On This Day March 20 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1906 – Bandleader, actor and director Ozzie Nelson (“The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”) (d. 1975) 1922 – Emmy and Grammy-winning actor-comedian-writer-director-producer Carl Reiner (“Your Show of Shows,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “2000 Year Old Man,” “The Jerk”) (d. 2020) 1928 – Fred Rogers, minister and host of the beloved PBS children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (d. 2003) 1931 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor-singer Hal Linden, born Harold Lipshitz, best known for his role as an NYPD police captain in the 1970s ABC sitcom “Barney Miller” 1950 – Oscar-winning actor William Hurt (“Altered States,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Children of a Lesser God,” “Broadcast News,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “The Doctor,” “The Challenger Disaster,” “Captain America: Civil War”) (d. 2022) 1957 – Emmy and Peabody-winning director-producer and actor Spike Lee (“She’s Gotta Have It,” “Do The Right Thing,” “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Jungle Fever,” “Malcolm X,” “Crooklyn,” “Clockers,” “Summer of Sam,” “The Original Kings of Comedy”, “BlacKkKlansman”) 1958 – Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Holly Hunter (“Raising Arizona,” “Broadcast News,” “Always,” “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” “The Piano,” “The Firm,” “The Incredibles,” “Saving Grace”) History Highlights 1916 – Albert Einstein publishes his “General Theory of Relativity.” 1953 – Two weeks after the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev is among five men named by the Soviet government to the new office of Secretariat of the Communist Party. Khrushchev eventually leads the Soviet Union through some of the tensest periods of Cold War relations with the U.S. 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson places the Alabama National Guard under federal control to protect a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Governor George Wallace had assured Johnson that the National Guard would protect marchers. But Wallace, a segregationist, reneged and demanded that federal troops be sent instead. 1987 – A major medical breakthrough is achieved as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approves the anti-HIV/AIDS drug Zidovudine, better known as AZT. 1995 – A nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway system by members of a religious cult kills 13 people and injures thousands of others. The incident sparks global worries about terrorist groups obtaining chemical weapons. Musical Milestones 1961 – Elvis Presley is King of the Billboard pop chart with “Surrender.” The track holds the top spot for two weeks and is among six No. 1 hits Elvis enjoys that decade. 1964 – The Temptations release their debut album, “Meet the Temptations,” on the Gordy (Motown) label. 1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono tie the knot at the British Embassy in Gibraltar. 1971 – Five months after her death from a drug overdose, Janis Joplin dominates the singles chart for a second and final week with “Me and Bobby McGee,” off her “Pearl” album. 1982 – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts begin a seven-week run on top of the singles chart with “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.” 1993 – The reggae-rap single “Informer,” by Snow, is in its second week at No. 1 on the pop chart. It remains there for another five weeks. 1999 – “Believe,” by Cher, is mid-way through a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 2004 – “Yeah!,” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, maintains its hold on the summit of the singles chart. READ MORE
On This Day November 22 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1899 – Singer-songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, known for such standards as “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “Rockin’ Chair” and “Lazy River” (d. 1981) 1921 – Stand-up comedian-actor Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen (“Easy Money,” “Caddyshack,” “Back to School”) (d. 2004) 1932 – Actor Robert Vaughn, from the 1960s TV spy series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (d. 2016) 1943 – Tennis legend and LGBTQ advocate Billie Jean King, who famously defeated Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” matchup 1958 – Actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis (“Halloween,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “True Lies,” “Freaky Friday,” “Scream Queens”) 1961 – Actress Mariel Hemingway (“Lipstick,” “Manhattan,” “Personal Best,” “Star 80”) 1967 – Oscar-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo (“You Can Count on Me,” “Collateral,” “13 Going on 30,” Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Just Like Heaven,” “Zodiac,” “The Avengers,” “Now You See Me,” “Spotlight”) 1984 – Tony-winning actress Scarlett Johansson (“Lost in Translation,” “The Nanny Diaries,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “The Avengers,” “Hitchcock”) History Highlights 1963 – Americans are horrified as President John F. Kennedy is gunned down by a sniper while his motorcade passes through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. 1975 – Ten years after its theatrical release, “Dr. Zhivago” premieres on television, as NBC pays $4 million for the broadcast rights. 1984 – Fred Rogers of the PBS children’s show “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” donates his famous cardigan sweater to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 1986 – Twenty-year-old Mike Tyson knocks out 33-year-old Trevor Berbick in just five minutes and 35 seconds to become the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history. 1988 – With members of the U.S. Congress and national media looking on, Northrup officials roll out the first B-2 (stealth) bomber at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft remains the most advanced bomber in U.S. military service. 1990 – Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister in British history, announces her resignation after 11 years in office. Musical Milestones 1957 – Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel take the stage as ‘Tom and Jerry’ on “American Bandstand” with host Dick Clark. They perform “Hey Schoolgirl,” a song that reaches No. 54 on the Billboard pop chart and sells 100,000 copies. 1968 – The Beatles release their now-classic double LP “The Beatles” (also known as “The White Album”) in the U.K. Among the featured tracks: “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Dear Prudence,” “Helter Skelter,” “Blackbird,” “Back In The USSR” and George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” 1969 – The Fifth Dimension enjoy their third and final week as Billboard chart-toppers with “Wedding Bell Blues.” 1975 – KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s The Way (I Like It)” is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. 1986 – “Human,” by The Human League, begins a week as a Billboard chart-topper. 1997 – INXS frontman Michael Hutchence is found dead in a Sydney, Australia hotel room after reportedly hanging himself. He was 37. 2003 – The Beyoncé-Sean Paul duet, “Baby Boy,” remains firmly planted atop the Billboard Hot 100. READ MORE
On this Day May 22 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1813 – German classical music composer Richard Wagner (d. 1883) 1859 – Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (d. 1930) 1907 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Sir Laurence Olivier (“Wuthering Heights,” “Hamlet,” “Marathon Man”) (d. 1989) 1938 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Benjamin (“Goodbye, Columbus,” “Westworld,” “The Sunshine Boys”) 1950 – Pop music lyricist and longtime Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin 1959 – Singer-songwriter and former The Smiths frontman Morrissey, born Stephen Patrick Morrissey (“This Charming Man,” “How Soon Is Now?” “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “Girlfriend in a Coma”) 1970 – British supermodel and actress Naomi Campbell 1979 – Model-turned-actress Maggie Q, born Margaret Quigley (“Mission: Impossible III,” “Live Free or Die Hard,” “Nikita,” “Divergent,” “Designated Survivor”) History Highlights 1947 – The Truman Doctrine takes effect, providing U.S. aid to Greece and Turkey in an effort to combat Communism after World War II. 1960 – The most powerful earthquake ever recorded (9.5 magnitude) strikes southern Chile, killing 2,000 people and leaving two million people homeless. 1966 – Bill Cosby, the first African American actor to star in a regular dramatic series, wins the Best Actor Emmy for his role in “I Spy.” 1967 – The educational children’s series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” hosted by creator Fred Rogers donning his famous cardigan sweater, premieres on Pittsburgh public television station WQED. Less than a year later, it airs coast to coast on National Education Television (NET), which later becomes Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 1980 – Gaming is revolutionized with the release of PAC-MAN. The iconic video game features a maze filled with dots and prizes and menacing bright-colored ghosts that players must gobble up or avoid in order to win. It becomes one of the highest-grossing video games of all time. 1992 – After nearly 30 years as the king of late-night television, Johnny Carson makes his final appearance as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Musical Milestones 1961 – “Mother-in-Law,” by New Orleans native Ernie K-Doe, is the No. 1 single. The song was written and produced by Allen Toussaint, who also played the piano solo. 1965 – The Beatles have a ticket to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard singles chart with “Ticket to Ride,” from the “Help!” soundtrack. 1971 – “Sticky Fingers,” by The Rolling Stones, begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, spawning the hits “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses.” The iconic album features a cover photo of tight-fitting jeans with an actual working zipper, conceived by celebrated pop artist Andy Warhol. And the sleeve features the first use of the now-legendary “tongue and lips” logo designed by John Pasche. 1976 – “Silly Love Songs,” by Wings featuring Paul McCartney, begins a five-week run as the hottest single in the U.S. 1982 – The Paul McCartney-Stevie Wonder duet, “Ebony and Ivory,” is in its second of seven weeks as a chart-topper 1999 – Grammy-winning pop vocalist Ricky Martin is midway through a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” 2004 – Usher sears his way into the top of the pop chart with “Burn,” which stays at No. 1 for eight weeks. READ MORE