Monday, September 24, 2012

 TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Gordon Clapp (actor, NYPD Blue's Detective Greg Medavoy) (64)
• Kevin Sorbo (TV star, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Andromeda) (54)
• Nia Vardalos (actress, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Life In Ruins) (50)
• "Mean" Joe Greene (NFL Hall Of Famer) (66)
• Alan Colmes (co-host of Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes) (62)
• Lou Dobbs (radio talk show host, former CNN anchor) (67)
• Gerry Marsden (singer-guitarist, Gerry & the Pacemakers) (70)
• Shawn "Clown" Crahan (percussionist, Slipknot) (43)

ON THIS DAY:

• 622, the prophet Muhammad completed his "Hegira," or "flight," fromMecca toMedina to escape persecution. InMedina, he built the followers of Islam, the religion he founded, into a community and an Arabian power. The Hegira would later mark the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
• 1789, Congress passed the First Judiciary Act, which provided for an Attorney General and a Supreme Court. President George Washington appointed six people to the first U.S. Supreme Court, and the Senate approved them two days later.
• 1869, thousands were ruined in a Wall Street panic, after financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market, in what became known as Black Friday.
• 1896 Author F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) is born. He dies in 1940.
• 1918 Actress Audra Lindley (Three's Company's Mrs. Roper) is born. She dies in 1997.
• 1936 Muppets creator Jim Henson is born. He dies in 1990.
• 1938, Don Budge won the U.S. Open, becoming the first tennis player to get the "Grand Slam," winning the U.S. Open, the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon in one year.
• 1941 Linda McCartney is born. She dies in 1998.
• 1948 Actor-comedian Phil Hartman (Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, NewsRadio) is born. He is murdered by his wife in 1998.
• 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower announced he was sending federal troops into Little Rock, Arkansas, to protect nine black students entering its newly-integrated high school, and federalized the Arkansas National Guard.
• 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0. They moved toLos Angeles the next season.
• 1964 The TV show The Munsters, starring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest, premieres.
• 1968, the TV newsmagazine 60 Minutes premiered on CBS with correspondents Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner.
• 1970, The TV series The Odd Couple, starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as mismatched roommates, premieres on ABC.
• 1976, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was sentenced to seven years in jail for taking part in a 1974 bank robbery after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was released after 22 months under a clemency order from President Jimmy Carter, and was pardoned by President Bill Clinton before he left office.
• 1977 "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac peaks at Number Three on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1977 "Telephone Line" by the Electric Light Orchestra peaks at Number Seven on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1977, The Love Boat premiered on ABC.
• 1983 "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel hits Number One on the pop chart.
• 1984 Actor Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon on TV's Batman) dies at age 85.
• 1991 Author Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel dies at age 87.
  1991 Nirvana releases Nevermind and changes the course of rock history. The album hits Number One in January of 1992.
• 1991 The Red Hot Chili Peppers release Blood Sugar Sex Magik. A year later on the same date, it is certified triple platinum for sales of over three million copies.
• 1993 Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler reaches a $2.5 million dollar settlement with his former band mates, who threw him out of the band because he couldn't kick his heroin habit.
• 1993 Metallica's self-titled fifth album, a.k.a. "the black album," is certified multi-platinum for sales of over 7 million copies.
• 2002 The Black Sabbath Story: Volume One and The Black Sabbath Story: Volume Two by Black Sabbath are released on DVD.
• 2003 An autographed copy of the 1966 Beatles album Revolver is sold for $35,835 at Sotheby's auction house inLondon.
• 2004 Marilyn Manson drummer Ginger Fish breaks his wrist and suffers a mild concussion when he falls from the stage during a German awards ceremony.
• 2005 Hurricane Rita makes landfall in theUnited States, devastatingBeaumont,Texas and portions of southwesternLouisiana.
• 2005 The Broadway musical Lennon, which is based on John Lennon's life, closes at the Broadhurst Theatre inNew York City.
• 2006 Wolfmother bassist Chris Ross leaves the band'sU.S. tour and begins a 23-hour journey home toSydney,Australia to be with his girlfriend as she gives birth to their first child. The baby comes into the world while Ross is still in the air.
• 2007 A 20-year-old man collapses and dies at a Smashing Pumpkins show inVancouver. Although the man had been crowd-surfing just before his collapse, the coroner finds no trauma to the man's head or any other part of his body.