Day Tripping: December 22
Gee Wally
Barbara Lillian Combes was born in 1915, the daughter of a Los Angeles police officer. After one year of junior college, Barbara relocated to New York with a revue of Straw Hat that played on Broadway for only five shows. Rather than return home, she took an apartment and began working as a fashion model.
In 1941, Barbara met and married Glenn Billingsley and the couple moved back to LA. Billingsley did uncredited roles until 1952 when she got a part in the Abbott and Costello Show.
“Don’t think your dreams don’t come true, because they do. You’d better be careful what you wish for.”
Several other television shows came along and then in 1957, she landed the role as the mom on Leave It To Beaver. After mediocre reviews the first season, the show began to gain traction. For the next five years, Barbara Billingsley was America’s favorite mom.
Her only regret with the June Cleaver role was that her contract only paid royalties on five reruns. Leave It To Beaver was syndicated beyond her death. Barbara Billingsley never saw her role as weak, as critics suggested.
Yet, she still maintained her comedic timing and sense of irony. She made a sensation as the Jive Lady in 1980’s Airplane! Her style and grace captured audiences once again in an instant.
Musical Ride
In 1966, it was considered an editing miracle when the Beatles producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick pieced together two takes of Strawberry Fields Forever. The amazing part was the two versions were in different keys and tempos but became one song.
The splice appears imperceptibly at 59 seconds just before Lennon sings, “Going to…”
Interesting Notes
Phil Collins was being interviewed in 1988 when he joked about wanting to make a movie version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with Danny DeVito and Bob Hoskins. After reading the comment, DeVito and Hoskins agree to get on board. Kim Basinger was signed to play Goldilocks but the film never got to production.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Joe Cocker enjoyed a long career as the greatest cover performer of all time. His biggest hit was with the Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends, but Cocker had several hits of his own during his career. He died of lung cancer in 2014 at age 70.
Notable Births
1945 — Diane Sawyer: “Follow what you are genuinely passionate about and let that guide you to your destination.”
1962 — Ralph Fiennes: “I don’t feel particularly comfortable about actors using whatever power they may have to push their beliefs unless they’re extremely well informed.”
K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan
All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping