On This Day: April 20

On This Day April 20

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1909 – Legendary jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (d. 2002)

1937 – Actor and LGBTQ rights advocate George Takei, best known as Lieutenant Sulu from the “Star Trek” TV and movie series

1941 – Actor Ryan O’Neal (“Love Story,” “What’s Up Doc,” “Paper Moon,” “The Main Event”)  

1949 – Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe-winning actress Jessica Lange (“King Kong,” “Tootsie,” “Frances,” “Country,” “Grey Gardens,” “American Horror Story,” “Feud”)  

1951 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Luther Vandross (“Never Too Much,” “Here and Now,” “Any Love,” “Power of Love/Love Power,” “Dance with My Father”) (d. 2005)

1964 – Actor Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy and Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. He also had roles in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”,”Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Black Panther”

1964 – Actor Crispin Glover, best known for playing George McFly in the “Back to the Future” movie franchise 

1972 – Model-turned-actress and reality TV star Carmen Electra (“Baywatch,” “Meet the Spartans,” “Epic Movie,” “Cheaper by the Dozen 2”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1912 – With 27,000 people in the stands, the Boston Red Sox play their first game at Fenway Park and defeat the New York Highlanders (later renamed the Yankees) by a score of 7-6 in 11 innings. 

1916 – The first National League game played at Chicago’s Wrigley Field (then Weeghman Park) sees the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings. A bear cub is in attendance at the ballpark, which becomes known as Cubs Park in 1920 after the Wrigley family purchases the team from Weeghman. It is named Wrigley Field in 1926 in honor of William Wrigley Jr., the club’s owner.

1971 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the practice of busing to desegregate schools, ruling in the case of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. Two years later, the high court makes a second ruling restricting the use of busing, concluding that students could only be bused across district lines if there was evidence that multiple districts had implemented deliberately discriminatory policies.

1977 – The comedy “Annie Hall” opens, starring director Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. The film goes on to win Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

1980 – The Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana, launching the Mariel Boatlift.

1999 – The school day at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado is shattered by deadly gunfire. Two seniors fatally shoot 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Twenty-three others are injured in what ushers in a wave of U.S. school shootings over the next two decades.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1957 – Elvis Presley is on top of Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart for a second week with “All Shook Up.” The track remains at No. 1 for eight weeks and becomes the biggest single of 1957, selling more than two million copies.

1963 – The Chiffons wrap up a four-week domination of the pop chart with “He’s So Fine.”

1968 – “Honey,” by Bobby Goldsboro, is in the middle of a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1970 – The New York Times reports that Catholic and Protestant youth groups have adopted The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine as a religious symbol and formed so called “submarine churches.”  These churches featured the outline of a yellow submarine with a small cross on its periscope as their symbol. It is displayed alongside peace signs, flowers and other popular emblems of the period.

1974 – “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” by MFSB featuring the Three Degrees, claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. 

1991 – Wilson Phillips’ “You’re in Love” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

1996 – Céline Dion’s Grammy-winning “Because You Loved Me” continues a six-week ride atop the U.S. singles chart. The track is from the 1996 movie “Up Close and Personal,” starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer.

2002 – Ashanti launches a 10-week run on top of the pop chart with “Foolish,” off her self-titled debut album.

2013 – Bruno Mars kicks off a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “When I Was Your Man.”

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On This Day: January 5

On This Day January 5

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1928 – Former U.S. Vice President Walter “Fritz” Mondale, who served under President Jimmy Carter

1931 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning actor Robert Duvall (“To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Apocalypse Now,” “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II,” “Tender Mercies,” “Lonesome Dove,” “The Judge”)

1946 – Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton (“The Godfather” series, “Annie Hall,” “The First Wives Club,” “Something’s Gotta Give”)

1969 – Shock rocker Marilyn Manson, born Brian Hugh Warner (“Sweet Dreams are Made of These,” “The Dope Show,” “The Beautiful People”)

1975 – Actor-director Bradley Cooper (“Wedding Crashers,” “Yes Man,” “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “The Hangover” trilogy, “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” “American Sniper,” “A Star is Born”)

1978 – Actress January Jones, best known for her role as Betty Draper in the “Mad Men” television series

History Highlights
History Highlights

1914 – The Ford Motor Company introduces an eight-hour workday and minimum wage of $5 for a day’s labor. 

1933 – Construction begins on California’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, spanning San Francisco Bay.  Crews complete the engineering marvel ahead of schedule and $1.3 million under budget when it opens four years later, on May 27, 1937.

1970 – The ABC soap “All My Children” premieres and runs for 41 seasons.

1972 – President Richard Nixon orders the development of a new space transportation system that relies on a reusable vehicle, and NASA’s space shuttle program is born.

1998 – Entertainer-turned-congressman Sonny Bono is killed in a California skiing accident at the age of 62.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1959 – Coral Records releases Buddy Holly’s “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.” It is Holly’s last single before his tragic death in a February 1959 plane crash that also killed popular singers Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. 

1963 – “Telstar,” by the British instrumental band The Tornados, marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single. 

1973 – Bruce Springsteen releases his debut album, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.,” on Columbia Records.

1979 – Jazz musician and bandleader Charles Mingus dies at the age of 56.  

1980 – KC and the Sunshine Band claims the top spot on the singles chart with “Please Don’t Go,” the band’s fifth and final Billboard No. 1.

1991 – Madonna scores the first No. 1 single of 1991 with “Justify My Love,” off her album, “The Immaculate Collection.” It remains a chart-topper for two weeks.

2002 – Nickelback enters its third week on top of the singles chart with “How You Remind Me.”

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