On This Day: April 20

On This Day April 20

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1909 – Legendary jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (d. 2002)

1937 – Actor and LGBTQ rights advocate George Takei, best known as Lieutenant Sulu from the “Star Trek” TV and movie series

1941 – Actor Ryan O’Neal (“Love Story,” “What’s Up Doc,” “Paper Moon,” “The Main Event”)  

1949 – Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe-winning actress Jessica Lange (“King Kong,” “Tootsie,” “Frances,” “Country,” “Grey Gardens,” “American Horror Story,” “Feud”)  

1951 – Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Luther Vandross (“Never Too Much,” “Here and Now,” “Any Love,” “Power of Love/Love Power,” “Dance with My Father”) (d. 2005)

1964 – Actor Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy and Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. He also had roles in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”,”Star Wars: The Last Jedi”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Black Panther”

1964 – Actor Crispin Glover, best known for playing George McFly in the “Back to the Future” movie franchise 

1972 – Model-turned-actress and reality TV star Carmen Electra (“Baywatch,” “Meet the Spartans,” “Epic Movie,” “Cheaper by the Dozen 2”)

History Highlights
History Highlights

1912 – With 27,000 people in the stands, the Boston Red Sox play their first game at Fenway Park and defeat the New York Highlanders (later renamed the Yankees) by a score of 7-6 in 11 innings. 

1916 – The first National League game played at Chicago’s Wrigley Field (then Weeghman Park) sees the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings. A bear cub is in attendance at the ballpark, which becomes known as Cubs Park in 1920 after the Wrigley family purchases the team from Weeghman. It is named Wrigley Field in 1926 in honor of William Wrigley Jr., the club’s owner.

1971 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the practice of busing to desegregate schools, ruling in the case of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. Two years later, the high court makes a second ruling restricting the use of busing, concluding that students could only be bused across district lines if there was evidence that multiple districts had implemented deliberately discriminatory policies.

1977 – The comedy “Annie Hall” opens, starring director Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. The film goes on to win Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

1980 – The Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana, launching the Mariel Boatlift.

1999 – The school day at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado is shattered by deadly gunfire. Two seniors fatally shoot 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Twenty-three others are injured in what ushers in a wave of U.S. school shootings over the next two decades.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1957 – Elvis Presley is on top of Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores chart for a second week with “All Shook Up.” The track remains at No. 1 for eight weeks and becomes the biggest single of 1957, selling more than two million copies.

1963 – The Chiffons wrap up a four-week domination of the pop chart with “He’s So Fine.”

1968 – “Honey,” by Bobby Goldsboro, is in the middle of a five-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1970 – The New York Times reports that Catholic and Protestant youth groups have adopted The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine as a religious symbol and formed so called “submarine churches.”  These churches featured the outline of a yellow submarine with a small cross on its periscope as their symbol. It is displayed alongside peace signs, flowers and other popular emblems of the period.

1974 – “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” by MFSB featuring the Three Degrees, claims the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. 

1991 – Wilson Phillips’ “You’re in Love” is No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

1996 – Céline Dion’s Grammy-winning “Because You Loved Me” continues a six-week ride atop the U.S. singles chart. The track is from the 1996 movie “Up Close and Personal,” starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer.

2002 – Ashanti launches a 10-week run on top of the pop chart with “Foolish,” off her self-titled debut album.

2013 – Bruno Mars kicks off a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “When I Was Your Man.”

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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 – The last episode of NBC’s “Knight Rider,” starring David Hasselhoff as private eye Michael Knight, airs on this day. 

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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