Gilligan’s Island – Time Rewind

On This Day March 8

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On This Day February 25

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Actor Jim Backus, best known for playing stranded millionaire Thurston Howell III in the comedy “Gilligan’s Island” and providing the voice for the cartoon character “Mr. Magoo” (d. 1989)

1935 – Retired syndicated TV talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael

1937 – Retired Emmy-winning CBS News anchor-commentator and author Bob Schieffer

1943 – Singer-songwriter-guitarist and former Beatle George Harrison (d. 2001)

1965 – Comedian Carrot Top, born Scott Thompson

1966 – Actress Tea Leoni, born Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni (“Bad Boys,” “Deep Impact,” “The Family Man,” “Tower Heist,” “Madam Secretary”)

1971 – Actor Sean Aston (“The Goonies,” “Rudy,” the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy)

1976 – Actress Rashida Jones (“The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Social Network,” “Our Idiot Brother,” “Angie Tribeca”)

1997 – Actress Isabelle Fuhrman, best known for playing a demonic child in “Orphan” and Clove in “The Hunger Games”

History Highlights

1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, is sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress. He is assigned to serve on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on the District of Columbia.

1916 – German troops seize Fort Douaumont, the most formidable of the forts guarding the walled city of Verdun, France, four days after launching their initial attack. The Battle of Verdun becomes the longest and bloodiest conflict of World War I, lasting 10 months and resulting in over 700,000 casualties.

1950 – The TV comedy “Your Show of Shows,” hosted by Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, premieres, eventually helping launch the successful entertainment careers of Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Woody Allen and others.

1964 – Twenty-two-year-old Cassius Clay (who later changes his name to Muhammad Ali) stuns odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout in Miami Beach.

1984 – A massive explosion, triggered when gasoline from a ruptured pipeline ignited, levels a shantytown outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing at least 500 people — mostly young children. However, investigators speculate that the actual death toll may have been closer to 700 since many bodies were incinerated in the intense blaze.

1986 – President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule. Corazon Aquino becomes that nation’s first woman president.

2004 – “The Passion of the Christ,” Mel Gibson’s controversial film about the final hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life, opens in U.S. theaters, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It receives three Oscar nominations.

Musical Milestones

1956 – Elvis Presley scores his first hit when “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Country & Western chart. The Beatles cover the song in 1964 on the BBC radio show “From Us to You,” with George Harrison on lead vocals.

1956 – “Lisbon Antigua,” by Nelson Riddle, begins a four-week run as a No. 1 single.

1967 – The No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 for a second and final week belongs to The Buckinghams: “Kind of a Drag”

1978 – The Bee Gees are in their fourth and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Stayin’ Alive,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack.

1981 – Christopher Cross, then a little-known musician from Texas, cleans up at the Grammy Awards with five statuettes, including Best New Artist, Album of the Year (“Christopher Cross”) and Song of the Year (“Sailing”).

1984 – “Jump,” by Van Halen, kicks off five weeks atop the U.S. singles chart. The track, off the band’s “1984” album, is ranked among the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1995 – Madonna begins seven weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Take a Bow,” off her “Bedtime Stories” album. The single becomes her eleventh chart-topper. With it, Madonna replaces Carole King as the female who had written the most No. 1 songs.

On This Day January 9

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Celebrity Birthdays

1913 – Richard Nixon, 37th U.S. president (d. 1994)

1935 – Actor Bob Denver, best known for his starring role in “Gilligan’s Island” (d. 2005)

1941 – Folk singer, songwriter and activist Joan Baez

1944 – Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page

1951 – Grammy-winning country singer Crystal Gayle (“Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”)

1955 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor J.K. Simmons, born Jonathan Kimble Simmons (“Oz,” “Law & Order,” “Juno,” “The Closer,” “Spider-Man,” “Whiplash,” “The Accountant”)

1967 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and actor Dave Matthews (“Ants Marching,” “So Much to Say,” “Crash Into Me,” “Satellite”)

1982 – Kate (Catherine) Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge

History Highlights

1768 – Englishman Philip Astley stages the first modern circus in London, drawing up a ring and inviting the public to see him on a horse waving a sword in the air while he rode with one foot on the saddle and one on the horse’s head.

1951 – The United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City along the East River in Manhattan.

1965 – “Goldfinger,” starring Sean Connery as British secret agent James Bond (007), opens in movie theaters across the U.S. It is the third installment in the James Bond franchise, but the first to become a blockbuster and capture an Oscar.

1972 – Fire breaks out aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth in Hong Kong Victoria Harbor during a project to convert the luxury liner into a floating school and the vessel capsizes.

2007 – “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” With those words, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone at the Macworld convention in San Francisco, calling the device “a revolutionary mobile phone” and “Internet communicator.”

Musical Milestones

1961 – “Wonderland by Night,” by Bert Kaempfert, begins three weeks on top of the singles chart.

1968 – Elvis Presley’s “Guitar Man,” from the “Clambake” movie soundtrack, is released. The song eventually reaches No. 1 on the country chart and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1971 – George Harrison is mid-way through a four-week domination of the singles chart with “My Sweet Lord.” It’s Harrison’s first hit as a solo act following the breakup of The Beatles.

1981 – One month after his murder, ex-Beatle John Lennon is at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart with “Double Fantasy.” The album, which he co-produced with wife Yoko Ono, spends eight weeks on top of the album chart and captures Album of the Year honors at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards.

1988 – Whitney Houston scores her sixth consecutive chart-topping single with “So Emotional,” off her “Whitney” album.

1999 – The Céline Dion-R. Kelly duet, “I’m Your Angel,” begins its sixth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2010 – Kesha is in the middle of a nine-week domination of the singles chart with “Tik Tok.”

2016 – “Hello,” by Adele, is in its ninth week as a No. 1 single. The track holds the top spot for a total of 10 weeks and goes on to capture Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance Grammys.

On This Day January 2

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Celebrity Birthdays

1920 – Author Isaac Asimov (“I, Robot,” the “Foundation” trilogy) (d. 1992)

1967 – Actress-singer Tia Carrere (“Wayne’s World,” “True Lies,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Collision Course,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “The Celebrity Apprentice”)

1968 – Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. (“Boyz ‘N the Hood,” “A Few Good Men,” “Jerry Maguire,” “As Good As It Gets,” “American Gangster,” “The Butler,” “Selma,” “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”)

1971 – Actor Taye Diggs (“Rent,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Private Practice,” “The Best Man,” “The Best Man Holiday”)

1975 – Actor Dax Shepard (“Without a Paddle,” “Zathura,” “Employee of the Month,” “Parenthood,” “The Judge”)

1983 – Actress-model Kate Bosworth (“The Horse Whisperer,” “Blue Crush,” “Beyond the Sea,” “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!” “Superman Returns”)

History Highlights

1959 – The Space Race intensifies as the Soviet Union launches Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the moon and orbit the sun. It was originally called Cosmic Rocket, but renamed Luna 1 to reflect the Soviets’ planned series of Luna missions to the moon.

1971 – Known as the “Ibrox Disaster,” 66 football (soccer) fans die in a stampede at a stadium in Glasgow, Scotland, as they attempt to leave a game after a late goal by the home team. Nearly 200 other fans are injured.

1974 – President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the speed limit across the U.S. to 55 miles per hour in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo. The measure, known as the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, remains in effect until Congress repeals it in 1995.

1980 – Angered by Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter requests that the Senate postpone action on the SALT II nuclear weapons treaty and recalls the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union.

1980 – Sherry Lansing is named the head of Fox Productions, becoming the first woman in charge of production at a major movie studio as well as one of the highest-paid female executives in any industry.

1990 – Actor Alan Hale, Jr., who played the Skipper on TV’s “Gilligan’s Island,” dies of cancer at the age of 68.

2009 – Shortly after the death of British surgeon Harold Carr, his family discovers the rare, unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe that he owned — sitting in a garage, undriven for some 50 years. One month later, the car sells at a Paris auction for $4.4 million.

Musical Milestones

1965 – The Beatles’ eighth single, “I Feel Fine,” is in the middle of three weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. It is reported to be the first recorded song to incorporate guitar feedback (the opening note).

1971 – George Harrison’s first solo album, “All Things Must Pass,” featuring the hits “My Sweet Lord” and “What is Life,” begins a seven-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. In January 2014, the album is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1979 – The murder trial of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious begins, with the punk rocker accused of stabbing his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to death in a New York City hotel three months earlier. On February 2, 1979, before the trial is over, Vicious is found dead of a heroin overdose at the age of 21.

1982 – Olivia Newton-John is in the middle of a 10-week ride on top of the Billboard singles chart with her 80s workout anthem, “Physical.”

1988 – During a four-week run as a Billboard No. 1, “Faith,” by George Michael, officially becomes the first chart-topping single of 1988.

1993 – Whitney Houston is in the midst of a 14-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Will Always Love You,” a song originally written and recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973.

1999 – The Céline Dion-R. Kelly duet, “I’m Your Angel,” is the No. 1 single.

2010 – Kesha kicks off nine weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Tik Tok.”

2016 – Adele begins the fourth of 10 non-sequential weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with her Grammy-winning album, “25.”

On This Day September 26

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Celebrity Birthdays

1888 – Poet T.S. Eliot (d. 1965)

1898 – Composer George Gershwin (“Rhapsody in Blue,” “An American in Paris,” “Porgy and Bess”) (d. 1937)

1930 – Tony-winning actor Philip Bosco (“Trading Places,” “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Working Girl,” “Shadows and Fog”) (d. 2018)

1947 – Grammy-winning country singer Lynn Anderson, best remembered for her 1970 hit “Rose Garden” (d. 2015)

1948 – Grammy-winning singer-actress Olivia Newton-John, who co-starred with John Travolta in the 1978 box office smash “Grease” and whose Top 40 hits include “Let Me Be There,” “I Honestly Love You,” “Have You Never Been Mellow,” “Magic” and “Physical”)

1956 – Actress Linda Hamilton, best known for her role as Sarah Connor in “The Terminator” movie series

1968 – Actor Jim Caviezel (“The Count of Monte Cristo,” “The Passion of the Christ,” “Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius,” “Frequency,” “Person of Interest”)

1981 – Tennis superstar Serena Williams

History Highlights

1960 – Democratic Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy and Republican Vice President Richard Nixon go head to head during the first televised presidential debate.

1964 – Seven fictional passengers set sail aboard the charter boat SS Minnow for a three-hour tour, but end up stranded on an island for three TV seasons. It’s the debut of “Gilligan’s Island” on CBS.

1969 – “The Brady Bunch” premieres on ABC. Considered daring for its time, the sitcom centers around a mother with three daughters by one marriage who marries a widower with three boys, a maid and a dog.

1986 – In one of the most bizarre plot twists ever in prime time television, “Dallas” character Bobby Ewing returns to the show after being killed off the previous season. His wife, Pam, discovers him very much alive in their shower.

2008 – Screen legend, auto racer and entrepreneur Paul Newman, whose 65 movies include such classics as “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting” and “The Verdict,” dies of cancer at age 83.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Roy Orbison dominates the singles chart with “Oh, Pretty Woman.” The track holds at No. 1 for three weeks.

1969 – The Beatles release their final studio album, “Abbey Road,” in the U.K. This recording features the iconic cover photo of the Fab Four marching single-file across a London crosswalk and contains such favorites as “Come Together,” “Here Comes The Sun,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and “Octopus’s Garden.”

1975 – “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” opens in movie theaters across the U.S. The cult classic musical features then-unknows Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick and still draws crowds to midnight screenings.

1987 – Michael Jackson kicks off six weeks atop the Billboard album chart with “Bad,” the follow-up to 1982’s “Thriller.” It becomes the world’s best-selling album with an estimated 45 million copies sold worldwide. The album spawns five No. 1 singles — the first ever to do so.

1987 – Whitney Houston rules the Billboard Hot 100 with “Didn’t We Almost Have It All.”

2003 – British singer-songwriter Robert Palmer, best known for the ’80s hits “Addicted To Love” and “Simply Irresistible,” dies of a heart attack at the age of 54.

On This Day September 4

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Celebrity Birthdays

1931 – Actress-singer-dancer Mitzi Gaynor (“My Blue Heaven,” “Anything Goes,” “South Pacific”)

1942 – Singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Merald “Bubba” Knight (Gladys Knight & the Pips)

1949 – PGA champion Tom Watson

1960 – Comedian, actor and writer Damon Wayans (“In Living Color,” “The Last Boy Scout,” “Major Payne,” “My Wife and Kids”)

1970 – Actress Ione Skye (“Say Anything,” “Four Rooms,” “Zodiac”)

1981 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles

History Highlights

1886 – Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to U.S. federal troops in Arizona. For 30 years, the Native American warrior battled to protect his tribe’s homeland. However, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and outnumbered. With his surrender, Geronimo becomes the last Native American warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces, signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest.

1951 – President Harry Truman takes to the microphone for the first live coast-to-coast TV broadcast. It originates from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco.

1957 – In what becomes a landmark event in the civil rights movement, nine African American students attempt to enter Little Rock Central High School, but are blocked by National Guard troops ordered in by Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. The group is known as the Little Rock Nine.

1957 – Ford introduces the Edsel, a car named after company founder Henry Ford’s only son. The vehicle is widely considered to be one of the greatest marketing failures in automotive history.

Musical Milestones

1962 – The Beatles assemble for their first formal recording session at London’s EMI/Abbey Road Studios, recording “Love Me Do” and “How Do You Do It?” with newest band member Ringo Starr on drums.

1971 – About a year after the Fab Four break-up, one of them enjoys his first No. 1 single. It’s Paul McCartney with “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey,” from the “Ram” album — a collaboration with his wife, Linda.

1976 – The Bee Gees are chart-toppers with “You Should Be Dancing,” from the “Saturday Night Fever” movie soundtrack.

1976 – More than a year after entering the album chart, Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album reaches No. 1. This breakthrough work contains the hits “Rhiannon,” “Over My Head” and “Say You Love Me,” and has sold more than five million copies.

1982 – “Abracadabra,” by the Steve Miller Band, appears at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1993 – UB40 ends a seven-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with the cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

2004 – Terror Squad begins its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Lean Back.”

2010 – “Love The Way You Lie,” by Enimen featuring Rihanna, is in the middle of six weeks as a No. 1 single.