This Day in Pop Culture for September 10

1941: M&M’s Go to War

If you’re familiar with the British-made candy-coated chocolate pieces known as Smarties, you might think that were inspired by American M&M’s, but it’s actually the other way around. Smarties have been around since 1937. During the Spanish Civil War, Forrest Mars Sr., (the son of Frank C. Mars who was the founder of the Mars candy company), took note that some soldiers were eating Smarties which were made in a way that prevented the candy from melting. Forrest took this knowledge and got a patent for his own version on March 3, 1941.

With production being made in New Jersey, M&M’s were named after his own name and Bruce Murrie (the son the William F. R. Murrie, the president of the Hershey’s Chocolate Company). The first M&M’s were made with Hershey’s Chocolate and introduced on this day. The first big customer was the U.S. Army where the candies were sold exclusively to the military during World War II.

In 1949, M&M’s became known as “The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” Peanut M&M’s came about in 1954 and a version made with almonds were available in the 1960’s, withdrawn and made available again in 1988. Since that time, many flavors have been introduced and discontinued including Mint, Crispy, Crunchy Cookie, Pretzel, Coffee Nut, Caramel, English Toffee, Hazelnut Spread, Peanut Butter, Fudge Brownie, Dark Chocolate, Caramel Latte, White Chocolate Candy Corn and many more.

Over the years, the M&M characters have been voiced by different actors including Jon Lovitz, Billy West, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Cree Summer, Vanessa Williams and Amber Ruffin.

Today, M&M’s can be found in over 100 countries. They are made in New Jersey and Tennessee, and it is estimated that 400 million of the little guys are produced each day. (Images: Wikipedia)

1935: Popeye Airs on the Radio

Popeye the Sailor first appeared as a newspaper comic in 1927. In 1933, he made it to the big screen in a series of theatrical shorts and on this day in 1935, Popeye began his first thrice-weekly, 15-minute radio program on NBC.

The show was initially sponsored by Wheatnena breakfast cereal which replaced much of the spinach references.

The show lasted three years but switched networks three times. Of the 204 episodes that aired, it is estimated that only 20 of them still exist.

1955: Radio Show ‘Gunsmoke’ Moves to TV

Gunsmoke began as a CBS radio show that began in 1952. It continued to air five more years after the TV series debuted on this day in 1955.

Starring James Arness, Milburn Stone, Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, Burt Reynolds, Ken Curtis, Roger Ewing and Buck Taylor, the show rose quickly to become the #1 TV show and stayed there until 1961.

The western series followed the lives of U.S. Marshall Matt Dillon and the citizens of Dodge City, Kansas. During the show’s first six years, it ran as a half-hour program moving to an hour-long format. The show began airing in color in 1966.

After slipping in the ratings, CBS planned to cancel it in 1967 but held on after viewer outrage. So, the network cancelled Gilligan’s Island instead. Having moved from Saturday nights to Mondays, Gunsmoke rose up in the ratings once again.

CBS cancelled Gunsmoke after 20 years without telling the producers or cast ahead of time. They had to read about it in the paper. (Image: CBS)

1990: Will Smith Becomes the ‘Fresh Prince’

Created by Andy and Susan Borowitz, Will Smith starred in the fish-out-of-water comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for NBC. Smith played a version of himself as a street not-so-smart teen from West Philadelphia being sent to live with his relatives, the Banks in Bel-Air Los Angeles.

The series also starred Janet Hubert-Whitten as Aunt Vivian, James Avery as Uncle Philip, Alfonso Ribeiro as cousin Carlton, Karyn Parsons as cousin Hilary and Tatyana M. Ali as cousin Ashley. Joseph Marcell played the Banks’ butler, Geoffrey. Beginning with the 4th season of the show, Hubert-Whitten was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid.

The hit series came to an end after six seasons ending on May 20, 1996. A reboot of the series with the shortened name, Bel-Air, debuted on Peacock in February 2022 changing the series into a drama. The fourth season of the reboot begins on November 24, 2025. (Image: NBC)

Saturday Morning TV

Remember watching your favorite cartoons with a bowl of cold cereal? Here are some that began airing on this day. How many do you remember?

1966: Frankenstein Jr.

Non scary in the least, this Hanna-Barbara series was paired with silly superhero show, The Impossibles and aired on CBS. Centered in Civic City, Buzz Conroy and his father Professor Conroy would fight crime with the help of their monster robot, Frankenstein Jr.

1966: Space Ghost

Hanna-Barbara’s Space Ghost debuted with sidekick teenagers Jan, Jace and pet monkey Blip. Later, the talk show spoof, Space Ghost Coast to Coast debuted on Cartoon Network in 1994.

1977: Laff-A-Lympics

Basically, a parody of Battle of the Network Stars, 45 Hanna-Barbera characters were divided into three teams: Scooby Doobies, Yogi Yahooeys and the Really Rottens. The show was hosted by Mildew Wolf and Snagglepuss.

1977: The All-New Super Friends Hour

Season 2 of ABC’s Super Friends dropped Wendy, Marvin and Wonder Dog for Zan and Jayna, “The Wonder Twins”. Jayna could turn herself into any animal while Zan was limited to transforming himself into bodies of water.

1977: Baggy Pants and The Nitwits

Airing on NBC, this bizarre cartoon series featured characters from the adult comedy series, Laugh-In. Tyrone (voiced by Arte Johnson) was an elderly superhero who could fly with the help of his cane and Gladys (Ruth Buzzi).

1994: The Tick

Based on New England Comic’s this FOX series featured second-tier superhero and an accountant dressed like a bunny to serve as his sidekick fighting crime against villains like Chairface Chippendale and Breadmaster.

1966: The Adventures of Superman, The Lone Ranger, The Beagles, The Super Six, The Space Kidettes
1977: Schoolhouse Rock, ABC Weekend Special, What’s New Mr. Magoo?, The Skatebirds, The Robonic Stooges, The Adventures of Muhammad Ali,
1983: Menundo, The Littles,
1988: The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, Alf Tales
1994: Reboot, Bump in the Night, Beethoven