BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
364th day of 2010 - 1 remaining
Thursday, December 30, 2010
BOOK ’EM DANNO DAY
The kid from Brooklyn, born in New York on December 30, 1920, made it big ... so big that he spent the better part of his life living in luxury among the rich and famous in the Kahala area of Honolulu, Hawaii. John Joseph Patrick Ryan, known to most as actor Jack Lord, was even better known throughout the world as Steve McGarrett. Tough cop McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O) came into our homes on our TV screens once a week for 12 years (1968-1980).
His chiseled handsome face; windblown hair; set jaw; the image of the man standing at the top of the Ilikai Hotel at the gateway to Waikiki; was so familiar that audiences equated Jack Lord with Steve McGarrett. They were one and the same. However, Jack Lord was also an accomplished artist (before he became an actor). In fact, he was barely twenty years old when two of his paintings were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum of Modern Art. Painting was his first love, a talent he continued to hone for the rest of his life. He majored in art at New York University. the university he attended on a football scholarship. Jack Lord also starred in several movies, performed on Broadway, and later, produced and directed several episodes of Hawaii Five-O. He was an accomplished photographer, tried his hand at writing TV scripts, and was always the consummate professional.
Critics referred to Lord as a tyrant on the set, a loner, a snob. Others, including his wife of 43+ years, Marie, knew him as a sensitive man who would often read poetry aloud on the set.
The world said “aloha” to Jack Lord on January 21, 1998. But, he remains forevermore in our memories ... wearing his plantation hat, and scarf wrapped jauntily around his neck, while Steve McGarrett continues to bring evildoers to justice, repeating his famous line, “Book ’em Danno.”
Events December 30
1879 - Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance premiered at the Royal Bijou Theatre in Paignton, England.
1927 - The first subway in the Orient was dedicated in Tokyo, Japan. Many people had worried that the ground under Tokyo was too soft for a subway, but their fears proved unfounded as the Tokyo Underground Railway Company opened the first section of the subway between Ueno and Asakusa.
1936 - The famous feud between Jack Benny and Fred Allen was ignited. After a 10-year-old performer finished a violin solo on The Fred Allen Show, Mr. Allen said, “A certain alleged violinist should hide his head in shame for his poor fiddle playing.” It didn’t take long for Mr. Benny to respond. The humorous feud lasted for ten weeks on both comedian’s radio shows.
1940 - The Arroyo Seco Parkway, the forerunner of the Pasadena Freeway (between Los Angeles and Pasadena), was dedicated by Los Angeles, California Mayor Fletcher Bowron. It was the first freeway in the western U.S. and was designated as a historic engineering landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999.
1942 - Mr. and Mrs. North debuted on NBC radio. Joseph Curtin played Jerry North and Alice Frost played Pam. A typical Mr. and Mrs. North episode would find Pam leading Jerry on what seemed to be a wild-goose chase as they tracked down criminals. Pam always ended up being right and leading police to the criminals. The theme song for the show was The Way You Look Tonight. Sponsors included Woodbury soap, Jergens lotion and Halo shampoo.
1942 - Frank Sinatra opened at New York’s Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a 4-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular that he was booked for an additional 4 weeks). An estimated 400 policemen were called out to help curb the excitement. It is said that some of the teenage girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed ‘The Sultan of Swoon’, ‘The Voice that Thrills Millions’, and just ‘The Voice’. Whatever he was, it was at this Paramount Theatre engagement that modern pop hysteria was born.
1948 - Alfred Drake and Patricia Morrison starred in Kiss Me Kate which opened at the New Century Theatre in New York City. Cole Porter composed the music for the classic play that was adapted from Shakespeare’s comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The show ran for 1,077 performances on the Great White Way.
1953 - The Wild One debuted in New York. The drama stars Marlin Brando as the leader of a tough motorcycle gang who terrorize a small town (Wrightsville -- somewhere in Middle America).
1953 - The first color television sets went on sale. The sets, made by Admiral, sold for $1,135.00.
1954 - Pearl Bailey opened on Broadway in the play, House of Flowers, about two madams with rival bordellos. Diahann Carroll was also cast in the play, written by Truman Capote. Harold Arlen provided the musical score.
1954 - James Arness made his dramatic TV debut on the Lux Video Theatre in The Chase. (The Gunsmoke series didn’t begin for Arness until the fall of 1955.)
1961 - Jack Nicklaus lost to Gary Player in an exhibition match in Miami, FL. It was Nicklaus’ first attempt at pro golf. Lucky for Jack that he didn’t give up golf. The following year he entered the pro tour, winning $61,868.95, more than any other golf rookie in history.
1963 - Let’s Make a Deal premiered. The game show was hosted by Monty Hall. “Alright Madge, you can keep the monkey and the motorcycle or trade them for what’s in the big pretty box...”
1967 - Hello, Goodbye, by The Beatles, jumped into the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. It stayed at #1 for three weeks.
1968 - Trygve Lie died. The Norwegian statesman was the first secretary-general of the United Nations (1946-1952).
1969 - Peter, Paul and Mary received a gold record for the single, Leaving On a Jet Plane. The song had hit #1 on December 20.
1970 - Paul McCartney sued the other three Beatles to dissolve the partnership and gain control of his interest. The suit touched off a bitter feud between McCartney and the others, especially his cowriter on many of the Beatles compositions, John Lennon. The partnership officially came to end in 1974.
1976 - The Smothers Brothers, Tom and ****, played their last show at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and retired as a team from show business. Each continued as a solo artist. They reunited years later for another stab at TV (on NBC) plus concert appearances that proved very successful.
1978 - Ohio State University fired its football coach Woody Hayes. The action came one day after Hayes punched Clemson University player Charlie Bauman during the Gator Bowl (Bauman had just intercepted an Ohio State pass).
1980 - The Selective Service System sent a warning to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland in Anaheim, California: Register for the draft or else! The Selective Service said that Mickey was in violation of registration compliance. Of course, Mickey, age 52 at the time, sent in his registration card proving that he’s a World War II veteran.
1980 - The longest-running series in prime-time television history was canceled this day by NBC. The Wonderful World of Disney was axed after more than 25 years on the tube.
1982 - An uncommon sight in the sky this night, as a ‘blue moon’ appeared. It was not really a blue moon, but one unobstructed by pollution and haze -- appearing grayish in color. It was the second full moon of the month; a rare event that attracted many sky watchers. Now you know where the expression, “once in a blue moon” came from.
1990 - Iraq’s information minister (Latif Nussayif Jassim) said U.S. President George Bush (I) “must have been drunk” when he suggested Iraq might withdraw from Kuwait. Jassim added, “We will show the world America is a paper tiger.”
1993 - After some 2,000 years of rocky Jewish-Christian relations, the Holy See and the State of Israel signed an agreement to recognize each other. The agreement was seen as a significant step forward in relations between the Vatican and Israel.
1996 - The Clinton administration said that doctors who prescribe marijuana might be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs and lose the right to prescribe drugs. (Voters in California and Arizona had approved measures for medical use of marijuana.)
1996 - Actor Lew Ayres (Salem’s Lot, State Fair), died. He was 88 years old.
1997 - China made new rules restricting the use of the Internet. The rules forbade defamation of government agencies, the promotion of separatist movements, and the divulgence of state secrets. Also forbidden was pornography and prowling by hackers.
1997 - Danilo Dolci, advocate of nonviolent social reform, died in Italy at the age of 73. Dolci’s writings and poetry chronicled Sicily’s beauty and despair. His books include Report from Palermo, Waste, and Sicilian Lives.
1998 - Hi-Lo Country (“A woman like Mona can drive men to extremes.”) opened in U.S. theatres. The flick stars Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Patricia Arquette (as Mona), Cole Hauser, James Gammon, Penelope Cruz, Sam Elliott, Enrique Castillo, John Diehl, Darren Burrows and Jacob Vargas.
1999 - Beatle George Harrison was hospitalized after being stabbed in the chest by an intruder who broke into his Oxfordshire mansion in Henley-on-Thames (England). Michael Abram, a mentally ill former heroin addict, was later acquitted of attempted murder by reason of insanity.
2000 - Hollywood screenwriter Julius J. Epstein, who co-wrote the script for Casablanca, died in Los Angeles. He was 91 years old.
2001 - Argentina’s interim president, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, resigned after seven days in office, complaining that his Peronist party had abandoned him. Plunged into chaos by looting and deadly riots that forced Fernando de la Rua to resign as president a week earlier, Argentina fell deeper into anarchy when interim leader Adolfo Rodriguez Saa quit on Sunday after losing the support of his party.
2001 - The Reverend Jack Brock (and his wife Sharon) of the Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, NM burned Harry Potter books after calling them “a masterpiece of satanic deception.”
2002 - China launched the unmanned Shenzhou IV spacecraft in a test launch of its manned space program.
2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the dietary supplement ephedra. Some 16,000 adverse reactions had been reported along with 155 deaths.
2003 - Federal Express agreed to acquire Kinko’s for $2.2 billion.
2004 - The death toll from the Dec 26 earthquake-tsunami rose to more than 114,000. Estimated deaths in Aceh, Indonesia were put at over 80,000.
2004 - Jazz clarinetist Artie Shaw died in Thousand Oaks, CA. He was 94 years old. His eight wives included film stars Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. In 1952 he Shaw authored his autobiography in 1952, The Trouble with Cinderella: An Outline of Identity.
2005 - Tropical Storm Zeta, 27th named storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the Atlantic Ocean. This, one month after the season’s official end.
2006 - A 67-year-old Spanish woman became the world’s oldest mother after she gave birth to twins in Barcelona. She had previously undergone in vitro fertilization in the U.S.
2006 - Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was hanged at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah. Hussein was executed for crimes committed during his reign. Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told Iraqi television, “This dark page has been turned over. Saddam is gone. Today Iraq is an Iraq for all the Iraqis, and all the Iraqis are looking forward. ... The [Hussein] era has gone forever.”
2007 - Belgian officials said New Year’s Eve fireworks in central Brussels were canceled because of terror threats in the capital.
2008 - Paleontologists in east China reported that they had dug up what they believe to be the world’s largest group of dinosaur fossils including the remains of an enormous platypus.
2009 - The Netherlands called the failed Christmas Day airline bombing a professional terror attack and announced that it was going to use full body scanners for flights heading to the United States.
2009 - Seven women reached the South Pole after a 562-mile trek in Antarctica. They reached their goal 38 days after starting their adventure to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth.
Birthdays December 30
1865 - Rudyard Kipling
novelist, short story author, poet: Nobel Prize for Literature [1907]; The Jungle Book, Captains Courageous, Wee Willie Winkie and other Stories, Gunga Din; died Jan 18, 1936
1867 - Simon Guggenheim
philanthropist: established the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation providing grants to scientists, scholars, artists; died Nov 2, 1941
1869 - Stephen Leacock
humorist: Literary Lapses, Nonsense Novels, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town; died Mar 28, 1944
1873 - Al Smith
former governor of New York, 1928 Democratic Party presidential nominee; died Oct 4, 1944
1884 - Hideki Tojo
Prime Minister of Japan; WWII war criminal, hanged Dec 22, 1948
1895 - Vincent Lopez
bandleader: played at NYC’s Astor Hotel, some of the greats started with him: Artie Shaw, Buddy Morrow, Buddy Clark; died Sep 20, 1975
1911 - Jeannette Nolan
actress: The Horse Whisperer, Oklahoma Passage, Cloak and Dagger, True Confessions, Better Late Than Never, Lassie: A New Beginning; died Jun 5, 1998
1914 - Bert Parks (Jacobson)
radio/TV host: Miss America Pageant, Break the Bank, Stop the Music; died Feb 2, 1992
1914 - Jo Van Fleet
Academy Award-winning actress: East of Eden [1955]; The Rose Tattoo, Cool Hand Luke, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Cinderella; died June 10, 1996
1920 - Jack Lord (John Joseph Patrick Ryan)
actor: Hawaii Five-O, Stoney Burke, God’s Little Acre, Dr. No, The Doomsday Flight; died January 21, 1998 [age 77]; see Book ’em Danno Day [above]
1928 - Bo Diddley (Otha Ellas Bates McDaniel)
singer: Bo Diddley, I’m a Man, Say Man, Diddey Wah Diddey; died June 2, 2008
1929 - Barbara Nichols (Nickeraeur)
actress: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Sweet Smell of Success, The Human Duplicators; died Oct 5, 1976
1931 - Skeeter Davis (Mary Frances Penick)
singer: I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know, The End of the World, I Can’t Stay Mad at You; died Sep 19, 2004
1934 - Joseph Bologna
Emmy Award-winning writer: Acts of Love -- And Other Comedies [ABC, 1972-73]; Lovers and Other Strangers; actor: Danger of Love, Revenge of the Nerds 4: Nerds in Love, Citizen Cohn, Blame It on Rio, My Favorite Year, Torn Between Two Lovers, The Big Bus, Honor Thy Father, Cops and Robbers, Top of the Heap, Rags to Riches
1934 - Fred Lorenzen
NASCAR racecar driver: Daytona 500 winner [1965]
1934 - Russ Tamblyn
actor: twin Peaks, Cabin Boy, The Last Movie, How the West was Won, West Side Story, Cimarron, Peyton Place, Don’t Go Near the Water, Hit the Deck, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Father of the Bride, tom thumb
1935 - Sandy Koufax
Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher: Brooklyn Dodgers, LA Dodgers: [World Series: 1959, 1963 (MVP), 1965 (MVP), 1966/all-star: 1961-1966/Baseball Writers Award: 1963/Cy Young Award: 1963, 1965, 1966/record: 382 strikeouts: 1965]; broadcaster: NBC
1937 - John Hartford
Grammy Award-winning songwriter: Gentle on My Mind [1966]; musician: banjo, fiddle, guitar: Glenn Campbell’s Good Time Comedy Hour; died June 4, 2001
1937 - (Noel) Paul Stookey
singer: The Wedding Song; group: Peter, Paul and Mary: Blowin’ in the Wind, Puff the Magic Dragon, I Dig Rock ’n’ Roll Music, Leavin’ on a Jet Plane
1939 - Del Shannon (Charles Westover)
singer: Runaway, Hat’s Off to Larry, Little Town Flirt, Keep Searchin’ [We’ll Follow the Sun]; songwriter: I Go to Pieces; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [Mar 15, 1999]; died Feb 8, 1990
1941 - Mel Renfro
College & Pro Football Hall of Famer: Dallas Cowboys defensive back: 10 consecutive Pro Bowl games [1964-1973]; All-Pro [1965, 1967-1969, 1973]
1942 - Jim ‘Bo’ Nance
football: Boston Patriots full back: AFL Player of the Year [1966], NY Jets, World Football League: Memphis Southmen; NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion [1963, 1965]; died June 16, 1992
1942 - Michael Nesmith
guitarist: group: The Monkees; wrote: Different Drum; formed: The First National Band: Joanne; movie producer: Repo Man, Elephant Parts: the first Grammy-winning video
1942 - Fred Ward
actor: Tremors series, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Short Cuts, Miami Blues, Henry and June, Big Business, Swing Shift, Silkwood, The Right Stuff, Escape from Alcatraz
1945 - Davy Jones (David Thomas Jones)
singer: group: The Monkees: Last Train to Clarksville, I’m a Believer, Daydream Believer; actor: UK version: Godspell
1946 - Patti Smith
songwriter, singer: Career of Evil, Piss Factory, Because the Night; playwright: Cowboy Mouth
1947 - Jeff Lynne
singer, guitar: group: The Electric Light Orchestra: Livin’ Thing, Telephone Line, Evil Woman, Hold on Tight, Calling America; songwriter: Mr. Blue Sky, Last Train to London
1951 - Chris Jasper
musician: keyboards, moog: group: The Isley Brothers: Shout, Twist and Shout, This Old Heart of Mine, It’s Your Thing
1953 - Meredith Vieira
TV host: Today, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The View, 60 Minutes, The CBS Morning News
1956 - Suzy Bogguss
musician: guitar, singer: Somewhere Between, Someday Soon, Outbound Plane, Cross My Broken Heart, Letting Go, Heartache, Drive South
1956 - Sheryl Lee Ralph
actress: White Man’s Burden, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, The Distinguished Gentleman, The Mighty Quinn, Codename: Foxfire, It’s a Living, George, Designing Women
1957 - Matt Lauer
TV host: Today, Esquire: About Men, For Women
1959 - Tracey Ullman
singer: They Don’t Know, Breakaway; actress: Tracy Takes On, Mackenzie, Give My Regards to Broad Street, Jumpin’ Jack flash , Tracey Ullman: A Class Act, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Bullets Over Broadway, The Little Lulu Show, Panic
1960 - Kelli Maroney
actress: Ryan’s Hope, Nightmare Carnival, Audition, Sam and Mike, Servants of Twilight, The Zero Boys, Night of the Comet
1961 - Ben Johnson
track: 100 meter world-record holder [9.79 - 1988]; AP Athlete of the Year [1987]; suspended from track competition for life for steroid use
1965 - Heidi Fleiss
‘The Hollywood Madam’: her prositution ring had numerous famous clients; she was jailed for tax evasion, money laundering; author: Pandering, The Player’s Handbook, Sex Tips [DVD]
1968 - Kevin Dahl
hockey [defense]: Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets
1968 - Meredith Monroe
actress: Fathers and Sons, Vampires: The Turning, Shadow Man, The One, Minority Report, The Year That Trembled, Dawson’s Creek, Nowhere to Hide, bgFATLdy
1972 - Kerry Collins
football [quarterback]: Carolilna Panthers, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders
1973 - Maureen Flannigan
actress: 7th Heaven, Homecoming, Book of Days, At Any Cost, She Fought Alone, Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde
1973 - Don Reid
basketball [forward]: Georgetown Univ; NBA: Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic
1975 - (Eldrick) ‘Tiger’ Woods
golf: champ: Masters [1997, 2001, 2002], US Open [2000, 2002], British Open [2000], PGA [1999, 2000]; first player to win four consecutive majors (2000-2001: US Open, British Open, PGA, Masters]; youngest player to reach fifty career victories [age 30: Aug 6, 2006]
1977 - Grant Balfour
baseball [pitcher]: Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays
1977 - Lucy Punch
actress: Being Julia, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Ella Enchanted, Second Nature, Come Together, Goodbye, Mr Steadman, Hot Fuzz
1980 - Eliza Dushku
actress: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Tru Calling, Dollhouse, Nobel Son, The Kiss, Wrong Turn, The New Guy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Race the Sun, Bye Bye Love, True Lies, Bring It On, Wrong Turn
1984 - LeBron James
basketball [forward]: Cleveland Cavaliers
Chart Toppers December 30
1947How Soon - Carrol Lucal and Jack Owens
Civilization - Louis Prima
Serenade of the Bells - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Don Cornell)
I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
1956Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
A Rose and a Baby Ruth - George Hamilton IV
Garden of Eden - Joe Valino
Singing the Blues - Marty Robbins
1965Over and Over - The DAVE Clark Five
I Got You (I Feel Good) - James Brown
The Sounds of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
Buckaroo - Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
1974Angie Baby - Helen Reddy
Lucie in the Sky with Diamonds - Elton John
You’re the First, The Last, My Everything - Barry White
What a Man, My Man Is - Lynn Anderson
1983Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Say It Isn’t So - Daryl Hall-John Oates
Union of the Snake - Duran Duran
Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You) - Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers
1992I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Rump Shaker - Wreckx-N-Effect
In the Still of the Night (I’ll Remember) - Boyz II Men
Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away - Vince Gill
2001How You Remind Me - Nickelback
Get The Party Started - Pink
Whenever, Wherever - Shakira
Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) - Alan Jackson
Chart Topper December 30th, 1965...Over and Over - The DAVE CLARK FIVE
Thursday, December 30, 2010
BOOK ’EM DANNO DAY
The kid from Brooklyn, born in New York on December 30, 1920, made it big ... so big that he spent the better part of his life living in luxury among the rich and famous in the Kahala area of Honolulu, Hawaii. John Joseph Patrick Ryan, known to most as actor Jack Lord, was even better known throughout the world as Steve McGarrett. Tough cop McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O) came into our homes on our TV screens once a week for 12 years (1968-1980).
His chiseled handsome face; windblown hair; set jaw; the image of the man standing at the top of the Ilikai Hotel at the gateway to Waikiki; was so familiar that audiences equated Jack Lord with Steve McGarrett. They were one and the same. However, Jack Lord was also an accomplished artist (before he became an actor). In fact, he was barely twenty years old when two of his paintings were acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum of Modern Art. Painting was his first love, a talent he continued to hone for the rest of his life. He majored in art at New York University. the university he attended on a football scholarship. Jack Lord also starred in several movies, performed on Broadway, and later, produced and directed several episodes of Hawaii Five-O. He was an accomplished photographer, tried his hand at writing TV scripts, and was always the consummate professional.
Critics referred to Lord as a tyrant on the set, a loner, a snob. Others, including his wife of 43+ years, Marie, knew him as a sensitive man who would often read poetry aloud on the set.
The world said “aloha” to Jack Lord on January 21, 1998. But, he remains forevermore in our memories ... wearing his plantation hat, and scarf wrapped jauntily around his neck, while Steve McGarrett continues to bring evildoers to justice, repeating his famous line, “Book ’em Danno.”
Events December 30
1879 - Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance premiered at the Royal Bijou Theatre in Paignton, England.
1927 - The first subway in the Orient was dedicated in Tokyo, Japan. Many people had worried that the ground under Tokyo was too soft for a subway, but their fears proved unfounded as the Tokyo Underground Railway Company opened the first section of the subway between Ueno and Asakusa.
1936 - The famous feud between Jack Benny and Fred Allen was ignited. After a 10-year-old performer finished a violin solo on The Fred Allen Show, Mr. Allen said, “A certain alleged violinist should hide his head in shame for his poor fiddle playing.” It didn’t take long for Mr. Benny to respond. The humorous feud lasted for ten weeks on both comedian’s radio shows.
1940 - The Arroyo Seco Parkway, the forerunner of the Pasadena Freeway (between Los Angeles and Pasadena), was dedicated by Los Angeles, California Mayor Fletcher Bowron. It was the first freeway in the western U.S. and was designated as a historic engineering landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999.
1942 - Mr. and Mrs. North debuted on NBC radio. Joseph Curtin played Jerry North and Alice Frost played Pam. A typical Mr. and Mrs. North episode would find Pam leading Jerry on what seemed to be a wild-goose chase as they tracked down criminals. Pam always ended up being right and leading police to the criminals. The theme song for the show was The Way You Look Tonight. Sponsors included Woodbury soap, Jergens lotion and Halo shampoo.
1942 - Frank Sinatra opened at New York’s Paramount Theatre for what was scheduled to be a 4-week engagement (his shows turned out to be so popular that he was booked for an additional 4 weeks). An estimated 400 policemen were called out to help curb the excitement. It is said that some of the teenage girls were hired to scream, but many more screamed for free. Sinatra was dubbed ‘The Sultan of Swoon’, ‘The Voice that Thrills Millions’, and just ‘The Voice’. Whatever he was, it was at this Paramount Theatre engagement that modern pop hysteria was born.
1948 - Alfred Drake and Patricia Morrison starred in Kiss Me Kate which opened at the New Century Theatre in New York City. Cole Porter composed the music for the classic play that was adapted from Shakespeare’s comedy, The Taming of the Shrew. The show ran for 1,077 performances on the Great White Way.
1953 - The Wild One debuted in New York. The drama stars Marlin Brando as the leader of a tough motorcycle gang who terrorize a small town (Wrightsville -- somewhere in Middle America).
1953 - The first color television sets went on sale. The sets, made by Admiral, sold for $1,135.00.
1954 - Pearl Bailey opened on Broadway in the play, House of Flowers, about two madams with rival bordellos. Diahann Carroll was also cast in the play, written by Truman Capote. Harold Arlen provided the musical score.
1954 - James Arness made his dramatic TV debut on the Lux Video Theatre in The Chase. (The Gunsmoke series didn’t begin for Arness until the fall of 1955.)
1961 - Jack Nicklaus lost to Gary Player in an exhibition match in Miami, FL. It was Nicklaus’ first attempt at pro golf. Lucky for Jack that he didn’t give up golf. The following year he entered the pro tour, winning $61,868.95, more than any other golf rookie in history.
1963 - Let’s Make a Deal premiered. The game show was hosted by Monty Hall. “Alright Madge, you can keep the monkey and the motorcycle or trade them for what’s in the big pretty box...”
1967 - Hello, Goodbye, by The Beatles, jumped into the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100. It stayed at #1 for three weeks.
1968 - Trygve Lie died. The Norwegian statesman was the first secretary-general of the United Nations (1946-1952).
1969 - Peter, Paul and Mary received a gold record for the single, Leaving On a Jet Plane. The song had hit #1 on December 20.
1970 - Paul McCartney sued the other three Beatles to dissolve the partnership and gain control of his interest. The suit touched off a bitter feud between McCartney and the others, especially his cowriter on many of the Beatles compositions, John Lennon. The partnership officially came to end in 1974.
1976 - The Smothers Brothers, Tom and ****, played their last show at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and retired as a team from show business. Each continued as a solo artist. They reunited years later for another stab at TV (on NBC) plus concert appearances that proved very successful.
1978 - Ohio State University fired its football coach Woody Hayes. The action came one day after Hayes punched Clemson University player Charlie Bauman during the Gator Bowl (Bauman had just intercepted an Ohio State pass).
1980 - The Selective Service System sent a warning to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland in Anaheim, California: Register for the draft or else! The Selective Service said that Mickey was in violation of registration compliance. Of course, Mickey, age 52 at the time, sent in his registration card proving that he’s a World War II veteran.
1980 - The longest-running series in prime-time television history was canceled this day by NBC. The Wonderful World of Disney was axed after more than 25 years on the tube.
1982 - An uncommon sight in the sky this night, as a ‘blue moon’ appeared. It was not really a blue moon, but one unobstructed by pollution and haze -- appearing grayish in color. It was the second full moon of the month; a rare event that attracted many sky watchers. Now you know where the expression, “once in a blue moon” came from.
1990 - Iraq’s information minister (Latif Nussayif Jassim) said U.S. President George Bush (I) “must have been drunk” when he suggested Iraq might withdraw from Kuwait. Jassim added, “We will show the world America is a paper tiger.”
1993 - After some 2,000 years of rocky Jewish-Christian relations, the Holy See and the State of Israel signed an agreement to recognize each other. The agreement was seen as a significant step forward in relations between the Vatican and Israel.
1996 - The Clinton administration said that doctors who prescribe marijuana might be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid programs and lose the right to prescribe drugs. (Voters in California and Arizona had approved measures for medical use of marijuana.)
1996 - Actor Lew Ayres (Salem’s Lot, State Fair), died. He was 88 years old.
1997 - China made new rules restricting the use of the Internet. The rules forbade defamation of government agencies, the promotion of separatist movements, and the divulgence of state secrets. Also forbidden was pornography and prowling by hackers.
1997 - Danilo Dolci, advocate of nonviolent social reform, died in Italy at the age of 73. Dolci’s writings and poetry chronicled Sicily’s beauty and despair. His books include Report from Palermo, Waste, and Sicilian Lives.
1998 - Hi-Lo Country (“A woman like Mona can drive men to extremes.”) opened in U.S. theatres. The flick stars Woody Harrelson, Billy Crudup, Patricia Arquette (as Mona), Cole Hauser, James Gammon, Penelope Cruz, Sam Elliott, Enrique Castillo, John Diehl, Darren Burrows and Jacob Vargas.
1999 - Beatle George Harrison was hospitalized after being stabbed in the chest by an intruder who broke into his Oxfordshire mansion in Henley-on-Thames (England). Michael Abram, a mentally ill former heroin addict, was later acquitted of attempted murder by reason of insanity.
2000 - Hollywood screenwriter Julius J. Epstein, who co-wrote the script for Casablanca, died in Los Angeles. He was 91 years old.
2001 - Argentina’s interim president, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, resigned after seven days in office, complaining that his Peronist party had abandoned him. Plunged into chaos by looting and deadly riots that forced Fernando de la Rua to resign as president a week earlier, Argentina fell deeper into anarchy when interim leader Adolfo Rodriguez Saa quit on Sunday after losing the support of his party.
2001 - The Reverend Jack Brock (and his wife Sharon) of the Christ Community Church in Alamogordo, NM burned Harry Potter books after calling them “a masterpiece of satanic deception.”
2002 - China launched the unmanned Shenzhou IV spacecraft in a test launch of its manned space program.
2003 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the dietary supplement ephedra. Some 16,000 adverse reactions had been reported along with 155 deaths.
2003 - Federal Express agreed to acquire Kinko’s for $2.2 billion.
2004 - The death toll from the Dec 26 earthquake-tsunami rose to more than 114,000. Estimated deaths in Aceh, Indonesia were put at over 80,000.
2004 - Jazz clarinetist Artie Shaw died in Thousand Oaks, CA. He was 94 years old. His eight wives included film stars Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. In 1952 he Shaw authored his autobiography in 1952, The Trouble with Cinderella: An Outline of Identity.
2005 - Tropical Storm Zeta, 27th named storm of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, formed in the Atlantic Ocean. This, one month after the season’s official end.
2006 - A 67-year-old Spanish woman became the world’s oldest mother after she gave birth to twins in Barcelona. She had previously undergone in vitro fertilization in the U.S.
2006 - Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was hanged at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah. Hussein was executed for crimes committed during his reign. Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told Iraqi television, “This dark page has been turned over. Saddam is gone. Today Iraq is an Iraq for all the Iraqis, and all the Iraqis are looking forward. ... The [Hussein] era has gone forever.”
2007 - Belgian officials said New Year’s Eve fireworks in central Brussels were canceled because of terror threats in the capital.
2008 - Paleontologists in east China reported that they had dug up what they believe to be the world’s largest group of dinosaur fossils including the remains of an enormous platypus.
2009 - The Netherlands called the failed Christmas Day airline bombing a professional terror attack and announced that it was going to use full body scanners for flights heading to the United States.
2009 - Seven women reached the South Pole after a 562-mile trek in Antarctica. They reached their goal 38 days after starting their adventure to mark the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth.
Birthdays December 30
1865 - Rudyard Kipling
novelist, short story author, poet: Nobel Prize for Literature [1907]; The Jungle Book, Captains Courageous, Wee Willie Winkie and other Stories, Gunga Din; died Jan 18, 1936
1867 - Simon Guggenheim
philanthropist: established the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation providing grants to scientists, scholars, artists; died Nov 2, 1941
1869 - Stephen Leacock
humorist: Literary Lapses, Nonsense Novels, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town; died Mar 28, 1944
1873 - Al Smith
former governor of New York, 1928 Democratic Party presidential nominee; died Oct 4, 1944
1884 - Hideki Tojo
Prime Minister of Japan; WWII war criminal, hanged Dec 22, 1948
1895 - Vincent Lopez
bandleader: played at NYC’s Astor Hotel, some of the greats started with him: Artie Shaw, Buddy Morrow, Buddy Clark; died Sep 20, 1975
1911 - Jeannette Nolan
actress: The Horse Whisperer, Oklahoma Passage, Cloak and Dagger, True Confessions, Better Late Than Never, Lassie: A New Beginning; died Jun 5, 1998
1914 - Bert Parks (Jacobson)
radio/TV host: Miss America Pageant, Break the Bank, Stop the Music; died Feb 2, 1992
1914 - Jo Van Fleet
Academy Award-winning actress: East of Eden [1955]; The Rose Tattoo, Cool Hand Luke, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Cinderella; died June 10, 1996
1920 - Jack Lord (John Joseph Patrick Ryan)
actor: Hawaii Five-O, Stoney Burke, God’s Little Acre, Dr. No, The Doomsday Flight; died January 21, 1998 [age 77]; see Book ’em Danno Day [above]
1928 - Bo Diddley (Otha Ellas Bates McDaniel)
singer: Bo Diddley, I’m a Man, Say Man, Diddey Wah Diddey; died June 2, 2008
1929 - Barbara Nichols (Nickeraeur)
actress: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Sweet Smell of Success, The Human Duplicators; died Oct 5, 1976
1931 - Skeeter Davis (Mary Frances Penick)
singer: I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know, The End of the World, I Can’t Stay Mad at You; died Sep 19, 2004
1934 - Joseph Bologna
Emmy Award-winning writer: Acts of Love -- And Other Comedies [ABC, 1972-73]; Lovers and Other Strangers; actor: Danger of Love, Revenge of the Nerds 4: Nerds in Love, Citizen Cohn, Blame It on Rio, My Favorite Year, Torn Between Two Lovers, The Big Bus, Honor Thy Father, Cops and Robbers, Top of the Heap, Rags to Riches
1934 - Fred Lorenzen
NASCAR racecar driver: Daytona 500 winner [1965]
1934 - Russ Tamblyn
actor: twin Peaks, Cabin Boy, The Last Movie, How the West was Won, West Side Story, Cimarron, Peyton Place, Don’t Go Near the Water, Hit the Deck, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Father of the Bride, tom thumb
1935 - Sandy Koufax
Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher: Brooklyn Dodgers, LA Dodgers: [World Series: 1959, 1963 (MVP), 1965 (MVP), 1966/all-star: 1961-1966/Baseball Writers Award: 1963/Cy Young Award: 1963, 1965, 1966/record: 382 strikeouts: 1965]; broadcaster: NBC
1937 - John Hartford
Grammy Award-winning songwriter: Gentle on My Mind [1966]; musician: banjo, fiddle, guitar: Glenn Campbell’s Good Time Comedy Hour; died June 4, 2001
1937 - (Noel) Paul Stookey
singer: The Wedding Song; group: Peter, Paul and Mary: Blowin’ in the Wind, Puff the Magic Dragon, I Dig Rock ’n’ Roll Music, Leavin’ on a Jet Plane
1939 - Del Shannon (Charles Westover)
singer: Runaway, Hat’s Off to Larry, Little Town Flirt, Keep Searchin’ [We’ll Follow the Sun]; songwriter: I Go to Pieces; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [Mar 15, 1999]; died Feb 8, 1990
1941 - Mel Renfro
College & Pro Football Hall of Famer: Dallas Cowboys defensive back: 10 consecutive Pro Bowl games [1964-1973]; All-Pro [1965, 1967-1969, 1973]
1942 - Jim ‘Bo’ Nance
football: Boston Patriots full back: AFL Player of the Year [1966], NY Jets, World Football League: Memphis Southmen; NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion [1963, 1965]; died June 16, 1992
1942 - Michael Nesmith
guitarist: group: The Monkees; wrote: Different Drum; formed: The First National Band: Joanne; movie producer: Repo Man, Elephant Parts: the first Grammy-winning video
1942 - Fred Ward
actor: Tremors series, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Short Cuts, Miami Blues, Henry and June, Big Business, Swing Shift, Silkwood, The Right Stuff, Escape from Alcatraz
1945 - Davy Jones (David Thomas Jones)
singer: group: The Monkees: Last Train to Clarksville, I’m a Believer, Daydream Believer; actor: UK version: Godspell
1946 - Patti Smith
songwriter, singer: Career of Evil, Piss Factory, Because the Night; playwright: Cowboy Mouth
1947 - Jeff Lynne
singer, guitar: group: The Electric Light Orchestra: Livin’ Thing, Telephone Line, Evil Woman, Hold on Tight, Calling America; songwriter: Mr. Blue Sky, Last Train to London
1951 - Chris Jasper
musician: keyboards, moog: group: The Isley Brothers: Shout, Twist and Shout, This Old Heart of Mine, It’s Your Thing
1953 - Meredith Vieira
TV host: Today, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, The View, 60 Minutes, The CBS Morning News
1956 - Suzy Bogguss
musician: guitar, singer: Somewhere Between, Someday Soon, Outbound Plane, Cross My Broken Heart, Letting Go, Heartache, Drive South
1956 - Sheryl Lee Ralph
actress: White Man’s Burden, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, The Distinguished Gentleman, The Mighty Quinn, Codename: Foxfire, It’s a Living, George, Designing Women
1957 - Matt Lauer
TV host: Today, Esquire: About Men, For Women
1959 - Tracey Ullman
singer: They Don’t Know, Breakaway; actress: Tracy Takes On, Mackenzie, Give My Regards to Broad Street, Jumpin’ Jack flash , Tracey Ullman: A Class Act, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Bullets Over Broadway, The Little Lulu Show, Panic
1960 - Kelli Maroney
actress: Ryan’s Hope, Nightmare Carnival, Audition, Sam and Mike, Servants of Twilight, The Zero Boys, Night of the Comet
1961 - Ben Johnson
track: 100 meter world-record holder [9.79 - 1988]; AP Athlete of the Year [1987]; suspended from track competition for life for steroid use
1965 - Heidi Fleiss
‘The Hollywood Madam’: her prositution ring had numerous famous clients; she was jailed for tax evasion, money laundering; author: Pandering, The Player’s Handbook, Sex Tips [DVD]
1968 - Kevin Dahl
hockey [defense]: Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets
1968 - Meredith Monroe
actress: Fathers and Sons, Vampires: The Turning, Shadow Man, The One, Minority Report, The Year That Trembled, Dawson’s Creek, Nowhere to Hide, bgFATLdy
1972 - Kerry Collins
football [quarterback]: Carolilna Panthers, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders
1973 - Maureen Flannigan
actress: 7th Heaven, Homecoming, Book of Days, At Any Cost, She Fought Alone, Teenage Bonnie and Klepto Clyde
1973 - Don Reid
basketball [forward]: Georgetown Univ; NBA: Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic
1975 - (Eldrick) ‘Tiger’ Woods
golf: champ: Masters [1997, 2001, 2002], US Open [2000, 2002], British Open [2000], PGA [1999, 2000]; first player to win four consecutive majors (2000-2001: US Open, British Open, PGA, Masters]; youngest player to reach fifty career victories [age 30: Aug 6, 2006]
1977 - Grant Balfour
baseball [pitcher]: Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays
1977 - Lucy Punch
actress: Being Julia, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Ella Enchanted, Second Nature, Come Together, Goodbye, Mr Steadman, Hot Fuzz
1980 - Eliza Dushku
actress: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Tru Calling, Dollhouse, Nobel Son, The Kiss, Wrong Turn, The New Guy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Race the Sun, Bye Bye Love, True Lies, Bring It On, Wrong Turn
1984 - LeBron James
basketball [forward]: Cleveland Cavaliers
Chart Toppers December 30
1947How Soon - Carrol Lucal and Jack Owens
Civilization - Louis Prima
Serenade of the Bells - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Don Cornell)
I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms) - Eddy Arnold
1956Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell
A Rose and a Baby Ruth - George Hamilton IV
Garden of Eden - Joe Valino
Singing the Blues - Marty Robbins
1965Over and Over - The DAVE Clark Five
I Got You (I Feel Good) - James Brown
The Sounds of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel
Buckaroo - Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
1974Angie Baby - Helen Reddy
Lucie in the Sky with Diamonds - Elton John
You’re the First, The Last, My Everything - Barry White
What a Man, My Man Is - Lynn Anderson
1983Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson
Say It Isn’t So - Daryl Hall-John Oates
Union of the Snake - Duran Duran
Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You) - Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers
1992I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Rump Shaker - Wreckx-N-Effect
In the Still of the Night (I’ll Remember) - Boyz II Men
Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away - Vince Gill
2001How You Remind Me - Nickelback
Get The Party Started - Pink
Whenever, Wherever - Shakira
Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) - Alan Jackson
Chart Topper December 30th, 1965...Over and Over - The DAVE CLARK FIVE