On This Day: March 20

On This Day March 20

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Celebrity Birthdays
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
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
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.

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On this Day: May 22

On this Day May 22

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1813 – German classical music composer Richard Wagner (d. 1883)

1859 – Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (d. 1930)

1907 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor Sir Laurence Olivier (“Wuthering Heights,” “Hamlet,” “Marathon Man”) (d. 1989)

1938 – Golden Globe-winning actor Richard Benjamin (“Goodbye, Columbus,” “Westworld,” “The Sunshine Boys”)

1950 – Pop music lyricist and longtime Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin

1959 – Singer-songwriter and former The Smiths frontman Morrissey, born Stephen Patrick Morrissey (“This Charming Man,” “How Soon Is Now?” “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “Girlfriend in a Coma”)

1970 – British supermodel and actress Naomi Campbell

1979 – Model-turned-actress Maggie Q, born Margaret Quigley (“Mission: Impossible III,” “Live Free or Die Hard,” “Nikita,” “Divergent,” “Designated Survivor”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1947 – The Truman Doctrine takes effect, providing U.S. aid to Greece and Turkey in an effort to combat Communism after World War II.

1960 – The most powerful earthquake ever recorded (9.5 magnitude) strikes southern Chile, killing 2,000 people and leaving two million people homeless.

1966 – Bill Cosby, the first African American actor to star in a regular dramatic series, wins the Best Actor Emmy for his role in “I Spy.”

1967 – The educational children’s series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” premieres on PBS, hosted by creator Fred Rogers donning his famous cardigan sweater.

1980 – Gaming is revolutionized with the release of PAC-MAN. The iconic video game features a maze filled with dots and prizes and menacing bright-colored ghosts that players must gobble up or avoid in order to win. It becomes one of the highest-grossing video games of all time.

1992 – After nearly 30 years as the king of late-night television, Johnny Carson makes his final appearance as host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1961 – “Mother-in-Law,” by New Orleans native Ernie K-Doe, is the No. 1 single. The song was written and produced by Allen Toussaint, who also played the piano solo.

1965 – The Beatles have a ticket to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard singles chart with “Ticket to Ride,” from the “Help!” soundtrack.

1971 – “Sticky Fingers,” by The Rolling Stones, begins a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, spawning the hits “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses.” The iconic album features a cover photo of tight-fitting jeans with an actual working zipper, conceived by celebrated pop artist Andy Warhol. And the sleeve features the first use of the now-legendary “tongue and lips” logo designed by John Pasche.

1976 – “Silly Love Songs,” by Wings featuring Paul McCartney, begins a five-week run as the hottest single in the U.S.

1982 – The Paul McCartney-Stevie Wonder duet, “Ebony and Ivory,” is in its second of seven weeks as a chart-topper

1999 – Grammy-winning pop vocalist Ricky Martin is midway through a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”

2004 – Usher sears his way into the top of the pop chart with “Burn,” which stays at No. 1 for eight weeks.

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