On This Day: February 1

On This Day February 1

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1901 – Actor Clark Gable, known as the “King of Hollywood” (“It Happened One Night,” “Gone With the Wind,”) (d. 1960)

1902 – Poet Langston Hughes, best known as leader of the so-called “Harlem Renaissance” movement (d. 1967)

1937 – Singer Don Everly of The Everly Brothers (“”Wake Up, Little Susie”)

1948 – Funk musician Rick James (“Super Freak,” “Give It To Me Baby”) (d. 2004)

1965 – Actress Sherilyn Fenn (“21 Jump Street,” “Two Moon Junction,” “Twin Peaks”) 

1968 – Stand-up comedian and actor Pauly Shore (“Encino Man,” “In the Army Now,” “Bio-Dome,” “Son in Law”)

1968 – Singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley (d. 2023)

1971 – Golden Globe-winning actor Michael C. Hall (“Six Feet Under,” “Dexter”) 

1994 – Singer-songwriter Harry Styles, formerly of the popular boy band One Direction

History Highlights
History Highlights

1884 – The first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary, considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, is published. 

1893 – Thomas Edison completes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria, on his property in West Orange, New Jersey.

1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad merge to form the ill-fated Penn Central line. 

1978 – Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl. 

1982 – “Late Night With David Letterman” premieres on NBC, introducing ‘Stupid Pet Tricks,’ ‘Stupid Human Tricks’ and other frivolity to late-night television. Actor Bill Murray is Dave’s first guest.

2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) disintegrates upon re-entry to Earth, killing all seven crew members. Debris from the ill-fated spaceship falls along a path from Fort Worth, Texas eastward into Louisiana.

2004 – The term “wardrobe malfunction” is born at Houston’s Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) when one of Janet Jackson’s breasts is briefly exposed during her Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show performance with Justin Timberlake.  

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1958 – Elvis Presley records his last single before joining the U.S. Army: “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck.”

1964 – “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” by The Beatles, tops the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for seven weeks.

1969 – “Crimson and Clover,” by Tommy James and The Shondells, begins two weeks as the No. 1 single. With an estimated five million copies sold, it is the band’s best-selling hit.

1975 – Neil Sedaka reigns over the singles chart with “Laughter in the Rain.” It’s his first No. 1 since “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” in 1962.

1980 – Blondie releases “Call Me” — the theme from the movie “American Gigolo,” starring Richard Gere. The track climbs to No. 1 two months later and holds there for six consecutive weeks. It becomes the top-selling single of 1980.

1992 – Recorded live in concert, the George Michael-Elton John duet, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me,” tops the singles chart. John originally released the song on his 1974 “Caribou” album and it climbed as high as No. 2 that year.

1997 – Toni Braxton continues her domination of the pop chart with “Un-Break My Heart,” in the midst of an 11-week run at No. 1. 

2003 – “Bump, Bump, Bump,” by B2K featuring P. Diddy, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week.

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On this Day: August 10

On this Day August 10

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1874 – Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. president (d. 1964)

1928 – Grammy-winning country music singer and Jimmy Dean Sausage Co. founder Jimmy Dean (d. 2010)

1928 – Popular 50s singer-entertainer Eddie Fisher (“Thinking of You,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Oh My Pa-Pa)” (d. 2010)

1950 – Grammy-winning R&B, jazz and pop vocalist Patti Austin (“Every Home Should Have One,” “Do You Love Me,” “Baby, Come to Me”)

1959 – Actress Rosanna Arquette (“Desperately Seeking Susan,”  “Pulp Fiction,” “Crash”)

1960 – Actor-director-producer Antonio Banderas (“Assassins,” “Evita,” “Interview with the Vampire,” “Philadelphia,” “Desperado,” “The Mask of Zorro,” “Spy Kids,” “Shrek,” “Puss in Boots”)

1972 – Actress-model Angie Harmon (“Baywatch Nights,” “Law & Order,” “Rizzoli & Isles”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1846 – The Smithsonian Institution is founded in Washington, D.C. as an establishment dedicated to the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

1948 – The first reality TV show premieres before most Americans even own a TV. “Candid Camera,” with host Allen Funt, filmed pranks as they played out on unsuspecting victims who often didn’t realize they were being duped until they heard the show’s tagline: “Smile! You’re on Candid Camera.”

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act into law,  paving the way for a major expansion of federal housing programs.

1977 – After terrorizing New York City for more than a year, serial killer David Berkowitz — the self-proclaimed “Son of Sam” — is arrested. 

1978 –  Three teenage girls die after their 1973 Ford Pinto is rammed from behind by a van and bursts into flames on an Indiana highway. The fatal crash is one of a series of Pinto fires caused by rear-end collisions and the vehicle’s improperly designed fuel tank that eventually leads to a massive recall by Ford and at least one multi-million-dollar lawsuit.

1993 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second female U.S. Supreme Court Justice. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1963 – ‘Little’ Stevie Wonder is just 13 when “Fingertips Part 2” reaches the top of the Billboard singles chart and holds there for three weeks. He becomes the youngest musician ever with a No. 1 hit.

1974 – “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” by Roberta Flack, tops the pop chart. Later, it receives three Grammy nominations.

1976 – Elton John plays the first of 10 sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The $1.25 million generated from the shows breaks a record set by The Rolling Stones in 1975.

1985 – “Shout,” by Tears For Fears, is midway through a three-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100.

1991 – “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” by Bryan Adams, is the No. 1 single. It appears on the “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” soundtrack.

2002 – In her third marriage, Lisa Marie Presley ties the knot with actor Nicolas Cage at a resort in Hawaii. Presley was previously married to musician Danny Keough and pop sensation Michael Jackson. Cage files for divorce four months later.

2008 – Soul singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes dies of a stroke at his home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 65. Hayes won an Oscar for the 1971 smash “Theme From Shaft” and was the voice of Chef from the animated TV series “South Park.”

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