On This Day: December 2

On This Day December 2

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1925 – Five-time Tony Award-winning actress Julie Harris (“The Member of the Wedding,” “I Am a Camera,” “The Lark,” “East of Eden,” “The Haunting”) (d. 2013)

1944 – Actress Cathy Lee Crosby (“The Laughing Policeman,” “Wonder Woman”)

1946 – Fashion designer Gianni Versace (d. 1997)

1968 – Actress Lucy Liu (“Ally McBeal,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Kill Bill,” “Chicago,” “Southland,” the “Kung Fu Panda” series, “Elementary”)

1973 – Retired international tennis champion Monica Seles

1978 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado (“Turn Off the Light,” “I’m Like a Bird”)

1981 – Grammy-winning pop superstar Britney Spears

History Highlights
History Highlights

1823 – President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts—a policy that comes to be known as the Monroe Doctrine.

1954 – The U.S. Senate votes to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.” The move was prompted by McCarthy’s controversial investigation of suspected communists in the federal government, military and civilian society.

1970 – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is established to protect the public health and environment.

1982 – Sixty-one-year-old Barney Clark becomes the first human recipient of a permanent artificial heart. Near death at the time of the operation, Clark survives 112 days after the surgery.

1997 – Nominated for a staggering nine Academy Awards, “Good Will Hunting” premieres in Los Angeles and goes on to earn childhood friends Ben Affleck and Matt Damon a Best Original Screenplay Oscar — propelling them to Hollywood fame. The movie, directed by Gus Van Sant, also garners Robin Williams the only Oscar of his career — for Best Supporting Actor.

2001 – Enron Corporation files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, exposing one of the largest corporate scandals in U.S. history. Before its collapse, the Houston-based energy trading giant employed some 20,000 people who now had to pack their belongings and look for new jobs. Investors lost billions.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees rule the Billboard singles chart with “Daydream Believer,” the band’s third and final No. 1 hit. The track holds the top spot for four weeks.

1972 – “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” by The Temptations, is the No. 1 single. The song is the legendary Motown band’s last No. 1 hit and goes on to capture three Grammys.

1978 – The Neil Diamond-Barbra Streisand duet, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” is on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1983 – Michael Jackson’s groundbreaking “Thriller” video, featuring narration by Vincent Price and directed by John Landis, premieres. In 2009, it is inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress — the first music video to ever receive this honor — for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.

1989 – Milli Vanilli are chart toppers for a second straight week with “Blame It on the Rain.”

1995 – “One Sweet Day,” by Mariah Carey and Boys II Men, begins an incredible 16-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart.

2000 – “Independent Women Part I,” by Destiny’s Child, is in the midst of an 11-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. The track is from the 2000 movie adaptation of “Charlie’s Angels.”

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On This Day: November 19

On This Day November 19

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1933 – Award-winning TV and radio talk show host Larry King, born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger

1936 – Retired Emmy-winning TV talk show host and comedian Dick Cavett, who tackled controversial topics and featured countless celebrities over the years on “The Dick Cavett Show”

1938 – Media mogul Ted Turner, born Robert Edward Turner III, who founded Cable News Network (CNN) and Turner Broadcasting (TBS)

1942 – Fashion designer Calvin Klein

1961 – Actress-producer Meg Ryan, born Margaret Hyra (“Top Gun,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “French Kiss,” “Addicted to Love,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “City of Angels,” “Proof of Life,” “Kate & Leopold”)

1962 – Oscar-winning actress-producer-director Jodie Foster (“Taxi Driver,” “The Accused,” “Silence of the Lambs,” “Contact,” “Anna and the King,” “Panic Room,” “Flightplan,” “Elysium”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1863 – During the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history: the Gettysburg Address.

1954 – The first automatic toll machine in the United States goes into service along the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, charging motorists 25 cents to pass.

1959 – It’s the end of the road for the Edsel, as Ford Motor Company terminates production of an automobile line that proved to be a marketing disaster.

1964 – Something other than bread pops in and out of the toaster, as Kellogg’s introduces the Pop-Tart in four flavors: strawberry, blueberry, apple currant and brown sugar-cinnamon.

1969 – Apollo 12 becomes the second manned space mission to land on the moon. The crew touches down within walking distance of the Surveyor III spacecraft, which landed in April 1967. The astronauts bring some Surveyor III instruments back to Earth to examine the effects of long-term exposure to the lunar environment.

1975 – “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” opens in theaters, starring Jack Nicholson as a patient in a 1960s psychiatric hospital, and Louise Fletcher as the head nurse. It becomes only the second movie of all time to clinch five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Nicholson).

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1955 – Carl Perkins records “Blue Suede Shoes” at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Written by Perkins, it is considered one of the first rockabilly recordings. The single reaches No. 2 on the pop chart in 1956 and is later famously covered by Elvis Presley.

1966 – Reigning supreme on the singles chart: “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by Diana Ross and The Supremes. The track hangs on to the No. 1 position for two weeks and is the Motown sensation’s seventh chart-topper.

1977 – Debby Boone is midway through a 10-week hold on No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “You Light Up My Life.”

1979 – Chuck Berry walks out of prison a free man after serving a four-month sentence for tax evasion.

1983 – Tina Turner has her first chart single in more than a decade with her cover of Al Green’s 1972 hit, “Let’s Stay Together.” The track, from her “Private Dancer” album, climbs as high as No. 26 on the Hot 100.

1994 – Boyz II Men have the No. 1 single with “I’ll Make Love to You.” 

2003 – California authorities issue an arrest warrant for Michael Jackson on multiple counts of child molestation and ask the pop superstar to turn himself in and surrender his passport.

2005 – “Gold Digger,” by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx, begins its tenth and final week on top of the Billboard singles chart.

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On This Day: November 15

On This Day November 15

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1887 – Artist Georgia O’Keeffe, considered the “mother of American modernism” (d. 1986)

1929 – Emmy-winning actor Ed Asner (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,” “JFK,” “Elf,” “Up”)

1932 – Grammy-winning pop vocalist Petula Clark (“Downtown,” “I Know a Place,” “A Sign of the Times,” “Don’t Sleep in the Subway”)

1940 – Golden Globe-winning actor Sam Waterston (“The Killing Fields,” “Law & Order,” “The Newsroom”)

1945 – Actor Bob Gunton (“Demolition Man,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Patch Adams”)

1952 – Fashion designer Jimmy Choo

1972 – Actor Jonny Lee Miller (“Trainspotting,” “Hackers, ” Elementary”)

1991 – Actress Shailene Woodley (“Secret Life of the American Teenager,” “The Descendants,” “The Spectacular Now,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” the “Divergent” series)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1867 – The first stock ticker is introduced in New York City and goes on to revolutionize the stock market by making up-to-the-minute prices available to investors around the country. Previously, such information was transmitted by mail or messenger.

1969 – Dave Thomas opens the world’s first Wendy’s fast food restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.

1977 – President Jimmy Carter hosts the Shah of Iran at the White House.

1977 – Ford Motor Company celebrates its 100,000,000th car built in America. It’s a 1978 Fairmont four-door sedan.

1984 – Baby Fae dies 20 days after doctors replaced the newborn’s defective heart with that of a baboon.

1985 – A research assistant suffers burns and shrapnel wounds when he opens an exploding package at the home of University of Michigan psychology professor James McConnell. Investigators determine the package bomb is the work of the so-called Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.

1996 – “The English Patient,” starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, opens in theaters. The film goes on to capture nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1956 – “Love Me Tender,” Elvis Presley’s first movie, opens at the Paramount Theater in New York. Presley plays one of three brothers turned outlaws in the musical Western.

1969 – The Fifth Dimension are in the midst of a three-week hold on the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Wedding Bell Blues.”

1975 – Host Dick Clark welcomes Swedish pop phenom ABBA to TV’s “American Bandstand.”

1975 – Elton John begins his third and final week as captain of the pop chart with “Island Girl,” from his “Rock of the Westies” album.

1980 – After years of success on the music charts with the New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition, Kenny Rogers scores his first No. 1 single as a solo act with “Lady.” The song, written and produced by Lionel Richie, holds the top spot for six weeks.

1986 – “Amanda,” by Boston, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. It is the band’s first officially released single since 1978.

1990 – One of pop music’s biggest scandals unfolds as Milli Vanilli producer Frank Farian confirms rumors that band members Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan never actually sang any of their hit records. The duo are stripped of the Grammys they had won for Best New Artist and duped fans file class-action lawsuits.

1997 – Elton John is in the middle of a 14-week domination of the pop chart with his tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997.”

2003 – “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, is the No. 1 single. 

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On This Day: October 2

On This Day October 2

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1869 – Civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi, who successfully led India in a nonviolent revolution against the British Empire (d. 1948)

1890 – Comedian Groucho Marx, born Julius Henry Marx (d. 1977)

1945 – Singer Don McLean, best known for his smash single “American Pie”

1948 – Fashion designer Donna Karan

1949 – Acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz, known for her celebrity portraits

1951 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sting, born Gordon Sumner, former front man for the band The Police and 17-time Grammy Award winner

1954 – Actress Lorraine Bracco (“Goodfellas,” “The Sopranos,” “Rizzoli & Isles”)

1970 – Actress-TV talk show host Kelly Ripa (“All My Children,” “Hope & Faith,” “Live! with Regis and Kelly,” “Live! with Kelly,” “Live with Kelly and Ryan”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1835 – Mounting tensions between Mexico and Texas lead to violence when Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, sparking the Texan war for independence. The battle flag used by the Texans at the Battle of Gonzales gained recognition as the “Come and Take It” flag, referring to a small cannon that Mexican forces tried to repossess.

1919 – President Woodrow Wilson, who had just cut short a cross-country speaking tour to promote formation of the League of Nations (a precursor to the United Nations), suffers a massive stroke, which leaves him partially paralyzed on the left side of his body. The stroke is kept a secret from the public, but forces Wilson to abandon his campaign for the League and weakens his presidency.

1950 – The first Peanuts comic strip, created by Charles Schulz, is published in seven newspapers across the U.S. Schulz originally called his strip “L’il Folks,” but United Features Syndicate changed the name.

1959 – “The Twilight Zone,” created and hosted by Rod Serling, premieres with an episode called “Where Is Everybody?” starring Earl Holliman. The black & white sci-fi series runs for five seasons.

1967 – Thurgood Marshall, the first African American U.S. Supreme Court justice, is sworn in to office.

1985 – Actor Rock Hudson becomes the first high-profile celebrity to die of complications from AIDS. Hudson’s death, at the age of 59, raises public awareness of the epidemic, which until that time had been ignored by many in the mainstream as a “gay plague.”

2006 – A 32-year-old milk truck driver enters the West Nickel Mines Amish School in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, and fatally shoots five female students and wounds five more before taking his own life. The gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, had no criminal history or record of mental illness.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – “Take Good Care of My Baby,” by Bobby Vee, enters its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1965 – The McCoys claim the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Hang On Sloopy.”

1971 – Rod Stewart’s “Every Picture Tells a Story,” featuring his breakthrough hit “Maggie May,” tops both the U.S. and U.K. album charts.

1976 – Wild Cherry’s single, “Play That Funky Music,” begins its third and final week at No. 1.

1982 – John Mellencamp (known then as John Cougar) kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Jack and Diane.” He also rules the Billboard album chart with the breakthrough LP it came from: “American Fool.” 

1993 – “Dreamlover,” by Mariah Carey, is midway through an eight-week domination of the singles chart.

1998 – Aerosmith soars to No. 1 with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” the hit single from the movie “Armageddon,” starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is in the middle of a seven-week run atop the pop chart.

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