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On this Day June 22

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Celebrity Birthdays

1936 – Golden Globe-winning singer-songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson ( “Me and Bobby McGee” and “For the Good Times,” “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “A Star Is Born”)

1949 – Emmy-winning actress Lindsay Wagner of TV’s “The Bionic Woman”

1949 – Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep (“Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Sophie’s Choice,” “Silkwood,” “Out of Africa,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “The Iron Lady”)

1953 – Grammy, Emmy and Tony-winning singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, born Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (“Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop,” “True Colors”)

1954 – Comedian Freddie Prinze, best known for starring in the TV series “Chico and the Man” (d. 1977)

1971 – Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub, best known for her role as Chloe in the FOX-TV action series “24”

History Highlights

1944 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the GI Bill to provide financial aid to veterans returning from World War II.

1950 – Prominent figures in the music industry, including Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Lena Horne, Pete Seeger and Artie Shaw, are named publicly as suspected Communist sympathizers as part of America’s infamous Red Scare.T Their names appear in Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television.

1966 – Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton grace the big screen with the release of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” It’s the first movie to contain certain four-letter words and adult content, but still receive the production code seal of approval.

1969 – Award-winning actress-singer Judy Garland, best known for playing Dorothy in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz,” is found dead of a drug overdose in her London home just days after her 47th birthday.

1981 – Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to the murder of music legend and former Beatle John Lennon.

2001 – There’s plenty of burning rubber on the screen as the action movie “The Fast and the Furious,” starring Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez, debuts in U.S. theaters. The film becomes a blockbuster — grossing $200 million worldwide — and spawns several sequels.

2011 – After 16 years on the run from law enforcement, James “Whitey” Bulger, a violent Boston mob boss wanted for 19 murders, is arrested in California. Bulger was among the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” fugitives. He dies in prison in 2018 at the age of 89.

Musical Milestones

1963 – “Fingertips, Part 2,” by 13-year-old singing sensation ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder, becomes the now-legendary Motown artist’s first of 61 chart records through 1988.

1968 – Trumpeter Herb Alpert finds success as a vocalist when he starts four weeks on top of the singles chart with “This Guy’s In Love With You” —  his first No. 1 hit. The track is a Burt Bacharach-Hal David composition.

1974 – “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods,” enters its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1985 – The soundtrack from the Eddie Murphy action comedy “Beverly Hills Cop” tops the Billboard album chart. It spawns the hits “Axel F” by Harold Faltermeyer and “The Heat is On” by Glenn Frey.

1985 – Bryan Adams scores his first chart-topping single with “Heaven,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

1991 – Paula Abdul conquers the pop chart with “Rush Rush,” which remains at No. 1 for five weeks.

1996 – “Tha Crossroads,” by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, tops the Billboard singles chart.

2002 – Ashanti wraps up a 10-week domination of the pop chart with “Foolish.”

2013 – “Blurred Lines,” by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell, begins a 12-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100. The track samples Marvin Gaye’s 1977 smash, “Got to Give It Up.”

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