Today in History: Sunday, June 27, 2021

Television:
“Captain Video and His Video Rangers,” which is remembered as the first science fiction drama, debuted in 1949 on early broadcast network DuMont. It aired through April 1, 1955 (and, at its height, was scheduled in the Monday to Friday 7 p.m. half hour)…NBC’s “Matinee Theater,” which ran in the afternoon and was often telecast live, ended its three season run in 1958…Daytime drama “Dark Shadows” started its five-year run on ABC in 1966…In 1968, Elvis Presley began taping his first television special, “Elvis,” at NBC studios in Burbank…NBC variety hour “The Flip Wilson Show,” which was negatively impacted by competing “The Waltons” on CBS, concluded after four seasons in 1974.

Movies:
Moby Dick, directed by John Houston, opened in theaters in 1956. The film starred Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart and Leo Genn.

Music:
In 1994, Aerosmith become first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the internet.

Celebrity Birthdays: 
Politican Ross Perot is 91; director J.J. Abrams (“Lost”) is 55; actor Tobey Macguire (“Spider-man”)  is 46; Khloe Kardashian is 37.

-Did You Know?:
We all, of course, remember Art Carney as Ed Norton on “The Honeymooners” making a reference to “Captain Video and His Video Rangers” in the episode titled “TV or No TV.” For a look, click here…“Dark Shadows,” to-date, has three motion pictures based on it: “House of Dark Shadows” in 1970, “Night of Dark Shadows” in 1971 and “Dark Shadows” with Johnny Depp in 2012. There was also a short-lived revival on NBC in primetime in 1991. In 2004, a pilot for a new version of “Dark Shadows” was produced for The WB but never picked up to series.