This Day in Pop Culture for December 17

1989: The Debut of ‘The Simpsons’

Originally a part of The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons got their own Christmas special which aired on FOX on this day in 1989. Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire also known as The Simpsons Christmas Special was created by Matt Groening and was written by Mimi Pond, who only wrote the one episode. The story tells how the family got their dog, Santa’s Little Helper, it was viewed by 13.4 million viewers, it was nominated for two Emmy Awards, and the show hasn’t left the airwaves since. (Image: FOX)

1974: Where Did Chuck Go?

In the TV sitcom Happy Days, the Cunningham Family consisted of parents Howard and Marion and their children Richie, Joanie … and Chuck. It that surprises you, you are not alone. Many people don’t remember the character, even though he was portrayed by three different actors.

Chuck was the oldest sibling and a high school jock who sucked his thumb when he was nervous.

In the pilot episode, he was played by Ric Carrott. In the show’s first two seasons, he was mostly played by Gavan O’Herlihy, but was replaced for two episodes in the second season by Randolph Roberts. Chuck’s last appearance was in the episode, “Guess Who’s Coming to Christmas” which aired on this day in 1974.

Chuck didn’t appear in many episodes of the show as it was, but his disappearance was never addressed. In fact, during the show’s final episode, Mr. Cunningham states that he is proud of his TWO kids.

Happy Days isn’t the first to discontinue a character without explanation, but the show was the first to give the phenomenon a name: “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome.” (Image: Wikimedia)

1982: ‘Tootsie’ Struts into Theaters

Dustin Hoffman and Geena Davis in *Tootsie. (TVDB)*

Although this film would probably have a hard time getting greenlit today, Tootsie was the second most profitable film of 1982. Directed by Sydney Pollack, it shared the story of an out-of-work actor (Dustin Hoffman) who is so desperate to get a job that he adopts a new identity as a woman and in turn, finds out that living life as a woman is tougher than he thought.

The movie also starred Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning and Geena Davis in her acting debut.

Tootsie was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture, but it only won one for Best Supporting Actress which went to Jessica Lange.

1958: Alvin was More Popular Than Mariah

Love them or hate them, Americans got their first taste of Alvin and the Chipmunks when their first hit, “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)”, was released on this day. The song was written and sung by Ross Bagdasarian under the stage name of David Seville. For the song, he did four rounds of recordings – one with his own voice as David and three others as the chipmunks named Alvin, Theodore and Simon all recorded at different speeds to distinguish their different personalities.

The song won three Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Performance, Best Children’s Recording, and Best Engineered Record (that was non classical). It even reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart and was the only Christmas record to reach number one status on the same chart until Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” dethroned it in 2019.

The song has been so popular, other music artists have done their own versions of the song including Amy Grant, Kenny G, The Goo Goo Dolls, Pentatonix and The Philly Specials.