On This Day: October 31

On This Day October 31

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1451 – Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus, who discovered the “New World” of the Americas on an expedition sponsored by King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492. (d. 1506)

1860 – Juliette Gordon Low (a.k.a. “Daisy”), who founded the Girl Scouts of the USA in 1912 (d. 1927)

1912 – Actress-singer Dale Evans (married to Roy Rogers) (d. 2001)

1931 – TV journalist and longtime “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather

1936 – Actor-director Michael Landon, best known for his roles in “Bonanza” and “Little House on the Prairie.” (d. 1991)

1939 – Actor Ron Rifkin (“L.A. Confidential,” “The Negotiator,” “Boiler Room,” “Keeping the Faith,” “The Majestic,” “Dragonfly,” “Alias,” “Brothers & Sisters”)

1942 – Actor-director David Ogden Stiers (played Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III on TV’s “M*A*S*H”) (d. 2018)

1950 – Emmy-winning comedic actor John Candy (“Splash,” “Uncle Buck,” “Home Alone,” “Cool Runnings”) (d. 1994)

1951 – U2 drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.

1961 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning director-producer-writer Peter Jackson, best known for “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies

1963 – Comedian-actor Rob Schneider (“Saturday Night Live,” “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “The Hot Chick,” “The Benchwarmers,” “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” “Grown Ups”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1926 – Celebrated magician, escape artist and actor Harry Houdini, born Erich Weisz, dies of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix at the age of 52. Despite his extraordinary skills as an illusionist, Houdini could not escape mortality.

1951 – Once known as All Hallows Eve, Halloween settles into American popular culture as trick-or-treating becomes an annual custom. As of 2019, Americans are spending an estimated $8 billion a year on Halloween decorations, costumes, makeup and candy, making it the nation’s second-largest commercial holiday.

1963 – An explosion rocks the Indiana State Fair Coliseum in Indianapolis during a skating exhibition, leaving 74 people dead and nearly 400 injured. Investigators blame a propane leak.

1968 – President Lyndon Johnson announces that he has ordered the complete cessation of “all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam” as a result of progress in the Paris peace talks.

1984 – Two of her own bodyguards assassinate Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, sparking riots across the capital city of New Delhi.

1993 – Actor River Phoenix (“Explorers,” “Stand By Me,” “Running on Empty”) is just 23 when he dies of a drug overdose outside a Hollywood nightclub. In addition to his acting career, Phoenix was a pioneer of the vegan movement and an ardent environmentalist.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1964 – Barbra Streisand’s “People” is the No. 1 album and later clinches Grammy Awards for Best Vocal Performance and Best Album Cover. The title track, from the 1964 Broadway musical “Funny Girl,” ranks among Streisand’s biggest hits of all time.

1964 – The Supremes reign over the singles chart with “Baby Love,” which holds the top spot for four weeks. It’s the second of five Supremes songs in a row to reach No. 1.

1970 – The Jackson 5 are midway through a five-week conquest of the pop chart with “I’ll Be There.”

1981 – “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” by Christopher Cross, marks its third and final week as a No. 1 single.

1987 – King of Pop, Michael Jackson, does good with “Bad,” which marks its second week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1989 – MTV’s first “Unplugged” show is recorded in New York, featuring the British band Squeeze. The program, which becomes a 90s phenom, spotlights popular artists performing acoustic (“unplugged”) versions of their songs. This debut episode airs on November 26, 1989.

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On This Day: September 16

On This Day September 16

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1924 – Tony and Golden Globe-winning actress Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske (“To Have and have Not,” “The Big Sleep,” “Key Largo,” “How to Marry a Millionaire, “Designing Woman,” “The Mirror Has Two Faces”) (d. 2014)

1925 – Legendary blues artist B.B. King (d. 2015)

1949 – Actor Ed Begley, Jr. (“St. Elsewhere,” “Best in Show,” “A Mighty Wind,” “Six Feet Under”)

1952 – Golden Globe-winning actor Mickey Rourke (“Diner,” “Angel Heart,” “Sin City,” “The Wrestler”)

1953 – Grammy-winning jazz fusion guitarist Earl Klugh

1956 – Illusionist David Copperfield

1968 – Singer-songwriter Marc Anthony

1971 – Actress, comedian and “Saturday Night Live” alum Amy Poehler

1992 – Pop singer-songwriter and actor Nick Jonas (Jonas Brothers)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1908 – Auto giant General Motors (GM) is founded By William “Billy” Durant, a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages in Flint, Michigan.

1919 – The American Legion is incorporated by an act of Congress.  It was established to support and assist veterans returning from World War I, but has since grown to support veterans of all wars and veterans of peacetime as well.

1920 – A bombing in New York’s financial district kills 38 people and injures nearly 200 others, becoming the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history until the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. While those responsible were never found, the so-called “Wall Street Bombing” was thought to be the work of communist agitators associated with the Bolshevik Revolution.

1932 – Civil rights crusader Mohandas Gandhi begins a six-day hunger strike in his Bombay, India prison cell to protest the British government’s decision to separate India’s electoral system by caste.

1940 – President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Selective Service and Training Act, which requires all male citizens between 26 and 35 to register for the military draft.

1981 – Sugar Ray Leonard beats Thomas Hearns in their first of two epic boxing bouts. 

1993 – “Cheers” spin-off “Frasier,” starring Kelsey Grammer, premieres on NBC.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – Bobbie Gentry wraps up four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with her Grammy-winning “Ode to Billie Joe.”

1972 – “Black and White,” by Three Dog Night, is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart. The song was originally recorded by Pete Seeger in 1956 and a year later by Sammy Davis, Jr.

1978 – A Taste of Honey is in the middle of a three-week ride atop the singles chart with “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”

1979 – “Rapper’s Delight,” by The Sugarhill Gang, is released. While it is not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be responsible for introducing hip hop music to audiences around the world. The track reaches No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011, The Library of Congress preserved it in the National Recording Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

1989 – “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” by Gloria Estefan, is the No. 1 single.

1995 – “Gangsta’s Paradise,” by Coolio featuring L.V., is in the middle of three weeks as a No. 1 single.

2000 – Madonna is queen of the pop chart as “Music” kicks off three weeks at No. 1.

2006 – Justin Timberlake owns the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “SexyBack.” The single remains at No. 1 for seven weeks.

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