On This Day: April 5

On This Day April 5

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1900 – Oscar-winning actor Spencer Tracy (“Boys Town,” “Inherit the Wind,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”) (d. 1967)

1908 – Oscar-winning actress Bette Davis, known as “The First Lady of the American Screen” (“Jezebel,” “All About Eve,” “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”) (d. 1989)

1916 – Oscar-winning actor Gregory Peck (“The Keys of the Kingdom,” “Gentleman’s Agreement,” “To Kill a Mockingbird”) (d. 2003)

1926 – Producer-director Roger Corman, known as “The Pope of Pop Cinema” (“The Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Raven,” “Piranha,” ” Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”) 

1937 – Soldier-turned-statesman Colin Powell, a four-star U.S. general who became the first African American secretary of state in 2001

1941 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor Michael Moriarty (“Bang the Drum Slowly,” “Holocaust,” “Law & Order”) 

1973 – Singer-rapper-music producer Pharrell Williams, best known for his 2014 smash “Happy,” from the movie “Despicable Me 2.”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1614 – Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, weds English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia. The marriage ensures peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several years.

1951 – A federal judge sentences Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death for their roles in passing atomic secrets to the Soviets.  The couple had been convicted of their crimes a week earlier. They are executed by electric chair in 1953, becoming the only two American civilians to be executed for Cold War espionage.

1965 – Movie musicals sweep the Oscars. At the 37th Academy Awards, “My Fair Lady” wins Best Picture, while its star, Rex Harrison, wins Best Actor. Singer/actress Julie Andrews wins Best Actress for her role in “Mary Poppins.” 

1971 – Canadian Fran Phipps becomes the first woman to reach the North Pole. 

1987 – The sitcom “Married…With Children” debuts on Fox and ultimately lasts 11 seasons, becoming the network’s longest-running live action series.

2000 – Lee Petty, an early star of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and the patriarch of a racing dynasty that includes his son, NASCAR legend Richard Petty, dies at the age 86. Lee Petty won more than 50 races during his career.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – Tommy Roe enjoys his fourth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Dizzy.”

1975 – “Lovin’ You,” by Minnie Riperton, tops the Billboard Hot 100. At the end of the track, you can hear her sing, “Maya, Maya” to her daughter, actress-comedian and “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph. Tragically, Riperton dies of breast cancer four years later at the age of 31.

1980 – “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II,” by Pink Floyd, is the No. 1 single. 

1984 – The funeral service for Motown legend Marvin Gaye takes place at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown talent are on hand to pay their respects.

1985 – At 3:50 p.m. GMT, more than 5,000 radio stations around the world simultaneously broadcast the single “We Are the World,” produced as a charity to benefit Ethiopian famine relief. The single, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, features the voices of some of the biggest musical acts of the day.

1994 – Grunge music icon Kurt Cobain, Nirvana founder and frontman, commits suicide at age 27. His body is discovered at his Seattle home three days later by an electrician who showed up to install a security system.

1997 – “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” by Puff Daddy featuring Mase, is in the middle of a six-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100.

2002 – Another grunge legend, singer-songwriter Layne Staley, co-founder and lead vocalist of alternative rock band Alice in Chains, is found dead in his Seattle home from a drug overdose at the age of 34.

2008 – Leona Lewis has the No. 1 single with “Bleeding Love.” The track holds the top spot for a week.

2014 – Pharrell Williams holds the top spot on the singles chart with “Happy,” which remains at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

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On This Day: January 13

On This Day January 13

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1919 – Actor Robert Stack (“The Untouchables,” “Unsolved Mysteries”) (d. 2013)

1931 – Actor and “The Match Game” panelist Charles Nelson Reilly (d. 2007)

1961 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, best known for her role as Elaine in the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld” 

1964 – Actress Penelope Ann Miller (“Biloxi Blues,” “Kindergarten Cop”)

1966 – Actor and race car driver Patrick Dempsey, best known as “McDreamy” from the hit TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy”

1977 – Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “Troy”) 

History Highlights
History Highlights

1910 – Radio pioneer and electron tube inventor Lee de Forest demonstrates the world’s first radio broadcast to the public in New York City. He successfully broadcasts a live performance of Enrico Caruso from The Metropolitan Opera. 

1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic-bodied automobile that is 30 percent lighter than ordinary cars. 

1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American U.S. cabinet member, as President Lyndon Johnson appoints him secretary of the newly created Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency that develops and implements national housing policy and enforces fair housing laws.

1982 – Air Florida Flight 90 — a Boeing 737 jet — takes off from Washington National Airport and suddenly plummets into the 14th Street Bridge, plowing through cars and sliding into the icy waters of the Potomac River. The crash kills 78 people, including four motorists. 

1982 – At nearly the same time as the Air Florida disaster, on the other side of D.C., a Metro Rail commuter train derails, killing three people. 

1999 – After 13 seasons, NBA superstar Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls announces his retirement from professional basketball, for the second time, in front of a crowd at Chicago’s United Center.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – Chubby Checker returns to the top of the singles chart with “The Twist.” The song first reached No. 1 in September 1960, becoming the only record in American chart history to top the singles survey on two separate occasions. 

1968 – Country music legend Johnny Cash goes to California’s Folsom Prison to bring his unique style of music to inmates. The concert is recorded and later released as a live album, propelling the Man in Black into musical stardom.

1969 – Elvis Presley begins a 10-day recording session that would produce his final No. 1 single, “Suspicious Minds.” The tracks are recorded at American Sound Studios in Memphis, marking Presley’s first hometown recording since his Sun Records days in 1956. 

1973 – Carly Simon starts a five-week run at No. 1 on the album chart with “No Secrets,” which contains her smash single “You’re So Vain.”

1996 – The Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men collaboration “One Sweet Day” is mid-way through an unprecedented 16-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

2001 – Destiny’s Child, featuring Beyonce, has the No. 1 single with “Independent Women, Part I.” 

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On This Day: December 24

On This Day December 24

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1922 – Actress Ava Gardner (“The Hucksters,” “Show Boat,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “The Barefoot Contessa,” “On the Beach,” “Seven Days in May,” “The Night of the Iguana,” “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean,” “Earthquake,” “The Cassandra Crossing” (d. 1990)

1927 – Author Mary Higgins Clark, known as “The Queen of Suspense,” whose first bestseller was “Where Are the Children?”

1956 – Actor Anil Kapoor (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “24”)

1971 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and actor Ricky Martin, best known for his 1999 smash, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”

1973 – “Twilight” series author Stephenie Meyer

1974 – TV and radio host Ryan Seacrest (“American Idol,” “American Top 40,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1818 – The now-legendary Christmas carol “Silent Night” (“Stille Nacht”) is composed in Austria by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr. 

1923 – President Calvin Coolidge lights the first national Christmas tree on the White House grounds.

1968 – The Apollo 8 astronauts become the first humans to enter orbit around the moon. Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders complete 10 lunar orbits and transmit live TV images that become part of the famous Christmas Eve broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history. The crew members conclude their broadcast by taking turns reading from the Book of Genesis.

1972 – Beloved entertainer Bob Hope performs his last Christmas show for U.S. servicemen stationed in Vietnam.

1979 – The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978. It is the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern bloc since World War II and interrupts a period of improving relations in the Cold War.

1990 – Actor Tom Cruise and actress Nicole Kidman tie the knot after meeting on the set of “Days of Thunder” in 1989. They are considered one of Hollywood’s most glamourous couples until their divorce 11 years later.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1966 – The New Vaudeville Band’s “Winchester Cathedral” begins its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1977 – The Bee Gees mark the first of three weeks atop the singles chart with “How Deep is Your Love,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s Grammy-winning “Thriller” returns to the top of the Billboard album chart for a third time, and ultimately claims the No. 1 spot for 37 non-consecutive weeks.

1983 – The Paul McCartney-Michael Jackson duet, “Say Say Say,” is in the middle of a six-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

1988 – Poison starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” the band’s only chart-topper. The track is the final No. 1 hit of 1988 and first of 1989.

1994 – One-hit-wonder Ini Kamoze’s “Here Comes the Hotstepper” begins a second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 before stepping off.

2005 – Chris Brown’s “Run It!” sets out on its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single. 

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On This Day: October 30

On This Day October 30

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1735 – One of America’s Founding Fathers, second U.S. President John Adams (d. 1826)

1939 – Rock singer-songwriter Grace Slick, who performed with Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship

1945 – Actor Henry Winkler, best remembered for playing “The Fonz” in the popular ABC sitcom “Happy Days”

1951 – Actor Harry Hamlin (“Clash of the Titans,” “L.A. Law,” “Mad Men”)

1957 – Actor Kevin Pollak (“Avalon,” “A Few Good Men,” “Grumpy Old Men,” “The Usual Suspects”)

1970 – Actress Nia Long (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Third Watch,” “Boiler Room,” the “Big Momma’s House” movies, “Are We There Yet?”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1938 – In what could be called an early case of fake news, actor Orson Welles terrifies radio listeners across the United States with his “War of the Worlds” broadcast — a dramatization of H.G. Wells’ tale about a Martian invasion.

1968 – “The Lion in Winter,” starring Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn, opens at the box office. The movie goes on to capture three Oscars, including a Best Actress win for Hepburn.

1974 – An historic boxing match-up called the “Rumble in the Jungle” sees Muhammad Ali knock out George Foreman in the eighth round in Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo), in central Africa.

1975 – The New York Daily News runs its infamous front-page headline ‘Ford to City: Drop Dead’ in reference to President Gerald Ford’s speech the day before denying federal assistance to help New York City avert bankruptcy.

1991 – A so-called “perfect storm” churns across the North Atlantic, producing powerful and deadly waves along the coasts of New England and Canada. The Gloucester, Massachusetts-based fishing boat Andrea Gail and its six-member crew are lost in the nor’easter, which inspires the best-selling book, “The Perfect Storm,” by Sebastian Junger, and a blockbuster movie starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1965 – “Yesterday,” by The Beatles, marks its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1971 – Rod Stewart concludes a five-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Maggie May.”

1976 – Chicago has the No. 1 single with “If You Leave Me Now,” which goes on to capture the band’s first Grammy.

1982 – The Australian band Men At Work climbs to the top of the U.S. singles chart with “Who Can It Be Now?” One week earlier, the group performed that song and their other hit, “Down Under,” on “Saturday Night Live,” and the following February, won a Best New Artist Grammy.

1993 – Mariah Carey’s “Dreamlover” marks the end of an eight-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart. It is her seventh No. 1 hit.

2004 – Usher and Alicia Keys rule the pop chart with “My Boo,” which holds the No. 1 spot for six weeks.

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On This Day: September 4

On This Day September 4

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1931 – Actress-singer-dancer Mitzi Gaynor (“My Blue Heaven,” “Anything Goes,” “South Pacific”)

1942 – Singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Merald “Bubba” Knight (Gladys Knight & the Pips) 

1949 – PGA champion Tom Watson 

1960 – Comedian, actor and writer Damon Wayans (“In Living Color,” “The Last Boy Scout,” “Major Payne,” “My Wife and Kids”)

1970 – Actress Ione Skye (“Say Anything,” “Four Rooms,” “Zodiac”) 

1981 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles

History Highlights
History Highlights

1886 – Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to U.S. federal troops in Arizona. For 30 years, the Native American warrior battled to protect his tribe’s homeland. However, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and outnumbered. With his surrender, Geronimo becomes the last Native American warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces, signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest.

1951 – President Harry Truman takes to the microphone for the first live coast-to-coast TV broadcast. It originates from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco.

1957 – In what becomes a landmark event in the civil rights movement, nine African American students attempt to enter Little Rock Central High School, but are blocked by National Guard troops ordered in by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. The group is known as the Little Rock Nine. 

1957 – Ford introduces the Edsel, a car named after company founder Henry Ford’s only son. The vehicle is widely considered to be one of the greatest marketing failures in automotive history.

1967 – The popular 1960s TV sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” sails off into the electronic sunset with its final episode. The show ran for three years but continues sailing across the airwaves and on cable through syndication. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1962 – The Beatles assemble for their first formal recording session at London’s EMI/Abbey Road Studios, recording “Love Me Do” and “How Do You Do It?” with newest band member Ringo Starr on drums. 

1971 – About a year after the Fab Four break-up, one of them enjoys his first No. 1 single. It’s Paul McCartney with “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” from the “Ram” album — a collaboration with his wife, Linda. 

1976 – The Bee Gees are chart-toppers with “You Should Be Dancing,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” movie soundtrack.

1976 – More than a year after entering the album chart, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album reaches No. 1. This breakthrough work contains the hits “Rhiannon,” “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me,” and has sold more than five million copies.

1982 – “Abracadabra,” by the Steve Miller Band, appears at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1993 – UB40 ends a seven-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with the cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

2004 – Terror Squad begins its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lean Back.”

2010 – “Love The Way You Lie,” by Enimen featuring Rihanna, is in the middle of six weeks as a No. 1 single.

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