Broadway Adopted 'Annie' - This Day in Pop Culture History (April 21)

Little Orphan Annie has been around since 1924 when she appeared in newspapers funny pages. On this day in pop culture history, the original Annie musical opened on Broadway after 50 years later.

Also on this day: “All Quiet on the Western Front” shocked people, Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone’s vault and Seattle’s Space Needle opened ahead of the World’s Fair opening.

1977: ‘Annie’ Opens on Broadway

1977's cast from "Annie" on Broadway. The musical is loosely based on the pop culture comic strip — (Wikimedia Commons)

Broadway’s musical Annie is said to be based on Harold Gray’s comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, but in reality, other than the characters of Annie, Daddy Warbucks and Sandy the dog, very little was pulled from the comics.

In 1972, Thomas Meehan was approached to write the book for the new musical and since he wasn’t able to find any satisfactory material, he came up with his own backstory for Annie living at an orphanage. With music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Martin Charnin, Annie premiered on Broadway on this day in 1977. It starred Andrea McArdle as Annie, Reid Shelton as Daddy Warbucks, Dorothy Loudon as Miss Hannigan, and Sandy Faison as Grace Farrell.

The original Annie was nominated for eleven Tony Awards and won seven, including the Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. After a total of 2,377 performances, there were no more “tomorrows” when the show closed on January 2, 1983. However, the show had revivals in 1997 and 2012. Two different movies have been made about the musical and a live performance of the musical was shown on TV.

1930: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Shocks Audiences

A butterfly has perched itself to an army soldier's helmet. — *All Quiet on the Western Front (TVDB)*

Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel of the same name, All Quiet on the Western Front, made an impact when it arrived in theaters. It’s a disturbing film about the atrocities of war during World War I from the viewpoint of a young German soldier.

Directed by Lewis Milestone, the film starred Lew Ayres and Louis Woheim. The movie was shot using two cameras side by side. One was edited as a sound film while the other was meant to be used in distributing the film to non-English speaking countries.

It was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two for Best Picture (Former title: Outstanding Production) and Best Director. The movie was remade as a made-for-TV film in 1979 which starred Richard Thomas and Ernest Borgnine. And another feature film was released in 2022 which starred Feli Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch and Daniel Brühl. It too was nominated for numerous awards including nine Academy Awards winning Best International Feature Film, Original Score, Production Design and Cinematography.

1986: Geraldo Rivera’s Shocking Discovery

Notorious and “most wanted” gangster, Al Capone, began his life of crime in Chicago in 1919 and had his headquarters set up at the Lexington Hotel until his arrest in 1931.

Years later, renovations were being made at the hotel when a team of workers discovered a shooting-range and series of connected tunnels that led to taverns and brothels making for an easy escape should there be a police raid. Rumors were spread that Capone had a secret vault hidden under the hotel as well.

In 1985, news reporter Geraldo Rivera had been fired from ABC after he criticized the network for canceling his report made about an alleged relationship between John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. It seemed like a good time for Rivera to scoop a new story to repair his reputation.

It was on this day during a live, two-hour, syndicated TV special, The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vault aired. After lots of backstory, the time finally came to reveal what was in that vault. It turned out to be empty. After the show, Rivera was quoted as saying “Seems like we struck out.”

1962: Seattle’s Space Needle Opens

Aerial view of Seattle's Space Needle building — Seattle’s Space Needle 1962 *(Wikimedia Commons)*

In 1959, Edward E. Carlson, president of Western International Hotels, scribbled his idea for the main structure to serve as a centerpiece to the 1962 World’s Fair on a paper napkin at a local coffee house. Inspired by the Stuttgart Tower in Germany, Carlson thought a similar building would fit the “21 Century” theme of the Seattle fair. The design of the building went through many shapes before settling on the “flying saucer” idea which wasn’t finalized until a year and a half before the fair’s opening.

467 cement trucks were used to fill the 30-foot deep by 120 feet hole which was to be used as the Needle’s foundation weighing in as much as the Space Needle itself. The 605-foot-tall Needle was finished in December of 1961 and officially opened on this day in 1962.