Rocky III – Time Rewind

On this Day August 28

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On this Day August 7

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Celebrity Birthdays

1903 – Paleontologist, archaeologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey (d. 1972)

1904 – Nobel Peace Prize–winning academic and U.N. diplomat Ralph Bunche (d. 1971)

1942 – Pop-country singer B.J. Thomas (“Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” “Don’t Worry Baby”)

1942 – Grammy-winning writer and “A Prairie Home Companion” creator-host Garrison Keillor

1955 – Actor Wayne Knight, best known as Newman from the NBC sitcom “Seinfeld”

1960 – Actor David Duchovny, best known for playing Special Agent Fox Mulder in “The X-Files”

1963 – Actor Harold Perrineau (“Oz,” “28 Weeks Later,” “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions,” “The Killing Jar,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Lost”)

1975 – Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron (“The Devil’s Advocate,” “Mighty Joe Young,” “The Cider House Rules,” “Monster,” “North Country,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Atomic Blonde”)

History Highlights

1782 – General George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the “Badge for Military Merit” — a decoration for valor consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk with the word “Merit” stitched across the face. Only three soldiers were awarded the badge before it fell into disuse. It was revived in 1932 as the Purple Heart, consisting of a bust of Washington below a coat of arms.

1959 – The sheaves of wheat image on the U.S. penny is replaced with the Lincoln Memorial.

1959 – NASA launches the Explorer 6 satellite to study trapped radiation, galactic cosmic rays and geomagnetism in the upper atmosphere. It is the first spacecraft to transmit images of Earth from orbit.

1972 – Yogi Berra, Sandy Koufax, Lefty Gomez and Early Wynn are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

1974 – After six years of planning and preparation, French high-wire artist Philippe Petit walks a tightrope a quarter mile above the streets of Manhattan between the World Trade Center towers.

1990 – President George H. W. Bush orders the launch of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepares American troops to join an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991.

2005 – Longtime ABC News anchor and reporter Peter Jennings loses his battle with cancer at the age of 67.

2005 – The seven-person crew of a small Russian submarine (Priz) is rescued by an unmanned British submersible that freed the sub after its propellers became entangled in fishing nets deep in Pacific waters.

Musical Milestones

1965 – “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits is the best-selling single in the U.S. It’s the band’s second Billboard No. 1.

1971 – The Bee Gees achieve a milestone when “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” becomes the trio’s first No. 1 single. The song holds the top spot for four weeks.

1976 – Heartbreak is the theme of another No. 1 single: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee, which remains on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.

1982 – “Eye of the Tiger,” from the movie “Rocky III,” is midway through a six-week domination of the pop chart. The track garners Survivor a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal.

1982 – Fleetwood Mac kicks off five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with “Mirage,” the band’s third chart-topping album, which contains the Top-20 hits “Hold Me” and “Gypsy.”

1993 – UB40 is mid-way through a seven-week occupation of the top spot on the singles chart with their cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

1999 – Christina Aguilera rules the pop chart with “Genie in a Bottle.” The track holds at No. 1 for five weeks.

2004 – “Slow Motion,” by rapper Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim, kicks off two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

On this Day July 24

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Celebrity Birthdays

1802 – French author Alexandre Dumas (“The Three Musketeers,” “The Count of Monte Cristo”) (d. 1870)

1897 – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (d. 1937)

1936 – Comedian-actress Ruth Buzzi, who starred in the TV comedy-variety show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”

1949 – Actor-comedian Michael Richards, best known as Kramer in TV sitcom “Seinfeld”

1951 – Actress Lynda Carter, who played TV’s “Wonder Woman”

1968 – Emmy and Tony-winning actress-singer Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies,” “The West Wing,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Wicked”)

1969 – Hip-hop/R&B star and actress Jennifer Lopez

1982 – Oscar-winning actress Anna Paquin (“The Piano,” “X-Men,” “True Blood”)

History Highlights

1948 – The Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian debuts in the cartoon “Haredevil Hare.”

1950 – The 62-foot-tall Bumper 8 is the first rocket to be launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral — known then as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The craft represented a marriage of the German V-2 ballistic missile and the U.S. Army Wac Corporal research rocket.

1969 – Apollo 11 splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean following the crew’s historic moon landing.

1978 – New York Yankees manager Billy Martin resigns in what becomes an ongoing love/hate relationship with team owner George Steinbrenner. The move comes less than 24 hours after Martin lambasted All-Star Reggie Jackson and Steinbrenner while speaking to reporters at Chicago’s O’Hare airport where the Yankees were waiting to board a flight to Kansas City. “The two men deserve each other,” Martin told reporters. “One’s a born liar, the other’s convicted.”

1980 – Actor-comedian Peter Sellers, best known for his portrayal of Inspector Clouseau in the “Pink Panther” movie series as well as his ability to play multiple roles in a single film (“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”), dies of a heart attack at the age of 54.

1983 – With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium with two outs, the Kansas City Royals’ George Brett hits a two-run homer to give his team the lead. However, Yankees manager Billy Martin, who noticed a large amount of pine tar on Brett’s bat, requests that the umpires inspect his bat. The umpires rule that the amount on the bat exceeded the allowable amount, they nullify Brett’s home run and call him out, enabling the Yankees to win. This becomes known as the “Pine Tar Incident,” still considered among the wildest moments in baseball.

Musical Milestones

1971 – Paul Revere & the Raiders gallop to the top of the singles chart with “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian).”

1976 – “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” by The Manhattans, is the most popular single.

1982 – Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains there for six weeks. It is the theme song for the movie “Rocky III,” starring Sylvester Stallone, which was released on May 28, 1982, one day before EMI Records released the single.

1993 – U2 begins a two-week run on top of the Billboard album chart with “Zooropa,” the band’s fourth No. 1. “Zooropa” goes on win to a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1994.

1993 – UB40 kicks off a seven-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with their cover of the Elvis Presley smash “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You.”

1999 – The theme to the summer blockbuster “Wild, Wild West” begins one week as a No. 1 single. Will Smith, who stars in the movie, sings with background vocals by Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee.

2004 – Usher rules the pop chart with “Confessions Part II,” which holds at No. 1 for two weeks.

2010 – “California Gurls,” by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, wraps up six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.