June 26, 1975
With a string of pop hits
in the mid-1960s that
began with the career-defining "I Got You Babe" (1965), Sonny and
Cher Bono established themselves as the most prominent and appealing married
couple in the world of popular music. Hipper than Steve Lawrence and Eydie
Gormé, and far more fun than John and Yoko, Sonny and Cher projected an image
of marital harmony that a lot of people could relate to—an image not so much of
perfect bliss, but of a clearly imperfect yet happy mismatch. Mr. and Mrs. Bono
traded on that image professionally for a solid decade, even several years past
the point that it was true. After 13 years together as a couple and six years
of marriage—the last three for the cameras—Sonny and Cher were legally divorced
on this day in 1975.
Ultimately, Sonny and Cher had only a few memorable hits after their first,
the biggest of them being 1967's "The Beat Goes On." By 1968, in
fact, Sonny and Cher were essentially finished as a viable recording act, and
Sonny's efforts to establish a film career for the pair were foundering. A move
to Las Vegas, where
they developed a nightclub act featuring playful, between-song bickering, is
what ultimately resurrected Sonny and Cher's career. By 1971, they were
starring in a top-10 television program built around that act that would run
off and on, in various incarnations, until 1977. Two years later, they would be
living in separate homes and with new romantic partners, but it was not until
two years after that that their split became public and their divorce final on
June 26, 1975.
June 27, 1945
On this day in
1945, the FCC allocates airwaves for 13 TV stations. Before World War II, a few
experimental TV shows had been broadcast in New York, but the war postponed the
development of commercial television. With the allocation of airwaves,
commercial TV began to spread. The first regularly scheduled network series
appeared in 1946, and many Americans viewed television for the first time in
1947, when NBC broadcast the World Series. Since privately owned television
sets were still rare, most of the series' estimated 3.9 million viewers watched
the games from a bar.
June 28, 1975
Born in 1924 in Syracuse, New York, Serling became
one of early television's most successful writers, best known for the anthology
series The Twilight Zone, which he created, wrote, and hosted.
Serling drew on his own experiences for many episodes, with frequent stories
about boxing, military life and aircraft pilots, which integrated his firsthand
knowledge. The series also incorporated Serling's progressive social views on
racial relations and the like, which were somewhat veiled by the science fiction
and fantasy elements of the shows. Occasionally, however, Serling could be
quite blunt, as in the episode "I Am The Night — Color Me Black",
where racism and hatred causes a dark cloud to form in the American South
before eventually spreading elsewhere. Serling was also progressive on matters
of gender, with many stories featuring quick-thinking, resilient women, although
he also wrote stories featuring shrewish, nagging wives.
The show lasted five seasons (four using a half-hour format, with one
half-season using an hour-long format), winning awards and critical acclaim for
Serling and his staff. While having a loyal fan base, the program never had
huge ratings and was twice canceled, only to be revived. After five years and 156
episodes, 92 of them written by Serling himself, he wearied of the
show. In 1964, he decided to let the third cancellation be final.
Serling sold his rights to the series to CBS. His wife later claimed that he
did this partly because he believed the studio would never recoup the cost of the
show, which frequently went over budget.
In 1969, NBC
aired a Serling-penned pilot for a new series, Night Gallery. Set in a dimly lit
museum which was open after hours, the pilot film featured Serling (as
on-camera host) playing the part of curator introducing three tales of the
macabre, unveiling canvases that would appear in the subsequent story segments
(its brief first season rotated as one spoke of a four-series programming wheel
titled Four in One), focused more on gothic horror and the occult than did The
Twilight Zone. Serling, no longer wanting the burden of an executive
position, sidestepped an offer to retain creative control of content—a decision
he would come to regret. Although discontented with some of producer Jack
Laird's script and creative choices, Serling maintained a stream of creative
submissions and ultimately wrote over a third of the series' scripts. By season
three however, Serling began to see many of his script contributions rejected.
With his complaints ignored, the disgruntled host dismissed the show as "Mannix in a cemetery". Night
Gallery lasted until 1973.
Subsequent to The Twilight Zone, Serling moved onto cinema screens
and continued to write for television. In 1964, he scripted Carol for
Another Christmas, a television adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was telecast only
once, December 28, 1964, on ABC.
On May 25, 1962, Serling guest starred in the episode "The
Celebrity" of the CBS sitcom Ichabod and Me with Robert Sterling and George Chandler.
He wrote a number of screenplays with a political focus, including Seven Days in May (1964) about an
attempted military coup against the President
of the United States; Planet
of the Apes (1968); and The Man
(1972) about the first African American
President.
June 26, 1975
Sonny and Cher's divorce becomes final.
With a string of pop hits
in the mid-1960s that
began with the career-defining "I Got You Babe" (1965), Sonny and
Cher Bono established themselves as the most prominent and appealing married
couple in the world of popular music. Hipper than Steve Lawrence and Eydie
Gormé, and far more fun than John and Yoko, Sonny and Cher projected an image
of marital harmony that a lot of people could relate to—an image not so much of
perfect bliss, but of a clearly imperfect yet happy mismatch. Mr. and Mrs. Bono
traded on that image professionally for a solid decade, even several years past
the point that it was true. After 13 years together as a couple and six years
of marriage—the last three for the cameras—Sonny and Cher were legally divorced
on this day in 1975.
By the time they were divorced, Sonny and Cher were primarily known as
television stars thanks to their hugely successful NBC variety show, but their
romantic and professional relationships started in the Southern California music
industry in the early 1960s. In 1962, Salvatore "Sonny" Bono was
working as a producer, gofer and sometime percussionist for the legendary
producer Phil Spector when he met Cherilyn Sarkasian in a Los Angeles coffee
shop. Just 16 years old and recently dropped out of her Fresno, California, high
school, Cherilyn was soon singing backup on such legendary Spector-produced
hits as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (Righteous Brothers, 1964),
"Da Doo Ron Ron" (The Crystals, 1963) and "Be My Baby"
(Ronettes, 1963). The couple released one unsuccessful single under the name
"Caesar and Cleopatra"
before landing a #1 pop hit in 1965 with "I Got You Babe" under their
new name, Sonny and Cher.Ultimately, Sonny and Cher had only a few memorable hits after their first, the biggest of them being 1967's "The Beat Goes On." By 1968, in fact, Sonny and Cher were essentially finished as a viable recording act, and Sonny's efforts to establish a film career for the pair were foundering. A move to Las Vegas, where they developed a nightclub act featuring playful, between-song bickering, is what ultimately resurrected Sonny and Cher's career. By 1971, they were starring in a top-10 television program built around that act that would run off and on, in various incarnations, until 1977. Two years later, they would be living in separate homes and with new romantic partners, but it was not until two years after that that their split became public and their divorce final on June 26, 1975.
June 27, 1945
FCC
allocates TV channels.
On this day in
1945, the FCC allocates airwaves for 13 TV stations. Before World War II, a few
experimental TV shows had been broadcast in New York, but the war postponed the
development of commercial television. With the allocation of airwaves,
commercial TV began to spread. The first regularly scheduled network series
appeared in 1946, and many Americans viewed television for the first time in
1947, when NBC broadcast the World Series. Since privately owned television
sets were still rare, most of the series' estimated 3.9 million viewers watched
the games from a bar.
June 28, 1975
Rod Serling dies at age 50 after open-heart surgery.
Born in 1924 in Syracuse, New York, Serling became
one of early television's most successful writers, best known for the anthology
series The Twilight Zone, which he created, wrote, and hosted.
In 1959, CBS aired the first episode of The
Twilight Zone. Serling fought hard for creative control,
hiring writers he respected (such as Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont) and launched himself into
weekly television. He stated in an interview that the science fiction format
would not be controversial and would escape censorship unlike the earlier Playhouse
90. In reality the show gave him the opportunity to communicate social
messages in a more veiled context.Serling drew on his own experiences for many episodes, with frequent stories about boxing, military life and aircraft pilots, which integrated his firsthand knowledge. The series also incorporated Serling's progressive social views on racial relations and the like, which were somewhat veiled by the science fiction and fantasy elements of the shows. Occasionally, however, Serling could be quite blunt, as in the episode "I Am The Night — Color Me Black", where racism and hatred causes a dark cloud to form in the American South before eventually spreading elsewhere. Serling was also progressive on matters of gender, with many stories featuring quick-thinking, resilient women, although he also wrote stories featuring shrewish, nagging wives.
The show lasted five seasons (four using a half-hour format, with one half-season using an hour-long format), winning awards and critical acclaim for Serling and his staff. While having a loyal fan base, the program never had huge ratings and was twice canceled, only to be revived. After five years and 156 episodes, 92 of them written by Serling himself, he wearied of the show. In 1964, he decided to let the third cancellation be final.
Serling sold his rights to the series to CBS. His wife later claimed that he did this partly because he believed the studio would never recoup the cost of the show, which frequently went over budget.
In 1969, NBC aired a Serling-penned pilot for a new series, Night Gallery. Set in a dimly lit museum which was open after hours, the pilot film featured Serling (as on-camera host) playing the part of curator introducing three tales of the macabre, unveiling canvases that would appear in the subsequent story segments (its brief first season rotated as one spoke of a four-series programming wheel titled Four in One), focused more on gothic horror and the occult than did The Twilight Zone. Serling, no longer wanting the burden of an executive position, sidestepped an offer to retain creative control of content—a decision he would come to regret. Although discontented with some of producer Jack Laird's script and creative choices, Serling maintained a stream of creative submissions and ultimately wrote over a third of the series' scripts. By season three however, Serling began to see many of his script contributions rejected. With his complaints ignored, the disgruntled host dismissed the show as "Mannix in a cemetery". Night Gallery lasted until 1973.
Subsequent to The Twilight Zone, Serling moved onto cinema screens and continued to write for television. In 1964, he scripted Carol for Another Christmas, a television adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was telecast only once, December 28, 1964, on ABC.
On May 25, 1962, Serling guest starred in the episode "The Celebrity" of the CBS sitcom Ichabod and Me with Robert Sterling and George Chandler.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
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