Saturday, January 26, 2013

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Eddie Van Halen (rock guitarist) (58)
• Ellen DeGeneres (actress-comedienne-talk show host) (55)
• David Strathairn (actor, Silkwood, Eight Men Out, A League Of Their Own, The Firm, L.A. Confidential, The Bourne Ultimatum, Good Night, And Good Luck) (64)
• Scott Glenn (actor, Apocalypse Now, The Right Stuff, The Hunt For Red October, The Silence of the Lambs, Backdraft, Training Day) (72)
• Bob Uecker (Former professional baseball player; broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers; actor, Mr. Belvedere, the Major League movies) (78)
• Wayne Gretzky (former hockey player, one of the best National Hockey League players ever, NHL Center and Hall Of Famer, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings) (52)
• Anita Baker (R&B singer) (55)
• Andrew Ridgeley (member of 80s pop duo Wham!, along with George Michael) (50)
• Angela Davis (professor and political activist) (69)
• Kirk Franklin (gospel singer) (43)
• Jean Knight (singer, "Mr. Big Stuff") (70)
• Suleman Octuplets (4)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1788, the first European settlers landed in present-day Sydney, Australia. They were led by Captain Arthur Phillip and included 700 English convicts for a new penal colony.
• 1880, Douglas MacArthur, the five-star general who vowed in the Philippines during World War II, "I shall return" -- and did -- was born. He died April 5th, 1964, at age 84.
• 1905, a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered in South Africa. This largest diamond ever found was cut into 106 polished diamonds, the biggest of which, the 530.2-carat "Star Of Africa," was presented to Britain's King Edward VII. The Star Of Africa is currently kept in theTower OfLondon with the other Crown Jewels, mounted in the British sovereign's Royal Scepter.
• 1905, Singer Maria Von Trapp, whose life story inspired The Sound Of Music, was born. She died March 28th, 1987, at age 82.
• 1924, "The Charleston" hit Number One on the pop chart.
• 1925 Oscar-winning actor and humanitarian Paul Newman (Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Sting, Slap Shot, The Color Of Money, Road To Perdition) is born. He dies in 2008.
• 1934,Germany andPoland signed a 10-year non-attack treaty. However, the Nazis invadedPoland a little over five-and-a-half years later, on September 1st, 1939, beginning World War II.
• 1946, Film critic Gene Siskel is born. He dies in 1999.
• 1948, Executive Order 9981 was signed, ending segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• 1967 Mick Jagger sees Jimi Hendrix play on TV. The Rolling Stones frontman calls the performance "the most sexual thing I've seen in a long time!"
• 1970 John Lennon and Phil Spector write and record "Instant Karma" in one day.
• 1971 "Black Magic Woman" by Santana peaks at Number Four on the pop chart.
• 1973, actor Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar, Double Indemnity, Key Largo, The Ten Commandments, Soylent Green) dies at age 79.
• 1977, actress Marlo Thomas met future husband Phil Donahue when she appeared on his TV talk show.
• 1977, Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green is sent to a mental hospital after attacking his accountant with an air rifle. The CPA was trying to give Green a $30,000 royalty check that the guitarist had earlier refused.
• 1979, The TV show The Dukes Of Hazzard, starring Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, James Best, Sorrell Booke, and Sonny Shroyer, debuts.
• 1992, Actor Jose Ferrer (Cyrano De Bergerac, the original Moulin Rouge, The Caine Mutiny, Lawrence Of Arabia; former husband of Rosemary Clooney; uncle of George Clooney) dies at age 83.
• 1992, In an interview on 60 Minutes, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife Hillary, acknowledges "causing pain in my marriage," but says past problems are not relevant to the campaign.
• 1993 David Rockola, the manufacturer of the Rock-Ola jukebox, dies at the age of 96.
• 1996 AC/DC's classic Back In Black is certified 12 times platinum for passing the 12 million mark in sales.
• 1996 The self-titled debut album from Foo Fighters is certified platinum.
• 1997 Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and medical student Skylar Satenstein marry quietly inLas Vegas. They separate in 2004 and are now divorced.
• 1997, Psychic Jeanne Dixon dies at age 93.
• 1998, President Bill Clinton denies he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky by waving his finger and saying, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
• 2003, Billy Joel is discharged from Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island, New York, following a car accident the night before (January 25th) in which he wrecked his Mercedes.
• 2004 Alice Cooper begins his syndicated Nights With Alice Cooper radio program, which airs weeknights.
• 2004 Drowning Pool confirms Jason "Gong" Jones as their new vocalist, replacing original frontman Dave Williams. Williams died in his sleep on the band's tour bus from a heart defect in August 2002. Jones leaves the band in 2005.
• 2005 Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, becoming the first African American woman to hold the post.
• 2005 Nickelback announces that they've parted ways with drummer Ryan Vikedal.
• 2005 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are the featured guests on NBC's The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, making up for an appearance canceled two weeks earlier when Ozzy became sick.
• 2011 Kings Of Leon drummer Nathan Followill posts angry comments on his Twitter feed directed at Glee creator Ryan Murphy, who earlier slammed the band for not allowing their music to be used on the series. Followill later deletes his post, apologizing to "anyone that misconstrued my comments as homophobic or misogynistic."