Interrupted in midst of her 1957 Christmas message broadcast, the late Elizabeth II carried on . . .

Blithe Spirit 1 Minute

. . . undeterred.

Elizabeth II’s 1957 Christmas message was notable not only because it was the first to be broadcast on television. It was also the first to feature chit-chat between American police officers.

The Associated Press noted at the time that, due to freak climatic conditions, snippets of U.S. police radio randomly interrupted British television programs.

“On Christmas,” it reported, “right in the middle of Queen Elizabeth’s holiday broadcast, some listeners caught the plaintive voice of a hungry American cop: ‘Joe,’ the voice barged into the Queen’s broadcast, ‘I’m gonna grab a quick coffee.’ Just that. And then the Queen came back.”

Published by Jim Bowman

Jim Bowman covered religion 1968-78 for the Chicago Daily News, since then has written books, articles, etc., mostly on corporate history but also on religion (Company Man: My Jesuit Life, 1950-1968), and more recently on politics (Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters, -- Lulu.com, Kindle). Longtime Oak Park, Illinois, resident, he lives now on Chicago's North Side, where four of his and Winnie's six children live close by.

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