Monday, September 30, 2024

Tom Sito's animation almanac for Sept. 30, 2024


Birthdays: William Wrigley the Chewing Gum king 1868, Truman Capote, Eli Weisel, Lester Maddox, Buddy Rich, David Oistrach, Deborah Kerr, Angie Dickinson, Marylin McCoo, Len Cariou, Johnny Mathis, Rula Lenska, Eric Stolz, Monica Bellucci is 60, Jenna Elfman is 53, Fran Drescher is 67, Marion Cotillard is 49, Hollywood stuntman Al Leong (Al KaBong) is 72

 

 

1791- Mozart's opera "Die Zauberflotte, The Magic Flute" premiered at Emanuel Schiknader's theater in Vienna. 

 

1846- Dr. William Morton first pulled a tooth using ether as an anesthetic.

 

1868- Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women first published in installments.

 

 

1919- The Fleischer Brother's first Out of the Inkwell cartoon featuring Koko the Clown. Koko was rotoscoped- meaning traced from live action like Motion Capture does today. Dave Fleischer put on the clown suit and was filmed by his brother Max.

 

1928- In New York, Walt Disney and his crew re-recorded the final music for the first Mickey Mouse short, Steamboat Willie. Walt was unhappy with the sync on first version of the track, and pawned his car for the money to pay for this second session. Ub Iwerks rigged up special print of the film with a bouncing ball on screen for the musicians to follow.

 

1930- Death Valley Days Show premiered on radio, sponsored by Twenty Mule Team Borax powder. When it moved to television in the 50’s the host was Ronald Reagan.

 

1935- George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess premiered at the Colonial Theater in Boston. It flopped originally, but after some rewrites it became a major hit.

 

1939- With war breaking out across the world, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky moved to the USA. After living in Boston and New York he settled in LA for the next 25 years.

 

 

1947- The first World Series Game on Television- New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-3. Gillette and Ford paid $65,000 to sponsor the entire series.

 

1952- This Is Cinerama, showcasing the widescreen film process, opened in theaters.

 

1955- James Dean (24) was killed when his Porsche 550 Spyder crashed head on into a pickup truck driven by college student Donald Turnipseed on Highway 41 outside of Paso Robles, California. Dean was driving 85 mph at dusk without his headlights on, and two hours earlier had been given a ticket for speeding. 




1960- On a Friday night on ABC, Hanna & Barbera's "The Flintstones" debuted. For six seasons the inhabitants of 301 Cobblestone Lane, Bedrock, was one of the most successful TV series ever. Originally going to be named the Flagstones, then Gladstones, before Flintstones. Ed Benedicts' designs with Alan Reed as the voice of Fred, Jean Van Der Pyl the voice of Wilma, Mel Blanc doing Barney and Bea Benaderet doing Betty. 

  

 

1965- The British show Thunderbirds premiered on ITV TV. Thunderbirds are go.

 

 

1975- Disney animator Les Clark, one of the Nine Old Men, retired.

 

1982- The TV comedy Cheers premiered. The Beacon Street Bar in Boston where everybody knows your name. It made stars of Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley and Kelsey Grammar.

 

1988- “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin went to #1 in the pop charts. The first a-carpella song to ever do that.


 

2021- The Academy Museum of the Motion Picture opened to the public. 

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