April 28, 1965
My Name is Barbra is Barbra Streisand's
debut television special.
Barbra
Streisand's breakout year as a singer came in 1963, when she released her first
two albums, won her first two Grammys and began appearing live in some of the
most prominent nightclubs in the country. By the following year, she was a
showbiz phenomenon, earning further nominations from the Grammys and Tonys
after wowing Broadway critics and audiences in her first leading role, as Fanny
Brice in Funny Girl. Yet even then, in a Time magazine cover
article in 1964, it was noted that "Many people still say Who when they
hear her name." That probably changed once and for all on April 28, 1965,
when millions of American television viewers tuned in to a solid primetime hour
of the 22-year-old Streisand in her first-ever TV special, the triumphant My
Name Is Barbra.My Name is Barbra was the first special to be shot and aired under a $5 million, 10-year
contract signed between Streisand and CBS in June 1964. Quite apart from the
money, what made the deal so extraordinary was the creative control it gave to
Streisand. She chose to exercise that control by eschewing many of the
conventions of the then-popular musical variety show genre. Rather than
shooting only in a studio, Streisand and her crew filmed one of their major
sequences on location in the fur department of Bergdorf Goodman, where
Streisand vamped in exotic fur coats and specially designed hats by Halston to
a medley of poverty songs, including "Give Me the Simple Life" and
"Brother Can You Spare a Dime." And rather than filling out the bill
with big-name guest stars—a safe strategy for a young and still-rising
star—Streisand performed every number alone. "You can imagine how nervous
that made the network," Streisand later remarked, "when they learned
that there would be major guest stars, not even any minor ones—just me and a
bunch of great songs and some wonderful musicians."
However nervous they might have been, CBS executives
were thrilled with the results. My Name is Barbra was a huge critical
and ratings hit on this night in 1965. It won two Emmys and a Peabody Award and
helped make Barbra Streisand truly a household name, further ensuring the
success of later Streisand CBS specials like Color Me Barbra (1966) and The
Belle of 14th Street (1967).
April 30, 1975
ABC aired the pilot episode of Starsky and Hutch.
The series, which consisted of a 70-minute
pilot movie (originally aired as a Movie
of the Week entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show
was created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and
broadcast between April 30, 1975, and May 15, 1979, on the ABC network. It was distributed
byColumbia Pictures Television in
the United States and, originally, Metromedia Producers Corporation in
Canada and some other parts of the world. Sony Pictures Television is now the
worldwide distributor for the series. The series also inspired a theatrical filmand a video game.
The series' protagonists were two Southern California police detectives:
David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), the dark-haired, Brooklyn transplant
and U.S.
Armyveteran, with a street-wise manner and intense, sometimes childlike
moodiness; and Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson (David Soul),
the blond, Duluth, Minnesota native with a more
reserved and intellectual approach. Under the radio call sign "Zebra Three",
they were known for usually tearing around the streets of fictional "Bay
City, California". The vehicle of choice was Starsky's two-door Ford
Gran Torino, which was bright-red, with a large white vector stripe on both
sides. The Torino was nicknamed the "Striped Tomato" by Hutch
in the episode "Snowstorm", and fans subsequently referred to the car
by that nickname, too. However, this moniker didn't come from the writers - it
came from a real-life comment that Glaser made. In a segment titled Starsky
& Hutch: Behind The Badge that was featured on the first
season DVDcollection,
Glaser stated that when he was first shown the Torino by series producer Aaron
Spelling, he sarcastically said to Soul, "That thing looks like a striped
tomato!" In characteristic contrast, Hutch's vehicle was a battered, tan,
1973 Ford Galaxie 500. It occasionally appeared when
the duo needed separate vehicles, or for undercover work; however, the duo's
cover was often blown because Hutch's vehicle had a bad habit: when its
driver's side door was opened, the horn would go off, instantly drawing
attention. It was also noticeable due to the severely cluttered back seat, so
cluttered that there was no room to transport both prisoners, and the two
detectives, simultaneously.
May 2, 1965
The "Early Bird" satellite was used to
transmit television pictures across the Atlantic.
May 2, 2010
Conan O'Brien made his
first television appearance since his final appearance on The Tonight
Show.
He did an interview with Steve Kroft on CBS' 60
Minutes. May 4, 1975
Moe Howard of the Three Stooges, died. Howard was born in Brooklyn in 1897. The brother of
fellow Stooges Shemp and Curly. The Stooges appeared in 190 short subjects for
Columbia and more than 20 feature-length films.
Curly
suffered a series of strokes which led to his death on January 18, 1952.On
November 22, 1955, Shemp died of a heart
attack.
Joe Besser was hired in 1956. Joe, Larry, and Moe filmed 16
shorts through December 1957. With the death of Columbia head Harry Cohn, the making of short subjects came to an end, and
Howard was forced to take a job as a gofer at
Columbia.
Throughout their career, Moe acted as both their main creative force and
business manager. C3 Entertainment,
Inc. was formed by Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe DeRita in 1959 to manage all business
and merchandise transactions for the team.
Eventhough the Stooges never made any money when thier Columbia shorts were
syndicated on local TV stations, the did do very well fiancially making
personal aparances in the cities where thier shorts were airing. The movie The Outlaws Is Coming (1965) has a nod to television's key
role in the resurgence of the Stooges' popularity, the outlaws were played by
local TV hosts from across the U.S. whose shows featured the trio's old
Columbia shorts.
Normandy Productions, and amassed control over the team's finances and
existed until 1994 when the heirs of Larry and Curly-Joe filed a lawsuit
against Moe's family, particularly his grandsons. The result gave the other
heirs more profits, and placed Curly-Joe's stepsons (Robert and Earl Benjamin)
in charge of the Stooge images/sales. The moniker C3 Entertainment, Inc. was
reinstated and is currently the owner of all Three Stooges trademarks and merchandising. Larry's
grandson Eric Lamond is a majority owner in the company as well.
April 28, 1965
My Name is Barbra is Barbra Streisand's debut television special.
My Name is Barbra was the first special to be shot and aired under a $5 million, 10-year
contract signed between Streisand and CBS in June 1964. Quite apart from the
money, what made the deal so extraordinary was the creative control it gave to
Streisand. She chose to exercise that control by eschewing many of the
conventions of the then-popular musical variety show genre. Rather than
shooting only in a studio, Streisand and her crew filmed one of their major
sequences on location in the fur department of Bergdorf Goodman, where
Streisand vamped in exotic fur coats and specially designed hats by Halston to
a medley of poverty songs, including "Give Me the Simple Life" and
"Brother Can You Spare a Dime." And rather than filling out the bill
with big-name guest stars—a safe strategy for a young and still-rising
star—Streisand performed every number alone. "You can imagine how nervous
that made the network," Streisand later remarked, "when they learned
that there would be major guest stars, not even any minor ones—just me and a
bunch of great songs and some wonderful musicians."
However nervous they might have been, CBS executives
were thrilled with the results. My Name is Barbra was a huge critical
and ratings hit on this night in 1965. It won two Emmys and a Peabody Award and
helped make Barbra Streisand truly a household name, further ensuring the
success of later Streisand CBS specials like Color Me Barbra (1966) and The
Belle of 14th Street (1967).
April 30, 1975
ABC aired the pilot episode of Starsky and Hutch.
The series, which consisted of a 70-minute
pilot movie (originally aired as a Movie
of the Week entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show
was created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and
broadcast between April 30, 1975, and May 15, 1979, on the ABC network. It was distributed
byColumbia Pictures Television in
the United States and, originally, Metromedia Producers Corporation in
Canada and some other parts of the world. Sony Pictures Television is now the
worldwide distributor for the series. The series also inspired a theatrical filmand a video game.
The series' protagonists were two Southern California police detectives:
David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser), the dark-haired, Brooklyn transplant
and U.S.
Armyveteran, with a street-wise manner and intense, sometimes childlike
moodiness; and Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson (David Soul),
the blond, Duluth, Minnesota native with a more
reserved and intellectual approach. Under the radio call sign "Zebra Three",
they were known for usually tearing around the streets of fictional "Bay
City, California". The vehicle of choice was Starsky's two-door Ford
Gran Torino, which was bright-red, with a large white vector stripe on both
sides. The Torino was nicknamed the "Striped Tomato" by Hutch
in the episode "Snowstorm", and fans subsequently referred to the car
by that nickname, too. However, this moniker didn't come from the writers - it
came from a real-life comment that Glaser made. In a segment titled Starsky
& Hutch: Behind The Badge that was featured on the first
season DVDcollection,
Glaser stated that when he was first shown the Torino by series producer Aaron
Spelling, he sarcastically said to Soul, "That thing looks like a striped
tomato!" In characteristic contrast, Hutch's vehicle was a battered, tan,
1973 Ford Galaxie 500. It occasionally appeared when
the duo needed separate vehicles, or for undercover work; however, the duo's
cover was often blown because Hutch's vehicle had a bad habit: when its
driver's side door was opened, the horn would go off, instantly drawing
attention. It was also noticeable due to the severely cluttered back seat, so
cluttered that there was no room to transport both prisoners, and the two
detectives, simultaneously.
May 2, 1965
May 2, 2010
Conan O'Brien made his first television appearance since his final appearance on The Tonight Show.
He did an interview with Steve Kroft on CBS' 60 Minutes.May 4, 1975
Moe Howard of the Three Stooges, died. Howard was born in Brooklyn in 1897. The brother of
fellow Stooges Shemp and Curly. The Stooges appeared in 190 short subjects for
Columbia and more than 20 feature-length films.
On
November 22, 1955, Shemp died of a heart
attack.
Joe Besser was hired in 1956. Joe, Larry, and Moe filmed 16
shorts through December 1957. With the death of Columbia head Harry Cohn, the making of short subjects came to an end, and
Howard was forced to take a job as a gofer at
Columbia.
Throughout their career, Moe acted as both their main creative force and
business manager. C3 Entertainment,
Inc. was formed by Moe, Larry and Curly-Joe DeRita in 1959 to manage all business
and merchandise transactions for the team.
Eventhough the Stooges never made any money when thier Columbia shorts were
syndicated on local TV stations, the did do very well fiancially making
personal aparances in the cities where thier shorts were airing. The movie The Outlaws Is Coming (1965) has a nod to television's key
role in the resurgence of the Stooges' popularity, the outlaws were played by
local TV hosts from across the U.S. whose shows featured the trio's old
Columbia shorts.
Normandy Productions, and amassed control over the team's finances and
existed until 1994 when the heirs of Larry and Curly-Joe filed a lawsuit
against Moe's family, particularly his grandsons. The result gave the other
heirs more profits, and placed Curly-Joe's stepsons (Robert and Earl Benjamin)
in charge of the Stooge images/sales. The moniker C3 Entertainment, Inc. was
reinstated and is currently the owner of all Three Stooges trademarks and merchandising. Larry's
grandson Eric Lamond is a majority owner in the company as well.
Tony Figueroa
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