On This Day March 19 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1848 – Frontiersman, marshall and gambler Wyatt Earp, remembered for participating in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (d. 1929) 1936 – Golden Globe-winning actress Ursula Andress, best known as (James) Bond girl Honey Ryder in “Dr. No” and Vesper Lynd in the Bond spoof film “Casino Royale” 1947 – Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Glenn Close (“The Big Chill,” “The Natural,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “The Shield,” “Damages,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Wife”) 1955 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Bruce Willis (“Moonlighting,” the “Die Hard” movie series, “Pulp Fiction,” “12 Monkeys,” “Armageddon,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Sin City,” “Unbreakable,” “The Expendables 2,” “Looper,” “Glass”) History Highlights 1916 – Eight Curtiss “Jenny” planes of the 1st Aero Squadron take off from Columbus, New Mexico, in the first combat air mission in U.S. history, supporting 7,000 U.S. troops that invaded Mexico to capture Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. 1918 – Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time. 1953 – The big screen invades the small screen as the Academy Awards are broadcast on television for the first time. Some 34 million viewers tune in to NBC for the event, which features ceremonies in Hollywood and New York. Comedian Bob Hope hosts from the West coast. 1977 – Fans of CBS’s popular sitcom, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” watch the broadcast of the series finale. During its seven-season run, the show garnered an unprecedented 29 Emmy Awards and spawned three spin-offs. 1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal, and turns control over to the Reverend Jerry Falwell. 2003 – President George W. Bush announces that the United States and coalition forces have launched Operation Iraqi Freedom — a military offensive against Iraq aimed at toppling its dictator, Saddam Hussein, and eliminating the storage, development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Musical Milestones 1957 – Seeking a refuge from fans and the pressure of fame, 22-year-old Elvis Presley purchases the Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee for himself, his parents and his grandmother with a $1,000 cash down payment. The property’s sale price was $102,500 — about $900,000 in today’s dollars. 1960 – Percy Faith’s “Theme From a Summer Place” is mid-way through a nine-week reign over the singles chart. 1962 – Columbia Records releases Bob Dylan’s self-titled debut album. Produced by John Hammond, Jr., who signed Dylan to the label, the album features folk standards, plus two original compositions, “Talkin’ New York” and “Song to Woody.” 1977 – Another film theme begins its third and final week as the most popular single in America: Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen” from “A Star is Born.” 1988 – Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. 1994 – “The Sign,” by Swedish band Ace of Base, tops the Billboard Hot 100. 2005 – 50 Cent becomes the first solo artist to have three singles in the Billboard Top 5: “Candy Shop” is at No. 1, “How We Do” by The Game (a member of his G-Unit group) is at No. 4 and “Disco Inferno” is at No. 5. READ MORE
On This Day March 5 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1908 – Oscar, Tony and Golden Globe-winning actor Rex Harrison (“Cleopatra,” “My Fair Lady,” “Doctor Doolittle”) (d. 1990) 1936 – Actor Dean Stockwell, most remembered as Rear Admiral Al Calavicci in the NBC television series “Quantum Leap” 1955 – Emmy-winning magician, illusionist, comedian and author Penn Jillette, of the Penn & Teller team 1958 – Pop singer Andy Gibb (“I Just Want to Be Your Everything,” “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water,” “Shadow Dancing”) (d. 1988) 1963 – Televangelist pastor and author Joel Osteen 1974 – Actress Eva Mendes (“Training Day,” “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Stuck on You,” “Hitch,” “Ghost Rider,” “The Other Guys,” “Fast Five,” “Girl in Progress,” “Lost River”) History Highlights 1770 – The Boston Massacre takes begins as a skirmish between British troops and a crowd and ends with those troops killing five men and injuring six others. Crispus Attucks, one of the dead, is thought to be a runaway slave. Word of the bloody clash sparks growing resentment toward the British regime in America and eventually leads to the American Revolution. 1946 – Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill introduces the term “iron curtain” during a speech in which he condemns the Soviet Union’s policies in Europe. His remarks are considered one of the opening volleys announcing the beginning of the Cold War. 1963 – Wham-O Company co-founders Arthur “Spud” Melin and Richard Knerr patent the Hula Hoop, the hip-swiveling toy that goes on to become one of America’s greatest fads. An estimated 25 million Hula-Hoops sell during the first four months of production alone. 1982 – Comedic actor and singer John Belushi dies of a drug overdose at the age of 33. Belushi was best known as one of the original “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) cast members and for starring roles in “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers.” Musical Milestones 1963 – Country music star Patsy Cline, known for hits like “Crazy” and “Walking After Midnight,” is killed in a Tennessee plane crash at the age of 30. Ten years later, she becomes the first female solo artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. 1966 – “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” by U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1977 – Barbra Streisand claims the No. 1 spot on the singles chart for the second time in her career. This time it’s with “Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born),” which holds the top spot for three weeks. The track captures an Oscar for Best Original Song as well as Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year (which it shares with “You Light Up My Life”), and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. 1983 – Michael Jackson begins a seven-week hold on the top spot on the singles chart with “Billie Jean,” off his Grammy-winning “Thriller” album. 1994 – Céline Dion enjoys her fourth and final week at No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart with “The Power of Love.” 2005 – “Candy Shop,” by 50 Cent featuring Olivia, kicks off nine weeks on top of the singles chart and receives a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song. READ MORE
On This Day February 12 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president (d. 1865) 1809 – Scientist Charles Darwin, who laid the foundations for the theory of evolution in his book, “The Origin of Species” (d. 1882) 1915 – Radio announcer-turned-actor and singer Lorne Greene, best know as Ben Cartwright in the TV western “Bonanza,” and Commander Adama in the sci-fi TV series “Battlestar Galactica” (d. 1987) 1923 – Director-producer Franco Zeffirelli, known for his Shakespeare film adaptations, including “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Romeo and Juliet” (d. 2019) 1934 – Five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships from 1957 to 1969 1938 – Best-selling author Judy Blume, known for her children’s books and young-adult novels, including “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” 1952 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and former Doobies Brothers vocalist Michael McDonald 1956 – Actor, comedian and former talk show host Arsenio Hall 1968 – Actor Josh Brolin (“The Goonies,” “No Country For Old Men,” “W,” “Milk,” “Men in Black 3,” “Hail, Caesar!”, “Deadpool 2”, “Avengers: Infinity War”, “Once Upon A Deadpool”, “Avengers: Endgame”, ) 1980 – Actress Christina Ricci (“The Addams Family,” “Casper,” “The Ice Storm,” “The Opposite of Sex,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Monster,” “Pan Am”) History Highlights 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. It is America’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. 1976 – Oscar-nominated actor Sal Mineo (“Rebel Without a Cause,” “Giant,” “Exodus,” “The Longest Day”) is stabbed to death outside his West Hollywood apartment at the age of 37. It takes authorities more than two years to arrest Lionel Williams, who is convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison. 1986 – After spending eight years in Soviet prisons and labor camps, human rights activist Anatoly (Natan) Scharansky is released. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan brokered the amnesty deal at a summit meeting three months earlier. 1999 – The five-week impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton comes to an end, with the Senate voting to acquit Clinton on both articles of impeachment: perjury and obstruction of justice. 2002 – Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. The trial drags on for four years until Milosevic is found dead of a heart attack in his prison cell at the age of 64. 2008 – Struggling auto giant General Motors (GM) attempts to cut costs by offering buyouts to all 74,000 of its U.S. hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. 2008 – Hollywood’s longest work stoppage since 1988 ends when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) overwhelmingly vote to go back to work following a 100-day walkout. The strike crippled the production of countless TV shows and cost the California economy more than $2 billion. It also gave rise to more reality TV programming that required little or no scripting. Musical Milestones 1955 – “Sincerely,” by the McGuire Sisters, tops the singles chart and stays there for 10 weeks. 1966 – Petula Clark marks her second and final week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “My Love.” 1972 – “Let’s Stay Together,” by Al Green, kicks off a week as the No. 1 single. In 2010, the Library of Congress adds it to the National Recording Registry, which collects recordings deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” 1977 – Barbra Streisand begins six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with the soundtrack to “A Star Is Born.” The track “Evergreen,” which becomes a No. 1 hit, garners a Best Original Song Oscar for Streisand and composer Paul Williams, as well as Grammys for Song of the Year and Female Pop Vocal Performance. 1983 – Men At Work’s “Down Under” climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second time, marking its fourth and final week as a chart-topper. The track is among two No. 1 hits off the Aussie band’s “Business As Usual” album. 1994 – “The Power of Love” by Céline Dion begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 2012 – Adele wins all six Grammy Award categories for which she was nominated. The British singer captures Song of the Year for “Rolling In the Deep” and receives Grammys for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Someone Like You” and Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year for “21.” READ MORE