On This Day April 7 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1897 – Popular 1930s-50s radio host-gossip columnist Walter Winchell (d. 1972) 1915 – Legendary jazz and blues singer-songwriter Billie Holliday, born Eleanora Fagan (d. 1959) 1920 – Indian musician-composer Ravi Shankar, who popularized the sitar and Indian classical music in Western culture (d. 2012) 1928 – Golden Globe-winning actor James Garner (“The Rockford Files,” “Maverick,” “The Notebook”) (d. 2014) 1939 – British TV talk show host David Frost, most remembered for his revealing interview series with U.S. President Richard Nixon (d. 2013) 1939 – Oscar-winning director-producer-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” series, “Apocalypse Now,” “Cotton Club,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) 1954 – Actor, martial artist, stuntman and choreographer Jackie Chan (“Rumble in the Bronx,” “Rush Hour” series, “Shanghai Knights”,”Kung-Fu Panda” franchise) 1964 – Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe (“L.A. Confidential,” “The Insider,” “Gladiator,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man,” “American Gangster,” “Les Misérables”, “Man of Steel”) History Highlights 1776 – U.S. Navy Captain John Barry (a.k.a. “Father of the American Navy”), commander of the warship Lexington, achieves the first American naval capture of a British vessel when he seizes the British warship HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia. The capture of the Edward and its cargo turns Barry into a national hero and boosts the morale of the Continental forces. 1948 – The United Nations establishes the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote “the highest possible level of health” around the globe. A major cornerstone of WHO is the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. World Health Day is observed internationally every April 7. 1954 – President Dwight Eisenhower coins one of the most famous Cold War phrases when he suggests the fall of French Indochina to the communists could create a “domino effect” in Southeast Asia. The so-called “domino theory” guided U.S. strategy toward Vietnam for the next decade. 1961 – President John F. Kennedy lobbies Congress to fund the preservation of historic monuments in Egypt’s Nile Valley threatened by construction of the Aswan High Dam. 1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material (Stanley v. Georgia). 1970 – At the 42nd annual Academy Awards, screen legend John Wayne ropes his first and only Oscar: Best Actor for his role in the Western “True Grit.” 1978 – President Jimmy Carter cancels the planned production of the neutron bomb. 1994 – Violence in Rwanda fuels the launch of what becomes the worst episode of genocide since World War II: the massacre of an estimated 500,000 to 1 million innocent civilian Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Musical Milestones 1962 – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meet Brian Jones at the Ealing Jazz Club in London and begin laying the groundwork for formation of The Rolling Stones. 1973 – Comedian Vicki Lawrence finds success as a vocalist, claiming the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks. 1984 – This day marks a second British Invasion, as an unprecedented 40 singles by British artists hold sway on the Billboard Hot 100. Two are in the Top-10: “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins (No. 3) and “Here Comes the Rain Again” by The Eurythmics ( No. 4). 1984 – Kenny Loggins holds the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Footloose,” from the movie of the same name, starring Kevin Bacon. 1985 – Wham! becomes the first Western pop group to play in China when they perform at the Worker’s Gymnasium in Beijing. Footage from their trip appears in the video for their song “Freedom.” 1990 – “Love Will Lead You Back,” by Taylor Dayne, lands on top of the singles chart for a week. 2001 – “Butterfly,” by Crazy Town, returns to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week. 2007 – Akon begins two weeks on top of the singles chart with “Don’t Matter.” READ MORE
On this Day June 11 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1913 – Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi (d. 1970) 1933 – Actor-comedian and author Gene Wilder, born Jerome Silberman (“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein”) (d. 2016) 1945 – Actress-author Adrienne Barbeau (“The Fog,” “Creepshow,” “Escape From New York”) 1956 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana, who played for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs 1959 – Golden Globe-winning actor-comedian and musician Hugh Laurie, best known for his starring role in the TV series “House” 1969 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter Dinklage (“Death at a Funeral,” “The Station Agent,” “Elf,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “Ice Age: Continental Drift,” “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Pixels,” “Game of Thrones”) 1978 – Actor Joshua Jackson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “The Mighty Ducks,” Fringe”) 1986 -Emmy-winning actor Shia LaBeouf (“Even Stevens,” “Holes,” “Transformers,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”) History Highlights 1944 – Lieutenant John F. Kennedy receives the prestigious Navy and Marine Corps Medal in recognition of his heroic, life-saving actions as a gunboat pilot during World War II. Kennedy, who goes on to become America’s 35th president, also receives a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in battle. He is the only president to have earned either of those high honors. 1955 – Carnage at Le Mans, as an Austin-Healey and Mercedes-Benz collide, showering flaming wreckage onto spectators. Eighty-two people are killed and at least 100 injured in one of auto racing’s worst accidents. 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to successfully escape from Alcatraz prison. No one ever saw or heard from them again, although there were multiple unconfirmed sightings over the years. 1967 – The Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ends with a United Nations-brokered ceasefire. That November, the U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution establishing a formula for Arab-Israeli peace whereby Israel would withdraw from territories occupied in the war in exchange for peace with its neighbors. 1963 – An outspoken opponent of school desegregation, Alabama Governor George Wallace physically blocks two African American students from entering the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. President John F. Kennedy responds by federalizing the Alabama National Guard and ordering troops to escort the students to their classes. Wallace then steps aside, but that evening, Kennedy delivers a national address about segregation regarded by many historians as one of the turning points in the civil rights movement. 1977 – MLK assassin James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee, but is recaptured three days later. 1979 – Cancer claims the life of screen legend John Wayne (“El Dorado,” “Rio Bravo,” “True Grit,” “The Comancheros”) at the age of 72. 1982 – Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” opens in U.S. theaters and becomes a box office bonanza. The movie launches the career of actress Drew Barrymore, and in 1994, is selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” 1986 – “Bueller… Bueller…” The now-classic John Hughes film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck and Mia Sara, opens in U.S. theaters. Musical Milestones 1957 – Elvis Presley releases “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear,” which becomes a No. 1 hit a month later. 1960 – The Hollywood Argyles claim the top spot on the pop chart with “Alley-Oop,” based on the comic strip of the same name. 1966 – The Rolling Stones rule the Billboard singles chart with “Paint it Black,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks. 1977 – “I’m Your Boogie Man” becomes the fourth chart-topping hit for KC and the Sunshine Band. 1983 – Irene Cara is in the middle of a six-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Flashdance…What a Feeling,” from the “Flashdance” movie soundtrack. 1988 – London’s Wembley Stadium hosts Freedomfest, a concert celebrating the 70th birthday of imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Performers include Whitney Houston, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, George Michael, Eric Clapton, UB40, The Eurythmics and Simple Minds. The concert is broadcast to about a billion people in 67 countries. 1994 – “I Swear,” by All-4-One is in the midst of an 11-week reign over the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 2011 – Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, “The Dark Side Of The Moon,” re-enters the Billboard album chart at No. 47 and reaches a milestone of 1,000 weeks on the charts. This classic contains such fan favorites as “Time,” “Money” and “Breathe (In the Air).” To date, more than 50 million copies have sold worldwide. READ MORE
On this Day May 26 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1886 – Singer-actor Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson in Russia and dubbed “The World’s Greatest Entertainer” (d. 1950) 1907 – Oscar-winning actor John Wayne, born Marion Robert Morrison and nicknamed “The Duke,” who starred in many Westerns, including “The Searchers” and “True Grit” (d. 1979) 1920 – Vocalist Peggy Lee (“”Mañana,” “Lover,” “Fever”) (d. 2002) 1926 – Legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (d. 1991) 1948 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac member Stevie Nicks, best recognized for her vocals in the hits “Dreams,” “Rhiannon” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” 1951 – First American woman astronaut in space, Sally Ride (d. 2012) 1962 – Comedian-actor Bobcat Goldthwait 1962 – Emmy-winning actress Genie Francis, most remembered for her role as Laura on the ABC soap “General Hospital” 1964 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz (“Let Love Rule,” “Mama Said,” “American Woman”) 1966 – Actress Helena Bonham Carter (“A Room With a View,” “Howard’s End,” “Fight Club,” “Big Fish,” The King’s Speech,” “Les Misérables”) 1975 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter-rapper-producer Lauryn Hill, formerly of The Fugees (“Doo Wop (That Thing),” “Ex-Factor,” “Everything Is Everything”) History Highlights 1897 – The first copies of the classic vampire novel “Dracula,” by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appear in London bookshops. 1927 – It’s the end of the road for Ford’s iconic Model T automobile. The 15 millionth and last Model T Ford rolls off a Detroit assembly line with Ford founder Henry Ford in the front passenger seat and his son, Edsel, behind the wheel. The touring car, with hand-stamped VIN 15000000, marked the symbolic end of the groundbreaking automobile’s 19-year production run. 1953 – The first 3-D sci-fi movie premieres in Los Angeles: “It Came from Outer Space,” based on a Ray Bradbury story. 1959 – Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves before losing, 1-0, in the 13th. It’s the first time a pitcher throws more than nine perfect innings in major league history. 1969 – Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing. During descent from its lunar orbit, the spacecraft sets a record for the fastest speed attained by a manned vehicle. 1972 – Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Richard Nixon, meeting in Moscow, sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) agreements. 1977 – The so-called “human fly,” George Willig, scales the South Tower of New York City’s World Trade Center by attaching himself to a window washing track and walking straight to the top and into the custody of waiting police officers. It takes Willig three and a half hours to make the climb and costs him $1.10 in fines — one penny per floor. Musical Milestones 1962 – Clarinetist Acker Bilk becomes the first British artist to top the Billboard pop chart when his instrumental, “Stranger on the Shore,” reaches No. 1. 1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin an eight-day “bed-in” for peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, during which they record “Give Peace a Chance” in a room filled with reporters, photographers and supporters. The couple held a similar bed-in two months earlier in Amsterdam. 1973 – The hard rock instrumental “Frankenstein,” by The Edgar Winter Group, reaches the top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band’s only No. 1 hit. One week later, it is bumped by Paul McCartney’s “My Love.” 1979 – Peaches & Herb begin their fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Reunited.” 1984 – “Let’s Hear It For the Boy,” by Deniece Williams, from the soundtrack to the Kevin Bacon movie “Footloose,” is on top of the singles chart. 1990 – Madonna’s “Vogue,” off the “I’m Breathless” album, is in the middle of a three-week domination of the Billboard pop chart. 2001 – “All For You,” by Janet Jackson, begins its seventh and final week as a chart-topper. 2007 – “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” by T-Pain featuring Yung Joc, is the No. 1 single. READ MORE