On this Day: August 8

On this Day August 8

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1932 – Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis (“I Ain’t Never,” “Good Woman Blues,” “Coca-Cola Cowboy”) (d. 2017)

1937 – Oscar and Emmy-winning actor Dustin Hoffman (“The Graduate,” “Midnight Cowboy,” Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Tootsie,” “Rain Man,” “Hook,” “Outbreak,” “Wag The Dog,” “Runaway Jury,” “Meet the Fockers”)

1938 – Actress-singer Connie Stevens (“Hawaiian Eye,” “77 Sunset Strip,” “Wendy and Me”)

1952 – Radio host and former Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers 

1953 – Actor Don Most (Ralph from TV’s “Happy Days”) 

1958 – Emmy-winning “Inside Edition” host Deborah Norville 

1961 – U2 guitarist Dave “The Edge” Evans 

1981 – International tennis champion Roger Federer

History Highlights
History Highlights

1942 – Six German saboteurs who secretly entered the U.S. by submarine on a mission to attack its civil infrastructure are executed for spying. Two others who disclosed the plot to the FBI and assisted U.S. authorities in the manhunt for their collaborators are imprisoned.

1945 – With World War II drawing to a close, President Harry S. Truman signs the United Nations Charter and the United States becomes the first nation to  join the new international organization. Truman said the move “substantially advances the cause of world peace.”

1974 – In a prime-time address to Americans, President Richard Nixon announces his resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal, becoming the first and only U.S. president to resign. The following day, Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as president.

1986 – Actor, writer and director Spike Lee’s first feature-length movie, “She’s Gotta Have It,” about a free-spirited African-American woman in Brooklyn and her three suitors, opens in U.S. theaters.

1988 – The lights are turned on at Chicago’s Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last major league stadium equipped to host night games. However, rain cancels the game after four innings, postponing it to the next day. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1960 – Summer swimwear is the theme as “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” by Brian Hyland, checks in as the hottest single.

1966 – The Beatles release their seventh studio album, “Revolver,” in the U.S. three days after its U.K. release. The album contains “Eleanor Rigby,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Good Day Sunshine” and other classics.

1969 – The Beatles’ iconic “Abbey Road” album cover is photographed by Iain Macmillan outside the namesake studio in London, with the Fab Four marching single file through the crosswalk. Macmillan had 10 minutes to complete the shoot and snapped six photos of The Beatles crossing in either direction.

1981 – Rick Springfield begins his second and final week with “Jessie’s Girl” as the No. 1 single.

1987 – U2 claims the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” off “The Joshua Tree” album. The track holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

1992 – “This Used to Be My Playground,” by Madonna, lands on top of the pop chart for a week. The track is from the movie “A League of Their Own,” starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna, and directed by Penny Marshall. It picks up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.

2009 – The Black Eyed Peas dominate the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Gotta Feeling.”

2017 – Grammy-winning country music singer-songwriter-guitarist Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman,” “Gentle on My Mind,” “Galveston,” “Rhinestone Cowboy”) dies of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 81.

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On this Day: August 5

On this Day August 5

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1906 – Golden Globe-winning director and actor John Huston (“The Maltese Falcon,” “The African Queen,” “Chinatown”) (d. 1987)

1930 – Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was the first human to set foot on the moon (d. 2012)

1935 – Actor John Saxon, born Carmine Orrico, best known for his work in westerns and horror films, as well as Bruce Lee’s 1973 movie, “Enter the Dragon” (d. 2020)

1945 – Actress Loni Anderson (“WKRP in Cincinnati”) 

1956 – Actress Maureen McCormick, best known for playing Marcia Brady in the sitcom “The Brady Bunch”

1962 – Retired basketball Hall of Famer and current Georgetown University head coach Patrick Ewing

1963 – Actor Mark Strong (“Syriana,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “Green Lantern,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Imitation Game,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service”)

1964 – Rapper and Beastie Boys founder Adam Yauch (d. 2012)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1858 – The first telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean is completed, stretching nearly 2,000 miles at depths of up to two miles. It is put to use on August 16, as U.S. President James Buchanan and Queen Victoria exchange formal introductory and complimentary messages.

1914 – The world’s first electric traffic signal is installed at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

1962 – Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her Los Angeles home at the age of 36. An investigation determines that her death was “caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide.”

1963 – Representatives of the U.S., Soviet Union and Great Britain sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space, underwater or in the atmosphere. The treaty is hailed as an important first step toward the control of nuclear weapons.

1981 – President Ronald Reagan begins firing more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers for defying his order to return to work. The move slowed commercial air travel for months.

1983 – “Risky Business” opens in theaters, propelling actor Tom Cruise to stardom. The movie’s most iconic scene features Cruise dancing at home in his underpants to Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll.”

1998 – Seventy-year-old Marie Noe is arrested and charged with the suffocation murders of eight of her 10 children over a 50-year period.

2002 – Divers recover the rusty turret of the ironclad Civil War-era warship U.S.S. Monitor, which sank 140 years earlier in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. 

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1957 – “American Bandstand” debuts on national television (ABC) with host Dick Clark, and helps make rock ‘n roll more “acceptable” to skeptical parents by bringing music and dancing kids into their homes. It also provides exposure to up-and-coming bands.

1966 – The Beatles release their seventh studio album, “Revolver,” in the U.K. It’s the first album to feature backwards music — a George Harrison guitar solo played in reverse in “I’m Only Sleeping.”

1967 – The Doors are chart-toppers for a second straight week with “Light My Fire.”

1978 – The Rolling Stones climb to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Miss You,” the group’s eighth No. 1 hit. The track is from the band’s “Some Girls” album, which also delivers the hits “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered.”

1981 – Singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, who starred with John Travolta in the 1978 movie “Grease,” is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989 – Prince’s “Batdance,” from the movie “Batman,” starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, soars to No. 1 on the singles chart. 

1995 – “Waterfalls,” by TLC, holds on to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth consecutive week.

2000 – NSYNC rules the pop chart for a second and final week with “It’s Gonna Be Me.”

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