Writer of Pop Culture

Cool and refreshing news about pop culture and entertainment.

This Day in Pop Culture for December 20

On this day in pop culture history, Elvis Presley was drafted into the U. S. Army, “It’s a Wonderful Life” opened in theaters and the goofy game show, ‘Supermarket Sweep’ debuted on TV.

December 20, 2020

2–3 minutes

1957: Elvis Presley is Drafted

On this day in 1957, the hip-moving singing sensation, Elvis Presley, received his draft notice to join the U.S. Army for two years. Naturally, many fans flooded army office with letters requesting that the crooner be spared, but Elvis had no intention of backing out.

After boot camp, Presley served for 18 months in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion in Friedberg, Germany and worked his way up to sergeant. Presley was seen as a role model and after receiving a vaccination shot for polio from a doctor on national TV, vaccine rates shout up from 2 to 85 percent.

1946: An Angel Earns His Wings

Frank Capra first introduced America to It’s a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart and Donna Reed in 1946 and soon everyone knew that every time a bell rings, an angel earns its wings.

Based on the short story, The Greatest Gift by Phillip Van Doren Stern, which in turn is loosely based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life told the story of George Bailey (Stewart) and his disappointment with his life. He fails to see how he had ever made a difference. At his lowest point in a snowy Bedford Falls, Bailey tells his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers), that he wished that he’d never been born and Clarence shows him how wrong George was.

The movie was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, but it didn’t win any Oscars. And despite how popular the film is today, It’s a Wonderful Life was initially a financial flop. But, according to IMDB, it is ranked #1 as the most popular Christmas movie. Die Hard is #2. Today the movie is shown on NBC once or twice each year during the holidays.

1965: ‘Supermarket Sweeps’ Debuts

1990’s version of Supermarket Sweep (TVDB)

Another older game show is Supermarket Sweep which first aired on ABC from this day in 1965 to July 1967. Hosted by Bill Malone, it was actually shot within real-life Food Fair supermarkets found around New York City.

The show was revived for Lifetime and PAX TV with host David Ruprecht. It ran from April 1999 to 2003 with a set resembling a grocery store at Santa Clarita Studios and later NBC Studios.

The show later returned for another revival in which ABC, NBC, Fox and Netflix were all interested. In the end, it was ABC who won the rights. The new show debuted on October 18, 2020, with a grocery store set at the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport with host Leslie Jones. It aired for two seasons.