On this Day: June 23

On this Day June 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1927 – Tony-winning director and choreographer Bob Fosse (“Cabaret”) (d. 1987)

1929 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter June Carter Cash (d. 2003)

1948 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

1956 – Grammy-winning producer and former “American Idol” judge and musician Randy Jackson

1957 – Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning actress Frances McDormand (“Raising Arizona,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Fargo,” “Almost Famous,” “Olive Kitteridge”)

1977 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz (“The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” “Curbside Prophet,” “You and I Both,” “I’m Yours”)

1984 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Duffy, born Aimee Anne Duffy (“Rockferry,” “Mercy”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1868 – Pennsylvania native Christopher Latham Sholes receives a patent for a page-numbering machine that leads to development of the first typewriter. His machine features the QWERTY keyboard that all of us still use today on our computers, smartphones and other devices for written communication.

1956 – Gamal Abdel Nasser is elected president of Egypt.

1969 – Warren Burger is sworn in as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by retiring chief justice Earl Warren.

1972 – President Richard Nixon’s advisor, H.R. Haldeman, tells the president to put pressure on the head of the FBI to “stay the hell out of this [Watergate burglary investigation] business.” In essence, Haldeman was telling Nixon to obstruct justice, which is one of the articles for which Congress threatened to impeach Nixon in 1974.

1989 – Moviegoers are introduced to the darker side of Batman when director Tim Burton’s interpretation opens in theaters, starring Michael Keaton as the “caped crusader” and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. “Batman” earns over $400 million at the box office—enough to impress even Bruce Wayne!

1992 – Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the “Teflon Don” after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering.

1995 – American physician and medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk, who pioneered the first safe and effective vaccine for polio, dies of heart failure at the age of 80.

2013 – Aerialist Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk a high wire across the Little Colorado River Gorge near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

2018 – Twelve members of a Thai soccer team and their coach become trapped in a flooded cave for more than two weeks until a harrowing rescue effort, covered by international media, that costs one diver his life.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1951 – “Too Young,” by Nat King Cole, begins a five-week run as the most popular single.

1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Ray Charles, is in the middle of a five-week domination of the singles chart.

1973 – George Harrison kicks off five weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with “Living in the Material World,” which contains his chart-topping hit, “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).”

1979 – Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” burns its way to the top of the singles chart. The song later garners Summer a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

1984 – Duran Duran kicks off two weeks at No. 1 on the singles chart with “The Reflex,” the group’s first No. 1 in the U.S.

1990 – “It Must Have Been Love,” by Roxette, is the No. 1 single.

2001 – A new interpretation of LaBelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade,” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink, is in the middle of five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100. This version was recorded for the soundtrack to the movie “Moulin Rouge!,” starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

2007 – “Umbrella,” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z, is in the midst of a seven-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart.

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On this Day: June 9

On this Day June 9

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1891 – Composer-songwriter Cole Porter, whose music dominated Broadway from the 1930s to the 1950s (d. 1964)

1915 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist, songwriter and electric guitar designer Les Paul, born Lester William Polsfuss (d. 2009)

1934 – Stand-up comedian and actor Jackie Mason (d. 2021)

1934 – Grammy Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Jackie Wilson (“Lonely Teardrops,” “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”) (d. 1984)

1961 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael J. Fox (“Family Ties,” the “Back to the Future” movie series, “Teen Wolf,” “Spin City”)

1963 – Golden Globe-winning actor Johnny Depp (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Edward Scissorhands,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Rango,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindewald”)

1981 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Natalie Portman (“Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace,” “Garden State,” “Closer,” “Black Swan,” “Jackie”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1934 – Donald Duck makes his debut in the Walt Disney short film, “The Wise Little Hen.”

1954 – In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether communism has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces. Welch’s rebuke effectively derails McCarthy’s campaign to stoke the anticommunist hysteria of America’s ‘Red Scare’.

1973 – Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948. Secretariat runs the 1.5-mile race in 2:24, a world record that many believe will never be broken.

1980 – Comedian Richard Pryor suffers third-degree burns over more than half of his body while freebasing cocaine.

1993-  The so-called “Hollywood Madam,” Heidi Fleiss, is arrested and charged in connection with a high-class prostitution ring that catered to wealthy clients, including actor Charlie Sheen. A jury convicts Fleiss on three counts of pandering, for which she receives a three-year sentence. That conviction is overturned in 1996, but a federal tax-evasion case the next year leads to a 20-month prison sentence.

2006 – The animated feature film “Cars,” produced by Pixar Animation Studios, opens in U.S. theaters, starring Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and Paul Newman in his final acting role, as Doc Hudson.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – The hottest single in the U.S. is “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley. The novelty hit holds the No. 1 spot for six weeks.

1962 – “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” by Ray Charles, is in its second week as a No. 1 single. It retains the top spot for five weeks. Across the pond, the track hits the top of the U.K. singles chart that July and holds there for two weeks.

1972 – Elvis Presley plays his first concert in New York City — the first of four sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden. The performances are recorded for later release on the “Elvis As Recorded at Madison Square Garden” album.

1972 – One month after auditioning for Columbia Records, Bruce Springsteen is signed by the label and begins assembling his E Street Band. His debut album, “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,” comes out in January 1973.

1979 – The Bee Gees reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the ninth time with “Love You Inside Out.” It becomes the sibling trio’s final chart-topper.

1984 – Cyndi Lauper begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard singles chart with “Time After Time,” off her debut album, “She’s So Unusual.” The track earns a Song of the Year Grammy nomination.

1990 – “Hold On,” by Wilson Phillips, clinches the top spot on the pop chart. The track goes on to win the Billboard Music Award for 1990 Hot 100 Single of the Year and is nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy.

1998 – The Ronettes (“Be My Baby,” “Walking In The Rain”) appear in court for their lawsuit against producer Phil Spector, whom they allege breached their 34-year-old contract by failing to pay royalties since 1963. Although The Ronettes win the case, the New York State Court of Appeals later overturns the decision, saying Spector had unconditional rights to their recordings.

2001 – Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink have the No. 1 single with their cover of Labelle’s 1974 smash, “Lady Marmalade.”

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