Wednesday, August 15, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Jennifer Lawrence (actress, The Hunger Games, Winter's Bone, X-Men: First Class) (22)
• Joe Jonas (singer, The Jonas Brothers) (23)
• Ben Affleck (actor, director and screenwriter, Good Will Hunting, Armageddon, Shakespeare In Love, Pearl Harbor, Chasing Amy, Gone Baby Gone, The Town) (40)
• Bobby Caldwell (singer, "What You Won't Do For Love") (61)
• Rose Marie (actress-comedienne, The Dick Van Dyke Show's Sally) (89)
• Anthony Anderson (actor, Big Momma's House, Barbershop, My Baby's Daddy, Hustle & Flow) (42)
• Pat Priest (actress, The Munsters' Marilyn) (76)
• Stephen G. Breyer (U.S. Supreme Court Justice) (74)
• Linda Ellerbee (journalist) (68)
• Princess Anne, the Princess Royal (62)
• Larry Mathews (actor, The Dick Van Dyke Show's Ritchie) (57)
• Cris Judd (dancer, Jennifer Lopez's ex-husband) (43)
• Debra Messing (actress, Will & Grace, The Starter Wife) (44)
• Natasha Henstridge (actress, Species) (38)
• Zeljko Ivanek (Actor, Oz, 24, Homicide, Black Hawk Down) (55)
• Jimmy Webb (Songwriter, "MacArthurPark," "Wichita Lineman," "Galveston") (66)
• Tom Johnston (singer, the Doobie Brothers) (64)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1769, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was born. He died in exile on theisland ofSt. Helena on May 5th, 1821, at age 51.
• 1824, freed American slaves established the African country ofLiberia.
• 1858, regular mail delivery began for the Pacific coast.
• 1912 Chef and author Julia Child is born. She dies in August 2004.
• 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened by an American ship sailing from the Atlantic to thePacific Ocean.
• 1918 TheUnited States andRussia sever diplomatic ties.
• 1919 Actor Huntz Hall (Sach on The Bowery Boys) is born. He dies in 1999.
• 1939 The movie The Wizard Of Oz, starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Margaret Hamilton, has its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
• 1964 "I Should Have Known Better" by the Beatles peaks at Number 53 on the pop chart.
• 1965, The Beatles play the first-ever stadium rock concert, held at Shea Stadium inNew York City. Performing for 55,600, the show sets a record by grossing $304,000.
• 1969, the three-day Woodstock Music And Art Fair opened on Max Yasgur's farm inBethel,New York.
• 1970 John Barleycorn Must Die by Traffic peaks at Number Five on the album chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1970 Live At Leeds by the Who peaks at Number Four on the album chart, where it stays for three weeks. That same day, a live cover version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" from the album peaks at Number 27 on the U.S. pop chart and Number 38 on the U.K. pop chart.
• 1971, President Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, prices, and rents.
• 1974, Six people inPhoenix,Arizona, recorded the longest team trampoline bouncing marathon of 1,248 hours, or 52 days.
• 1979 Apocalypse Now, starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, and Robert Duvall, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, opens in theatres.
• 1979 In Through The Out Door by Led Zeppelin is released.
• 1980 George Harrison's autobiography I, Me, Mine is published.
• 1981 "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins peaks at Number 19 on the pop chart.
• 1981 Bella Donna by Stevie Nicks peaks at Number 11 on theU.K. album chart.
• 1981 Precious Time by Pat Benatar hits Number One on the album chart.
• 1983 Joey Ramone is rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery after getting into a fight over a woman.
• 1987 "Seven Wonders" by Fleetwood Mac peaks at Number 19 on the pop chart.
• 1990, A dramatic game-winning grand slam by Mark McGwire gave theOakland A's a 10-inning victory over the Red Sox, 6-2. With the shot, McGwire became the first player to hit 30 home runs in each of his first four seasons.
• 1991, Paul Simon plays a live concert on The Great Lawn in New York City's Central Park for an estimated crowd of 750,000. The show airs live on HBO.
• 1992 Actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford are married.
• 1992 House Of Pain's self-titled debut enters the album chart. It features the summer anthem "Jump Around."
• 1992 Morrissey's Your Arsenal enters the album chart.
• 1992 Nirvana's "Lithium" hits Number 64 on the pop singles chart.
• 1992 The Larry Sanders Show debuts on HBO.
• 1993 Blind Melon's self-titled debut enters the album chart.
• 1993 The Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream enters the album chart.
• 1995 Garbage releases its self-titled debut album.
• 1996 Les Claypool of Primus plays his first gig with his side project the Holy Mackerel, which features future Primus drummer Brain, at the Bottom Of The Hill Club inSan Francisco.
• 1996 Reports surface that the soundtrack to the film The Crow II has been banned in Korea due to controversial lyrics by Korn, the Deftones, and Above The Law.
• 2001 The Red Hot Chili Peppers cancel an August 28th concert inIsrael after a rash of suicide bombings in the country.
• 2002 The White Stripes and the Strokes complete a series of four concerts together with a show atNew York City'sRadioCityMusic Hall.
• 2002, Some 600 family members of September 11th victims file a trillion-dollar federal lawsuit against Saudi officials, banks, and charities, charging they'd financed Osama Bin Laden's network and the attacks on New York City and Washington.
• 2003 A massive power outage blacks out parts of sevenU.S. states and two Canadian provinces.