Fifty Years Ago This Month: July 1964

The Beatles are back...

News: 
7/2 - President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
7/6 - Southern African nation of Malawi gains independence from the United Kingdom.
7/6 - The Beatles' film "A Hard Day's Night" premieres in London.
7/31 - US satellite Ranger 7 crashes on the moon after taking more than 4000 pictures.


Music: 
On July 4th, the Beach Boys' single "I Get Around" hits #1 and stays there for 2 weeks.
The Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" is the #1 single for the last 2 weeks of July.
The "Hard Day's Night" LP reaches #1 on the 25th, and stayed there for 14 weeks.

Movies:
7/6 - A Hard Days Night (The Beatles)
7/8 - The Moon-Spinners (Hayley Mills, Eli Wallach)
7/22 - Marnie (Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery)
7/22 - Bikini Beach (Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello)
7/22 - Good Neighbor Sam (Jack Lemmon)


Births: 
7/2 - Baseball players Jose and Ozzie Canseco
7/3 - Actress Yeardley Smith (the voice of Lisa Simpson)
7/9 - Musician Courtney Love
7/22 - Actor and comedian David Spade
7/24 - Baseball player Barry Bonds
7/26 - Actress Sandra Bullock
7/30 - Actress Vivica A. Fox

RIP - Bob Hastings

Actor Bob Hastings, most noted for his role as Lt. Elroy Carpenter in the 1960s' TV series "McHale's Navy", passed away on June 30, 2014 at age 89 in Burbank, CA.

Hastings played Captain Binghamton's bumbling yes-man.

My favorite "Elroy Carpenter moment" was the episode where Binghamton finally discovers the Japanese POW that Commander McHale and his crew have stashed away as their own personal cook and concierge.  After the POW is arrested, McHale hatches a plan to free him by convincing everyone on the base that the war is over, using phony radio broadcasts with Ensign Parker (Tim Conway) imitating FDR's voice.

Later, the captain launches one of his condescending rants at Lt. Carpenter (Hastings) while they are on the dock waiting for McHale. Convinced that the war is over anyway, the fed-up Carpenter pushes Binghamton into the lagoon.


Hastings later appeared on the daytime soap General Hospital.