Observation – 1956, No One Was Bigger Than Elvis

If you turned on the TV, you found Elvis Presley on Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, Milton Berle and all over the radio.  Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis split. It was also the year Morocco freed itself from French and Spanish rule. The Eiffel Tower caught fire. The Soviets were busy crushing Poland and Hungary.  The U.S. tested the H-Bomb and we first observed the neutrino. Heavy-weight boxer Rocky Marciano retired undefeated.  Nat “King” Cole was attacked on stage in Alabama. Dick Clark hosted “American Bandstand “for the first time. Little Richard released ‘Tutti Frutti.” Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett were honored with a Pulitzer Prize for their play, The Diary of Anne Frank. The scandalous Peyton Place by Grace Metallious first appeared in book form. Among the year’s most influential fiction were The Floating Opera by John Barth, Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, Howl by Allen Ginsberg. The Mystery Writers of America announced that Margaret Millar won best mystery for Beast In View. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith was on the short list.  Marty won the Academy Award for best picture.  The movie houses showed Seventh Seal, Giant, The Searchers, Around the World in 80 Days and The King and I.  Elvis had the top two on Billboard’s chart, “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”  “Lisbon Antigua” by Nelson Riddle was third followed by “My Prayer” by The Platters.  Gogi Grant had a hit with “The Wayward Wind,” and Les Baxter did ‘The Poor People of Paris.”  It was the end of the line for Bertolt Brecht, Jackson Pollack, Tommy Dorsey and Bela Lugosi. On the other side of the birth-death continuum were Geena Davis, Larry Byrd, Tom Hanks and Sugar Ray Leonard, who made their first appearances on earth. If you were around, where were you during this year of the fire monkey?