On This Day March 21 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1685 – Classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach (d. 1750) 1944 – Actor Timothy Dalton, who played James Bond in two films 1949 – Singer-songwriter Eddie Money, born Edward Mahoney (“Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise”, “Take Me Home Tonight”) (d. 2019) 1958 – Actor Gary Oldman (“Sid and Nancy,” “JFK,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” “The Fifth Element,” “Air Force One,” played Sirius Black in the “Harry Potter” series, “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “The Book of Eli,” “Darkest Hour”) 1962 – Emmy-winning comedian-TV host-actress Rosie O’Donnell (“The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” “The View,” “A League of Their Own,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Now and Then”) 1962 – Tony-winning actor Matthew Broderick (“War Games,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Glory,” “The Freshman,” “Inspector Gadget,” “The Producers,” “Tower Heist,” “Rules Don’t Apply”) History Highlights 1947 – With fears about communism swirling across the U.S., President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9835. It creates a Loyalty Program to investigate federal employees to determine if they demonstrated “complete and unswerving loyalty” to the United States. 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads some 3,200 civil rights activists on a five-day march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Federalized Alabama National Guardsmen and FBI agents supervise the procession, which Alabama state police had previously blocked at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. 1980 – President Jimmy Carter announces a U.S. boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 1980 – In the Season 3 finale of CBS’ hit prime time drama “Dallas,” an unseen assailant shoots bad-boy J.R. Ewing (played by Larry Hagman), who falls to the floor of his office before the scene fades to black. The episode, entitled “A House Divided,” becomes one of the most talked about season finales of all time, sparking the “Who Shot J.R.” craze. Some 160 million fans wait eight months to learn the identity of the shooter in Season 4. 1994 – Eleven-year-old Anna Paquin is stunned when actor Gene Hackman announces that she has won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “The Piano.” Paquin becomes the second youngest Oscar winner of all time. 1999 – Aviators Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones complete the first non-stop around-the-world flight in a hot air balloon, making aviation history. Musical Milestones 1953 – “(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window” launches Patti Page on an eight-week ride at No. 1 on the singles chart. 1964 – The Beatles rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “She Loves You” — the second of three consecutive hits that keep the Fab Four on top of the singles chart through early May of that year. 1970 – Simon & Garfunkel remain suspended at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The track holds there for a total of six weeks. 1981 – REO Speedwagon clinches the top spot on the singles chart with “Keep On Loving You,” the group’s first Top 40 hit and No. 1. 1992 – Vanessa Williams kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard pop chart with “Save the Best for Last.” 1994 – Bruce Springsteen performs “Streets of Philadelphia” during the 66th Academy Awards, and a short time later, is handed a Best Original Song Oscar for it. It’s from the movie “Philadelphia,” for which Tom Hanks won Best Actor. The track goes on to capture four Grammys. 1998 – Will Smith maintains his hold on the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week with “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It.” READ MORE
On this Day May 8 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1844 – 33rd U.S. President Harry S. Truman (d. 1072) 1926 – Stand-up comedian-actor Don Rickles, known for his insult style of humor and as a frequent guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and “Late Show (d. 2017) 1932 – Former World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston (d. 1970) 1940 – Vocalist Toni Tennille of the Grammy-winning 70s duo Captain & Tennille (“Love Will Keep Us Together,” “Do That To Me One More Time,” “Muskrat Love”) 1940 – Actor-singer Ricky Nelson (“The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” “Hello Mary Lou,” “Travelin’ Man”) (d. 1985) 1964 – Actress-writer-producer Melissa Gilbert, best known as Laura Ingalls from NBC’s “Little House on the Prairie” 1975 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias, known as the “King of Latin Pop” (“Hero,” “Be With You,” “Escape”) History Highlights 1945 – Millions of people in cities across Great Britain and the U.S. celebrate Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) one day after Germany ‘s unconditional surrender to Allied forces. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill takes to the radio airwaves at 3 p.m. local time to announce that World War II in Europe had ended. 1963 – The first James Bond 007 movie, “Dr. No,” starring Sean Connery as the British secret agent, opens in U.S. theaters. 1973 – A 10-week standoff between federal authorities and American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South 1984 – The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1980, the U.S. and more than 60 other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 2010 – Actress Betty White, known for her former roles on “The Golden Girls” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” becomes the oldest person to host “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) at age 88. White’s hosting gig came about, in part, after fans rallied for her in a Facebook campaign. Musical Milestones 1961 – “Runaway,” by Del Shannon, is midway through a four-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart. Co-written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, the track becomes a major international hit. It ranks 472 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. 1970 – Almost a month after the band’s breakup, The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album, “Let It Be,” in Britain. It reaches the top of the Billboard album chart five weeks later. 1976 – The theme from the ABC sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” (starring Gabe Kaplan and a virtually unknown John Travolta) sits on top of the singles chart. It’s “Welcome Back” by former Lovin’ Spoonful front man John Sebastian. 1982 – Vangelis’ instrumental theme from the motion picture “Chariots of Fire” is the No. 1 single in the U.S. Vangelis later wins an Oscar for Best Original Score. 1993 – Aerosmith lands on top of the Billboard album chart with “Get A Grip,” which spawns two Grammy-winning singles: “Livin’ On the Edge” and “Crazy.” 1999 – Ricky Martin kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Livin’ la Vida Loca.” 2004 – “Yeah!,” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, continues its 12-week reign over the singles chart. READ MORE