What was the first network television series with a woman as the star and to have her character name as the title?

A quick look at the calendar (it helps to have one hanging on the wall next to my desk) tells me that not only are Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa approaching, so is the new year.  Which makes me think ahead to 2025.

Wow … 2025.  Considering I got started in the world in 1958, that’s a pretty good stretch!  I must admit, I never really thought I’d make it this far, but now that I have … should I break my habits and make new year resolutions?

Let me know what you think.  Meanwhile, buckle up, and we’ll get into the trivia!

Did you know …

… a road in France can only be used twice a day, for a few hours?  The Passage du Gois, connecting the Gulf of Burnëf to the island of Noirmoutier, is a 2.6-mile causeway in France.  It disappears under water twice every day, due to high tide.  At low tide the road is usable and well traveled, but at high tide it’s under 13 feet of water.  (Thanks to Ed for the tip!)

… the FBI had no female agents until the 1970s?  The first – and longest-serving – director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), did not approve of women as law enforcement officers, and during his tenure no women were brought in.  But following Hoover’s death, the first female agents were sworn in.  (Anything I say here could be used against me, so I ain’t sayin’ a word.)

… crocodiles can gallop?  Not only can they gallop, they can do so pretty quickly.  A croc at full gallop can do eleven miles per hour.  (Hi-yo, Silvercroc!  Away!)

… some early medical advice was, shall we say, sketchy?  Take this, for instance:  in ancient China, if you developed a fever, your doctor would prescribe a hot soup made from earthworms.  (All things being equal, I’d rather have the fever, thanks.)

… popcorn was once banned in movie theatres?  During the 1920s and 1930s, theatre owners wanted their establishments to feel like a luxury experience, so they banned popcorn.  But as the Great Depression set in, the owners realized they needed a way to bring in more money, and cheap popcorn was the ticket.  (I can’t imagine going to a movie as a luxury experience.)

… you may suffer from allodoxaphobia?  If you do, you’re afraid of other people’s opinions.  (Nowadays, being afraid of other opinions is called “politics.”)

… the first network television series to star a woman and have her character as the title was Honey West?  On September 17, 1965, Honey West debuted on ABC.  Starring Anne Francis (1930-2011), the series centered on a private detective who was created as a kind of combination of fictional detective Mike Hammer and actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).  In the mid-1960s, the notion of a female private detective was somewhat unorthodox, but the show was popular and did well in the ratings.  It lasted only one season, though, due to two factors:  competition from the wildly popular Gomer Pyle, USMC, and cost – ABC executives deemed it cheaper to import the British series The Avengers than to continue the Honey West program.  Despite the limited run, Francis was nominated for both an Emmy™ and a Golden Globe™, winning the latter.  Additional trivia note:  the first series ever to have a woman star and be named for its main character was Annie Oakley, a syndicated program which ran from 1954 to 1957.  This show starred Gail Davis (1925-1997) in a highly fictionalized version of the famous rodeo performer and sharpshooter Oakley (1860-1926).

… scientists now think many dinosaurs had feathers?  Over the years, the old image of dinosaurs as being lizard-skinned reptiles has been replaced by new schools of thought, especially since some fossil remains of land-dwelling dinosaurs show evidence of feathers.  Many scientists today believe that the dinosaurs did not all die out when the asteroid hit Earth 65 million years ago; the survivors eventually evolved into birds.  (Funny … the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex is now a chicken.  Very funny.)

… the man who created James Bond was himself a spy?  Author Ian Fleming (1908-1964) worked for British Naval Intelligence during World War II.  He oversaw two intelligence units and was involved in the planning of Operation Goldeneye, an Allied plan to remain in Spain after Francisco Franco (1882-1975) formed back-door alliances with the Axis powers during the war.  Much of what Fleming learned in Naval Intelligence found its way into the novels about Agent 007.  (“Fleming.  Ian Fleming.”)

… people used to wear lightning rods?  In the 18th Century, an attachment to hats called the Franklin wire dragged along the ground, in order to divert lightning from the wearer.  As you might expect, it was named after Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), who conducted famous experiments involving kites, keys and lightning.  (Shocking, absolutely shocking.)

… a popular dance was named after the fellow who first performed it?  Many people who have taken up dancing are familiar with the foxtrot, and even people like me – who couldn’t dance if their lives depended on it – at least know what it is.  But where did its name come from?  Most of us have never seen a fox actually trotting.  The name comes from vaudeville performer Harry Fox (1882-1959), who in 1914 first performed the dance that consisted of rapid, trotting-style steps.  Dance Mad magazine wrote about the dance, calling it “Fox’s Trot” … and the name stuck.  (Dance around that one, if you dare.)

… cocaine was once used as an anesthetic?  In 1884, Dr. William Stewart Halsted (1852-1922) performed surgery on a patient using cocaine as an anesthetic.  Of course, there’s a bad side to it as well – Halsted’s is the first recorded instance of a cocaine-addicted physician.  (That’s one way to get your name in the history books.)

Now … you know!