Saturday, October 27, 2012

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Roberto Benigni (Academy Award-winning Italian actor/director, Life Is Beautiful) (60)
• John Cleese (actor-comedian-Monty Python founding member, Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda, Die Another Day) (73)
• Ruby Dee (actress, Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever;  widow of Ossie Davis) (88)
• Simon LeBon (singer, Duran Duran) (54)
• Patrick Fugit (actor, Almost Famous) (30)
• Kelly Osbourne (singer, daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne) (28)
• Scott Weiland (singer, Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver) (45)
• Matt Drudge (controversial web journalist) (46)
• Lee Greenwood (singer, "God Bless The U.S.A.") (70)
• K.K. Downing (lead guitarist, Judas Priest) (61)
• Garry W. Tallent (bassist, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) (63)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1787, the first of 85 "Federalist Papers," a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution and arguing for the new form of federal government, was published in a New York newspaper. The papers were written anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
• 1858, Roland H. Macy opened Macy's department store inNew York City.
• 1904,America's first subway system opened inNew York City.
• 1906, the forward pass was legalized in football.
• 1914 Poet Dylan Thomas ("Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night") is born. He dies in 1953.
• 1926 Watergate conspirator H.R. Haldeman is born. He dies in 1993.
• 1932 Author Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar) is born. She dies in 1963.
• 1938, DuPont announced the name "nylon" for its new synthetic fiber yarn.
• 1940 Mob leader John Gotti is born. He dies in 2002.
• 1954, movie star Marilyn Monroe and baseball player Joe DiMaggio divorced after nine-and-a-half months of marriage.
• 1955 The movie Rebel Without A Cause, starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, and Dennis Hopper, opens.
• 1962 The Rollin' Stones -- Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, and Tony Chapman -- enter Curly Clayton Studios in London for their first recording session. They do covers of Bo Diddley's "You Can't Judge A Book (By Looking At The Cover)," Jimmy Reed's "Close Together," and Muddy Waters' "Soon Forgotten."
• 1964 Sonny Bono marries Cher inTijuana,Mexico. They divorce in 1975.
• 1964, Sonny Bono married Cher inTijuana,Mexico. They divorced in 1975.
• 1969 Elton John writes the music for "Your Song" in 20 minutes.
• 1975 Bruce Springsteen appears on the cover of both Time and Newsweek magazines.
• 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East peace accord.
• 1979 Dream Police by Cheap Trick peaks at Number Six on the album chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1979 Head Games by Foreigner peaks at Number Five on the album chart, where it stays for three weeks.
• 1979 Iron Maiden appears on the cover of British music publication Sounds for the first time.
• 1980 T. Rex percussionist Steve Peregrine Took chokes to death on a cherry after ingesting too many hallucinogenic mushrooms.
• 1984 "On The Dark Side" by John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band peaks at Number Seven on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1984 "Some Guys Have All The Luck" by Rod Stewart peaks at Number 10 on the pop chart.
• 1986 After Morrissey is hit in the head by either a coin or drumstick thrown from the audience, the Smiths stop playing after a single song at a show inPreston,England.
• 1988, The U2 documentary Rattle And Hum has its world premiere at the Savoy Cinema in Dublin, Ireland, and the band plays a short acoustic set before the film is shown.
• 1990 "Suicide Blonde" by INXS peaks at Number Nine on the pop chart, where it stays for two weeks.
• 1990 Megadeth's Rust In Peace enters the Billboard album chart.
• 1990 The Razor's Edge by AC/DC peaks at Number Two on the album chart.
• 1994 Nirvana's Nevermind album is certified platinum six times over by the RIAA.
• 1996 Actor-comedian Morey Amsterdam (The Dick Van Dyke Show's Buddy Sorrell) dies at age 87.
• 1997, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 554.26 points, forcing suspension of trading for the first time since the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
• 1998 The R.E.M. album Up is released.
• 1999 Korn debuts its new single on the season premiere of South Park. Korn members Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Brian "Head" Welch, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and David Silveria lend their likenesses and voices -- as well as the song "Falling Away From Me" -- to an episode that spoofed the cartoon series Scooby Doo.
• 2002 Former Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell returns to his solo tour after being hospitalized for several days due to exhaustion and dehydration.
• 2002, Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith became the all-time leading rusher in the NFL, breaking the late Walter Payton's NFL career rushing record of 16,726 yards.
• 2003 Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland is arrested inHollywood on charges of driving under the influence of drugs and misdemeanor hit and run after plowing his BMW into several parked cars.
• 2004 Courtney Love is ordered to stand trial on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. Love is charged with assaulting singer Kristin King at the home of Love's former boyfriend and manager, Jim Barber, the previous April.
• 2004 Jimmy Eat World's Futures debuts at Number Six on the Billboard 200.
• 2010 Kings Of Leon's fifth album, Come Around Sundown, debuts at Number Two on the Billboard album chart, selling 184,000 copies in its first week of release to give the Kings both their highest chart number and best sales week ever.