This Day in Pop Culture for October 24

1969: Butch Cassidy and a Kid Rides into Theaters

Directed by George Roy Hill from a script written by William Goldman, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid rode into theaters on this day.

The story is loosely based on the real-life pair’s string of train robberies. The movie starred Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katherine Ross, Sam Elliott and Cloris Leachman. Originally, Jack Lemmon was offered the role of Sundance, but he turned it down due to the fact that he did not enjoy riding horses. He also felt sort of typecast with the role too. Other actors considered were Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty. Marlon Brando was once considered to play his Cassidy’s sidekick.

The movie was the top grossing film of the year and was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It won four Oscars for Best Cinematography; Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical); Best Music, Song (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”); and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced. (Image: TVDB)

1893: The Oldest Candy in America

In honor of the oldest candy in America, today has been dubbed Good and Plenty Day. The history of the little strips of black licorice coated with a pink and white candy shell is partly unknown. It was first introduced in 1893 by Philadelphia’s Quaker City Confectionery Company but is now owned by the Hershey Foods.

Beginning in 1950, the candy was promoted with the cartoon character, Choo-Choo Charlie, a railroad engineer. One unappetizing fact is that the pink ones are colored with carmine, a red dye that is produced from the crushed bodies of female cochineal insects.

1934: Santa Song was an Overnight Hit

The sheet music for a brand-new Christmas song, “Santa Claus in Comin’ to Town”, was released on this day in 1934. 300,000 copies of the music were sold within the first 24 hours.

It is largely suspected that the first recording of the song was recorded on this day by a banjo player named Harry Reser and his band. Since that time, the song has been recorded by over 200 artists. (Image: Wikipedia)

2000: Seinfeld Star Wasn’t Funny on His Own

Cosmo Kramer was such a funny character on Seinfeld, so when Michael Richards was set to star in his own sitcom for NBC, it seemed like a no-brainer. In fact, The Michael Richards Show was staffed with three Seinfeld writers and/or producers. Fans tuned into series when it debuted on this day. Unfortunately, they didn’t come back.

Created by Richards, Spike Feresten, Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin, the show starred William Devane, Bill Cobbs, Amy Farrington and Tim Meadows.

Richards played Vic Nardozza, an inept private eye but somehow always managed to complete the case within 30 minutes. The main character was actually named after Richard’s mother. Initially, Richards wanted to play him a lot different from how he played Kramer, but test audiences were disappointed so, Nardozza began to inherit some of Kramer’s mannerisms.

Richard’s show received mostly negative reviews from critics and after the airing of the second episode, Feresten left the show. According to Devane, the show was a “nightmare” to work on. After eight episodes of failing ratings, NBC pulled the plug.

1897: The First Comic Strip

Cartoonish characters were no strangers in American newspapers in the early 1890’s, but The Yellow Kid is generally regarded as the first “true” comic strip complete with speech bubbles and contained within a series of boxes.

Created by Richard Outcault, the character first appeared in Truth magazine in 1894 later to be dubbed The Yellow Kid. The first comic strip appeared on this day in 1897 in the New York Journal.

The “kid” wore an oversized nightshirt that often-featured phrases that attempted to poke fun at billboards and the yellow color represented yellow journalism, meaning papers that sensationalized stories to boost sales.