Sunday, September 30, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Johnny Mathis (singer, "Misty" and "Chances Are") (77)
• Marilyn McCoo (singer, The Fifth Dimension, married to Billy Davis Jr) (69)
• Angie Dickinson (actress, Police Woman's Sgt. Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson, Dressed To Kill, Pay It Forward) (81)
• Fran Drescher (actress, This Is Spinal Tap, Cadillac Man, The Nanny) (55)
• Jenna Elfman (actress, Dharma & Greg, Accidentally on Purpose) (41)
• Martina Hingis (Pro tennis player) (32)
• Barry Williams (actor, The Brady Bunch's Greg) (58)
• Monica Bellucci (actress, The Brotherhood Of The Wolf, The Matrix Reloaded, The Brothers Grimm, The Passion Of The Christ) (48)
• Vondie Curtis-Hall (actor, Chicago Hope) (56)
• Basia (singer) (58)
• Patrice Rushen (jazz/R&B singer, composer, and pianist) (58)
• Robby Takac (bassist, Goo Goo Dolls) (48)
• Eric Stoltz (actor, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Mask, Pulp Fiction, Chicago Hope) (51)
• Deborah Allen (country singer) (59)
• Marty Stuart (country singer) (54)
• Eddie Montgomery (Montgomery Gentry) (49)
• Cissy Houston (member of Sweet Inspirations and mother of Whitney Houston, aunt of Dionne Warwick) (79)
• Trey Anastasio (singer-guitarist, Phish) (48)
• Lacey Chabert (TV actress, Party Of Five, Daddy Daycare) (30)
• Debrah Farentino (actress, NYPD Blue, Eureka) (53)
• Marion Cotillard (actress, La Vie En Rose, Public Enemies, Big Fish, Inception, Contagion, The Dark Knight Rises) (37)
• Kieran Culkin (actor, Father of the Bride Parts I & II, Igby Goes Down, brother of Macaulay Culkin) (29, disputed 30)
• Robby Takac (bassist, Goo Goo Dolls) (48)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1846, dentist Dr. William Morton used the experimental anesthetic ether for the first time to painlessly remove a patient's tooth.
• 1916, the longest winning streak in modern baseball history was stopped at 26 games, when the New York Giants were beaten by the Boston Braves.
• 1924 Author Truman Capote (Breakfast At Tiffany's, In Cold Blood) is born. He dies in 1984.
• 1927, Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season, setting a record that would stand until 1961, when it was broken by Roger Maris, who hit 61. Maris' own record was broken in 1998 by Mark McGwire, who finished the season with 70 homers and then McGwire's record was broken in 2001 by Barry Bonds, who hit 73.
• 1947 T. Rex leader Marc Bolan is born. He dies in 1977.
• 1949, the Berlin Airlift, which had brought over 2.3 million tons of supplies in more than 277,000 flights to West Berlin in defiance of a Soviet blockade, came to an end.
• 1955, Actor James Dean (East Of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause, Giant) dies in a two car collision at age 24.
• 1955, Actor James Dean was killed. He was 24.
• 1960, The animated TV series The Flintstones premieres.
• 1960, The Howdy Doody Show last aired on NBC. On the final show, Clarabelle the Clown finally spoke, saying, "Goodbye kids."
• 1961 Bob Dylan is offered a contract with Columbia Records after playing a session for Caroline Hester's first album for the label.
• 1962, the National Guard and U.S. Marshals helped black student James Meredith succeed, on his fourth try, in registering for classes at the University of Mississippi, leading to a deadly riot in which two people were killed.
• 1962, the New York Mets ended their inaugural season with their 120th loss, setting the modern day record. The Detroit Tigers avoided tying or passing that loss record this year, by rallying to win five of their last six games and finishing with a 43-119 record.
• 1965 Donovan makes his U.S. TV debut on the show Shindig!
• 1967 "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison peaks at Number 10 on the pop chart.
• 1969 "Cold Turkey" by John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band is recorded inLondon.
• 1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash by Crosby, Stills & Nash is certified gold, the same day that David Crosby's girlfriend Christine Hinton is killed in a car accident.
• 1971 Yes kicks off their first tour with keyboardist Rick Wakeman inEngland.
• 1978 "Come Together" by Aerosmith, a cover of the Beatles song, peaks at Number 23 on the pop chart.
• 1978 Actor-ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (his dummies were Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd; father of Candice Bergen) dies at age 75.
• 1982, Cheers debuted on NBC.
• 1982, Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen is released.
• 1984 Kiss launches their European Animalize tour in Brighton, England. It's the first time out for lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, who's subbing for the ill Mark St. John.
• 1985, At a show at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band record their live version of Edwin Starr's "War."
• 1987 U2's The Joshua Tree is certified triple platinum by the RIAA.
• 1987, Roy Orbison plays his A Black And White Night concert, which results in the album and video of the same name, at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. Taking part in the show are Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, and others.
• 1988, actress Robin Givens said in a TV interview that her husband, heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson, was manic-depressive and that she was afraid of him. Tyson was sitting by her side while she said this during the interview.
• 1988, John Lennon is posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
• 1989, "Love In An Elevator" by Aerosmith peaks at Number 13 on theU.K. pop chart.
• 1991, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide ofHaiti is forced from office.
• 1993 George Harrison makes a guest voice appearances on the season premiere of The Simpsons.
• 1994 Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, is certified eight-times platinum by the RIAA.
• 1994 R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe signs a movie development deal with New Line Cinema.
• 1995 The Smashing Pumpkins play a surprise concert for 300 contest winners inCalgary,Alberta.
• 1997 Bridges To Babylon by the Rolling Stones is released.
• 1998 Three of the four members of the punk band Dead Kennedys vote to sever ties with Alternative Tentacles Records, the label founded by frontman Jello Biafra in 1983, claiming they are unable to settle claims of royalties underpayments with the label.
• 1999 John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to the Beatles song "I Am The Walrus" sell at a Christies auction inLondon for a little over $129,000.
• 2003 Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong's record label, Adeline Records, releases an album by a band called the Network, and speculation -- confirmed years later -- quickly grows that the band is actually Green Day in disguise.
• 2003 Limp Bizkit's fourth album, Results May Vary, debuts at Number Three on the Billboard 200 album chart, while Nickelback's The Long Road arrives at Number Six.
• 2003 Ozzy Osbourne announces that he is writing a Broadway musical based on the life of the Russian monk Rasputin. It has yet to surface.
• 2003 Skull Rings by Iggy Pop is released.
• 2003 The Best Of R.E.M. by R.E.M. is released.
• 2004 Courtney Love's trial on felony drug possession charges, scheduled to begin on this date inBeverly Hills,California, is continued to November 3rd.
• 2004 Metallica appears on The Jane Pauley Show.
• 2005, The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.