On This Day: December 5

On This Day December 5

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1901 – Animator, voice actor and producer Walt Disney, born Walter Elias Disney, who founded The Walt Disney Company and created the iconic character Mickey Mouse (d. 1966)

1932 – Rock and Roll legend Little Richard, born Richard Wayne Penniman (“Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly Miss Molly”)

1947 – Singer-songwriter Jim Messina (Loggins & Messina)

1968 – Comedian, actress, producer and writer Margaret Cho

1985 – “Malcolm in the Middle” star and race car driver Frankie Muniz

History Highlights
History Highlights

1933 – Fourteen years of Prohibition in the U.S. ends with ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which repeals the 18th Amendment.

1945 – A squadron of U.S. Navy bombers, collectively known as “Flight 19,” mysteriously vanishes in the Bermuda Triangle — a section of ocean between Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. A rescue aircraft also disappears during an attempt to locate the missing team. Despite countless theories throughout the years, there still is no definitive explanation for what happened to the six aircraft and 27 airmen aboard.

1955 – After 20 years of rivalry, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge to become the AFL-CIO.

1955 – The Montgomery (Alabama) Bus Boycott begins, following the arrest of black bus passenger Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. The boycott lasts more than a year until a U.S. Supreme Court decision requires integration of Montgomery’s public transportation system.

1978 – In an effort to prop up an unpopular pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union signs a “friendship treaty” with the Afghan government, agreeing to provide economic and military assistance.

1984 – “Beverly Hills Cop” opens, starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a Detroit detective who heads to Beverly Hills, California to solve the murder of his best friend.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1960 – Elvis Presley tops the singles chart with “Are You Lonesome Tonight.”

1964 – Actor Lorne Greene, beloved star of TV’s “Bonanza,” achieves musical success when his song, “Ringo,” lands on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and holds there for a week.

1973 –  Paul McCartney releases “Band On The Run,” his fifth album since the breakup of The Beatles. It spawns two hit singles: “Jet” and “Band on the Run.”

1987 – Former Go-Gos lead singer Belinda Carlisle enjoys her first and only No. 1 single as a solo act: “Heaven is a Place on Earth.”

1992 – Grammy-winning pop legend Whitney Houston rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Will Always Love You,” a song written and originally recorded by country music legend Dolly Parton in 1973.

1998 – “I’m Your Angel,” by R. Kelly and Céline Dion kicks off six weeks as a No. 1 single.

2009 – Jay-Z and Alicia Keys own the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Empire State of Mind.” The single holds at No. 1 for five weeks and becomes the last chart-topper of the 2000s. It endures today as an unofficial anthem of the Big Apple.

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On this Day: May 16

On this Day May 16

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning actor Henry Fonda (“The Grapes of Wrath,” “Mister Roberts,” “12 Angry Men,” “On Golden Pond”) (d. 1982)

1919 – Emmy-winning pianist Liberace, born Wladziu Valentino Liberace, known for his signature candelabra and glittery wardrobe (d. 1987)

1953 – Actor Pierce Brosnan (“Remington Steele,” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Dante’s Peak,” “GoldenEye” and three other James Bond films, “The Ghost Writer”)

1955 – Actress Debra Winger (“Urban Cowboy,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Terms of Endearment,” “Legal Eagles,” “Shawdowlands,” “Rachel Getting Married”)

1966 – Grammy-winning pop superstar Janet Jackson

1973 – Actress Tori Spelling (“Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Scream 2,” “The House of Yes,” “Trick,” “Cthulhu”)

1986 – Actress and model Megan Fox (“Hope & Faith,” “Transformers,” “Jennifer’s Body,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1929 – A far cry from the pageantry of today’s Oscar ceremonies, about 270 guests attend a dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where the first Academy Awards are handed out.

1960 – Two weeks after the Soviet downing of an American U-2 spy plane, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev lashes out at the U.S. and President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a Paris summit between the two heads of state. Khrushchev’s outburst angered Eisenhower and doomed any chances for successful talks or negotiations.

1965 – The Franco-American food company revolutionizes the way American kids eat when it introduces SpaghettiOs — canned pasta rings in tomato and cheese sauce. “The neat round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon…Uh-Oh! SpaghettiOs.”

1977 – A commuter helicopter accident on the roof of the Pan Am Building (now MetLife Building) in Manhattan leaves five people dead, eight others injured. Investigators blame the crash on “metal fatigue,” which caused the landing gear to fail. The helipad is never used again.

1988 – Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issues a report stating that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.

1990 – Legendary entertainer and Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. dies of oral/throat cancer at the age of 64.

1990 – Muppets creator Jim Henson is just 53 when he dies unexpectedly from toxic shock syndrome due to a bacterial infection.

1996 – The final episode of “Murder, She Wrote,” starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, airs on CBS, ending a successful 12-season run.

2014 – Broadcast journalist and TV personality Barbara Walters is 84 when she retires from ABC News and as co-host of the daytime program “The View.” Walters blazed a trail for women in television news during a distinguished career spanning more than 50 years. She died in 2022 at the age of 93.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – Motown sweetheart Mary Wells lays claim to the top of the pop chart for two weeks with “My Guy,” a track written and produced by Smokey Robinson.

1970 – The Guess Who are in the midst of a three-week ride at No. 1 on the singles chart with “American Woman.”

1970 – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young land on top of the Billboard album chart with “Deja Vu,” which spawns three Top 40 singles: “Teach Your Children,” “Our House” and “Woodstock.”

1981 – Kim Carnes begins a nine-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Bette Davis Eyes.” The track goes on to capture Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

1987 – U2’s “With or Without You,” off the band’s Grammy-winning “The Joshua Tree” album, begins three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1990 – Entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. dies of throat cancer at the age of 64. Davis was an acclaimed comedian, actor, dancer and singer, and a member of the “Rat Pack” with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

1998 – “Too Close,” by Next, marks its fourth and final week as a Billboard chart-topper.

2009 – Bob Dylan grabs the top spot on the album chart with “Together Through Life,” which garners two Grammy Award nominations in the Best Americana Album category and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance category for “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’.”

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