Elton John tops the charts for the 3rd time in '75 with "Island Girl"...

1976) Former presidential aide John D. Erlichman begins his sentence for Watergate-related wrong doings...

1979) Dick Howser replaces Billy Martin as Yankee manager...

1980) Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan asks voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" (obviously the answer was a big, fat, resounding "NO!")...

1981) The Dodgers come back from a 2-0 deficit in games to beat the Yankees in 4 straight to win the World Series (Yankee reliever George Frasier is the loser of 3 of those games)...

1985) John A. Walker Jr. and his son, Michael Lance Walker plead quilty to charges of spying for the Soviet Union...

1989) Despite Giant great Willie Mays throwing out the first pitch, the A's complete a sweep of the Giants in the earthquake delayed World Series with a 9-6 victory as Dave Stewart (series MVP) becomes the first pitcher to win 2 games in both the ALCS and World Series...

1995) The Atlanta Braves beat Cleveland in 6 games to win the World Series, becoming the first team to win the WS in 3 different cities (1914 Boston, 1957 Milwaukee and 1995 Atlanta)...

Happy Birthday To...

1926) Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn...

1936) Charlie Daniels (who I worked with at Epic Records)...

1937) NBA Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens...

1939) Jane Alexander...

1944) Dennis Franz...

1948) Telma Hopkins (Dawn)...

1949) Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner...

1955) Bill Gates...

1967) Julia Roberts...

1974) Joaquin Phoenix...

Saturday, October 29, 2005...

"Good night Chet...good night David...and good night for NBC News"...

That was the signature sign-off for the most famous of all TV news anchors, Chet Huntley (from New York) and David Brinkley (in Washington). 'The Huntley-Brinkley Report' began its 15 year run on this date, October 29 in 1956...

It was producer Reuven Frank who is credited with the development of the show and is generally credited with the idea of having 2 anchors. It would also be Frank who authored the famous closing line, one of television's most famous catchphrases...

Up against the 'CBS Evening News' anchored by Douglas Edwards (and directed by the legendary Don Hewitt of "60 Minutes" fame) Huntley-Brinkley struggled at first but a one-year sponsorship by Texaco and some great chemistry between the two anchors eventually won out and maintained higher ratings throughout most of the 60's...

More on "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" in my commentary...

More October 29 Memories...

1652) The Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaims itself to be an independent commonwealth...

1929) "Black Tuesday" ushers in "The Great Depression"...

1940) The first peacetime military draft begins in the U.S...

1950) Cleveland's Marion Motley sets an NFL record for the highest average gain (11.5 yds.) in a game with 188 yards on 17 carries in the Browns 45-7 blowout of the Steelers (Motley will become the first black inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968)...

1956) Israel invades Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal Crisis...

1956) "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" debuts on NBC-TV (feature story)...

1957) Buddy Holly's "Oh Boy!" is released...

1964) The Star of India and other gems are stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan (3 men are later convicted of the heist)...

1966) The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded...

1967) "Hair" opens off-Broadway...

1970) Neil Diamond receives a gold record for "Cracklin' Rosie"...

1971) Duane Allman is killed in a motorcycle crash in Macon, Georgia...

1973) Buffalo's O.J. Simpson sets 2 NFL records carrying the ball 39 times, picking up 157 yards and putting him over 1,000 yards in just the 7th Bills game...

1977) Meat Loaf's "Bat Out Of Hell" LP is released...

1987) Jazz great Woody Herman dies at 74...

1991) Buck Showalter replaces Stump Merrill as Yankee manager...

1995) Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers becomes the NFL's career leader in receiving yards with 14,040...

1998) The space shuttle 'Discovery' blasts off with 77-year old John Glenn on board (in 1962 Glenn was the 1st American to orbit the earth)...

Happy Birthday To...

1944) Denny Laine (Wings)...

1945) Melba Moore...

1947) Richard Dreyfuss...

1948) Kate Jackson...

1953) Islander great Denis Potvin...

1967) Joely Fisher...

1971) Winona Ryder...

Commentary...

"The Huntley-Brinkley Report" replaced John Cameron Swayze's "Camel News Caravan" and would be replaced by the current "NBC Nightly News" in 1970 when Chet Huntley retired...

It is common knowledge that both Huntley and Brinkley disliked their signature closing of "Good Night Chet, good night David and good night for NBC News" but it was producer Reuven Frank's baby and it remained to become one of the most famous of all TV catchphrases...

Chet Huntley was seldom seen after retiring in 1970 but David Brinkley moved over to ABC News where he anchored a Sunday morning show and was quite active for years after 'The Huntley-Brinkley Report"...

Chet Huntley died on March 20, 1974. David Brinkley passed away on June 11, 2003...

Sunday, October 30, 2005...

"War of the Worlds" creates havoc...

On this date in 1938 the medium of radio proved how powerful it really was and still is. The show was called "Mercury Theater on the Air presents Orson Welles' production of H.G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds" and it was a fictional drama. Tell that to the 6 million listeners of the broadcast and more than 1.7 million that believed the story to be true. That's almost a full third of the audience, folks! How's that for numbers ???

The story about a Martian invasion in the fictional town of Grovers Mill, New Jersey aired on Halloween and sparked a panic among listeners who believed the play was an actual news broadcast. Despite being assured it wasn't real by the radio stations that carried the show and by local authorities, the country was in an uproar and who knows, some people in New Jersey might still be bearing arms in some air raid shelter where they've been hunkered down for 67 years. That's how convincing Orson Welles was...

Tom Cruise recently starred in a remake of 'War of The Worlds' with not quite the same impact...

More October 30 Memories...

1961) The Soviet Party Congress orders the removal of Josef Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb (if somebody asks you who's buried in Stalin's tomb the answer is "not Stalin")...

1966) Johnny Unitas breaks Y.A. Tittle's record as all-time passing leader with 252 yards in a game (Johnny U. will become the 1st QB to pass for over 40,000 yards while with San Diego in 1973 and I might add that I am fortunate enough to have an autographed photo of the greatest QB of all-time)...

1971) Cornell running back Ed Marinaro runs for 272 yards against Columbia to surpass 4,000 yards and break Steve Owens' record at Oklahoma...

1972) The worst U.S. rail accident in 14 years kills 45 in Chicago...

1973) John Lennon releases his "Mind Games" LP...

1974) Kathy Silva files for divorce from "Sly", Sylvester Stewart and awards her custody of their 24-month old son (Sly had disappeared with his son and was in hiding at the time)...

1974) Muhammad Ali KOs George Foreman in the 8th round of their heavyweight title fight in Zaire...

1975) The New York Daily News runs the headline: "Ford to City: Drop Dead" a day after President Ford says he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City...

1976) Jane Pauley becomes co-anchor of "The Today Show"...

1984) Linda Ronstadt makes her operatic debut in "La Boheme" in New York City...

1984) Barry Manilow breaks Diana Ross's record at the Radio City Music Hall box office with sales exceeding $1.9 million (Ross's record is broken by $100,000)...

1989) Mitsubishi Estate Company, a major real estate concern, announces it is buying 51% of Rockefeller Group Inc. of New York (where Radio City Music Hall and Rock Center buildings are)...

1995) David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Pete Seeger, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles and The Velvet Underground are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Tom Donahue, known of the 'Father of FM Radio" goes in as a radio pioneer...

1997) A Cambridge, Mass. jury convicts British au pair Louise Woodward of second-degree murder in the death of 8-month old Matthew Eappen (the judge later reduces the verdict to manslaughter and sets Woodward free)...

2000) Comedian, 1st host of 'The Tonight Show', author and composer Steve Allen dies at 78...

2001) Michael Jordan returns to the NBA with the Washington Wizards after a 3 1/2 year retirement (the Wizards lose to the Knicks 93-91)...

Happy Birthday To...

1939) Motown songwriter Eddie Holland...

1939) Grace Slick...

1941) The Temptations' Otis Williams...

1945) 'The Fonz' Henry Winkler...

1947) The Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit...