This Date in History - May 6

 

May 6 is a robust day for heavenly birthdays as you will see.   But I would be remiss if I didn't spotlight Willie Mays.  Say hey!  And you will note that the picture I used has him in a Mets uniform.

1527:  SPANISH AND GERMAN SACK ROME.   SOME CONSIDER THIS THE END OF THE RENAISSANCE.

And who are those people who don't?

1536:  KING HENRY VIII ORDERS ENGLISH-LANGUAGE BIBLES BE PLACED IN EVERY CHURCH.  

And lots of motels.

1542:  FRANCIS XAVIER REACHES OLD GOA, THE CAPITAL OF PORTUGUESE INDIA.

I read this so fast that I thought Aunt Bee from the Andy Griffith Show did this.

1659:  A FACTION OF THE BRITISH ARMY REMOVES RICHARD CROMWELL AS LORD PROTECTOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH AND REINSTALLS THE RUMP PARLIAMENT.

Rump is a funny word in any sentence.

1682:  LOUIS XIV MOVES HIS COURT TO THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES.

Don't touch anything.

1757:  ENGLISH POET CHRISTOPHER SMART IS ADMITTED TO ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL FOR LUNATICS IN LONDON.

If they started a chain like this in America, there would be more outlets than Starbucks.

1835:  JAMES GORDON BENNETT SR. PUBLISHES THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE NEW YORK HERALD.

Extra.  Extra.  Read all about it!

1840:  THE PENNY BLACK POSTAGE STAMP BECOMES VALID FOR USE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

I suppose there are about five stamp collectors who think this is a big deal.

1844:  THE GLACIARIUM, THE WORLD'S FIRST MECHANICALLY FROZEN ICE RINK, OPENS.

Somebody call that Zamboni guy.

1861:  DURING THE CIVIL WAR, ARKANSAS SECEDES FROM THE UNION.

Who let these peckerwoods back in?

1861:  DURING THE CIVIL WAR, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA IS DECLARED THE CAPITAL OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.

And how long did this last?

1862:  AUTHOR HENRY DAVID THOREAU DIES.

Under Walden Pond.

1877:  CHIEF CRAZY HORSE OF SIOUX SURRENDERS TO US TROOPS IN NEBRASKA.

Sioux?  Si.

1882:  THE US CONGRESS PASSES THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT.

And who's the one who rescinded it.  Because COVID-19 is here.

1895:  ACTOR RUDOLPH VALENTINO IS BORN.  

He doesn't last long.  He dies in 1926.

1903:  BUSINESSMAN TOOTS SHOR IS BORN.

Seriously, Mrs. Shor.   Toots?

1904:  ACTOR RAYMOND BAILEY IS BORN.

Milburn Drysdale on the Beverly Hillbillies.

1907: FOOTBALL COACH WEEB EWBANK IS BORN.

Seriously, Mrs. Ewbank.  Weeb??

1910:  GEORGE V BECOMES KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM UPON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, EDWARD VII.

And the Royal family just keeps chugging along.

1911:  ACTOR FRANK NELSON IS BORN.

Yyyyyessssss???

1915:  ACTOR ORSON WELLES IS BORN.

The baby weighed in at 33 pounds and 12 ounces.

1915:  AUTHOR THEODORE H. WHITE IS BORN.

The Birth of an Author.

1917:  BUSINESSMAN JILLY RIZZO IS BORN.

Sinatra's pal.   But mentioned here for one reason that you will read later.

1919:  AUTHOR L. FRANK BAUM DIES.

We're off to see....oh, never mind.

1924:  PATRICIA KENNEDY LAWFORD IS BORN.

Well, she technically wasn't a Lawford yet.

1931:  BASEBALL STAR WILLIE MAYS IS BORN.

No way he appears in a Giant uniform on this blog.

1935:  EXECUTIVE ORDER 7034 CREATES THE WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION.

Just in case you thought Al Gore invented these things along with the internet.

1937:  THE HINDENBURG CATCHES FIRE AND BURNS IN NEW JERSEY.

Oh, the humanity!  Don't you think this radio reporter was overreacting a bit?  I mean, 36 people died.   We've seen bigger disasters.  Like what's happening now.

1940:  JOHN STEINBECK IS AWARDED THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR HIS NOVEL THE GRAPES OF WRATH.

If Barnes and Noble has it, I'll be there.

1941:  AT CALIFORNIA'S MARCH FIELD, BOB HOPE PERFORMS HIS FIRST USO SHOW.

You know this was just an excuse to get on the road and sleep with Marilyn Maxwell?

1942:  DURING WORLD WAR II, THE LAST AMERICAN FORCES IN THE PHILIPPINES SURRENDER TO THE JAPANESE AT CORREGIDOR.

Now that warrants a "oh, the humanity."

1954:  ROGER BANNISTER BECOMES THE FIRST PERSON TO RUN THE MILE IN UNDER FOUR MINUTES.

And done without police chasing him.

1960:  MORE THAN 20 MILLION VIEWERS WATCH THE FIRST TELEVISED ROYAL WEDDING WHEN PRINCESS MARGARET MARRIES ANTHONY ARMSTRONG-JONES.

Yeah, there will be others.

1961:  ACTOR GEORGE CLOONEY IS BORN.

He turned out to be some sort of a big deal.

1963:  ACTOR MONTY WOOLLEY DIES.

One less man for dinner tonight.

1975:  DURING A LULL IN FIGHTING, 100,000 ARMENIANS GATHER IN BEIRUT TO REMEMBER THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.

If you think that's a lot of Armenians, try going to the Glendale Galleria on a Saturday afternoon.

1990:  ACTOR CHARLES FARRELL DIES.

"But, Dad....."

1991:  ACTOR WILFRID HYDE-WHITE DIES.

Colonel Pickering!

1992:  ACTRESS MARLENE DIETRICH DIES.

Ya, ya, ya, ya...

1992:  BUSINESSMAN JILLY RIZZO DIES.

See!  A perfectly symmetrical life.

1994:  QUEEN ELIZABETH II OF ENGLAND AND FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS MITTERRAND OPEN THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.

EZ-Pass lanes to the right.

1994:  PAULA JONES FILES A LAWSUIT AGAINST US PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, ALLEGING THAT HE HAD SEXUALLY HARASSED HER IN 1991.

Yeah, there will be others.   Lots more.

1998:  THE CHICAGO CUBS' KERRY WOOD STRIKES OUT 20 HOUSTON ASTROS TO TIE THE MLB RECORD HELD BY ROGER CLEMENS.

Even better...no walks.

2001:  DURING A TRIP TO SYRIA, POPE JOHN PAUL II BECOMES THE FIRST POPE TO ENTER A MOSQUE.

Glad he got this out of the way before September.

2004:  THE SITCOM FRIENDS AIRS ITS SERIES FINALE AND BECOMES THE FOURTH MOST WATCHED TV SERIES FINALE IN HISTORY.  

I was there for you.

2010:  BASEBALL PLAYER ROBIN ROBERTS DIES.

Not to be confused with that hen on Good Morning America.

2012:  ACTOR GEORGE LINDSEY DIES.

Hey, Goober!

Dinner last night:   Roast beef and potato salad.

Moron of the Month - May 2026

 

Well, this is long overdue.   Mainly because this guy has been a moron so long that he probably gets frequent moron miles.  

Yes, this is Eric Swalwell who has been infecting political circles all over California and Washington DC as a combination Congressperson, dog catcher...and most notably professional sex worker.

The dummies in California have been electing him to anything he chooses to run for, largely because they're as moronic as he is.   Trust me, if you go on YouTube and pull down some of his public comments, you will be wondering if his IQ even makes it to double digits. 

A while back, he allegedly traded government secrets with a spy called Fang Fang while both were wrapped in linen from Wamsutta.   Of course, nothing happened to him because...well...he hates Trump.   Indeed, he seems to have an eternal hall pass when it comes to anything in the political world.  I mean, why else would he then announce that he was running for Governor.

But, in some small doses, logic finally prevailed in the person of several female staff workers who attested to harassment, a little groping, and even a healthy dish of rape.   Out they came one by one and it was all Swalwell could do but to deny every charge.   None of it is true, he swears.

Yet, who suspended his race to be California Governor?   Ah, there is some facts in dem there hills.   

So, I am jumping on my last opportunity to call Eric Swalwell a monthly moron. Largely because I think he is finally disappearing for good.

Dinner last night:  Rigatoni bolognese at Basilico in Pelham.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - May 4, 2026

This month, I will spotlight those wonderful animal segments that used to show up on  Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.   First up...the marmoset with the leaky bladder.

Dinner last night:  Fried chicken sandwich at the Dickens in Manhattan.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - By Myself At The Movies

 

There are movies that feel like old friends.  No matter how many times you visit with it, there are new discoveries.  Or old memories that are warm and fuzzy.  You just can't get enough of them.  

For me, "The Music Man" is that kind of trusted celluloid pal.    I've seen it at least 25 times in my life, both on the big screen and thanks to whatever version of the film is on VHS, Laser Disc, or DVD   I had yet to experience it via Blu Ray and last weekend offered just the right opportunity to spend some time in River City all over again.

It's indeed a perfect summertime movie as that is when it is set.  You star with the Fourth of July celebration in Madison Park and wind up with the Labor Day Sociable.  I always try to watch it between those two warm weather holidays.  

And I was enveloped in its aura one more time.  Indeed, with every viewing, there is something in it that makes it feel all new again.  And now it also prompts a pretty vivid memory for me from many years ago.

You see, "The Music Man" was the very movie I went to see all by myself.

Before you call Social Services, remember that back when was a different time and a different place in America.  Kids less than double digits in age could walk freely around my hometown of Mount Vernon, New York and there would be no worries.  Yet, even in those more comfortable times, this solo event didn't come without a bit of parental consternation.

Any regular readers know that I was pretty much a movie geek when I was a youngster.  Indeed, I learned how to read at a very early age primarily because I would sift through all the movie advertisements in the NY Daily News and the NY Daily Mirror.   I learned to print because I would write notes for my father, asking him to take me to some movie.  I'd even provide the times the films started, so, yes, my numerical skills were all being developed.  

I lived for the movie palaces that were in our neighborhood.  The glorious RKO Proctor's on Gramatan Avenue.  The stately Loews' around the corner on Stevens Avenue.  There was the Wakefield underneath the elevated tracks on White Plains Road in the Bronx.  Or the small but dependable Kimball on Yonkers Avenue.  

On special occasions, we would take the D Train from 205th Street down to Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.   There, you never had to go outside.  There was an entrance right into the lobby from the subway station.  And, of course, if my dad was wiping down the Buick windshield during the summer, I knew it would be time for the drive-in theater in Elmsford.   I'd dress in my pajamas and be allowed to stay up in the back seat for the first feature only.

I am forever grateful to my parents for instilling this love in me.  But they enjoyed the movies themselves.  Before my mom went back to work at night, she would go out every Monday evening to either RKO or Loews with her girlfriend Ronnie.  I'd find a box of Poms Poms or Milk Duds on the kitchen table in the morning.

Of course, most of the time I was at the movies myself with either my mother or my father.  They actually divided up the genres between the two of them.  Mom would take me to Disney movies or cartoons and most Biblical epics.  Dad was responsible for bringing me to any war flicks and anything that starred Jerry Lewis.  Sorry, Dad. 

But the one film genre that was not covered by either parent was the movie musical.  It seems that neither one of them enjoyed the "all singing, all dancing" classics.   It's not likely we were a music-less family.   The radio was always on and so was the record player.  But, when it came to screen musicals, my folks were a collective "meh."

And that brings me to our story for this Sunday.  Yours truly was learning to love the movie musical because I was already captivated by what was happening on Broadway.   It's not like I had seen any shows down there.  Not with the lofty prices of $3,80 per ticket. 

But I knew what the "Music Man" was and I had the original Broadway cast album.  Now it was coming to the movies and, for a variety of reasons, I needed to go.  Besides the music that was already engrained in my skull, one of the co-stars was Ronny Howard from my very favorite TV program, "The Andy Griffith Show."  I wanted to be best friends with Opie.   Or, in this movie, Winthrop Paroo.

But, notes to my parents about this movie didn't register.  When it came to RKO on Gramatan, I did all my usual research about movie times, length, etc.. 

"It's a musical.   Nah."

Crap...or whatever I was saying back then to demonstrate annoyance and disappointment.

I must have been persistent because I remember overhearing my parents discussing this very movie.  And how they could satisfy my insatiable need to see it. 

Cousins were considered.  And dismissed.  Aunts and uncles were considered.  And dismissed.  At this point, I still wasn't going to the movies with my friends up the block.  I was seemingly the only person in Mount Vernon, New York who wanted to see Professor Harold Hill and company.

And, then, from the floor of my bedroom with a box of Colorforms cracked open before me, I heard the words from the nearby kitchen.

"Well, maybe we can let him go on his own."

What????

What followed was a series of one-on-ones with each of my parents.  This outing was going to be set up with the precision of the D-Day invasion on Normandy Beach.  My mom positioned it all as if I would be nervous going by myself.

Wrong.  I couldn't wait.

Of course, I really wasn't going to be alone.   I wasn't just being dropped off at the theater one Saturday afternoon.   My dad parked the car.   He paid for my ticket and then exercised a full interrogation of the woman at the box office.

"How long is the movie?"

"Is there another feature?"

"What is the exact time he will be out?"

With my ticket in hand, Dad shepherded me into the lobby.   As I picked out my treats at the candy counter, my father was making fast friends with the old lady sporting the flashlight.

The dreaded movie theater matron.

I was introduced to her and virtually handed over like those kids who are flying alone and entrusted to the care of a flight attendant.  On this afternoon, I wasn't even going to have to pick out my own seat.

"You're sitting right here where I can see you."

She had a five dollar bill in her hand.  So, I suppose that's how much not seeing "The Music Man" was worth to my parents.  Essentially, I had a baby sitter.  And I was the one going out for the day.  In retrospect, I wonder why one of my folks didn't simply come along and doze throughout the entire film.   But, I didn't care.

"The Music Man" was that special of a movie experience for me.  And has been ever since that afternoon when I didn't flinch or risk getting a flashlight blasted into my eyes.

 Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" is arguably the best thing to ever come out of the Midwest, save for maybe Abe Lincoln. If it were not for this movie musical, I would probably ignore the state of Iowa altogether.

Willson obviously knew about Iowa, because that's where he was born around the turn of the century. My guess is that he waited for many a Wells Fargo wagon in his time. This music composer kicked around Hollywood and network radio for most of his life, until he achieved his true watershed moment when "The Music Man" debuted on Broadway in 1957. Apparently, you couldn't get into the show for about two years, and those were the days when Broadway audiences were smart and could tell the difference between gold and crap.

Hollywood has a nasty history of recreating a Broadway musical on screen, but forgetting to include the stars that first authored the roles on stage. Angela Lansbury got dumped in favor of a croaking Lucille Ball for "Mame." Carol Channing got bypassed for the film version of "Hello Dolly," which opted instead for Barbra Streisand, who turned the whole thing into a hackneyed Yiddish production you might find at a local nursing home.

Indeed, I'm betting there were some ridiculous thoughts about replacing the amazing Robert Preston in the role of Professor Harold Hill. Maybe Frank Sinatra. Or perhaps Sammy Davis Jr., who could have sung "Y'all Got Trouble, my brothers." As a matter of fact, Cary Grant was approached and declined by saying that WB needed to go back to the source. So, in a rare stroke of genius, producers realized that Robert Preston was the only "Music Man" we should see. Sure, there have been others to do it on Broadway since. And, for some reason perhaps known only to aliens residing on Pluto, some idiot tried to remake the movie into a TV production with Matthew Broderick. Regardless, if you are to enjoy this musical wonderment, you have to see it with Robert Preston.

After that solo in RKO Proctor's, I was addicted to the words, the music, and the performances. I would walk to school, singing the songs like some loon. And that included doing "Gary, Indiana" complete with the Ronny Howard-perfected lisp.  A few years later, CBS seemed to run this movie once a season, and I would be plopped down in front of the set days and weeks in advance.

There was something about the town of River City and the very special summer they experience that captivated me. Perhaps, it was because my hometown of Mount Vernon, New York was slowly evolving into something very unspecial. For us, there would be no such thing as a boy's band. Instead, there would be gangs, riots, and hostility. If only our worlds could be about the ice cream social in the local park.  A place where you couldn't necessarily let your young child go to a movie theater by himself.

Indeed, over several decades after its initial release, I still feel like I am seeing it for the first time all over again. And every time I watch it, I see something new. Or revel particularly in one single moment. After being on the Warner Brothers back lot, I could pick out actual locations that were used as River City in the movie. The first time I saw it on DVD, I could pick out the Burbank hills in the background, along with some electrical power lines which probably didn't exist around the turn of the century.

The cast is first-rate, and none of them probably had finer film moments. Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Ronny Howard, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford, Pert Kelton, and Mary Wickes are all incomparable. While everyone remembers the classic moments like "Trouble," "76 Trombones," and "Marian the Librarian," there really is not a weak musical number in the whole film. Take a look at one of my favorites, the blending and harmonizing of two completely different songs. It is as smooth as silk.


In the stage musical, there is a ballad sung by Marian called "My White Knight." It's okay, but Wilson very smartly replaces it on screen with another much better song, "Being In Love." Shirley Jones' rendition of it is magical. You also probably have heard some of the other clever quirks embedded in the music. For instance, "76 Trombones" and "Goodnight, My Someone" are essentially the same tunes except played at different tempos. And, of course, the fabulous "Till There Was You" is one of the best romantic duets ever filmed for the silver screen. Coincidentally, "Till There Was You" is a song that the Beatles actually covered on one of their first albums.
.
I've seen the musical in a Broadway revival with Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker. I've seen it done at the Hollywood Bowl with Eric McCormick and Kristin Chenoweth. Most recently on Broadway again with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.  I'll probably see it another half dozen times mounted with a variety of performers. But, at the end of the day, it is the movie that shines best. With Robert Preston as the brightest light.

And takes me back to the day when I saw it for the very first time.   Thanks, Mom and Dad.  You made it happen.

Dinner last night:  Cuban sandwich at Hudson Social.

Classic TV Commercial of the Month - May 2026

 And how big is your headache?

Dinner last night:  Eggplant parm at Carlo's.

The Merry Mugs of May 2026

 

Her smile reminds me of the face you would see on the old Steeplechase ride at Coney Island.

Ironically, there's nothing in that head worth holding in.

Oh, my God!  They've arrested Dixie Carter!!!

The next words out of his mouth?  "Police brutality."

Man or woman?  Show of hands, please.

Remembering all those dopey women who voted for that idiot.

Arrested right in the middle of having a stroke.

Oh, my God!  They've arrested Cheetah!!!

"Dr. Frankenstein, it is alive."

"I didn't know five thousand dollars of jewelry was in my pocket."

Dinner last night:   Burrata salad at Lombardo's in Dobbs Ferry.

Everybody Gets a Documentary

 

At least, it seems that way.   Oh, don't get me wrong.  I like a good biography documentary as much as the next guy.  But there are a lot of them and it makes me wonder when it will be my turn.

So, the latest subject matter is legendary TV producer of SNL, Lorne Michaels. He's been at the helm for 46 of the last 51 TV seasons and I didn't realize this was a civil service job.   Or indeed perhaps we switch his name to Pope Lorne.

Okay, I give the guy credit for lasting this long, especially since the show ceased being funny about ten years ago.  I truly think NBC doesn't shitcan the whole thing because it would go broke in providing Lorne's severance package.   But SNL is not going anywhere...no laughs or not.

This documentary plays out over the weekly production of a few SNL episodes so you can get a good idea how the sausage is made.   At the center of it all is Lorne Michaels, who literally might get his ring kissed by cast and crew on a weekly basis.  You see, Lorne is a bit of an enigma and none of the many SNL talking heads included in this film know him all that well.   It's like there is an emotional moat erected between Lorne and everybody else.

And this is why the documentary comes out a little superficial.   There is nothing new to be learned.   And the few times Michaels actually addresses questions from the filmmaker, he is seemingly not interested in divulging much of anything.   This results in a lot of eye candy culled from behind-the-scenes but not much else.  Did it hold my interest?  Yes.   Will I remember any of it by next week? Definitely not.

Essentially, the main lingering question I have after seeing this film?

When do I get mine?

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  A long day of travel to NY so nothing really.

This Date in History - April 29

 

There's a lot of famous birthdays, but how can I not single out 1969 World Series hero Ed Charles???

711:  THE ISLAMIC CONQUEST OF HISPANIA.

For those who think all the current torture is a new thing for them.

1429:  JOAN OF ARC ARRIVES TO RELIEVE THE SIEGE OF ORLEANS.

Joan of Arc for the save.

1770:  JAMES COOK ARRIVES AT AND NAMES BOTANY BAY, AUSTRALIA.

And we care why?

1781:  DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, BRITISH AND FRENCH SHIPS CLASH OFF THE COAST OF MARTINIQUE.

Well, if you have to travel some place for a war, Martinique is always nice.

1861:  DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, MARYLAND VOTES NOT TO SECEDE FROM THE UNION.

Go Terrapins!

1862:  DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, LOUISIANA FALLS TO UNION FORCES.

Hey, with all the great restaurants in New Orleans, that was a smart move on the part of the North.

1882: THE ELEKTROMOTE - THE FORERUNNER OF THE TROLLEYBUS - IS TESTED IN BERLIN.

Change for the express to Munich.

1899:  MUSICIAN DUKE ELLINGTON IS BORN.

First stop for the A Train.

1910:  THE PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM PASSES THE PEOPLE'S BUDGET, THE FIRST BUDGET IN BRITISH HISTORY WITH THE EXPRESSED INTENT OF REDISTRIBUTING WEALTH.

For those who thought Roosevelt invented this concept.

1917:  ACTRESS CELESTE HOLM IS BORN.

All About Her.

1933:  BASEBALL STAR ED CHARLES IS BORN.

The Gilder!!!

1933: POET ROD MCKUEN IS BORN.

There once was a hermit named Dave...

1933:  MUSICIAN WILLIE NELSON IS BORN.

With or without a beard?  Discuss.

1938:  BUSINESSMAN BERNARD MADOFF IS BORN.

Play Happy Birthday by banging your cup on the cell bars.

1945:  THE DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP IS LIBERATED BY US TROOPS.

A trifle late.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, THE GERMAN ARMY SURRENDERS TO THE ALLIES.

One way train tickets to Nuremberg now available.

1945:  ADOLF HITLER MARRIES EVA BRAUN IN A BERLIN BUNKER.  

Don't bother finding out where they registered.   They kill themselves the very next day.

1946:  FATHER DIVINE, A RELIGIOUS LEADER CLAIMING TO BE GOD, MARRIES THE MUCH YOUNGER EDNA ROSE RITCHINGS.

God help her.

1953:  THE FIRST US EXPERIMENTAL 3D TV BROADCAST SHOWS AN EPISODE OF SPACE PATROL IN LOS ANGELES.

Those damn glasses still don't work.

1954:  COMIC JERRY SEINFELD IS BORN.

Who are these people?

1958:  ACTRESS EVE PLUMB IS BORN.

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.

1967:  AFTER REFUSING INDUCTION INTO THE US ARMY FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS, MUHAMMAD ALI IS STRIPPED OF HIS BOXING TITLE.

Muhammad, my ass.

1968:  THE HIPPIE MUSICAL HAIR OPENS ON BROADWAY.

Gee, those actors look cold up there on stage.

1974:  PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF EDITED TRANSCRIPTS OF WHITE HOUSE TAPE RECORDINGS RELATING TO THE WATERGATE SCANDAL.

Anybody know who's got the Director's cut?

1980:  DIRECTOR ALFRED HITCHCOCK DIES.

Did I just see a wry smile on the face of Tippi Hedren?

1986:  A FIRE AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY OF LOS ANGELES DESTROYS 400,000 BOOKS.   

Of course, no one was hurt because nobody goes to the Library in Los Angeles.

1986:  AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN SPY SATELLITES CAPTURE THE RUINS OF THE REACTOR AT THE CHERNOBYL POWER PLANT.

That's gonna be a bitch to clean up.

1992: RIOTS IN LOS ANGELES FOLLOWING THE ACQUITTAL OF POLICE OFFICERS CHARGED IN THE BEATING OF RODNEY KING.

Safest store to be in during these lootings?   A Barnes and Noble.

2004:  OLDSMOBILE BUILDS ITS FINAL CAR ENDING 107 YEARS OF PRODUCTION.

I once rented an Oldsmobile and I know exactly why they went out of business.  What a shitty car.

2011:  THE WEDDING OF PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON.

I didn't get an invitation.  A royal screw-up.

2014:  ACTOR BOB HOSKINS DIES.

Roger Rabbit delivers the eulogy.

2015:   A BASEBALL GAME BETWEEN THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES AND THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX IS PLAYED IN FRONT OF NO FANS DUE TO THE BALTIMORE RIOTS AND THE GAME BEING CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.

So, what's the Mets' excuse?

2022:  ACTRESS JOANNA BARNES DIES.

The hated Vicki in the very first Parent Trap.

Dinner last night:   Leftover SPO from my freezer.

Hollywood Then and Now - April 2026

 The opening and closing credits were iconic.  No, it wasn't the Al Simon show.   Nope, it was the amazing "Beverly Hillbillies" with that mansion of the fancy eating room and the cement pond.

Indeed, the house was easy to find in Bel Air and, as far as I know, the property is still there.  The last buyer was in 2019.

Whee doggie.

Dinner last night:  Chopped steak.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - April 27, 2026

 God bless the Buzzr network for preserving moments like these.

Dinner last night:  Grilled beef sausage and roasted tomatoes.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - Oy

  

Inexplicably, that would be Borscht Belt comic Myron Cohen.  

It's not like they ever saw this guy perform.  But, for about a year when I was a kid, the above record album was all my folks ever played on the hi-fi.  I have only very isolated moments where I actually saw my folks enjoying something together and laughing in tandem.

Myron Cohen was one of them.  I have no idea how they connected with this guy, except he used to show up a lot on the Ed Sullivan Show.  The guy's delivery was as Jewish as they come.  Full of dialects and Yiddish phrases.  What was all this about?  My parents were as white bread as they come.

My mother picked up Cohen's first record album at Brodbeck's Record Store on Fourth Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York.  She got the recording home and played it.  She was doubled up on the couch in laughter.

Mom?  Is that you?

I listened along and most of the humor went over my nine-year-old head.  There was one joke that I remember to this day.  It took me several times to get the gag.

"Two ladies are sitting at a bar, having a smart cocktail.  One lady says to the other, 'Are you having another?'  The other lady says, 'no, it's just the way the coat is buttoned.'"

Weeks later, I got it.  Oh.

By then, the comedy train had left the station as far as my folks were concerned.  This record was played over and over and over.

And over.

To make matters worse, my parents suddenly got into the sharing mode.  No matter where they went or who they visited, Myron Cohen's record album went along.  Suddenly, the centerpiece of any gathering was the group enjoyment of this humor.

"This is the Klopman Diamond.  It comes with a curse.  Mr. Klopman."

Ba-da-bing.

Meanwhile, I don't think a single listener in our midst was even remotely Jewish. 

I started to parrot some of the jokes myself, complete with phony Yiddish accent.  If this was funny stuff for my parents and their chums, the humor must be universal, right?

Um, not so much.  I repeated some of my "favorite" Myron Cohen jokes for my buddies up the block on Fifteenth Avenue.  Their reactions were uniformly the same.

"Huh?"

My fifth grade tenure as a little junior Sunshine Boy came to an abrupt and untimely end.  Nobody my age seemed to have the affinity for Myron Cohen that my folks' generation did.

In retrospect, there was something very sweet about the community of laughs that gathered around my parents and their record album.  When was the last time a bunch of adults sat around a hi-fi and participated as a group responding to a comedy record?  You definitely don't see that happening today. 

Whether I got the jokes or not, I pretty much knew the record album by heart.  And, then, just as it seemed that my folks had pretty much exhausted their universe with Myron Cohen's platter, the unthinkable happened...

He released a second one.

Oy vey iz mir.

The cycle began all over again.  My mom picking up the newfound gold at Brodbeck's.  The constant playing in the house for a week or two.  And then the scheduling of visits to friends and relatives near and far so they, too, could laugh along with them.

In a day when most people were waiting for the next Beatles' release, my parents were lining up for the new offerings from Myron Cohen.

Flash forward to years later, I was living on my own and enjoying newfound status as a HBO subscriber.  Flipping through the TV Guide, I noticed that they had taped a Myron Cohen nightclub performance.  Hmmm.  This would be ideal entertainment for the folks when they came over at Thanksgiving.  I popped one of those ancient tape cartridges into my clunky RCA VCR and recorded the event.  I was very proud to unveil my new find when they came over for turkey and stuffing.  I thought this would be a wonderful touchstone for days gone by.

They sat and watched in stone silence.

Now some of the gags were the very same from the record albums.  How did they work so well twenty years ago and not now?  My dad's answer was succinct.

"It's not the same."

I thought about that afterward.  And realized it sure wasn't.

A lot of my parents' friends?  No longer in that classification.

Some of those relatives?  No longer around in one shape or another.

My own parents?  Amicably divorced. 

Yep.  It wasn't the same.

So, in the true sense of the adage, I guess you had to be there.

Dinner last night:  Chili.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - April 2026

 Sixty years ago this month.  One song that spawned an entire movie.

Dinner last night:  Lasagna from my freezer.

One Picture Ain't Worth a 1000 Words

 

More fresh slices of Hell, courtesy of somebody's Instamatic Camera. Take, for instance, this guy. It's amazing when you can easily spot a family resemblance.

How to use the word "hump" twice in one sentence.

The incorrect way to ride a horse.

This is either a family with way too much time on their hands. Or rejects from the June Taylor Dancers.

Al Qaeda obviously gets a discount at Sears Photo and Portraits.

Hmmm. Somebody doesn't like the groom.

Beam them the hell out of here.

The library was all out of "Green Eggs and Ham."

Dinner last night:   Cheese and crackers.

Len's Recipe of the Month - April 2026

 

This isn't really sharing a new recipe from my kitchen.  It's really a revisit and you'll be happy you did.

This is my sausage, peppers, and onions.  I have featured it here before and the dish has truly become the very, very best thing I make.  And that's a remarkable statement given I make a lot of dishes quite well.

As time has gone by, I have fashioned this recipe to the point of perfection.  And the little tricks I have uncovered make it so.

So what are the secrets?

First off, when I sear the sausage, I use my air fryer.   It reduces the grease that can come out of the sausage and thereby enhances the flavor.

You will notice above red peppers and yellow peppers and orange peppers.  When you are making SPO, avoid at all costs using a green pepper in the rotation.  They are usually bitter and run counter to the overall sweetness of the dish.

You want another trick?   Well, I prefer SPO in its "wet" variety.  For that, you use tomatoes.   But do not use crushed tomatoes which would turn this into SPO soup.   Instead, take a pint of cherry tomatoes and just dump them in.   Their juice will come out but there will still be a firmness to them in the final incarnation.

More?

I always use sweet Italian sausage, not the hot variety.  But a little heat in the dish is okay.  For that, get yourself a jar of Cento Hot Pepper Relish.  Add a tablespoon to the dish.  It's another varied addition of flavor.

Lastly but not leastly, the flavor of the peppers is spurred by a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.   It wakes up those peppers that is so refreshing.

Now you can be as perfect as I am.

Dinner last night:  Grilled beef sausage.

This Date in History - April 22

 

Today is a big day for World War II fans, but we can also wish Glen Campbell a happy birthday in heaven.   Question: when people with dementia pass on, do they regain a memory up there?

238: THE ROMAN SENATE OUTLAWS EMPEROR MAXIMINUS THRAX FOR HIS BLOODTHIRSTY PROSCRIPTIONS IN ROME AND NOMINATES TWO OF ITS MEMBERS, PUPIENUS AND BALBINUS, TO THE THRONE.

If this blog existed back then, it would probably be called Len Speaksius.

1519:  SPANISH CONQUISTADOR HERNAN CORTES ESTABLISHES A SETTLEMENT AT VERACRUZ, MEXICO.

If Cortes was alive today, he would already have fled to America.

1622:  THE CAPTURE OF ORMUZ BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY ENDS PORTUGUESE CONTROL OF HORMUZ ISLAND.

If this happened today, I still wouldn't care.

1836:  DURING THE TEXAS REVOLUTION, FORCES UNDER TEXAS GENERAL SAM HOUSTON IDENTIFY MEXICAN GENERAL ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA AMONG THE CAPTIVES OF THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.

I think Texas is still revolting.

1864:  THE US CONGRESS PASSES THE COINAGE ACT OF 1864 THAT MANDATES THAT THE INSCRIPTION IN GOD WE TRUST BE PLACED ON ALL COINS MINTED AS US CURRENCY.

God....remember him?

1876:  THE FIRST EVER NATIONAL LEAGUE BASEBALL GAME IS PLAYED IN PHILADELPHIA.

The first recorded drunken brawl in the stands.

1889:  AT HIGH NOON, THOUSANDS RUSH TO CLAIM LAND IN THE LAND RUSH OF 1889.  WITHIN HOURS, THE CITIES OF OKLAHOMA CITY AND GUTHRIE ARE FORMED WITH POPULATIONS OF AT LEAST 10,000.

So that explains the traffic jam outside of Oklahoma City.

1906:  ACTOR EDDIE ALBERT IS BORN.

He died in 2005, so I guess you can say he got cheated.

1912:  PRAVDA, THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN THE SOVIET UNION, BEGINS PUBLICATION IN SAINT PETERSBURG.

First comic strip?  Little Socialist Annie.

1915:  THE USE OF POISON GAS IN WORLD WAR I ESCALATES WHEN CHLORINE GAS IS RELEASED AS A CHEMICAL WEAPON.

Chlorine?   Like the way the pool in my high school gym used to smell??

1923:  PRODUCER AARON SPELLING IS BORN.

The Love Boat is making another run...

1926:  ACTRESS CHARLOTTE RAE IS BORN.

You take the good, you take the bad.  You take them both and there you have...the Facts of Life.   The Facts of Life.

1936:  SINGER GLEN CAMPBELL IS BORN.

By the time he gets to Heaven.

1937:  ACTOR JACK NICHOLSON IS BORN.

Yeah, this is as good as it gets.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, PRISONERS AT THE JASENOVAC CONCENTRATION CAMP REVOLT.

And they probably were totally justified.

1945:  DURING WORLD WAR II, ADOLF HITLER ADMITS DEFEATS AND STATES THAT SUICIDE IS ONLY HIS RECOURSE.

Agreed!

1954:  WITNESSES BEGIN TESTIFYING DURING LIVE TELEVISION COVERAGE OF THE ARMY-MCARTHY HEARINGS BEGIN

Rat bastards.

1964:  THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR OPENS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Right across the street from spanking new Shea Stadium.

1970:  THE FIRST EARTH DAY IS CELEBRATED.

Tree huggers unite!

1972:  INCREASED AMERICAN BOMBING IN VIETNAM PROMPTS ANTI-WAR PROTESTS IN LA, NY, AND SF.

Oh, so that's marijuana I smell?

1977:  OPTICAL FIBER IS FIRST USED TO CARRY LIVE TELEPHONE TRAFFIC.

And years later, you still can't get a conference call that doesn't have any static.

1978:  ACTOR WILL GEER DIES.

Good night, Grandpa.

1983:  A GERMAN MAGAZINE CLAIMS THAT THE HITLER DIARIES ARE FOUND.   THEY ARE LATER REVEALED TO BE FORGERIES.

You mean somebody's actually trying to copy Hitler's penmanship??

1984:  PHOTOGRAPHER ANSEL ADAMS DIES.

Thank God somebody invented the coffee table so his books had some place to go.

1994:  PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON DIES.

And God now makes it perfectly clear.

1996:  AUTHOR ERMA BOMBECK DIES.

The grass is not only greener.  It's on top of you.

1998:  DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM OPENS IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA.

And there's another way to make money.

2000:  THE BIG NUMBER CHANGE TAKES PLACE IN ENGLAND.

I'm holding out for the Small Number Change.

2002:  PORN ACTRESS LINDA LOVELACE DIES.

I find this hard to swallow.

2013:  SINGER RICHIE HAVENS DIES.

Make that Richie Heaven.

2017:  ACTRESS ERIN MORAN DIES.

Chachi Buries Joanie.

2023:  DANCING WITH THE STARS JUDGE LEN GOODMAN DIES.

I am proud to say I never ever watched this show.

Dinner last night:  Leftover SPO.