Frankie Avalon – Time Rewind

On This Day March 9

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On This Day December 28

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Celebrity Birthdays

1856 – 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (d. 1924)

1922 – Legendary Marvel Comics writer, editor and publisher Stan Lee, who co-created such iconic characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four (d. 2018)

1932 – Actress Nichelle Nichols, best known as Lieutenant Uhura from the “Star Trek” TV series and movies (d. 2022)

1934 – Actress Dame Maggie Smith, who plays Professor McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” movie series

1954 – Oscar, Golden Globe and Tony-winning actor-director-producer Denzel Washington (“St. Elsewhere,” “Glory,” “Malcolm X,” “Training Day,” “Antwone Fisher,” “American Gangster,” “Unstoppable,” “Flight,” “The Equalizer,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “Fences”)

1973 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian-writer-TV host Seth Meyers (“Saturday Night Live,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers”)

1978 – Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning singer-songwriter and actor John Legend (“Ordinary People,” “All of Me,” “Glory”)

History Highlights

1895 – The world’s first commercial movie screening takes place at the Salon Indien of the Grand Cafe in Paris. Guests pay one franc to watch 10 short films produced by siblings Louis and Auguste Lumiere, who developed a camera-projector called the Cinematographe.

1938 – Silent-film star Florence Lawrence commits suicide in Beverly Hills at the age of 52. Though best known for roles in nearly 250 films, Lawrence also invented the first “auto signaling arm,” a mechanical turn signal, along with the first mechanical brake signal. However, because she never patented them, she never received credit for or profit from either one.

1945 – Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance. The words “under God” were added in 1954 in response to the anti-Communist (and thus anti-atheist) opinion sweeping the U.S. during the Cold War.

1958 – Known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants at New York’s Yankee Stadium in the first National Football League (NFL) sudden death overtime playoff game

1981 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.

Musical Milestones

1959 – “Why,” by teen idol Frankie Avalon, becomes the last No. 1 single of the 1950s. It holds the top spot for a week.

1968 – The Beatles land on top of the Billboard album chart with their self-titled “The Beatles,” better known as “The White Album” — produced while the band was falling apart. It becomes their 12th chart-topping album.

1968 – Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is in the midst of a seven-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100. The track is the Motown legend’s first No. 1 hit and the label’s best-selling single of the 60s.

1974 – Helen Reddy dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Angie Baby,” one of her best-selling singles. The track was written by Alan O’Day, most recognized for his 1977 smash “Undercover Angel.”

1983 – Dennis Wilson, the only real surfer in the band The Beach Boys, drowns at the age of 39 after a day of drinking and diving off Marina del Ray, California.

1985 – “Say You, Say Me,” by Lionel Richie, is midway through a four-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1996 – Toni Braxton dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Un-Break My Heart,” which remains a No. 1 single for 11 weeks.

2002 – Eminem rolls into an eighth week on top of the singles chart with “Lose Yourself,” which becomes the last No. 1 hit of 2002 and the first of 2003. It remains a chart-topper for a total of 12 weeks.

On This Day September 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1897 – Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner (“‘The Sound and the Fury,” “As I Lay Dying”) (d. 1962)

1929 – Emmy-winning TV journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a network evening news broadcast and who appeared as a host of numerous TV programs, including “Today,” “The ABC Evening News,” “20/20” and “The View” (d. 2022)

1944 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Douglas (“The Streets of San Francisco,” “The China Syndrome,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Wall Street,” “The War of the Roses,” “Falling Down,” “The American President,” “Wonder Boys,” “Last Vegas”)

1947 – Supermodel-actress Cheryl Tiegs, remembered for adorning covers of the “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue” and for her 1978 “Pink Bikini” poster, which became an iconic image of 1970s pop culture

1951 – Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies

1952 – Actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident (“Superman,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Deathtrap,” “The Remains of the Day”) (d. 2004)

1961 – Actress Heather Locklear (“TJ Hooker,” “Melrose Place,” “Spin City”)

1968 – Grammy-winning actor-rapper Will Smith (“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” “Ali,” “I, Robot,” “I Am Legend,” “Hancock,” “After Earth,” “Suicide Squad,” “King Richard”)

1969 – Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Entrapment,” “Traffic,” “Chicago,” “Oceans Twelve,” “The Terminal”)

History Highlights

1957 – Nine Black students (the “Little Rock Nine”) enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas escorted by the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to block federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and deployed 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order.

1959 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kicks off two days of meetings with President Dwight Eisenhower at Camp David. The two men reach general agreement on several issues, but a spy plane incident in May 1960 crushes any hopes for further improvement in U.S.-Soviet relations during the Eisenhower years.

1961 – President John F. Kennedy gives his “Sword of Damocles” speech before the United Nations General Assembly. He outlines the threat nuclear weapons had on the world, and challenges the Soviet Union to a “peace race…until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.”

1963 – The first in a series of 1960s teen beach movies is launched when “Beach Party,” starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, opens in U.S. theaters.

1978 – Tragedy erupts in the skies over San Diego as a small Cessna aircraft being used for flying lessons collides with a Pacific Southwest Airlines 727 (PSA Flight 182). The accident kills 153 people, including seven on the ground, and 22 homes where the burning jet fell are damaged or destroyed.

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in as the first female associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1997 – NBC’s prime time medical drama “ER,” which supercharged George Clooney’s acting career, opens its fourth season with live performances — first for East coast viewers and a second time for its West coast audience. The episode, entitled “Ambush,” draws a record 42.7 million viewers, becoming the series’ highest rating ever. “ER” aired for a total of 15 seasons, making it the longest-running primetime medical drama.

Musical Milestones

1965 – The Beatles get animated — literally — as they join the Saturday morning cartoon lineup in ABC’s “The Beatles,” which runs for three seasons. While authentic Beatles music was used in the show, the speaking parts were recorded by voice actors.

1967 – The Beatles begin recording the Paul McCartney song “The Fool on the Hill” at Abbey Road Studios. John and George play harmonicas, Paul plays a recorder and handles lead vocals while Ringo plays drums.

1970 – “The Partridge Family,” starring Oscar-winner Shirley Jones and her actual stepson, teen heartthrob David Cassidy, premieres on ABC. Inspired by real-life vocal group The Cowsills, the show runs for 96 episodes through September 1974.

1982 – The Steve Miller Band works some magic on the singles chart by making “Abracadabra” return to the No. 1 spot where it had been three weeks earlier before Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” bumped it.

1993 – “Dreamlover,” by Mariah Carey, is in the midst of an eight-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100.

1999 – TLC top the pop chart with “Unpretty,” the trio’s fourth No. 1 single. It goes on to receive Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is the No. 1 single.

On This Day September 18

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Celebrity Birthdays

1905 – Oscar-winning actress Greta Garbo, born Greta Lovisa Gustafson (d. 1990)

1933 – Emmy-winning actor Robert Blake (“Baretta,” “Money Train,” “Lost Highway”)

1939 – Actor Fred Willard (“This Is Spinal Tap,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “For Your Consideration,” the “Anchorman” movie series)

1940 – Actor, singer and former teen idol Frankie Avalon, best known for his hit single “Venus” and the “Beach Party movie series

1961 – Emmy-winning actor James Gandolfini, best known for playing mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series “The Sopranos” (d. 2013)

1971 – Actress-producer Jada Pinkett Smith (“True Colors,” “A Different World,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Menace II Society,” “Set It Off, “Scream 2,” “Ali,” “The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions,” “Madagascar”)

1971 – Former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong

1973 – Actor James Marsden (“X-Men,” “Superman Returns,” “Hairspray,” “Enchanted,” “Hop,” “27 Dresses,” “The Notebook”)

1975 – Actor-comedian Jason Sudeikis (“Saturday Night Live,” “Hall Pass,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Epic,” “We’re the Millers”)

History Highlights

1793 – President George Washington lays the cornerstone to the United States Capitol in the building’s southeast corner during a Masonic ceremony that concludes with a 15-gun salute. Washington would return periodically to oversee construction, but did not live to see Congress occupy the new building. He died in December 1799, less than a year before the Senate and House would first convene in the Capitol.

1851 – The first edition of The New York Times is published as the New-York Daily Times and costs readers two cents.

1964 – After a four-season run in primetime, Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock park their Chevy Corvette for the last time as CBS broadcasts the “Route 66” series finale.

1965 – Television viewers meet secret agents Maxwell Smart and 99 as NBC debuts “Get Smart.” The spy sitcom, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon and created by comedic genius Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, runs for five seasons and introduces viewers to the first true mobile phone—embedded in the bottom of Smart’s shoe.

1975 – FBI agents in San Francisco capture newspaper heiress and fugitive Patty Hearst and charge her with armed robbery. Hearst is the granddaughter of media mogul William Randolph Hearst.

Musical Milestones

1961 – Bobby Vee starts a two-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Take Good Care of My Baby.”

1970 – Jimi Hendrix, considered one of rock music’s greatest guitarists of all time, dies of an apparent drug overdose in London at the age of 27. Hendrix dazzled audiences in the 1960s with groundbreaking guitar-playing techniques and experimental sounds.

1976 – “Play That Funky Music,” by Ohio-based funk-rock band Wild Cherry, kicks off three weeks as a No. 1 single. The track sells more than 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and becomes the band’s only Top 40 song.

1983 – Members of Kiss appear without makeup for the first time during an interview on MTV.

1987 – The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson are nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

1993 – Mariah Carey dominates the Billboard Hot 100 with “Dreamlover,” which holds at No. 1 for eight weeks. It becomes her seventh career chart-topper.

1999 – TLC kicks off three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Unpretty.”

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, is in the middle of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. pop chart.