LOSE YOURSELF IN 1964
BBC TWO
The BBC’s second television channel was due to launch at 7.20pm on 20 April 1964, but a massive power cut caused by a fire at Battersea Power Station soon put a stop to that. BBC2 had a remit to show innovative and offbeat programmes. Programmes such as The Likely Lads and Match of the Day were early hits.
MARTIN LUTHUR KING
Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, a year after delivering his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Washington. It was awarded in recognition of his non-violent promotion of civil rights. The youngest ever recipient of the prize (he was just 35), he donated the $54,123 prize money to furthering the cause.
CIGARETTE BAN
An Act of Parliament banning cigarette advertising from British television was passed this year under the Television Act. The first ever statement from the US Government that smoking may (note ‘may’) be hazardous came from the surgeon general. Perhaps it stated: ‘Maybe smoking can make you cough’?
MARY POPPINS
The unforgettable Disney movie about a nanny with an umbrella as unconventional aeronautical transport landing on an unhappy family household was a box office marvel. Melania Trump could do a better Cockney accent than Dick van Dyke, but many still considered the film to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.