This Day in Histor-Bloggery by Michael A. Stusser

(View entire post here)

Though most of us saw it years later in re-runs, “Leave it to Beaver” made its debut on CBS on this day in 1957. The show broke new ground – by being the first program to show a toilet on TV – and for making rug-rats the lead actors in a series. Now, a blog is as good a place as any to lay some rumors about the Beaver crew to rest: First and foremost, Eddie Haskell (actor Ken Osmond) did not become a porn star; turns out John Holmes did a few flicks using his name (and was unsuccessfully sued by Mr. Osmond for doing so). Another urban legend said Eddie Haskell grew up and turned into rockstar/bat eater Alice Cooper. Also not true. While Eddie may have played a naughty kid on the show, in real life, he was a pious gem. Now aren’t ya glad you’re spending your work day reading blogs? This stuff is important!

In more politically important news, fifty years ago today, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite, and the space race was on (and our tax dollars spent). Sputnik may have only been two feet long and 184 pounds, but it threw the U.S. into a wild tizzy, with fears running rampant that not only were the Ruskies technologically superior, but that they might launch future rockets, delivering a nuke to each and every doorstep in the country.

It took a while for America to catch up – the Soviets launched three more Sputniks, including one on November 3^rd of 1957 with a dog on board. Laika, a sweet husky (nicknamed Muttnik), never had a chance – mainly because the Russians didn’t build Sputniks for return touchdowns – so the poor pooch bit it on day four of the flight when the cabin overheated. Support PETA. Oh, and if anyone’s keeping score, the United States won the Space Race, when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon 12 years later. USA! USA!

I’d like to give a big High Five to the citizens (and city planners) of the Big Apple who had the foresight to open the New York Subway on this day in 1904. For only a nickel, 350,000 people hopped a ride (today 4.5 million riders use the system, and the lines cover 722 miles), which is 350,000 more than have ever jumped on a subway in my town, Seattle, currently gridlocked and wishing we’d shelled out $35 million in 1904 to build something. Anything. Of course, we’ve got a Monorail, but it only goes a mile. We’re waiting for jet packs to come into fashion. That, or the electric car…

Plenty of people were born on this day, but few of interest - John Secada, Armand Assante, President Rutherford B. Hayes - and one who DOES matter, the lovely Susan Sarandon (1946) who not only starred in the greatest movie of all-time (you may be thinking about Bull Durham, but for me it’s the Rocky Horror Picture Show), but has also apparently discovered the Fountain of Youth, which we hope she shares with the rest of us in the very near future. Susan is 61 today, and Tim Robbins is one lucky bastard.

Janice Joplin overdosed on this day in 1966 at age 27, but still found time to imprint several of her tunes permanently in our hippie-dreams, including “Me & Bobby McGee,” “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” and “Piece of My Heart.” If you haven’t seen the amazing Joplin movie, The Rose, rent it – or buy it – ASAP. Bette Midler’s never been so good (and yes, I saw “The First Wives Club”). And then go buy the album and listen to “Midnight in Memphis” until your boogie shoes don’t fit no more.

Finally, on this day in 1927, work began on Mount Rushmore, the giant sculpture in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota. You may wonder how in the hell Teddy Roosevelt got his mug up there alongside POTUS greats Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, and the answer’s simple: he was close friends with the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. Two other Rushmore tidbits: The monument was quite the marketing ploy: South Dakota historian Doane Robinson figured a bunch of famous faces carved into a mountain would bring (more) tourists to his fine state. And he was right: I mean, no offense, but why else would you drive to South Dakota? The second part of the project is less glamorous….Artist Borglum was a talented man, a student of Auguste Rodin, and a mega-racist and major player in the Ku Klux Klan. Not so presidential…

Now if you’re interested in modern day interviews with the dead Rushmore presidents, you’ll need to buy my book, The Dead Guy Interviews. I’d toss in more shameless plugs, but then I’d have to include Donald Trump in my blog, and no one wants more comb-over blowhards.

Until tomorrow….

Michael A. Stusser

View more information on The Dead Guy Interviews

The Dead Guy Interviews, Michael Stusser, Penguin Books, celebrities, interviews, books, history, trivia, famous people, Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum, Janice Joplin, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, New York Subway, Neil Armstrong, Sputnik, Eddie Haskell, Leave It To Beaver