On this Day June 30 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1917 – Grammy-winning jazz and pop music singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne (d. 2010) 1956 – Actor-comedian David Alan Grier (“In Living Color”) 1959 – Actor Vincent D’Onofrio (“Full Metal Jacket,” “Men In Black,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “The Judge,” “Run All Night,” “Jurassic World”) 1966 – Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson 1982 – Actress Lizzy Caplan (“Mean Girls,” “True Blood,” “Cloverfield”) 1985 – U.S. Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps History Highlights 1859 – Frenchman Jean Francois Gravelet, a.k.a. The Great Blondin, or Charles Blondin, becomes the first daredevil to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Thousands of spectators line the American and Canadian sides of the falls to observe the feat, which he performs along an 1,100-foot-long tightrope suspended 160 feet above the raging waters of Niagara Gorge. 1934 – In what comes to be known as the Night of the Long Knives, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler orders a bloody purge of his own political party, assassinating hundreds of Nazis whom he believed had the potential to become political enemies in the future. 1936 – Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gone with the Wind,” one of the best-selling novels of all time and the basis for the blockbuster 1939 movie, is published. 1971 – “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory,” a movie musical-fantasy starring Gene Wilder, opens in theaters. It’s an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” 1971 – Three Soviet cosmonauts who made up the crew of the world’s first space station are killed when their spacecraft, Soyuz 11, depressurizes during reentry to Earth’s atmosphere. 1974 – The July 4th scene from the movie “Jaws” is filmed on Martha’s Vineyard, with 400 screaming, panic-stricken extras in bathing suits running from the water multiple times until director Steven Spielberg gets the right take. 1989 – Writer-director Spike Lee’s celebrated third feature film, “Do the Right Thing” — about racial tensions boiling over in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on the hottest day of the year — opens in U.S. theaters. The movie receives Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Danny Aiello. 1993 – The legal thriller “The Firm,” directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Gene Hackman, opens in theaters. It’s based on the 1991 novel of the same name by John Grisham. 1995 – Director Ron Howard’s high-intensity drama “Apollo 13,” about NASA’s desperate efforts to bring the crew of Apollo 13 safely home after an explosion that denies them a moon landing, opens in U.S. theaters. Starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise, the movie receives nine Oscar nominations and wins for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. Musical Milestones 1962 – Ray Charles enjoys his fifth and final week dominating the pop chart with “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” 1973 – George Harrison has the hottest single on the radio for a week with “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth),” from his “Living in the Material World” album.” The track is the ex-Beatles’ second solo No. 1. 1975 – Less than a week after her divorce from Sonny Bono is finalized, Cher ties the knot with rock musician Gregg Allman only to divorce him 10 days later. 1984 – “The Reflex,” by Duran Duran, begins its second and final week as a No. 1 single. 1990 – New Kids On the Block step to the top of the singles chart for three weeks with “Step By Step.” The song is an international smash, selling over 10 million copies worldwide, and becomes one of the biggest selling singles of 1990. 2001 – “Lady Marmalade,” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink, enters its fifth and final week as a chart-topper. The cover is from the “Moulin Rouge!” soundtrack. 2007 – Rihanna and Jay-Z rule the Billboard Hot 100 with “Umbrella.” READ MORE
On this Day June 10 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1895 – Hattie McDaniel, first African American actress to receive an Academy Award, which she won for her supporting role as Mammy in “Gone With the Wind” (d. 1952) 1922 – Actress-singer Judy Garland, best known for her role as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” (d. 1969) 1921 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms 1928 – Children’s author-illustrator Maurice Sendak (“Where the Wild Things Are,” “Little Bear”) (d. 2012) 1962 – Actress Gina Gershon (“Showgirls,” “Face/Off,” “The Insider,” “Killer Joe,” “House of Versace”) 1963 – Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn (“Basic Instinct,” “The Firm,” “Big Love,” “Criminal Minds”) 1965 – Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley (“Passenger 57,” the first two “Austin Powers” movies, “Bedazzled”) 1982 – U.S. Olympic champion figure skater Tara Lipinksi 1983 – Actress Leelee Sobieski (“Joan of Arc,” “The Glass House,” “Deep Impact”) History Highlights 1692 – Bridget Bishop, the first Massachusetts Bay colonist to be tried in the Salem witch trials, is hanged after being found guilty of the practice of witchcraft. 1752 – Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm and collects ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar, enabling him to demonstrate the connection between lightning and electricity along with an understanding of positive and negative charges. His experiment leads to development of the lightning rod, which grounded buildings thereby helping prevent deadly fires. 1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as AA, is founded by two recovering alcoholics — Bill W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Ohio surgeon. Today, the organization continues to fulfill the pair’s original mission to help alcoholics stop drinking and stay sober. 1943 – Hungarian Laszlo Biro patents the ballpoint pen. In many languages, the word for ballpoint pen is “biro.” 1967 – In the Middle East, the Six-Day War ends when Israel and Syria agree to a U.N.-brokered ceasefire. 1980 – A letter written by imprisoned anti-apartheid crusader Nelson Mandela and smuggled out of Robben Island prison, is shared publicly by the African National Congress (ANC). The letter is a call to arms against apartheid. 2007 – An estimated 12 million viewers tune in to “Made in America” — the final episode of HBO’s critically acclaimed, award-winning Mob family drama, “The Sopranos,” starring James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco and Steven Van Zandt. Musical Milestones 1967 – Aretha Franklin begins her second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Respect.” 1972 – Sammy Davis, Jr. starts a three-week run with a No. 1 single — his only chart-topper. It’s “Candy Man,” from the movie “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” 1976 – The first concert ever performed at the Seattle Kingdome features Paul McCartney and Wings, and draws a crowd of more than 67,000 — beating the record attendance that The Beatles had a decade earlier at New York’s Shea Stadium. 1978 – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John conquer the singles chart with “You’re The One That I Want,” from the movie in which they co-star: “Grease.” 1989 – Bette Midler tops the singles chart with “Wind Beneath My Wings,” from the film “Beaches.” 1995 – Bryan Adams reigns over the pop chart with “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” The track, from the Johnny Depp movie movie “Don Juan DeMarco,” holds at No. 1 for five weeks. 2000 – The Grammy-winning single “Maria Maria,” by Santana featuring The Product G&B, begins its tenth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 2004 – Pioneering R&B/soul singer Ray Charles (“I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Hit the Road Jack,” “What’d I Say,” “Georgia on My Mind”) — a 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee — dies of complications from liver disease at the age of 73. READ MORE