Today in history.

[ShadowThomas]

158th day of 2008 - 208 remaining.

Friday, June 6, 2008
PASSION PIT DAY.


The first U.S. drive-in to show movies was opened in Camden, New Jersey, on Crescent Boulevard, this night in 1933. Those first drive-in moviegoers got to see Wife Beware, a flick not destined to be a classic. The screen measured a huge 40 feet by 50 feet and was easily seen by everyone in the first cars in the front to the 500th car in the back row. Everyone (including the whole town) could hear the sound, too ... with a slight delay for the folks in the back row because the sound emanated from speakers mounted next to the screen. Admission was 25 cents per person plus 25 cents for the car, maximum $1.00.

As drive-in movies became popular throughout the country, families would regularly park their cars in the front rows so the kids in their PJs could play on the swings and monkey bars before the movie started. The rest parked wherever, since a good number of those moviegoers weren’t there to see the movie anyway!

The passion pits that dotted the country, some with in-car heaters and through-your-radio sound have all but disappeared, as TV, video cassettes and DVDs have made movie viewing more convenient. Those drive-ins that do remain, however, offer more than just all-day swap shops in their huge lots. Some have four or five, even six screens, showing first run films at about $7.00 per carload. (Those stowing away in the trunk will be tossed out of the theatre immediately.)

Be sure to visit the snack bar at intermission for the pizza with the mushroomy-rooms ... and try not to spill your drinks and popcorn while searching for your car ... and remember to remove the speaker from your side window before you drive off. The breaking glass kinda puts a damper on the passion...
More reading on this here, here, and here.
Events
June 6th.


1816 - Ten inches of wonderful wet, white snow fell this day in New England. It was one of the latest snowfalls ever (or maybe one of the earliest!) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

1833 - The first U.S. President to ride in a railroad car was Andrew Jackson. President Jackson boarded a B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) passenger train in Baltimore, MD.

1844 - The first YMCA was founded in London by George Williams, a young draper’s assistant who had come to London to learn the drapery trade. At that time, wholesale drapery houses employed large numbers of young men, who were given room and board at their work places. They worked long hours and had poor living conditions. Williams sought permission to hold prayer meetings in his bedroom with other young men who, like himself, shared the Christian faith. Soon, the group expanded, drawing to it young men who were alone and lonely in the City of London.

1882 - The first electric flatiron, or what we call the electric iron, was patented by Henry W. Seely of New York City. We bet he probably had the nicest pressed shirts in the neighborhood.

1904 - The National Tuberculosis Association was formed in Atlantic City, NJ.

1932 - The first U.S. federal tax on gasoline was enacted. The rate was a penny per gallon. Ride a bike. Save some money.

1938 - Stella Dallas was presented for the first time on the NBC Red radio network. The serial was “the true to life story of mother love and sacrifice.” Stella Dallas continued to do this and so much more until 1955.

1942 - Adeline Gray made the first nylon-parachute jump in Hartford, CT. It proved, no doubt, better and much more comfortable than the first cinder block-parachute jump...

1944 - CBS radio saluted America’s war doctors with The Doctor Fights, presented for the first time this day.

1944 - This was D-Day, the day thousands of Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy, France. Their objective: to open a second major European front in the battle against the Nazis. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of these united forces (and, who later became President of the United States) said, “This landing is but the opening phase of the campaign in Western Europe. Great battles lie ahead. I call upon all who love freedom to stand with us.”

1946 - New York City was the site of the formation of the Basketball Association of America.

1956 - Gogi Grant (born Audrey Brown) reached the top spot on the Billboard singles chart for the first and only time in her career. Her hit, The Wayward Wind, stayed at the top of the top-tune tabulation for eight weeks and on the music charts for 22 weeks. It was her second record release. The first, in October, 1955, was Suddenly There’s a Valley which climbed to number nine.

1962 - The Beatles auditioned for producer George Martin of EMI Records. After listening to a playback of the audition tapes, Martin said, “They’re pretty awful.” He changed his mind after meeting the group, however. The rest, of course, is rock-music history.

1971 - For the last time, we saw Polish dancing bears, a little mouse named Topo Gigio, remembered The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, the comedy of Jackie Mason, John Byner, Rich Little, Richard Pryor and so many more, as The Ed Sullivan Show left CBS-TV. Gladys Knight and The Pips and singer Jerry Vale appeared on the final show. The Ed Sullivan Show had been a showcase for more than 20 years for artists who ranged from Ethel Merman to Ella Fitzgerald, from Steve and Eydie to the Beatles. The Ed Sullivan Show was the longest running variety show on TV -- a “rillly big sheeeew.”

1973 - Barry White was awarded a gold record for I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby. It was his first hit and his first of five number one million-sellers. White began recording in 1960. He formed the group, Love Unlimited, in 1969 and married one of the group’s singers, Glodean James. He also formed the 40-piece Love Unlimited Orchestra which had the number-one hit, Love’s Theme in 1973. I’m Casey Kasem. Now back to the count down...

1978 - Proposition 13 passed in California. Voters joined Senator Howard Jarvis in cutting property taxes by 57 percent. This was seen as the birth of a taxpayer’s revolt against high taxes and excessive government spending.

1978 - The ABC-TV newsmagazine 20/20 debuted. Producer Bob Shanks, realizing that the first show was a disaster, fired the co-hosts, magazine editor Harold Hayes and Australian art critic Robert Hughes. The next week, Shanks tapped former Today and Concentration host Hugh Downs, formerly of NBC, to take over the show.

1987 - Steffi Graf beat Martina Navratilova and won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in Paris. She is the only player in tennis history to win each of the four Grand Slam titles at least four times [Wimbledon: 7, French Open: 6, U.S. Open: 5, Australian Open: 4].

1994 - U.S. President Bill Clinton and other dignitaries from around the world visited Normandy, France. Many D-Day veterans joined them to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Operation Overlord and to pay respect to the thousands who died there in World War II.

1998 - The Boy is Mine, by Brandy and Monica, zoomed to number 1 on the Billboard pop chart. It ruled the Hot 100 roost for 13 weeks -- putting it in the top ten of longest-running #1 singles in the modern rock era.

Birthdays
June 6th.

1606 - Pierre Corneille
playwright: Cinna, Le Cid, L’illusion Comique; died Oct 1, 1684

1755 - Nathan Hale
American patriot & Revolutionary War military officer: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”; arrested [Sep 20, 1776] by British troups while spying for General George Washington; executed Sep 22, 1776 at age 21 [by order of British General William Howe]

1756 - John Trumbull
artist: painter of the Revolution: The Battle of Bunker Hill, The Surrender of Cornwallis, The Declaration of Independence; son of colonial Connecticut’s governor; died Nov 10, 1843

1799 - Aleksandr Pushkin
poet: Boris Gudunov, Eugene Onegin; died Feb 10, 1837

1875 - Thomas Mann
author: Little Herr Friedemann, Royal Highness, Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man, Death in Venice, Reflections of an Unpolitical Man, Order of fhe Day, Disorder and Early Sorrow, Mario and the Magician; died Aug 12, 1955

1891 - Ted Lewis (Theodore Leopold Friedman)
clarinettist, singer, bandleader: Ted Lewis & His Band: Somebody Stole My Gal, Alexander’s Ragtime Band; died Aug 25, 1971

1898 - Walter Abel
actor: Raintree County, Mirage, Quick Let’s Get Married, 13 Rue Madeleine, Wake Island, Silent Night Bloody Night, Kid from Brooklyn, Holiday Inn, The Indian Fighter; died Mar 26, 1987

1903 - Aram (Ilyich) Khachaturyan
musician, composer: Sabre Dance, Spartacus; died May 1, 1978

1907 - Bill (William Malcolm) Dickey
Baseball Hall of Famer: catcher: NY Yankees catcher [1928-1946: played in 38 World Series games: 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943/all-star: 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946/record: caught 100 or more games 13 years in a row]; died Nov 12, 1993

1909 - Isaiah Berlin
philosopher, historian; died Nov 5, 1997

1926 - Tom Ryan
cartoonist: Tumbleweeds

1932 - David R. Scott
NASA astronaut: flew on Gemini 8, Command Module pilot [Apollo 9], walked and drove first Lunar Rover on the moon as commander of Apollo 15

1932 - Billie Whitelaw
actress: Frenzy, The Dressmaker, The Secret Garden, The Omen, Masterpiece Theatre productions

1934 - Roy Innes
civil rights leader: National Chairman of Congress of Racial Equality [CORE]

1935 - Jon Henricks
swimmer: Univ of Southern California, Olympic Gold Medalist: Melbourne: 2 gold [1956], Rome: 2 gold [1960]

1935 - Bobby Mitchell
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Cleveland Browns running back; Washington Redskins wide receiver: 1st black player for Washington; All Pro [1962, 1964]; four Pro Bowls

1936 - Levi Stubbs (Stubbles)
lead singer: group: The Four Tops: Baby I Need Your Loving, I Can’t Help Myself, Reach Out I’ll be There, Standing in the Shadows of Love, Seven Rooms of Gloom, Bernadette

1939 - Gary U.S. Bonds (Anderson)
singer: Quarter to Three, New Orleans, Rendezvous, Come on Let’s Go

1939 - Ed (Edward) Giacomin
Hockey Hall of Fame goalie: NHL: NY Rangers [Vezina Trophy winner: 1970-71], Detroit Red Wings

1941 - Marshall Johnston
hockey: Univ. of Denver [NCAA Championship team: 1961], Canadian Olympic Team [1964, 1968]; NHL: Minnesota North Stars, California Golden Seals; coach: California Golden Seals, Denver Univ., Colorado Rockies, NJ Devils, NY Islanders, Ottawa Senators

1943 - Merv (Mervin Weldon) Rettenmund
baseball: Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1969, 1970, 1971], Cincinnati Reds [World Series: 1975], SD Padres, California Angels

1943 - Joe Stampley
country singer: Soul Song, There’s Another Woman, Whiskey Chasin’, Back Slidin’, Double Shot of My Baby’s Love

1944 - Peter Albin
musician: bass, guitar & vocals: group: Big Brother and The Holding Company: Piece of My Heart

1944 - Monty Alexander
jazz musician: piano: So What?

1944 - Bud (Derrel McKinley) Harrelson
baseball: NY Mets [World Series: 1969, 1973/all-star: 1970, 1971], Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers

1945 - David Dukes
actor: War & Remembrance, The Winds of War, Sisters, The Men’s Club, Snow Kill, The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal, The Josephine Baker Story, Held Hostage; died Oct 9, 2000

1947 - Ada Kok
swimmer: Netherlands Olympic silver medalist Tokyo [1964]

1949 - Robert Englund
actor: A Nightmare on Elm Street [1-5], Hustle, A Star is Born, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

1954 - Harvey Fierstein
Tony Award-winning actor: Torch Song Trilogy [1983]; Mrs. Doubtfire, Bullets Over Broadway; and playwright: Torch Song Trilogy [1983]; La Cage aux Folles, Tidy Endings; actor: Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day

1955 - Sandra Bernhard
comedienne, actress: Roseanne, The Richard Pryor Show, Comedy Central: The A-List, The Late Shift, Hudson Hawk, King of Comedy

1956 - Bjorn Borg
tennis champ: French Open [1974-1975, 1978-1981], Wimbledon [1976-1980]

1959 - Amanda Pays
actress: Exposure, Dead on the Money, Leviathan, Off Limits, The Kindred, Oxford Blues, Mad Headroom, The Flash

1960 - Steve Vai
musician: guitar: group: David Lee Roth Band: California Girls.

Chart Toppers
June 6th.

1949 Riders in the Sky - Vaughn Monroe
Again - Doris Day
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Lovesick Blues - Hank Williams

1957 Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
A Teenagers Romance/I’m Walkin’ - Ricky Nelson
A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation) - Marty Robbins
Four Walls - Jim Reeves

1965 Help Me, Rhonda - The Beach Boys
Wooly Bully - Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs
Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley
What’s He Doing in My World - Eddy Arnold

1973 My Love - Paul McCartney & Wings
Daniel - Elton John
Pillow Talk - Sylvia
Satin Sheets - Jeanne Pruett

1981 Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Being with You - Smokey Robinson
Stars on 45 medley - Stars on 45
Friends - Razzy Bailey

1989 Rock On - Michael Damian
Soldier of Love - Donny Osmond
Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
Where Did I Go Wrong - Steve Wariner


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

159th day of 2008 - 207 remaining.

Saturday, June 7, 2008
$64,000 QUESTION DAY.


The $64,000 Question, a 1955 summer replacement show, with host Hal March, premiered on this day. The first show became the most watched and talked about program on TV. Contestants had to answer 10 questions correctly beginning at $64 and doubling the amount with each correct answer upward to the $4,000 category. Getting this far got you a return trip to the show the following week. The consolation prize for an incorrect answer, after reaching the $8,000 plateau, was a new Cadillac. At this level, you got a free trip to the Revlon isolation booth where you literally sweated your way from $8,000 to $16,000 to $32,000, and finally, the big one. An expert was permitted to accompany the contestant at the $64,000 mark. If neither of them could answer the question correctly, the contestant received a consolation prize of $4,000. Questions were compiled by Dr. Bergen Evans.

This, the first of the big-money TV shows, attracted guests with unusual interests. Some of the better-remembered were Gino Prato, a Bronx, New York shoemaker who used his knowledge of opera to win $32,000, Jockey Billy Pearson, an art expert and one of the first to win $64,000, and psychologist Joyce Brothers, an expert in boxing, who won big not only in cash, but in her new career as media personality.

The biggest winner was 11-year-old Robert Strom, who won $192,000 (The $64,000 Question had added three new plateaus and several spin-off quiz shows: The $64,000 Challenge and The Big Surprise).

On November 2, 1958 we witnessed the demise of The $64,000 Question as the quiz-show-rigging scandal ended this type of show. The real $64,000 question will always be: was the show rigged or not?
More reading here.
Events
June 7th.

1860 - The book, Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter by Mrs. Ann Stevens, was offered for sale for a dime on this day. The 128 page book became the first ‘dime novel’.

1892 - J.F. Palmer of Chicago, IL patented the cord bicycle tire. Not quite a steel-belted radial for bikes, but a lot better than what had been called a tire, to be sure.

1892 - The first pinch-hitter in baseball was used in a game. “Now pinch hitting: Dirty Jack Doyle.” John Joseph ‘Jack’ Doyle played in a game between the Cleveland Spiders and Ward’s Wonders of Brooklyn, NY.

1909 - Actress Mary Pickford made her motion picture debut in The Violin Maker of Cremona.

1937 - The cover of LIFE magazine showed the latest in campus fashions of the times which included saddle shoes.

1939 - Larry Clinton and his orchestra recorded In a Persian Market on Victor Records.

1945 - The NBC radio program The Adventures of Topper was heard for the first time. Later, the popular program would move to TV and continue with rave reviews.

1953 - Kukla, Fran (Allison) and Ollie, along with the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler, were featured on the first network telecast in ‘compatible color’. The program was broadcast from Boston, MA.

1955 - NBC radio presented The Lux Radio Theatre for the final time. The program had aired for 21 years.

1965 - Sony Corporation unveiled its first consumer 1/2-inch format helical scan VTR (video tape recorder). It was priced under $3000 (and only in black & white, yet). 1969 - The rock group Blind Faith made its British debut at a free concert at London’s Hyde Park. Over 100,000 fans attended what was called “the most remarkable gathering of young people ever seen in England.” The group was composed of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Stevie Winwood and Rick Grech.

1974 - The Entertainer, the original music from the motion picture The Sting, earned a gold record for pianist and conductor, Marvin Hamlisch.

1976 - NBC Nightly News, with John Chancellor and David Brinkley, aired for the first time. The partnership lasted until Brinkley moved to ABC News. Chancellor then held the lone, anchor spot until retiring.

1985 - Sylvester Stallone was “The modern John Wayne,” according to the movie wizards at USA Today. They referred to Sly as “The macho male.” The comment came on the release of the Stallone flick, Rambo: First Blood, Part II.

1985 - Kevin Koch quit as the Pirate Parrot, the mascot of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He felt his feathers had been ruffled enough, since 1970.

1996 - The Rock, starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris, was released in the U.S. Harris plays Brigadier General Francis Xavier Hummel, whose commandos seize control of Alcatraz Island and hold a group of tourists hostage. Cage plays FBI nerve-gas weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed, who is called in to disarm Hummel's rockets before they can be fired at San Francisco. Connery is federal prisoner John Patrick Mason, who knows his way around Alcatraz, having been the only prisoner to have successfully escaped the joint. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced flick got favorable reviews (especially among action-movie buffs) and brought in a solid $25.07 million at the box office its opening weekend.

Birthdays
June 7th.

1778 - Beau (George Bryan) Brummel
English men’s fashion leader; died Mar 29, 1840

1848 - (Eugene Henri) Paul Gauguin
artist: The Yellow Christ, Where Do We Come From? Where Are We? Where Are We Going?; died May 8, 1903

1909 - Virginia Apgar
physician: the Apgar Score System: method of evaluation of newborns’ need for medical care; died Aug 7, 1974

1909 - Jessica Tandy
Academy Award-winning actress: Driving Miss Daisy [1989]; Cocoon, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Birds, Forever Amber, Used People, Camilla; performed on Broadway with husband, Hume Cronyn; died Sep 11, 1994

1917 - Gwendolyn Brooks
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet: Annie Allen [1950]; We Real Cool, The Bean Eaters, Winnie, Coming Home; died Dec 3, 2000

1917 - Dean Martin (Dino Crocetti)
straight man of comedy-team: Martin and Lewis; singer: Memories are Made of This, Return to Me, Everybody Loves Somebody, The Door is Still Open to My Heart, Houston; actor: My Friend Irma, Hollywood or Bust, Airport, Bells are Ringing, The Caddy, Cannonball Run, Ocean’s 11, Rio Bravo; died Dec 25, 1995

1919 - Ray Scherer
newsman: NBC: White House correspondent; author w/Robert Donovan]: Unsilent Revolution: Television News and AmericanPublic Life; died July 7, 2000

1924 - Dolores Gray
actress: The Buick Circus Hour, The Opposite Sex, Kismet, Designing Woman; died June 26, 2002

1928 - James Ivory
director: Jefferson in Paris, The Remains of the Day, Howard’s End, A Room with a View, The Bostonians, Roseland, Wild Party, The Householder

1928 - Randolph Turpin
boxer: Middleweight Champ [1951]; killed May 16, 1966 [shot to death]

1928 - Charles Strouse
musician: composer: Golden Boy; TV/films: The Mating Game, Bye Bye Birdie, Bonnie and Clyde, All in the Family, Annie, A Child’s Garden of Verses

1929 - John Turner
17th Prime Minister of Canada [1984]

1931 - Virginia McKenna
actress: Duel of Hearts, Born Free, The Chosen, Simba

1934 - Wynn Stewart
singer: It’s Such a Pretty World Today, Wishful Thinking, After the Storm; died July 17, 1985

1940 - Tom Jones (Thomas Jones Woodward)
The Prince of Wales: Grammy Award-winning singer [Best New Artist - 1965]: It’s Not Unusual, She’s a Lady, What’s New Pussycat?, I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, Without Love, Delilah, Love Me Tonight, Green Green Grass of Home, Sex Bomb

1943 - Nikki Giovanni (Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr.)
poet: The Women and the Men, My House

1943 - Ken Osmond
actor: Leave It to Beaver, High School U.S.A.

1944 - Cazzie Russell
basketball: forward & guard: NY Knicks, Golden State Warriors, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls

1947 - Don (Donald Wayne ‘Brooks’) Money
baseball: Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers [all-star: 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978/World Series: 1982]

1947 - Thurman (Lee) Munson
baseball: catcher: NY Yankees [Rookie of the Year: 1970/all-star: 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978/World Series: 1976, 1977, 1978], Baseball Writer’s Award [1976]; killed in plane crash at Akron-Canton [Ohio] Airport Aug 2, 1979

1952 - Liam Neeson
actor: Excalibur, The Dead Pool, Ethan Frome, Schindler’s List, Rob Roy, Les Misérables, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

1958 - Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson)
The Artist Previously Known as Prince: musician, singer: I Wanna be Your Lover, When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, Kiss; actor: Purple Rain, Under the Cherry Moon, Graffiti Bridge

1964 - Gia Carides
actress: Primary Colors, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, A Secret Affair

1965 - Mick (Michael Francis) Foley
pro wresler, actor: WCW Saturday Night, WWF Monday Night RAW, Wrestlemania series, WWF Armageddon

1967 - David M. Navarro
musician: guitar: Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers: LP: One Hot Minute

1970 - Mike Modano
hockey: Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars

1972 - Chris Martin
actor: Madison, Amazon, The Girls’ Room

1975 - Allen Iverson
basketball: Georgetown Univ, Philadelphia 76ers [rookie of the year: 1996-1997]

1976 - Cassidy Rae
actress: Melrose Place, Just Shoot Me, Days of Our Lives, Favorite Deadly Sins, Journey of the Heart

1981 - Anna Kournikova
tennis: champ: US Open [doubles: 1999]

1981 - Larisa Oleynik
actress: 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Ten Things I Hate About You.

Chart Toppers
June 7th.

1950 My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
Bewitched - The Bill Snyder Orchestra
The Third Man Theme - The Guy Lombardo Orchestra
Birmingham Bounce - Red Foley

1958 The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Secretly - Jimmie Rodgers
Do You Want to Dance - Bobby Freeman
All I Have to Do is Dream - The Everly Brothers

1966 When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders
Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Distant Drums - Jim Reeves

1974 The Streak - Ray Stevens
Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings
You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics
Pure Love - Ronnie Milsap

1982 Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder
Don’t Talk to Strangers - Rick Springfield
I’ve Never Been to Me - Charlene
Finally - T.G. Sheppard

1990 Vogue - Madonna
All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You - Heart
Hold On - Wilson Phillips
I’ve Cried My Last Tear for You - Ricky Van Shelton


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

160th day of 2008 - 206 remaining.

Sunday, June 8, 2008
MR. TELEVISION DAY.


It was a long trip from silent films and vaudeville, from Broadway and radio to this day in 1948 when Mr. Television was born.

It was the beginning of the television era, and an actor, comedian, and vaudevillian named Milton Berle was the first host of Texaco Star Theater. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was destined to become TV’s first and biggest star. Others hosted the show during the summer, but Berle made the cut, becoming the permanent emcee, staying in the spotlight for another eighteen years.

Milton Berle quickly became a national institution known as Mr. Television. He was undoubtedly responsible for selling millions of TV sets, ultimately making TV the most popular form of entertainment in America. People bought the new contraption just to see the zany comedian on Tuesday night on the NBC network. Shops, restaurants and streets emptied out throughout America as folks rushed home to see the Texaco Star Theater.

The show’s format included the four Texaco Service Men singing the Texaco jingle which then worked into a musical introduction of Milton Berle. He would come on stage at this point, dressed in some outlandish costume. And the show went on... Berle would end each variety show (similar to an old-fashioned vaudeville variety hour) by singing his theme song, Near You.

The format evolved over the years, but Milton Berle, known fondly as Uncle Miltie, stayed the consummate entertainer. Berle has written songs and books, won many awards including one of the first Emmys awarded to a performer [1950]. The entertainer has given more charity performances than any other in show biz.

Mr. Television ... Uncle Miltie ... Milton Berle made us laugh till tears ran down our faces. Those were simpler times. Those were the days...
More here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Events
June 8th.

1783 - Iceland’s Laki volcano blew its top and continued to spew lava for eight more months. This, one of the most violent of volcanic eruptions, killed 9,350 people and caused a famine which lasted until 1790.

1786 - Commercial ice cream was manufactured for the first time -- in New York City.

1808 - The Phoenix, the largest ocean-going steamboat in the world, left New York Harbor for Philadelphia, PA. It was the first ocean voyage ever taken by a steamboat. John Stevens built the mammoth boat.

1869 - Ives W. McGaffey of Chicago, IL received a U.S. patent for the suction vacuum cleaner. “You can be sure, if it’s McGaffey!”

1872 - A little-remembered piece of history happened on this day: The U.S. Congress authorized the penny postal card.

1927 - Paul Whiteman and his orchestra recorded When Day is Done on Victor Records. Listen to a CD version of the hits of the great bandleader and you’ll hear Henry Busse featured on the trumpet.

1928 - WGY-TV in Schenectady, NY revamped its regular program schedule. While continuing to broadcast three days a week, there were two times each day that viewers could watch TV: 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. and 11:30 to Midnight. In between those hours we used to sit around and stare at the snow on the screen -- hoping against hope that something would come on.

1942 - The comic soap opera Clara, Lu ’n Em was revived on CBS radio (the original show began in 1931 on NBC). Clara, Lu and Em were together again for just a short while before vanishing into radio oblivion.

1947 - Lassie debuted on ABC radio. It was a 15-minute show about an extraordinary collie. Animal imitator, Earl Keen provided the whines and other dog noises. The announcer was Charles Lyon; Marvin Miller and Betty Arnold played Lassie’s owners. The sponsor was Red Heart dog food.

1950 - The Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Browns, 19-4, as Sox fans witnessed a one-game baseball scoring record. Al Zarilla of Boston got four doubles in the game.

1961 - A major-league baseball record was set. Four Milwaukee Braves batters hit consecutive home runs in the seventh inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

1968 - LA Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale’s major-league streak of scoreless innings pitched, was stopped at 58-2/3 as Howie Bedell, of the Philadelphia Phillies, hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. The Dodgers did go on to beat the Phillies 5-3 that day. The Drysdale record stood until 1987, when it was broken by Orel Hersheiser, also of the Dodgers (at that time).

1969 - Yankee Stadium in New York City was sold out as Number 7, Mickey Mantle, formally retired from baseball.

1969 - NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced that a single-league schedule would replace the separate NFL and AFL schedules in 1970.

1973 - Johnny Unitas signed a two-year contract to play out his football career with the San Diego Chargers. Unitas had quarterbacked the Baltimore Colts for 16 NFL seasons in some of the most exciting pro football ever seen.

1985 - Jockey Eddie Maple rode Creme Fraiche to victory in the Belmont Stakes, marking the fourth consecutive winner for trainer Woody Stephens. The win marked the highest number of successive Belmont wins since R.W. Walden captured his fifth Belmont Stakes win in 1882.

1998 - Actor Charlton Heston formally assumed the presidency of the National Rifle Association. He vowed to use his star power to communicate the message that NRA members are regular, all-American folk. “At least that's a skill I have, and my public face is useful, too,” Heston said.

Birthdays
June 8th.


1810 - Robert Schumann
composer: Symphonic Etudes, Fantasia in C Major, Concerto in A Minor; died July 29, 1856

1847 - Ida McKinley (Saxton)
First Lady: wife of 25th U.S. President, William McKinley; died May 26, 1907

1867 - Frank Lloyd Wright
architect: Pennsylvania’s Falling Water, NYC’s Guggenheim Museum; “No house should be on any hill or on anything, it should be of the hill, belonging to it ...”; died Apr 9, 1959

1917 - Byron (Whizzer) White
football: Univ. of Colorado All-American [1937], NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers; associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court [1962-1993]; died Apr 15, 2002

1918 - Robert Preston (Meservey)
actor: Victor Victoria, The Music Man, How the West was Won, Mame, Semi-Tough; died Mar 21, 1987

1921 - Alexis (Gladys) Smith
actress: The Age of Innocence, The Young Philadelphians, Rhapsody in Blue; died June 9, 1993

1923 - George Kirby
comedian, impressionist: The George Kirby Show, ABC Comedy Hour; died Sep 30, 1995

1925 - Barbara Bush (Pierce)
First Lady: wife of 41st President of the U.S., George Bush

1927 - Jerry Stiller
comedian: Stiller and (Anne) Meara; actor: Seinfeld, The King of Queens, Hairspray, Tattingers, The Paul Lynde Show; father of actor Ben Stiller

1931 - Dana Wynter (Dagmar Winter)
actress: Airport, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Sink the Bismarck

1933 - Joan Rivers (Joan Alexandra Molinsky)
comedienne; author: Bouncing Back: I’ve Survived Everything... and I Mean Everything ...and You Can Too!; TV host: The Tonight Show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers; “Can we talk?”

1936 - James Darren (Ercolani)
singer: Goodbye Cruel World, Her Royal Majesty; actor: The Guns of Navarone, Because They’re Young, Gidget; host: Time Tunnel

1939 - Bernie Casey
actor: Roots: The Next Generation, The Bay City Blues, In the Mouth of Madness, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Rent-A- Cop, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Backfire, Revenge of the Nerds, Never Say Never Again, Sharky’s Machine, The Martian Chronicles series; football player

1940 - Nancy Sinatra
singer: These Boots Are Made For Walkin’, Sugar Town, Somethin’ Stupid [w/pop, Frank], Jackson [w/Lee Hazelwood]; actress: The Wild Angels, Speedway

1942 - Chuck Negron
singer: group: Three Dog Night: Joy to the World, Black and White, One, Easy to Be Hard, Eli’s Coming, Mama Told Me Not to Come, An Old Fashioned Love Song, Shambala

1943 - Willie Davenport
Olympic Gold Medalist: 110 meter hurdles [1968], bronze medalist [1976]; National Track & Field Hall of Famer: 60-yard hurdles champion [1966, 67, 69, 70, 71]

1944 - Mark (Henry) Belanger
baseball: shortstop: Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979/all-star:1976], LA Dodgers

1944 - Don Grady (Agrati)
actor: My Three Sons, Mickey Mouse Club

1944 - Boz (William) Scaggs
musician, singer: Lowdown, Lido Shuffle, Miss Sun, Look What You’ve Done to Me; songwriter: Silk Degrees, Middle Man

1947 - Mick Box
musician: guitar, songwriter: group: Uriah Heep: Gypsy, Salisbury, July Morning, Easy Livin’

1947 - Sara Paretsky
writer: Burn Marks, Killing Orders

1950 - Kathy Baker
Emmy Award-winning actress: Picket Fences [1992-1993, 1994-1995, 1995-1996]; Edward Scissorhands, Mad Dog and Glory, The Right Stuff, The Cider House Rules, Boston Public

1951 - Bonnie Tyler
singer: Total Eclipse of the Heart, It’s a Heartache

1955 - Griffin Dunne
actor: The Android Affair, Quiz Show, Love Matters, Straight Talk, Big Blue, Amazon Women on the Moon, Johnny Dangerously, An American Werewolf in London, The Other Side of the Mountain; producer: Head Over Heels, Running on Empty, White Palace, Joe’s Apartment

1956 - Russell Christian
sax, keyboards, vocals: group: The Christians: LPs: The Christians, Colour, Happy in Hell

1958 - Keenan Ivory Wayans
Emmy Award-winning producer: In Living Color [1990]; actor, writer, director: In Living Color, A Low Down Dirty Shame, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Hollywood Shuffle; actor: For Love and Honor

1960 - Mick ‘Red’ Hucknall
singer: group: Simply Red: Money’s Too Tight to Mention, Holding Back the Years, The Right Thing

1962 - Nick Rhodes (Bates)
musician: keyboards: group: Duran Duran: Planet Earth, Hungry like the Wolf, Save a Prayer, Rio, Is There Something I Should Know, Union of the Snake, Wild Boys

1965 - Neil Mitchell
musician: keyboards: group: Wet Wet Wet: Love Is All Around, Angel Eyes, Goodnight Girl, With a Little Help From My Friends, Sweet Surrender

1965 - Robert Pilatus
performer, lip-syncer: group: Milli Vanilli: Girl You Know It’s True, Blame It on the Rain; died Apr 2, 1998

1966 - Julianna Margulies
actress: ER, The Newton Boys, What's Cooking?, The Mists of Avalon

1966 - Doris Pearson
singer: group: Five Star: The Love You Bring to Me, Some Kind of Magic, Surely, I Give You Give

1967 - Dan Futterman
actor: Judging Amy, The Fisher King, Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even, Another World, Shooting Fish, Urbania

1970 - Kelli Williams
actress: The Practice, Zapped Again!, Switched at Birth

1976 - Lindsay Davenport
tennis: champ: fourth player since computer rankings began [1977] to simultaneously hold world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles [joining Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Martina Hingis]

Chart Toppers
June 8th.

1951 Too Young - Nat King Cole
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
How High the Moon - Les Paul & Mary Ford
I Want to Be with You Always - Lefty Frizzell

1959 Dream Lover - Bobby Darin
Personality - Lloyd Price
Quiet Village - Martin Denny
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967 Respect - Aretha Franklin
Release Me (And Let Me Love Again) - Engelbert Humperdinck
Creeque Alley - The Mamas & The Papas
It’s Such a Pretty World Today - Wynn Stewart

1975 Thank God I’m a Country Boy - John Denver
Sister Golden Hair - America
Bad Time - Grand Funk
Window Up Above - Mickey Gilley

1983 Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Overkill - Men At Work
Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club
Lucille (You Won’t Do Your Daddy’s Will) - Waylon Jennings

1991 More Than Words - Extreme
I Wanna Sex You Up - Color Me Badd
Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Meet in the Middle - Diamond Rio


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

161st day of 2008 - 205 remaining.

Monday, June 9, 2008
DONALD DUCK DAY.


Walt Disney’s famous ducky made his first appearance (as a bit player) on film this day in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen. Donald Duck went on to quack his way into mischief and stardom in 127 cartoons and features before his final appearance in 1961. The irascible duck is known the world over and is the best-recognized Disney creation after Mickey Mouse.

His girlfriend, Daisy, was seen for the first time in 1937. Kids came later, in the form of nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie; along with Donald’s miserly uncle, Scrooge McDuck. All have appeared not only in films, but also in comic books and TV cartoons.

Donald’s distinctive quack was voiced originally by Clarence Nash. Quack, quack, quack...
Click, click.

Events
June 9th.


1790 - The first copyright for a book was given to The Philadelphia Spelling Book. We checked and found that spelling in the City of Brotherly Love is pretty much the same as it is in most other places -- only the accent is a bit different...

1890 - Oh Promise Me was sung by Jessie Bartlett Davis in the premiere of the operetta, Robin Hood, which opened at the Grand Opera House in Chicago, IL.

1899 - James J. Jeffries punched Bob ‘Ruby Robert’ Fitzsimmons into the next county via an 11th-round knockout at Coney Island, NY. Jeffries became heavyweight boxing champ as a result.

1924 - Jelly-Roll Blues was recorded by blues great Jelly Roll Morton and his band for Gennett Records.

1943 - The U.S. Congress authorized legislation giving the green light to a withholding tax on payrolls -- the pay-it-as-you-make-it income tax.

1946 - Mel Ott of the NY Giants became the first manager to receive this dubious honor: Ott was ejected from both games of a doubleheader!

1959 - The first Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarine was launched at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire. The USS George Washington (SSBN 598) was christened this day and served proudly until January 24, 1985. In November 1960, the George Washington became the first FBM sub to deploy on an operational patrol (with Polaris missiles on board and ready to fire).

1962 - A decade after making his first hit song, Because of You, singer Tony Bennett debuted in concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

1965 - Frenchman Michel Jazy ran the mile in 3 minutes, 53.6 seconds to break the 1964 record set by Peter Snell.

1970 - Bob Dylan received an honorary Doctorate in Music from Princeton University. Corretta Scott King (Doctor of Humanities) and Walter Lippman (Doctor of Laws) also received honorary degrees. Dylan wrote the song "Day of the Locust" about the event (it was the year the locusts invaded).

1973 - The first Triple Crown winner in 25 years of horse racing won the Belmont Stakes in New York. The thoroughbred that clinched horse racing’s most prestigious honor was Secretariat.

1975 - Tony Orlando and Dawn received a gold record for their hit song, He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You). The million-seller was number one for three weeks (May 3-17, 1975) and one of five million-sellers for the trio. (He Don’t Love You was originally a hit for Jerry Butler in 1960.)

1978 - Larry Holmes beat up Ken Norton to claim the heavyweight boxing title in a 15-round decision in Las Vegas, Nevada.

1980 - Comedian Richard Pryor was rushed to the hospital after suffering third-degree burns over most of his upper body. Pryor was nearly killed in an explosion while he was freebasing cocaine. Pryor was seen, ablaze, running down the street from his house before he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. He was hospitalized for more than two months following the debacle.

1985 - The Los Angeles Lakers edged the Boston Celtics, 111-100, to win their first National Basketball Association title in nine tries over the Celtics. The Lakers had been shut out of a championship series since 1959 when they were based in Minneapolis. The MVP of the winning Lakers was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1992 - Entertainer Ben Vereen was critically injured when he was struck by a van while walking along the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California. The driver, producer/composer David Foster, was not charged. Some hours earlier, Vereen had run into a tree while driving his own car. He blames that mishap for the later accident. He said, "I had hit my head on the steering wheel but felt fine. Later that evening as I was walking in Malibu, I had [a] stroke as a result of that accident." Vereen says he then stumbled into the roadway and was hit by the van. Talk about having a lousy day...

1996 - Linux v2.0 was released. 2.0 was a significant improvement over the earlier versions of the operating system that some experts say will become a competitor for MS Windows. Several ‘flavors’ of Linux have been developed as many in the computing world look for ways to wriggle free from the clutches of “Micro$oft” and its wealthy creator, Bill Gates.

Birthdays
June 9th.

1672 - Peter the Great (Peter Alekseyevich)
Piotr Alekseevich Romanov) (Peter I: Russian Czar [1682-1721], Emperor of Russia [1721-1725]; died Feb 8, 1725; note: these dates are based on the Gregorian calendar -- see May 30 for Julian calendar dates

1781 - George Stephenson
inventor: developer of steam locomotive; died Aug 12, 1848

1791 - John Howard Payne
composer, lyricist: The Maid of Milan, Home Sweet Home; died Apr 9, 1852

1865 - Carl Nielsen
composer: Maskarade; conductor: Danish Royal Opera [1908-1914]; director: Royal Conservatory [Copenhagen, 1915]; died Oct 3, 1931

1891 - Cole (Albert) Porter
composer & lyricist: Broadway shows: Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate, Can Can, Silk Stockings; songwriter: I’m in Love Again, Let’s Do It, You Do Something to Me, It’s De-Lovely, Night and Day, Don’t Fence Me In, What is This Thing Called Love, Love for Sale, I Get a Kick Out of You, Just One of Those Things, Begin the Beguine, I Love Paris, In the Still of the Night, True Love

1900 - Fred Waring
choirmaster & bandleader: group: The Pennsylvanians: The Whiffenpoof Song; invented Waring blender; died July 29, 1984

1908 - Luis Kutner
attorney: responsible for release of unjustly-held prisoners; wrote the living will concept; died Mar 12, 1993

1915 - Les Paul (Polfus)
Grammy Award-winning guitarist: Chester & Lester [w/Chet Atkins - 1976], Trustees Award [1982]; w/Mary Ford: Vaya Con Dios, How High the Moon, Hummingbird, Sittin’ on Top of the World; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer [1988]

1916 - Robert McNamara
U.S. Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy & Johnson administrations; president of World Bank

1922 - George Axelrod
playwright: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Bus Stop, The Seven Year Itch, The Manchurian Candidate; died June 21, 2003

1926 - Mona Freeman
actress: National Velvet, Black Beauty, Dear Ruth, Battle Cry

1926 - Roy Smalley
baseball: shortstop: Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies

1930 - Marvin Kalb
journalist: NBC News, Meet the Press; Executive Director: Harvard University's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy

1931 - Jackie Mason (Jacob Moshe Maza)
comedian: Chicken Soup, The World According to Me, The Jerk, Caddyshack 2, History of the World: Part 1; ordained rabbi

1931 - Joe Santos (Minieri)
actor: The Rockford Files, The Panic in Needle Park, Shamus, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Blue Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, Sinatra, Trial by Jury

1931 - Bill (William Charles) Virdon
baseball: SL Cardinals [Rookie of the Year: 1955], Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1960]

1934 - Jackie Wilson
singer: Lonely Teardrops, Night, Alone at Last, [Your Love Keeps Lifting Me] Higher and Higher, Baby Workout, For Your Precious Love, Chain Gang; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1987]; died Jan 21, 1984

1935 - Diana Van der Vlis
actress: X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, The Incident, The Girl in Black Stockings, Ryan’s Hope; died Oct 22, 2001

1939 - David Hobbs
auto racer, broadcaster, actor: Stroker Ace, Emerald City, Emmerdale Farm

1939 - Dick Vitale
sportscaster: basketball analyst: ABC, ESPN; author: Time Out, Baby!, Campus Chaos - Why the Game I Love is Breaking My Heart; columnist: USA TODAY

1941 - Billy Hatton
musician: bass: group: The Fourmost: Hello Little Girl, I’m in Love, A Little Loving

1941 - Jon Lord
musician: keyboards: groups: Artwoods, Flowerpot Men, Deep Purple: Black Night, Strange Kind of Woman, Fireball, Smoke on the Water

1950 - Trevor Bolder
musician: bass: groups: Spiders from Mars, Uriah Heep: LP: Equator

1951 - Dave (David Gene) Parker
baseball: Pittsburgh Pirates [Baseball Writer’s Award: 1978/all-star: 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981/World Series: 1979], Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1985, 1986/World Series: 1988, 1989], Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers [all-star: 1990], California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays

1961 - Michael J. Fox
actor: Back to the Future, The Secret of My Success, Bright Lights Big City, Doc Hollywood, Greedy, For Love or Money, Family Ties; voice of bulldog puppy in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

1963 - Johnny Depp (John Christopher Depp III)
actor: : Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Arizona Dreams, Nick of Time, Dead Man, Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, Don Juan DeMarco, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Edward Scissorhands, Platoon, A Nightmare on Elm Street, 21 Jump Street, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

1964 - Gloria Reuben
actress: ER, Timecop, Shaft [2000]

1964 - Wayman Tisdale
basketball: Olympic Gold medalist [1984], Univ of Oklahoma [all-American], Phoenix Suns; jazz musician: bass guitar: group: LPs: Power Forward, In the Zone, Decisions

1981 - Natalie Portman
actress: Mars Attacks!, The Prince of Egypt, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Chart Toppers
June 9th.

1944 Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
I’ll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
I’ll Be Seing You - Bing Crosby
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952 Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
Blue Tango - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
Be Anything - Eddy Howard
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson

1960 Cathy’s Clown - The Everly Brothers
Burning Bridges - Jack Scott
Paper Roses - Anita Bryant
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Lockin

1968 Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
Tighten Up - Archie Bell & The Drells
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

1976 Love Hangover - Diana Ross
Silly Love Songs - Wings
Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) - Silver Convention
One Piece at a Time - Johnny Cash

1984 Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Oh Sherrie - Steve Perry
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Someday When Things are Good - Merle Haggard


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

162nd day of 2008 - 204 remaining.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
OFF TO THE RACES DAY.


The sport of harness racing was first covered in a newspaper in the U.S. in the June 10, 1806 edition of New York’s Commercial Advertiser. A pacer named Yankee won the mile at Harlem Race Track in New York. Yankee had the pace down correctly: simultaneously thrusting out the fore and hind legs on one side. We don’t know how many more races Yankee won, but the all-time high for pacer victories goes to Single G, a horse that won 262 races from 1918 through 1926. And Yankee wasn’t around to run in the Triple Crown of Pacers (which began in 1959): the Cane Pace (Yonkers Raceway, NY), the Little Brown Jug (Delaware County Fair, Delaware, OH) and the Messenger Stakes held at various locations.

For most, however, harness racing is synonymous with trotting races. The difference between pacers and trotters is in their gait. Trotters use the diagonally opposite legs. The all-time high for trotter victories goes to Goldsmith Maid, who won 350 races from 1864 through 1877. The triple crown for trotters includes the most famous and richest race in North American harness racing, the Hambletonian. The Kentucky Futurity and Yonkers Trot complete the trio.

Trotting races go back in history to 1554 when they were first held in Valkenburg, the Netherlands. There are also traces of trotters in England in the 1590s. In the U.S., 1870 marks the date that the National Trotting Association was founded. It was first titled: National Association for the Promotion of the Interests of the Trotting Turf.

Great drivers, like Stanley Dancer (he won the Triple Crown of trotting twice, and of pacers once), have made harness racing a major spectator sport, complete with pari-mutuel wagering in many states. See the horses line up across the track. They start behind a moving gate that takes a full lap to get the horses up to speed. The electric gate then folds away and the horses pulling sulkies (the 2-wheeled wagon the jockey sits in) and jockey are, literally, off to the races! There they goooo!
Click, click, click, and clicky.

Events
June 10th.

1854 - The U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD graduated its first class on this day. Midshipmen still attend classes and graduate from the same locale, not far from Chesapeake Bay.

1902 - A kindly gent named Americus F. Callahan patented what he called the outlook or see-through envelope. The rest, of course, is accounts payable history...

1924 - The first political convention on radio was presented by NBC. Graham McNamee provided coverage of the Republican National Convention from Cleveland, OH. McNamee was one of the great sports broadcasters of radio’s Golden Age.

1935 - After completing one full day without imbibing liquor, Dr. Robert Smith, better known as Doctor Bob, and his friend William G. Wilson founded Alcoholics Anonymous. This was the beginning of a lifetime without booze for the two ... and for thousands more throughout the years.

1938 - Hollywood Park race track opened for thoroughbreds and, later, harness racing. The track is still in operation in Inglewood, CA.

1944 - Pitcher Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds hurled his first major-league game. Nuxhall, the youngest pitcher in major-league baseball, was only 15 years, 10 months and 11 days old when he pitched that game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

1954 - General Motors announced that the first successful gas-turbine bus had been produced. A proud moment, indeed.

1966 - The first use of reversed tape (in a popular tune) was heard in the song Rain (or niaR) by The Beatles. The tune was the ‘B’ side of Paperback Writer. The technique, which had been used by John Cage, Edgar Varese and others, was refined by John Lennon.

1972 - Sammy Davis Jr. earned his place at the top of the popular music charts for the first time, after years in the entertainment business. His number one song, The Candy Man, stayed at the top for three consecutive weeks. The Candy Man was truly a song of fate for Sammy. He openly did not want to record the song, but did so as a favor to MGM Records head Mike Curb, since it was to be used in the film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Davis said he would give the tune one take, "and that’s it!" Sure enough, in that one-time recording, Sammy nailed it. The Candy Man stayed on the pop charts for 16 weeks. The best the legendary performer had done before was 12 weeks for Love Me or Leave Me in 1955 and 11 weeks for I’ve Gotta Be Me (from Golden Rainbow) in 1969. After The Candy Man became a hit, Davis included it in his stage shows and concerts -- and collected huge royalties from it.

1976 - Paul McCartney and Wings set a record for an indoor concert crowd as 67,100 fans gathered in Seattle, WA to hear the former Beatle and his new group.

1981 - Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies singled off of Houston pitcher Nolan Ryan to tie Stan Musial’s baseball career-hit total at 3,630. A looming baseball strike of 50 days thwarted ‘Charlie Hustle’s’ efforts to break the National League record.

1983 - Johnny Bench, all-star catcher of the Cincinnati Reds (elected in 1989 to baseball Hall of Fame), announced his plans to retire from the game. Bench called his 16 years in the big leagues “a boy’s dream.” Bench went on to several endeavors, including restaurant ownership, commercial endorsements (“Rust-Oleum -- no runs, no drips, no errors...”) and as a baseball sportscaster for CBS radio.

1985 - Herschel Walker of the New Jersey Generals broke the 2,000-yard mark in rushing during the season as the Generals won over Jacksonville, 31-24. The effort set a United States Football League (USFL) record. This feat had only been reached twice in the National Football League (NFL) -- once by O.J. Simpson in 1973 for 2,003 yards and by Eric Dickerson in 1984 for 2,105 yards.

1987 - A moderate earthquake rattled 15 states from Iowa to South Carolina. “It was not an aftershock,” geologists reported...

Birthdays
June 10th.

1895 - Hattie McDaniel
Academy Award-winning actress: Gone with the Wind [1939]: 1st African-American to win Oscar; Judge Priest, The Little Colonel, Showboat, Saratoga, Since You Went Away; died Oct 2, 1952

1903 - Clyde Beatty
circus performer, lion tamer, circus owner, actor: The Big Cage, Darkest Africa, Perils of the Jungle, Ring of Fear, Bat Men of Africa; died July 19, 1965)

1904 - Frederick Loewe
Oscar-winning composer: Gigi [1958], My Fair Lady, Brigadoon, Camelot, Paint Your Wagon [w/lyricist Alan Jay Lerner]; died Feb 14, 1988

1908 - Robert Cummings
Emmy Award-winning actor: Twelve Angry Men [1954]; Love That Bob, The Bob Cummings Show, My Hero, Dial "M" for Murder, The Carpetbaggers; died Dec 2, 1990

1910 - Howlin’ Wolf (Chester Burnett)
blues musician: rhythm guitar, singer: How Many More Years, Smoke Stack Lightning, Evil; died Jan 10, 1976

1911 - Terence Rattigan
playwright: The V.I.P.s, The Winslow Boy, The Day Will Dawn; died Nov 30, 1977

1915 - Saul Bellow
writer: The Adventures of Augie March, Herzog, Mr. Sammler’s Planet, Dangling Man, The Victim, Henderson the Rain King; died Apr 5, 2005

1918 - Barry Morse
actor: The Fugitive, A Tale of Two Cities, Asylum, Glory! Glory!, Master of the Game, Space: 1999

1921 - Prince Philip (Mountbatten)
Duke of Edinburgh; married to Queen Elizabeth II

1922 - Judy Garland (Frances Ethel Gumm)
singer: Over the Rainbow, The Trolley Song, You Made Me Love You, The Man that Got Away; actress: The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Star is Born, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Judgment at Nuremberg; mother of Liza Minnelli and Lorna & Joey Luft; died June 22, 1969

1925 - Nat Hentoff
journalist/columnist: Village Voice, Wall Street Journal; music critic/Jazz authority: associate editor: Down Beat magazine

1926 - June Haver (Stovenour)
actress: The Dolly Sisters, Look for the Silver Lining, Love Nest; died July 4, 2005

1926 - Lionel Jeffries
director: Water Babies, Wombling Free, Amazing Mr. Blunden, The Railway Children; actor: Jekyll and Hyde, Prisoner of Zenda, Lola, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Fantastic Flying Fools, Oh Dad Poor Dad [Momma’s Hung You in the Closet & I’m Feeling So Sad], Camelot, Fanny, The Revenge of Frankestein, Bhowani Junction

1928 - Maurice Sendak
author, illustrator: Chicken Soup with Rice, Where the Wild Things Are

1929 - James A. McDivitt
NASA astronaut: commander: Gemini 4 [first space-walk mission], Apollo 9 [Lunar Module tested for first time in earth orbit]; first American Astronaut to reach rank of general

1930 - Grace Mirabella
fashion publishing executive: Vogue magazine, Mirabella magazine; writer: Tiffany & Co. [Universe of Design]; In and Out of Vogue : A Memoir [w/Judith Warner]

1933 - F. (Francis) Lee Bailey
defense attorney: O.J. Simpson, Patty Hearst, The Boston Strangler, Dr. Sam Sheppard; writer: Criminal Trial Techniques [w/Kenneth J. Fishman], Cleared for the Approach : F. Lee Bailey in Defense of Flying, The Defense Never Rests [w/Harvey Aronson]

1941 - Shirley Owens Alston
singer: group: The Shirelles: Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Soldier Boy, Tonight’s the Night, Dedicated to the One I Love, Baby It’s You, Foolish Little Girl

1943 - Jeff Greenfield
TV commentator: ABC, CNN news analyst

1944 - Rick Price
musician: bass: groups: The Move, Wizzard: LPs: Wizzard Brew, Introducing Eddy and the Falcons, See my Baby Jive

1947 - Ken (Kenneth Wayne) Singleton
baseball: NY Mets, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles [all-star: 1977, 1979, 1981/World Series: 1979, 1983]

1949 - Kevin Corcoran
actor: A Tiger Walks, Johnny Shiloh, Old Yeller, Savage Sam, The Shaggy Dog

1951 - Dan Fouts
Pro Football Hall of Famer: San Diego Chargers quarter back: AFC Player of the Year [1979]; NFL Player of the Year [1982]; NBC sportscaster

1953 - Rick (Lamar) Camp
baseball: pitcher: Atlanta Braves

1955 - Andrew Stevens
actor: Code Red, Dallas, Emerald Point N.A.S., Illicit Dreams, Scorned, The Terror Within, The Bastard, The Rebel; producer: Crash Dive, The Boy Who Saved Christmas, A Murder of Crows, Submerged; son of actress, Stella Stevens

1965 - Linda Evangelista
model

1965 - Elizabeth Hurley
actress: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Christabel, Orchid House, Passenger 57

1966 - Doug McKeon
actor: On Golden Pond, Turnaround, Breaking Home Ties, Mischief, Desperate Lives, Night Crossing, From the Earth to the Moon, Critical Mass

1967 - Darren Robinson (Human Beatbox: rap artist: group: Fat Boys: LPs: Fat Boys, Fat Boys are Back, Big and Beautiful, Krush on You, All Meat No Filler; died Dec 10, 1995

1982 - Tara (Kristen) Lipinski
figure skater: Olympic gold medalist [Nagano, Japan: 1998], U.S. and World champ [1997], youngest [14] to win Ladies’ U.S. National Figure Skating Championship [4' 8", 75 pounds]; actress: From This Moment, Ice Angel

1982 - Leelee Sobieski (Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta Sobieski)
actress: Charlie Grace, Deep Impact, Joan of Arc [TV: 1999], Eyes Wide Shut, Squelch)

Chart Toppers
June 10th.

1945 Sentimental Journey - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)
Dream - The Pied Pipers
Laura - The Woody Herman Orchestra
At Mail Call Today - Gene Autry

1953 Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
Pretend - Nat King Cole
Take These Chains from My Heart - Hank Williams

1961 Running Scared - Roy Orbison
Moody River - Pat Boone
Stand by Me - Ben E. King
Hello Walls - Faron Young

1969 Get Back - The Beatles
Love (Can Make You Happy) - Mercy
Grazing in the Grass - The Friends of Distinction
Singing My Song - Tammy Wynette

1977 Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
I’m Your Boogie Man - KC & The Sunshine Band
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) - Waylon Jennings

1985 Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
Suddenly - Billy Ocean
Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones
Natural High - Merle Haggard


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

163rd day of 2008 - 203 remaining.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
TRIPLE CROWN DAY.


Racing back to 1919 ... Sir Barton won the Belmont Stakes in New York to become the first horse to capture the Triple Crown. It was on this day that the Belmont Stakes was first run as part of thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious trio of events. Sir Barton had already won the first two jewels of the Triple Crown -- the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky and the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Triple Crown is for three-year-olds only and has only been achieved by ten horses other than Sir Barton: Gallant Fox in 1930; Omaha, five years later; War Admiral in 1937; Whirlaway in ’41; Count Fleet in ’43; Assault in 1946; Citation ridden by Eddie Arcaro in 1948; the famous Secretariat in 1973; Seattle Slew in ’77 and Affirmed, the following year.

Jim Fitzsimmons, the trainer of Gallant Fox and Omaha; and Ben Jones, who trained Whirlaway and Citation are the only trainers to have two winners in the Triple Crown circle.

Eddy Arcaro is the jockey who holds the most wins at the Kentucky Derby [5], Preakness Stakes [6], and Belmont Stakes [6]. Although he shares these records with other jockeys, he is the only one to have won the Triple Crown twice -- with Whirlaway and Citation.
More reading here, here, here, here, here.

Events
June 11th.


1793 - The first patent for a stove was issued -- to Robert Haeterick.

1912 - From the Hey! Let’s Have a Bit of Fun File: Silas Christoferson thought and thought of how to use his 15 minutes of fame and darn-near came close to using it all and then some with this stunt. Mr. Christoferson became the first airplane pilot to take off from the roof of a hotel! He did the deed from atop the Multnomah Hotel in Portland, OR.

1927 - Charles A. Lindbergh was presented the first Distinguished Flying Cross. No, he never took off from the roof of a hotel.

1928 - King Oliver and his band recorded Tin Roof Blues for Vocalion Records.

1936 - The Presbyterian Church of America was formed in Philadelphia, PA.

1939 - The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon; later known as the Queen Mother) of Great Britain were in America to visit with President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt. As is befitting of such a grand event, the King and Queen were fed some of the gourmet foods of the United States. In fact, it was the first time that both the King and Queen had tasted hot dogs. Must have been a pretty low-key state dinner... “Pass the mustard, old chum!” “Grey Poupon?”

1940 - The Ink Spots recorded Maybe on Decca Records. By September, 1940, the song had climbed to the number two position on the nation’s pop music charts.

1949 - Hank Williams sang a show-stopper on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. He sang the classic Lovesick Blues, one of his most beloved songs.

1950 - Golfing legend Ben Hogan, returning to tournament play after a near-fatal auto mishap, won the U.S. Open golf tourney in a three-way playoff with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio.

1961 - Roy Orbison was wrapping up a week at number one on the Billboard record chart with Running Scared, his first number one hit. Orbison recorded 23 hits for the pop charts, but only one other song made it to number one: Oh Pretty Woman in 1964. He came close with a number two effort, Crying, number four with Dream Baby and number five with Mean Woman Blues. Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; but suffered a fatal heart attack just one year later.

1966 - Janis Joplin made her first onstage appearance at the age of 23. She performed at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco with Big Brother and the Holding Company. The band was a sensation at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Piece of My Heart was the only hit to chart for the group (1968). At the end of 1968, Janis Joplin left Big Brother and the Holding Company (they disbanded in 1972). Her solo career that followed included hits such as Down on Me and Me and Bobby McGee. Janis ‘Pearl’ Joplin died of a heroin overdose in Hollywood in October 1970. The movie The Rose, starring Bette Midler, was inspired by the life of the rock star.

1972 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves tied (with Gil Hodges of the Dodgers) the National League record for the most grand-slam home runs in a career, with 14. The Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 15-3 to make the celebration even better.

1979 - One of America’s greatest legends, both as a movie star and as a symbol of patriotism, died this day. Marion Michael Morrison, known as John Wayne, died following a courageous fight with cancer. ‘The Duke’ was 72. He had been a Hollywood hero for almost 50 years and with some 200 movies to his credit, including The Alamo, Island in the Sky, The Longest Day, Rio Bravo, The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit (his only Oscar-winning performance). Wayne was born in 1907 and went to school at North Hollywood High School in Los Angeles.

1981 - The first baseball player’s strike in major-league history began during mid-season after Seattle defeated Baltimore 8-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. For two months, the nation’s favorite pastime was watching negotiations between the players’ union and team owners.

1982 - The movie E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial opened. Steven Spielberg directed this classic. It dazzled audiences with state-of-the-art special effects and a touching, humorous, story line, grossing over $100 million in its first 31 days of theatrical release.

1985 - Von Hayes of the Philadelphia Phillies became the 21st player in major-league baseball history to hit a pair of home runs in one inning as he led the Phillies to a 26-7 cakewalk over the New York Mets.

1993 - U.S. audiences rumbled to theatres for a first look at Jurassic Park. The Steven Spielberg-directed dinosaur blockbuster billed a gigantic $47.06 million -- just for openers.

1996 - Republican Senator Bob Dole ended his Senate career (to make a run for the U.S. Presidency) with an emotional farewell speech before a packed Senate chamber. He had spent some 27 years as a U.S. Senator.

1999 - Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me premiered at theatres across the U.S. Dr. Evil (played by Mike Myers) travels back to 1969 to steal Austin Powers’ (also played by Mike Myers) mojo. Powers (now “shagless”) must travel to ’69 to get his mojo back (can you dig it?). Big stars in the movie include the not-so-big Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), CIA agent Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), Basil Exposition (Michael York), Number Two (Robert Wagner), Young Number Two (Rob Lowe) and Fat Bastard (that Myers guy again). All this silliness was taken very seriously by fans at the box office. Austin Powers II, as the flick is also known, opened to the tune of $54.92 mil the first weekend. As of May 2001 it had grossed $205.4 million. Yeah, baby! (One other film opened in the U.S. this day: The Red Violin, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi, Irene Grazioli and Don Mckellar.)

Birthdays
June 11th.

1572 - Ben Johnson
actor: The Poetaster, Satiromastix; poet: Song: To Celia; playwright: Every Man in His Humour, Every Man Out of His Humour, Cynthia’s Revels, War of the Theatres, Sejanus, His Fall, The Masque of Owles, The Alchemist, The Devil is an ***; died Aug 6, 1637

1776 - John Constable
landscape artist: The White Horse, The Hay-Wain, The Cornfield, Stoke-by-Nayland, Arundel Mill and Castle; died Mar 31, 1837

1864 - Richard Strauss
composer: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote, Till Eulenspiegel; died Sep 8, 1949

1880 - Jeannette Rankin
U.S. Congresswoman: 1st woman to be elected to this position; only dissenting vote as Congress passed a Declaration of War against Japan [1941]; died May 18, 1973

1900 - Lawrence (Edmund) Spivak
producer: Washington Exclusive, TV host: Meet the Press, The Big Issue; magazine publisher: F&SF (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction); died Mar 9, 1994

1910 - Jacques-Yves Cousteau
marine explorer: PBS-TV producer; co-inventor of Aqua-Lung; died June 25, 1997

1913 - Vince Lombardi
Pro Football Hall of Famer: coach: Green Bay Packers: Super Bowl I, II; “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.”; died Sep 3, 1970

1913 - Risë Stevens (Risë Steenberg)
mezzo-soprano: New York Metropolitan Opera: Orpheus; Mozart’s Cherubino and Dorabella; Delilah of Biblical fame; La Giocanda’s Laura; Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus; Carmen [her role described as “voluptuous, earthy, and white-hot in her alternating moods of passion and anger.”]; resident: of Mannes College of Music, New York; radio: frequent guest appearances; actress: The Chocolate Soldier, We Must Have Music, Going My Way, Journey Back to Oz

1919 - Richard Todd (Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd)
actor: The Hasty Heart, The Longest Day, The Big Sleep, House of the Long Shadows, Never Let Go

1920 - Shelly Manne
composer, musician: drummer: Peter Gunn score; actor: Man with the Golden Arm; died Sep 26, 1984

1925 - William Styron
author: Sophie’s Choice, The Confessions of Nat Turner

1935 - Gene Wilder (Jerome Silberman)
actor: Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Producers, The Woman in Red, Silver Streak, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Murder in a Small Town, The Lady in Question

1936 - Chad Everett (Raymon Cramton)
actor: Medical Center, The Dakotas, The Singing Nun, Jigsaw Murders, Airplane 2: The Sequel, McKenna

1939 - Wilma Burgess
country singer: Baby, Misty Blue, Don’t Touch Me, Tear Time

1939 - Jackie Stewart (John Young Stewart)
auto racer: 3-time World Grand Prix champion, sportscaster

1940 - Joey Dee (Joseph DiNicola)
singer: group: Joey Dee and The Starliters: Peppermint Twist, Shout, Hot Pastrami with Mashed Potatoes; films: Hey, Let’s Twist, Two Tickets to Paris

1945 - Adrienne Barbeau
actress: Swamp Thing, Maude, Cannonball Run, Silk Degrees, Double-Crossed, Two Evil Eyes

1946 - John Lawton
singer: solo: LP: Take No Prisoners; groups: Rough Diamond, Uriah Heep, Lucifer’s Friend

1948 - Dave (David) Cash
baseball: second baseman: Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1971], Philadelphia Phillies [all-star: 1974, 1975, 1976], Montreal Expos, SD Padres

1949 - George Willig
stunt man: climbed World Trade Center

1950 - Serge Lajeunesse
hockey: NHL: Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers

1951 - Doug Kotar
football: Univ. of Kentucky, NY Giants

1952 - Donnie Van Zandt
musician: guitar, singer: group: .38 Special: Hold on Loosely, Fantasy Girl, Caught Up in You, You Keep Runnin’ Away, LPs: Tour De Force, Strength in Numbers

1954 - Gary Fencik
football: Chicago Bears safety: Super Bowl XX

1956 - Joe Montana
football: San Francisco 49ers quarterback: Super Bowl XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV: Super Bowl career records for yards gained, passes completed, touchdowns thrown and highest completion percentage; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback

1965 - Pamela Gidley
actress: C.S.I., The Pretender, Angel Street, Freefall, Jane Austen’s Mafia!

1978 - Joshua Jackson
actor: Dawson’s Creek, The Mighty Ducks series, On the Edge of Innocence.

Chart Toppers
June 11th.

1946 The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
All Through the Day - Perry Como
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954 Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Three Coins in the Fountain - The Four Aces
If You Love Me (Really Love Me) - Kay Starr
(Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely - Johnnie & Jack

1962 I Can’t Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
Lovers Who Wander - Dion
(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Gene Pitney
She Thinks I Still Care - George Jones

1970 Everything is Beautiful - Ray Stevens
Which Way You Goin’ Billy? - The Poppy Family
Up Around the Bend/Run Through the Jungle - Creedence Clearwater
Revival
Hello Darlin’ - Conway Twitty

1978 You’re the One that I Want - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione
Georgia on My Mind - Willie Nelson

1986 Live to Tell - Madonna
On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
I Can’t Wait - Nu Shooz
Happy, Happy Birthday Baby - Ronnie Milsap


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

164th day of 2008 - 202 remaining.

Thursday, June 12, 2008
PERFECT GAME DAY.


Baseball’s first El Perfecto, a perfect game, was recorded on this day in 1880 ... a perfect game being when no batter reaches a base during a complete game of at least nine innings.

A southpaw, left-handed Lee Richmond of the Worcester (Massachusetts) Ruby Legs, pitched himself to perfection with a 1-0 shutout of the Cleveland Spiders in a National League game. Five days later, on June 17, the second, official perfect game was pitched by John Ward in another National League game between Providence and Buffalo.

It was two and a half decades later before this feat was accomplished again. This time, the now famous Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox, stopped the Philadelphia Athletics in an American League game.

Perfect game days are very rare! So if you get a chance to see one, either in person or on TV, you’ll be watching history in the making.
Click, click, click.

Events
June 12th.

1839 - According to legend, Abner Doubleday, who later became a major name in book publishing, created the game we know as baseball. It happened in Cooperstown, NY which, coincidentally, is the present home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1912 - Lillian Russell, famed theatrical actress, married for the fourth time on this day and said that she was retiring from the stage. Marriage will sometimes do that to people.

1923 - Harry Houdini, while in a straitjacket, suspended 40 feet in the air, amazed a large and quite disbelieving audience as he freed himself of the constraints.

1935 - Ella Fitzgerald recorded her first sides for Brunswick Records. The tunes were Love and Kisses and I’ll Chase the Blues Away. She was featured with Chick Webb and his band. Ella was 17 at the time and conducted the Webb band for three years following his death in 1939.

1939 - The Baseball Hall of Fame was formally dedicated at Cooperstown, NY. The shrine to major league baseball still stands in honor of baseball greats of the past.

1942 - Paul Whiteman and his orchestra recorded Travelin’ Light on Capitol Records of Hollywood, California. On the track with Whiteman’s orchestra was the vocal talent of ‘Lady Day’, Billie Holiday.

1947 - People gathered around the radio to listen to Sergeant Preston of The Yukon for the first time. The show, with the Canadian Mountie and his trusty dog, King, continued on the radio until 1955 (and on TV from 1955-1958). Sgt. Preston was created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, who also created The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet.

1948 - Ben Hogan won his first U.S. Open golf classic on this day.

1955 - The first network radio show to be produced with no script, The University of Chicago Round Table, was heard for the final time after 24 years on NBC radio. The program was the first network radio program to win the coveted George Foster Peabody Award.

1956 - “This is Monitor, a weekend program service of NBC Radio,” was heard for the first time. Notables such as Bill Cullen, Ed McMahon, Hugh Downs, and Dave Garroway recited this line. It was a network cue to NBC radio stations across the nation who carried the long form news, entertainment and variety broadcast from New York City. Stations and listeners who were “on the Monitor beacon” were entertained for six hours or more each Saturday and Sunday night for nearly two decades. NBC’s Monitor was one of the last live network radio programs on the air.

1957 - Stan ‘The Man’ Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals set a National-League baseball record by appearing in his 823rd consecutive game. The old record (822) had been held by Gus Suhr of the Pirates (& Phillies). Musial went on to extend his consecutive game streak to 895 in late August 1957.

1963 - Elizabeth Taylor starred in the $40,000,000 film epic, Cleopatra. The movie certainly gave ticket buyers their money’s worth. It lasted for four hours, three minutes. Cleopatra opened at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City on this day. Richard Burton starred as Marc Antony, Rex Harrison played Julius Caesar, Hume Cronyn played Sosigines, Carroll O’Connor was Casa and Roddy McDowell appeared as Octavian. We were at a loss, however, to find the name of the asp that bit Cleopatra. We do know where she was bitten -- just not what happened to the little snake. Sorry.

1965 - The Queen of England announced that The Beatles would receive the coveted MBE Award. The Order of the British Empire recognition had previously been bestowed only upon British military heroes, many of whom were so infuriated by the news, they returned their medals to the Queen. In fact, John Lennon wasn’t terribly impressed with receiving the honor. He returned it (for other reasons) four years later.

1981 - Larry Holmes, 31, defended his heavyweight boxing title by earning a third-round TKO (technical knockout) over Leon Spinks in Detroit, MI. Spinks, who had lost his two front teeth in previous bouts, was understandably discouraged at being beaten so early and was quoted as having said, “Thith ith weely, weely a thame, youth know? Like, I wuth weddy, weely weddy, but, I got whupped up pwetty badth, I gueth.”

1982 - A major political rally attracted the largest crowd ever to such an event in New York City’s Central Park. Entertainers Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Linda Ronstadt gathered before 750,000 to rally for the cause of nuclear disarmament.

1985 - The National Hockey League Celebration of Excellence recognized ‘The Great One’, hockey star Wayne Gretsky, by awarding him his sixth Hart Trophy. The honor is earned by the Most Valuable Player in the NHL each year.

1987 - President Ronald Reagan delivered a now-famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Destruction began November 9, 1989 on the Berlin Wall that had divided the city for some 28 years.

1994 - The gruesomely-murdered bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were discovered outside Nicole’s Brentwood, California condominium. Within days, actor/football legend O.J. Simpson was charged by police. He was acquitted in criminal court [1995], but found liable for the deaths in a civil suit [1997].

Birthdays
June 12th.

1897 - Sir (Robert) Anthony Eden
British Prime Minister [1955-1957]; died Jan 11, 1977

1914 - William Lundigan
actor: I’d Climb the Highest Mountain, The Fighting 69th, Pinky, Love Nest, The White Orchid; died Dec 20, 1975

1915 - Priscilla Lane (Mullican)
actress: Varsity Show, Million Dollar Baby, Arsenic and Old Lace; died Apr 4, 1995

1915 - David Rockefeller
banker: chairman: Chase Manhattan Bank; modern-art lover: trustee/chairman: Museum of Modern Art; chairman: Rockefeller University

1916 - Irwin Allen
producer, director: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Towering Inferno, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure; died Nov 2, 1991

1916 - Ivan Tors
producer, director: Flipper, Zebra in the Kitchen, Namu, the Killer Whale, Gentle Ben, Salty; died June 4, 1983

1919 - Uta (Thyra) Hagen
Tony Award-winning actress: The Country Girl [1950], Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [1963]; films: The Boys from Brazil, Reversal of Fortune; died Jan 14, 2004

1921 - James A. Houston
author: Ghost Fox, The White Dawn, The Ice Master: A Novel of the Arctic

1924 - George (Herbert Walker) Bush
41st U.S. President [1989-1993]; married to Barbara Pierce [four sons, two daughters]; nickname: Poppy; VicePresident under President Reagan, U.S. Congressman from Texas, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.; father of 43rd U.S. President George W. (Walker) Bush

1927 - Al Fairweather
jazz musician: groups: Al Fairweather-Ralph Laing All Stars, Fairweather-Brown all Stars

1928 - Vic Damone (Vito Rocco Farinola)
singer: On the Street Where You Live, An Affair to Remember, You Were Only Fooling

1930 - Innes Ireland
auto racer: champ: American Grand Prix [1961]; died Oct 22, 1993

1930 - Jim Nabors
actor: Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., The Andy Griffith Show, The Jim Nabors Hour; singer: Back Home Again in Indiana

1932 - Rona Jaffe
author: The Last Chance, Class Reunion; films: The Best of Everything, Mazes and Monsters

1941 - Marv Albert (Marv Philip Aufrichtig)
sportscaster: NBC-TV

1941 - Chick (Armando) Corea
Grammy Award-winning jazz composer/musician: No Mystery [1975], The Leprechaun: Leprechaun's Dream [1976], Friends [1978], In Concert, Zurich, Oct 28, 1979 [1981], GRP Super Live In Concert: Light Years [1988], Akoustic Band [1989], Native Sense: Rhumbata [1999], Like Minds [2000], Corea.Concerto: Spain [2001]

1942 - Len Barry (Leonard Borisoff)
singer: 1-2-3, Like a Baby; group: The Dovells: The Bristol Stomp, You Can’t Sit Down

1944 - Cornelius Johnson
football: Baltimore Colts guard: Super Bowl III, V

1945 - Reg Presley
singer: group: Troggs: Wild Thing, Give It to Me, Love is All Around

1947 - John Clifford
choreographer: New York City Ballet, Artistic Director of LA Ballet, ballet master/repetiteur for George Balanchine Trust

1947 - Steve Kiner
football: Dallas Cowboys linebacker: Super Bowl V

1951 - Bun Carlos (Brad Carlson)
musician: drums: group: Cheap Trick: I Want You to Want Me, Ain’t That a Shame, Dream Police, Voices

1951 - Brad Delp
musician: guitar, singer: group: Boston: More Than a Feeling, Long Time, Piece of Mind, Don’t Look Back, Man I’ll Never Be, Amanda

1957 - Timothy Busfield
actor: Thirtysomething, Byrds of Paradise, Little Big League, Field of Dreams, Revenge of the Nerds, Sneakers, The West Wing

1958 - Rory Sparrow
basketball: Villanova Univ., New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls [SI Sportsman of the Year: 1987 co-recipient], Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings; NBA Player Programs Director

1959 - Jenilee Harrison
actress: Three’s Company, Dallas, Fists of Iron, Prime Target, Curse 3: Blood Sacrifice, Tank

1963 - Jerry Lynn
pro wrestler/actor: ECW Hardcore TV, Extreme Championship Wrestling, Raw Is War, Sunday Night Heat

1964 - Paula Marshall
actress: The Wonder Years, Snoops, Cupid, Spin City, Chicago Sons, The Single Guy, Seinfeld

1971 - Mark Henry
pro wrestler/actor: Raw is War, Wrestlemania XIV, Sunday Night Heat, WWF Judgement Day, WWF Smackdown!, Armageddon.

Chart Toppers
June 12th.

1947 Mam’selle - Art Lund
Linda - Buddy Clark with the Ray Noble Orchestra
My Adobe Hacienda - Eddy Howard
Sugar Moon - Bob Wills

1955 Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
Learnin’ the Blues - Frank Sinatra
In the Jailhouse Now - Webb Pierce

1963 It’s My Party - Lesley Gore
Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals
Lonesome 7-7203 - Hawkshaw Hawkins

1971 Want Ads - The Honey Cone
Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters
It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
You’re My Man - Lynn Anderson

1979 Love You Inside Out - Bee Gees
We are Family - Sister Sledge
Just When I Needed You Most - Randy Vanwarmer
She Believes in Me - Kenny Rogers

1987 You Keep Me Hangin’ On - Kim Wilde
Always - Atlantic Starr
Head to Toe - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
I Will Be There - Dan Seals


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

165th day of 2008 - 201 remaining.

Friday, June 13, 2008
MIRANDA DAY.

When reading this description of this day in history, you have the right to remain silent...

On this day in 1966, the Miranda Decision was handed down by the United States Supreme Court. The 5-4 decision regarded the rights of individuals to remain silent because “...anything you say, can and will be used against you in a court of law.” It held that the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States “required warnings before valid statements could be taken by police.”

If you are held for questioning, you will hear police read you your rights or read you the Miranda, the more common reference to the Miranda Decision. The card imprinted with the Miranda Decision, and carried by the police, put some money in the pockets of then, 23-year-old Ernesto Miranda. The subject of Miranda vs. Arizona, he signed the cards, selling his autograph. Some ten years later, a man, suspected of stabbing Miranda to death during a card game, was released after being read his Miranda rights. A warrant was later issued for his arrest; but he was never seen again.

Without notifying suspects of their Miranda Rights, law enforcement in the U.S. has little basis for prosecution. What a criminal defendant says if not informed, before being questioned, that he/she has the right to remain silent and speak with an attorney or other legal counsel present, will not be admitted in court.

Book ’em, Danno ... and read ’em their rights.
Click, click, click.

Events
June 13th.

1789 - Mrs. Alexander Hamilton served a new dessert treat for General George Washington. The highlight of the dinner party was ice cream! And you thought all this time that Dolley Madison was responsible. Not so.

1893 - The first Ladies’ British Amateur golf championship was sponsored by the Ladies Golf Union. The match took place at St. Anne’s, a new course in Lancashire.

1921 - Babe Ruth connected for a 460-foot home run deep into the center-field bleachers at the Polo Grounds in New York City. It was the longest homer in the career of ‘The Sultan of Swat’.

1935 - Jim Braddock defeated Max Baer in a 15-round decision. Braddock captured the world heavyweight boxing title for the win in New York City.

1939 - Lionel Hampton and his band recorded Memories of You for Victor Records.

1940 - The Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs were the first two major-league baseball teams to play at Doubleday Field at Cooperstown, NY in the Hall of Fame Game.

1944 - The wire recorder was patented by Marvin Camras. Wire recorders were the precursor of much easier to use magnetic tape recorders.

1948 - Uniform #3, belonging to Babe Ruth, was retired at farewell ceremonies for the Babe. The touching ceremony at Yankee Stadium came just two months before the baseball legend passed away.

1970 - The song Make It with You, by David Gates and Bread, was released. It turned out to be a number-one hit (8/22/70). Though Bread had a dozen hits, including one other million-seller (Baby I’m-A Want You, 1971); Make It with You was the soft-pop group’s only number-one tune.

1971 - Singer Francis Albert Sinatra made an attempt to retire from show business following a performance this night at the Music Center in Los Angeles, CA. ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’ got a bit restless in retirement, however, and was back in Sinatra - The Main Event at Madison Square Garden in November 1973.

1984 - Rick Sutcliffe was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Chicago Cubs. Sutcliffe had been 4-5 for the Indians, but ended the season 16-1 with the Cubs. He led the Cubbies to the National League East Division title.

1985 - Andy North won his first tournament in seven years by capturing the U.S. Open with a winning scorecard of 279. North won a paycheck of $103,000. Tze-Chung Chen of Taiwan, who had been the tourney leader until final day of competition, finished second in his U.S. Open debut.

1987 - Garrison Keilor, host and storyteller on the award-winning public radio series, A Prairie Home Companion, left the program and its delightful shores of Lake Wobegon for Denmark where he intended to spend his time writing (he returned to the U.S. two years later). He had been with the program for 13 years.

Birthdays
June 13th.

1865 - William Butler Yeats
Nobel Prize-winning poet & dramatist [1923]; passed Jan 28, 1939

1892 - (Philip St. John) Basil Rathbone
actor: The Mark of Zorro, Captain Blood, The Last Hurrah, The Hound of the Baskervilles, House of Fear, David Copperfield, Last Days of Pompeii, Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes, A Christmas Carol, The Comedy of Terrors; died July 21, 1967

1903 - Red (Harold) Grange
Pro and College Football Hall of Famer: ‘The Galloping Ghost’: Chicago Bears, University of Illinois: running back; died Jan 28, 1991

1908 - (Maria Helena) Vieira da Silva
artist: style: Parisian School and abstract expressionism; died Mar 6, 1992

1910 - Mary (Isabelle) Wickes (Wickenhauser)
actress: Little Women, Sister Act, Postcards from the Edge, How to Murder Your Wife; died Oct 22, 1995

1912 - Samuel A. (Albert) Taylor
playwright: Sabrina [1954], Vertigo, Three on a Couch, Topaz, Sabrina [1995]; died May 26, 2000

1913 - Ralph Edwards
actor/host: Radio Stars on Parade, Beat the Band, The Devil’s Bedroom; TV and radio host: Truth or Consequences, This is Your Life; died Nov 16, 2005

1915 - Don Budge
tennis champion: Australian Open [1938], French Open [1938], Wimbledon [1937, 1938, 1939], U.S. Open [1937, 1938]; died Jan 26, 2000

1917 - Si (Simon) Zentner
bandleader, trombonist: Boyd Raeburn Orchestra; died Jan 31, 2000

1918 - Ben Johnson
actor: Angels in the Outfield, The Getaway, The Last Picture Show, One-Eyed Jacks, Red Dawn, Shane; died Apr 8, 1996

1922 - Mel (Melvin Lloyd) ‘Dusty’ Parnell
baseball: pitcher: Boston Red Sox [all-star: 1949, 1951]

1926 - Paul Lynde
comedian, actor: The Paul Lynde Show, Hollywood Squares, Love American Style, Temperatures Rising, Bewitched, The Red Buttons Show; cartoon voice: Claude Pertwee; passed away Jan 10, 1982

1935 - Christo (Javacheff)
artist: Valley Curtain, Running Fence, The Umbrellas

1936 - Michel Jazy
track: world-record holder in the mile [1965-3 minutes, 53.6 seconds]

1940 - Bobby Freeman
singer: Do You Wanna Dance, C’mon and Swim

1940 - Dallas Long
Olympic Gold Medal-winning shot-putter: [Tokyo: 1964], world record [67' 10": 1964]

1943 - Malcolm McDowell
actor: A Clockwork Orange, O Lucky Man, Blue Thunder, Caligula, Gulag, Look Back in Anger, Fantasy Island [1998]

1949 - Dennis Locorriere
musician: guitar, singer: group: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show: Sylvia’s Mother, Sexy Eyes, The Cover of "Rolling Stone", When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman

1950 - J.P. Bordeleau
hockey: NHL: Chicago Blackhawks

1951 - Howard Leese
musician: guitar, keyboards: group: Heart: Crazy on You, Magic Man, Barracuda, Straight On

1951 - Richard Thomas
Emmy Award-winning actor: The Waltons [1973]; Roots: The Next Generation, All Quiet on the Western Front, Johnny Belinda

1952 - Ernie (Leo Ernest) Whitt
baseball: catcher: Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays [all-star: 1985], Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles

1953 - Tim Allen (Timothy Allen Dick)
comedian, actor: Home Improvement, Showtime Comedy Club All-Stars II, The Santa Clause, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Galaxy Quest

1968 - Deniece (Lisa Marie) Pearson
singer: group: Five Star: System Addict, Can’t Wait Another Minute, Find the Time, Rain or Shine, Stay Out of My Life, The Slighest Touch.

Chart Toppers
June 13th.

1948 Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Toolie Oolie Doolie - The Andrews Sisters
Baby Face - The Art Mooney Orchestra
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold

1956 The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
I’m in Love Again - Fats Domino
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You - Elvis Presley
Crazy Arms - Ray Price

1964 Chapel of Love - The Dixie Cups
A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
Love Me with All Your Heart - The Ray Charles Singers
Together Again - Buck Owens

1972 The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Nice to Be with You - Gallery
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. - Donna Fargo

1980 Funkytown - Lipps, Inc.
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia
My Heart - Ronnie Milsap

1988 One More Try - George Michael
Together Forever - Rick Astley
Everything Your Heart Desires - Daryl Hall John Oates
I Told You So - Randy Travis


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

166th day of 2008 - 200 remaining.

Saturday, June 14, 2008
FLAG DAY.


“Resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation,” said John Adams on this day in 1777 at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, PA. And so, the first Flag Day was celebrated in the United States of America.

Proclamation 1335, May 30, 1916, made it possible for every President to issue a proclamation that June 14 would be celebrated as Flag Day. Pennsylvania is the only state to celebrate June 14 as a legal holiday, proclamation or not, although the proclamation has been issued annually since 1949.

At 7 p.m. E.D.T., across the United States, the President leads the country in a pause to pledge allegiance, a time to honor America. The national ceremony is held at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, and was conceived as a way for all citizens to share a patriotic moment.

We salute the star-bangled banner (now with 50 white stars on a blue field) on this Flag Day.
The Stars and Stripes. star-bangled banner.

Events
June 14th.


1775 - The first U.S. military service, the U.S. Army, was established by a Congressional Resolution.

1834 - While thoughts of summer sun and sand are upon us, we pause to take a short lesson about one of mankind’s greatest inventions. Isaac Fischer, Jr. of Springfield, Vermont decided that it was time to patent sandpaper. Mr. Fischer’s sandpaper changed the coarse of history didn’t it? Now, back to work!

1881 - The player piano was patented by John McTammany, Jr. of Cambridge, MA. It was patent number 242,786.

1901 - The first professional open championship to utilize rules of the U.S. Golf Association was held at Hamilton, MA.

1919 - Lindbergh did it all by himself; but the true, first, nonstop transatlantic flight took place on this day. Actually, it took two days for Captain John Al**** and Lt. Arthur Brown to fly their Vickers Vimy bomber to Ireland from St. Johns, Newfoundland. The 1,900-mile flight ended in a crash landing in a peat bog in Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.

1922 - A U.S. President was heard on the radio for the first time. President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Francis Scott Key Memorial and was heard on radio station WEAR in Baltimore.

1923 - It was the beginning of the country music recording industry. Ralph Peer of Okeh Records recorded Fiddlin’ John Carson doing The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane -- and the first country music recording was in the can.

1937 - Pennsylvania became the first state in the United States to observe Flag Day as a legal holiday. PA is still the only state doing so (see Flag Day [above]).

1942 - From the Do Not Try This at Home File: The first bazooka-rocket gun was produced -- in Bridgeport, CT.

1950 - After 13 years on the radio, Harold Peary played the leading role of The Great Gildersleeve one final time. Willard Waterman took Peary’s place in the role for the next eight years on radio and for several years on TV as well.

1951 - Univac 1 was unveiled in Washington, DC. Billed as the world’s first commercial computer, Univac was designed for the U.S. Census Bureau. The massive computer was 8 feet high, 7-1/2 feet wide and 14-1/2 feet long. It had lots and lots of tubes that dimmed lights all over Washington when it cranked out information. Compared to today’s computers, Univac was painfully slow ... a lot like the government in which it served, in fact.

1953 - Elvis Presley graduated from L.C. Humes High School in Memphis, TN. Within three years, the truck driver-turned-singer had his first number-one record with Heartbreak Hotel.

1953 - Seven former Southern Conference university sports teams established a new alliance: The Atlantic Coast Conference.

1963 - Duke Snider got his 400th home run in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. Snider became the ninth player in major-league history to reach this career milestone.

1975 - America reached the top spot on the Billboard pop music chart with Sister Golden Hair. The group had previously (March, 1972) taken A Horse With No Name to the number one spot. The trio of Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell had received the Best New Artist Grammy in 1972. America recorded a dozen hits that made it to the popular music charts in the 1970s and 1980s. Though number one, Sister Golden Hair did not qualify for gold record (million-seller) status.

1976 - The Beatles were awarded a gold record for the compilation album of past hits titled, Rock ’n’ Roll Music.

1982 - The large Argentine garrison in Port Stanley (capital and only town in the Falkland Islands) was overrun by British troops, effectively ending the Falklands War. Argentina had invaded the British dependent territory(ies) in April 1982. During the brief war, Argentina suffered 655 killed, while Britain lost 236.

1985 - Earl Weaver returned to manage the American League Baltimore Orioles, after a 2-1/2-year retirement. Weaver is said to have turned down 11 managing offers, but said “Yes” to Attorney Edward Bennett Williams, the owner of the Orioles, when asked to return to take over the reins of the team.

1991 - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves opened, collecting $25.63 million from audiences at 2,369 U.S. theaters. Kevin Costner is Robin of Locksley, Morgan Freeman plays Azeem, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is Marian, and Christian Slater stars as Will Scarlett. The mean old Sheriff of Nottingham is played by the spooky Alan Rickman. It takes awhile (143 minutes), but the good guys/gals do live happily ever after.

1995 - Michael Jackson and wife, Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson, were interviewed by Diane Sawyer on ABC-TV’s PrimeTime Live. Sawyer questioned the couple about how they got to know each other, how Michael proposed, etc. The hourlong interview, at the old MGM set at Sony Pictures, Hollywood, was seen by 60 million U.S. viewers and millions more around the world. Selected snippets from the interview: Do they have sex? “Yes, yes, yes.” Prenuptial agreement? “Yes.” Regarding accusations of child molestation? “Never ever! I could never harm a child, or anyone. It’s not in my heart. It’s not how I am. I am not even interested in that!” Would Michael like to be as black as he once was? “I love black.”

Birthdays
June 14th.

1811 - Harriet Beecher Stowe
author: Uncle Tom’s Cabin; died July 1, 1896

1820 - John Bartlett
compiler, editor: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations; died in 1905

1864 - Dr. Alois Alzheimer
psychiatrist, pathologist: first to describe the disease named after him: Alzheimer’s Disease; died [of a severe cold complicated by endocarditis] Dec 19, 1915

1901 - Hap (Clarence) Day
Hockey Hall-of-Famer: Univ. of Toronto, Toronto St. Patricks, Toronto Maple Leafs [Stanley Cup: 1931-32], NY Americans; referee; coach: Toronto Maple Leafs [won five Stanley Cups, including three in a row]; manager: Toronto Maple Leafs; died Feb 17, 1990

1906 - Margaret Bourke-White
photojournalist: LIFE magazine; 1st woman photojournalist attached to US Armed Forces in WWII: covered Italy, siege of Moscow, U.S. Forces crossing into Germany, concentration camps; division of India, Mahatma Gandhi; Korean War correspondent; book [w/husband Erskine Caldwell]: You Have Seen Their Faces; died Aug 27, 1971

1909 - Burl (Icle Ivanhoe) Ives
singer: A Holly Jolly Christmas, A Little Bitty Tear, Funny Way of Laughin’, Call Me Mr. In- Between; Academy Award winning actor: The Big Country [1958], Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, East of Eden, Smokey, Our Man in Havana, The Bold Ones, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; radio series: The Wayfaring Stranger [1944]; died Apr 14, 1995

1910 - Nappy (Hilton Napoleon) Lamare
musician: guitar: group: Bob Cats; solo: Nickel in the Slot; died May 8, 1988

1913 - Henry Banks
auto racer: PPG Indy Car World Series champ [1950]; first president of American Racing Drivers Club [ARDC] [1939]

1916 - Dorothy McGuire
actress: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Gentlemen’s Agreement, The Young and the Restless, Rich Man, Poor Man, Little Women [TV: 1979], The Last Best Year; died Sep 13, 2001

1919 - Sam Wanamaker
actor: Superman 4, Private Benjamin, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Taras Bulba; director: The Executioner, Killing of Randy Webster, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger; died Dec 18, 1993

1921 - Gene Barry (Eugene Klass)
actor: Bat Masterson, Burke’s Law, The Name of the Game, War of the Worlds, A Cry for Love, Our Miss Brooks, La Cage aux Folles

1922 - Kevin Roche
architect: Kevin Roche & Associates: Columbus Circle Redevelopment, New York NY; NationsBank Plaza, Atlanta GA; Oakland Museum, Oakland CA

1925 - Pierre Salinger
White House press secretary to President John F. Kennedy, journalist, author: P.S. a Memoir, John F. Kennedy, Commander in Chief : A Profile in Leadership

1926 - Don (Donald) ‘Newk’ Newcombe
baseball: pitcher: Brooklyn Dodgers [Rookie of the Year: 1949/Cy Young Award: 1956/Baseball Writer’s Award: 1956/World Series: 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955/all-star: 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955], Cincinnati Redlegs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians

1929 - Cy Coleman (Seymour Kaufman)
pianist, composer: Try to Change Me Now, Witchcraft, Firefly, Young at Heart, Big Spender, If My Friends Could See Me Now, Hey Look Me Over, Real Live Girl, I’ve Got Your Number, When in Rome, Pass Me By, Sweet Talk

1931 - Marla Gibbs
actress: Up Against the Wall, 227, The Jeffersons, The Meteor Man

1939 - Tom Matte
football: Baltimore Colts running back: Super Bowl III

1940 - Ben Davidson
football: Oakland Raiders defensive end: Super Bowl II

1945 - Rod Argent
keyboard: group: Argent: Hold Your Head Up; group: The Zombies: She’s Not There, Tell Her No, Time of the Season

1946 - Donald Trump
tycoon; real estate mogul

1948 - Pete Donnelly
hockey: WHA: NY Raiders, Vancouver Blazers, Quebec Nordiques

1949 - Alan White
musician: drummer: group: Yes: Owner of a Lonely Heart; group: Plastic Ono Band

1950 - Bill (William Roger) Fahey
baseball: catcher: Washington Senators, Texas Rangers, SD Padres, Detroit Tigers

1952 - Jim Lea
musician: bass, violin, keyboards, vocals, songwriter: group: Slade: Get Down and Get With It, Coz I Love You, We’ll Bring Home the Dawn, My Oh My, Run Run Away

1952 - Eddie Mekka (Edward Mekjian)
actor: Laverne and Shirley, Guiding Light

1954 - Will Patton
actor: Fled, Copycat, Natural Causes, The Client, Midnight Edition, Dillinger, No Way Out, Desperately Seeking Susan, Silkwood; Obie Award-winner: Tourists and Refugees #2

1958 - Eric Heiden
Olympic gold [5] medalist: speed skater [1980]

1961 - Boy George (George Alan O’Dowd)
singer: group: Culture Club: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, Karma Chameleon

1961 - Sam Perkins
‘The Big Smooth’: basketball: Univ. of North Carolina [all-American], Olympic gold medalalist [1984], Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics, Indiana Pacers

1968 - Yasmine Bleeth
actress: Nash Bridges, Baywatch, Titans

1969 - Steffi (Stephanie) Graf
tennis: champ: Australian Open [1988, 1989, 1990, 1994], French Open [1987, 1988, 1993], Wimbledon [1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993], U.S. Open [1988, 1989, 1993]

Chart Toppers
June 14th.

1949 Riders in the Sky - Vaughn Monroe
Again - Doris Day
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957 Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
A Teenagers Romance/I’m Walkin’ - Ricky Nelson
Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers
Four Walls - Jim Reeves

1965 Back in My Arms Again - The Supremes
Crying in the Chapel - Elvis Presley
I Can’t Help Myself - The Four Tops
What’s He Doing in My World - Eddy Arnold

1973 My Love - Paul McCartney & Wings
Frankenstein - The Edgar Winter Group
Pillow Talk - Sylvia
You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me) - Johnny Rodriguez

1981 Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Stars on 45 medley - Stars on 45
Sukiyaki - A Taste of Honey
What are We Doin’ in Love - Dottie West with Kenny Rogers

1989 Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) - New Kids on the Block
Every Little Step - Bobby Brown
Better Man - Clint Black


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

167th day of 2008 - 199 remaining.

Sunday, June 15, 2008
GO FLY A KITE DAY.

It was a dark and stormy night back in 1752. Since there was nothing on TV worth a darn and, since he had been wondering if there really was electricity up in those dark clouds, Benjamin Franklin tied an iron wire to his kite and let it sail. He flew the kite from a long piece of twine tied to a silk ribbon on the end. Franklin attached a metal key where the twine and silk met.

Ben, not being a total dummy, flew the kite high in the wind, but stood in a doorway so the silk ribbon (and he) would not get wet. His idea was that any electricity overhead would be attracted to the wire on top of the kite. It was lucky for Franklin that no actual lightning bolt struck the wire or Ben would have been toast! However, as lightning began to flash, he put his hand near the key and sparks flew. The test was a success!

Franklin used his discovery to start a new business. He made and sold lightning rods. These metal rods were attached to the tops of buildings. A wire ran down the side of the structure to the ground. When lightning struck the top of the rod, it ran down the wire and safely to ground without doing damage to the building. Benjamin Franklin’s kite flying and, subsequently, lightning rods have prevented many buildings from going up in smoke.
Click, click, click.


Events
June 15th.

1215 - In a meadow called Ronimed, between Windsor and Staines, England, King John of England sealed the Magna Carta, the first charter of English liberties. The Magna Carta is considered one of the most important historical documents defining political and human freedoms.

1775 - George Washington became Commander in Chief of the Continental Army on this day.

1836 - First acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase, Arkansas officially became the 25th of the United States of America. The Land of Opportunity as Arkansas is called, was founded in the late 17th century by Frenchman Henri de Tonti. His intrepretation of Quapaw, the Indian tribe that lived in the area, was Arkansas. Little Rock, the state’s largest city is also its capital. The state bird and the state flower are the mockingbird and apple blossom, respectively.

1844 - Vulcanized rubber was patented by Charles Goodyear of New York City. Vulcanized rubber later was made into tires with Goodyear’s name on them. Charles never benefited from his invention and was poverty-stricken.

1869 - England’s Tom Allen was defeated by Mike McCoole of the United States in St. Louis, MO in the first international bare-knuckle fight for an American. Ouch!

1909 - Benjamin Shibe patented the cork-center baseball. A baseball stadium (Shibe Park in Philadelphia) was named for him.

1936 - Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler starred in Burlesque on the Lux Radio Theatre.

1938 - John Vander Meer of Cincinnati became the first pitcher in the major leagues to toss two, consecutive, no-hit, no-run games. He led the Reds to a 6-0 shutout win over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Vandermeer had no-hit Boston just four days earlier. The win over Brooklyn was also the first night game played at Ebbets Field. (FYI: These two games were the only no-hitters Vander Meer threw.)

1951 - Joe Louis knocked out Lee Savold in a closed-circuit TV fight seen by fight fans in movie theatres in six cities.

1956 - Sixteen-year-old John Lennon of the music group The Quarrymen met 14-year-old Paul McCartney and invited him to join the group. In a few years, the group became The Beatles.

1963 - Kyu Sakamoto from Kawasaki, Japan, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts with Sukiyaki. The popular song captivated American music buyers and was at the top of the Billboard pop chart for three weeks. In Japan, where Sakamoto was enormously popular, Sukiyaki was known as Ue O Muite Aruko (I Look Up When I Walk). The entertainer met an untimely fate in 1985. Kyu (cue) Sakamoto was one of 520 people who perished in the crash of a Japan Air Lines flight near Tokyo. He was 43 years old.

1976 - A 10-inch, mid-June rainfall in Houston, TX made it impossible for the Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates to play ball in the Astrodome this night. With the parking lot under water and boats the only way to get to the stadium gates, the game was canceled.

1987 - Boxer Michael Spinks beat heavyweight Gerry Cooney in round five in their heavyweight boxing match in Atlantic City, NJ. Spinks was shorter and lighter than Cooney -- but a lot better. So was most everyone else who fought Cooney...

1991 - Long-dormant Mount Pinatubo erupted with a vengeance in the Philippines. The volcano covered the surrounding area with ash which turned into mud following severe rainstorms. Villages and U.S. military bases (Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base) were evacuated. The bases were damaged and many people lost their homes.

Birthdays
June 15th.

1767 - Rachel Jackson (Donelson Robards)
U.S. First Lady, wife of 7th President Andrew Jackson; died Dec 22, 1828

1843 - Edvard Grieg
composer: Peer Gynt Suite; died Sep 4, 1907

1894 - Robert Russell Bennett
musician: orchestration: Victory at Sea series; died Aug 18, 1981

1910 - David Rose
Grammy Award-winning [22] composer: The Stripper; scores: Little House on the Prairie, Bonanza, Sea Hunt, Highway Patrol; David Rose and His Orchestra: The Red Skelton Show, The Tony Martin Show; died Aug 23, 1990

1912 - Babe (Ellsworth Tenney) Dahlgren
baseball: Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees [World Series: 1939], Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, SL Browns, Philadelphia Phillies [all-star: 1943], Pittsburgh Pirates; died Sep 04, 1996

1914 - Saul Steinberg
cartoonist: New Yorker magazine [50+ years]: View of the World from 9th Avenue, Luna Park, Prosperity, Taxi; doctorate in architecture; died May 12, 1999

1917 - Leon Payne
country artist, songwriter: I Love You Because, Lost Highway, They’ll Never Take Her Love, I Heard My Heart Break Last Night, The Blue Side of Lonesome; died Sep 11, 1969

1922 - Morris (King) Udall
politician: U.S. Congressman from Arizona; died Dec 12, 1998

1923 - Erroll Garner
ASCAP Award-winning jazz pianist: Misty [1984]; Dreamy, That’s My Kick, Moment’s Delight, Solitaire; died Jan 2, 1977

1930 - Marcel Pronovost
Hockey Hall-of-Famer: Detroit Red Wings [4 Stanley Cup winners], Toronto Maple Leafs [Stanley Cup: 1967]

1932 - Mario Cuomo
politician: governor: state of New York

1937 - Waylon Jennings
Country Music Association [1974] Award-winning singer: My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, Good Hearted Woman, Luckenbach, Texas, Theme from "The Dukes of Hazzard"; bass: group: The Crickets [w/Buddy Holly]; actor: Nashville Rebel, Stagecoach, Urban Cowboy; died Feb 13, 2002

1938 - Billy (Leo) Williams
baseball: Chicago Cubs [Rookie of the Year: 1961/all-star: 1962, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1973], Oakland Athletics

1939 - Ty (Tyrone Alexander) Cline
baseball: Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, SF Giants, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds [World Series: 1970]

1941 - Harry (Edward) Nilsson III
singer: Everybody’s Talkin, Without You, Me and My Arrow, Coconut; songwriter: One; scores: Skidoo, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father; died Jan 15, 1994

1942 - (John) Bruce Dal Canton
baseball: pitcher: Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox

1945 - Danny O’Shea
hockey: Canadian Olympic Hockey team [1968]; NHL: Minnesota North Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues

1945 - Nicola Pagett
actress: An Awfully Big Adventure, Privates on Parade, Oliver’s Story, There’s a Girl in My Soup, Upstairs Downstairs

1946 - Ken (Kenneth Joseph) Henderson
baseball: SF Giants, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, NY Mets, Chicago Cubs

1946 - Janet Lennon
singer: group: Lennon Sisters: Lawrence Welk Show, The Andy Williams Show

1949 - Dusty (Johnnie B) Baker
baseball: Atlanta Braves, LA Dodgers [World Series: 1977, 1978, 1981/all-star: 1981, 1982], SF Giants, Oakland Athletics

1949 - Russ Hitch****
singer: group: Air Supply: The One that You Love, Love and other Bruises

1949 - Jim Varney
actor: The Beverly Hillbillies, Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest Saves Christmas; died Feb 10, 2000

1950 - Noddy (Neville) Holder
musician: guitar, singer, songwriter: group: Slade: Get Down and Get with It, Coz I Love You, Mama Weer All Crazee Now, Cum On Feel the Noize, Skweeze Me Pleeze Me, Merry Xmas Everybody, We’ll Bring the House Down, My Oh My, Run Run Away

1954 - Jim Belushi
actor: Saturday Night Live, Trading Places, The Man with One Red Shoe, Little Shop of Horrors, The Principal, Who’s Harry Crumb?, Diary of a Hit Man, Destiny Turns on the Radio, Mighty Ducks the Movie: The Face-Off, Retroactive, Wag the Dog, K-911; John Belushi’s brother

1954 - Terri Gibbs
singer: Somebody’s Knockin’

1955 - Julie Hagerty
actress: Airplane!, Airplane II: The Sequel, Women of the House, Noises Off, What About Bob?, Reversal of Fortune, Lost in America, The House of Blue Leaves

1958 - Wade (Anthony) Boggs
baseball: Boston Red Sox [all-star: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992/World Series: 1986], NY Yankees [all-star: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996/World Series: 1996]

1963 - Helen (Elizabeth) Hunt
Academy Award-winning actress: As Good As It Gets [1997]; Emmy Award-winning actress: Mad About You [1995-1996, 1996-1997, 1997-1998, 1998-1999]; Swiss Family Robinson, It Takes Two, The Fitzpatricks, Amy Prentiss, Twister, Kiss of Death, Next of Kin, Peggy Sue Got Married, Quarterback Princess, Desperate Lives, The Spell, My Life and Times

1964 - Courteney Cox
actress: Friends, Family Ties, Ace Ventura Pet Detective

1970 - Leah Remini
actress: The King of Queens, Living Dolls, Glory Daze, Follow Your Heart

1971 - Jake Busey
actor: Starship Troopers, Shimmer, Twister, Contact, Enemy of the State, Shasta McNasty; son of actor Gary Busey

1972 - Justin Leonard
golf: champ: 1996 Buick Open [1996[, Kemper Open [1997], British Open [1997], The Players [1998], Westin Texas Open [2000]

1973 - Neil Patrick Harris
actor: Doogie Howser, M.D., Clara’s Heart, Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story, My Antonia, Starship Troopers, The Next Best Thing.

Chart Toppers
June 15th.

1950 My Foolish Heart - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Eileen Wilson)
Bewitched - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Mary Lou Williams)
The Third Man Theme - Alton Karas
Why Don’t You Love Me - Hank Williams

1958 The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
Do You Want to Dance - Bobby Freeman
Yakety Yak - The Coasters
All I Have to Do is Dream - The Everly Brothers

1966 Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? - The Lovin’ Spoonful
I Am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkel
Distant Drums - Jim Reeves

1974 Billy, Don’t Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods
You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics
Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore - Charlie Rich

1982 Ebony and Ivory - Paul McCartney with Stevie Wonder
Don’t Talk to Strangers - Rick Springfield
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
For All the Wrong Reasons - The Bellamy Brothers

1990 Hold On - Wilson Phillips
Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe
It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
Love Without End, Amen - George Strait


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

168th day of 2008 - 198 remaining.

Monday, June 16, 2008
MY LITTLE MARGIE DAY.


Gale Storm (Margie Albright) and Charles Farrell (Vernon Albright) starred in My Little Margie which debuted on CBS-TV on this day in 1952.

Fans of the popular comedy will remember that My Little Margie was based at the Carlton Arms Hotel, Apartment 10-A. Vern Albright was a very eligible widower who worked for the investment firm of Honeywell and Todd. Margie Albright, his 21-year-old daughter, was continually scheming to help dad and continually causing big trouble while helping.

The show made the unusual move from television to radio in December, 1952, airing original, not simulcast, versions on the radio. Gale Storm and Charles Farrell starred in the radio series as well. My Little Margie skipped around the TV networks, going from CBS after four months to NBC-TV, back to CBS-TV in January of 1953 and then back to NBC in September of that year.

The sitcom met its demise in August 1955, just in time for Margie AKA Gale Storm to move into a singing career. I Hear You Knocking, Ivory Tower, Teenage Prayer, Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Dark Moon made it to the pop charts after My Little Margie made it into our memory banks.
Click, click, click, and click.

Events
June 16th.

1883 - The New York Giants baseball team admitted all ladies free to the ballpark on this, the first Ladies Day.

1890 - A glittering program of music and ballet, featuring composer Edward Strause, opened the second Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1909 - Glenn Hammond Curtiss sold his first airplane. Curtiss delivered the Gold Bug to the New York Aeronautical Society. While doing so, he picked up a check for $5,000.

1922 - Henry Berliner accomplished the first helicopter flight -- at College Park, MD.

1946 - Lloyd Mangrum won the U.S. Open golf title after a strange twist of events. Tourney leader Byron Nelson was assessed a penalty stroke when his caddie accidentally kicked his ball ... costing the golfing legend the Open title.

1953 - The Ford Motor Company presented one of TV’s biggest events. Ethel Merman and Mary Martin headlined a gala 50th anniversary show for the automaker.

1956 - Be-Bop-A-Lula, by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps, was released on Capitol Records. Vincent was called Capitol’s answer to Elvis Presley. The tune became Vincent Eugene Craddock’s biggest hit of three (Lotta Lovin’, Dance to the Bop) to make the pop music charts. Vincent died in 1971.

1963 - 26-year-old Valentina Tereshkova broke the gender barrier as she blasted off in the Vostok 6 spacecraft for three days in orbit.

1967 - The Monterey International Pop Festival got underway at the Monterey Fairgrounds in Northern California. Fifty thousand spectators flocked to the first major rock festival in U.S. history. Ticket prices ranged from $3.50 to $6.50 to see more than two dozen rock acts, including Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, The Mamas and the Papas, The Who and The Grateful Dead. The festival was immortalized in D.A. Pennebaker’s 1969 documentary Monterrey Pop.

1968 - Lee Trevino became the first golfer in 68 years to play all four rounds of the U.S. Open golf tournament with sub-par totals of 69, 68, 69 and 67, respectively.

1970 - Football player Brian Piccolo of the Chicago Bears died of embryonal cell carcinoma, a rare disease that develops as the human embryo is developing. At the time, it was almost incurable. By 2004, it had a cure rate of more than 50 percent.

1972 - The only museum devoted exclusively to jazz music opened. The New York Jazz Museum welcomed visitors for the first time.

1978 - The film adaptation of Grease, a success on the Broadway stage, premiered in New York City. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John starred. Several hit songs came out of the motion picture: Grease, by Frankie Valli, You’re the One That I Want and Summer Nights (both sung by Travolta and Newton-John). The first two songs were platinum 2,000,000+ sellers, while the third was a million-seller.

1980 - The movie The Blues Brothers opened in Chicago, IL. John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, formerly of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, starred. The pair played Jake and Elwood Blues. James Brown, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin performed. Cab Calloway also appeared with a rendition of his classic Minnie the Moocher.

1981 - The Chicago Tribune purchased the Chicago Cubs baseball team from the P.K. Wrigley Chewing Gum Company for $20.5 million. The Wrigley family had controlled the team for over 60 years. The sale ended the longest continuous ownership of a team that stayed put in its original city.

1985 - Willie Banks broke the world record for the triple jump with a leap of 58 feet, 11-1/2 inches in the U.S.A. championships in Indianapolis, IN. Banks broke the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao Oliveria in 1975.

1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the NBA became the highest paid player in any sport.

1995 - Batman Forever, the third film in the Batman series premiered. Batman/Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer) faces Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey). Add a sexy psychologist (Nicole Kidman), with a thing for Batman and sidekick Robin (Chris O’Donnell), and you wind up with a smash: $52.78 million in the U.S. for opening weekend. Holy box-office, Batman!

1999 - World-class sprinters all dream the impossible dream, to break the 100-meter world record. Maurice Greene’s dream came true this day at an invitational track meet in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of track and field events. Running in the stadium (home of the 2004 Olympics) with no wind at his back, his friend and training partner in another lane, 24-year-old Maurice Greene finished the 100 meters in 9.79 seconds. The previous record (9.84 seconds), set at the 1996 Olympics, belongs to Canada’s Donovan Bailey. Greene from Kansas City, Kansas is the first American to hold this sprint record since 1994. His training partner, Ato Boldon, placed second with a time of 9.86.

Birthdays
June 16th.

1890 - Stan Laurel (Arthur Stanley Jefferson)
actor, comedian: Laurel & Hardy: made over 200 films together; died Feb 23, 1965

1899 - Helen Traubel
opera singer: St. Louis Symphony, New York Metropolitan Opera [“The Met’s premier Wagnerian soprano.”]; actress: Deep in My Heart, The Ladies’ Man, Gunn; died July 28, 1972

1907 - Jack Albertson
Academy Award-winning actor [1968]; Tony Award-winner [1965]: The Subject was Roses; Emmy Awards: Cher [1974-75], Chico & The Man [1975-76], Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; died Nov 25, 1981

1916 - Angelo ‘Hank’ Luisetti
basketball: Stanford Univ. 3-time All-American [scored a school record 50 points: Jan 1, 1938], revolutionized game with his one-handed shot

1917 - Katharine Graham
publisher: The Washington Post; won Pulitzer Prize for her memoir, Personal History [1998]; died July 17, 2001

1920 - John (Howard) Griffin
author: Black like Me [his journal posing as African American], Nuni, The Devil Rides Outside, The John Howard Griffin Reader; died Sep 9, 1980

1937 - Erich Segal
writer: Love Story, Acts of Faith, Man, Woman and Child, Oliver’s Story

1938 - Joyce Carol Oates
novelist: The Time Traveler, Triumph of the Spider Monkey

1939 - Billy ‘Crash’ Craddock
country singer: Don’t Destroy Me, Ruby, Baby, Rub It In, Sea Cruise

1941 - Lamont Dozier
songwriter: team: Holland-Dozier Holland: Baby Love, I Can’t Help Myself; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1990]; solo: Why Can’t We Be Lovers, Trying to Hold on to My Woman

1942 - Eddie Levert
singer: group: The O’Jays: Love Train, Back Stabbers

1943 - Joan Van Ark
actress: Knots Landing, Tainted Blood, Frogs

1945 - Ian Matthews (McDonald)
musician: guitar, singer: groups: Fairport Convention: Book Song; Matthew’s Southern Comfort: Woodstock; solo: I Survived the ’70s, LPs: If You Saw Through My Eyes, Tigers Will Survive, Stealin’ Home, Spot of Interference, Discreet Repeat

1946 - Derek Sanderson
hockey: NHL: Boston Bruins: shares season record for shorthanded goals scored [3 in 1969], NY Rangers, SL Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins

1948 - Ron LeFlore
baseball: Detroit Tigers [all-star: 1976], Montreal Expos [stole 97 bases: 1980], Chicago White Sox

1951 - Roberto Duran
boxing: champion: WBA Lightweight, WBC Lightweight, WBC Welterweight, WBA Light Middleweight, WBC Middleweight, WBA Junior Middleweight; record: 101-13 [69 KOs]

1951 - Stan (Stanley Arthur) Wall
baseball: pitcher: LA Dodgers

1952 - Gino Vannelli
singer, songwriter: Living Inside Myself

1955 - Laurie Metcalf
Emmy Award-winning actress: Roseanne [1991-1992, 1992-1993, 1993-1994]; A Dangerous Woman, JFK, Pacific Heights, Uncle Buck, Desperately Seeking Susan

1962 - Wally Joyner
baseball: California Angels, KC Royals, SD Padres, Atlanta Braves

1962 - Arnold Vosloo
actor: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Morenga, Darkman II: The Return of Durant, Darkman III: Die Darkman Die

1962 - Warrior (James Brian Hellwig)
pro wrestler/actor: WWF Superstars of Wrestling, Wrestlemania IV/V/VI/VII,VIII,XII, Royal Rumble, WCW Monday Nitro

1970 - Phil (Alfred) Mickelson
golf: champ: Masters [2004, 2006]; dozens of PGA Tour victories

1975 - Frederick Koehler
actor: Mr. Mom, Kate and Allie, A Kiss Before Dying, Pearl Harbor

1977 - Kerry Wood
baseball [pitcher]: Chicago Cubs.

Chart Toppers
June 16th.

1951 Too Young - Nat King Cole
On Top of Old Smokey - The Weavers (vocal: Terry Gilkyson)
Syncopated Clock - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra
I Want to Be with You Always - Lefty Frizzell

1959 Personality - Lloyd Price
Quiet Village - Martin Denny
Tallahassee Lassie - Freddy Cannon
The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton

1967 Respect - Aretha Franklin
Him or Me - What’s It Gonna Be? - Paul Revere & The Raiders
Somebody to Love - Jefferson Airplane
It’s Such a Pretty World Today - Wynn Stewart

1975 Sister Golden Hair - America
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Captain & Tennille
I’m Not Lisa - Jessi Colter
When Will I Be Loved - Linda Ronstadt

1983 Flashdance...What a Feeling - Irene Cara
Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club
My Love - Lionel Richie
Our Love is on the Faultline - Crystal Gayle

1991 Rush, Rush - Paula Abdul
Love is a Wonderful Thing - Michael Bolton
Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets) - Joe Diffie


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

169th day of 2008 - 197 remaining.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
COMMERCIAL TV DAY.


On this day in 1941, WNBT-TV, channel 4 in New York City, was granted the first construction permit to operate a commercial TV station in the United States. (WNBT signed on the air on July 1, 1941 at 1:29 p.m.)

Owned by Radio Corporation of America (RCA), the station later changed its call letters to WRCA. As RCA developed the NBC Television Network and, especially, TV in ‘living’ color in the early 1950s, WRCA, as well as its TV counterpart in Los Angeles, KRCA-TV 4 (channel 4), changed call letters once again. To reflect the impact of network television, the station became WNBC-TV. On the west coast, KRCA was changed to KNBC-TV.

Both stations remain the flagships of NBC television and are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the television network.

And both are truly commercial TV stations, as are all network TV stations these days (along with cable TV stations that, as we remember it, were originally supposed to be non-commercial).
More here, here, and here.


Events
June 17th.

1775 - Question of the day: On what hill was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought? You could answer this one in your sleep, right? Wrong, historical head! A little background: Anger and hatred between British and American colonists exploded into brutal fury at the top of Breed’s Hill (near Boston) on this day. The British charged the Americans three times before finally overrunning and chasing them to -- you guessed it -- Bunker Hill (and it was all over but the whimpering by the time they got to Bunker Hill). The redcoats did win this battle, but it fired up the colonists and they continued to fight, eventually driving the British back to Britain. Class dismissed.

1837 - Charles Goodyear got a patent for rubber, the squishy, bouncy stuff.

1856 - The first national convention of the Republican Party was held in Philadelphia, PA.

1871 - Mr. and Mrs. Martin Bates were married. It turned out to be a tall order for the couple. They both stood over seven feet tall. Imagine the size of the wedding cake!

1880 - John Monte Ward tossed the second perfect game in major-league history as he and Providence blanked Buffalo 5-0.

1912 - Talk about long shots: Wishing Ring won at Latonia race track in Kentucky. Most people didn’t even notice because the horse had been a non-performer until then. A $2 wager to win paid an incredible $1,885.50 for a few, very lucky ticket holders.

1913 - A Chicago Cubs pitcher set a baseball record for the longest appearance by a reliever in a game. George ‘Zip’ Zabel came in from the bull pen with two outs in the first inning of a game at Ebbets Field in New York. George kept pitching until the 19th inning when the Cubs finally beat the Dodgers 4-3.

1928 - The first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean did so this day. She was celebrated as the greatest aviatrix of the time. Her name was Amelia Earhart.

1942 - Suspense, known as radio’s outstanding theatre of thrills, debuted on CBS radio. The program kept millions of loyal listeners in suspense for the next 20 years.

1942 - The Army weekly newspaper, Yank, coined the term “G.I. Joe” in a comic strip drawn by Dave Breger.

1950 - Dr. Richard H. Lawler performed the first kidney transplant in a 45-minute operation in Chicago, IL.

1954 - Rocky Marciano successfully defended his heavyweight boxing title by defeating former champion Ezzard Charles.

1969 - Boris Spassky became chess champion of the world after checkmating former champion Tigran Petrosian in Moscow.

1969 - Jazz musician Charles Mingus came out of a two-year, self-imposed retirement to make a concert appearance at the Village Vanguard in New York City.

1972 - Newspapers around the country, including The Washington Post, reported a burglary. The story took up nothing more than a couple of inches of copy, buried inside the paper and out of sight of the day’s top news stories. The burglary, on the 6th floor of a plush Washington, D.C. apartment and office complex called the Watergate, would later drive President Richard M. Nixon from the White House. The growing story became a Pulitzer Prize-winner for journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

1973 - Johnny Miller won his first major golf title by defeating the field at the prestigious United States Open.

1978 - Shadow Dancing, by Andy Gibb, reached the number one spot on the pop music charts for the first of seven weeks. Gibb had two other number one hits: I Just Want to Be Your Everything and (Love is) Thicker than Water. Gibb, the youngest of the Gibb brothers who made up the Bee Gees, hosted TV’s Solid Gold in 1981-82. Andy scored nine hits on the pop music charts in the 1970s and 1980s. He died of an inflammatory heart virus in Oxford, England in 1988.

1985 - Judy Norton-Taylor, who played the role of Mary Ellen on The Waltons, saw her good-girl image tarnished as she was photographed nude for Playboy magazine.

1991 - The Parliament of South Africa repealed the Population Registration Act. The law, the basis of all apartheid laws in South Africa, required all South Africans to be classified at birth. It was first implemented in 1950, and placed South Africans in separate categories of race: Caucasian, mixed, Asian and black. Other apartheid laws were enforced according to those categories. The Population Registration Act was the final apartheid law to be repealed, except for the one that prevented blacks from voting.

1994 - O.J. Simpson, charged with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, could not be located and became a fugitive from justice. At about 6:45 p.m., police spotted a white Ford Bronco belonging to Simpson’s friend Al Cowlings on a Los Angeles freeway. Simpson was a passenger in the Bronco and had a gun (according to Cowlings who talked to police by phone from the Bronco). Cowlings and Simpson led the highway patrol on a 60-mile, low-speed pursuit through L.A. It was around 8:00 p.m. when the Bronco finally pulled into the driveway at Simpson’s Brentwood mansion, followed by a phalanx of patrol cars. Negotiations with police lasted less than an hour and Simpson surrendered, was arrested and taken to jail. All of the above was covered by TV cameras from helicopters and seen by a world-wide television audience. It was a gripping, if not excruciatingly slow, show.

Birthdays
June 17th.

1882 - Igor (Fedorovich) Stravinsky
composer: The Firebird, Petrouchka, The Rite of Spring, The Wedding, The Soldier’s Tale; died Apr 6, 1971

1902 - Sammy Fain (Samuel Feinberg)
Oscar-winning musician, composer: Secret Love [1953], Love is a Many-Splendored Thing [1955]; April Love, A Certain Smile, A Very Precious Love, Tender is the Night, I’ll Be Seeing You, I Can Dream Can’t I, Let a Smile be Your Umbrella [most w/Irving Kahal]; died Dec 6, 1989

1904 - Ralph (Rexford) Bellamy
actor: The Awful Truth, Trading Places, War & Remembrance, The Winds of War, Oh, God!, Rosemary’s Baby, Man Against Crime, The Eleventh Hour; panelist: To Tell the Truth; founder: Screen Actors’ Guild; president: Actors’ Equity; recipient of honorary Academy Award [1987]; died Nov 29, 1991

1910 - Red (Clyde Julian) Foley
songwriter, singer: Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy, Birmingham Bounce, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Blues in My Heart, Tennessee Saturday Night, Tennessee Polka, Peace in the Valley, Mississippi, Tennessee Border, Goodnight Irene; TV host: Ozark Jubilee; elected to Country Music Hall of Fame [1967]; actor: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; died Sep 19, 1968

1914 - John (Richard) Hersey
author: A Bell for Adano, Hiroshima; died Mar 24, 1993

1915 - Stringbean (David Akeman)
country comedian: Grand Old Opry, Ozark Jubilee, Hee-Haw; Akeman and wife, Estelle, were murdered in their home by burglars Nov 11, 1973

1923 - Elroy Hirsch
‘Crazy Legs’: Pro Football Hall of Famer: Chicago Rockets [AAFC], LA Rams [NFL] pass receiver: named all-time NFL flanker [1969]; career record: 387 catches for 7,029 yards, 60 TDs, 405 points scored; University of Wisconsin, player, athletic director; died Jan 28, 2004

1929 - Bud Collins
International Tennis Hall of Famer: champ: U.S. Indoor Mixed Doubles Championship [w/partner Janet Hopps: 1961]; sports writer: Boston Herald, Boston Globe; sportscaster: NBC; author: Bud Collins’ Modern Encyclopedia of Tennis

1932 - Peter Lupus
actor: Mission: Impossible [TV], Think Big, Pulsebeat, Escapist, More! Police Squad, Muscle Beach Party

1939 - Dickie Doo (Gerry Granahan)
singer: group: Dickie Doo and The Don’ts: Click Clack, No Chemise Please

1940 - Bobby Bell
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Univ. of Minnesota [All-America tackle], Kansas City Chiefs linebacker/defensive end [25 interceptions for 479 yards, six TDs]

1942 - Norman Kuhlke
musician: drums: group: The Swinging Blue Jeans: Hippy Hippy Shake

1943 - Steve Clark
swimmer: Olympic Gold medalist [1964]; broke nine world swimming records from 1960-65 in short-course times

1943 - Barry Manilow (Barry Alan Pincus)
Grammy Award-winning singer: I Write the Songs [1975]; Mandy, Looks Like We Made It, Can’t Smile Without You, Copacabana

1944 - Randy Johnson
football: Atlanta Falcons QB

1948 - Dave (David Ismael Benitez) Concepcion
baseball: shortstop [2nd base: ’87, ’88]: Cincinnati Reds [World Series: 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976/all-star: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982]

1951 - Dave Fortier
hockey: NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs, NY Islanders, Vancouver Canucks

1951 - Joe Piscopo
comedian, actor: Saturday Night Live, Sidekicks, Wise Guys, Johnny Dangerously

1954 - Mark Linn-Baker
actor: Noises Off, Bare Essentials, Ghostwriter, My Favorite Year, Manhattan, Comedy Zone, Perfect Strangers

1957 - Stephen Shellen
actor: Casual Sex?, Murder One, Counterstrike, A River Runs Through It, The Bodyguard, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde, Gone in Sixty Seconds, La Femme Nikita

1961 - Thomas Haden Church
actor: Wings, Tombstone, George of the Jungle, One Night Stand, Goosed, Sideways

1963 - Greg Kinnear
actor: What Planet Are You From?, Talk Soup, Blankman, Sabrina, As Good As It Gets, You've Got Mail, Mystery Men, Nurse Betty

1966 - Jason Patric (Miller)
actor: The Journey of August King, Geronimo: An American Legend, Rush, Frankenstein Unbound, The Beast, The Lost Boys, Solarbabies, Toughlove, Speed 2: Cruise Control

1975 - Joshua Leonard
actor: The Blair Witch Project, Men of Honor, Deuces Wild

1980 - Venus Williams
tennis: champ: doubles title: U.S./French Opens w/sister Serena [1999]; Grand Slam singles: Wimbledon [2000], U.S. Open [2000, 2001]; doubles: w/sister Serena: Wimbledon [2000]; fastest serve in WTA history [127 mph]

Chart Toppers
June 17th.

1944 Long Ago and Far Away - Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
I’ll Be Seing You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Frank Sinatra)
I’ll Get By - The Harry James Orchestra (vocal: Dick Haymes)
Straighten Up and Fly Right - King Cole Trio

1952 Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs
Be Anything - Eddy Howard
I’m Yours - Eddie Fisher
The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson

1960 Cathy’s Clown - The Everly Brothers
Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool - Connie Francis
Burning Bridges - Jack Scott
Please Help Me, I’m Falling - Hank Lockin

1968 Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
This Guy’s in Love with You - Herb Alpert
Mony Mony - Tommy James & The Shondells
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro

1976 Silly Love Songs - Wings
Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right) - Silver Convention
Misty Blue - Dorthy Moore
I’ll Get Over You - Crystal Gayle

1984 Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
The Reflex - Duran Duran
Self Control - Laura Branigan
I Got Mexico - Eddy Raven


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

170th day of 2008 - 196 remaining.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I SHOULD CARE DAY.


If you care about anything at all, there’s a song written by Sammy Cahn for you to relate to. Sammy Cahn, the Tin Pan Alley legend, was born Samuel Cohen on this day in 1913 in New York City.

As a youngster, little Sammy wanted to grow up to be a famous vaudeville fiddler. How lucky we are that he stopped thinking about this in his teenage years. That’s when he met pianist, Saul Chaplin. Sammy wrote the words and Saul wrote the music to their first hit, Rhythm is Our Business for bandleader, Jimmie Lunceford. Then Until the Real Thing Comes Along for Andy Kirk and the jazz classic, Shoe Shine Boy, performed by Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, the Mills Brothers, even Bing Crosby. The Andrews Sisters were lucky to know Sammy, too. It was his adaptation of the Yiddish song, Bei Mir Bist Du Schön that became their signature.

Frank Sinatra’s many signature titles were Sammy Cahn’s words, too (with Jimmy Van Heusen’s music): All the Way (won an Oscar in 1957), My Kind of Town, and Grammy Award-winning September of My Years. As part of the personal song-writing team for Mr. Sinatra, Sammy also wrote Love and Marriage, The Second Time Around, High Hopes (another Oscar winner in 1959) and The Tender Trap.

If you still haven’t found a song that makes you care, try these additional Oscar winners by Sammy Cahn: Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) and Call Me Irresponsible (1963). We could cover the entire page with the 22 other songs that were nominated but didn’t win the gold statue!

Want to know more? Pick up the autobiography of the talented Sammy Cahn, written in 1974, I Should Care.
More here, here, clicky, click.


Events
June 18th.


1621 - The first duel in America reportedly took place in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Sorry, we have no line score.

1812 - The United States issued a declaration of war on Great Britain. And so began the War of 1812, prompted by Britain’s violations of America’s rights on the high seas and the involvement of the British in Indian uprisings on the frontiers.

1861 - The first American fly-casting tournament was held in Utica, NY. Lots of anglers cast for fishing prizes and were hooked on the idea.

1898 - Atlantic City, NJ opened its Steel Pier to a large summertime seashore crowd. The world-famous Steel Pier over the Atlantic Ocean offered 9-1/2 miles of amusements, concerts, food, beverages, concessions and more. The Steel Pier once featured a horse that would dive into a pool at the end of the pier, in fact. The summer resort gave many a youngster their start in show biz, like Ed McMahon, who used to be a barker on the ocean pier.

1925 - The first degree in landscape architecture was granted by Harvard University.

1927 - The U.S. Post Office offered a special 10-cent postage stamp for sale. The stamp honored Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis. It was the first postage stamp to feature the name of a living American.

1939 - The CBS radio network aired The Adventures of Ellery Queen for the first time. An interesting twist came near the end of the program when the show was stopped to allow a panel of experts to guess the solution of the night’s mystery.

1944 - Golfing legend Byron Nelson finished in the money in his 52nd consecutive tournament. He won the Red Cross Open golf competition held at New Rochelle, NY.

1956 - Nanette Fabray bid audiences farewell in her final appearance on Caesars Hour after two years as a regular on the popular TV program.

1961 - Gunsmoke was broadcast for the last time on CBS radio. The show had been on for nine years. It was called the first adult Western. The star of Gunsmoke was William Conrad, who would become a major TV star (Cannon, Jake and the Fatman), as well. When Gunsmoke moved to TV, James Arness filled Conrad’s boots.

1975 - Fred Lynn of the Boston Red Sox had one of the greatest days in major-league baseball history. Lynn contributed 10 runs, 16 total bases on three home runs, a triple and a single in a game against the Detroit Tigers. The Red Sox won the game 15-1.

1977 - Fleetwood Mac worked Dreams to the number one spot on the pop music charts this day. It would be the group’s only single to reach number one. Fleetwood Mac placed 18 hits on the charts in the 1970s and 1980s. Nine were top-ten tunes.

1983 - Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, beginning her ride aboard the space shuttle Challenger for a six-day Odyssey.

1985 - The Wimbledon tennis seeding-committee, unable to decide on a favorite, made Chris Evert Lloyd and Martina Navratilova co-number one seeds. It was the first time in the 63-year history of the Wimbledon Open that a first co-seeding was utilized.

1985 - Patrick Ewing became one of 11 basketball centers to be chosen in the first-round draft of college players for the National Basketball Association. Ewing was picked by, and became a major star for, the New York Knicks.

1986 - Don Sutton of the California Angels pitched his 300th career win to lead Gene Autry’s ball club to a 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers. Sutton went on to win a total of 324 games in his illustrious career.

1996 - Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in (following Knesset approval) as Israel’s 9th Prime Minister. Netanyahu, the first prime minister born after the establishment of Israel, was elected May 29. His Likud-Party government lasted just under three years. He was defeated by the Labor Party’s leader, Ehud Barak, May 17, 1999.

1999 - These movies debuted in the U.S.: An Ideal Husband, starring Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, and Jeremy Northam; The General’s Daughter, with John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Clarence Williams III and James Woods; and Tarzan, featuring Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Chris Phillips and Rosie O’Donnell.

Birthdays
June 18th.

1886 - George Mallory
explorer, mountain climber: last seen in 1924 climbing Mt. Everest “Because it is there.”; Mallory’s body found on Everest at 27,000' May 1, 1999

1897 - Kay (James King Kern) Kyser
bandleader: Kay Kyser and His Kollege of Musical Knowledge: Three Little Fishes, Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition; died July 23, 1985

1903 - Jeanette (Anna) MacDonald
singer with Nelson Eddy, actress: Love Me Tonight, The Firefly, Cairo, The Cat and the Fiddle, One Hour with You, The Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta, Rose Marie; died Jan 14, 1965

1904 - Keye Luke
actor: Alice, Kung Fu; Charlie Chan’s #1 son; died Jan 12, 1991

1908 - Bud (Clayton Johnson Heermance, Jr.) Collyer
radio: Superman; TV host: To Tell the Truth, Beat the Clock, Masquerade Party, Winner Take All; died Sep 8, 1969

1910 - Ray McKinley
musician: drummer: Big Boy, Hard-Hearted Hannah, Red Silk Stockings and Green Perfume, You Came Along Way [from St. Louis]; led Glenn Miller Band for estate [1956-66]; died May 7, 1995

1913 - Sammy Cahn (Samuel Cohen)
composer; died Jan 15, 1993; see I Should Care Day [above]

1913 - (S.F.) Sylvia (Feldman) Porter
financial columnist: New York Post, New York Daily News; author: Sylvia Porter’s A Home of Your Own, Money Book; died Jun 6,1991

1914 - E.G. (Edda/Everett Gunnar) Marshall
Emmy Award-winning actor: The Defenders [1961-62, 1962-63}; Chicago Hope, The New Doctors, Twelve Angry Men, The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre; died Aug 24, 1998

1917 - Richard (Allen) Boone
actor: Have Gun Will Travel, Winter Kills, The Robe, Rio Conchos, Ten Wanted Men, The War Lord, Big Jake; died Jan 10, 1981

1920 - Ian Carmichael
actor: Dark Obsession, Heavens Above

1924 - George Mikan
Basketball Hall of Famer: NBA Silver Anniversary Team; Minneapolis Lakers MVP [1947], World Basketball Tournament MVP: Chicago American Gears [1946]; ABA Commissioner; ABA’s red/white/blue ball is his concept; died June 2, 2005

1925 - Robert Arthur (Arthaud)
actor: Naked Youth, Hellcats of the Navy, The Ring, September Affair

1926 - Tom Wicker
journalist, author: One of Us, Richard Nixon & the American Dream

1928 - Maggie McNamara
actress: The Cardinal, Three Coins in the Fountain, The Moon is Blue; died Feb 18, 1978

1939 - Lou (Louis Clark) Brock
Baseball Hall of Famer: outfielder: Chicago Cubs, SL Cardinals [World Series: 1964, 1967, 1968/all-star: 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979]; career record: 938 stolen bases; 3,000 career hits; 149 career home runs [500-footer hit into Polo Grounds’ center field bleachers: June 17, 1962]

1942 - Roger Ebert
film critic: of Siskel and Ebert fame

1942 - (James) Paul McCartney
Grammy Award-winning [1990] musician, songwriter, singer: group: The Beatles: 49 hits: She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band; group: Wings: 35 hits: Another Day, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, My Love, Live and Let Die, Band on the Run, Listen to What the Man Said, Silly Love Songs, Let ’Em In, Ebony & Ivory [w/Stevie Wonder], The Girl is Mine [w/Michael Jackson]; actor: Yellow Submarine, A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Let It Be, Magical Mystery Tour, Give My Regards to Broad Street; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [3-15-1999]

1952 - Carol Kane
Emmy Award-winning actress: Taxi [1981-82, 1982-83}; The Princess Bride, Hester Street, Addams Family Values, Carnal Knowledge, Dog Day Afternoon, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Ted & Venus, My Blue Heaven, When a Stranger Calls

1952 - Isabella Rossellini
model: over 500 covers; actress: Twin Peaks, Fearless, Blue Velvet, Crime of the Century, The Impostors

1953 - Jerome Smith
musician: guitar: group: KC & The Sunshine Band: Get Down Tonight, That’s the Way [I like It], [Shake, Shake, Shake] Your Booty, I’m Your Boogie Man, Keep It Comin’ Love, I like to Do It, Boogie Shoes, It’s the Same Old Song, Please Don’t Go; killed in bulldozer accident July 28, 2000

1956 - Brian Benben
actor: The Brian Benben Show, Family Business, Radioland Murders

1960 - Barbara Broccoli
film producer: GoldenEye, Crime of the Century, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough; daughter of James Bond film creator Albert R. Broccoli

1961 - (Genevieve) Alison ‘Alf’ Moyet
singer: solo: Love Resurrection, All Cried Out, Invisible, That Old Devil Called Love, Is This Love?, Weak in the Presence of Beauty; duo: Yazoo: Only You, Don’t Go, Nobody’s Diary

1966 - Sandy (Santos, Jr.) Alomar
baseball: catcher: SD Padres, Cleveland Indians [all-star: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996/World Series: 1995]

1969 - Vito Lograsso
pro wrestler/actor: ECW Hardcore TV, Extreme Championship Wrestling, WCW Thunder

1973 - Eddie Cibrian
actor: Sunset Beach, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, Beverly Hills: 90210, Saved By the Bell: the College Years, Third Watch.

Chart Toppers
June 18th.


1945 Sentimental Journey - The Les Brown Orchestra (vocal: Doris Day)
Dream - The Pied Pipers
Laura - The Woody Herman Orchestra
At Mail Call Today - Gene Autry

1953 Song from Moulin Rouge - The Percy Faith Orchestra
April in Portugal - The Les Baxter Orchestra
I’m Walking Behind You - Eddie Fisher
Take These Chains from My Heart - Hank Williams

1961 Moody River - Pat Boone
Quarter to Three - U.S. Bonds
Tossin’ and Turnin’ - Bobby Lewis
Hello Walls - Faron Young

1969 Get Back - The Beatles
Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini
In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
Running Bear - Sonny James

1977 Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Got to Give It Up (Pt. I) - Marvin Gaye
Gonna Fly Now (Theme from "Rocky") - Bill Conti
Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) - Waylon Jennings

1985 Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
Heaven - Bryan Adams
Sussudio - Phil Collins
Country Boy - Ricky Skaggs


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

171st day of 2008 - 195 remaining.

Thursday, June 19, 2008
GARFIELD DAY.


Whether you’re a cat lover or not has nothing to do with whether you chuckle at the antics of the famous, fat, lazy, lasagna-eating, snide cat named Garfield.

Garfield came into the world on this day in 1978 by way of the talented pen of cartoonist Jim Davis. Readers of 41 newspapers throughout the United States were the lucky first-time readers of the Garfield strip. There are now over 220 million folks who read Garfield every day in over 2500 newspapers worldwide.

Garfield and his pal Odie (the long-tongued, floppy-eared silly dog) spend most of their time making us laugh just by showing us their eating and sleeping habits. Since Garfield was born in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant, his favorite food is lasagna. He can devour a plate of lasagna (and most other foods) in one huge gulp!

Thousands of products, a multitude of books and several Emmy Award-winning TV shows have featured Garfield. Maybe you know someone who has a suction-cup-footed Garfield stuck on their car window ... or maybe you have a Garfield T-shirt, or a Garfield stuffed toy, or a Garfield whatever.

He may be a cartoon character, but Garfield, the cat, has endeared himself to cat-lovers throughout the world ... and many dog-lovers, too. Thank you, Jim Davis.
More here, click, click, and click.


Events
June 19th.

1846 - The first organized baseball game was played on this day. The location was Hoboken, New Jersey. The New York Baseball Club defeated the Knickerbocker Club, 23 to 1. This first game was only four innings long. The New York Nine, as the winners were known, must have really studied the rules to have twenty-three runs batted in. The rules had been formulated just one year earlier by a Mr. Alexander Cartwright, Jr.

1865 - It took more than two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect for Union troops to land in Galveston, Texas. They carried the message of freedom, the resolution of the Civil War between the States, to the many slaves throughout Texas. Union Major General Gordon Granger read General Order #3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” The slaves rejoiced with cheers and tears as they learned of their liberation, calling their “day of deliverance,” Juneteenth, a day still celebrated by black families and communities throughout the world.

1911 - The first motion-picture censorship board was established -- in Pennsylvania.

1912 - The United States government adopted a new rule for all working folks. It established an 8-hour work day. Watch that lunch break, though. You never know if someone from the government might be clocking you...

1934 - The U.S. Congress established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The task of the commission was to regulate radio and (later) TV broadcasting.

1936 - Max Schmeling knocked out Joe Louis in the 12th round of their heavyweight boxing match. The German boxer earned his victory at Yankee Stadium in New York.

1943 - The National Football League approved the merger of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers (the Steagles), a team that lasted one 5-4-1 season; but turned down approval of a similar merger of the Chicago Cardinals and the Bears. The following year the Steelers merged with the Cardinals, another one season combo. The reason teams were merging in the 1940s: so many men were in the armed forces due to WWII, football players were at a premium.

1946 - The first championship prizefight to be televised was seen by boxing fans. Joe Louis tangled with Billy Conn in New York City. To see the fight in person, incidentally, would have cost you $100.

1952 - CBS-TV debuted one of television’s most popular hits, I’ve Got a Secret. Garry Moore was the first host, from 1952 to 1964. Steve Allen was next (1964 to 1967) and moderated a syndicated version in the 1972-1973 season. Bill Cullen hosted the attempted comeback of the show in 1976. Panelists included Allen’s wife, Jayne Meadows; Bill Cullen, Henry Morgan, Betsy Palmer, Faye Emerson, Melville Cooper and Orson Bean.

1965 - I Can’t Help Myself, by The Four Tops, topped the pop and R&B charts. The Motown group got their second and only other number one hit with Reach Out I’ll Be There in 1966. Their other hits include: It’s the Same Old Song, Standing in the Shadows of Love, Bernadette and Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got) (their only million seller). The group called Motown (Detroit, MI) home and got their start in 1953 as the Four Aims. Levi Stubbs, Renaldo ‘Obie’ Benson, Lawrence Payton and Abdul ‘Duke’ Fakir placed 24 hits on the charts from 1964 to 1988. They first recorded as The Four Tops for Leonard Chess and Chess Records in 1956; then went to Red Top and Columbia before signing with Berry Gordy’s Motown label in 1963. The Tops, who had no personnel changes in their more than 35 years together were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

1973 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds reached the 2,000-career-hit plateau. The milestone came a decade after his first professional baseball appearance in Cincinnati.

1973 - National Hockey League record-holder Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings jumped leagues to join his sons, Mark and Marty, on the Houston Aeros (of the rival World Hockey Association). In doing so, Howe accepted a $1,000,000, four-year contract.

1981 - Superman II set the all-time, one-day record for theatre box-office receipts. Moviegoers forked over $5.5 million to see Christopher Reeve as the caped crusader. The three-day record was also shattered on June 21st, 1981, when a total gross of $14 million was collected.

1985 - Take heart, duffers! Angelo Spagnolo shot an incredible 257 -- that’s two-hundred, fifty-seven strokes -- to win the Worst Avid Golfer’s Tournament held at Ponte Vedra, FL. He earned the title of America’s Worst Recreational Hacker for the effort. He lost 60 golf balls, got a 66 on the 17th hold, and hit 27 balls into the water!

1992 - Batman returned in Batman Returns. He was welcomed by Americans with their wallets open ($45.69 million) that first weekend.

1998 - The X Files: Fight the Future opened in the U.S. David Duchovny (FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder) and Gillian Anderson (Agent Dana Scully) starred. And they fought despicable demons who were employed by the government, just as they have had to do so often in the TV series. The X Files: Fight the Future opened in 2,629 theaters nationwide, grossing a not-so-despicable $30.14 million the first weekend.

1998 - 28-year-old Rick Schroder signed on with ABC’s NYPD Blue as Detective Danny Sorenson. Young Schroder/Sorenson stepped into the opening created by the painful death of Detective Bobby Simone/Jimmy Smits.

1999 - Horror king/author Stephen King was was run down from behind by a van while walking on the shoulder of a road near his house in Maine. Motorist Brian Smith apparently lost control of his Dodge Caravan (he said his dog distracted him). King suffered a collapsed lung, 2 fractures of his right leg below the knee, a broken right hip, a fractured pelvis, 2 broken ribs and a scalp laceration. Now, that’s a horror story!

Birthdays
June 19th.


1623 - Blaise Pascal
scientist, philosopher: Provincial Letters; died August 19, 1662

1856 - Elbert Hubbard
author: A Message to Garcia, Little Journeys; founder: Roycroft Press; lost life aboard the ill-fated Lusitania [May 7, 1915]

1881 - (James J.) Jimmy Walker
politician: New York City mayor [1926-1932]; died Nov 18, 1946

1897 - Moe Howard (Moses Horowitz)
actor: one of the original Three Stooges; Dr. Death, Seeker of Souls, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; died May 4, 1975

1902 - Guy (Gaetano) Lombardo
bandleader: The Royal Canadians: “The most beautiful music this side of heaven.”: Auld Lang Syne, The Third Man Theme; died Nov 5, 1977

1903 - Lou (Henry Louis) Gehrig
‘The Iron Horse’: Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman: NY Yankees [World Series: 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938/all-star: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939]; played 2,130 consecutive games; drove in 100 runs 13 seasons in a row; topped 150 RBI’s on seven occasions; first 20th century player to hit 4 consecutive homers in one game; his uniform [No. 4] was the first to be retired; died June 02, 1941

1905 - Mildred Natwick
actress: Dangerous Liaisons, Barefoot in the Park, The Snoop Sisters, Tammy and the Bachelor; died Oct 25, 1994

1906 - Earl W. Bascom
rodeo showman and inventor: first side-delivery rodeo chute, first hornless bronc saddle, first one-handed bareback rigging; died Aug 28, 1995

1910 - Abe Fortas
U.S. Supreme Court Justice [1965-69]: resigned in 1969 after published reports that he had accepted lecture fees and a legal retainer while serving on the Court; died Apr 5, 1982

1912 - Martin Gabel
actor: Smile Jenny You’re Dead, Lady in Cement; TV game show panelist: What’s My Line?; died May 22, 1986

1919 - Louis Jourdan (Gendre)
actor: Gigi, Three Coins in the Fountain, The VIPs, Columbo: Murder Under Glass, Octopussy

1928 - Nancy Marchand
actress: The Sopranos, Lou Grant, Brain Donors, The Naked Gun, North and South Book 2; died June 18, 2000

1930 - Gena Rowlands
actress: Peyton Place, A Woman under the Influence, Night on Earth; daughter of Wisconsin State Senator

1932 - Pier Angeli (Anna Pierangeli)
actress: Battle of the Bulge, One Step to Hell, The Silver Chalice, S.O.S. Pacific; died Sep 10, 1971

1932 - Marisa Pavan
actress: Diary of Anne Frank, The Rose Tattoo, What Price Glory?, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

1936 - Tommy DeVito
singer: group: The Four Seasons: Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk like a Man, Rag Doll

1938 - Bob (Robert Thomas) Aspromonte
baseball: Brooklyn Dodgers, LA Dodgers, Houston Colt .45’s, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, NY Mets

1939 - Al Wilson
musician: drummer, singer: Show and Tell

1942 - Spanky (Elaine) McFarlane
singer: group: Spanky and Our Gang: Sunday Will Never Be the Same, Lazy Day, Like to Get to Know You, Give a Damn

1947 - Walt McKechnie
hockey: NHL: Minnesota North Stars, California Golden Seals, Boston Bruins, Detroit Redwings, Washington Capitals, Cleveland Barons, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Red Wings

1947 - Salman Rushdie
author: The Jaguar Smile, Midnight’s Children, The Satanic Verses

1948 - Phylicia (Allen) Rashad
Tony Award-winning actress: A Raisin in the Sun; TV: The Cosby Show, One Life to Live, Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man; dancer Debbie Allen’s sister; married to football announcer Ahmad Rashad

1949 - Jerry Reuss
baseball: pitcher: SL Cardinals, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates [all-star: 1975], LA Dodgers [all-star:1980/World Series: 1981], California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers

1951 - Ann Wilson
singer: group: Heart: Crazy on You, Magic Man, Barracuda, Straight On

1953 - Larry Dunn
musician: keyboards: group: Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Star, Sing a Song, Got to Get You into My Life, After the Love Has Gone, Boogie Wonderland, Let’s Groove

1954 - Kathleen Turner
actress: Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The Jewel of the Nile, Serial Mom, Naked in New York, House of Cards, Accidental Tourist, The War of the Roses, The Doctors The Virgin Suicides; voice of Jessica Rabbit in Roger Rabbit

1957 - Tom Bailey
musician, singer, keyboardist: The Thompson Twins: Hold Me Now

1959 - Mark DeBarge
musician: trumpet, sax: group: DeBarge: Rhythm of the Night

1961 - Alison Moyet
singer: group: Yazoo: Only You, Don’t Go; solo: LPs: Alf, Raindancing, Hoodoo, Essex

1962 - Paula Abdul
singer: Forever Your Girl, Straight Up, Opposites Attract, Promises of a New Day; actress: The Waiting Game, Mr. Rock ’n’ Roll: The Alan Freed Story; dancer: Laker Girl; TV talent judge: American Idol: The Search for a Superstar

1967 - Mia Sara
actress: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Timecop, Caroline at Midnight, Bullet to Beijing

1972 - Poppy Montgomery
actress: Blonde, Devil in a Blue Dress, Dead Man on Campus, The Beat

1972 - Robin Tunney
actress: The Craft, Encino Man, Empire Records, Niagara, Niagara, Vertical Limit.

Chart Toppers
June 19th.

1946 The Gypsy - The Ink Spots
All Through the Day - Perry Como
They Say It’s Wonderful - Frank Sinatra
New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills

1954 Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen
Three Coins in the Fountain - The Four Aces
Hernando’s Hideaway - Archie Bleyer
I Don’t Hurt Anymore - Hank Snow

1962 I Can’t Stop Loving You - Ray Charles
It Keeps Right on a-Hurtin’ - Johnny Tillotson
(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance - Gene Pitney
She Thinks I Still Care - George Jones

1970 The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue - The Beatles
Which Way You Goin’ Billy? - The Poppy Family
Get Ready - Rare Earth
Hello Darlin’ - Conway Twitty

1978 Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty
It’s a Heartache - Bonnie Tyler
Two More Bottles of Wine - Emmylou Harris

1986 On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald
I Can’t Wait - Nu Shooz
There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) - Billy Ocean
Life’s Highway - Steve Wariner


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

172nd day of 2008 - 194 remaining.

Friday, June 20, 2008
FUNNY GIRL DAY.


Fanny Brice, born Fannie Borach, debuted in the New York production of the Ziegfeld Follies on this day in 1910. It wasn’t long before Brice became known as America’s funny girl.

Brice was originally noticed by composer Irving Berlin; but was truly discovered by Florenz Ziegfeld, appearing as a Ziegfeld show girl, and then as the star of the Follies over the next 26 years. The comedienne, who sang novelty and dialect songs, also wowed the audience with her torch numbers such as, I’d Rather Be Blue, When a Woman Loves a Man, My Man and Second Hand Rose.

A regular on Rudee Vallee’s radio show, The Fleischmann Hour, in the 1920s, Fanny Brice joined The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air at age 45. The show on CBS radio was the introduction of her funny-voiced character, Baby Snooks. In 1937 she joined NBC radio and continued as the Snooks kid, a seven-year old spoiled brat. Brice’s most famous line was, “Whyyyyyy, daddy, whyyyyy?” From 1936 through 1951, Brice was one of radio’s biggest draws.

Fanny Brice died on May 29, 1951 at the age of 59 but she is still with us in the Broadway show [1964] and film [1968], Funny Girl, based on her life. Barbra Streisand gained recognition and acclaim for her role in both, as Fanny Brice, Funny Girl.

More here, here, here, and here.

[ShadowThomas]

Events
June 20th.

1782 - The Great Seal of the United States was adopted by Congress. William Barton designed the seal which consists of an eagle, an olive branch and 13 arrows -- one for each of the original 13 colonies.

1837 - Princess Victoria became Queen Victoria of England on this day, following the death of her uncle, King William IV. The Princess was only 18 when she was called to rule Britannia. Her first duty, "Hey, let’s call this the Victorian Age! Party on, subjects!" said she. And so it was for over 63 years until her death in 1901.

1863 - The National Bank of Philadelphia, PA received a charter from the U.S. Congress. It was the first bank to receive one.

1863 - Virginia’s cessation from the Union gave reason for the birth of West Virginia. 40 western counties of Virginia did not secede, and instead, formed their own government, officially entering the United States of America this day as the 35th state. Charleston is the capital of the Mountain State which boasts of having the most rugged terrain of any state east of the Mississippi. Throughout the forested hills of West Virginia, you’ll also find many cardinals (the state bird) and multitudes of the state flower, the big rhododendron.

1898 - It’s difficult to have a war when you don’t know there’s one going on and you don’t have any ammunition. So goes the story as to why, during the Spanish-American War, the Spanish commander of Guam surrendered to Captain Glass, the captain of the USS Charleston.

1921 - Alice M. Robertson of Oklahoma presided over the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to accept the task, even though it was only for a few minutes.

1939 - W2XBS (later WCBS-TV) in New York City televised the first TV operetta. Pirates of Penzance, composed by Gilbert and Sullivan, was presented to a very small viewing audience. Television was a new, experimental medium at the time.

1948 - Toast of the Town premiered on CBS-TV. New York entertainment columnist and critic Ed Sullivan was the host. It started his TV career that would span 23 years on a weekly basis. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made their television debut on the show. Also on the guest list: Rodgers & Hammerstein and pianist Eugene List. The first show of Toast of the Town cost $1375 to produce, including just $375 for the talent.

1950 - Willie Mays graduated from high school and immediately signed with the New York Giants for a $6,000 bonus. The ‘Say Hey Kid’ would play most of his career for the Giants -- in both New York and San Francisco -- becoming a baseball legend. As his career came to a close, Mays was traded to the New York Mets. Mays, an all-star center fielder, is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1960 - Floyd Patterson took back the world heavyweight title by knocking out Ingemar Johansson of Sweden in round five of a title bout at the Polo Grounds in New York City. (Patterson was knocked out in one round by Sonny Liston in a title bout in Chicago, Sep 25, 1962.)

1963 - The United States and the Soviet Union made a hot-line agreement. It was a way to establish emergency communications between the two superpowers during the Cold War. The system was tested, but never used.

1966 - The U.S. Open golf tournament was broadcast from San Francisco, with something extra for the nation’s golf fans. It was the first time TV had beamed a golf event in color.

1969 - Guitarist Jimi Hendrix earned the biggest paycheck ever paid (to that time) for a single concert appearance. Hendrix was paid $125,000 to appear for a single set at the Newport Jazz Festival.

1970 - The Long and Winding Road, by The Beatles, started a second week in the number one spot on the pop music charts. The tune was the last one to be released by The Beatles.

1985 - Coach Rollie Massimino told reporters, “I just can’t leave Villanova.” He turned down a basketball coaching offer of $2.1 million over 10 years to coach the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.

1987 - Whitney Houston’s album, Whitney, debuted on Billboard magazine’s album chart at number one. Houston became the first female to have an LP debut at the top. The singer, daughter of Cissy Houston and cousin of Dionne Warwick, began her singing career at age 11 with the New Hope Baptist Junior Choir in New Jersey. Houston first worked as a backup vocalist for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls; entered modeling in 1981, appearing in Glamour magazine and on the cover of Seventeen. Whitney married soul singer, Bobby Brown, in the late 1980s.

1991 - “I’m very pleased to welcome to the White House the newly-elected President of the Russian Republic, Boris Yeltsin,” said (41st) U.S. President George Bush (George I), greeting Yeltsin in the Rose Garden. “We will be interested in his views on the critical issues confronting the U.S.S.R. and its place in the world.”

1993 - The Chicago Bulls won their third consecutive title with a 99-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns in game 6 of the NBA finals. Michael Jordan was named MVP -- the first player to be named most valuable player of the National Basketball Association finals three years in a row.

1996 - Westinghouse Electric agreed to buy Infinity Broadcasting for $3.9 billion, a move that would combine the two biggest players in radio. That was just the beginning, as they say, of the gobbling up of American radio by corporate America. Congress had passed the Telecommunications Act in February 1996 permitting expansion of TV and radio station holdings, and removing restrictions on how many stations could be owned by one entity (huge corporation) in one market (your town/city).

1999 - Payne Stewart made a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole at famous Pinehurst Resort & Country Club's No. 2 course in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The putt was just enough to win the U.S. Open by one stroke over Phil Mickelson. Stewart, one stroke behind with three holes to play -- and apparently heading for a play-off round the next day -- made a 25-foot putt for par to catch Mickelson, a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to take the lead, and then his 24th putt of the day to win the championship.

1999 - (42nd) U.S. President Bill Clinton was pleased that Yugoslav troops were withdrawing from Kosovo. As NATO declared a formal end to its 11-week bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, Clinton said, “It’s a very happy day.”

Birthdays
June 20th.

1858 - Charles Chesnutt
novelist: The Conjure Woman, The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line, The Colonel’s Dream; died in 1932

1909 - Errol (Leslie Thomson) Flynn
actor: Captain Blood, In the Wake of the Bounty, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Too Much Too Soon; autobiography: My Wicked, Wicked Ways; died Oct 14, 1959

1921 - (Francisco Olegario) Pancho Segura
International Tennis Hall of Famer: Univ of Miami: U.S. Intercollegiate [1943, 1944 and 1945]; Grand Slam record: U.S. Doubles finalist [1944], mixed finalist [1943, 1947; writer: Pancho Segura’s Championship Strategy: How To Play Winning Tennis

1924 - Chet (Chester Burton) Atkins
Grammy Award-winning guitarist: made over 100 albums; elected to Country Music Hall of Fame [1973]; died June 30, 2001

1924 - Audie Murphy
American hero: most decorated GI of WWII [27 US decorations including Medal of Honor plus 5 decorations from France and Belgium]; actor: The Red Badge of Courage, The Unforgiven, Arizona Raiders, To Hell and Back; killed in plane crash May 28, 1971

1931 - Olympia Dukakis
Academy Award-winning actress: Moonstruck [1987]; Steel Magnolias, Working Girl, The Cemetery Club, Death Wish, Look Who’s Talking; cousin of U.S. presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis

1931 - Martin Landau
Academy Award-winning supporting actor: Ed Wood [1994]; Mission Impossible, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Tucker: The Man and His Dreams, By Dawn’s Early Light, Mistress, North by Northwest, Pork Chop Hill

1931 - James Tolkan
actor: Dick Tracy, Back to the Future, Serpico, Mary, The Hat Squad, Cobra

1933 - Danny Aiello (Daniel Louis Aiello, Jr.)
actor: Lady Blue, Moonstruck, Do the Right Thing, Ruby, Mistress, Me and the Kid, The Cemetery Club, The Pickle, The Godfather Part 2, Fort Apache, The Bronx, Harlem Nights, Dellaventura

1933 - Brett Halsey
actor: Black Cat, Dangerous Obsession, Twice-Told Tales, Return to Peyton Place, The Crash of Flight 401

1934 - Rossana Podesta
actress: The Sensual Man, Sodom and Gomorrah

1935 - Len Dawson
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback; sportscaster

1936 - Billy Guy
singer: group: The Coasters: Down in Mexico, Searchin’, Young Blood, Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown, Along Came Jones, Poison Ivy, Little Egypt; died Nov 5, 2002

1937 - Jerry Keller
singer: Here Comes Summer

1940 - John Mahoney
actor: Frasier, Cheers, The Human Factor, Primal Fear, In the Line of Fire, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Ten Million Dollar Getaway, Love Hurts, The Russia House, Tin Men, Moonstruck, The Manhattan Project

1942 - Brian Wilson
bass player, singer: group: The Beach Boys: 35 hits: I Get Around, Good Vibrations, Help Me, Rhonda, Surfin’ USA; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1988]

1943 - Andy (Andrew Auguste) Etchebarren
baseball: catcher: Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971/all-star: 1966, 1967], California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers

1944 - Dave (David Earl) Nelson
baseball: Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Texas Rangers [all-star: 1973], KC Royals

1945 - (Morna) Anne Murray
Grammy Award-winning singer: Love Song [1974], You Needed Me [1978], Could I Have This Dance [1980], A Little Good News [1983]; Danny’s Song, Snowbird, You Won’t See Me, He Thinks I Still Care, Shadows In the Moonlight; TV: Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour

1945 - Dave Rowe
football: Oakland Raiders defensive tackle: Super Bowl XI

1946 - Bob Vila
TV host/fixer-upper: This Old House, Home Again with Bob Vila; Sears super salesman

1946 - Andre Watts
1946 - Andre Watts (musician: classical pianist: Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

1947 - Candy Clark
actress: American Graffiti, Handle with Care, The Big Sleep, National Lampoon Goes to the Movies, Johnny Belinda, Blue Thunder, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Radioland Murders, Niagara, Niagara

1949 - Dave Elmendorf
football: LA Rams safety: Super Bowl XIV

1949 - Lionel Richie
musician: tenor sax, songwriter, singer: group: Commodores: ASCAP Nashville Country Songwriter Award: Three Times a Lady [1978]; solo: Truly, All Night Long [All Night], Hello, Say You Say Me

1949 - Dave Thomas
comedian, actor: Coneheads, Cold Sweat, Sesame Street Presents: Follow that Bird, Stripes, Second City TV, The New Show, Grace Under Fire; TV host: The Dave Thomas Comedy Show

1952 - John Goodman
actor: Roseanne, The Flintstones, The Babe, King Ralph, Born Yesterday, Matinee, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, Blues Brothers 2000, What Planet Are You From?, O Brother, Where Art Thou?

1953 - Alan Longmuir
musician: bass: group: Bay City Rollers: Keep on Dancing, Bye Bye Baby, Give Me a Little Love, Saturday Night

1953 - Raul Ramirez
tennis: champ: Italian Open [1975]

1954 - Michael Anthony
musician: bass: group: Van Halen: Dance the Night Away, [Oh] Pretty Woman, Runnin’ with the Devil, Jump, I’ll Wait, Panama

1958 - Dickie (Richard William) Thon
baseball: California Angels, Houston Astros [all-star: 1983], SD Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers

1960 - Doug (Douglas Wayne) Gwosdz
‘Eye Chart’: baseball: catcher: SD Padres

1960 - John Taylor
musician: guitar, bass: group: Duran Duran: Planet Earth, Hungry like the Wolf, Save a Prayer, Rio, Is There Something I Should Know, Union of the Snake, Wild Boys

1961 - Gary Varsho
baseball: Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates [NL champs [1991, 1992], Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies

1964 - Michael Landon Jr.
actor: Bonanza: The Return, Bonanza: The Ghosts

1967 - Nicole (Mary) Kidman
Academy Award-winning actress [The Hours (2003)];: Days of Thunder, Far and Away, Malice, Batman Forever, Billy Bathgate, The Portrait of a Lady, Eyes Wide Shut, Practical Magic, Moulin Rouge

1969 - MaliVai Washington
tennis: champ: Federal Express international [1992]; grand slam final: Wimbledon [1996]; created Mal Washington Kids Foundation

1972 - Jozef Stumpel
hockey: NHL: center: Boston Bruins, LA Kings.

Chart Toppers
June 20th.

1947 Peg o’ My Heart - The Harmonicats
Mam’selle - Art Lund
Linda - Buddy Clark with the Ray Noble Orchestra
It’s a Sin - Eddy Arnold

1955 Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White - Perez Prado
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie - Somethin’ Smith & The Redheads
Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young - Faron Young

1963 Sukiyaki - Kyu Sakamoto
You Can’t Sit Down - The Dovells
Blue on Blue - Bobby Vinton
Act Naturally - Buck Owens

1971 It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King
Rainy Days and Mondays - Carpenters
Treat Her Like a Lady - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

1979 Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
We are Family - Sister Sledge
Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
She Believes in Me - Kenny Rogers

1987 Head to Toe - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) - Whitney Houston
In Too Deep - Genesis
Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

173rd day of 2008 - 193 remaining.

Saturday, June 21, 2008
BANJO LESSON DAY.


His subject matter pictured life of blacks in the U.S. South during the 1880s. He, too, was black, and probably one of the first black artists to be exhibited in galleries throughout the U.S. This, however, is not what made Henry Ossawa Tanner famous. Rather, it was just his sheer talent.

Tanner was born on this day in 1859 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied painting under the noted artist Thomas Eakins while attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. It was Eakins who encouraged the young Tanner to paint professionally.

Several years later, in 1891, Henry Tanner moved to Europe to escape racial prejudice. He settled in Paris where he continued his studies and turned to painting pictures with religious themes. His art with its glowing, warm colors and dramatic light and dark contrasts was influenced greatly by the Dutch artist Rembrandt. Still, it was his early work like The Banjo Lesson that is best known.

Tanner died in the city he came to love and call his own, Paris. His work lives on in the United States, having been displayed in galleries in Louisville to New Orleans, from Chicago to New York City.

The Banjo Lesson, an oil painting on canvas, hangs in the Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia.
More here, here, and here.

Events
June 21st.

1788 - The colony of New Hampshire became the ninth state to enter the United States of America. It had been a long time coming. For 38 years, the fishing colony, first settled in 1623, and named in 1630 by Captain John Mason after his Hampshire, England home, was a part of the Massachusetts colony. Then, in 1679 it became a separate royal colony. Concord, the capital of the Granite State, was also central to much of the Revolutionary War. The official state bird is the purple finch, and has a matching state flower, the purple lilac.

1834 - Cyrus McCormick patented the first practical reaper for farming.

1859 - Andrew Lanergan of Boston, MA received the first rocket patent. Did the receipt of this patent make Mr. Lanergan of Boston the first rocket scientist?

1880 - Paddy Ryan won the world heavyweight boxing title by beating up Joe Goss in -- are you ready? -- the 87th round, near Colliers Station, West Virginia.

1913 - Georgia Broadwick became the first woman to jump from an airplane -- over Los Angeles, CA. Fortunately for her, Georgia made the leap with a parachute securely fastened to her person...

1940 - Richard M. Nixon married Thelma Catherine ‘Pat’ Ryan this day.

1941 - Wayne King and his orchestra recorded Time Was, with Buddy Clark providing the vocal accompaniment, for Victor Records.

1942 - Ben Hogan recorded the lowest score (to that time) in a major golf tournament. Hogan shot a 271 for 72 holes in Chicago, IL.

1948 - For those of us who have a garage full of those 12-inch round, black disks protected by flimsy cardboard covers, this note: Columbia Records announced that it was offering a new Vinylite long-playing record that could hold 23 minutes of music on each side. One of the first LPs produced was of the original cast of the Broadway show, South Pacific. Critics quickly scoffed at the notion of LPs, since those heavy, breakable, 78 RPM, 10-inch disks with one song on each side, were selling at an all-time high. It didn’t take very long though, for the 33-1/3 RPM album -- and its 7-inch, 45 RPM cousin to revolutionize the music industry and the record buying habits of millions.

1954 - NBC radio presented the final broadcast of The Railroad Hour, hosted by Gordon MacRae. The program had been on the air for almost six years.

1958 - Splish Splash, Bobby Darin’s first million-seller, was released by Atco Records. The song, written by Darin and Jean Murray, was Atco single #6117, recorded Apr 10, 1958.

1964 - Jim Bunning (later to become a U.S. Senator from Kentucky), a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, threw the first perfect game in the National League in 84 years, leading the Phils to a 6-0 win over the New York Mets. Bunning worked his magic in the first game of a Father’s Day doubleheader. Byrum Saam called the play-by-play on radio. In the second game of the twin-bill, 18-year-old Rick Wise won his first major-league game, 8-2, as the Phillies swept the Mets that summer day. (Bunning was also the first hurler in 61 years to get a no-hitter in both leagues.)

1965 - Gary Player won the U.S. Open golf tournament to become only the fourth winner to earn all four top pro golf titles. Player from South Africa was the first non-American to achieve the feat. The Grand Slam of golf, incidentally, includes the U.S. Open, the British Open, the Masters and the PGA Championship. The other professional golfers who have won all four events are Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Gene Sarazen.

1970 - Tony Jacklin was the second British golfer in 50 years to win the U.S. Open golf tournament.

1972 - Billy Preston received a gold record for the instrumental hit, Outa-Space. Preston, who played for gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, back in 1956, was also in the film St. Louis Blues as a piano player. He was a regular on the Shindig TV show in the 1960s; and recorded with The Beatles on the hits Get Back and Let It Be. Preston also performed at The Concert for Bangladesh in 1969. Many well-known artists utilized his keyboard talents, including Sly & The Family Stone and the Rolling Stones.

1985 - Ray Miller replaced Billy Gardner as manager of the Minnesota Twins. Miller became the fourth new manager to unpack his suitcase in the American League since the season started, two months previous.

1985 - Ron Howard directed his first music video. The TV star of The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days also directed the film Cocoon, which included Gravity, the song used in the video. Michael Sembello, a guitarist who played on Stevie Wonder’s hits between 1974 and 1979 was responsible for Gravity.

1989 - The U.S. Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson ruled that burning the American flag as a political protest is protected by the First Amendment. In 1984, on Dallas City Hall property, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag to protest Reagan administration policies. He was tried and convicted (one year in jail and $2,000 fine) under a Texas law outlawing flag desecration. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had reversed the conviction and the state then appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-to-4 against the Texas law.

1992 - Tom Kite fought fellow golfers and the elements as he won the U.S. Open. Scoring records had given way to survival at Pebble Beach, California. Howling winds made the greens as hard as concrete. Kite's final-round even-par score of 72 was enough to give him a two-stroke victory over Jeff Sluman.

1995 - Microsoft and Netscape officials met at Netscape headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. Notes taken by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen indicate that Microsoft offered to buy a share of its rival if Netscape would stop making Navigator for the Windows market. The Andreessen notes would be used later in the U.S. government’s massive antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft founder Bill Gates was painted as the master string-puller in a no-holds-barred plan to destroy Netscape Communications Corp. when it refused to collaborate on a plot to divide the market for Internet browser software.)

1997 - The New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 67-57, in the innaugural WNBA game before a sold-out crowd of 14,284 fans at the Great Western Forum. In other opening-day action: The Houston Comets beat Cleveland, 76-56, and the Sacramento Monarchs beat the Utah Starzz, 70-60. We’ll be right back with the weather...

1999 - America Online announced its investment of $1.5 billion in DirecTV creator Hughes Electronics Corp. The agreement gave AOL new high-speed options and expanded ties between the world’s largest Internet provider and the leading U.S. satellite TV service. A combination of AOL’s Internet services and Hughes ’ digital TV system would help increase DirecTV’s subscriber base while boosting the market for AOL’s interactive TV and high-speed Internet services.

1999 - Prince William, the ‘people’s prince’, turned 17. Princess Diana’s handsome eldest son was given a VW Golf by his dad, Prince Charles. This was the second birthday William had spent without his mother, who was killed in a car crash in August 1997.

Birthdays
June 21st.

1731 - Martha Washington (Dandridge Custis)
first First Lady of the U.S., wife of 1st U.S. President George Washington; made a mean cherry pie, we hear; died May 22, 1802

1853 - The envelope folding machine was patented by Dr. Russell L. Hawes of Worcester, MA.

1859 - Henry Tanner
artist; died May 25, 1937; see Banjo Lesson Day [above]

1903 - Al Hirschfeld
caricaturist: hid name of his daughter, Nina, in each of his drawings; died Jan 20, 2003

1905 - Jean-Paul Sartre
philosopher, writer: Being and Nothingness; playwright: No Exit, The Flies, The Age of Reason; rejected Nobel Prize for literature [1964]; died Apr 15, 1980

1906 - Randy (Randolph Edward) Moore
baseball: Chicago White Sox, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, SL Cardinals; died June 12, 1992

1918 - Ed (Edmund Walter) Lopat (Lopatynski)
baseball: pitcher: Chicago White Sox, NY Yankees [World Series: 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953/all-star: 1951], Baltimore Orioles; died June 15, 1992

1921 - Judy Holliday (Tuvim)
actress: Adam’s Rib, Bells are Ringing, Born Yesterday, It Should Happen to You; died June 7, 1965

1921 - Jane (Ernestine) Russell
actress: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Outlaw, Paleface, The Road to Bali; activist for homeless children

1925 - Maureen Stapleton
Academy Award-winning actress: Reds [1981]; A View from the Bridge, Bye, Bye Birdie, Cocoon: The Return; theatre at Hudson Valley Community College named for her; died Mar 13, 2006

1927 - Carl Stokes
politician: first black elected mayor of a major city: Cleveland [1967, 1969]; Cleveland Municipal Court Judge; died Apr 3, 1996

1929 - Helen Merrill (Jelena Ana Milcetic)
jazz singer: LPs: Helen Merrill, Brownie, Clear Out of This World, Dream of You; Swing Journal readers’ poll: Best American Jazz Singer [1989]

1932 - O.C. (Ocie Lee) Smith
singer: Little Green Apples, Daddy’s Little Man, Lighthouse, Slow Walk, The Son of Hickory Holler’s Tramp; vocalist for Count Basie Orchestra

1933 - Bernie Kopell
actor: Get Smart, The Love Boat, Love American Style, When Things were Rotten, Combat High, Sunset Beach, Bug Buster

1935 - Monte Markham
actor: The Second Hundred Years, Baywatch, Rituals, Dallas, Perry Mason, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, At First Sight, Judgment Day, Hotline, Guns of the Magnificent Seven

1935 - Françoise Sagan (Quoirez)
author: Aimez-Vous Brahms, Bonjour Tristesse, Evasion, A Certain Smile; died Sep 24, 2004

1938 - Ron Ely (Ronald Pierce)
actor: Tarzan, Slavers, Doc Savage; host: Miss America Pageant

1940 - Mariette Hartley
actress: Encino Man, Silence of the Heart, Improper Channels; TV hostess; commercials: Polaroid

1941 - Joe Flaherty
Emmy Award-winning writer: SCTV Network 90 [1983]; actor: Second City TV, Maniac Mansion. Happy Gilmore, A Pig’s Tale, Who’s Harry Crumb, Back to the Future, Part 2, Speed Zone, Stripes, Used Cars, Tunnelvision

1943 - Brian Sternberg
pole-vaulter: Univ. of Washington: world pole vault record [16’-7": 1963]

1944 - Ray Davies
musician: guitar, singer, songwriter: group: The Kinks: You Really Got Me, All Day & All of the Night, Tired of Waiting, A Well Respected Man, Sunny Afternoon, Lola

1945 - Chris Britton
musician: guitar: group: The Troggs: Wild Thing, Any Way that You Want Me, Give It to Me, Night of the Long Grass, Little Girl

1947 - Meredith Baxter
actress: Family Ties, Bridget Loves Bernie, Til Murder Do Us Part

1947 - Michael Gross
actor: Family Ties, Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland, In the Heat of Passion 2: Unfaithful

1947 - Duane Thomas
football: Dallas Cowboys running back: Super Bowl V, VI

1947 - Wade Phillips
football: coach: Denver Broncos

1948 - Joey Molland
musician: guitar, keyboards, singer: groups: Natural Gas, Badfinger: Day After Day, No Matter What, Baby Blue

1950 - Joey Kramer
musician: drums: group: Aerosmith: LPs: Toys in the Attic, Rocks, Draw the Line, Night in the Ruts

1951 - Nils Lofgren
musician: guitar, keyboards, singer, songwriter: Back It Up, Keith Don’t Go [Ode to the Glimmer Twin], Beggars Day, No Mercy, Secrets in the Street, Delivery Night; groups: Grin, E Street Band

1954 - Robert Pastorelli
actor: I Married a Centerfold, Beverly Hills Cop II, Murphy Brown, Dances with Wolves, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Striking Distance, Eraser, South Pacific [2001]

1956 - Rick (Richard Lee) Sutcliffe
baseball: pitcher: LA Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs [Cy Young Award-winner: 1984], Baltimore Orioles, SL Cardinals

1957 - Berkeley Breathed
cartoonist: Bloom County, Outland

1957 - Mark Brzezicki
musician: drums: group: Big Country: Harvest Home, Fields of Fire, In a Big Country, Chance, Wonderland, East of Eden, Where the Rose is Sown

1958 - Eric Douglas
actor: The Flamingo Kid, Delta Force 3: The Killing Game; died July 6, 2004

1959 - Tom Chambers
basketball: University of Utah, San Diego Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz; 20th player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points

1964 - Sammi Davis-Voss
actress: The Lair of the White Worm, Hope and Glory, Homefront

1964 - Doug Savant
actor: Melrose Place, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, Shaking the Tree, Red Surf, Masquerade, Godzilla [1998]

1967 - Derrick Coleman
basketball: Syracuse Univ, Seattle SuperSonics, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets

1973 - Juliette Lewis
actress: Cape Fear, Husbands and Wives, Natural Born Killers, Romeo is Bleeding, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, My Stepmother is an Alien, Too Young to Die, I Married Dora

1982 - Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor)
Prince William of Wales: first future king of England born in a hospital, first to wear disposable diapers, first to attend nursery school; son of England’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

[ShadowThomas]

Chart Toppers
June 21st.

1948Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Toolie Oolie Doolie - The Andrews Sisters
You Can’t Be True, Dear - The Ken Griffin Orchestra (vocal: Jerry Wayne)
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold

1956 The Wayward Wind - Gogi Grant
I Almost Lost My Mind - Pat Boone
Transfusion - Nervous Norvus
Crazy Arms - Ray Price

1964 Chapel of Love - The Dixie Cups
A World Without Love - Peter & Gordon
I Get Around - The Beach Boys
Together Again - Buck Owens

1972 The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
Nice to Be with You - Gallery
The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. - Donna Fargo

1980 Funkytown - Lipps, Inc.
Coming Up - Paul McCartney & Wings
Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia
One Day at a Time - Cristy Lane

1988 Together Forever - Rick Astley
Foolish Beat - Debbie Gibson
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
I Told You So - Randy Travis


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...



For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

174th day of 2008 - 192 remaining.

Sunday, June 22, 2008
BROWN BOMBER DAY.

On this night in 1937 Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, knocked out James J. Braddock in a boxing match in Chicago, Illinois. The bout lasted eight rounds and Louis was announced as the world heavyweight boxing champion. Exactly one year later, on this day in 1938, Joe Louis knocked out Germany’s Max Schmeling in the first round, in a bout at Yankee Stadium.

Joe Louis retained the world heavyweight boxing crown until he announced his retirement on March 1, 1949. That’s a total of 11 years, 8 months and 7 days ... and 30 matches to retain the title.

The International Boxing Hall of Famer’s first fight was at a boxing club where he fought for $7 worth of food. The Brown Bomber was knocked down seven times in two rounds and, even though he won, he swore he would never fight again. That was just five years before he became the champ!
More reading on this here, here, here, here, and here.


Events
June 22nd.


1807 - The crew of the British man-of-war Leopard fired upon and boarded the U.S. frigate Chesapeake. James Barron, the commander of the Chesapeake was convicted following a court-martial. The reason for the court-martial: Barron was not prepared for action. This incident, along with a few others, led to the War of 1812. A little side fact: Stephen Decatur, a judge in the court-martial, was killed in a duel some eight years after the war. The winner of the duel was James Barron.

1832 - J.I. Howe patented the pin-making machine, better known as a pinmaker.

1874 - Dr. Andrew Taylor Still began the first known practice of osteopathy.

1939 - The first U.S. water-ski tournament was held at Jones Beach, on Long Island, New York.

1939 - Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell joined in song to perform An Apple for the Teacher, on Decca Records.

1942 - V-Mail, or Victory-Mail, was sent for the first time. V-Mail used a special paper for letter writing during WWII. It was designed to reduce cargo space taken up by mail sent to and from members of the armed services. The letters written on this special paper were opened at the post office, censored and reduced in size by photography. One roll of film contained 1,500 letters.

1952 - The U.S. Olympic Fund increased by $1,000,000, thanks to a nationwide, 14-1/2 hour telethon that starred Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

1959 - Eddie Lubanski rolled 24 consecutive strikes -- two back-to-back perfect games -- in a bowling tournament in Miami, FL.

1959 - The Battle of New Orleans, by Johnny Horton, started week number four at the top of the nation’s music Tunedex. The song was number one for a total of six weeks. It was Horton’s only number one record and million-seller. He had big hits, however, with movie music: Sink the Bismarck and North to Alaska (from the film by the same title, starring John Wayne) -- both in 1960. Horton, from Tyler, TX, married Billie Jean Jones, Hank Williams’ widow. Tragically, Johnny Horton was killed in a car crash on November 5, 1960.

1963 - Fingertips - Pt 2, by Little Stevie Wonder, was released. It became Wonder’s first number one single on August 10th. Wonder had 46 hits on the pop and R&B music charts between 1963 and 1987. Eight of those hits made it to number one.

1964 - The United States Supreme Court voted that Henry Miller’s controversial book, Tropic of Cancer, could not be banned.

1964 - Barbra Joan Streisand signed a 10-year contract with CBS-TV worth about $200,000 a year. Both CBS and NBC had been bidding for Streisand’s talents.

1968 - Herb Alpert used his voice and his trumpet to run to the top of the pop music charts. This Guy’s in Love with You became the most popular song in the nation this day. It would rule the top of the pop music world for four weeks. It was the only vocal by Alpert to make the charts, though his solo instrumentals with The Tijuana Brass scored lots of hits. Alpert performed on 19 charted hits through 1987.

1970 - Mike Dann resigned as senior vice-president of CBS to join the Children’s Television Workshop, the Sesame Street people. Dann became the first major commercial TV industry leader to join forces with a non-commercial operation such as the CTW. As part of his deal, Dann was able to remove the letters A, B, C, N and S from the alphabet, doing what he couldn’t do at CBS: eliminate ABC and NBC.

1985 - People magazine had an interesting story in the week’s issue. It took a death count in Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo flick, finding that there were 44 people killed directly. The wizards at People figured out that this was an average of one body biting the Rambo dust every 2.1 minutes. There were also 70 explosions that killed an undetermined number of people, according to the magazine.

1989 - Batman, the movie, opened in U.S. theatres. Michael Keaton plays the big guy (Batman) and Batman’s real-life self, Bruce Wayne. Jack Nicholson is at his evil best as the Joker aka former crime enforcer Jack Napier. And Kim Basinger is Vicky Vale, photo journalist on a quest to unmask the batman person. Billy Dee Williams, Jack Palance and an all-star cast made this first Batman flick a hit. It did $42.71 million at the box office the first weekend.

1990 - The last-place Atlanta Braves fired manager Russ Nixon and replaced him with GM Bobby Cox, who last managed Toronto in 1985. Good move. Cox led the Braves to a dramatic worst-to-first turnaround, the first of its kind in the National League. In the World Series his team lost to the (also) resurgent Minnesota Twins. Cox was name AP Manager of the Year (the first manager to be so named in both leagues). The Braves followed 1991 with NL East championships in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997, becoming the first team to win division titles in six straight completed seasons. Those division titles also let to NL pennants, except for 1993 and 1997.

1992 - CBS This Morning co-host Paula Zahn announced, “Making headlines this morning: Bill Clinton comes up with a plan for the economy. Tax the rich, cut the deficit, and help just about everyone else.” Very similar to the Robin Hood system, wasn’t it?

1998 - CompUSA announced that it was buying Computer City from Tandy for $275 million. Tandy was selling the sickly chain as part of a turnaround it had started the previous year. Tandy president Leonard Roberts said, “Computer City was a losing operation for the company. The sale will allow us to completely focus on Radio Shack at a time when profits are at an all-time high.”

Birthdays
June 22nd.


1903 - ‘King’ Carl (Owen) Hubbell
‘The Meal Ticket’: baseball: pitcher: NY Giants [World Series: 1933, 1936, 1937/all-star: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942/Baseball Writer’s Award: 1933/won 24 games in a row over two seasons: 1936-37]; died Nov 21, 1988

1906 - Billy (Samuel) Wilder
Academy Award-winning director: The Apartment [1960], The Lost Weekend [1945]; Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot, Sabrina, Irma La Douce, The Front Page, Buddy, Buddy; died Mar 27, 2002

1907 - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
aviator, author: Gift from the Sea; married to Charles; mother of kidnapped Charles Jr.; died Feb 7, 2001

1909 - Michael Todd (Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen)
producer: Oklahoma!, Around the World in 80 Days; developed [w/American Optical Company] Todd-AO system using 65mm cine cameras at 30 fps and wide angle photgraphy [approx 150 degrees]; husband of Elizabeth Taylor; killed in plane crash Mar 22, 1958

1921 - Gower Champion
Tony Award-winning choreographer: 42nd Street [1981], The Happy Time [1968], Hello Dolly! [1964], Bye-Bye Birdie [1961], Lend an Ear [1949]; actor, dancer: Lovely to Look At, Show Boat, Mr. Music; died Aug 25, 1980

1921 - Joseph Papp (Papirofsky)
Pulitzer Prize-winning [3] producer; also winner of 28 Tony awards and 6 New York Critics Circle Awards; over 400 productions including: Hair, A Chorus Line, Two Gentlemen of Verona, That Championship Season; died Oct 31, 1991

1922 - Bill Blass
fashion designer

1928 - Ralph Waite
actor: The Waltons, Roots, Cliffhanger, The Bodyguard, Cool Hand Luke, Five Easy Pieces

1930 - Roy Drusky
DJ, songwriter: Alone with You, Country Girl, Anymore; singer: Three Hearts in a Tangle, Peel Me a Nanner, Another, Yes Mr. Peters [w/Priscilla Mitchell]; films: The Golden Guitar, Forty-Acre Feud

1933 - Diane Feinstein (Goldman)
politician: U.S. Senator from California

1934 - Russ (Russell Henry) Snyder
baseball: KC Athletics, Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1966], Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers

1936 - Kris Kristofferson
songwriter: Me & Bobby McGee, For the Good Times, Help Me Make It Through the Night; singer: Loving Her was Easier, Why Me; actor: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, A Star is Born, Semi-Tough, Fire Down Below, Dance with Me, Limbo, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town

1941 - Ed Bradley
news correspondent: 60 Minutes; host: Street Stories; died Nov 9, 2006

1941 - Michael Lerner
actor: Radioland Murders, Omen 4: The Awakening, Barton Fink, Eight Men Out, The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Candidate

1941 - Barry Serafin
news reporter: ABC News

1944 - Peter Asher
singer: group: Peter and Gordon: A World Without Love, I Go To Pieces, True Love Ways, Lady Godiva, Sunday for Tea; record producer

1944 - Klaus Maria Brandauer
actor: The Russia House, Quo Vadis, Out of Africa, Kindergarten, Never Say Never Again, The Salzburg Connection

1947 - Bobby Douglass
football: Chicago Bears QB: record: most yards rushing by a quarterback in a season [968 yards in 1972]

1947 - Howard Kaylan (Kaplan)
singer: group: The Turtles: Happy Together, She’d Rather Be with Me, Elenore, You Showed Me; duo: Flo & Eddie: back-up for: Bruce Springsteen, The Knack, etc.

1948 - ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich
basketball: New Orleans Jazz; NCAA Div. I Individual Record: total points scored [1,381], field goal points [522] in a season [1970]: Louisiana State; died Jan 5, 1988 [heart attack]

1948 - Todd Rundgren
singer: We Gotta Get You a Woman, I Saw the Light, Hello It’s Me, Can We Still Be Friends; groups: Nazz, Utopia; producer: Meat Loaf, Badfinger, Grand Funk Railroad

1949 - Alan Osmond
singer: group: The Osmonds/The Osmond Brothers: One Bad Apple, Any Time, Merrill and Jessica, You’re Here to Remember, I’m Here to Forget

1949 - Meryl (Mary Louise) Streep
Academy Award-winning actress: Sophie’s Choice [1982], [supporting actress] Kramer vs. Kramer [1979]; Silkwood, Postcards from the Edge, Death Becomes Her, Bridges of Madison County, The River Wild, Music of the Heart

1949 - Lindsay Wagner
actress: The Bionic Woman, The Paper Chase, Fire in the Dark, Nurses on the Line, The Second Wind

1953 - Cyndi Lauper (Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper)
Grammy Award-winning singer [1984]: Girls Just Want to Have Fun; Time After Time, True Colors; actress: Mad About You, Life with Mikey

1954 - Freddie Prinze (Preutzel)
comedian, actor: Chico and the Man; died Jan 29, 1977

1956 - Green Gartside
singer: group: Scritti Politti: LPs: Anomie & Bonhomie, Cupid & Psyche 85, Provision, Songs To Remember

1957 - Gary Beers
musician: bass, singer: group: INXS: Just Keep Walking, The One Thing, Original Sin, Melting in the Sun, This Time

1958 - Bruce Campbell
actor: The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Tornado!, The Hudsucker Proxy, Army of Darkness, Sundown, Maniac Cop series, Evil Dead series

1960 - Tracy (Jo) Pollan
actress: Family Ties, A Stranger Among Us; married to actor Michael J. Fox

1961 - Jimmy Somerville
musician: keyboards, singer: groups: The Committee, Communards: You are My World, Don’t Leave Me This Way; Bronski Beat: Smalltown Boy, Why, It Ain’t Necessarily So, I Feel Love

1962 - Clyde Drexler
‘The Glide’: basketball: Univ of Houston [1980s Phi Slamma Jamma team], Portland Trailblazers, Houston Rockets

1964 - Amy Brenneman
actress: Judging Amy, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Middle Ages, Fear, Heat, Casper, Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her

1964 - Tommy Cunningham
musician: drums: group: Wet Wet Wet: Angel Eyes [Home And Away], Somewhere Somehow, Wishing I Was Lucky

1968 - Darrell Armstrong
basketball [guard]: Fayetteville State Univ; NBA: Orlando Magic, NO Hornets, Mavericks.

Chart Toppers
June 22nd.

1949 Again - Gordon Jenkins
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
Bali Ha’i - Perry Como
One Kiss Too Many - Eddy Arnold

1957 Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley
I Like Your Kind of Love - Andy Williams
Four Walls - Jim Reeves

1965 I Can’t Help Myself - The Four Tops
Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds
For Your Love - The Yardbirds
Ribbon of Darkness - Marty Robbins

1973 My Love - Paul McCartney & Wings
Playground in My Mind - Clint Holmes
I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby - Barry White
Kids Say the Darndest Things - Tammy Wynette

1981 Stars on 45 medley - Stars on 45
Sukiyaki - A Taste of Honey
A Woman Needs Love (Just like You Do) - Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio
But You Know I Love You - Dolly Parton

1989 I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) - New Kids on the Block
Satisfied - Richard Marx
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry
Love Out Loud - Earl Thomas Conley


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


For those who are reading this, be sure and stop in daily as I will
keep this updated daily. I use to do a, Today in history article daily
on my morning radio show.

All I ask of you, is to not to post in this thread, so that others
that view this thread will not have to scroll down to view the
contents.
Thanks for your understanding.

[ShadowThomas]

175th day of 2008 - 191 remaining.

Monday, June 23, 2008
TIKI TIKI TIKI TIKI TIKI DAY.

How lucky we all are that Walt Disney changed his mind, and instead of opening the Bird Cafe, a Chinese restaurant with an animated, talking Chinese elder spouting Confucius-type bits of wisdom, he created the Enchanted Tiki Room. On this day in 1963, the sounds of Polynesian drums heraldedthe opening of Disneyland’s first Audio-Animatronic attraction.

If you’ve never been inside the Enchanted Tiki Room, where all the birds sing words and the flowers croon, you are in for a refreshingly innocent 15 (used to be 18) minutes of entertainment. If you’ve experienced this Disney delight, you’ll most likely agree that, after all the thrills and chills of other attractions, the Enchanted Tiki Room is the perfect place to chill out (literally, it’s air-conditioned) and let the Tiki gods take over.

In the tropical garden outside the Enchanted Tiki Room, the Tiki gods and goddesses, Maui, Koro, Tangaroa-Ru, Hina Kuluna, Pele, Negendei, Rongo and Tongoroa set the mood, telling you of their South Sea legends.

The Enchanted Tiki Room entertainment troupe consists of 225 singing, talking birds, flowers, tiki gods and drummers. Emceeing the sit-down show (230+ guests) is the multi-colored Macaw parrot, José. José, speaking with a Spanish accent, brings the show to life, introducing his parrot comedic partners, Michael from Ireland, Pierre from France and Fritz from Germany. The South Seas show is appropriately sponsored by Dole Pineapple and is complete with tropical rain storm ... don’t worry ... you won’t get wet in the Enchanted Tiki Room (although some redesigning has been done and the Tiki gods in the garden now occasionally squirt water at unsuspecting guests).

Other new additions are Iago and Zazu, Disney’s feathered friends from Aladdin and The Lion King, respectively.

José doesn’t mind changes in the script and partnering with the new Audio-Animatronic additions. He loves to entertain, and says he’ll stay forever, as long as the Enchanted Tiki Room isn’t turned into a taco stand.

Our show is delightful. We hope you’ll agree.
We hope that it fills you with pleasure and glee.
Because if we don’t make you feel like that,
We’re gonna wind up on the lady’s hat.

In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,
All the birds sing words and the flowers croon,
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.
Click, click, click, click, and here.

Events
June 23rd.


1868 - Christopher L. Sholes of Wisconsin patented his type-writer. A Mr. Remington later turned it into a more practical typewriter. Christopher’s version was a little cumbersome. It was about as big as a desk. And it didn’t have any correcting ribbon. The writer didn’t need any since the huge type-writer hid the paper inside itself so one couldn’t see any typos until after the fact ... a lot like when you forget to use the spell-checker on your computer.

1904 - The first American motorboat race got underway on the Hudson River in New York.

1917 - The ‘Sultan of Swat’ did just that on this day ... he swatted an umpire! Babe Ruth punched an umpire with his fist after he was given the “Yer outta here, Bub!” in a baseball game between Boston and Washington. Ruth, pitching at the time, threw four pitches, all called balls by the home plate umpire. Ruth stomped off the pitcher’s mound to the plate and tongue-lashed Brick Owens with a volley of unmentionable cuss words. Ruth was ejected and fined $100. Here’s the rub. Ernie Shore came into the game and pitched what would have been the fourth perfect game in major-league baseball history as the Red Sox defeated Washington 4-0. In truth it was the only perfect game ever thrown by a relief pitcher. However, Shore came into the game with Ruth’s walk on first so the entire game was not perfect. The base runner was cut down stealing second. “How about that!”

1931 - Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off on a ’round-the-world airplane flight aboard the Winnie Mae.

1931 - A young couple, who unknowingly would become the royal family of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, married today. Anne Bledsoe and William ‘Bill’ Henry Getty France tied the knot. Together, they built NASCAR into the largest sactioning organization of auto racing in the world.

1933 - The Pepper Pot radio program welcomed a new host. Don McNeill took over the show and renamed it The Breakfast Club. The show, a huge success for the NBC Blue network and later, ABC radio, became one of the longest-running radio programs in history. The show aired with McNeill as host until December 27, 1968. The Breakfast Club was a morning show that had its share of corny jokes, visiting celebrities and lots of audience participation.

1938 - Marineland opened near St. Augustine, Florida.

1941 - Front Page Farrell was heard for the first time on Mutual radio. In 1942, the program moved to NBC radio and stayed on the air until 1954. Sally and David Farrell were the central characters. A young actor, who would become a major motion picture star, played the role of David Farrell. He was Richard Widmark.

1941 - Lena Horne recorded St. Louis Blues for Victor Records and launched an illustrious singing career in the process. She was 23 years old at the time. Horne continued performing well into her 60s.

1947 - Wendy Warren and the News debuted on CBS radio. The broadcasts continued until 1958. No, the program was not a newscast, in the traditional sense. It was a serial -- one of many of the time. The unique thing about this particular show, however, was that Wendy Warren and the News did utilize a real three-minute newscast to open the show. The newscaster, delivering the news as part of the show, chose not to stay in the entertainment side of radio, but continued to be a true journalist and a legend at CBS. That newsman was Douglas Edwards.

1956 - The thoroughbred Swaps ran the 1-1/16 mile track at Hollywood Park, Inglewood, CA, in a blistering 1 minute, 39 seconds, setting a world record for thoroughbred race horses.

1960 - Cleon Turner finally found an entrance to what would become known as Crystal Onyx Cave. Turner had been searching for the place for 30 years. He and a friend found a promising location on the side of Pruitt’s Knob (Kentucky) on this day. They had been digging and digging and digging. Finally, with the help of a little dynamite, they created the new entrance.

1961 - The Antarctic Treaty, signed by twelve nations in 1959, finally took effect on this day. The treaty guaranteed that the continent of Antarctica would be used for peaceful, scientific purposes only. The twelve original signers of the treaty were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. Since that time, 28 other nations have signed on to the pact.

1967 - Thurgood Marshall was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. He was the first black to sit on that high court.

1985 - Golfer Arnold Palmer won his first victory of the year by setting a senior record. Palmer won the Senior Tournament Players Championship by 11 strokes.

1987 - The first celebrity cover girl to grace Cosmopolitan magazine since Elizabeth Taylor in 1969 was Madonna and she did it on this day.

1993 - Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband’s, uh, you know, with a butcher knife -- while he was sleeping. Police recovered the, uh, thingy, from the roadside where Lorena tossed it. It was surgically reattached to hubby John Wayne Bobbitt, who, by then, was wide awake. Lorena said that she chopped off John’s, uh, gizmo, because he had forced himself on her. We are certain there are lessons to be learned here, but where to start...

1995 - Los Angeles Raiders media release: “The Raiders organization has chosen to relocate to Oakland.” In a deju-vu-all-over-again kind of situation, Raiders owner Al Davis made the decision to take his team back to where it had come from. And the Raiders sued the NFL, claiming it forced the team to move by insisting that a second team be allowed to play at a new stadium Davis wanted to build at Hollywood Park in suburban Inglewood. Davis said the other team would have crippled his team financially when it came to selling luxury suites and building fan loyalty. He demanded more than $1 billion for the ‘right’ to the LA market and for compensation to his team for revenue to be lost because of the failed deal. Davis and the Raiders lost the suit on May 21, 2001. Kimberly Hamilton, forewoman of the 7-man, 5-woman jury said, “I think the key for me was that the Raiders did not have enough evidence to meet the burden of proof.” An NFL spokesman said, “The notion that the Raiders ‘own’ the Los Angeles market also was entirely unsupported by the evidence in this case. The Raiders abandoned Los Angeles when they returned to Oakland in 1995, just as they deserted Oakland in 1982 when they moved to the Los Angeles Coliseum.”

1996 - Michael Johnson beat the oldest world record in the books (Italy’s Pietro Mennea’s 19.72 had stood for 17 years). Johnson ran 200 meters in 19.66 seconds to rap up the Olympic Trials in Atlanta, Georgia.

1996 - Rusty Wallace ran out of gas while racing in the Miller 400 at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI. Fortunately for Wallace, his tank ran dry after he had crossed the finish line to win the race.

1999 - Wayne Gretzky became the 10th and final player to have the 3-year waiting period waived by the Hockey Hall of Fame “by reason of outstanding pre-eminence and skill.” ‘The Great One’ had joined nine others by being inducted immediately after retiring (he retired April 18, 1999). Gretzky was the NHL’s all-time scoring leader with 2,857 points, 894 goals, and 1,963 assists with four teams (Edmonton Oilers, LA Kings, SL Blues, NY Rangers) in 20 seasons. Gretzky holds or shares 61 National Hockey League records: 40 for regular season, 15 for playoffs and six for all-star competition.