Tuesday, December 27, 2005

The Showplace of the Nation...

The largest indoor theater in the world opened on this date way back in 1932 and if you were around then you were living in a nation that was in the throes of the Great Depression, not exactly a ringing endorsement for opening anything other than an apple stand...

Radio City Music Hall was on property owned by John D. Rockefeller Jr. One of its first tenants was The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which is where the "Radio City" came from. The "Music Hall" was, well, just that. It would probably be easier to compile a list of performers that haven't performed there but those that have include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Liberace, Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Charles, Itzhak Perlman, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, you get the idea. On opening night in 1932, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mary Pickford, Barbara Stanwyck, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell were some of the guests assembled. In the past decade alone, Radio City Music Hall has hosted the Grammy's, Tony's, MTV Video Awards and the ESPY's...

These days the 6,000 seat Art Deco showplace is owned by Cablevision/MSG and continues to host the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the high-kicking Rockettes, a Music Hall tradition since 1933. Since 1932 over 300 million people have seen at least one show. What were prices like in 1932 ? That follows in my commentary...

More December 27 Memories...

1831) Charles Darwin sets sail for the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's discoveries during the voyage help him form the basis of his theories on evolution...

1900) Carrie Nation stages her 1st raid on a saloon at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, KS. Before she's through she'll break each and every one of the liquor bottles in sight without breaking a sweat (but she would have if that was in a bottle)...

1903) "Sweet Adeline" is sung for the 1st time by a barbershop quartet in New York city...

1904) James Barrie's play "Peter Pan" premieres in London...

1932) Radio City Music Hall opens (feature story)...

1947) "Howdy Doody" debuts on NBC-TV, hosted by Buffalo Bob Smith...

1964) The Supremes make their 1st appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS-TV...

1967) Red Holzman is named head coach of the Knicks, replacing Dick McGuire (Holzman turns the Knicks around, winning 2 NBA titles before retiring in 1982)...

1968) "The Breakfast Club" (with Don McNeill) signs off for the last time on ABC Radio after 35 years on the air...

1970) "Hello, Dolly!" closes on Broadway after an initial run covering 4 1/2 years (but don't worry, it will return several times since and will continue to do so)...

1971) "The Sonny & Cher Show" begins airing as a regular series on CBS-TV (after starting as a summer replacement on August 1)...

1971) Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and Woodstock of Charles Schulz' "Peanuts" comic strip are featured on the cover of Newsweek Magazine...

1974) "Dear Abby" ends its run on CBS Radio after 11 years...

1975) The Four Seasons release "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)"...

1985) Dian Fossey, an American naturalist who studied gorillas in the wild, is found murdered at a research station in Rawanda...

1991) "The Carol Burnett Show" last airs on CBS-TV (this was the short-lived, reincarnated show that ran for 2 months, not the original one)...

2000) Mario Lemeiux returns to the NHL as the 1st owner-player in the modern era with the Pittsburgh Penguins...

2002) Clonaid announces the birth of the 1st cloned human baby, born December 26th...

To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...

Happy Birthday To...

1931) Original Sun Records and Elvis musician Scotty Moore...

1939) John Amos...

1943) Cokie Roberts...

1944) Mick Jones of Foreigner...

1952) Tovah Feldshuh...

1953) Scud Stud Arthur Kent...

Commentary...

When Radio City Music Hall opened on this date in 1932:

• FDR had replaced Herbert Hoover as President...
• Gas was 18 cents a gallon...
• You could pack the family in a new Chrysler for $935...
• Coffee was 19 cents a pound...
• Men's suits were on sale for $18.50, Women's dresses for $7.50...
• Your morning newspaper was 2 cents...
• And you could rent half a 6-room house for $35 a month or buy a cottage for $2,500...