today in history

Events
January 9
1936 - The United States Army adopted the M1 semiautomatic rifle this day.
1937 - The first issue of the periodical LOOK went on sale. The initial issue sold 700,000 copies and within a month, LOOK became a biweekly magazine.
1941 - Sammy Kaye and his orchestra recorded Until Tomorrow on Victor Records. This song became the sign-off melody for Kaye and other big bands.
1941 - The first demonstration of small-screen color television was given by the Columbia Broadcasting System. The TV failed miserably, since RCA had pretty much wrapped up the patent process on color TV at the time.
1942 - Joe Louis knocked out Buddy Baer. ‘The Brown Bomber’ defended his world heavyweight boxing title for the 20th time as Buddy rested comfortably on the canvas in the very first round.
1951 - Australia defeated England in Sydney, Australia, retaining the ‘Ashes’, the trophy which symbolized the cricket title, held by Australia since 1932.
1951 - The United Nations headquarters officially opened in New York City.
1961 - The play, Rhinoceros, opened on Broadway, starring two of the theatre’s true stars -- Eli Wallach and Zero Mostel.
1965 - The Beatles’ Beatles ’65 was the number-one album in the U.S. for the first of nine straight weeks (thru Mar 6). The tracks were: No Reply, I’m a Loser, Baby’s in Black, Rock and Roll Music, I’ll Follow the Sun, Mr. Moonlight, Honey Don’t, I’ll Be Back, She’s a Woman, I Feel Fine, and Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby.
1972 - Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, speaking to reporters by telephone from the Bahamas, said a purported biography of him by Clifford Irving was a fake. Irving and his wife had received a $750,000 advance from the McGraw-Hill publishing house for the book. Clifford Irving was eventually imprisoned and ordered to repay the advance, plus damages.
1977 - Super Bowl XI (at Pasadena): Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14. John Matuszak and the Raiders defense kept Vikings QB Fran Tarkenton busy all day. MVP: Raiders’ WR Fred Biletnikoff. Tickets: $20.00.
1981 - Hockey Hall of Famer, Phil Esposito, said he would call it quits as a hockey player after the New York Rangers-Buffalo Sabres hockey game. It was a game that seemed like it might never end -- both teams skated to a 3-3 tie. Esposito quit the New York Rangers and went on to become General Manager and coach of the Rangers. Phil Esposito played for the Boston Bruins when he won the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player in the NHL in 1969 and 1974 and helped lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cup Championships in 1970 and 1972.
1984 - “WHERE’S THE BEEF?” Clara Peller was first seen by TV viewers this day in the famous and successful commercial campaign for Wendy’s fast-food chain. Dave Thomas spent $8 million on the ads that promoted hamburger sales plus T-shirts, baseball caps, records, greeting cards and countless other items bearing the picture of the elderly cult star.
1986 - Kodak got out of the instant camera business after 10 years. A nasty court battle didn’t go their way. The court claimed that Kodak copied Polaroid patents. Sixteen million camera owners were offered free stock, coupons or a replacement camera.
1996 - The Toronto Raptors set an NBA record for fewest free throws made. They missed all of their free throws while losing 92-91 to the Charlotte Hornets.
1998 - These movies opened in the U.S.: Firestorm (“Fight fire with fire.”), starring Howie Long, Scott Glenn, Suzy Amis and William Forsythe; and Wag the Dog (“Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail was smarter, the tail would wag the dog.”), with Dustin Hoffman, Robert Deniro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Andrea Martin, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, Craig T. Nelson and Suzie Plakson.

Birthdays
January 9
1901 - Chic (Murat Bernard) Young
cartoonist: Blondie, introduced the Dagwood Sandwich to America; died Mar 14, 1973
1902 - Sir Rudolf Bing
manager: Metropolitan Opera House [1950-1972]; died Sep 2, 1997
1913 - Richard Milhous Nixon
36th U.S. Vice President [1953-1961]; 37th U.S. President [1969-1974], only President to resign from office [Aug. 9, 1974 over charges stemming from Watergate scandal]; died Apr 22, 1994
1915 - Fernando Lamas
actor: The Cheap Detective, Murder on Flight 502, Rose Marie, The Merry Widow, Rich, Young and Pretty; died Oct 8, 1982
1915 - Anita Louise (Fremault)
actress: Retreat, Hell!, Wagons Westward, The Little Princess, Marie Antoinette, That Certain Woman, Judge Priest; died Apr 25, 1970
1917 - Herbert Lom (Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich Schluderpacheru)
actor: Son of the Pink Panther and others in Pink Panther series, Ten Little Indians, King Solomon’s Mines, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Dorian Gray, Spartacus, War and Peace, The Seventh Veil, Secret Mission
1934 - Bart Starr (Bryan Bartlett)
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Green Bay Packers quarterback: Super Bowl I, II [Most Valuable Player in both bowl games]; coach: Green Bay Packers
1935 - Bob Denver
actor: Gilligan’s Island, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Back to the Beach, Wackiest Wagon Train in the West; died Sep 2, 2005
1935 - Dick Enberg
sportscaster: California Angels play-by-play voice, NBC Sports, CBS Sports
1936 - Ralph (Willard) Terry
baseball: pitcher: NY Yankees [World Series: 1960, 1961-1964/all-star: 1962], KC Athletics, Cleveland Indians, NY Mets
1937 - Judith Krantz
author: Scruples
1939 - Jimmy Boyd
singer: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus; actor: Bachelor Father, The Second Greatest Sex, Inherit the Wind, The Electric Company, Brainstorm, A Winner Never Quits
1941 - Joan Baez
singer: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down; political activist
1941 - Susannah York (Susannah Yolande Fletcher)
actress: Devices and Desires, Superman 2, The Awakening, Superman: The Movie, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, A Man for All Seasons, Tom Jones, Tunes of Glory
1943 - Rod Curl
golf: champ: Colonial National Invitational [1974]
1944 - Scott (Noel) Engel
singer: group: The Walker Brothers: My Ship is Coming In, Take It Easy on Yourself, The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore, LP: Take It Easy; solo as Scott Walker: Joanna
1944 - Jimmy Page
musician: guitar: group: Led Zeppelin: Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, D’yer Mak’er, Fool in the Rain
1945 - Doug Volmar
hockey: Michigan State Univ.; NHL: Detroit Red Wings, LA Kings
1947 - Terry Brown
football: Minnesota Vikings safety: Super Bowls VIII, VIX
1948 - Bill Cowsill
singer, musician: group: Cowsills: The Rain, the Park and the Other Things, Hair, Indian Lake; died Feb 18, 2006
1950 - David Johansen (Buster Poindexter)
singer: group: New York Dolls; solo: LP: Here Comes the Night, Buster Poindexter; actor: Mr. Nanny, Scrooged, Married to the Mob
1950 - Robert Newhouse
football: Dallas Cowboys running back: Super Bowls X, XII, XIII
1951 - Crystal Gayle (Brenda Gail Webb)
singer: Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Half the Way; singer, Loretta Lynn’s sister
1965 - Joely Richardson
actress: The Patriot, Behaving Badly, Lady Chatterley, 101 Dalmatians, The Affair of the Necklace
1970 - Marco Sanchez
actor: Walker, Texas Ranger, SeaQuest DSV, The Last Debate, American Pie 2

Chart Toppers
January 9
1945 Don’t Fence Me In - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
There Goes that Song Again - Russ Morgan
I’m Making Believe - Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots
I’m Wastin’ My Tears on You - Tex Ritter

1953 Why Don’t You Believe Me - Joni James
Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Perry Como
Glow Worm - The Mills Brothers
Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Skeets McDonald

1961 Wonderland by Night - Bert Kaempfert
Exodus - Ferrante & Teicher
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton

1969 I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes & The
http://440.com/twtd/gldbal3.gifTemptations
Daddy Sang Bass - Johnny Cash

1977
You Don’t Have to Be a Star(To Be in My Show) - Marilyn McCoo &
http://440.com/twtd/gldbal3.gifBilly Davis, Jr.
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Broken Down in Tiny Pieces - Billy "Crash" Craddock

1985 Like a Virgin - Madonna
The Wild Boys - Duran Duran
Sea of Love - The Honeydrippers
Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind - George Strait

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Events
November 17
1938 - Orchestra leader Kay Kyser, speaking to an audience at the College of the City of New York (CCNY) told of the “inner workings and artistic features of swing music.” It marked the first of a series of lectures on swing music presented by Kyser, who went on to present The Kollege of Musical Knowledge on radio.
1950 - Roberta Peters filled in for the lead in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She would become one of the Met’s most famous stars.
1954 - Golfer Arnold Palmer signed a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods and became a pro.
1962 - The 4 Seasons, with Frankie Valli as lead singer, began a five-week run at the top of the tunedex with Big Girls Don’t Cry.
1966 - Woody Allen’s first play, Don’t Drink the Water, opened on Broadway.
1968 - The ‘Heidi Game’ happened on TV. The New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game was cut off to begin a family show (Heidi) on NBC. The TV audience missed Oakland’s two touchdowns (in nine seconds) to win the game 43-32. NBC was flooded with calls and the concept of program delay was instituted immediately by the networks.
1970 - Elton John recorded an album live, on what was WABC-FM in New York City. It marked the first time that a concert was aired live and recorded for release as aired. The LP was titled, 11/17/70.
1980 - Roger Mudd began working as chief Washington correspondent for NBC. Mudd had left CBS after being passed over as Walter Cronkite’s replacement on The CBS Evening News.
1981 - Luke Spencer married Laura Baldwin in what was called “the wedding of the year” on the TV serial General Hospital. An audience of 14 million viewers watched as vows were exchanged on the ABC program.
1986 - Racecar driver Rick Mears set a U.S. closed-course record at the Michigan International Speedway. Mears was timed at an average speed of 233.934 mph, breaking the record set by Mark Donahue in 1975.
1986 - The creator of the term ‘baby boomer’ released the first issue of the magazine Quality this day. Landon Jones subtitled his glossy effort, America’s Guide to Excellence. There was only one problem. Most of America wasn’t buying and Quality did not last very long on newsstands.
1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), by a vote of 234 to 200. The Senate voted 60 to 38 for approval of the legislation on November 20. The bill was signed into law by President Clinton on December 8, 1993. It took effect on January 1, 1994. Under NAFTA, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico become a single, integrated market with $6.5 trillion worth of goods and services annually.
1995 - These movies debuted in the U.S.: The American President (“Why can’t the most powerful man in the world have the one thing he wants most?”), with Michael Douglas, Annete Bening, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox; Goldeneye (“You know the name. You know the number.”), starring Pierce Brosnan for the first time as Bond ... James Bond; and It Takes Two (“Two identical strangers. Two different worlds. One perfect match.”), with Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg.
1997 - Mario Lemieux was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. On Nov 19 Mario Lemieux’s number 66 wasretired in a ceremony at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. And, surprise, on Dec 27, 2000 Lemieux, part-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, became a player again. 2000 - It was opening day in the U.S. for these films: Bounce (“Two strangers fell in love. One knew it wasn’t by chance.”), starring Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tony Goldwyn; Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!”), with Jim Carrey as the Grinch, Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who, Christine Baranski as Martha May Whovier and Anthony Hopkins narrating; Rugrats in Paris - The Movie (“France never had a chance!”), starring the voices of Susan Sarandon, John Lithgow, Debbie Reynolds, Tim Curry and Casey Kasem; and The 6th Day (“They picked the wrong man to clone.”), with Arnold Schwarzenneger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport and Robert Duvall.



Birthdays
November 17
1901 - Lee Strasberg (Israel Strassberg)
director; teacher of method acting at Actor’s Studio; died Feb 17, 1982
1905 - Mischa Auer (Ounskowsky)
actor: My Man Godfrey, Brewster’s Millions, Destry Rides Again, You Can’t Take It with You; died Mar 5, 1967
1916 - Shelby Foote
historian, writer: The Civil War
1925 - Rock Hudson (Roy Harold Scherer Jr.)
actor: McMillan and Wife, Giant, A Gathering of Eagles, Ice Station Zebra, Magnificent Obsession, Pillow Talk, Written on the Wind; died Oct 2, 1985
1930 - Bob Mathias
Olympic & National Track & Field Hall of Famer: gold medalist decathlon [1948, 1952]; Sullivan Award; graced Wheaties boxes for years; Olympic torch lighter [1984]; U.S. congressman; played himself in The Bob Mathias Story; director: Olympic Training Center; died Sep 2, 2006
1933 - Orlando (Gregorio Quevara) Pena
baseball: pitcher: Cincinnati Redlegs, Cincinnati Reds, KC Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, SL Cardinals, California Angels
1936 - Gary Bell
baseball: pitcher: Cleveland Indians [all-star: 1960, 1966], Boston Red Sox [World Series: 1967/all-star: 1968], Chicago White Sox, Seattle Pilots
1937 - Jim (James Thomas) Brewer
baseball: pitcher: Chicago Cubs, LA Dodgers [World Series: 1965, 1966, 1974/all-star: 1973], California Angels; died Nov 16, 1987
1937 - Peter Cook
actor: Beyond the Fringe, Beyond the Fringe ’64, Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe, Bedazzled, Monte Carlo or Bust; writer: Bedazzled; died Jan 9, 1995
1938 - Gordon Lightfoot
singer: Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind, Carefree Highway, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald; songwriter: Early Morning Rain, Ribbon of Darkness
1941 - Gene Clark
singer, musician: guitar: group: The Byrds: Turn, Turn, Turn; New Christy Minstrels; died May 24, 1991
1942 - Bob Gaudio
singer: group: The Royal Teens: Short Shorts; The Four Seasons: Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk like a Man, Rag Doll
1942 - Martin Scorsese
director: Mean Streets, The Color of Money, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, New York, New York, The Last Temptation of Christ, Cape Fear, Michael Jackson’s Bad video
1943 - Lauren Hutton
actress: American Gigolo, Lassiter, Paper Lion
1944 - Danny DeVito
Emmy Award-winning actor: Taxi [1980-81]; Twins, Batman Returns, Hoffa, The Jewel of the Nile, Romancing the Stone, Terms of Endearment, director: Throw Mama from the Train, The War of the Roses, Jack the Bear; married to actress Rhea Perlman
1944 - Lorne Michaels
Emmy Award-winning writer: The Paul Simon Special [1977], Saturday Night Live [1976, 1977, 1989], Lily [1974]; Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Three Amigos; Emmy Award-winning producer: Saturday Night Live [1976, 1993, 2002]; Sunday Night, The New Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Stuart Saves His Family, Lassie, The Coneheads, Wayne’s World series, Three Amigos
1944 - Tom ‘Terrific’ (George Thomas) Seaver
Baseball Hall of Famer: NY Mets [World Series 1969, 1973/all-star: 1967-1973, 1975, 1976/Cy Young Award: 1969, 1973, 1975], Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1977, 1978, 1981], Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox; broadcaster: Reds, Mets, ABC
1945 - Elvin Hayes
Basketball Hall of Famer: ‘The Big E’: San Diego/Houston Rockets, Baltimore Bullets; 5th on list of most games played in ABA/NBA; University of Houston, All America [1967, 1968]
1946 - Martin Barre
musician: guitar: Jethro Tull: Living in the Past
1948 - Herman Weaver
football: kicker: Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks
1950 - Roland Matthes
swimmer: Olympic Gold Medalist: 100 and 200 meter backstroke [1968, 1972]
1951 - Charlie Davis
football: Pittsburgh Steelers DT [Super Bowl IX], SL Cardinals, Houston Oilers
1955 - Yolanda King
actress: Ghosts of Mississippi, America’s Dream, The Secret Path, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.; died May 15 2007
1958 - Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
actress: The Color of Money, The Abyss, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Class Action, Consenting Adults, Scarface
1959 - William R. Moses
actor: Perry Mason, Falcon Crest, Mystic Pizza, Trial by Jury, The Perfect Wife
1962 - Eric Olson
actor: Apple’s Way, Swiss Family Robinson
1966 - Daisy Fuentes
model: Revlon; TV host: MTV VJ; actress: Loving, America’s Funniest Home Videos
1966 - Sophie Marceau (Maupu)
actress: La Boum, Pacific Palisades, Braveheart, The World is Not Enough, A Midsummer Night's Dream 1967 - Ronnie DeVoe
singer: groups: New Edition, Bell Biv DeVoe