On This Day: April 11

On This Day April 11

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1928 – Human rights advocate Ethel Kennedy, widow of assassinated U.S. Senator and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy

1932 – Oscar and Tony-winning actor, singer and dancer Joel Grey, born Joel David Katz, best known for his role in both the screen and stage versions of “Cabaret”

1939 – Actress Louise Lasser (“Take the Money and Run,” “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”) 

1987 – Grammy-winning British soul singer-songwriter and actress Joss Stone (“Super Duper,” “Fell in Love with a Boy,” “Spoiled,” “Right to Be Wrong”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1814 – An alliance of European nations signs a treaty removing Napoleon Bonaparte from the French throne and banishing him to the small Italian isle of Elba.

1945 – American troops liberate Buchenwald, one of the largest concentration camps established by the Nazis during World War II.

1951 – In one of the most famous civilian-military confrontations in United States history, President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of American forces in Korea.

1968 – One week after the assassination of civil rights crusader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 into law, banning housing discrimination. 

1970 – Apollo 13 blasts off on a mechanically flawed mission that denies astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert a moon landing. 

1981 – President Ronald Reagan is released from the hospital 12 days after he was shot outside a Washington D.C. hotel in an assassination attempt.

2001 – President George W. Bush announces that the Chinese government has agreed to release the crew of a U.S. spy plane that collided with a Chinese fighter jet, killing the pilot.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1960 – Movie music dominates the pop chart as Percy Faith’s “Theme From A Summer Place” remains at No. 1 for an eighth consecutive week. The track holds the top spot for a total of nine weeks and goes on to capture a Grammy for Record of the Year.

1964 – “Can’t Buy Me Love,” by The Beatles, is in the middle of five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1970 – The Beatles’ “Let It Be” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for two weeks. It is the Fab Four’s last hit before their break-up.

1981 – Rocker Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time”) tie the knot, The marriage lasts until 2007, when their divorce is finalized.

1981 – Darryl Hall & John Oates have the No. 1 single in the U.S. with “Kiss on My List.” The song remains on top of that list for three weeks.

1988 – Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley (of The Righteous Brothers) perform “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” at the Academy Awards. The song, from the “Dirty Dancing” movie soundtrack, becomes the third one by Warnes to capture an Oscar.

1992 – “Save the Best for Last,” by Vanessa Williams, is parked at the summit of the Billboard Hot 100. It holds the top spot for five weeks.

1998 – “All My Life,” by R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo, is midway through a three-week domination of the Billboard pop chart.

2006 – June Pointer, the youngest of the four Pointer Sisters, who went from teenage gospel singers to the top of the pop chart with hits like “‘Fire,” “Slow Hand” and “I’m So Excited,” dies of cancer at the age of 52.

2009 – The Billboard Hot 100 deals Lady Gaga a favorable hand as “Poker Face” begins a week at No. 1. The track, which also tops the charts in 19 other countries, wins Best Dance Recording honors at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

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On this Day: August 15

On this Day August 15

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1769 – French military general/emperor Napolean Bonaparte (d. 1821)

1912 – TV chef and cookbook author Julia Child (d. 2004)

1925 – Actor Mike Connors, most remembered for his role as a detective in the CBS series “Mannix” (d. 2017)

1925 – Grammy-winning jazz pianist-composer Oscar Peterson (d. 2007)

1944 – Journalist, author and former NBC News correspondent Linda Ellerbee 

1946 – Grammy-winning songwriter-composer Jimmy Webb, who penned some of the highest-charting singles of the 20th century, including “Up, Up and Away,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Wichita Lineman,” “Galveston,” “The Worst That Could Happen,” “All I Know,” “MacArthur Park”

1968 – Actress Debra Messing, best known as Grace Adler in the sitcom “Will & Grace”

1972 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor-director-producer Ben Affleck (“Dazed and Confused,” “Chasing Amy,” “Good Will Hunting,”  “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Town,” “Argo,” “Gone Girl,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”)

1989 – Singer-actor Joe Jonas, who originally performed with the Jonas Brothers before forming the band DNCE (“See No More,” “Just in Love,” “Cake by the Ocean”)

1990 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence (“The Bill Engvall Show,” “Winter’s Bone,” “X-Men: First Class,” “The Hunger Games,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” “Joy”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1911 – Procter & Gamble Company introduces Crisco vegetable shortening and changes cooking forever. 

1914 – The Panama Canal opens, providing a vital shipping link between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. The first vessel to travel the American-built waterway is the U.S. cargo ship SS Ancon, which completes the crossing in a record nine hours.

1935 – Beloved actor and humorist Will Rogers dies in a plane crash in Alaska while flying with his friend, aviation pioneer Wiley Post. 

1979 – “Apocalypse Now,” the acclaimed Vietnam War film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall, opens.

1983 – Hurricane Alicia forms south of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Three days later, the storm batters the Texas Gulf Coast, causing 21 deaths, thousands of injuries and billions of dollars in damage. Galveston and Houston were among the hardest hit areas.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1960 – Elvis Presley is king of the pop chart with “It’s Now or Never.” The song remains at No. 1 for five weeks. 

1965 – More than 56,000 Beatles fans pack New York’s Shea Stadium for a concert introduced by TV host Ed Sullivan. The event serves as the kickoff of the Fab Four’s second U.S. tour.

1969 – Half a million hippies, flower children and 60s counter-culture zealots converge on a farm in Bethel, New York for what is billed as “three days of peace and music.” Decades later, the Woodstock Music & Art Fair is still considered the definitive concert event.

1970 – The Carpenters’ breakthrough hit, “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” marks its fourth and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100. The track garners the sibling duo the first of three career Grammys.

1981 – Diana Ross and Lionel Richie kick off nine weeks on top of the pop chart with “Endless Love,” the theme from the movie of the same name. The track receives a Best Original Song Oscar nomination for Richie.

1992 – “End of the Road,” by Boyz II Men, is a Billboard No. 1, and holds the top spot for a then-record-breaking 13 weeks. The song goes on to capture two Grammys at the 1993 Grammy Awards.

1998 – Brandy and Monica have a lock on the No. 1 slot on the pop chart with “The Boy Is Mine.”

2015 – Omi wraps up four consecutive weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Cheerleader.” The track returns to No. 1 two weeks later and remains there for an additional two weeks.

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