On This Day: April 23

On This Day April 23

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1564 – Poet-playwright William Shakespeare (d. 1616)

1928 – Oscar-winning child star Shirley Temple (d. 2014)

1936 – Rock and roll singer-songwriter Roy Orbison (“Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Crying,” “Dream Baby”)  (d. 1988)

1939 – Actor Lee Majors, best remembered for his role as astronaut Steve Austin in the 1970s hit series “The Six Million Dollar Man”

1942 – Golden Globe-winning actress Sandra Dee, nicknamed “Queen of Teens” (“Gidget,” “A Summer Place”)  (d. 2005)

1954 – Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore (“Roger and Me,” “Bowling for Columbine,” “Fahrenheit 9/11″”Capitalism: A Love Story”)

1960 – Actress Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Hot in Cleveland”)

1961 – Actor-comedian George Lopez, best known for his self-produced sitcom “George Lopez” that aired on ABC-TV for six seasons

1977 – Actor and former Obama administration aide Kal Penn, born Kalpen Suresh Modi (the “Harold and Kumar” films, “House,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Designated Survivor”)

1990 – Actor Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “The Newsroom,” “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Chappie,” “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” “Lion,” “Hotel Mumbai”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1896 – Entertainment is revolutionized as an audience at Koster and Bial’s Music Hall on 34th Street in New York City watches the first movie ever projected onto a screen. 

1953 – Paramount Pictures releases “Shane,” starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur and Van Heflin, a film considered by many to be one of the greatest Westerns ever made.

1968 – Columbia University students, opposed to the Vietnam War and the school’s plans to construct a gymnasium in a Harlem neighborhood adjacent to the campus, seize administration buildings, take the dean hostage and shut the university down for a week.

1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is sentenced to the death penalty following his conviction for the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York. In 1972, Sirhan’s sentence is commuted to life in prison after California abolishes the death penalty.

1985 – Coca-Cola replaces its original formula Coke with a beverage called New Coke. However, consumers overwhelmingly reject the new soft drink. Three months later, the company backtracks and announces the return of the original formula, which is branded Coca-Cola Classic.

2004 – The romantic comedy “13 Going on 30,” starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, opens in U.S. theaters. Garner plays the adult version of a 13-year-old girl whose dream of being “30, flirty, and thriving” comes true with the help of some magic dust.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – In what’s been called “the greatest night in show business history,” Judy Garland — beloved for her role as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” — performs at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Garland sings 27 numbers, frequently interrupted by extended standing ovations. The double album of the historic performance becomes a smash, charting for 94 weeks on the Billboard chart, including 13 weeks at No. 1. It also captures five Grammy Awards.

1966 – “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” by The Righteous Brothers, marks its third and final week as the No. 1 single. It is the duo’s first major hit after leaving their longtime producer, Phil Spector.

1977 – Thelma Houston’s disco smash, “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song goes on to capture a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

1983 – The hottest single belongs to one-hit-wonder Dexys Midnight Runners: “Come On Eileen.” 

1988 – “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?,” by Whitney Houston, begins a two-week hold on the No. 1 slot on Billboard Hot 100.

1994 – R. Kelly rules the singles chart with “Bump n’ Grind.”

2005 – “Candy Shop,” by 50 Cent featuring Olivia, begins its eighth week on top of the pop chart. It will remain there for one more week.

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On This Day: December 20

On This Day December 20

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1881 – Baseball Hall of Famer Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers coach who introduced Jackie Robinson, the farm club system and the batting helmet to baseball (d. 1965)

1898 – Actress Irene Dunne (“Showboat, “Anna and the King of Siam,” “Love Affair”) (d. 1990)

1932 – Actor John Hillerman (Higgins in the 1980s “Magnum, P.I.” series) (d. 2017)

1945 – Peter Criss, founding member and original drummer for the rock n’ roll supergroup, KISS

1946 – TV producer Dick Wolf (“Miami Vice,” “Law & Order”)

1957 – Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg (“She’s Leaving Home,” “We Laughed”)

1970 – Director-producer Todd Phillips (“The Hangover” series, “Due Date,” “Road Trip,” “Starsky & Hutch”)

1983 – Actor-comedian Jonah Hill (“Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” “21 Jump Street,” “This Is the End,” “22 Jump Street,” “Moneyball,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1803 – One of the greatest real estate deals in history is completed as France turns over more than a million square miles of the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. for a price equal to about $20 per square mile.

1963 – More than two years after construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany to prevent citizens from fleeing its communist regime, the wall is temporarily opened for the holidays. Nearly 4,000 West Berliners are granted one-day passes to cross into East Berlin to visit relatives. The wall is sealed off again on January 5, 1964.

1968 – Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Nobel laureate John Steinbeck, best known for works like “East of Eden,” “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath,” dies at the age of 66.

1989 – Michael Moore’s documentary “Roger & Me,” about the economic toll General Motors’ factory closings and layoffs had on his hometown of Flint, Michigan, opens in theaters. It launches Moore’s career as a filmmaker.

1989 – The U.S. invades Panama in an effort to overthrow military dictator Manuel Noriega.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1957 – Rock and Roll legend Elvis Presley is served his draft notice by the U.S. Army. Three months later, he ships out to the Company “D” 1st Tank Battalion 32nd Armor Corps based in Germany.

1969 – Peter, Paul and Mary top the Billboard Hot 100 with “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” The song, written by John Denver, becomes the trio’s only No. 1 single and final hit recording.

1973 – The talent behind hits like “Dream Lover,” “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea” — teen idol Bobby Darin — dies at the age of 37 following open heart surgery.

1975 – “That’s the Way (I Like It),” by KC and the Sunshine Band, is the No. 1 single.

1986 – The Bangles start a four-week run on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Walk Like an Egyptian.” That makes the track the final No. 1 single of 1986 and the first of 1987.

1997 – Elton John’s updated version of “Candle in the Wind,” a tribute to Princess Diana, maintains its hold on the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

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