On This Day: November 23

On This Day November 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1804 – Franklin Pierce, the 14th U.S. president (d. 1869)

1859 – Outlaw Billy the Kid (d. 1881)

1887 – Actor Boris Karloff, born William Henry Pratt, best known for his portrayal of the monster in the “Frankenstein” movies and narrator/voice of The Grinch in the 1966 animated special, “Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas!” (d. 1969)

1888 – Comedian-actor Harpo Marx of the legendary comedy troupe the Marx Brothers (d. 1964)

1925 – Grammy and Oscar-winning composer-arranger Johnny Mandel, most famous for “Suicide Is Painless,” the theme from the movie and TV series “M*A*S*H”

1954 – Grammy-winning singer-pianist Bruce Hornsby (“The Way It Is,” “Mandolin Rain,” “Every Little Kiss”)

1960 – “Good Morning America” (GMA) co-host Robin Roberts

1992 – Singer-songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus, born Destiny Hope Cyrus (“Hannah Montana,” “Party in the U.S.A.,” “Can’t Be Tamed”, “We Can’t Stop,” “Wrecking Ball”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1889 – The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. Built by the Pacific Phonograph Company, the device is called a “nickel-in-the-slot player.” A record would play for a nickel and up to four people could listen using using stethoscope-like tubes.

1936 – The illustrated magazine LIFE premieres. The first issue features a black and white photo of the Fort Peck Dam in Montana, taken by Margaret Bourke-White.

1981 – President Ronald Reagan secretly grants the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the power to recruit and support a 500-man force of Nicaraguan rebels (“Contras”) to conduct covert actions against the leftist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. The move eventually leads to what became the Iran-Contra scandal.

1984 – It’s the “Miracle in Miami,” as Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie leads BC past Miami 47-45 at the Orange Bowl. Flutie throws a Hail Mary pass to win the game.

2012 – Actor Larry Hagman, who starred in TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” and years later “Dallas,” dies of complications from cancer at the age of 81.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1936 – Delta blues legend Robert Johnson lays down his first-ever musical recordings — eight songs in a single session at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. The tracks include “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom,” “Sweet Home Chicago” and his biggest hit, “Terraplane Blues.” 

1963 – “I’m Leaving It Up to You,” by Dale & Grace, is the hottest song on the radio.

1974 – Billy Swan is on top of the singles chart for two weeks with the only hit of his singing career: “I Can Help.”

1974 – The Rolling Stones score their fifth No. 1 album with “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll” — the last Stones album for guitarist Mick Taylor, who was replaced by Ronnie Wood. 

1976 – Rocker Jerry Lee Lewis is arrested for the second time in as many days. First it was drunk driving, but on this day he’s busted for brandishing a pistol outside Graceland while demanding to see Elvis.

1985 – Starship begin their second and final week orbiting around the top spot on the pop chart with “We Built This City.”

1991 – Michael Bolton’s cover of Percy Sledge’s 1966 classic, “When a Man Loves a Woman,” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and later goes on to capture a Grammy Award.

1995 – Soul singer and saxophonist Junior Walker, best known for the hits “How Sweet It Is” and “What Does It Take, To Win Your Love, dies of cancer at the age of 64. Walker also played sax on Foreigner’s 1981 hit “Urgent.”

2002 – Eminem rules the Billboard singles chart with “Lose Yourself,” from the “8 Mile” movie soundtrack. The song holds at No. 1 for 12 weeks.

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On This Day: November 18

On This Day November 18

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1908 – Peabody-winning actress-comedian Imogene Coca (“Your Show of Shows,” “Vacation”) (d. 2001)

1923 – First American in space, astronaut Alan Shepard (d. 1998)

1939 – Actress Brenda Vaccaro (“Midnight Cowboy,” “Once Is Not Enough,” “Capricorn One,” “Supergirl”)

1942 – Actress Linda Evans (“The Big Valley,” “Dynasty”)

1953 – Comedic actor and “SNL” alum Kevin Nealon (“The Wedding Singer,” “Happy Gilmore,” “Blended”)

1960 – Actress Elizabeth Perkins (“About Last Night…,” “Big,” “Avalon,” “The Flintstones,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “28 Days,” “Cats & Dogs”)

1968 – Actor, producer and screenwriter Owen Wilson (“The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Wedding Crashers,” “Night at the Museum” trilogy, “You, Me and Dupree,” “Marley & Me,” “The Internship”)

1974 – Actress Chloë Sevigny (“A Map of the World,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Big Love”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1883 – U.S. and Canadian railroads implement five standardized time zones across North America to end years of confusion over local times: Intercolonial (now known as Atlantic Time in eastern Canada), Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific.

1928 – Mickey Mouse debuts in Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie,” the first synchronized sound cartoon ever produced. Mickey’s squeaky voice is provided by Mr. Disney himself.

1963 – The Bell Telephone Company introduces the push-button telephone. The first touch-tone telephone is the Western Electric model 1500, with 10 buttons. Engineers tested 15 different keypad layouts before settling on the configuration with 1 at the top left and 0 in the bottom row.

1978 – People’s Temple leader Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a mass murder-suicide at their Jonestown Commune in remote northwestern Guyana.

1991 – Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon free Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite after more than four years in captivity.

1999 – In the early morning hours, a 40-foot-high pyramid of logs for the annual Aggie Bonfire at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas collapses, killing 12 people and injuring 27 others. Investigators determine that the first stack of logs did not have sufficient containment strength.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – Fats Domino appears on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and plays his smash, “Blueberry Hill.”

1957 – Elvis Presley remains perched atop the U.S. singles chart for a fifth straight week with “Jailhouse Rock,” from the movie of the same name.

1963 – “I’m Leaving It Up to You” by Dale & Grace is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1971 – Memphis blues singer and musician Herman ‘Junior’ Parker dies at the age of 39 during surgery for a brain tumor. Among his hits were “Feelin’ Good,” “Driving Wheel,” “Next Time You See Me,” “In the Dark” and “Sweet Home Chicago.”

1978 – “52nd Street” becomes Billy Joel’s first No. 1 album. It contains some of his biggest hits to date, including “My Life,” “Big Shot” and “Honesty,” and goes on to capture two Grammy Awards.

1989 – Bad English’s “When I See You Smile” begins its second and final weeks at No, 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

1993 – Five months before Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s death, the pioneering grunge band records an “MTV Unplugged” special at Sony Music Studios in New York City. The set list consists of lesser-known material and cover versions of songs by The Vaselines, David Bowie, Meat Puppets and Lead Belly. The album goes on to win a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album in 1996.

1995 – “Fantasy.” by Mariah Carey, enters its eighth and final week on top of the pop chart.

2017 – Australian musician and songwriter Malcolm Young, best known as a co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the hard rock band AC/DC, dies at the age of 64.

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