Friday, February 15, 2013

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS:

• Matt Groening (Simpsons and Futurama creator; his name is pronounced "gray-ning") (59)
• Jane Seymour (actress, Live And Let Die, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) (62)
• Melissa Manchester (singer, "Don't Cry Out Loud") (62)
• Alex Borstein (actress, MadTV, the voice of Lois and other characters on Family Guy) (40, 42 disputed)
• Joseph R. Gannascoli (actor, Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos) (54)
• Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth (reality TV star) (39, disputed)
• Mick Avory (former drummer, the Kinks) (69)
• John Helliwell (sax player, Supertramp) (68)
• Janice Dickinson (American supermodel) (58)
• Zachary Gordon (actor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid's Greg) (15)
• Brandon Boyd (lead singer, Incubus) (37)
• Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. (drummer, the Killers) (37)
• Jake E. Lee (guitarist, Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands) (56)

ON THIS DAY:

• 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up inCuba'sHavanaHarbor, killing over 260 crew members. Although the cause of the explosion wasn't proven, "Remember The Maine" became a rallying cry and brought theU.S. closer to war withSpain.
• 1907 Actor Cesar Romero (the Joker on the Batman TV series) is born. He dies in 1994.
• 1927 Actor-comedian Harvey Korman (The Carol Burnett Show, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety) is born. He dies in 2008.
• 1933, president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an attempt on his life in Miami, when shots fired at him by Giuseppe Zangara missed him and accidentally killed Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak.
• 1964, Actor-comedian Chris Farley (Saturday Night Live, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja) is born. He dies in 1997.
• 1964, Meet The Beatles! by the Beatles hits Number One on the album chart, where it remains for 11 weeks.
• 1965, The Beatles start recording their Help! album by laying down "Ticket To Ride." 1965,Canada's new maple-leaf flag was unfurled at ceremonies inOttawa.
• 1977 Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist in the Sex Pistols.
• 1978, Leon Spinks beat Muhammad Ali in a 15-round split decision to capture the world heavyweight crown in Las Vegas, making the match one of boxing's greatest upsets.
• 1979, "Just The Way You Are" by Billy Joel wins Grammys for Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year.
• 1989, after over nine years of armed intervention in the country's civil war, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan.
• 1992, cannibalistic mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life prison terms for the brutal sex-torture murders of 15 young men. He was later murdered in prison.
• 1995 The FBI arrests Kevin Mitnick as its most wanted computer hacker. He serves five years in prison.
• 1995, ZZ Top files a lawsuit against the Steridyne Corporation for naming its gel-filled bedsore product "The ZZ Topper."
• 1996, Actor McLean Stevenson (M*A*S*H's Colonel Henry Blake) dies at age 66.
• 2002 Blink-182 and Green Day announce that they are teaming up for the Pop Disaster tour.
• 2002 Ozzy Osbourne records his show at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan, for the live CD and DVD Live At Budokan.
• 2005, YouTube is launched in theUnited States.
• 2005 Sevendust officially announces former Snot and Amen guitarist Sonny Mayo as the replacement for original axeman Clint Lowery.
• 2006, The grave site of AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott, located inWestern Australia, is classified with a "heritage listing" by the country's National Trust office.
• 2007 Singer Chris Cornell officially announces his departure from Audioslave in a press release, stating, "Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."
• 2008 Activision announces that it will release Guitar Hero: Aerosmith in the summer of 2008, making it the first game based primarily on the music of one act.