On This Day: December 9

On This Day December 9

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1916 – Actor Kirk Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch (“Spartacus,” “The Bad and the Beautiful,” “The Odyssey,” “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” “Tough Guys,” “Lust for Life”) (d. 2020)

1922 – Standup comedian-actor Redd Foxx, born John Elroy Sanford, who played a junk dealer the 1970s NBC sitcom “Sanford and Son” (d. 1991)

1928 – Actor Dick Van Patten, best known for his role as the father in the ABC sitcom “Eight Is Enough” (d. 2015)

1930 – Screenwriter, director and actor Buck Henry, born Henry Zuckerman (“The Garduate,” “Heaven Can Wait”)

1934 – Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench (“Shakespeare in Love,” “Chocolat,” “Iris,” “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” “Notes on a Scandal,” “Philomena,” and has played M in several James Bond films)

1941 – Golden Globe, Emmy and Grammy-winning actor Beau Bridges (“Without Warning: The James Brady Story,” “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys”)

1953 – Emmy-winning actor, director and producer John Malkovich (“Places in the Heart,” “The Killing Fields,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Empire of the Sun,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Con Air,” “Being John Malkovich,” “Secretariat,” “Burn After Reading,” “RED”)

1957 – Musician, dancer and former teen idol Donny Osmond

History Highlights
History Highlights

1835 –  The newly created Texan Army captures the city of San Antonio, an important victory for the Republic of Texas in its war for independence from Mexico.

1965 – Based on the Peanuts comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” premieres on CBS and remains a holiday season viewing staple all these decades later.

1979 – A scientific panel declares that smallpox has been eradicated from the world. It marks the first time that a disease had been banished from the earth by the planning and action of international public health officials. 

1983 – “Scarface,” a crime drama starring Al Pacino, opens in movie theaters. Directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone, it is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name.

1990 – Lech Walesa becomes the first popularly elected president of Poland. Walesa had fought on behalf of Polish workers against the communist government as head of the Solidarity movement.

1992 – More than 1,800 U.S. Marines arrive in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the war-stricken and famine-plagued African nation.

1992 – British Prime Minister John Major announces the formal separation of Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, and his wife, Princess Diana.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1967 – The Monkees are in the middle of a four-week domination of the pop chart with “Daydream Believer.”

1972 – “I Am Woman,” by Helen Reddy, dominates the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, but endures as the unofficial anthem of the women’s rights movement.

1978 – Disco is all the rage as “Le Freak,” by Chic, tops the singles chart for the first of six non-sequential weeks.

1989 – Billy Joel has the top-selling single in the U.S. with “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” off his “Storm Front” album. The song burns brightly on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.

1995 – “One Sweet Day,” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, tops the Billboard Hot 100. It holds that spot for an unprecedented 16 weeks.

2000 – Destiny’s Child is in the middle of an 11-week domination of the singles chart with “Independent Women.”

2006 – “I Wanna Love You,” by Akon featuring Snoop Dog, begins its second and final week on top of the pop chart.

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On This Day: September 11

On This Day September 11

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Celebrity Birthdays
Celebrity Birthdays

1940 – Director Brian DePalma (“Carrie,” “Dressed to Kill,” “Blow Out,” “Scarface,” “The Untouchables,” “Carlito’s Way,” “Mission: Impossible”)

1961 – Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actress Virginia Madsen (“Candyman,” “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “The Rainmaker,” “Sideways,” “Designated Survivor”)

1962 – Emmy-winning actress Kristy McNichol (“Family,” “Empty Nest”)

1965 – Singer-songwriter-producer Moby, born Richard Melville Hall (“Go” and “Porcelain,” “Everything is Wrong and Play”)

1967 – Grammy and Emmy-winning jazz singer, pianist and actor Harry Connick, Jr.

1977 – Grammy-winning rapper and actor Ludacris, born Christopher Brian Bridges and best known for playing Tej Parker in the “The Fast and the Furious” movies

History Highlights
History Highlights

1961 –  Packing winds of 175 miles per hour, Hurricane Carla barrels into Texas. It kills 46 people and injures more than 450 others, with many lives spared due to the evacuation of nearly half a million people from the Texas coast. Carla is the first storm to garner live television coverage, featuring a young reporter named Dan Rather, who went on to become an acclaimed CBS News journalist.

1970 – Secret agent Maxwell Smart calls Agent 99 for the last time as the final episode of “Get Smart” airs on CBS. 

1971 – One of the most colorful figures of the Cold War dies: former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who went head-to-head with President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

1974 – The St. Louis Cardinals take seven hours, four minutes and 25 innings to beat the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. The contest sets a National League record for innings played in a night game. Fans finally go home after 3 a.m. 

1985 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the all-time hit leader with his 4,192nd hit to break Ty Cobb’s record. Rose lined a 2-1 pitch off San Diego pitcher Eric Show to left-center field for a single in the first inning. It was the 57th anniversary of Ty Cobb’s last game in the majors.

2001 – Four coordinated attacks using commercial airliners are launched against the U.S. by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda, leaving thousands dead or injured. New York City’s iconic World Trade Center is destroyed, part of The Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. is damaged, and heroic passengers aboard another jet wrest control from the terrorists and crash it into a rural Pennsylvania field to prevent it from striking a major city. 

2003 – Actor John Ritter dies just six days shy of his 55th birthday. Cause of death was an undetected aortic dissection, when the body’s main artery, the aorta, tears. Ritter was best known for playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three’s Company (1977–1984), receiving a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for the role in 1984.

Musical Milestones
Musical Milestones

1965 – The Beatles conquer the singles chart with “Help!”

1969 – John Lennon tells his business manager he’s quitting The Beatles, but doesn’t inform the band until days later. 

1971 – “Go Away Little Girl,” by Donny Osmond, begins a three-week run at No. 1 on the singles chart. 

1976 – “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty” by KC and the Sunshine Band boogies its way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It’s the band’s third No. 1 single.

1982 – Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” is on top of the singles chart.

1993 – Mariah Carey kicks off an eight-week domination of the singles chart with “Dreamlover.”

1999 – “Bailamos,” by Enrique Iglesias, begins its second and final week on top of the Billboard Hot 100.

2004 – “Goodies,” by Ciara featuring Petey Pablo, kicks off seven weeks on top of the singles chart.

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