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On this Day June 6

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Celebrity Birthdays

1939 – Singer-songwriter Gary U.S. Bonds, born Gary Anderson (“New Orleans,” “Quarter to Three”)

1947 – Actor Robert Englund, best known for playing serial killer Freddy Krueger in the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” movies

1954 – Tony-winning actor-playwright Harvey Fierstein (“Torch Song Trilogy,” “Independence Day,” “Mrs. Doubtfire”)

1955 – Stand-up comedian, actress and singer Sandra Bernhard

1959 – Stand-up comedian and “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) alumnus Colin Quinn

1967 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Paul Giamatti (“Private Parts,” “American Splendor,” “Sideways,” “Cinderella Man,” “John Adams,” “Love & Mercy,” “Billions”)

History Highlights

1933 – The first drive-in movie theater opens in Camden, New Jersey. Admission is 25 cents per car.

1934 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a law establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

1944 – Allied forces cross the English Channel and land on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. D-Day becomes the largest naval, air and land operation in history. More than 150,000 troops, representing the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, come ashore in five designated landing zones. 

1971 – The curtain comes down on a Sunday night institution, as “The Ed Sullivan Show” ends a 23-year run on CBS. The last pop act to appear on the program was Gladys Knight & the Pips.

1971 – The Soviets achieve another first in space with the launch of Soyuz-11. The vessel is the first ship to dock with an orbiting space station.

Musical Milestones

1962 – The Beatles, with Pete Best on drums, gather at EMI Studios in London for an audition that doubles as their first recording session. They record  “Besame Mucho,” “Love Me Do,” “PS I Love You” and “Ask Me Why.”

1964 – The Dixie Cups give The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” the boot and begin three weeks on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Chapel of Love.”

1965 – The Rolling Stones release “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in the U.S. (the track is released in the U.K. that August), and within four weeks, it becomes a No. 1 hit.

1972 – David Bowie releases what many still consider the definitive rock ‘n’ roll concept album: “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.”

1982 – The “Peace Sunday, We Have A Dream” antinuclear concert draws 85,000 people to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California for a musical lineup featuring Tom Petty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne and more. Dylan and Joan Baez perform duets of “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “With God On Our Side.”

1987 – Kim Wilde’s cover of The Supremes’ 1966 hit, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” is the most popular single.

1992 – Hip hop duo Kris Kross maintain a hold on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Jump.”

2006 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and keyboard player Billy Preston dies of kidney failure at age 59. Over the years, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

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