On This Day: December 26

On This Day December 26

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1914 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Widmark (“Kiss of Death,” “No Way Out,” “Don’t Bother to Knock”) (d. 2008)

1921 – Entertainer Steve Allen, first host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” who was a prolific comedian, composer, actor, author and TV host during a nearly five-decade career (d. 2000)

1927 – Comedian-actor Alan King (d. 2004)

1933 – Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, the talent behind the “Sesame Street” characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (d. 2019)

1939 – Grammy-winning record producer-songwriter and convicted murderer Phil Spector

1947 – Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk

1956 – Humorist-comedian-author David Sedaris (“SantaLand Diaries,” “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” “When You Are Engulfed in Flames”)

1971 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor and musician Jared Leto (“Girl, Interrupted,” “American Psycho,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “Panic Room,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Suicide Squad”)

1979 – Rock singer-songwriter-guitarist Chris Daughtry, whose music career was launched by a fourth-place finish on “American Idol”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1898 – In a landmark moment for chemistry and physics, French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie publish a paper announcing their discovery of the element of radium (Ra). The groundbreaking discovery later garners the husband and wife team the Nobel Prize.

1946 – Mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel opens the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, aiming to establish a stylish and cosmopolitan gambling destination in the Nevada desert. Siegel closes the resort just two weeks later due to lackluster business, and the following June, he is killed in a mob hit. After undergoing multiple ownership changes through the years, the Flamingo is still in operation as the oldest casino on the Vegas Strip.

1966 – Kwanzaa is observed for the first time. The seven-day holiday with strong African roots was designed by Dr. Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach, as a celebration of African American family, community and culture.

1972 – Harry S. Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, dies in Independence, Missouri at the age of 88.

1973 – “The Exorcist” opens in movie theaters across the U.S., terrifying audiences and establishing a new standard for the horror genre. Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning movie is about a girl, played by Linda Blair, that is possessed by an evil spirit.

1974 – Cancer claims the life of beloved comedian Jack Benny at the age of 80.

1982 – TIME magazine breaks from tradition when the magazine’s editors replace the annual “Man of the Year” cover story with “Machine of the Year” and profile the personal computer.

1996 – Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home. Her murder becomes the focus one of most intensive and publicized police investigations in U.S. history and remains unsolved to this day.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – The Beatles score their sixth No. 1 single of the year as “I Feel Fine” kicks off three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the Fab Four’s 29th to make the charts in 1964.

1970 – “My Sweet Lord,” by George Harrison, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and makes Harrison the first ex-Beatle to reach No. 1 as a solo act.

1981 – Olivia Newton-John begins her sixth week reigning over the pop chart with “Physical,” which remains at No. 1 for the first four weeks of 1982.

1987 – The “Dirty Dancing” soundtrack is the middle of a nine-week reign as the No. 1 album. It becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time.

1992 – Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” enters its fifth week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track continues to hold the top spot for the first nine weeks of 1993.

1998 – “I’m Your Angel.” by R. Kelly and Céline Dion, is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the singles chart.

1999 – Soul, R&B and funk singer-songwriter Curtis Mayfield, best known for his acclaimed 1972 “Super Fly” soundtrack,” dies at the age of 57. Mayfield — a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — was a member of The Impressions before embarking on a solo career.

2009 – The Jay-Z/Alicia Keys duet, “Empire State of Mind,” is in its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single.

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On This Day: December 10

On This Day December 10

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1830 – Poet Emily Dickinson (d. 1886)

1922 – Writer Agnes Nixon, the creative force behind groundbreaking soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” which introduced social awareness to daytime television (d. 2016) 

1952 – Actress Susan Dey (“The Partridge Family,” “L.A. Law”)

1957 – Actor Michael Clarke Duncan (“The Green Mile,” “The Whole Nine Yards”) (d. 2012)

1960 – Emmy-winning actor-director Kenneth Branagh (“Henry V,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Hamlet,” “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “As You Like It,” “Thor,” “My Week with Marilyn,” “Dunkirk,” “Murder on the Orient Express”)

1961 – Singer-actress Nia Peeples (“Fame,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Pretty Little Liars”)

1964 – Celebrity chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay

1985 – Actress-singer Raven-Symoné, born Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (“The Cosby Show,” “That’s So Raven,” “The Cheetah Girls”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1898 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War. It effectively dissolves the Spanish empire with the United States taking over much of Spain’s overseas holdings. Puerto Rico and Guam are ceded to the U.S., the Philippines is purchased for $20 million, and Cuba becomes a U.S. protectorate.

1901 – The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. Named after Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prize is still considered the most prestigious international honor. Notable winners throughout the years have included Marie Curie, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others.

1907 – An American scientist wins the Nobel Peace Prize for the first time. It’s University of Chicago physics professor Albert Michelson, known for his research into the speed of light and optics.

1950 – Diplomat, scholar and activist Dr. Ralph Bunche, a key member of the United Nations for more than two decades, becomes the first African-American awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation efforts between Israel and neighboring Arab states in the late 1940s.

1999 – “The Cider House Rules,” starring Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Michael Caine, opens in movie theaters. Oscars go to Caine for Best Supporting Actor and John Irving for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1927 – The Grand Ole Opry produces its first radio broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee.

1966 – The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. Costing about $60,000 to produce, it is the most expensive pop song ever recorded up to that time.

1967 – Soul legend Otis Redding dies in a Wisconsin plane crash three days after recording his biggest hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” He is just 26 years old.

1967 – Doors frontman Jim Morrison becomes the first rock star arrested on stage during a performance. It happens in New Haven, Connecticut. Following a backstage altercation with a police officer that maced him, Morrison taunts police during his set and is taken into custody. Angry fans riot.

1977 – Debby Boone continues to light up the pop chart with “You Light Up My Life,” which begins its ninth out of 10 weeks as a No. 1 single.

1983 – “Say Say Say,” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, starts a six-week hold on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – Boyz II Men dominate the pop chart for a second straight week with “On Bended Knee.”

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