On This Day: April 5

On This Day April 5

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1900 – Oscar-winning actor Spencer Tracy (“Boys Town,” “Inherit the Wind,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”) (d. 1967)

1908 – Oscar-winning actress Bette Davis, known as “The First Lady of the American Screen” (“Jezebel,” “All About Eve,” “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”) (d. 1989)

1916 – Oscar-winning actor Gregory Peck (“The Keys of the Kingdom,” “Gentleman’s Agreement,” “To Kill a Mockingbird”) (d. 2003)

1926 – Producer-director Roger Corman, known as “The Pope of Pop Cinema” (“The Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Raven,” “Piranha,” ” Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”) 

1937 – Soldier-turned-statesman Colin Powell, a four-star U.S. general who became the first African American secretary of state in 2001

1941 – Emmy and Tony-winning actor Michael Moriarty (“Bang the Drum Slowly,” “Holocaust,” “Law & Order”) 

1973 – Singer-rapper-music producer Pharrell Williams, best known for his 2014 smash “Happy,” from the movie “Despicable Me 2.”

History Highlights
History Highlights

1614 – Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Indian confederacy, weds English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia. The marriage ensures peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan Indians for several years.

1951 – A federal judge sentences Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death for their roles in passing atomic secrets to the Soviets.  The couple had been convicted of their crimes a week earlier. They are executed by electric chair in 1953, becoming the only two American civilians to be executed for Cold War espionage.

1965 – Movie musicals sweep the Oscars. At the 37th Academy Awards, “My Fair Lady” wins Best Picture, while its star, Rex Harrison, wins Best Actor. Singer/actress Julie Andrews wins Best Actress for her role in “Mary Poppins.” 

1971 – Canadian Fran Phipps becomes the first woman to reach the North Pole. 

1987 – The sitcom “Married…With Children” debuts on Fox and ultimately lasts 11 seasons, becoming the network’s longest-running live action series.

2000 – Lee Petty, an early star of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and the patriarch of a racing dynasty that includes his son, NASCAR legend Richard Petty, dies at the age 86. Lee Petty won more than 50 races during his career.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – Tommy Roe enjoys his fourth and final week on top of the pop chart with “Dizzy.”

1975 – “Lovin’ You,” by Minnie Riperton, tops the Billboard Hot 100. At the end of the track, you can hear her sing, “Maya, Maya” to her daughter, actress-comedian and “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph. Tragically, Riperton dies of breast cancer four years later at the age of 31.

1980 – “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II,” by Pink Floyd, is the No. 1 single. 

1984 – The funeral service for Motown legend Marvin Gaye takes place at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles. Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy and other Motown talent are on hand to pay their respects.

1985 – At 3:50 p.m. GMT, more than 5,000 radio stations around the world simultaneously broadcast the single “We Are the World,” produced as a charity to benefit Ethiopian famine relief. The single, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, features the voices of some of the biggest musical acts of the day.

1994 – Grunge music icon Kurt Cobain, Nirvana founder and frontman, commits suicide at age 27. His body is discovered at his Seattle home three days later by an electrician who showed up to install a security system.

1997 – “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” by Puff Daddy featuring Mase, is in the middle of a six-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100.

2002 – Another grunge legend, singer-songwriter Layne Staley, co-founder and lead vocalist of alternative rock band Alice in Chains, is found dead in his Seattle home from a drug overdose at the age of 34.

2008 – Leona Lewis has the No. 1 single with “Bleeding Love.” The track holds the top spot for a week.

2014 – Pharrell Williams holds the top spot on the singles chart with “Happy,” which remains at No. 1 for 10 weeks.

READ MORE
On this Day: July 12

On this Day July 12

Click each item below to learn more!

Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1817 – Author-poet Henry David Thoreau (d. 1862)

1895 – Songwriter Oscar Hammerstein II (d. 1960)

1908 – Comedian-actor Milton Berle, known to millions as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television” during TV’s Golden Age (d. 2002)

1934 – Internationally acclaimed pianist Van Cliburn (d. 2013)

1937 – Comedian-actor Bill Cosby (“I Spy,” “Fat Albert,” “The Cosby Show”), who is serving prison time following his 2018 conviction on sexual assault charges

1943 – Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie, born Christine Anne Perfect

1948 – Fitness guru and motivational speaker Richard Simmons

1951 – Actress Cheryl Ladd, born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor, best known for playing Kris Munroe in TV’s “Charlie’s Angels”

1978 – Actor Topher Grace (“That ‘70s Show,” “In Good Company,” “Spider-Man 3,” “Interstellar”) 

1978 – Actress Michelle Rodriguez (“Girlfight,” “Blue Crush,” “Lost,” “Avatar,” “The Fast and the Furious” movie series, “Battle: Los Angeles”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1933 – Architect, engineer and philosopher Buckminster Fuller produces the first of three prototypes of the three-wheeled, multi-directional, rear-engine Dymaxion. The aerodynamic concept car could transport up to 11 passengers, got 30 miles to the gallon and reached a top speed of 90 miles per hour. However, a rollover accident during Dymaxion’s debut at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago kills the driver, injures three passengers and scares off investors, ensuring that the vehicle never goes to market.

1960 – Way before the advent of the iPad, Xbox and PlayStation, Etch A Sketch is introduced to consumers by the Ohio Art Company. The distinctive red plastic drawing toy with two white knobs has since sold over 175 million units worldwide and was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York in 1998. 

1976 – The TV game show “Family Feud” premieres with host Richard Dawson. It is currently hosted by Steve Harvey.

1982 – After 60 years of production, the last Checker taxi cab rolls off a Kalamazoo, Michigan assembly line.

1984 – Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale becomes the first major-party candidate to choose a woman as a running mate when he announces his choice of Geraldine Ferraro. 

1990 – The quirky series “Northern Exposure,” starring Rob Morrow as a New York doctor transplanted to a tiny town in Alaska, premieres on CBS. 

1991 – John Singleton makes his directorial debut with the release of “Boyz N the Hood,” a drama about life in South Central Los Angeles. The movie stars two future Oscar winners — Cuba Gooding Jr. and Regina King — and two Oscar nominees who are Hollywood legends: Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1969 – “In the Year 2525,” by one-hit-wonder Zager & Evans, is No. 1 on the singles chart and holds there for six weeks. 

1970 – “Evening at Pops” premieres on PBS with conductor Arthur Fiedler leading the Boston Pops Orchestra. Composer-conductor John Williams takes the baton following Fiedler’s death in 1979. 

1979 – Singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton, best known for her 1975 No. 1 hit “Loving You,” dies of cancer at the age of 31. Riperton’s daughter is comedian-actress and “SNL” alum Miya Rudolph.

1980 – “Coming Up,” by Paul McCartney, begins its third and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. McCartney plays all the instruments on the track and shares vocal harmonies with wife Linda McCartney.

1986 – “Holding Back the Years,” by British band Simply Red, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. 

1997 – “I’ll Be Missing You,” by Puff Daddy (a.k.a. Sean Combs) featuring Faith Evans and 112, is in the midst of an 11-week domination of the pop chart.

2003 – “Crazy in Love,” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, begins eight weeks as a No. 1 single. The track, off the “Dangerously in Love” album, goes on to capture a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

READ MORE