We begin this day in pop culture finds with one of the more extreme beauty pageants ever made. Other subjects worth exploring include the first U.S. stamp to feature a black man, the musical South Pacific, film critic Roger Ebert and more.
2004: ‘The Swan’ Rears Its Ugly Head
While ABC was getting huge ratings for the personal transformation series Extreme Makeover, other networks began searching for related show to reach a similar audience. NBC created The Biggest Loser while FOX began to develop The Swan. This was arguably the worst of the three shows despite its goal to raise the self-esteem of the participants.
In a nutshell, 16 self-proclaimed “ugly ducklings” were chosen to appear on essentially another “extreme makeover” show. Each week, two of the contestants would go undergo a larger-than-life makeover that would require three months to complete. The makeovers included a coach, therapist, personal trainer, cosmetic surgeon, dentist and stylist who worked together to “design” the perfect head-to-toe makeover. The contestants were not allowed to look at any mirrors during their transformations.
After the three months were up, the contestants would go head-to-head to see which “swan” was changed the most. After eight episodes, the weekly winners then competed in a beauty pageant to find the most attractive woman in the bevy (group of swans). Essentially, the woman whose looks changed the most during the competition would win a modeling contract and swag from show sponsors.
Despite the bad reviews from critics, the show debuted with 15 million viewers and enough viewers overall to justify another season of the show the next year. FOX had plans to air a two-hour Celebrity Swan special in 2013, but it got scrapped.
2009: National Beer Day
On this day in 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act was signed bringing an end to the prohibition era. It was now legal to sell beer in the U.S. Fast Forward to this day in 2009. It was Justin Smith of Virginia that created his own National Beer Day to commemorate the event. From there it was recognized by the state of Virginia and now used as an excuse to drink by beer lovers everywhere.
1940: The First African American on a U.S. Stamp
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an educator, author, orator, and adviser to multiple presidents of the United States. Washington was from the last generation of black American leaders born into slavery and became the leading voice of the former slaves and their descendants. On this day in 1940, he became the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp and a pop culture icon.
1949: ‘South Pacific’ Opens on Broadway
It was on this day in 1949 that Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical, South Pacific opened on Broadway. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener, the story featured an American nurse (Mary Martin) who was stationed on a South Pacific island during World War II.
The play, which also starred Ezio Pinza, ran for 1,925 performances (the second-longest after Oklahoma!) and it won ten Tony Awards. Perhaps the most memorable song from the show was “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair.”
The show has been revived on Broadway several times including 2008’s which ran for 996 performances and won seven more Tonys.
1995: What a Goofy Movie
Longtime favorite Disney animated character, Goofy, starred in The Goofy Movie alongside Max, his grade school son from their previous TV series, Goof Troop. When Disney greenlit the cartoon, the filmmakers decided to “age up” Max to a teenager desperately in love with classmate Roxanne and huge fan of the rock band, Powerline.
Concerned about Max acting out, Goofy plans a road trip to Lake Destiny with a stop at possum-themed amusement park (which pokes fun of Disney’s Country Bears Jamboree attraction). He’s determined to bond with his son whether Max likes it or not. Of course, things don’t go as planned.
While the movie wasn’t a particular favorite among critics and wasn’t a huge money-maker for the company, it became somewhat of cult classic among the kids who watched the VHS of the movie growing up. Goofy became a pop culture hero.
The sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie, was released as a direct-to-video movie in 2000. In 2025, Disney+ aired the documentary, Not Just a Goof about the making the movie.
1967: Roger Ebert Publishes His First Movie Review
It was on this day in 1967 that the new unknown film critic, Roger Ebert, would publish his first review for the Chicago Sun-Times. He would continue to publish his reviews for the paper until his death in 2013. In between the two, he was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975. Also that year, he teamed up with fellow critic, Gene Siskel for the PBS show Sneak Previews in 1975. (It was later changed to At the Movies.) Together, they trademarked the phrase “Two Thumbs Up.” In 2005, Ebert was the first film critic to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His final review in the Chicago Sun-Times was for the film To the Wonder.
Movies Released
- 1939: Wuthering Heights
- 1976: The Bad News Bears
- 1989: Dead Calm
- 1989: Major League
- 1993: Indecent Proposal
- 1993: The Sandlot
- 1995: A Goofy Movie
- 1995: Bad Boys
- 2006: The Benchwarmers
- 2016: The Huntsman: Winter’s War
- 2017: 1 Mile to You
- 2017: Gifted
- 2017: Smurfs: The Lost Village
TV Series Debuts
- 2004: The Swan
- 2013: Granite Flats
- 2015: Your Family or Mine
- 2017: First Dates
- 2017: The Manns
- 2017: The Toy Box
- 2017: You the Jury
- 2021: Home Economics
- 2021: Kung Fu
- 2022: Tokyo Vice
Famous Birthdays
- 1915: Billie Holiday (singer)
- 1928: James Garner (actor)
- 1939: Fracis Ford Coppola (film director)
- 1948: John Oates (singer)
- 1954: Jackie Chan (stuntman)
- 1964: Russell Crowe (actor)
Leave a Reply