Today in History: Thursday, October 31, 2024

Television
“The Odd Couple” on ABC hit the 100-episode mark in 1974. It concluded on March 7, 1975 after five seasons…Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and Dan (John Goodman) competed to see who is the spookiest on the first of the annual Halloween-themed episodes of ABC’s “Roseanne” in 1989.

AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” based on Robert Kirkman’s comic-book series about a world suddenly overrun by zombies, launched with record ratings for the cable network in 2010.

Movies
Horror film “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane,” starring Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, was released in 1962. The backstage battle between Crawford and Davis was the basis for Ryan Murphy drama “Feud: Bette and Joan” on FX.

News
After nearly 15 years of work, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota was completed in 1941. The colossal sculpture features the heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Celebrity Birthdays
“Yes, Dear” star Mike O’Malley is 58; Rapper Vanilla Ice is 57.

Did You Know?
Tony Randall and Jack Klugman took over the roles of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison from Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, of course, who played the duo in the 1968 “Odd Couple” theatrical. But another potential pairing for this first sitcom version was Art Carney as Felix and Dean Martin as Oscar. Carney originated the role of Felix in the Broadway play. Ron Glass (“Barney Miller”) and Demond Wilson (“Sanford and Son”) inherited the roles for remake “The New Odd Couple” on ABC in the 1982-83 season. And more recently was Thomas Lennon and Matthew Lennon on the CBS version of the sitcom.