Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thurs., Sept. 17, 2026
1954 Williams Golding’s Pulitzer-prize winning book was published. It chronicled a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their attempt to govern themselves.
1965 The TV comedy Hogan’s Heroes about a German prisoner of war camp premiered on CBS, starring Bob Crane as Col. Hogan. Did you know, Bob Crane was tragically murdered in his apartment in 1978 and his killer never found.
1972 The TV show M*A*S*H premiered. It was almost cancelled due to poor initial ratings. However, it grew in popularity, and the series was the most watched single U.S. TV episode in history up to that point, seen by 125 million viewers.
Music History:
1967 The Doors were banned from The Ed Sullivan Show after Jim Morrison broke his agreement with the show’s producers. Morrison said before the performance that he wouldn’t sing the words, ‘Girl, we couldn’t get much higher,’ from ‘Light My Fire’ but did anyway.
Notable Birthdays today:
Singer BeBe Winans 64
Actress Cassandra Peterson aka “Elvira” 75
Credit to:
Thisdayinmusic.com and Thisdaytrivia.com
