On This Day December 24 Click each item below to learn more! 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 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 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. READ MORE
On This Day November 25 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1835 – Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (d. 1919) 1914 – New York Yankees Hall of Fame outfielder Joe DiMaggio (d. 1999) 1920 – Emmy-winning actor Ricardo Montalban, best known for playing Mr. Rourke on ABC’s “Fantasy Island” and Captain Kirk’s nemesis in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”) (d. 2009) 1944 – Economist-turned-presidential speechwriter-turned actor, comedian and Emmy-winning game show host Ben Stein (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “Win Ben Stein’s Money”) 1947 – Emmy-winning actor John Larroquette (“Night Court,” “The John Larroquette Show,” “The West Wing,” “Boston Legal”) 1960 – Publisher and presidential son John F. Kennedy, Jr. (d. 1999) 1960 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Amy Grant (“Next Time I Fall,” “Baby, Baby”) 1971 – Emmy-winning actress Christina Applegate (“Married… with Children,” “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,” “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and its sequel, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”) History Highlights 1947 – Film industry executives announce that 10 directors, producers and actors — the so-called “Hollywood Ten” — who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, will be fired or suspended. 1950 – A killer blizzard that comes to be known as “The Storm of the Century” paralyzes the eastern U.S. from western Pennsylvania and Ohio to New England and the Appalachians with heavy snow, 100-mile-per-hour winds and sub-zero temperatures. Coburn Creek, West Virginia receives the greatest snowfall: 62 inches. The storm claims more than 350 lives and becomes one of the costliest on record. 1973 – In response to the oil crisis, President Richard Nixon calls for a Sunday ban on the sale of gasoline to consumers. The proposal is part of a larger plan announced earlier in the month to achieve energy self-sufficiency in the U.S. by 1980. 1986 – The Iran-Contra scandal comes to light, as U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. An investigation determines that the diversion of those funds had no direct link to then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Musical Milestones 1965 – Harrods department store in London closes to the public for two hours so The Beatles can go Christmas shopping. Sadly, with Christmas still four weeks away, the Fab Four end up giving away all the gifts they bought during their spree. 1967 – “Incense and Peppermints,” by Strawberry Alarm Clock. is on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 1976 – The Band give their final performance at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The show also features Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton and other rock legends. Director Martin Scorsese films the event and releases it as a documentary called “The Last Waltz.” 1989 – Milli Vanilli start a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Blame It On The Rain,” the duo’s third No. 1 of the year. 1992 – “The Bodyguard” opens in theaters, starring Whitney Houston in her first acting role, and Kevin Costner. The soundtrack becomes the best-selling soundtrack of all time, with many of the songs dominating the pop chart. 1995 – Whitney Houston scores her 11th No. 1 single with “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” off the “Waiting To Exhale” movie soundtrack. The song was written and produced by Babyface. 2003 – Pop music legend Michael Jackson is arrested on suspicion of child molestation. He posts a $3 million bond and is released less than an hour later. READ MORE