Crazy like a Fox...
Rupert Murdoch, the much maligned newspaper mogul, had the intention of starting an independent television system that would compete with the 3 major (ABC, CBS and NBC) networks as early as 1985. So how's that working out so far ? To those naysayers who thought Murdoch was crazy to venture into television, what are they saying now ? Murdoch was deemed to be as "insane" as "Crazy Eddie's" prices were before the "real" Eddie started eating matzoh inside a padded Israeli cell. Name one competing TV excecutive who wouldn't trade his network's highest rated show for, uh, let's say "American Idol" or maybe "House" or if you don't like those 2, how about "24" ? Any takers ?
Fox was on the air 6 months before adding their first primetime shows. On Sunday night, April 5, 1987, they debuted with 2: "Married...with Children", a comedy about the dysfunctional Bundy's and a variety show, "The Tracey Ullman Show". "Married...with Children" would air for 11 seasons while "The Tracey Ullman Show" in addition to exposing an incredible talent to the U.S. public would spawn "The Simpsons", still on with a commitment to last at least until 2007...
Some names you may have heard of cut their teeth on Fox including Jim Carrey ("In Living Color"), Jamie Foxx and the Wayans (same show), Johnny Depp ("21 Jump Street"), Ben Stiller ("The Ben Stiller Show") and Ashton Kutcher ("That 70's Show")
| So who's crazy now ? More April 5 Memories... 1614] American Indian princess Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia (the couple requests that maize be thrown instead of rice)... 1896] The 1st Olympic Games of the "modern" era are opened at the foot of the Acropolis by King George of Greece as Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, founder of the modern games sees his dream come true as 311 athletes from 14 nations compete (there were no gold medals, each winner receiving a silver medal, a crown of olive branches and a box of Barilla pasta)... 1915] Jess Willard KO's Jack Johnson in the 26th round of their heavyweight championship bout in Havana (both fighters complain of a bit of fatigue from the 20th round on) (26 rounds. Are you people nuts ???) 1951] Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are sentenced to death for committing espionage for the Soviet Union... 1958] "Johnny Mathis' Greatest Hits" LP debuts on the charts for a then record 490 weeks (10 years)... 1964] General Douglas MacArthur dies in Washington, D.C. at 84... 1976] Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes dies at 72... 1981] Bob "The Bear" Hite of Canned Heat dies of a heart attack at 36... 1982] "Record World" magazine, a major trade publication for 8 years, files for bankruptcy... 1984] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers breaks Wilt Chamberlain's 11-year old NBA record of 31,419 points (Jabbar still holds the record with 38,387 points)... 1985] An estimated 5,000 radio stations simultaneously play "We Are the World" to raise money to feed starving people in Africa and the U.S... 1987] Fox adds their 1st 2 primetime shows (see feature story)... 1991] Former Texas Senator John Tower and 22 others die in a commuter plane crash near Brunswick, GA... 1992] Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton dies in Little Rock, AR at 74... 1993] Construction begins in Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... 1993] Michigan's Chris Webber calls a timeout his Wolverines didn't have. Michigan is assessed a technical foul and North Carolina wins its 3rd national championship (2nd under Dean Smith) 77-71... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]... Happy Birthday To... 1922] Gale Storm... 1937] Colin Powell... 1941] Michael Moriarty... 1950] Agnetha (one of ABBA's "A"'s) Faltskog... [Today is the 95th day of 2006 with 270 days remaining in the year. Memorial Day is 54 days away]... |
