Observations — 1947, Some Fine Books and Plays, And Last Stand Of The Big Band

Steve Reeves

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  India and Pakistan gained independence from Great Britain.  The Hollywood “Blacklist” was created by The House of Un-American Activities Committee.   Prussia ceased to exist.  Arabs and Jews rejected proposal to split Palestine.  Carbon dating was first used. Microwaves were discovered. The transistor was invented.  Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Pacific in the Kon Tiki.  Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. “Meet The Press” debuted on NBC.  John D. Rockefeller donated the land for the U.N. building. John Paul Sartre wrote Existentialism. Charles Ives was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music for Symphony No. 3.   Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire premiered on Broadway. André Gide received the Nobel Prize for Literature.  Robert Penn Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature for All The King’s Men. In 1947 we also read Saul Bellow’s The Victim, Malcolm Lowry’s Under The Volcano and Dr. Faustus by Thomas Mann.  We watched Out of the Past, Odd Man Out, Crossfire, Black Narcissus, Miracle on 34^th Street, Gentleman’s Agreement, Brighton Rock, Nightmare Alley, The Fugitive and Body and Soul.  We listened to “The Old Lamplighter” by Sammy Kaye, “I Love You For Sentimental Reasons” by the Nat King Cole Trio, “Open The Door, Richard” by Count Basie, “Managua, Nicaragua” by Freddy Martin, and “Heartache” by Ted Weems.  Among those who died this year were Al Capone, Aleister Crowley, Bugsy Siegel, Henry Ford, Max Planck, Willa Cather and Man O’ War.  Taking their first gasps were:  Iggy Pop, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elton John, Mitt Romney, David Bowie, Stephen King, Hillary Clinton, Carlos Santana, David Letterman, James Patterson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Nolan Ryan.  If you were around during this year of the pig, what were you doing?

Observations — 1949, The Transformation of Nations

NATO was formed. West Germany was established.  Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the Communist Republic of China. Ireland’s independence was recognized by Britain. Vietnam was set up with an emperor.  South Africa adopted Apartheid, prohibited mixed marriage. Taiwan formed on Formosa.  The U.S. recognized Israel.  Harry Truman established Cape Canaveral. Pope Pius XII excommunicated communist Catholics. The American Contract Bridge League voted to keep Blacks out. Jackie Robinson won the National league’s Most Valuable Player.  Ezzard Charles defeated Jersey Joe Walcott. Joe DiMaggio was the first sports star to earn $100,000.  Hopalong Cassidy premiered with first network Western.  The first Jewish family show on TV, “The Goldbergs,” debuted. Arthur Godfrey had both radio and TV shows. Cable TV emerged.  First 45-rpm records were sold.  First Emmy Awards were announced. The Nobel Prize for Literature went to William Faulkner.  The Pulitzer for fiction was awarded to James Gould Cozzens for Guard of Honor.  In music, Virgil Thompson received a Pulitzer for Louisiana Story.  For drama, it was Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.  In the movie theaters we watched All The King’s Men, Twelve O’clock High, The Third Man, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, White Heat, Little Women, Holiday Affair and The Fountainhead.  We listened to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Dinah Shore, “Riders in the Sky” by Vaughn Monroe, “Mule Train” by Frankie Laine, “I’ve Got my Love To keep Me Warm” by the Mills Brothers, “Red Roses For A Blue Lady’ by Guy Lombardo, ‘Lavender Blue” (Dilly Dilly) by Sammy Kaye, and ‘Why Was I Born,’ by Vic Damone.  Among the popular books this year were Golden Apples by Eudora Welty 1984 by George Orwell, Confessions Of A Mask by Yukio Mishima, The Grand Design by John Dos Passos, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles. Richard Strauss died.  Others who passed included Wallace Beery, Margaret Mitchell and Leadbelly. Among those who first appeared in this realm in 1949 were Meryl Streep, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Lionel Richie, John Belushi, Sigourney Weaver, George Foreman, Don Johnson, Vera Wang, Bill Nighy and Benjamin Netanyahu.  If you were around, what were you doing during this year of the earth ox?

Observations — New Murals From San Francisco's Clarion Alley

Observations — 1951, The Calm Before The Calm

Korea seesawed between communist and democratic rule. Communists forced the Dalai Lama to surrender his army to Beijing. Libyans tossed off Italian shackles.  The 22^nd Amendment passed — presidents are limited to two terms. President Harry S. Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur. The general retired.   Accused spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death. The first nuclear power plant was built.  Fidel Castro was ejected from a baseball game for beaning a batter. Color TV was made available. Joe DiMaggio retired.  Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Jake La Motta for the Middleweight title. Rocky Marciano defeated Joe Louis at Madison Square Garden. Igor Stravinsky’s opera, Rake’s Progress, opened in Venice. Benjamin Britten’s Opera, Billy Budd, premiered in London.  The King and I opened on Broadway. “Search for Tomorrow,”  “I Love Lucy,“ “The Ernie Kovacs Show” and “Dragnet” premiered on the small screen. On the large screen we watched Showboat, Alice in Wonderland, Strangers On A Train, The Day The Earth Stood Still, A Place In The Sun, A Streetcar Named Desire, An American in Paris, The African Queen, and The Thing From Another World.  All About Eve picked up the Oscar.  Conrad Richter won the Pulitzer Prize in Literature for The Tower. Other notable books included Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk, The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers, The Grass Harp by Truman Capote, From Here To Eternity by James Jones, Moses by Sholem Asch, and A Woman called Fancy by Frank Yerby. We listened to Nat “King” Cole sing “Too Young,” and Tony Bennett sang “Pleasure of You.” We also listened to “How High The Moon” by Les Paul and Mary Ford, “Be My Love” by Mario Lanza, “On Top of Old Smokey” by the Weavers, “Cold, Cold Heart” by Tony Bennett, “If” by Perry Como and ‘The Tennessee Waltz” by Patti Page. André Gide died. So did Robert Walker, Fanny Brice, William Randolph Hearst, Maria Montez, Sinclair Lewis and Eddy Duchin.   Those1951 babies who would become notables were Phil Collins, Mark Harmon, Robin Williams, Sting, Sally Ride, Michael Keaton, Jane Seymour, Joey Ramone, Luther Vandross, Angelica Huston and John Mellencamp. If you were around during this year of the metal rabbit, what were you doing?

Observations — 1945, The Great War Ends

Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term as president.  Germany surrendered. Concentration camps liberated. Adolf Hitler killed himself.  Crocodiles in Burma killed 980 Japanese soldiers.  FDR died. Harry S. Truman became president. The U.S. dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities.  Japan surrendered. Italy’s Benito Mussolini was arrested and later executed, hung upside down in Milan. Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence from France.  Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first city to accept fluoride in its water. The World Bank was created. Pepe Le Pew debuted.  Arthur Godfrey began his legendary run on radio.  Kiss Me Kate opened in London. The Glass Menagerie opened on Broadway. The Pulitzer prizes went to: Aaron Copland (music) for Appalachian Spring, John Hershey (literature) for Bell For Adano, and Mary Chase (drama) for Harvey. We read W. H. Auden’s Collected Poems, The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Black Rose by A. J. Cronin, Black Boy by Richard Wright, Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, and The Black Rose by Thomas B. Chastain. In film, we watched The Lost Weekend, Mildred Pierce, National Velvet, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Spellbound, Children of Paradise, Picture of Dorian Gray, Blithe spirit, Scarlet Street, And Then There Were None, The Body Snatchers and Detour. Top of the music charts were: “Rum and Coca Cola” by The Andrew Sisters, “Sentimental Journey” by Les Brown, Till The End Of Time by Perry Como, On The Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers, “At Mail Call Today” by Gene Autry, “Aren’t You Glad You’re You” by Bing Crosby, “This Heart of Mine” by Judy Garland and “Put Your Dreams Away” by Frank Sinatra.  Departed Souls: Anne Frank, Jerome Kern, Theodore Dreiser, Ernie Pyle, Robert Benchley, George Patton, and Béla Bartok. Arriving Souls included: Bob Marley, Diane Sawyer, Helen Mirren, Eric Clapton, Tom Selleck, Rod Stewart, Goldie Hawn, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Steve Martin, Bob Seger, Linda Hunt, Jose Feleciano, and Pete Townsend.  If you we’re around, what were you doing during this year of the wood rooster?

Observations — 1955, Old Order Failing, New World Just Ahead

James Dean

Winston Churchill resigned. Argentina tossed Juan Perón aside. The U.S. began their entanglement in Vietnam.  Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus.  Martin Luther King organized a boycott of the Montgomery Alabama bus system.  U.S. Supreme Court ordered school desegregation. Emmett Till was murdered. President Eisenhower had a heart attack. First televised presidential news conference aired. U.S. signed Panama Canal Treaty. Fiber Optics were developed. Anti-matter was discovered. First Atomic Sub was launched. Prednisone was created.  First music synthesizer was developed. Sony announced first transistor radio. The AFL and CIO merged.  Hurricane Diane killed 400 in U.S.  Hurricane Janet killed 500 in the Caribbean. Disneyland opened. “The Lawrence Welk” Show premiered on TV, as did “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” William Inge’s Bus Stop premiered on Broadway. The ACLU defended poet Allen Ginsberg’s Howl from obscenity charges. The Pulitzer Prize for drama went to Tennessee Williams for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.  The Pulitzer for Literature went to William Faulkner for A Fable.  The Mystery Writers of America gave Raymond Chandler its top prize for The Long Goodbye.  We also read Notes of A Native Son by James Baldwin, Pictures of A Gone World by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, The Recognitions by William Gaddis, A Charmed Life by Mary McCarthy, Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov, and A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor.  On The Waterfront swept the Academy Awards this year. We also watched Rebel Without A Cause, Marty, East of Eden, Bad Day At Black Rock, and Picnic.  We listened to “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” by Perez Prado, “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets, “The Yellow Rose of Texas” by Mitch Miller, “Autumn Leaves” by Roger Williams, “Unchained Melody” by Les Baxter, “The Ballad of Davey Crocket” by Bill Hayes, “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” by the Four Aces, “Ain’t That A Shame” by Pat Boone, “Dance With Me Henry,” by Georgia Gibbs and “Sincerely” by the McGuire Sisters. Among the departed were James Dean, Theda Bara, Carmen Miranda, James Agee, Thomas Mann, Albert Einstein, Dale Carnegie, and Fred Allen.  Arrivals included Bruce Willis, Kevin Costner, Billy Bob Thornton, Willem Dafoe, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleason, Steve Jobs, Whoopi Goldberg and Kelsey Grammar.  If you were around, what were you doing during this year of the wood sheep?