Steve Allen (Stephen Valentine Patrick William)
(December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000)
Writer, actor, and comedian Steve Allen served as the
first host of NBC’s famed late-night program The Tonight
Show. He achieved national attention as a last minute
guest host on Arthur Godfrey‘s Talent Scouts.
A Midnight Mass was broadcast on WPIX, channel 11 television for the first time. St.
Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City was the site for what has become an annual
Christmas Eve tradition on NBC.
The Technicolor adventure film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was the first
science fiction film shot in CinemaScope. The film was personally produced
by Walt Disney through Walt Disney Productions. It was also the first feature-
length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a animated musical fantasy film produced by
Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood, followed by a nationwide release on February 4,1938, and with international earnings of $8 million during its initial release briefly assumed the record of highest grossing sound film at the time.
The song “Barbara Ann” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1
in Cash Box and Record World. It also topped the charts in Germany,
Switzerland and Norway. It was The Beach Boys’ biggest hit in Italy,
reaching the #4 position.
