This Week In History: December 28 – January 3

Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s

World News & the American Experience:

1934 – Alcatraz officially became a federal prison.

1938 – The March of Dimes was established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to fight polio.

1945 – Congress officially recognized the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

1946 – President Truman officially proclaimed the end of World War II.

1977 – Ted Bundy escaped from jail in Colorado.

Movies & TV:

1963 – “Let’s Make A Deal,” debuted on NBC-TV.

1971 – Tobacco ads representing $20 million dollars in advertising were banned from broadcast.

1980 – “The Wonderful World of Disney” was broadcast for the last time.  It was the longest-running series in prime-time history.

1981 – CNN Headline News premiered.

Music & Radio:

1942 – “Mr. and Mrs. North” debuted on NBC radio, with Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost.

1943 – Bing Crosby recorded “San Fernando Valley.”  It was a huge hit.

1955 – Barbra Streisand recorded her first song, “You’ll Never Know.” She was 13 years old.

1957 – “At the Hop”, by Danny and The Juniors, hit #1 on the music charts and stayed there for 7 weeks.

1961 – The first performance by The Beach Boys with their new name took place.

1962 – “Match Game” debuted on NBC with host Gene Rayburn.

1963 – The “Dear Abby” show premiered on CBS radio and ran for 11 years.

1966 – Monkee’s “I’m a Believer” hit #1 and stayed there for 7 weeks.

1966 – Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” reached #1.

1968 – The Beatles “White Album” was #1 and stayed there for 9 weeks.

1969 – Peter, Paul and Mary earned a gold record for the single, “Leaving On a Jet Plane”.

1971 – George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” was #1 on U.S. album charts. Harrison was the first ex-Beatle to hit #1 with a solo album.

1972 – Don McLean received a gold record for his hit, “American Pie”.

1974 – Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac.

1975 – Elvis Presley performed at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI.  He earned $800,000, which was a world record for a single concert by a solo artist.

1976 – The Cars played their 1st gig.

Arts & Entertainment:

1935 – Charles Darrow patented Monopoly.

1944 – Leonard Bernstein’s first big success, “On the Town,” opened in New York featuring the hit song, “New York, New York.”

1948 – “Kiss Me, Kate” opened at New Century Theater New York City for 1077 performances.

1972 – The last weekly issue of “Life” hit the newsstands.

1983 – The musical, “Annie”, closed on Broadway at the Uris Theatre after 2,377 performances.

Celebrity Headlines:

1936 – A famous feud between Jack Benny and Fred Allen began, lasting for 10 weeks, between each other’s radio shows.

1942 – Frank Sinatra opened at New York’s Paramount Theatre, and thousands of teenage girls thronged the streets.  It took 400 policemen to calm the crowds.  From there after, he was known as “The Voice.”

1947 – Roy Rogers, ‘the King of the Cowboys’, and Dale Evans were married.

1953 – Hank Williams died at the age of 29.

1957 – Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were married.

1960 – Johnny Cash played the first of many free concerts from jail.

1970 – Paul McCartney sued his bandmates to dissolve the Beatles.

1979 – Sid Vicious’ trial for murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen began.

1983 – The Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson drowned while diving in Marina Del Ray, California.

1984 – Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car crash.

1985 – Ricky Nelson, his fiancee, Helen Blair, and five members of the Stone Canyon Band were killed in an airplane crash.

Sports:

1937 – Babe Ruth became the manager for the Class D  De Land Reds of the Florida State League.

1953 – Willie Shoemaker broke his own record as he won his 485th race of the year.

1986 – Pat Davis, ranked 412th among world tennis competitors, won the Davis Cup.

Technology & Inventions:

1952 – Sonotone Corporation began selling the first transistorized hearing aid.

1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company was the first to introduce an electric watch.

1985 – IBM-PC DOS Version 3.2 released.

Famous Birthdays:

1937 – Mary Tyler Moore

1937 – (Noel) Paul Stookey, Peter Paul and Mary

1938 – Jon Voight

1943 – John Denver

1943 – Pete Quaife, The Kinks

1945 – Davy Jones, The Monkees

1947 – Jeff Lynne, Electric Light Orchestra

1948 – Donna Summer