MIKE GRACIA

On October 20, 1962 “Monster Mash” hit No. 1 on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart, just in time for Halloween
       
The self-described “graveyard smash” become a literal smash
hit, spending the last two weeks of October at the top of the
charts and remaining a beloved Halloween classic decades
later.      

“Monster Mash” hit the Billboard charts three times, starting
with its original debut in 1962. It re-charted in August 1970,
and then again in May 1973.       

       
Then, Pickett released two more songs that were sequels of
sorts: “Monster’s Holiday,” which hit No. 30 in December
1962, and “Graduation Day,” which hit No. 80 in June 1963.

Robert George Pickett (February 11, 1938 – April 25, 2007)

On this day in 1944, after advancing island by island across the
Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore
onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to
return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942.

A statue in the Philippines commemorating the promised
return of American commander Douglas MacArthur.

Douglas MacArthur (1880 – 1964)

         
NANCY LYONS

On October 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store
opened, in Dallas, Texas. At a time when most video stores
were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of
titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed
on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out
process.

The first store was a success and Blockbuster expanded
rapidly, eventually becoming one of the world’s largest
providers of in-home movies and game entertainment,
before eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2010.

Blockbuster was founded by David Cook, who had previously
owned a business that provided computer software services
to the oil and gas industry in Texas.

In 1987, he sold part of the business to a group of investors
that included Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management,
Inc., the world’s biggest garbage disposal company.

Founder David Cook.

As of August 2018, the last Blockbuster store is in Bend,
Oregon.