Saturday, August 4, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• President Barack Obama (44th President of theUnited States) (51)
• Richard Belzer (actor/comedian, Homicide: Life On The Street, Law & Order, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) (68)
• Roger Clemens (Cy Young Award-winning pitcher forBoston, the New York Yankees,Houston; suspected of steroid use) (50)
• Jeff Gordon (NASCAR Champion) (41)
• Daniel Dae Kim (actor, Lost, Hawaii Five-0) (44)
• Helen Thomas (journalist, the dean of the White House press corps) (92)
• Billy Bob Thornton (actor/screenwriter-musician, Sling Blade, Monster's Ball, Bad Santa, The Alamo, The Bad News Bears, Armageddon; former husband of Angelina Jolie) (57)
• Frank Vincent (actor, Raging Bull, Do The Right Thing, Goodfellas, Jungle Fever, Casino, "Phil Leotardo" in The Sopranos) (73)
• Alberto Gonzalez (controversial former U.S. Attorney General) (57)
• Frankie Ford (singer, "Sea Cruise") (73)
• Crystal Bowersox (singer, runner up on the 9th season of American Idol) (27)
• Max Cavalera (singer, Sepultura, Soulfly) (43)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1735, John Peter Zenger of the New York Weekly Journal was acquitted by a jury of a charge of seditious libel againstNew York's royal governor. The victory established “freedom of the press” in theU.S.
• 1821, the first edition of the Saturday Evening Post was published. The magazine ceased publication in 1969.
• 1875 Children's author Hans Christian Andersen (Thumbelina, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid) dies at age 70.
• 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden are murdered with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts. Andrew’s daughter Lizzie is accused of the killings, but she's acquitted after a trial.
• 1903 Actress Clara Peller (the "Where's The Beef?" lady from the Wendy's commercials) is born. She dies in 1987.
• 1914,Britain declared war onGermany during World War I, while theUnited States proclaimed its neutrality.
• 1944, the Nazis raided the secret annex of a building in Amsterdam and arrested eight people, including teen Anne Frank. Anne died the following March at a concentration camp.
• 1960, Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby is born. He dies in 2002.
• 1962 Nelson Mandela is captured by South African police and given a five-year prison sentence.
• 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney, who have been missing since June 21st of that year, were found buried inside an earthen dam in Mississippi.
• 1966 The day after the South African government bans Beatles records from being aired, in response to John Lennon's statement that the band is now more popular than Jesus Christ, manyU.S. radio stations ban the broadcast of any and all Beatles records.
• 1968 The Newport Pop Festival takes place in Costa Mesa, California. One hundred thousand people see the Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, the Byrds, the Grateful Dead, and Sonny & Cher.
• 1969 The Medicine Ball Caravan, featuring the Grateful Dead and Wavy Gravy, becomes rock-and-roll's first traveling festival. It begins inSan Francisco and ends in theU.K.
• 1970 Doors lead singer Jim Morrison is charged with public drunkenness when he is found unconscious on an elderly lady's doorstep inLos Angeles.
• 1972 The movie Superfly, starring Ron O'Neal, opens.
• 1979 "One Way Or Another" by Blondie peaks at Number 24 on the pop chart.
• 1980 The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) are the cover story in People magazine.
• 1983, during a game in Toronto, New York Yankees outfielder Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull with a thrown baseball. After the game,Toronto police arrested Winfield for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal." The charges were dropped the next day.
• 1984 Out Of The Cellar by Ratt peaks at Number Seven on the album chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1985 The Cure releases The Head On The Door.
• 1985 Tom Seaver of the Chicago White Sox becomes the 17th pitcher to win 300th career games and Rod Carew of the California Angels becomes the 16th player ever to collect 3000 career hits. It marks the only day in which two men reach these two milestones on the same day.
• 1990, "Cradle Of Love" by Billy Idol peaks at Number Two on the pop chart.
• 1992 Los Angeles police officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno are indicted in the beating of Rodney King. They are eventually acquitted, which leads to rioting inLos Angeles.
• 1994 Women And Children First by Van Halen is certified triple platinum, and Fair Warning is certified double platinum.
• 1995 Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash joins UFO on stage at the Palace in Los Angeles. In a moment worthy of Spinal Tap, Slash's hair gets caught in UFO guitarist Paul Chapman's guitar neck.
• 2001 Actor Lorenzo Music (the voice of Carlton The Doorman on Rhoda, the voice ofGarfield on TV) dies at age 64.
• 2004 Taking Back Sunday's second album, titled Where You Want To Be, debuts at Number Three on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 163,000 copies in its first week of release.
• 2004 The Vote For Change concerts are announced, featuring Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and James Taylor.
• 2005 Black Sabbath returns to OzzFest in Clarkston, Michigan, after missing several dates due to an ailing Ozzy Osbourne.
• 2006 Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock reveals that former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is now a full-time member of the group.
  2006 Lollapalooza kicks off its second year in Chicago as a "destination festival" with more than 130 acts on eight stages, including Blue October, Panic! At The Disco, the Raconteurs, Death Cab For Cutie, Wolfmother, Queens Of The Stone Age, 30 Seconds To Mars and headliners the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
• 2010 Avenged Sevenfold's latest album, Nightmare, debuts at Number One on the Billboard album chart, selling 163,000 copies in its first week of release. It's both the band's best single sales week ever and their first Number One debut.