On This Day March 11 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1903 – Bandleader and accordion player Lawrence Welk (“The Lawrence Welk Show”), known as the creator and king of so-called “champagne music” (d. 1992) 1931 – Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who founded News Corporation and FOX Broadcasting 1950 – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Bobby McFerrin, best known for his 1988 smash, “Don’t Worry Be Happy” 1963 – Actress Alex Kingston (“ER,” “Doctor Who,” “Arrow”) 1969 – Actor and singer-songwriter Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” “Crash,” “The Brave One,” “Iron Man,” “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Empire”) 1971 – Comedic actor Johnny Knoxville of MTV’s “Jackass” series History Highlights 1888 – One of the worst blizzards in U.S. history strikes the Northeast, killing more than 400 people and dumping 55 inches of snow in some areas. “The Great White Hurricane,” as it comes to be known, paralyzes the East coast for days from the Chesapeake Bay to Maine. 1941 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Lend-Lease” program, which provides money and materials for U.S. allies in World War II, takes effect. 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev becomes head of the Soviet Union following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. At 54, he is the youngest member of the ruling Politburo. 1989 – One of the first reality TV shows premieres on Fox Television. It’s “COPS,” which is shot documentary style as cameras follow police officers pursuing suspects and making arrests. 2011 – The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan and resulting tsunami kill more than 18,000 people in Japan, triggering a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Musical Milestones 1967 – “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone,” by the Supremes, begins one week on top of the Billboard Hot 100 and becomes the Motown trio’s ninth No. 1 single. The track is from the “The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland” album. 1972 – Harry Nilsson’s “Without You” begins its fourth and final week on top of the singles chart. The track garners Nilsson a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. 1989 – Debbie Gibson conquers the Billboard Hot 100 for a second week with Lost in Your Eyes.” It remains at No. 1 for a total of three weeks. 1995 – “Take a Bow,” by Madonna, is in the midst of a seven-week ride atop the pop chart. The track is from her “Bedtime Stories” album. 1997 – Former Beatle Paul McCartney is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during a Buckingham Palace ceremony honoring his “services to music.” 2000 – Country music conquers the Billboard Hot 100 as Lonestar scores a No. 1 hit with “Amazed.” It’s the last country song to do so until Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” rockets to No. 1 on September 1, 2012. 2006 – “You’re Beautiful,” by British singer-songwriter James Blunt reaches the top of the pop chart and holds there for a week. READ MORE
On This Day March 4 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1678 – Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric Antonio Vivaldi (d. 1741) 1938 – Actress Paula Prentiss (“The Black Marble,” “The Stepford Wives,” “The Parallax View”) 1941 – Movie director Adrian Lyne (“Fatal Attraction,” “9½ Weeks,” “Flashdance,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Unfaithful”) 1954 – Actress Catherine O’Hara (“SCTV,” “Beetlejuice,” the “Home Alone” movies, “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show”) 1958 – Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton, best known for playing Debra Barone in the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond” 1961 – Actor Steven Weber (“The Kennedys of Massachusetts,” “Wings,” “The Shining,” “Once and Again,” “NCIS: New Orleans”) History Highlights 1925 – The second inauguration of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge is the first to be nationally broadcast. More than 20 radio stations carry the event to an estimated 23 million listeners, including many children whose school auditoriums were specially equipped with speakers. 1933 – During the height of the Great Depression, an estimated 150,000 spectators gather on the east grounds of the U.S. Capitol as Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd U.S. president. FDR tells Americans, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” 1933 – Newly inaugurated President Franklin D. Roosevelt appoints Frances Perkins Secretary of Labor, making her the first female member of the U.S. cabinet. 1960 – Actress Lucille Ball divorces her husband and collaborator, Desi Arnaz, after 20 tumultuous years of marriage. The breakup of the couple, stars of the hit sitcom “I Love Lucy” and owners of Desilu Studios, becomes one of the highest-profile divorces in American history at that time. 1974 – People magazine makes its debut on American newsstands, featuring actress Mia Farrow on the cover. 1989 – Time, Inc. and Warner Communications announce plans to merge into the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate. 1994 – Comedic actor John Candy (“Splash,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Uncle Buck,” “Home Alone”) dies of a heart attack at 43 while filming a movie in Mexico. 2005 – Billionaire mogul Martha Stewart is released from a federal prison in West Virginia after serving five months and paying a $30,000 fine for lying and obstructing justice in a 2001 stock sale. Stewart serves five months of home confinement at her Bedford, New York estate and then faces two years probation. Musical Milestones 1963 – The Beach Boys release “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” which climbs as high as No. 3 on the Billboard pop chart. The The song features Brian Wilson’s lyrics set to the music of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen.” 1966 – During an interview with the British newspaper London Evening Standard, John Lennon says of The Beatles: “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” The remark sets off an international furor when reprinted a few months later in an American teen magazine, with some radio stations refusing to play Beatles records and others burning them. 1967 – “Beggin’,” the 33rd hit single for Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, lands on the Billboard pop chart, eventually climbing to No. 16. 1967 – “Ruby Tuesday,” by The Rolling Stones, begins a week as the No. 1 single. Brian Jones plays recorder on the track while the double bass is played jointly by bassist Bill Wyman pressing the strings against the fingerboard and Keith Richards bowing the strings. 1978 – Andy Gibb sails to the top of the singles chart with “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water.” The song remains at No. 1 for two weeks. 1989 – Debbie Gibson starts a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with “Lost in Your Eyes.” 1995 – Madonna is in the midst of a seven-week ride at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Take a Bow,” off her “Bedtime Stories” album. 2000 – Nashville-based country music band Lonestar claims the top spot on the pop chart with “Amazed.” The single holds at No. 1 for two weeks. 2006 – “Check on It,” by Beyoncé featuring Slim Thug, begins its fifth and final week as a No. 1 single. READ MORE