On this Day June 5 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1934 – Emmy-winning journalist and commentator Bill Moyers 1956 – Grammy-winning saxophonist Kenny G, born Kenny Gorelick 1964 – Best-selling author Rick Riordan (“Percy Jackson & the Olympians,” “The Kane Chronicles,” “The Maze of Bones”) 1967 – Actor Ron Livingston, best known for his roles in the movie “Office Space” and TV’s “Band of Brothers,” “The Practice” and “Sex and the City” 1971 – Actor-producer Mark Wahlberg, whose career began as lead singer of the rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (“Boogie Nights,” “Planet of the Apes,” “The Italian Job,” “The Departed,” “Max Payne,” “The Fighter,” “Ted,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Deepwater Horizon,” “Patriots Day,” “Instant Family”) 1974 – Actor Chad Allen (“Our House,” “My Two Dads,” “Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman”) History Highlights 1933 – The U.S. goes off the gold standard, a monetary system in which currency is backed by gold, when Congress enacts a joint resolution nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold. 1967 – Israel responds to an ominous build-up of Arab forces along its borders by launching simultaneous attacks against Egypt and Syria. And so begins the Six-Day War. 1968 – Senator Robert Kennedy is fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. He is just 42, four years younger than his brother, President John F. Kennedy, when he was assassinated in November 1963. 1981 – The “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that five people in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS. 1998 – More than 3,400 unionized General Motors (GM) workers at a Flint, Michigan plant begin a 54-day strike — the longest walkout at GM in nearly three decades. Later joined by more than 5,000 workers from a nearby plant, the strike causes parts shortages that force some 30 GM assembly plants to shut down. 2004 – Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor who became one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century and transformed the political landscape of an era with his vision of conservative government, dies at age 93 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. 2012 – Prolific science fiction author Ray Bradbury, whose books include such classics as “The Martian Chronicles,” “Fahrenheit 451” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” dies at the age of 91. Musical Milestones 1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, “Hound Dog,” on “The Milton Berle Show,” shocking a national TV audience with his suggestive hip movements. 1961 – Roy Orbison claims the top spot on the pop chart for a week with “Running Scared.” 1965 – The Beach Boys are at No. 1 on the singles chart for a second and final week with “Help Me, Rhonda.” 1976 – “Love Hangover,” by Diana Ross, begins its second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1983 – During a 48-date North American tour, U2 plays at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver. The show is recorded and released as “U2 Live At Red Rocks: Under A Blood Red Sky.” 1993 – Janet Jackson is midway through an eight-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “That’s The Way Love Goes,” off her album “janet.” 1999 – Ricky Martin enjoys his fifth and final week as king of the pop chart with “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” The track picks up four Grammy nominations and helps ignite the Latin pop explosion. 2005 – Topping the Billboard Hot 100 for a third straight week is Usher with “Burn.” READ MORE
On This Day April 3 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1924 – Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando (“A Streetcar Named Desire,” “On The Waterfront,” “The Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”) (d. 2004) 1924 – Golden Globe and Grammy-winning actress and singer Doris Day (“Sentimental Journey,” “Pillow Talk,” “The Doris Day Show”) (d. 2019) 1934 – Primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, best known for her extensive studies of chimpanzees in their African habitat 1958 – Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and frequent “SNL” host Alec Baldwin (“Beetlejuice,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “The Cooler,” “The Departed,” “It’s Complicated,” “30 Rock”) 1961 – Golden Globe-winning actor, comedian, singer and “SNL” alum Eddie Murphy (“48 Hours,” “Trading Places,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Coming to America,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Shrek,” “Dreamgirls”) 1986 – TV and film actress Amanda Bynes (“The Amanda Show,” “What a Girl Wants,” “Hairspray”) History Highlights 1860 – The Pony Express launches, with horse and rider relay teams simultaneously leaving St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California as part of a new effort to speed up U.S. mail delivery. 1948 – President Harry S. Truman signs the Economic Recovery Act of 1948 — later known as the Marshall Plan — which would foster the recovery of war-torn Europe. 1968 – Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic, “2001: A Space Odyssey” — regularly voted as one of the greatest movies ever made, but whose philosophical meaning most fans cannot explain — opens in theaters around the U.S. 1968 – Another sci-fi classic opens at U.S. theaters. It’s “Planet of the Apes,” starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Maurice Evans. It’s the story about an astronaut crew that crash-lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes rule and humans are oppressed and enslaved. 1974 – More than 140 tornadoes rip through 11 states within 16 hours. The “Super Tornado Outbreak” kills 330 people and injures more than 6,000 others. 1978 – At the 50th annual Academy Awards, Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” wins the Oscar for Best Picture, beating out George Lucas’ “Star Wars.” 1986 – IBM unveils its first laptop computer. The 5140 “Convertible” retails for $1,995 and weighs 13 pounds. 1996 – FBI agents arrest accused Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski at his rural Montana cabin. Kaczynski was linked to 16 mail bombs that killed three people and injured 23 others during an 18-year period. Musical Milestones 1956 – Elvis Presley is a guest on “The Milton Berle Show,” live from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in San Diego, California. He performs “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Shake Rattle And Roll” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” It is estimated that one out of every four Americans watched the program. 1961 – The Marcels start a three-week run on top of the singles chart with their doo-wop rendition of the Rodgers and Hart song, “Blue Moon.” 1971 – The Temptations score their second No. 1 single with “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” which holds the top spot for two weeks. 1971 – Six months after her death, Janis Joplin holds the top spot on the Billboard album chart with “Pearl,” which features her smash, “Me and Bobby McGee.” The album remains at No. 1 for nine weeks. 1976 – “Disco Lady,” by the so-called ‘Philosopher of Soul,’ Johnnie Taylor, is No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart and remains there for four weeks. 1982 – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts are in the middle of a seven-week domination of the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” 1990 – Grammy-winning jazz singer and pianist Sarah Vaughan, considered one of the greatest vocalists of the 20th century, dies of lung cancer at the age of 66. READ MORE
On this Day June 5 Click each item below to learn more! Celebrity Birthdays 1934 – Emmy-winning journalist and commentator Bill Moyers 1956 – Grammy-winning saxophonist Kenny G, born Kenny Gorelick 1964 – Best-selling author Rick Riordan (“Percy Jackson & the Olympians,” “The Kane Chronicles,” “The Maze of Bones”) 1971 – Actor-producer Mark Wahlberg, whose career began as lead singer of the rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (“Boogie Nights,” “Planet of the Apes,” “The Italian Job,” “The Departed,” “Max Payne,” “The Fighter,” “Ted,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Deepwater Horizon,” “Patriots Day”) 1974 – Actor Chad Allen (“Our House,” “My Two Dads,” “Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman”) History Highlights 1967 – Israel responds to an ominous build-up of Arab forces along its borders by launching simultaneous attacks against Egypt and Syria. And so begins the Six-Day War. 1968 – Senator Robert Kennedy is fatally shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. He is just 42, four years younger than his brother, President John F. Kennedy, when he was assassinated in November 1963. 1981 – The “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that five people in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS. 2004 – Ronald Reagan, the Hollywood actor who became one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century and transformed the political landscape of an era with his vision of conservative government, dies at age 93 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. 2012 – Prolific science fiction author Ray Bradbury, whose books include such classics as “The Martian Chronicles,” “Fahrenheit 451” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” dies at the age of 91. Musical Milestones 1956 – Elvis Presley introduces his new single, “Hound Dog,” on “The Milton Berle Show,” shocking a national TV audience with his suggestive hip movements. 1961 – Roy Orbison claims the top spot on the pop chart for a week with “Running Scared.” 1965 – The Beach Boys are at No. 1 on the singles chart for a second and final week with “Help Me, Rhonda.” 1976 – “Love Hangover,” by Diana Ross, begins its second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 1983 – During a 48-date North American tour, U2 plays at Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver. The show is recorded and released as “U2 Live At Red Rocks: Under A Blood Red Sky.” 1993 – Janet Jackson is mid-way through an eight-week ride atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “That’s The Way Love Goes,” off her album “janet.” 1999 – Ricky Martin enjoys his fifth and final week as king of the pop chart with “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” 2005 – Topping the Billboard Hot 100 for a third straight week is Usher with “Burn.” READ MORE