The WABAC Machine, 1963: Part III, Golden Anniversaries in Entertainment!

    From historic events and speeches to new-fangled inventions, we’ve been looking at people, places and things that are celebrating their 50th anniversaries in 2013.  1963 was obviously a swingin’ year because it birthed the Rolling Stones, Puff the Magic Dragon, Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra film extravaganza, the first appearance of the Beatles on American television and Dr. Who. Oh, and La Gioconda (more commonly known as the Mona Lisa) went on display in the United States for the first time.

"Fanmail from some flounder?"

Mick,  Keith and the other two formed a band in 1962 and played the local clubs, but didn’t land a recording contract until May of 1963, when they signed with Decca Records  (on the recommendation of George Harrison, who held no grudges considering that Decca had rejected the Beatles the year before).
"Gee, Mr. Peabody, that's great news for the music industry and the cultural zeitgeist!"
"Well, yes, Sherman, up to a point. However, now we are stuck with the rather unseemly sight of Mick Jagger still shaking his skinny, nearly 70-year old ass to the tune of 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction.' And people still paying to see it."

---

Original 45

Meanwhile, that folk-singing trio, Peter, Paul and Mary were busy warbling a tune that has spawned ceaseless debate over the past 50 years.  Is “Puff the Magic Dragon” really an ode to weed or merely a fanciful children’s ditty the likes of which Raffi or the Wiggles probably couldn't have come up with on their best day? (Although Tom Chapin might give them a run for their money.) Listen and discuss amongst yourselves (again.)

---

Dig the braids, Liz, but the shadow's way too much...

One of the most expensive movies ever made (originally budgeted at $2 million, it wound up costing $44 million, which adjusted for inflation, would be $323 million in today's dollars), Cleopatra reeked of scandal before it ever debuted. (Half of the budget was probably spent on Liz Taylor's blue eyeshadow and black eye liner!) This 1963 epic, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is an historical drama with all the elements: elaborate sets, intricate costumes, name actors, a factual basis, and an overlong script (just over four hours). La Liz wallows in the role of Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen who seduces Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) in a political move to hold onto her empire. When Caesar is offed by the Roman Senators, Cleopatra turns to Marc Antony (Richard  Burton) for his support, enslaving him with her feminine wiles. The film won four Oscars (cinematography, art direction, costumes, and visual effects), wrecked two marriages, launched a tempestuous affair and two more marriages (both between Taylor and Burton) and nearly bankrupted the studio that produced it, 20th Century Fox. But, I'll say this for her, the woman sure knew how to make an entrance.
"Gee, Mr. Peabody, you won't see anything like that in tomorrow's Rose Bowl Parade!"
"No, Sherman, you won't.  And although you can't tell it from the video, why was Cleopatra so negative?"
"Gee, Mr. Peabody, I don't know."
"Because she was... the queen of denial."

---

    Before they appeared live on Ed Sullivan in February of 1964, the Beatles were featured on American television on December 7, 1963, via a CBS news featurette on the Fab Four and Britain's Beatlemania.

"Gee, Mr. Peabody, I love that 'sheepdog' hairstyle."
"Yes, Sherman, I've noticed. But I thought the reporter got a bit carried away with that 'sound of the proletariat' reference."
"I know, it's only rock n'roll, but I like it."
"Wrong band, Sherman."

And then there's Dr. Who, the television program first produced by the BBC in 1963.  It follows the adventures
of a mysterious time-travelling  alien known only as "The Doctor." He's a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who explores time and space with various companions in his TARDIS, which looks like an old-fashioned British Police Box. Dr. Who is currently the longest-running science-fiction series broadcast on television, spanning twenty-six years on its  original run. Over fifty years, the role of the Doctor has been played by eleven actors.

---

"So, Mr. Peabody, why haven't we run into him on our time travels?"
"Different network, Sherman."