On This Day December 12 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1893 – Actor Edward G. Robinson, known for playing mobsters and other tough guys (“Little Caesar,” “Double Indemnity,” “The Woman in the Window,” “Scarlet Street,” “Key Largo”) (d. 1973) 1915 – Legendary Grammy and Oscar-winning entertainer Frank Sinatra, born Francis Albert Sinatra, and affectionately called “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “The Chairman of the Board” (d. 1998) 1923 – Bob Barker, who hosted the popular TV game show “The Price is Right” from 1972 to 2007 and was an outspoken animal rights activist (d. 2023) 1924 – Former New York City Mayor and “The People’s Court” Judge Ed Koch (d. 2013) 1938 – Pop singer Connie Francis, born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (Who’s Sorry Now?”, “Stupid Cupid”) 1940 – Grammy-winning singer Dionne Warwick (“Don’t Make Me Over,” “Walk On By,” “Alfie,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”) 1949 – Actor Bill Nighy (“The Men’s Room,” “Love Actually,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “The Girl in the Café,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”) 1952 – Actress and Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby 1970 – Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly (“Requiem for a Dream,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “The House of Sand and Fog,” “Hulk”) History Highlights 1901 – Guglielmo Marconi successfully sends the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean. 1917 – In Omaha, Nebraska, Irish priest, Father Edward J. Flanagan, opens the doors to Boys Town, a home for troubled and neglected children that continues to provide this service today. 1967 – “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a groundbreaking movie about an interracial romantic relationship, starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier, opens in theaters. It is the ninth movie to pair Hepburn with Tracy, who died less than three weeks after filming ended. 1972 – The world turns upside down for cruise ship passengers when the epic disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure” opens, featuring a veritable Hollywood ‘Who’s Who’ of a cast, including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Roddy Mcdowall, Carol Lynley and Jack Albertson. 1980 – American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5.1 million at auction for a notebook containing writings by artist-inventor Leonardo da Vinci. The manuscript, written around 1508, is among over two dozen books da Vinci produced during his lifetime. 1989 – The so-called “Queen of Mean,” hotel operator and real estate developer Leona Helmsley, who once quipped that “only the little people pay taxes,” receives a four-year prison sentence, 750 hours of community service and a $7.1 million fine for tax fraud. 2000 – General Motors (GM) announces that it will begin to phase out its Oldsmobile line of cars, the oldest automotive brand in the United States. The last Olds rolls off an assembly line about four years later. Musical Milestones 1964 – Bobby Vinton stands alone on top of the Billboard singles survey with “Mr. Lonely,” his second No. 1 of the year. 1970 – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles kick off two weeks atop the singles chart with “The Tears Of A Clown,” the group’s 26th Top 40 hit and first No. 1. 1987 – “Faith,” by George Michael, begins a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. It goes on to become the biggest-selling single of 1988. 1992 – Whitney Houston has the No. 1 single with “I Will Always Love You,” which remains a chart-topper for 14 weeks and becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song was written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973. This version was part of the soundtrack to “The Bodyguard,” a 1992 movie co-starring Houston and Kevin Costner. 2003 – Prince Charles bestows knighthood status upon Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger at Buckingham Palace. Jagger’s 92-year-old father, Joe, and daughters Elizabeth and Karis are on hand for the prestigious event. 2007 – R&B legend Ike Turner, credited by many music historians with making the first rock ‘n roll record in 1951, dies of a cocaine overdose at the age of 76. Turner was the former husband of superstar Tina Turner. The couple enjoyed a string of late 60s-early 70s hits, including “Proud Mary” and “River Deep Mountain High.” READ MORE
On This Day November 29 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1927 – Retired Hall of Fame sportscaster Vin Scully, play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn and later the Los Angeles Dodgers for 67 seasons 1935 – Golden Globe-winning actress Diane Ladd, born Rose Diane Lanier (“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Alice,” “Wild at Heart,” “Rambling Rose”) 1940 – Jazz trumpeter Chuck Mangione, best known for his 1978 smash “Feels So Good” 1949 – Comedian-actor Garry Shandling (“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) (d. 2016) 1954 – Oscar-winning director Joel Coen of the Coen Brothers (“Blood Simple,” “Raising Arizona,” “Miller’s Crossing,” “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” “No Country for Old Men,” “A Serious Man,” “True Grit”) 1955 – Comedian-actor and TV host-judge Howie Mandel (“St. Elsewhere,” “Deal or No Deal,” “Bobby’s World,” “America’s Got Talent”) 1960 – Actress Cathy Moriarty (“Raging Bull,” “Soapdish,” “The Mambo Kings,” “Casper,” “Analyze That,” “The Bounty Hunter”) 1961 – Emmy-winning actress Kim Delaney (“NYPD Blue,” “All My Children,” “Philly,” “CSI: Miami”) 1962 – Actor-director Andrew McCarthy (“St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Mannequin,” “Weekend at Bernie’s,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Less Than Zero,” “Orange is the New Black”) 1964 – Golden Globe-winning actor Don Cheadle (“Boogie Nights,” “Hotel Rwanda,” “Crash,” “House of Lies,” “Iron Man 2,” “Iron Man 3,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Captain America: Civil War”) History Highlights 1929 – American explorer Richard Byrd and three companions make the first flight over the South Pole. 1947 – Despite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine and the creation of an independent Jewish state. 1962 – Britain and France announce a joint agreement to design and build Concorde, the world’s first supersonic airliner. 1963 – One week after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the fatal shooting. Led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Commission later concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. 1981 – Actress Natalie Wood, who starred in such movies as “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Splendor in the Grass” and “West Side Story,“ drowns in a boating accident near California’s Catalina Island at the age of 43. Although the Hollywood star’s death was officially labeled accidental, suspicion continues to swirl around the case. 1986 – Two-time Oscar nominee Cary Grant (“The Philadelphia Story,” “The Awful Truth,” “His Girl Friday,” “Notorious,” “North By Northwest”) dies of a stroke at the age of 82. Musical Milestones 1969 – “Come Together/Something,” by The Beatles, claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. It is the band’s 18th chart-topper. 1975 – Silver Convention soars to the top of the singles chart with “Fly, Robin, Fly.” The disco smash nests there for three weeks. 1986 – Bon Jovi has its first No. 1 single with “You Give Love a Bad Name,” off the “Slippery When Wet” album. The track remains on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. 1997 – Barbra Streisand’s “Higher Ground,” her first album in four years, tops the Billboard album chart. It contains the Grammy-nominated duet, “Tell Him,” with Celine Dion. 2001 – Beatles guitarist, singer and songwriter George Harrison loses his battle with cancer at the age of 58. 2003 – “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, wraps up a nine-week run as a Billboard chart-topper. READ MORE