On This Day March 23 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1905 – Oscar-winning actress Joan Crawford, born Lucille Fay LeSueur (“Grand Hotel,” “Mildred Pierce,” “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”) (d. 1977) 1944 – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek, born Richard Theodore Otcasek (“Just What I Needed,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Good Times Roll,” “Let’s Go,” “Shake It Up,” “You Might Think”) (d. 2019) 1953 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Chaka Khan (“Tell Me Something Good,” “I’m Every Woman,” “I Feel For You”) 1976 – Actress Michelle Monaghan (“Unfaithful,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “Made of Honor,” “The Heartbreak Kid,” “Eagle Eye,” “Pixels,” “True Detective”) 1976 – Golden Globe-winning actress Keri Russell (“Felicity,” “The Upside of Anger,” “Waitress,” “August Rush,” “Extraordinary Measures,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Americans”) 1978 – Celebrity gossip columnist and blogger Perez Hilton, founder of the popular celebrity news blog, Perezhilton.com History Highlights 1839 – The word “OK” is introduced to the world when the initials are published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for “oll korrect,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily makes its way into the everyday speech of Americans. 1933 – The German Reichstag (Parliament) passes the Enabling Act of 1933, which marks the start of Adolf Hitler’s transformation from chancellor to dictator by enabling him to implement laws without Reichstag consent. 1983 – Barney Clark dies 112 days after becoming the world’s first recipient of a permanent artificial heart. 1983 – In a televised speech to Americans, President Ronald Reagan calls for development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to protect the U.S. from a nuclear missile attack. The program is also referred to as “Star Wars.” 1998 – The tide rises for “Titanic” at the 70th annual Academy Awards. The James Cameron blockbuster, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, ties with 1959’s “Ben Hur” for most wins by sweeping 11 categories, including the coveted Best Picture Oscar. 2011 – Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor (“National Velvet,” “A Place in the Sun,” “Giant,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”) dies of congestive heart failure at the age of 79. Taylor starred in more than 50 movies and won two Academy Awards during her colorful acting career. Musical Milestones 1963 – Ruby & the Romantics’ first recording, “Our Day Will Come,” makes it to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. The song, composed by Bob Hilliard and Mort Garson, becomes a million-seller. 1974 – “Dark Lady” becomes Cher’s third solo No. 1 hit and her last until “Believe” a quarter-century later. The track holds the top spot for a week. 1985 – “Piano Man” Billy Joel weds his then-“Uptown Girl,” supermodel Christie Brinkley, aboard a yacht in New York Harbor. The marriage lasts nine years. 1985 – REO Speedwagon begins its third and final week on top of the pop chart with “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” 1991 – One-hit wonder Timmy T enjoys a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “One More Try.” 1996 – Céline Dion sets sail on a six-week cruise at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her Grammy-winning smash, “Because You Loved Me.” 2002 – “Ain’t It Funny,” by Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, is in the midst of a six-week ride on top of the Billboard singles chart. READ MORE
On This Day March 20 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1906 – Bandleader, actor and director Ozzie Nelson (“The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”) (d. 1975) 1922 – Emmy and Grammy-winning actor-comedian-writer-director-producer Carl Reiner (“Your Show of Shows,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “2000 Year Old Man,” “The Jerk”) (d. 2020) 1928 – Fred Rogers, minister and host of the beloved PBS children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (d. 2003) 1931 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor-singer Hal Linden, born Harold Lipshitz, best known for his role as an NYPD police captain in the 1970s ABC sitcom “Barney Miller” 1950 – Oscar-winning actor William Hurt (“Altered States,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Children of a Lesser God,” “Broadcast News,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “The Doctor,” “The Challenger Disaster,” “Captain America: Civil War”) (d. 2022) 1957 – Emmy and Peabody-winning director-producer and actor Spike Lee (“She’s Gotta Have It,” “Do The Right Thing,” “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Jungle Fever,” “Malcolm X,” “Crooklyn,” “Clockers,” “Summer of Sam,” “The Original Kings of Comedy”, “BlacKkKlansman”) 1958 – Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Holly Hunter (“Raising Arizona,” “Broadcast News,” “Always,” “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” “The Piano,” “The Firm,” “The Incredibles,” “Saving Grace”) History Highlights 1916 – Albert Einstein publishes his “General Theory of Relativity.” 1953 – Two weeks after the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev is among five men named by the Soviet government to the new office of Secretariat of the Communist Party. Khrushchev eventually leads the Soviet Union through some of the tensest periods of Cold War relations with the U.S. 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson places the Alabama National Guard under federal control to protect a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Governor George Wallace had assured Johnson that the National Guard would protect marchers. But Wallace, a segregationist, reneged and demanded that federal troops be sent instead. 1987 – A major medical breakthrough is achieved as the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approves the anti-HIV/AIDS drug Zidovudine, better known as AZT. 1995 – A nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway system by members of a religious cult kills 13 people and injures thousands of others. The incident sparks global worries about terrorist groups obtaining chemical weapons. Musical Milestones 1961 – Elvis Presley is King of the Billboard pop chart with “Surrender.” The track holds the top spot for two weeks and is among six No. 1 hits Elvis enjoys that decade. 1964 – The Temptations release their debut album, “Meet the Temptations,” on the Gordy (Motown) label. 1969 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono tie the knot at the British Embassy in Gibraltar. 1971 – Five months after her death from a drug overdose, Janis Joplin dominates the singles chart for a second and final week with “Me and Bobby McGee,” off her “Pearl” album. 1982 – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts begin a seven-week run on top of the singles chart with “I Love Rock ‘n Roll.” 1993 – The reggae-rap single “Informer,” by Snow, is in its second week at No. 1 on the pop chart. It remains there for another five weeks. 1999 – “Believe,” by Cher, is mid-way through a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100. 2004 – “Yeah!,” by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, maintains its hold on the summit of the singles chart. READ MORE