This Date in History - October 28

 

I guess I could call this Throwback Wednesday.  Happy birthday to Bruce...well...I'll update it below.

97:  EMPEROR NERVA IS FORCED BY THE PRAETORIAN GUARD TO ADOPT GENERAL MARCUS ULPIUS TRAJANUS AS HIS HEIR AND SUCCESSOR.

The nerva!

306:  MAXENTIUS IS PROCLAIMED ROMAN EMPEROR.

Mentioned because...

312:  CONSTANTINE I DEFEATS MAXENTIUS, BECOME THE SOLE ROMAN EMPEROR OF THE WEST.

Six years in charge, door to door.

1061:  EMPRESS AGNES, ACTING AS REGENT FOR HER SON, BRINGS ABOUT THE ELECTION OF THE ANTIPOPE HONORIUS II.

I'm really curious about this concept of an antipope.

1420:  BEIJING IS OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED THE CAPITAL OF THE MING DYNASTY.

I bet the air was bad there even then.

1492:  CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS DISCOVERED CUBA ON HIS FIRST VOYAGE TO THE NEW WORLD.

Babalu.

1628:  THE SIEGE OF LA ROCHELLE ENDS WITH THE SURRENDER OF THE HUGUENOTS.

Okay, now there's a Huguenot Street in New Rochelle, NY.  Hmmm, what a coinky dink.

1775:  AMERICAN REVOLUTION - A BRITISH PROCLAMATION FORBIDS RESIDENTS FROM LEAVING BOSTON.

Obviously trying to preserve the Red Sox paid attendance.

1776:  AMERICAN REVOLUTION - BRITISH FORCES ARRIVE AT WHITE PLAINS, NY.  

Hey, I know where that is!

1886:  IN NEW YORK HARBOR, PRESIDENT GROVER CLEVELAND DEDICATES THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.

Gift shop to follow.

1897:  FASHION DESIGNER EDITH HEAD IS BORN.

Well, actually, her whole body came out, too.

1914:  PHYSICIAN JONAS SALK IS BORN.

Thank you for that polio vaccine you will invent.

1919:  THE US CONGRESS PASSES THE VOLSTEAD ACT OVER WOODROW WILSON'S VETO, PAVING THE WAY FOR PROHIBITION TO BEGIN THE FOLLOWING JANUARY.

Idiots.

1922:  ITALIAN FASCISTS LED BY BENITO MUSSOLINI MARCH ON ROME AND TAKE OVER THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT.

He doesn't realize that there's a rope with his name on it.

1929:  BLACK MONDAY - A DAY IN THE WALL STREET CRASH OF 1929.

Sell!

1940:  TELEVISION PRODUCER SUSAN HARRIS IS BORN.

The genius behind TV's "Soap" and "The Golden Girls."  From my hometown of Mount Vernon, New York.

1949:  CAITLYN JENNER IS BORN.

Well, technically, not really until 2015.

1952:  ACTRESS ANNIE POTTS IS BORN.

Wonderful on "Designing Women."

1955:  BUSINESSMAN BILL GATES IS BORN.

Yeah, he invented some stuff.

1958:  JOHN XXIII IS ELECTED POPE.

He dies in 1963, so not a long gig.

1962:  END OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS - SOVIET PREMIER NIKITA KHRUSCHCHEV ORDERS THE REMOVAL OF SOVIET MISSILES FROM CUBA.

JFK's shining moment.

1964:  VIETNAM WAR - US OFFICIALS DENY ANY INVOLVEMENT IN BOMBING NORTH VIETNAM.

Yeah, sure.

1965:  CONSTRUCTION ON THE ST. LOUIS ARCH IS COMPLETED.

I always wonder how they managed to build that in the first place.

1998:  AN AIR CHINA JETLINER IS HIJACKED BY A DISGRUNTLED PILOT.

Well, is that any way to display your anger?

2006:  BASKETBALL COACH RED AUERBACH DIES.

Fifth foul.

2010:  ACTOR JAMES MACARTHUR DIES.

Bury 'em, Dan-O.

2023:  ACTOR MATTHEW PERRY DIES.

And then there were five.

Dinner last night:   Salad.

Len's Recipe of the Month - October 2026

 

Last month, I extolled the virtues of an air fryer.   Well, now let me start sharing some specifics.   And, yes, you can cook a steak in one of these contraptions.

Welcome to Ribeye in An Air Fryer.

The key is to marinade your meat overnight.    I like to concoct it with some teriyaki marinade.   You can buy a variety of versions in a store.   Or look on the internet for a recipe.

Put your steak in a Ziploc freezer bag and then pour some of the marinade into the bag.   Seal it and store it in the fridge overnight.   

On the day you are going to cook it, pull the steak out and let it get to room temperature for a couple of hours.  Then dry out the meat with a paper towel.

Set your air fryer for 12 minutes and 400 degrees Fahrenheit.   Cook it all and when the machine buzzes, check the temperature of the meat.   It should be 125 degrees.   If it's lower than that, give it another minute.

Remove the steak and cover it with tin foil for twenty minutes.   I used the rest time to cook up some sauteed mushrooms.

What a meal!

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Halloween on the Small and Big Screen

 

Regular readers will remember that I wrote this in previous Octobers.

I hate Halloween. 

Always have.

Always will.

I hated the notion of picking out a costume when I was a kid.   I hated dressed up for adult costume parties.  Thank goodness nobody throws those damn things anymore.   Or maybe they do and I'm just not invited.

I don't care. 

And I hate it even more now that I spent Halloween of 2015 on an emergency room gurney with a fractured kneecap.  Fun times. 

I guess I am just one rotting pumpkin. 

If you want to know all my horror stories about trick or treating and the like, do a search of some past Sunday Memory Drawers.  It's all there in blood curdling detail.

But, there is one part of the annual festivities that I enjoy.   It's the scary movies that turn up on TV.   That takes me back to Saturday nights long ago.

For Chiller Theater and you see the opening above.  Every Saturday night on WPIX, they would run one of them.   For a while, they were hosted by this guy. 

Zacherley (recently deceased himself) was this NY radio deejay who got an extra gig on the weekends, doing intros for some cheesy horror movie that might have played in the local drive-in circa 1955.  He'd welcome us all every Saturday night.

"Hello, boys and ghouls."

He was creepy as all hell but this pre-teen loved it all.  The problem in my house is that both TV sets, both my parents and my grandparents, were tuned to Lawrence Welk and his bubbles.  I'd have to wait patiently so I could flip some set over to Chiller Theater.  If I did that downstairs, my grandmother was no fan.

"Oh, this is too spooky for me.  I go to bed."

Even better.   That left me alone in my glory with the likes of Mothra, Gorgo, or the wife and/or daughter of some monster.  

For some mystical reason, one of my favorite Chiller Theater movies was this mess called "Frankenstein's Daughter" that was made for about six dollars in 1958.   You'll notice the name of John Ashley, who was the actor who played the hero in this piece.   Well, years later, when my writing partner and I had become friends with the late actress Deborah Walley, she happened to drop his name into the conversation since Ashley had been once married to her.   I immediately blurted out.

Frankenstein's Daughter!

It was a gut, knee-jerk reaction that got me one, make that two, quizzical looks at the luncheon table.  The actor had gone on to perform in and produce dozens of other movies.   But it was this thing that had stayed with me for life.

I could be a strange kid and apparently a strange adult as well.

The best part of Halloween for me was that, at some point during late October, WOR Channel 9 in New York would get around to showing this.  My very favorite Abbott and Costello comedy of all time.

It was another one of those movies that popped up on WOR's Million Dollar Movie all the time and I would be glued to the freakin' TV for the whole week. Bud and Lou in a haunted house. Enough said. But, almost miraculously, the film gets stolen by their co-star Joan Davis, who had such wonderful chemistry with Lou that it's a shame they didn't team up permanently. The dance number they do in the kitchen as they slosh through some rain puddles is absolutely brilliant.  To quote Lou in this movie...

"If you see a pair of pants flying through the air, don't grab 'em.  I'll be in 'em."

I outgrew most of this horror picture stuff as I got older.   But, later on, one movie took hold of everybody's attention and didn't let go.

We had heard all the stories.    Heads turning.   Vomit spewing out all over the place.   And movie patrons getting sick in their seats and literally running up the aisles to safety.

You just needed to be part of that.   The movie was barely open a week when a contingent of my friends ran downtown to the one theater where it was playing.

The line was two blocks long.

We stood in it for an hour.

In a driving snowstorm.

Wind chill temperatures of 10 degrees.

At one point, my friend and I looked at each other.   Our eyes asked the same question.  What the fuck were we doing here?  We left for the warmth of any place else.

I ultimately didn't see "The Exorcist" until it came to Mount Vernon, New York six months later.   In the middle of the summer.   And an air-conditioned theater.  It was still as effective and I was nice and comfortable in my seat.

I can tick off some other horror movies that have captured my fancy.

"The Birds."

"Psycho."

"The Omen."

At some point every few years, I do revisit all of the above via my DVR.

And, yes, I do own a copy of "Frankenstein's Daughter."

Dinner last night:  Orange chicken from Panda Express.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - October 2026

 One of the best baseball movies ever.

Dinner last night:  BLT at Art's Deli.

Len's Jukebox of the Month - October 2026

The summer has passed but the music still warms us. 

Dinner last night:  Salisbury steak.

Dead Comics Society

 

Fresh on the heels of last week's documentary on Martin Mull, we have another one.   It's practically the same movie.   So, if you're a fan of Norm MacDonald, this film is for you.

Indeed, the format of this movie is almost a copy of the one about Martin Mull as it involves a lot of extensive interviewing of the subject matter who died a year or two later.  As a result, Norm is virtually in every frame of the film.  If it's not his 
"talking head" dialogue, the footage is culled from what seems to be thousands of talk show and podcast appearances.   

In a way, Martin and Norm are very similar performers who had a modicum of success but never became huge mega-stars.  I have to admit that I did enjoy Norm when he anchored SNL's Weekend Update for a while.   Unknown to me was the reason why SNL eventually fired him.  It seems he made one too many weekly jabs at O.J. Simpson, who happened to be good friends with NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer.

"Norm" is a perfectly serviceable documentary and it now serves as a tribute to the lead who apparently fought cancer for 9 years without telling anybody.  For that reason alone, this movie is worth checking out.

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.

Dinner last night:  SPO from my freezer.

This Date in History - October 21

 

Happy birthday in Heaven to Joyce Randolph, the original...and only true "Trixie" of "The Honeymooners."

1096:  DURING THE PEOPLE'S CRUSADE, THE TURKISH ARMY SUCCESSFULLY FIGHT OFF THE PEOPLE'S ARMY OF THE WEST.

Rhetorical question: was there a People's Army of the East?

1097:  FIRST CRUSADE - CRUSADERS LED BY GODFREY OF BOUILLION BEGIN THE SIEGE OF ANTIOCH.

Against Bouillion, the enemy was really in the soup.

1520:  FERDINAND MAGELLAN DISCOVERS A STRAIT NOW KNOWN AS STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.

Well, that was easy to name.

1774:  FIRST DISPLAY OF THE WORD "LIBERTY" ON A FLAG, RAISED BY COLONISTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

...and justice for all.

1797:  IN BOSTON HARBOR, THE 44-GUN US NAVY FRIGATE USS CONSTITUTION IS LAUNCHED.

I always love the word "frigate."

1824:  JOSEPH ASPDIN PATENTS PORTLAND CEMENT.

A national holiday declared by the Mafia.

1833:  ALFRED NOBEL IS BORN.

He invented dynamite and that stupid award.

1854:  FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND 38 NURSES ARE SENT TO THE CRIMEAN WAR.

I wonder how many of them were cute.  And wearing squeaky shoes.

1861:  THE CIVIL WAR - UNION FORCES UNDER COLONEL EDWARD BAKER ARE DEFEATED BY CONFEDERATE TROOPS IN THE SECOND MAJOR BATTLE OF THE WAR.

Back when they were not shy about raising that flag.

1879:  THOMAS EDISON INVENTS A WORKABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB.

Good.  Now he could see the other things he was inventing.

1902:  IN THE US, A FIVE-MONTH STRIKE BY UNITED MINE WORKERS ENDS.

Dig they now must.

1921:  PRESIDENT WARREN G. HARDING DELIVERS THE FIRST SPEECH BY A SITTING US PRESIDENT AGAINST LYNCHING IN THE DEEP SOUTH.

He was sitting because he wanted to.  FDR was sitting because he had to.

1921:  "THE SHEIK" STARRING RUDOLPH VALENTINO PREMIERES.

And women swoon all over America.

1924:  ACTRESS JOYCE RANDOLPH IS BORN.

I met her once.  Nice lady.

1928:  BASEBALL STAR WHITEY FORD IS BORN.

I met him once.  Dirt bag.

1940:  ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S NOVEL "FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS" IS PUBLISHED.

It tolls for thee.

1942:  JUDGE JUDY SHEINDLIN IS BORN.

Boy, I wish there were nine of her on the US Supreme Court.

1945:  WOMEN ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE IN FRANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Viva La France.

1959:  US PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER SIGNS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TRANSFERRING WERNHER VON BRAUN AND OTHER GERMAN SCIENTISTS FROM THE US ARMY TO NASA.

Outer space, here we come.

1959:  IN NEW YORK CITY, THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM OPENS TO THE PUBLIC.

Yeah, that round looking building.

1967:  VIETNAM WAR - MORE THAN 100,000 PROTESTERS GATHER IN WASHINGTON, DC.  A PEACEFUL RALLY IS HELD AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL.

As opposed to the thousand other non-peaceful rallies that will happen over the next five years.

1969:  POET JACK KEROUAC DIES.

On the road no more.

1973:  JOHN PAUL GETTY III'S EAR IS CUT OFF BY HIS KIDNAPPERS AND MAILED TO A NEWSPAPER IN ROME.  IT DOESN'T ARRIVE UNTIL NOVEMBER 8.

Forget the ear.   That's some shitty mail service.

1973:  FRED DRYER OF THE LA RAMS BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER IN NFL HISTORY TO SCORE TWO SAFETIES IN THE SAME GAME.

Seems odd that it took that long.

1979:  MOSHE DAYAN RESIGNS FROM THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT BECAUSE OF DISAGREEMENTS OVER POLICY TOWARDS THE ARABS.

Moshe Dayan:  "Are they coming on the left?"

1983:  BASEBALL PITCHER ZACK GREINKE IS BORN.

He had a phenomenal season for the Dodgers in 2015 and hasn't been the same since he left.

1984:  FILM DIRECTOR FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT DIES.

Truly that was the Last Metro.

1990:  ICE CREAM KING TOM CARVEL DIES.

Yes, I worked for him.   And, yes, I believe he was murdered.

1992:  LAWYER JIM GARRISON DIES.

Back and to the left.  Back and to the left.  Back and to the left.

2003:  ACTOR FRED "RERUN" BERRY DIES.

No longer happening.

2012:  POLITICIAN GEORGE MCGOVERN DIES.

And he thought he lost big in 1972.

2013:  RECORD SMOG CLOSES THE CITY OF HARBIN, CHINA.

Doesn't say much about the emission controls over there.

2014:  PUBLISHER BEN BRADLEE DIES.

All The President's Dead Men.

2015:  COMIC MARTY INGELS DIES.

Making Shirley Jones a widow.

2019:  ACTOR JERRY FOGEL DIES.

The last member of "The Mothers-In-Law."  Interviewed him once.   Nice, nice guy.

Dinner last night:  Leftover chili.