Live, From Austin …
The legacy of Lorne Michaels, best known as the creator and producer of the long-running TV show Saturday Night Live, is the focus of an exhibit at the University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center in Austin.
On display are scripts, production notes, props and costumes from the iconic show that has changed pop culture since it went on the air in October 1975.
Live from New York: The Lorne Michaels Collection runs through March 20, 2026. Admission is free.
The Cowboys’ Roger Staubach is a self-described “Catholic kid from Cincinnati.”
Jerry Coli | Dreamstime.com
For Heaven’s Sake
The Hail Mary pass unofficially turns 50 this month, though the Notre Dame football team referred to desperation plays as Hail Marys as early as 1922.
But Roger Staubach’s 45-yard heave that fell into the hands of receiver Drew Pearson for the Dallas Cowboys’ game-winning touchdown over the Minnesota Vikings in the 1975 NFL playoffs made the name of a Catholic prayer into a signature play.
As Staubach explained, “They asked me, ‘What were you thinking about when you threw the ball?’ I said, ‘When I closed my eyes, I said a Hail Mary.’ ”
The Year of the Chad
Remember when the presidential election 25 years ago seemingly was to be decided by hanging chads—an unknown term until then that described a punched piece of paper hung on at one corner of some of Florida’s ballots?
The November 7, 2000, election hung in the balance until the U.S. Supreme Court ended Florida’s vote recount with a decision December 12 that handed former Texas Gov. George W. Bush the presidency over Al Gore.
Pioneering Doc
Thelma Patten Law was the first African American female physician in Houston. Her specialty was obstetrics and gynecology, and she offered patients prenatal care and the chance to have babies in a hospital attended by a doctor, a first for many of her patients.
She delivered hundreds of babies, perhaps the most famous being Barbara Jordan, who became a U.S. congresswoman.
Law was born 125 years ago this month in Huntsville.
