Pop Culture Happenings: December

50 years ago, a funny circus took flight, 40 years ago, Madonna felt shiny and new, and 25 years ago, Yeltsin gave the world Putin.

1974

50 years ago

On Dec. 5, 1974, the final episode of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” aired on BBC television. The show was a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam. The first episode premiered on Oct. 5, 1969, with 45 episodes airing over four series. The series stands out for its use of absurd situations mixed with risqué and innuendo-laden humor, sight gags, and observational sketches without punchlines. Some of their most popular sketches include “The Ministry of Silly Walks,” “The Dead Parrot Sketch” and “The Cheese Shop.” The troupe had several subsequent projects, including the films “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and “Monty Python’s Meaning of Life.”

1984

40 years ago

On Dec. 22, 1984, Madonna’s dance single “Like a Virgin” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100’s chart, tying Prince’s “When Doves Cry” as the fastest-rising No. 1 single of the year. Released on Oct. 31, 1984, the song was on Madonna’s second album of the same name and was written and composed by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg. Steinberg, in an interview for the Los Angeles Times, said the song was not written with a female singer in mind and was inspired by how he coped with a previous relationship.

“I was saying I’ve been battered romantically and emotionally like many people,” Steinberg said. “But I’m starting a new relationship, and it just feels so good, it’s healing all the wounds and making me feel like I’ve never done this before.”

1999

25 years ago

On Dec. 31, 1999, during a televised New Year’s address, Russian President Borris Yeltsin unexpectedly issued his resignation, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin became acting President of the Russian Federation. Yeltsin became Russia’s President in 1991 and was instrumental in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. His presidency was riddled with scandal, and Yeltsin struggled with alcohol dependency and illness resulting in a great deal of attention in the global press and low approval ratings in his own country. Yeltsin died of congestive heart failure on April 23, 2007, at age 76. Putin was inaugurated as President on May 7, 2000, and has retained the Russian presidency for the past 25 years.