Happy 200th Birthday, Richard Wagner

When we saw that 'Wagner' was trending on Twitter, we thought: "Hey, there is no way there are referring to the German classical composer Richard Wagner." But, as it turns out, today is his 200th birthday.

There are no Google Doodles to commemorate this; our assumption is that this might because Wagner's scandalous anti-Semitic views.

But, since "Rigoletto" is one of our favorite operas, we thought we'd quip Wagner for this occasion:

"One Supreme fact which I discovered is that it is not willpower, but fantasy-imagination that creates. Imagination is the creative force. Imagination creates reality."

We saw a tweet from the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh in regards to Wagner's birthday, and the Met Opera in New York has been performing Wagner operas in honor of this milestone.

One can also listen to the delightful American public radio series "Performance Today" which we assume will run a Wagner tribute today; the shows airs on WFDD-FM, a public radio/NPR station in Winston-Salem, NC.

And, of course, it is also our civic duty to remind young people that Richard Wagner (they would probably pronounce his name like Robert Wagner not Vagner as is the proper way) is not the one who sang the 1981 hit song "Jessie's Girl." That distinction belongs to Rick Springfield.

THE WHOOPS DEPARTMENT: We just realized that only is "Rigoletto," not a Wagner opera, it's not even German! It is a work by Verdi, so therefore it's Italian. But, as Kevin Spacey said in "Swimming with Sharks:" "Never apologize; it's a sign of weakness."

http://www.wfdd.org

http://www.performancetoday.publicradio.org

 http://www.ncsymphony.org

 http://www.metoperafamily.org

 http://www.rickspringfield.com 

The Rabbit Ear Test_ (5 out of 12) "The Partridge Family"

Today, we give out a new quiz on a tv show from our childhood years in the 1970s, and today the subject is "The Partridge Family." Unlike many tv shows, the sitcom about five children and their mother who sing together in a band, also featured many recordings with The Partridge Family name.

To my knowledge, I only saw the show one time as a kid and that was on a rerun which aired on a Hartford, Conn., tv channel (perhaps WFSB) in 1980 when my parents were visiting friends in the Nutmeg State.

Earlier this year, the show made news as David Cassidy, the teen heartthrob from the show, sued the producers of the show for bank royalties, some 37 years since the show, which ran for 96 episodes, originally aired.

Also this year, writer Allison Pearson wrote a book called "I Think I Love," in reference to a hit song from The Partridge Family, about her teenage crush on David Cassidy, and how it made her dream about America while watching the show on tv in Wales.

Amazingly enough, while researching this piece, we found out that '80s pop icon Rick Springfield was set to replace a burnt out Cassidy, but the show wasn't renewed for another season.

Other interesting facts about the show are that "The Partridge Family" was based on a real-life musical family called the Cowgills. The show's dog Simone only showed up in the program's first season.

Susan Dey, another member of the cast who would later star in "L.A. Law" had to live with a guardian on the set until she turned 18. The cast also included Shirley Jones and Danny Bonaduce. The show was also for its tour bus!

So, we are going to ask: "What is the original airdate of 'The Partridge Family?' (I guess I should inform our friends in Peru, thanks for checking us out today, that the show did air in Europe, but it is an American show, and we are going with the American broadcast here)

Is the answer:

A) Sept. 25, 1970

B) May 28, 1972

C) March 1, 1973

D) Jan. 17, 1974

For more information on The Partridge Family, one can check out the web sites partridgefamilypartybus.com or partridgefamilytemple.com