Sidney Poitier – Time Rewind

On This Day April 13

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On This Day February 20

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Celebrity Birthdays

1902 – Pioneering photographer and preservationist Ansel Adams (d. 1984)

1927 – Oscar-winning actor-director Sidney Poitier (“Lilies of the Field,” “In the Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “To Sir, With Love,” “Sneakers,” “The Jackal”)

1946 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist John Warren Geils, Jr., known professionally as J. Geils, frontman for the 80s rockers The J. Geils Band. (d. 2017)

1963 – Retired basketball star Charles Barkley, named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History

1966 – Fashion icon, supermodel and entrepreneur Cindy Crawford

1967 – Legendary grunge music pioneer Kurt Cobain, lead singer-songwriter-guitarist of the band Nirvana (d. 1994)

1988 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Rihanna, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty (“Umbrella,” “We Found Love,” “The Monster”)

History Highlights

1792 – President George Washington signs the Postal Act, creating the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

1895 – American journalist, author, orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass dies at the age of 78. Douglass conferred with President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and recruited northern Black officers for the Union Army. After the War, he fought for the rights of women and African Americans alike.

1962 – John Glenn launches into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard NASA’s Mercury capsule, named Friendship 7, on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut. He completes three Earth orbits in just under five hours, ushering in a new era of spaceflight for the United States.

1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission to photograph possible landing sites for the Apollo program.

1986 – The Soviet Union launches the first components of the Mir space station, which orbits Earth more than 86,000 times before falling harmlessly into the South Pacific near Fiji in March 2001.

1998 – American Tara Lipinski is 15 when she wins the Gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, becoming the youngest gold medalist in her sport.

2003 – One hundred people are killed, 230 others are injured when pyrotechnics during a Great White concert at The Station nightclub in Warwick, Rhode Island ignite flammable foam installed as soundproofing. The club burns to the ground in less than three minutes.

Musical Milestones

1959 – Legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix is 16 years old when he makes his stage debut during a performance at Temple De Hirsch Sinai synagogue in Seattle. He is fired before the second set begins.

1965 – “This Diamond Ring,” by Gary Lewis & the Playboys, begins a two-week ride atop the Billboard singles chart.

1970 – The single “Instant Karma! (We All Shine On),” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, is released in the U.S. Lennon wrote, recorded and mixed the track all in one day, on January 27, 1970, with producer Phil Spector, at the Abbey Road Studios in London.

1982 – The J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” is midway through a six-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. It is the first single from the band’s “Freeze Frame” album. The music video becomes an early staple of MTV programming.

1988 – “Seasons Change,” by one-hit wonder Exposé, tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a week.

1991 – Actor Jack Nicholson presents Bob Dylan with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Grammys.

1993 – “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston, enters its 13th week as a No. 1 single. Written by Dolly Parton, the song is from the soundtrack to the movie, “The Bodyguard,” starring Houston and Kevin Costner.

1999 – Monica is in the middle of a four-week run at No. 1 on the pop chart with “Angel of Mine.”

2010 – Kesha dominates the pop chart with “Tik Tok,” which enters its eighth week at No. 1.

On This Day December 12

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Celebrity Birthdays

1893 – Actor Edward G. Robinson, known for playing mobsters and other tough guys (“Little Caesar,” “Double Indemnity,” “The Woman in the Window,” “Scarlet Street,” “Key Largo”) (d. 1973)

1915 – Legendary Grammy and Oscar-winning entertainer Frank Sinatra, born Francis Albert Sinatra, and affectionately called “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “The Chairman of the Board” (d. 1998)

1923 – Bob Barker, who hosted the popular TV game show “The Price is Right” from 1972 to 2007 and was an outspoken animal rights activist (d. 2023)

1924 – Former New York City Mayor and “The People’s Court” Judge Ed Koch (d. 2013)

1938 – Pop singer Connie Francis, born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (Who’s Sorry Now?”, “Stupid Cupid”)

1940 – Grammy-winning singer Dionne Warwick (“Don’t Make Me Over,” “Walk On By,” “Alfie,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”)

1949 – Actor Bill Nighy (“The Men’s Room,” “Love Actually,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, “The Girl in the Café,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”)

1952 – Actress and Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby

1970 – Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly (“Requiem for a Dream,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “The House of Sand and Fog,” “Hulk”)

History Highlights

1901 – Guglielmo Marconi successfully sends the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean.

1917 – In Omaha, Nebraska, Irish priest, Father Edward J. Flanagan, opens the doors to Boys Town, a home for troubled and neglected children that continues to provide this service today.

1967 – “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” a groundbreaking movie about an interracial romantic relationship, starring Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier, opens in theaters. It is the ninth movie to pair Hepburn with Tracy, who died less than three weeks after filming ended.

1972 – The world turns upside down for cruise ship passengers when the epic disaster film “The Poseidon Adventure” opens, featuring a veritable Hollywood ‘Who’s Who’ of a cast, including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Roddy Mcdowall, Carol Lynley and Jack Albertson.

1980 – American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5.1 million at auction for a notebook containing writings by artist-inventor Leonardo da Vinci. The manuscript, written around 1508, is among over two dozen books da Vinci produced during his lifetime.

1989 – The so-called “Queen of Mean,” hotel operator and real estate developer Leona Helmsley, who once quipped that “only the little people pay taxes,” receives a four-year prison sentence, 750 hours of community service and a $7.1 million fine for tax fraud.

2000 – General Motors (GM) announces that it will begin to phase out its Oldsmobile line of cars, the oldest automotive brand in the United States. The last Olds rolls off an assembly line about four years later.

Musical Milestones

1964 – Bobby Vinton stands alone on top of the Billboard singles survey with “Mr. Lonely,” his second No. 1 of the year.

1970 – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles kick off two weeks atop the singles chart with “The Tears Of A Clown,” the group’s 26th Top 40 hit and first No. 1.

1987 – “Faith,” by George Michael, begins a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100. It goes on to become the biggest-selling single of 1988.

1992 – Whitney Houston has the No. 1 single with “I Will Always Love You,” which remains a chart-topper for 14 weeks and becomes one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song was written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973. This version was part of the soundtrack to “The Bodyguard,” a 1992 movie co-starring Houston and Kevin Costner.

2003 – Prince Charles bestows knighthood status upon Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger at Buckingham Palace. Jagger’s 92-year-old father, Joe, and daughters Elizabeth and Karis are on hand for the prestigious event.

2007 – R&B legend Ike Turner, credited by many music historians with making the first rock ‘n roll record in 1951, dies of a cocaine overdose at the age of 76. Turner was the former husband of superstar Tina Turner. The couple enjoyed a string of late 60s-early 70s hits, including “Proud Mary” and “River Deep Mountain High.”

On This Day October 21

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Celebrity Birthdays

1917 – Legendary jazz trumpeter-composer Dizzy Gillespie, who helped develop the “bebop” music style (d. 1993)

1924 – Actress Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton in the 1950s sitcom “The Honeymooners”

1928 – Baseball Hall of Famer Whitey Ford, who was a star pitcher for the New York Yankees

1942 – Judith Sheindlin, better known as TV’s “Judge Judy”

1956 – Actress-author Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” movie trilogy and wrote “Postcards From the Edge” (d. 2016)

1959 – Actor Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai,” “Batman Begins,” “Inception,” “Godzilla”)

1980 – Socialite and reality TV star Kim Kardashian (“Keeping Up With The Kardashians”)

History Highlights

1879 – Thomas Edison throws the switch on his newly invented incandescent lamp, which burns for nearly 14 hours.

1921 – President Warren Harding delivers a speech in Alabama condemning lynchings that were being committed primarily by white supremacists against African Americans in the Deep South. Harding is the first U.S. president to address the controversial subject.

1941 – Nazi troops massacre thousands of men, women and children across Yugoslavia in retaliation for that country’s rejection of an alliance with Germany.

1959 – The distinctive and world-renowned Guggenheim Museum opens in New York City. Designed by acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the museum houses one of the world’s top collections of contemporary art.

1959 – President Dwight Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring renowned rocket engineer Wernher von Braun and his team from the U.S. Army to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Von Braun, who masterminded America’s space program, developed the lethal V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany during World War II, and had been a member of the Nazi Party and an SS officer.

1967 – In Washington, D.C., thousands of Vietnam War protesters stage a peaceful rally at the Lincoln Memorial before attempting to storm the Pentagon. Police arrest 250 of the demonstrators.

2014 – South African Oscar Pistorius, the first double amputee runner to compete at the Olympics, is sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter) in the 2013 death of his girlfriend, 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp. His sentence is later doubled by a higher court.

Musical Milestones

1958 – Rock and roll legend Buddy Holly’s last recording session takes place in a New York City studio. Among the songs he records is “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” which was written by Paul Anka and becomes a No. 13 hit following Holly’s death in a February 1959 plane crash.

1967 – Lulu begins a five-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart with the theme from the movie “To Sir With Love,” starring Sidney Poitier.

1972 – Curtis Mayfield begins four weeks on top of the Billboard album chart with the soundtrack to the movie “Super Fly.” Sales of the album, which contains the hits “Freddy’s Dead” and “Super Fly,” go on to surpass the movie’s box office performance.

1973 – “Angie” begins a week as a No. 1 single for The Rolling Stones. The track is from the band’s “Goats Head Soup” album and becomes their seventh U.S. chart-topper.

1989 – Janet Jackson’s “Miss You Much” is mid-way through a four-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100.

1995 – Mariah Carey holds on to the top spot on the pop chart for a fourth week with “Fantasy.” The track remains there for another four weeks.

2000 – “Come on Over Baby (All I Want Is You)” becomes the third No. 1 single of Christina Aguilera’s music career. This track stays on top for four weeks.

2000 – Radiohead’s fourth album, “Kid A,” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

2006 – Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” marks its seventh and final week at No. 1 on the singles chart. The track captures a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2007.

On this Day May 31

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Celebrity Birthdays

1819 – Poet Walt Whitman (d. 1892)

1908 – Actor Don Ameche ( “Trading Places,” “Cocoon”) (d. 1993)

1930 – Oscar-winning actor-director Clint Eastwood (“A Fistful of Dollars,” “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and the “Dirty Harry” movies, “Unforgiven,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Mystic River,” “Gran Torino,” “American Sniper,” “Sully”)

1938 – Singer-songwriter Peter Yarrow of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary

1943 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, who was a star quarterback for the New York Jets

1949 – Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Tom Berenger (“Platoon,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Rough Riders,” “Training Day,” “Inception,” “Hatfields & McCoys”)

1960 – Emmy-winning actor-comedian-writer Chris Elliott (“The David Letterman Show,” “Get a Life,” “Groundhog Day,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “How I Met Your Mother”)

1961 – Actress Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future” trilogy, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Caroline in the City”)

1965 – Actress-model Brooke Shields (“Pretty Baby,” “The Blue Lagoon,” “Endless Love,” “Suddenly Susan”)

1976 – Golden Globe-winning actor Colin Farrell (“Tigerland,” “American Outlaws,” “Phone Booth,” “Minority Report,” “In Bruges,” “Horrible Bosses,” “Crazy Heart,” “Miami Vice,” “True Detective”)

History Highlights

1790 – The first U.S. copyright law is enacted to protect books, maps and other original materials.

1889 – Heavy rains cause the South Fork Dam to collapse, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pennsylvania and claiming the lives of more than 2,200 people.

1911 – An estimated 100,000 people gather in Belfast, Ireland for the launch of the RMS Titanic into the River Lagan. The ill-fated passenger liner, still missing its distinctive smokestacks, is towed to a berth where its engines, stacks and superstructure are installed and the interior is fitted out. Less than a year later, in one of the world’s greatest disasters, the ship sinks on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 passengers are crew are killed.

1921 – In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a White mob begins a horrific two-day attack on Black residents of the city’s thriving Greenwood district, burning homes and businesses to the ground and killing at least 300 Black Americans. Long misrepresented as a race riot rather than mass murder, the Tulsa Race Massacre becomes one of the bloodiest incidents of racial violence in American history.

1962 – The architect of the Holocaust is executed in Israel. Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer who organized Adolf Hitler’s “final solution of the Jewish question,” hangs for his crimes against humanity.

1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline is completed. Built after the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States, it is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world.

1996 – Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres is narrowly defeated in national elections by Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Musical Milestones

1966 – British vocalist Lulu and actor Sidney Poitier begin shooting scenes for the movie “To Sir, With Love” at England’s Pinewood Studios. Poitier plays a teacher in London’s tough East End and Lulu is one of his students.

1969 – “Get Back,” by The Beatles with Billy Preston, is in the midst of a five-week ride on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

1975 – Freddy Fender claims the No. 1 slot on the singles chart with “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”

1980 – “Funkytown,” by Lipps Inc., is the No.1 single and holds the top spot for four weeks. The track, off the band’s “Mouth to Mouth” album, is considered the swan song for the disco era.

1997 – The sibling trio, Hanson, rules the pop chart with “MMMBop.”

2000 – Soul singer Johnnie Taylor dies of a heart attack shortly after his 62nd birthday. Taylor had been a member of The Highway QCs and The Five Echoes, and in 1957, replaced Sam Cooke in The Soul Stirrers. He is best known for his 1976 chart-topper, “Disco Lady.”

2008 – “Lollipop,” by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major, kicks off four weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100.