"Beware The Ides of March"

The soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar, "Beware the Ides of March," has forever tarnished the date, 15th March, with a sense of foreboding, and a very real fear for what's to come.

It's a kind of a once-a-year Friday the 13th, and became infamous thanks to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

Caesar, whilst walking in Rome with Brutus, is halted by the ominous cry of a soothsayer among the cheering crowd lining the street where his procession is passing. The seer warns him that harm will come to him no later than the Ides of March. 

Taking little notice of this warning, and even joking on the Ides of March that he's still fit and healthy, he ends up being stabbed to death later that day by several knife-wielding acquaintances.

With such a thrilling story line of murder, intrigue and treachery, it's no surprise that the Ides of March, and Julius Caesar's assassination has been dramatized many times! There are several of these adaptations available on RUSC, which I have listed below:-

The Murder of Caesar - CBS Radio Mystery Theater

Twenty Three Knives Against Caesar - Crime Classics

Julius Caesar - Family Theater

Ides of March - NBC University Theater

Julius Caesar - Great Plays

Julius Caesar - Mercury Theater on the Air

Assassination of Caesar - You Are There (live on 15th March)

As a cursed day, there have been plenty of other bad things which have happened on the Ides of March. 

However, one that I actually remember myself, was on 15th March 1971, when word was leaked that CBS were canceling “The Ed Sullivan Show” after 23 years on the network, leaving a generation who had been enjoying rock n roll music on television, in mourning.

Ed Sullivan was so famous as a TV host, that it's easy to forget that prior to 1948, he also had a career on the radio, initially reporting entertainment news. He appeared on several old time radio shows, which are also available for listening on RUSC here. 

Happy listening my friends,