Tom Sito's Animation Almanac for July 2, 2023

Birthdays: Roman Emperor Valentinian III (419AD), Bishop Thomas Cranmer (1429) , Christoph Witobald Gluck, Herman Hesse, Medgar Evers, Patrice Lamumba, Thurgood Marshall, Andrez Kertesz, Richard Petty, Abe Levitow, Ahmad Jamal, Cheryl Ladd, Jose Canseco, Jerry Hall, Imelda Marcos, Ron Silver, Lindsay Lohan, Brock Peters, Margot Robbie is 33, Larry David is 76

1650- The first daily newspaper is published in the city of Leipzig. 

1723- Johann Sebastian Bach’s chorale Magnificat first performed in Leipzig.

1927- The film Flesh and the Devil established a new star named Greta Garbo.


1945- In the July issue of The Atlantic Magazine, MIT Scientist Vanaevar Bush predicted some day in the future we would all be writing to each other on little electronic boxes on our desks. He didn’t have the name computer yet. He called it a “memex”. We would read stories, watch movies, have access to all the libraries of the world. We would send each other letters and pictures on it. 

1946-The Peace Treaty of Beverly Hills- SAG president Ronald Reagan brokered a labor settlement between the two rival Hollywood Unions, IATSE vs. CSU, temporarily ending a violent Hollywood strike. At this time Reagan went to work every day with a 32 cal. Smith & Wesson under his coat.

1955- The Lawrence Welk T.V. Show debuts. Wannaful, wannaful! 

1973-Art Babbitt began his animation lectures to Richard Williams London Studio. Dick took copious notes, and they became one of the most copied, underground how-to books in film history.

1980- the Abrahams-Zucker Bros comedy Airplane! Premiered. 

1982- Don Bluth’s The Secret of Nimh premiered.

1986- Walt Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective released in theaters. 

1986- John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China debuted.

1992- THE GREAT FLYING LAWNCHAIR- San Pedro California resident Larry Walters strapped 45 helium weather balloons to his lawnchair and took along a sixpack of beer, a sandwich and a pellet gun. In his lawnchair he reached 16,000 feet.  He shot up so fast a commercial airplane reported him as a UFO. Trying to shoot some of the balloons, he lost consciousness and dropped his pellet gun. After two hours the balloons lost altitude and he got entangled in some power lines. He was fined by the FAA for violating LAX commercial airport airspace.