Thursday, September 19, 2013 JUST PLAIN BILL DAY It was just an average day this day in 1935, when Just Plain Bill was first heard on CBS radio. It was “The real life story of people just like people we all know.” The 15-minute show (Monday through Friday at 7:15 p.m.) was all about (just plain) Bill Davidson and his daughter, Nancy, who lived in (just plain) Hartville. Since Bill was the town barber, everybody came to him with their problems -- and Bill helped them straighten things out. Instead of playing the usual organ, as a first, Hal Brown played harmonica and whistled the Just Plain Bill introduction music (Darling Nellie Gray). Hal also handled the closing theme (Polly Wolly Doodle) in the same manner. The show, created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who also came up with Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, Little Orphan Annie, Amanda of Honeymoon Hill, Front Page Farrell, John’s Other Wife, Mr. Chameleon, Our Gal Sunday and many other radio dramas, later moved to NBC radio. Just Plain Bill chalked up a total of 20 years on the air. A few of the Just Plain Bill sponsors over the years were Kolynos toothpaste, Clapp’s baby food, BiSoDol shaving cream and Anacin pain relief pills. Events September 19 1819 - It was such a beautiful fall day that poet John Keats was inspired to take out pen and pad. He inked one of the best-loved English poems, Ode to Autumn. 1876 - We are reminded that Melville R. Bissell of Grand Rapids, MI patented the carpet sweeper on this day. The name, Bissell, became synonymous with carpet sweepers during the first half of the 20th century -- much like Frigidaire and refrigerator, Jell-O and gelatin dessert. 1928 - The second talkie (the opposite of a silent movie) for Al Jolson was released. It was titled The Singing Fool, which he certainly was not. 1936 - The classic, Indian Love Call, was recorded by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald on Victor Records. 1953 - Gisele MacKenzie took over as host on NBC-TV’s Your Hit Parade. Her biggest hit during that stint (1953-57) was Hard to Getin June of 1955. Ironically, the song was first sung by Gisele in an episode of the NBC-TV show, Justice. It became a hit and she performed it again on Your Hit Parade. 1955 - Eva Marie Saint, Frank Sinatra and Paul Newman starred in the Producer’s Showcase presentation of Our Town on NBC-TV. 1959 - The leader of the U.S.S.R., Nikita Khruschev, was a little upset. In fact, he got quite angry. And who could blame him. He wasn’t allowed to ride down the Matterhorn, see Tinkerbell or Mickey or anything else at Disneyland. Security - or lack thereof - prevented him from visiting the Southern California amusement park. He did, however, get to visit a movie set. 1963 - The Crystals’ Then He Kissed Me debuted on U.K. charts this day. It had hit U.S. charts on Aug 17, and made it to #6 for three weeks (Sep 14, 21, 28) before fading away. 1970 - She could turn the world on with her smile. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was seen for the first time on CBS-TV. It became one of the most successful television shows of the 1970s. The last, original episode aired on September 3, 1977. 1974 - Eric Clapton received a gold record for I Shot the Sheriff. The song reached #1 on the pop charts on September 14th. 1981 - For their first concert in years, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited for a free concert to benefit New York City parks. The concert attracted a crowd of 500,000 people in Central Park and was broadcast to a TV audience in the millions. 1985 - In Mexico City, this day will forever be remembered. The first of two killer earthquakes hit the city. This one, 8.1 on the Richter scale, followed the next day by a 7.5er, crumbled buildings (damages were estimated at more than one billion dollars) and killed almost 10,000 people. 1987 - Michael Jackson’s I Just Can’t Stop Loving You rose to #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, from Jackson’s "Bad" LP, stayed at the top of the hit heap for one week. 1988 - U.S. diver Greg Louganis struck and injured his head on the board in a preliminary round of springboard diving at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Days later, however, Louganis won the gold medal in springboard diving. 1991 - Ötzi, the Iceman, was found by a German tourist, Helmut Simon, on the Similaun Glacier in the Tirolean Ötztal Alps, on the Italian-Austrian border. The body is that of a man aged 25 to 35 who had been about 5 feet 2 inches (1.6 meters) tall and had weighed about 50 kg (110 pounds), is the oldest mummified human body ever found intact -- some 5000 years old. And his few remaining scalp hairs provided the earliest archaeological evidence of haircutting. And, if that’s not enough, Ötzi was found to have a number of ‘points’ tattooed on his body, 80% of which are considered valid modern acupucture points and dates acupuncture back to at least 3300 B.C. Birthdays September 19 1778 - Henry Brougham orator; the Brougham carriage was named after him; died May 17, 1868 1905 - Leon Jaworski attorney: Watergate special prosecutor; died Dec 9, 1982 1907 - Lewis F. Powell Jr. associate justice of U.S. Supreme Court [1972-1987]; died Aug 25, 1998 1911 - Sir William Golding Nobel Prize for literature [1983]; Lord of the Flies; died June 19, 1993 1913 - Frances Farmer actress: Rhythm on the Range, Son of Fury; died Aug 1, 1970 1921 - Billy Ward singer, musician: piano: group: Billy Ward and His Dominoes: Sixty-Minute Man, Have Mercy Baby, Star Dust, Deep Purple, St. Therese of the Roses 1926 - Duke (Edwin Donald) Snider ‘The Silver Fox’: Baseball Hall of Famer: Brooklyn Dodgers [World Series: 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956/all-star: 1950-1956], LA Dodgers [World Series: 1959/all-star: 1963], NY Mets, SF Giants; broadcaster: Montreal Expos; died Feb 27, 2011 1928 - Adam West actor: Batman, The Detectives, Starring Robert Taylor, The Last Precinct, Hooper, The New Age 1930 - Bob (Robert Lee) Turley ‘Bullet Bob’: baseball: pitcher: SL Browns, Baltimore Orioles [all-star: 1954], NY Yankees [World Series: 1955-1958, 1960/all-star: 1955, 1958/Cy Young Award: 1958], Boston Red Sox, LA Angels 1931 - Brook Benton (Benjamin Franklin Peay) singer: It’s Just a Matter of Time, Baby [You’ve Got What It Takes] [w/Dinah Washington], Endlessly, Think Twice, Kiddio, The Boll Weevil Song, Rainy Night in Georgia; died Apr 9, 1988 1931 - Ray Danton actor: The Longest Day, The George Raft Story, I’ll Cry Tomorrow; died Feb 11, 1992 1932 - Mike Royko journalist: Chicago Tribune: syndicated column; author: Boss, Slats Grobnick; died Apr 29, 1997 1933 - David McCallum actor: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Invisible Man, Shattered Image, Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service 1934 - Brian Epstein talent manager: The Beatles; died Aug 26, 1967 1934 - Jay Randolph sportscaster: NBC Sports, St. Louis Cardinals 1935 - Nick Massi (Macioci) musician: bass, singer: group: The Four Seasons: Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk like a Man, Rag Doll; died Dec 24, 2000 1936 - Al Oerter Olympic and Track & Field Hall of Famer: 4 time Gold Medalist & world record maker: discus [1956, 1960, 1964, 1968] 1937 - Chris (Christopher Joseph) Short baseball: pitcher: Philadelphia Phillies [all-star: 1964, 1967], Milwaukee Brewers; died Aug 1, 1991 1937 - Abner Haynes football: Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs: Rookie and Player of the Year [1960]; Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, NY Jets 1940 - Bill Medley singer: I’ve Had the Time of My Life [w/Jennifer Warnes]; group: The Righteous Brothers: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, Just Once in My Life, Unchained Melody, Ebb Tide, [You’re My] Soul and Inspiration, Rock and Roll Heaven 1940 - Paul Williams songwriter: themes: The Love Boat, The Muppet Movie; Academy Award-winning lyricist: A Star Is Born [1976: w/Barbra Streisand]; actor: Smokey and the Bandit series, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, The Wild Wild West Revisited, The Paul Williams Show, The Night They Saved Christmas, The Doors, Hart to Hart Returns 1941 - ‘Mama’ Cass Elliott (Ellen Naomi Cohen) singer: group: The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin’, Monday, Monday, Creeque Alley; solo: Dream a Little Dream of Me, It’s Getting Better, Make Your Own Kind of Music; group: The Mugwumps; died July 29, 1974 1942 - Freda Payne singer: Band of Gold, Bring the Boys Home; sang w/Duke Ellington 1943 - Joe (Leonard) Morgan Baseball Hall of Famer: Houston Colt .45’s, Houston Astros [all-star: 1966, 1970], Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1972-1979/World Series: 1972, 1975, 1976/Baseball Writers’ Award: 1975, 1976], SF Giants, Philadelphia Phillies [World Series: 1983], Oakland Athletics; 266 home runs, 2527 games as second baseman are records for his position; ESPN TV baseball analyst 1945 - Randolph Mantooth actor: Emergency, Detective School, Operation Petticoat 1946 - John Coghlan musician: drums: group: Status Quo: LPs: Picturesque Matchstickable, Piledriver, Hello, On the Level, Blue for You 1946 - Joe (Joseph Vance) Ferguson baseball: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1974, 1978], SL Cardinals, Houston Astros, California Angels 1947 - Larry Brown football: Washington Redskins running back, NFL Player of the Year [1972]; NFL leading rusher [1970, 1972]; Super Bowl VII 1947 - Lol Creme musician: guitar, singer: groups: 10cc: Rubber Bullets, I’m Not inLove, The Things We Do for Love; Godley & Creme: Donna, Wedding Bells 1948 - Jeremy (John) Irons Academy Award-winning actor: Reversal of Fortune [1990]; Die Hard: With a Vengeance, House of Spirits, M. Butterfly, Damage, Dead Ringers, The French Lieutenant’s Woman; voice of Scar: Lion King 1949 - Twiggy (Leslie Hornby) fashion model: mini-skirt; actress: The Boy Friend, Madame Sousatzka, Body Bags, The Princesses 1949 - Sidney Wicks basketball: College Player of the Year [1970]; Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, San Diego Clippers 1950 - Joan Lunden broadcast journalist; TV host: Good Morning America 1952 - Nile Rogers musician: group: Honeydrippers: Sea of Love 1955 - Rex Smith actor: Sooner or Later, A Passion to Kill, Transformations, Pirates of Penzance 1958 - Kevin Hooks actor: The White Shadow, He’s the Mayor, Innerspace, Can You Hear the Laughter?/The Story of Freddie Prinze, Aaron Loves Angela,Sounder; director: Fled, Passenger 57, Murder Without Motive, Strictly Business, Roots: The Gift 1966 - Soledad O’Brien TV host: MSNBC: The Site 1967 - Jim (James Anthony) Abbott baseball: one-handed pitcher: Olympic gold medalist: U.S. baseball team [1988]; California Angels [Sullivan Award: 1987], NY York Yankees [no-hitter: 9/4/93], Chicago White Sox Chart Toppers September 19 1945 Till the End of Time - Perry Como On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe - Johnny Mercer If I Loved You - Perry Como You Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often - Tex Ritter 1953 You, You, You - The Ames Brothers Vaya Con Dios - Les Paul & Mary Ford Crying in the Chapel - June Valli A Dear John Letter - Jean Shepard & Ferlin Husky 1961 Take Good Care of My Baby - Bobby Vee My True Story - The Jive Five (Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame - Elvis Presley Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke 1969 Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones Sugar, Sugar - The Archies I’ll Never Fall in Love Again - Tom Jones A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash 1977 I Just Want to Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb Float On - The Floaters Don’t Stop - Fleetwood Mac Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue - Crystal Gayle 1985 St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner Money for Nothing - Dire Straits Modern Day Romance - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 18:40:11 +0000
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