This Day in Pop Culture for December 16

2025: Jane Austen Turns 250 Years Old!

Author Jane Austen, one of the most beloved writers of English literature, slightly behind Shakespeare, was born on this day in 1775. She is known for such works as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. She has become wildly popular in recent years.

On this day, people around the world have been celebrating “Jane Austen Day” with trips to her house (which is a museum in her honor) in Chawton Hampshire, England, attending the annual festival at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset, England and other events. This year, a new statue of the author by Martin Jennings will be unveiled at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, Hampshire, England where she was buried in 1817.

In modern history, Austen is responsible for many movies based on her books too. To date, there have been 13 adaptations of Sense and Sensibility alone. (Image: Timothy Krause/Flickr)

1970: Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry?

Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw in *Love Story. (TVDB)*

The romantic drama, Love Story debuted in theaters on this day in 1970. The screenplay was written by Erich Segal who also wrote the novel of the same name. It was directed by Arthur Hiller and starred Ali MacGraw, Ryan O’Neal and Candice Bergen. Considered on the Hollywood’s most romantic movies by many, the film also has about as many haters thinking that the movie was overly melodramatic. Spoiler alert – the girl dies at the end.

The film’s most iconic line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” was repeated by Barbara Streisand in 1972’s What’s Up Doc to which Ryan O’Neal says, “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.”

1944: Yosemite Sam Comes Guns A-Blazing

Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird and Yosemite Sam *(TVDB)*

It was on this day when Yosemite Sam first appeared in movie houses in the Warner Bros. short film, Hare Trigger which was released on this day in 1944. Before animators settled on the name Yosemite Sam, they toyed with other names such as Texas Tiny, Wyoming Willie and Denver Dan.

Sam is often seen dressed up as a wild west outlaw, prospector, cowboy, pirate and gambling man and like Elmer Fudd, he is often seen as Bugs Bunny’s arch enemy. Sam has appeared in 33 short films and is said to have been a caricature of one of Warner Bros. animators, Friz Freleng.

1977: America Catches ‘Saturday Night Fever’

When the movie Saturday Night Fever arrived in theaters on this day, it propelled both John Travolta as well as the music group, the Bee Gees to even greater stardom that they had already achieved. However, the only songs actually written for the movie were “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever.”

Though often made fun of now, at the time, the film had favorable reviews and was nominated for four Golden Globes and an Oscar for Best Actor. The original release of the movie was rated R, but a second, PG version of the film was released two years later that took out the bad stuff like rough language and violence. The film was re-released a third time in 1980 alongside another Travolta hit – Grease.

1988: Tom Cruise and the Rain Man

After director Barry Levinson Directed by Barry Levinson, Directed by Barry Levinson, Rain Man is about Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who finds out that not only has his estranged father passed away, but also, he left his fortune to an older brother he never knew that he had. It turns out that Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) is an autistic savant living at mental institution and Charlie then attempts to gain custody of Raymond in order to control the fortune. It’s not as easy as he thinks.

Among the actors considered for the roles of Charlie and Raymond were Dennis Quaid and his brother Randy Quaid and at one point Bill Murray was considered a good match for Hoffman, but for the role of Raymond with Hoffman playing Charlie.

Rain Man was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won four Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Hoffman) and Screenplay.