On This Day: March 19

On This Day March 19

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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.

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On this Day: July 15

On this Day July 15

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1606 – Dutch artist Rembrandt (d. 1669)

1935 – Pro football player-turned-actor Alex Karras (d. 2012)

1944- Actor Jan-Michael Vincent, best remembered from the 1980s TV series “Airwolf”  

1946 – Grammy and Emmy-winning singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt (“You’re No Good,” “Blue Bayou”)

1950 – Author-media mogul Arianna Huffington, publisher of The Huffington Post

1951 – Pro wrestler and former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura

1952 – Emmy-winning actor Terry O’Quinn, best known for portraying John Locke in TV’s “Lost” 

1960 – Supermodel and actress Kim Alexis

1961 – Oscar-winning actor-producer-director Forest Whitaker (“Platoon,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Bird,” “The Crying Game,” “Panic Room,” “Phone Booth,” “The Last King of Scotland,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1903 – The newly formed Ford Motor Company receives its first automobile order. The customer is Chicago dentist Ernst Pfenning, who buys an $850 two-cylinder Model A with a tonneau, or backseat. The vehicle is delivered a week later.

1968 – Agnes Nixon’s daytime soap opera “One Life to Live” premieres on ABC and goes on to launch many successful acting careers. 

1971 – During a live television and radio broadcast, President Richard Nixon stuns Americans by announcing that he will visit the People’s Republic of China the following year. 

1979 – President Jimmy Carter delivers his famous “Crisis of Confidence” speech, later referred to as the “malaise speech,” in which he challenged Americans to overcome consumersism and materialism to solve the energy crisis and other challenges.

1988 – A new action-thriller movie franchise is born as “Die Hard” opens in U.S. theaters, starring Bruce Willis as detective John McClane, who single-handedly battles a terrorist group led by Alan Rickman that is holding hostages inside a Los Angeles skyscraper.

1997 – World-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot to death outside his Miami mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who was already wanted in connection with four other murders across the U.S.

2006 – Podcasting company Odeo launches the social media platform Twitter as twttr, touting it as “a new mobile service that helps groups of friends bounce random thoughts around with SMS.” Twitter’s popularity explodes, with the service boasting more than 300 million users by 2016.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Association is in the midst of a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Windy.”

1972 – Elton John’s “Honky Château,” the album that introduces “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat,” begins five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Sir Elton’s fifth studio album is named after the 18th century French estate where it was recorded — Château d’Hérouville.

1978 – “Some Girls,” by The Rolling Stones, lands on top of the Billboard album chart, delivering three Top 40 hits: “Miss You,” “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered.”

1986 – Columbia Records drops country music legend Johnny Cash, ending a 26-year relationship. Cash is later signed by Mercury Records, and in 1994, releases his first album with producer Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label, beginning a major comeback.

1989 – Simply Red has its second No. 1 single — this time with the cover of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ 1973 smash “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.”

1995 – “Waterfalls,” by TLC, flows into its second week as a chart-topper. The track remains at No. 1 for a total of seven weeks.

2000 – “Everything You Want,” by Vertical Horizon, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for a week.

2006 – “Promiscuous,” by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland, is in the midst of a six-week run atop the pop chart.

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