On this Day: August 11

On this Day August 11

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1921 – Author Alex Haley (“Roots,” “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”) (d. 1992)

1925 – TV talk show host Mike Douglas (“The Mike Douglas Show”) (d. 2006)

1949 – Singer-songwriter Eric Carmen (“All By Myself,” “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” “She Did It,” “Hungry Eyes,” “Make Me Lose Control,”)

1950 – Apple Computer co-founder Steve “Woz” Wozniak 

1953 – Pro wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea

1954 – Singer-songwriter Joe Jackson (“Is She Really Going Out With Him,” “Steppin’ Out,” “Breaking Us In Two”)

1965 – Tony and Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis (“Doubt,” “The Help,” “How to Get Away With Murder”)

1983 – Actor Chris Hemsworth (“Thor,” “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Red Dawn,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1934 – The first inmates, classified as “most dangerous,” arrive at the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, joining a few dozen prisoners left over from the island’s days as a U.S. military prison.

1956 – Abstract artist Jackson Pollock dies in a drunk-driving car crash at the age of 44. 

1965 – Following the arrest of a young black motorist, the predominately black Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts erupts in riots that last six days and leave more than 30 people dead. 

1965 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the Bronco to compete with the Jeep CJ-5 and International Harvester Scout. The Bronco gets a massive publicity boost in June of 1994 when it was the subject of a low-speed LA police chase involving then-murder suspect O.J. Simpson. More than five decades later, an updated version of the workhorse is still going strong.

1973 – “American Graffiti” opens in theaters. The coming-of-age film set in 1962 California was co-written and directed by George Lucas and stars Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Harrison Ford.

1984 – During a sound check before a Saturday radio broadcast, President Ronald Reagan jokingly says, “My fellow Americans. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” Reagan was unaware, however, that the feed was live. The Soviets, who find no humor in the remark, put their military on high alert.

2014 – Oscar-winning actor-comedian Robin Williams (“Mork and Mindy,” “The World According to Garp,” “Moscow on the Hudson,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Dead Poets Socity,” “Aladdin,”  “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “The Birdcage,” “Good Will Hunting”) dies by suicide at the age of 63. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – Neil Sedaka has his first No. 1 single with “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.” The song holds the top spot for two weeks. 

1964 – The Beatles’ movie “Help!” premieres in New York. Directed by Richard Lester, it is the Fab Four’s second film.

1979 – ‘Disco Queen’ Donna Summer begins her fifth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bad Girls.”

1984 – Who ya gonna call? Ray Parker, Jr. starts a three-week run at No. 1 with the theme from the film “Ghostbusters.”

1999 – KISS arrives on Hollywood Boulevard to unveil their star on The Walk Of Fame. The band had released over 30 albums and sold over 80 million records worldwide.

2001 – Boy band NSYNC’s “Celebrity” album debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

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On this Day: May 14

On this Day May 14

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1936 – Singer Bobby Darin (“Splish Splash,” “Mack the Knife,” “If I Were a Carpenter”) (d. 1973)

1944 – Filmmaker George Lucas, the creative mastermind behind the “Star Wars” franchise as well as “American Graffiti” and other movies

1952 – Singer-songwriter and Talking Heads founder David Byrne

1952 – Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the “Back to the Future” movie series, “Forrest Gump,” “Contact,” “Cast Away,” “The Polar Express”)

1961 – Actor Tim Roth (“Reservoir Dogs,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Rob Roy,” “Everyone Says I Love You”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett (“Elizabeth,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Notes On A Scandal,” “The Aviator,” “Blue Jasmine”)

1984 – Philanthropist and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

1993 – Actress Miranda Cosgrove (“School of Rock,” “Drake & Josh,” “iCarly,” “Despicable Me”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1804 – The Lewis & Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to make the journey.

1904 – The Third Olympiad of the modern era, and the first Olympic Games to be held in the United States, opens in St. Louis, Missouri. However, it is far from the international affair of more recent deacdes. Only 12 countries attend, with Americans accounting for 523 of the 630 participating athletes.

1948 – British rule in Palestine comes to an end as the Jewish National Council proclaims the establishment of the State of Israel. Within hours, Arab forces attack the fledgling nation.

1955 – The Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that puts the Soviets in command of the armed forces of its partners. The move is aimed at counterbalancing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Pact officially disbands in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union.

1969 – After nine years of production, the last Chevy Corvair rolls off the assembly line. That’s the rear-engine compact car that consumer advocate Ralph Nader took to task citing safety concerns.

1973 – Skylab, America’s first space station, is successfully launched on a mission to observe and photograph the sun as well as to study the biological effects of life in space.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1968 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney are guests on NBC’s “Tonight Show” with Joe Garagiola guest-hosting for Johnny Carson. The conversation includes some light-hearted banter about meditation, the forming of Apple Corps. and songwriting.

1977 – Leo Sayer has the No. 1 hit for a week with “When I Need You.”

1988 – Led Zeppelin band members reunite for the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden in New York, appearing with Jason Bonham, son of John Bonham, on drums. Other performing acts include Foreigner, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King.

1988 – “Anything for You” by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine begins a two-week run on top of the singles chart.

1998 – Known as “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “The Chairman of the Board,” legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies at the age of 82. His entertainment career spanned half a century and left such an impression in American culture that “Rolling Stone” magazine labeled him “indisputably the 20th century’s greatest singer of popular song.”

2005 – Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” is in the midst of a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

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