This Day in Pop Culture for October 2

1950: The First ‘Peanuts’ Comic Strip

The very first Peanuts comic strip was printed on this day in 1950 premiering in nine newspapers. It featured Charlie Brown, Shermy and Patty. (Most people are unfamiliar with these two characters and they all but disappeared in a short amount of time.)

Over the years, the daily comic was printed in over 2,600 newspapers and translated into 21 different languages. Original strips continued until February 13, 2000, and all were hand-drawn by the strip’s creator, Charles Schulz.

1969: Seattle Pilots Last Game

As part of the West Division of Major League Baseball’s American League, the Seattle Pilots not only played their last game of the season on this day, but their last game period. Having only formed in the early spring, the team finished in last place with a 64-98 record. On April 1, 1970, the franchise moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to become the Milwaukee Brewers. The Seattle Mariners was formed in 1977.

1959: The Twilight Zone

Rod Serling served as the creator and host of the original “The Twilight Zone”. *(TVDB)*

“There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone.”

Rod Serling wasn’t just the creator and host of The Twilight Zone. He also wrote (or adapted) almost two-thirds of the original series’ 156 stories. The anthology series featured stories with moral or philosophical lessons attached. Storylines often included elements of science fiction, fantasy and mystery.

The first episode with debuted on CBS was “Where is Everybody?” Earl Holliman played a man with amnesia who wandered around a small town with not a single person in sight. Eventually it was revealed that he was an astronaut going through a series of tests to see how he would be able to handle being isolated.

The original series ran for five seasons. It was revived in 1985 which ran for four and included four remakes of the original series. Its narrator was never shown.

In 2002, UPN premiered a second remake hosted by Forest Whitaker which ran for one season and in 2019, Jordan Peele was the host of the third remake which appeared on CBS All Access. It ran for three seasons.

In 1983, a Twilight Zone movie was created that included three remade stories from the original series and one original tale. If featured four directors including Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Joe Dante and George Miller. The movie starred Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Vic Morrow and Scatman Crothers.

There has been talk of yet another movie with Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio and as recently as June 2025, Ben Stiller has been set to direct the project.

Disney theme parks have produced four different “Tower of Terror” drop tower rides inspired by The Twilight Zone that are located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris and the one formerly located at Disney California Adventure.

Huckleberry Hound, Secret Squirrel, Groucho Marx and the first Peanuts comic strip.

1958: Huckleberry Hound Debuts

Forever sticking the song, “Oh My Darling, Clementine” forever in our heads, The Huckleberry Hound Show was William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s second TV series after The Ruff and Reddy Show. Voiced by Daws Butler, it is said that the Mr. Hound was based on a neighbor of his wife’s from her hometown in North Carolina.

The show first debuted in syndication and featured two other segments: Yogi Bear (and his never-ending quest to dine on other’s pic-a-nic baskets at Jellystone Park) and Pixie & Dixie and Mr. Jinks (two mice who outsmart a cat who sounded a lot like Marlon Brando). Yogi Bear became so popular, he later got his own show. He was replaced by con artist Hokey Wolf.

1965: Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel Arrive

Two half-hour long TV series by Hanna-Barbera debuted back-to-back featuring six cartoons segments: The super-strong Atom Ant, The Hillbilly Bears (inspired by The Beverly Hillbillies), Precious Pup (he lived with the elderly Granny Sweet and sounded a lot like Muttley), special agent Secret Squirrel and his assistant Morocco Mole, Squiddly Diddly (a fame-seeking octopus) and Winsome Witch (a “wacky” witch with the catchphrase: Ippity-Pippity-Pow!”). The two series ran for two years, then the cartoons were featured as part of The Banana Splits and Friends Show.

1890: Groucho Marx is Born

Julius “Groucho” Marx was born, the middle child of five brothers, in Manhattan. originally, he wanted to become a doctor but had to drop out of school at the age of 12 to help earn money for his family. Fortunately, he was strong reader which helped make up his lack of formal education.

After four years of performing as part of the Gene Leroy Trio, Groucho’s mother grouped him and his brothers Milton and Arthur along with Lou Levy to form The Four Nightingales. The group traveled across the U.S., but after a rather poor performance in Nacogdoches, Texas, they began to share a few jokes. To their surprise, it got a great response from the audience. They changed their name to the Marx Brothers and began focusing on comedy rather than singing.

Although Groucho first appeared on film in 1921, it was never released. He didn’t appear in another until ten years later with The Cocoanuts. He and his brothers appeared in 13 feature films with 1933’s Duck Soup being one of the most famous.

In 1947, Groucho worked solo on radio hosting the game show, You Bet Your Life. Though the show was successful, it jumped from ABC to CBS to NBC. In 1950, the show was also brought to TV. The radio show continued through 1960 and the TV version ended in 1961.

Groucho married three times (all of them ending in divorce) and had three children. He passed away on June 22, 1977, at the age of 86.