On this Day: August 13

On this Day August 13

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1860 – Markswoman and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show star Annie Oakley (d. 1926)

1899 – Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock, nicknamed the “Master of Suspense” (“Psycho,” “Rear Window,” “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo,” “Dial M for Murder,” “The Birds”) (d. 1980)

1926 – Former Cuban President Fidel Castro (d. 2016)

1929 – Actor Pat Harrington, Jr., most recognized as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the CBS sitcom “One Day at a Time” (d. 2016)

1930 – Internationally acclaimed Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho, most remembered for his 1966 hit single “Tiny Bubbles” (d. 2007)

1949 – French high wire artist Philippe Petit, famous for his 1974 World Trade Center high-wire walk 

1951- Singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg (“The Power of Gold,” “Longer”) (d. 2007)

1959 – Former “Partridge Family” co-star and talk show host Danny Bonaduce

1962 – Actor John Slattery, best known for his portrayal of Roger Sterling in the “Mad Men” TV series

History Highlights
History Highlights

1907 – The first taxicab hits the streets of New York City. 

1942 – Walt Disney’s classic animated film “Bambi” premieres at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. It becomes Disney’s fifth animated feature.

1948 – Responding to heightened Soviet pressure on western Berlin, U.S. and British planes airlift a record amount of supplies into sections of the city under American and British control. Pilots had to navigate weather so bad that the day became known as “Black Friday.”

1961 – Berlin, Germany becomes a divided city, as East German soldiers lay barbed wire and bricks to prevent residents of the Soviet-controlled eastern part of the city from fleeing to the democratically controlled western section. The Berlin Wall becomes one of the most iconic symbols of the Cold War.

1981 – President Ronald Reagan signs the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA), an historic package of tax and budget reductions that sets the tone for his administration’s overall economic policy, often referred to as “Reaganomics.”

1995 – Former New York Yankees slugger and Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at the age of 63.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – The Supremes record “Baby Love,” which climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that fall, becoming the Motown sensation’s second chart-topper.

1965 – The Beatles touch down at New York’s Kennedy International Airport for their second North American tour, which includes their now-legendary performance before nearly 56,000 fans at Shea Stadium.

1966 – “Summer in the City,” by The Lovin’ Spoonful, begins three weeks as a No. 1 single. It is the first song ever produced that features a jack-hammer sound effect.

1975 – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band begin their “Born to Run” tour at New York’s Bottom Line night club.

1977 – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO), the band that gave us “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” and “Let It Ride,” breaks up. 

1977 – Andy Gibb begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.”

1980 – Devo releases the new wave/synth-pop single “Whip It,” which climbs as high as No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song continues to get heavy airplay today on 80s and new wave-format radio stations.

1982 – Soul singer Joe Tex dies at his home in Navasota, Texas, following a heart attack at the age of 49. He had nine Top 40 hits during his music career, including the 1972 No. 2 single. “I Gotcha.”

1983 – The Police are in the midst of an eight-week domination of the pop chart with “Every Breath You Take,” off their Grammy-winning “Synchronicity” album.

1994 – “Stay (I Missed You),” by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories, is in the middle of a three-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The single earns Loeb the distinction of being the first artist to have a No. 1 hit before even being signed to a record label.

2005 – Mariah Carey rules the pop chart with “We Belong Together,” off her “The Emancipation of Mimi” album.

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On this Day: June 9

On this Day June 9

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1891 – Composer-songwriter Cole Porter, whose music dominated Broadway from the 1930s to the 1950s (d. 1964)

1915 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist, songwriter and electric guitar designer Les Paul, born Lester William Polsfuss (d. 2009)

1934 – Stand-up comedian and actor Jackie Mason (d. 2021)

1934 – Grammy Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Jackie Wilson (“Lonely Teardrops,” “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”) (d. 1984)

1961 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael J. Fox (“Family Ties,” the “Back to the Future” movie series, “Teen Wolf,” “Spin City”)

1963 – Golden Globe-winning actor Johnny Depp (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Edward Scissorhands,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Rango,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald”)

1981 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Natalie Portman (“Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace,” “Garden State,” “Closer,” “Black Swan,” “Jackie”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1934 – Donald Duck makes his debut in the Walt Disney short film, “The Wise Little Hen.”

1954 – In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether communism has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces. Welch’s rebuke effectively derails McCarthy’s campaign to stoke the anticommunist hysteria of America’s ‘Red Scare’.

1973 – Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948. Secretariat runs the 1.5-mile race in 2:24, a world record that many believe will never be broken.

1980 – Comedian Richard Pryor suffers third-degree burns over more than half of his body while freebasing cocaine.

1993-  The so-called “Hollywood Madam,” Heidi Fleiss, is arrested and charged in connection with a high-class prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clients, including actor Charlie Sheen. A jury convicts Fleiss on three counts of pandering, for which she receives a three-year sentence. That conviction is overturned in 1996, but a federal tax-evasion case the next year leads to a 20-month prison sentence.

2006 – The animated feature film “Cars,” produced by Pixar Animation Studios, opens in U.S. theaters, starring Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and Paul Newman in his final acting role, as Doc Hudson.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – The hottest single in the U.S. is “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley. The novelty hit holds the No. 1 spot for six weeks.

1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Ray Charles, is in its second week as a No. 1 single. It retains the top spot for five weeks. Across the pond, the track hits the top of the U.K. singles chart that July and holds there for two weeks.

1972 – Elvis Presley plays his first concert in New York City — the first of four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. The performances are recorded for later release on the “Elvis As Recorded at Madison Square Garden” album.

1972 – One month after auditioning for Columbia Records, Bruce Springsteen is signed by the label and begins assembling his E Street Band. His debut album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” comes out in January 1973.

1979 – The Bee Gees reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the ninth time with “Love You Inside Out.” It becomes the sibling trio’s final chart-topper.

1984 – Cyndi Lauper begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Time After Time,” off her debut album, “She’s So Unusual.” The track earns a Song of the Year Grammy nomination.

1990 – “Hold On,” by Wilson Phillips, clinches the top spot on the pop chart. The track goes on to win the Billboard Music Award for 1990 Hot 100 Single of the Year and is nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy.

1998 – The Ronettes (“Be My Baby,” “Walking In The Rain”) appear in court for their lawsuit against producer Phil Spector, whom they allege breached their 34-year-old contract by failing to pay royalties since 1963. Although The Ronettes win the case, the New York State Court of Appeals later overturns the decision, saying Spector had unconditional rights to their recordings.

2001 – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink have the No. 1 single with their cover of Labelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade.”

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