Headlines & Tidbits from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s
World News & the American Experience:
1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female Justice on the Supreme Court.
1982 – A United Nations resolution established The International Day of Peace in 1981 and it was first celebrated in 1982.
Movies & TV:
1948 – “The Texaco Star Theater” announced that Milton Berle would be the permanent host. Later, the show became known as “The Milton Berle Show.”
1954 – “The Tonight Show” debuted on NBC-TV with Steve Allen as the host.
1957 – “Perry Mason” with Raymond Burr premiered on CBS-TV. The show was first a series of novels, and then became a radio show before going on to television.
1962 – “The Jetsons” was ABC’s 1st color TV series.
1962 – “The Beverly Hillbillies” debuted on CBS-TV.
1964 – “Gilligan’s Island” premiered on CBS-TV.
1968 – “60 Minutes” premiered on CBS-TV with two correspondents, Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner.
1970 – “Monday Night Football” with Don Meredith and Keith Jackson debuted on ABC-TV. Browns 31, Jets 21.
1970 – “The Original Amateur Hour” last episode was shown on CBS-TV.
1977 – “The Love Boat” was first broadcast on ABC-TV.
Music & Radio:
1956 – Bill Haley had 5 songs in the top 30, including “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” and “See You Later Alligator.”
1957 – “That’ll Be The Day” by Buddy Holly & Crickets reached #1.
1967 – “The Letter” by the Box Tops was #1 this week. Lead singer Alex Chilton was only 16 years old.
1969 – The Beatles’ record “Abbey Road” zoomed quickly to the #1 spot on the charts and stayed there for 11 weeks.
1974 – Barry White hit number 1 on the U.S. singles chart in “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.”
The Arts:
1953 – Liberace made his debut at Carnegie Hall before a sellout audience.
1957 – “West Side Story” opened in New York, ran for 734 performances.
1964 – “Fiddler on the Roof” opened at Imperial Theater in New York City for 3242 performances.
1976 – “Oh! Calcutta!” opens at Edison Theater in New York City for 5,959 performances.
1979 – “Evita” opened on Broadway to rave reviews. The show lasted for 1,568 performances.
Celebrity Headlines:
1966 – Jimmy Hendrix changed the spelling of his name to Jimi.
Sports:
1934 – Babe Ruth played his final game with the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 5-0.
1955 – Rocky Marciano KOs Archie Moore for heavyweight boxing title.
1961 – Antonio Abertondo swam the English Channel both ways. (44 miles) He did it nonstop in 43 hours and 10 minutes.
Technology & Inventions:
1930 – Johann Ostermeyer patented the flashbulb.
Famous Birthdays:
1931 – Barbara Walters, newscaster
1936 – Jim Henson, muppeteer
1938 – Ben E. King
1948 – Olivia Newton-John, singer, actress
1949 – Bruce Springsteen
1950 – Bill Murray, actor
1952 – Christopher Reeve, actor
1958 – Shaun Cassidy, singer/actor
1959 – Lita Ford, musician
1960 – Joan Jett, singer
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