On This Day February 21 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1946 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress Tyne Daly (“Cagney & Lacey,” “Judging Amy,” “Gypsy”) 1946 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Alan Rickman (“Die Hard,” “Galaxy Quest,” the “Harry Potter” series, “Something the Lord Made,” “Eye in the Sky”) (d. 2016) 1955 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor-producer Kelsey Grammer (“Cheers,” “Frasier,” “Toy Story 2,” “X-Men: Last Stand”) 1963 – Actor William Baldwin (“Flatliners,” “Backdraft,” “Sliver,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) 1979 – Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt (“Party of Five,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer”) 1987 – Actress Ellen Page (“Juno,” “Whip It,” “Inception”, “X-Men” Series) History Highlights 1885 – The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated. The monument, built in the shape of an Egyptian obelisk, underwent two phases of construction: one private (1848-1854) and one public (1876-1884). When completed, it was the tallest structure in the world at 555 feet, 5-1/8 inches. 1925 – The New Yorker magazine publishes its first edition. 1948 – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is officially incorporated and goes on to become one of America’s most popular spectator sports as well as a multi-billion-dollar industry. 1965 – Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity in New York City. 1972 – Richard Nixon makes the first presidential visit to the People’s Republic of China in an effort to normalize Sino-American relations. 1995 – National Aviation Hall of Famer Steve Fossett lands safely in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, completing the first ever solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. Sadly, Fossett is declared dead in 2008 after a plane he was piloting vanished over the Nevada desert in September 2007. He was 63. Musical Milestones 1970 – Sly & the Family Stone begin the second and final week as chart-toppers with “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” 1976 – Paul Simon begins his third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” The track, off his Grammy-winning “Still Crazy After All These Years” album, is the only No. 1 Simon has ever achieved as a solo act. 1976 – The Willie Nelson-Waylon Jennings album “Outlaws” becomes the first country music album to go platinum. 1981 – Dolly Parton rules the singles chart with the title track from the motion picture “9 to 5.” Parton co-stars in the movie with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman. 1987 – “Livin’ on a Prayer,” by Bon Jovi, is in the midst of a four-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart. 1990 – “Let the River Run,” by Carly Simon, wins Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards. The track, which had previously been honored with an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Song, is from the movie “Working Girl,” starring Melanie Griffith, Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford. 1998 – Usher wraps up two weeks as a Billboard chart-topper with “Nice & Slow.” 2004 – “Slow Jamz,” by Twista featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, begins a week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. READ MORE
On This Day January 22 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1931 – Soul singing sensation Sam Cooke (“You Send Me,” “Chain Gang” and “Twistin’ the Night Away”) (d. 1964) 1934 – Actor Bill Bixby (“My Favorite Martian,” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” “The Incredible Hulk”) (d. 1993) 1940 – Actor John Hurt (“A Man For All Seasons,” “Midnight Express,” “Alien,” “The Elephant Man”) (d. 2017) 1949 – Journey frontman Steve Perry 1959 – Actress Linda Blair, best known for her portrayal of the demonically possessed girl in the horror movie “The Exorcist” 1960 – INXS founding member and frontman Michael Hutchence (d. 1997) 1965 – Actress Diane Lane (“Unfaithful,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Under the Tuscan Sun,” “Man of Steel”) 1968 – Restaurateur and TV host Guy Fieri (“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”) History Highlights 1968 – The variety show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” premieres on NBC and helps launch the acting careers of Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin and many others. 1973 – The U.S. Supreme Court delivers its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing elective abortion in all 50 states. The 7-2 ruling means that a woman’s right to privacy extends to her right to make her own medical decisions, including having an abortion. 1973 – George Foreman is crowned World Heavyweight Boxing Champion after knocking out Joe Frazier in two rounds during “The Sunshine Showdown” in Kingston, Jamaica. 1973 – Four years after completing his last term as U.S. president, Lyndon Johnson dies at his Texas ranch at the age of 64. 1998 – Mathematics professor-turned-domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski (a.k.a. “The Unabomber”) pleads guilty to federal charges in connection with his 17-year campaign of package bombings that killed three people and injured more than 20 others. He receives a life sentence. 2008 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Heath Ledger, best known for his roles in the movies “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Dark Knight,” dies from accidental intoxication by prescription drugs at the age of 28. Musical Milestones 1963 – The Drifters enter a studio to record their classic, “On Broadway,” which climbs as high as No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 later that year. In 1978, George Benson’s cover of the hit makes it to No. 7 on the pop chart. 1966 – “The Sounds of Silence,” by Simon & Garfunkel, is the No. 1 single. 1966 – Frank Sinatra’s daughter, Nancy, steps onto the Billboard Hot 100 with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” The track marches its way to No. 1 about a month later. 1977 – Stevie Wonder is on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Wish.” 1983 – “Down Under,” by Australian band Men At Work, is mid-way through a three-week reign over the Billboard singles chart. 1994 – “All For Love” by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting is the No. 1 single. The track is from the movie “The Three Musketeers.” 2000 – Christina Aguilera has the No. 1 single with “What a Girl Wants.” READ MORE
On This Day September 1 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1922- Actress Yvonne DeCarlo (“The Ten Commandments,” “The Munsters”) (d. 2007) 1923- Former world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano, born Rocco Francis Marchegiano (d. 1969) 1933 – Country Music Hall of Famer and Rockabilly Hall of Famer Conway Twitty, born Harold Lloyd Jenkins (d. 1993) 1938 – Attorney and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz 1939 – Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winning actress-comedian Lily Tomlin (“Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” “9 to 5,” “All of Me,” “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” “Flirting with Disaster,” “Tea with Mussolini,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “A Prairie Home Companion”) 1946 – Singer-songwriter and Bee Gees founder Barry Gibb 1950 – TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw 1957 – Grammy-winning musician Gloria Estefan, born Gloria Fajardo, lead singer of the 80s band Miami Sound Machine History Highlights 1807 – Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr is acquitted of plotting to annex parts of Louisiana and Spanish territory in Mexico to be used toward the establishment of an independent republic. 1964 – Pitcher Masanori Murakami becomes the first Japanese man to play in U.S. Major League Baseball. He pitches a scoreless 8th inning for the San Francisco Giants in a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. 1972 – In what is billed as the “Match of the Century,” American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer defeats Russian Boris Spassky during the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland. Fischer, from Brooklyn, NY, became the first American to win the competition since its inception in 1866. The victory also marked the first win for a non-Russian in 24 years. 1983 – A Soviet fighter jet shoots down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after the New York to Seoul flight enters Soviet airspace. All 269 aboard the 747 jumbo jet are killed, including U.S. Congressman Lawrence McDonald. President Ronald Reagan condemns the incident as a “massacre.” 1985 – An expedition led by oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic 73 years after the luxury liner sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic. 1989 – The first Lexus is sold, marking the beginning of Toyota’s new luxury line of automobiles. 1998 – A federal law takes effect requiring that all cars and light trucks sold in the United States have air bags installed in the front seats as standard equipment. Seat belts had been required since the 1960s, and some auto manufacturers had begun voluntarily providing air bags before 1998. Musical Milestones 1962 – Tommy Roe is on top of the singles chart with “Sheila.” It’s the re-recorded version of a track first released in 1960 when Roe was part of a band called The Satins. 1973 – “Brother Louie,” by one-hit-wonder Stories, enters its second and final week as a No. 1 single. The track, about an interracial love affair, was originally recorded by British soul band Hot Chocolate, which just a few months earlier took it to No. 7 on the U.K. singles chart. 1977 – Blondie, featuring former Playboy Bunny Debbie Harry, signs its first major record company contract with Chrysalis Records. 1980 – Fleetwood Mac ends a nine-month world tour with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl. Lindsay Buckingham tells the audience, “This is our last show. For a long time.” 1984 – “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” by Queen of Rock and Roll Tina Turner, begins three weeks on top of the U.S. singles chart. The track, off Turner’s “Private Dancer” album, goes on to capture three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2012, it is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 1990 – “If Wishes Came True,” by Sweet Sensation, bumps Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love” to become the No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. 2001 – Alicia Keys enters a third week atop the singles chart with her Grammy-winning debut single “Fallin’. READ MORE