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 July 8 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1935 – Pop singer-actor Steve Lawrence, best known as half of the “Steve and Eydie duo with his wife, Eydie Gormé 1944 – Actor Jeffrey Tambor (“…And Justice For All,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Arrested Development”) 1951 – Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston (“Prizzi’s Honor,” “The Grifters,” “The Addams Family,” “The Royal Tenenbaums”) 1958 – Golden Globe-winning actor Kevin Bacon (“Footloose,” “Apollo 13,” “The River Wild,” “A Few Good Men,” “Mystic River,” “The Following”) 1961 – Country music singer-songwriter and actor Toby Keith (“Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “How Do You Like Me Now?!”) 1962 – Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne, best known for her 1995 hit “One of Us” 1970 – Rock singer-songwriter Beck, born Bek David Campbell 1998 – Actor Jaden Smith (“The Pursuit of Happyness,” “The Karate Kid,” “After Earth”) History Highlights 1776 – The Liberty Bell rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. 1947 – Reports are broadcast that a “flying disc” has crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico, however U.S. Air Force officials claim it is a weather balloon. The incident triggers conspiracy theories about a government coverup and accounts of aliens and UFOs that are still debated today. 1959 – American troops suffer their first casualties in the Vietnam War with the deaths of Maj. Dale R. Buis and Master Sgt. Chester M. Ovnand. 1960 – An emerging Cold War détente between the United States and Soviet Union suffers a setback when the Soviets charge U.S. Air Force and CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers with espionage. The move comes two months after the Soviets shoot Powers down while flying a secret spy mission. 1994 – Kim Il-Sung, the communist dictator of North Korea since 1948, dies of a heart attack at the age of 82. Hoping to reunify Korea by force, Kim launched an invasion of South Korea in 1950, igniting the Korean War, which ended in a stalemate in 1953. Musical Milestones 1957 – “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” by Elvis Presley begins a seven-week run on top of the singles chart. Two months earlier, Elvis was king of the pop chart with “All Shook Up,” which spent eight weeks at No. 1. 1958 – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards the first official Gold album (for achieving sales of $1 million). It goes to the cast album for the stage production of “Oklahoma!” featuring Gordon MacRae. 1967 – The Monkees begin a 29-date concert tour with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as the opening act. However, Hendrix is dropped after eight performances because the producers felt his act was not suitable for their “teeny-bopper” audiences. 1970 – “The Everly Brothers Show” starts an 11-week prime-time run on ABC- TV. 1972 – Bill Withers scores the first and only No. 1 hit of his career when “Lean On Me” reaches the top of the pop chart. It holds that position for three weeks. 1978 – Gerry Rafferty’s “City To City” reaches the top of the Billboard album chart, dethroning the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack which occupied that spot for nearly six months. 1989 – “Good Thing,” by Fine Young Cannibals, begins a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track is the second chart-topper from the band’s “The Raw & The Cooked” album. Three months earlier, “She Drives Me Crazy” claimed the top spot. 1995 – TLC flows to the top of the Billboard pop chart with “Waterfalls.” The song remains at No. 1 for seven weeks. 2000 – Enrique Iglesias begins his third and final week on top of the singles chart with “Be With You.” READ MORE
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 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