BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
25th day of 2011 - 340 remaining
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
EMMY DAY
The first Emmys, the awards presented each year in recognition of excellence in television performance and production, were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club on this day in 1949.
The event was the 1st Annual Los Angeles Emmy Awards (for programming which appeared in 1948) and was presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Academy was also an infant, having formed just three years earlier.
Mike Sotkey’s Pantomime Quiz Time was selected as the year’s top television show. The local L.A. panel show which began in 1947, featured Howard Morris, Stubby Kaye, Rocky Graziano, Hans Conried, Milt Kamen and the orchestra of Frank DeVol and aired on KTLA-TV.
Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet, Judy Splinters, took honors as Most Outstanding Television Personality.
The Necklace, a film shown on Your Show Time on NBC, took the Best Film Made for Television Award.
The Emmy Awards ceremonies are still going strong. Although the statuettes are no longer awarded in January (in fact, they have been awarded in February, March, May, June, August and September, over the years) they are now divided into two ceremonies. The Academy administers the prime-time awards which are presented in the fall; while the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents the daytime program awards in the spring.
The Emmy Awards ceremonies are still going strong. Although the statuettes are no longer awarded in January (in fact, they have been awarded in February, March, May, June, August and September, over the years) they are now divided into two ceremonies. The Academy administers the prime-time awards which are presented in the fall; while the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents the daytime program awards in the spring.
Some of the magic Emmy numbers are as follows:
Most won by an individual (Dwight Hemion, James L. Brooks: 18)
Most Emmys won by a male performer (Carl Reiner: 9)
Most Emmys won by a female performer (Dinah Shore: 8; Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Tracey Ullman: 7)
Most won by a series (Frasier: 30)
Most won by a miniseries (Roots: 9)
Most Emmys for a dramatic series (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law: 4) and for a comedy series (Frasier: 5)
Events January 25
1799 - Eliakim Spooner patented the seeding machine. The device, like so many that we found while Christmas shopping, proved to be... impractical.
1858 - Mendelssohn’s Wedding March was presented for the first time, as the daughter of Queen Victoria married the Crown Prince of Prussia.
1870 - G.D. Dows patented the ornamental soda fountain. The marble fountain featured a double stream draft arm and sold for $225! Make that a strawberry soda with two scoops of vanilla, please!
1905 - The world’s largest cut diamond, The Cullinan (3,106 carats, 621.2 grams or 1 and 1/4 pounds) was discovered in the Premier Mine, near Pretoria, South Africa.
1915 - Alexander Graham Bell in New York spoke to his assistant (Thomas Watson) in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental telephone service.
1927 - Jack Benny married Sadye Marks on this day. You thought he married Mary Livingstone, didn’t you? You are right. Sadye changed her name after she married the timeless comedian.
1937 - NBC radio presented the first broadcast of The Guiding Light. The program became the longest-running story line in daytime drama. The radio show remained until 1956. The Guiding Light began its long run on CBS-TV in 1952.
1940 - Mary Martin recorded My Heart Belongs to Daddy -- for Decca Records. The song was her signature song until she starred in South Pacific in 1949. Then, Larry Hagman’s mother had a new trademark: “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair...”
1944 - The character, a black maid named Beulah and played by a white man, Marlin Hunt, aired on radio for the first time on Fibber McGee and Molly. The spinoff, Beulah, became a radio series in 1945.
1945 - Richard Tucker debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in the production of La Gioconda.
1945 - Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first U.S. community to fluoridate water.
1949 - The first Israeli election resulted in a win for David Ben-Gurion’s Mapai party.
1952 - The Autronic Eye was introduced by General Motors. It was an automatic car headlight dimmer.
1956 - The record 24-hour rainfall in the U.S. was 38 inches. The deluge happened on Jan 24-25, 1956 at Kilauea Plantation on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.
1959 - American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707 for $301.
1961 - John F. Kennedy presented the first live presidential news conference from Washington, DC. Kennedy’s quick wit made him “an immediate sensation,” according to reporters gathered at the scene.
1964 - The Beatles reached the #1 spot on the music charts, as their hit single, I Want to Hold Your Hand, grabbed the top position in Cash Box magazine, as well as on the list of hits on scores of radio stations. It was the first #1 hit for the Beatles. Billboard listed the song as #1 on February 1. The group’s second #1 hit song, She Loves You, was also released this day -- but not on Capitol Records. It was on Swan Records (#4152). Other songs by The Beatles were released on Vee Jay (Please, Please Me), M-G-M (My Bonnie with Tony Sheridan), Tollie (Twist and Shout), Atco (Ain’t She Sweet) and the group’s own label, Apple Records, as well as Capitol.
1969 - U.S.-North Vietnamese peace talks began in Paris. However, it would be four more years of fighting and bloodshed before an agreement was finally reached ending direct U.S. participation in the war.
1970 - Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H movie premiered. The war comedy/drama stars Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, Rene Auberjonois, David Arkin, Jo Ann Pflug, Gary Burghoff, Fred Williamson, Michael Murphy, Indus Arthur, Ken Prymus and Bobby Troup.
1971 - A trial strike of the Eisenhower Dollar was performed at the Philadelphia mint.
1974 - Ray Kroc, fast-food entrepreneur of McDonald’s, bought the San Diego Padres baseball team for $12 million.
1978 - Muriel Humphrey was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of her husband, Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota. She served until Nov 7, 1978.
1981 - Super Bowl XV (at New Orleans): Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10. The second Super Bowl win for the Raiders (they won Super Bowl XI), this one belonged to Oakland all the way. They led 14-0 after one quarter, 14-3 at the half and 24-3 after three quarters. MVP: Raiders’ QB Jim Plunkett. Tickets: $40.00.
1984 - Apple’s Macintosh computer went on sale. Price tag: $2,500.
1985 - Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie of Boston College signed a $7-million, five-year contract. Flutie would play with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. The deal made him the highest paid football player and the best paid rookie ever -- in any sport. The USFL would soon fold and players like Flutie joined the CFL; and some went to the NFL.
1987 - Super Bowl XXI (at Pasadena): New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20. MVP: Giants’ QB Phil Simms. It was all Phil Simms. He completed 22 of 25 passes (88%) for 268 yards and three touchdowns and he brought the Giants back from a first-half 10-9 deficit. The 30 second half points were a Super Bowl half-game record. Tickets: $75.00. The game featured TV commercials that cost $550,000 for 30 seconds of NBC’s most prime time.
1990 - An Avianca Boeing 707 ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, NY. 73 of the 161 people aboard Flight #52 were killed.
1993 - Sears, Roebuck & Co. announced the closing of its famous ‘big book’ catalog sales department -- after 97 years. Sears also Closed 113 of its stores and eliminated 50,000 jobs.
1994 - Pop super-star Michael Jackson settled a child molestation lawsuit that had been brought against him -- for some $20 million.
1997 - Astrologer Jeane Dixon died in Washington, DC at 79 years of age. Dixon became famous after John F. Kennedy’s death, because she had predicted in 1956 (in Parade magazine) that “a Democrat would be elected in 1960 and would die in office.”
1998 - Super Bowl XXXII (at San Diego): Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24. The dream finally came true for John Elway and the Broncos. They broke a 4-game Super Bowl losing streak with 1:45 to go in the game. The Broncos’ MVP RB Terrell Davis ran for a 1-yard TD run up the middle and put Denver in the Super Bowl win column at last. Tickets: $275.00.
1998 - Grease Closed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in New York City -- after 1,505 performances.
1999 - A powerful earthquake of a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale rocked el Eje Cafetero, in the coffee growing region. In 32 seconds 150 buildings collapsed and 1,500 houses were destroyed. Other facts & figures: 1,052 dead; 4,500 injured; 205,000 homeless; 138,000 in improvised shelters; 51,600 houses destroyed or damaged; 80% of schools destroyed.
2000 - Martina Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame -- in the ‘Recent Player’ category.
2000 - A snow storm hit the U.S. East Coast and left Raleigh, NC with over a foot of snow. At least five deaths were blamed on the storm.
2001 - A jury in Fort Lauderdale, FL found 13-year-old Lionel Tate guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a six-year-old family friend. Tate said he accidentally killed the girl while imitating moves by pro wrestlers.
2002 - These new films were in U.S. theatres: I Am Sam, with Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Doug Hutchison, Stanley Desantis, Brad Allan Silverman, Joseph Rosenberg, Richard Schiff, Laura Dern and Loretta Devine; Kung Pow! : Enter the Fist, starring Steve Oedekerk, Leo Lee and Jennifer Tung; and A Walk to Remember, with Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah, Lauren German and Clayne Crawford.
2002 - A judge in Cambridge, MA sentenced Thomas Junta to six to ten years in prison for beating another man to death at their sons’ hockey practice.
2004 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final installment of the epic fantasy trilogy won the best dramatic film award and three other trophies at the Golden Globes.
2004 - NASA’s Opportunity rover transmitted its first pictures of Mars to Earth, delighting and puzzling scientists just hours after the spacecraft bounced to a landing on the opposite side of the red planet from its twin rover, Spirit.
2005 - Lawmakers in San Francisco, CA voted to ban smoking in public parks. It was the first major American city to embrace such an expansive ban on the use of tobacco.
2006 - Google’s launch of a new, self-censored search engine in China was a “black day” for freedom of expression, says leading international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
2007 - Ford Motor Co. reported a $5.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter amid slumping sales and huge restructuring costs. All in all, the automaker's deficit for 2006 was $12.7 billion, the largest in its 103-year history.
2008 - Movies debuting in the U.S.: How She Move, starring Tracey Armstrong, Clé Bennett, Nina Dobrey, Romina D'Ugo, Kevin Duhaney, Shawn Fernandez, Brennan Gademans, Jason Harrow, Jai Jai Jones, Tristan D. Lalla, Daniel Morrison, Dwain Murphy, Mya and Rutina Wesley; Meet the Spartans, with Diedrich Bader, Kevin Sorbo, Method Man, Ken Davitian, Jim Piddock, Sean Maguire, Greg Ellis, Crista Flanagan, Nicole Parker and Emily Wilson; Rambo, starring Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Rey Gallegos, Tim Kang, Jake LaBotz, Maung Maung Khin and Ken Howard; and Untraceable, starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks and Erin Carufel.
2008 - India and France announced their intentions to push their military ties beyond weapons sales and open up nuclear power cooperation.
2009 - An avalanche slammed into a group of Turkish hikers on a trip to a remote mountain plateau. The group was dragged some 500 meters (1640 feet) into a valley. Ten of the hikers were killed.
2010 - China announced plans to close thousands of local government lobbying offices in Beijing to cut down on waste and corruption. Beijing said closing offices of xome 10,000 county administrations, industrial zones, and local government departments would cut down on a bloated bureaucracy and limit abuses of public resources.
Birthdays January 25
1759 - Robert Burns
poet: “Oh wad some power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as others see us!”; wrote Auld Lang Syne; died July 21, 1796
1860 - Charles Curtis
31st U.S. Vice President under Herbert Hoover [1929-1933]; died Feb 8, 1936
1874 - W. (William) Somerset Maugham
author: Of Human Bondage, The Razor’s Edge; died Dec 16, 1965
1882 - Virginia Woolf
author: Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, Golven; committed suicide Mar 28, 1941
1901 - Mildred Dunnock
actress: Death of a Salesman [1951], Baby Doll, The Pick-Up Artist, And Baby Makes Six, A Summer Without Boys, Sweet Bird of Youth; died Jul 5, 1991
1918 - Ernie Harwell
Radio Hall of Fame sportscaster: baseball announcer: Detroit Tigers, Brooklyn Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Giants, Atlanta Crackers; actor: Cobb, Cooperstown, Tiger Town; died May 4, 2010
1919 - Edwin Newman
journalist: NBC News, PBS; author: Comet, A Civil Tongue; died Aug 13, 2010
1924 - Lou Groza
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Cleveland Browns; Ohio State; sports broadcaster: ABC Radio; died Nov 29, 2000
1925 - Barbara Carroll
jazz pianist, arranger, occasional vocalist: LPs: Everything I Love, This Heart of Mine, Live at the Carlyle, Old Friends
1926 - **** McGuire
Basketball Hall of Famer: ‘Tricky ****’, NY Knicks player and coach, Detroit Pistons player and coach
1927 - Ferdinand ‘Fernie’ Flaman
Hockey Hall of Famer: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs; career: scored 34 goals, 174 assists; one Stanley Cup; was a coach, general manager, player representative, scout
1929 - Elizabeth Allen
actress, singer: The Paul Lynde Show, C.P.O. Sharkey, Bracken’s World; died Sep 19, 2006
1931 - Stig Anderson
songwriter, lyricist, publisher, founder of group: ABBA: Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, Thank You for the Music, Voulez Vous, Fernando, SOS; died Sep 12, 1997
1931 - Dean Jones
actor: The Love Bug, Tea and Sympathy, Beethoven
1933 - Corazon Aquino
President of the Philippines
1935 - Don Maynard
Pro Football Hall of Famer: New York Jets wide receiver: Super Bowl III
1936 - Diana Hyland (Gentner)
Emmy Award-winning actress: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The ABC Friday Night Movie [11/12/76], One Man’s Way, Eight is Enough, Peyton Place; died Mar 27, 1977
1938 - Etta James
singer: Wallflower, Good Rockin’ Daddy, All I Could Do Was Cry, Tell Me Mama, I’ve Found a Love
1941 - Buddy Baker
International Motorsports Hall of Famer: fastest win ever in the Daytona 500: 177.602mph [1980]
1942 - Carl Eller
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Minnesota Vikings Defensive end: Super Bowl IV, VIII, IX, XI; one of the ‘Purple People Eaters’
1944 - Eugene Washington
football: wide receiver: Univ of Minnesota, Minnesota Vikings (1967-1972): Super Bowl IV, Pittsburgh Steelers (1972-1973), Denver Broncos (1973), New England Patriots (1974-1976)
1944 - Bob ****son
golf: won British & U.S. amateurs [1967]; left job as Tournament Director of Nike Tour to join Senior Tour [1994]
1945 - Wally (Wallace Edward) Bunker
baseball: pitcher: Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1966], KC Royals
1945 - Leigh Taylor-Young
actress: I Love You Alice B. Toklas, Soylent Green, Can’t Stop the Music, Honeymoon Academy, Peyton Place, Dallas
1950 - John Terry
actor: Nine Dead, Surfer, Dude, Crazylove, A Change of Heart, Dead By Sunset, Miracle Child, A Killing in a Small Town
1951 - Vern (Vernon Gerald) Ruhle
baseball: pitcher: Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, California Angels; died Jan 20, 2007
1952 - Ken Grandberry
football: Washington State Univ., Chicago Bears
1954 - Richard Finch
songwriter, musician: bass: group: KC and the Sunshine Band: Blow Your Whistle, Do It Good, Queen of Hearts, Rock Your Baby, Get Down Tonight, That’s the Way [I Like It], [Shake, Shake, Shake] Shake Your Booty, I’m Your Boogie Man, Keep It Comin’ Love, I like to Do It, Boogie Shoes, It’s the Same Old Song, Please Don’t Go
1956 - Andy Cox
musician: guitar: groups: Fine Young Cannibals: Johnny Come Home; The Beat: Stand Down Margaret, Wha’appen, Can’t Get Used to Losing You
1957 - Jenifer Lewis
actress: Antwone Fisher, The Brothers, Cast Away, Blast from the Past, Mystery Men, The Temptations, Jackie’s Back!
1957 - Edmund Sylvers
singer: group: The Sylvers: Boogie Fever, Wish That I Could Talk to You, Through the Love in My Heart, Stay Away From Me, Can You Handle It, Cotton Candy
1958 - Dinah Manoff
Tony Award-winning actress: I Ought to be in Pictures [1980]; Soap, Empty Nest
1962 - Chris Chelios
hockey: Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings
1966 - Paul Ranheim
hockey: Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes
1966 - Mark Schlereth
football: Univ of Idaho; NFL: Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos
1967 - Randy McKay
hockey: Detroit Red Wings, NJ Devils, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens
1969 - Steve Maltais
hockey: Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, TB Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets
1970 - Mark Greig
hockey: Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers
1970 - Chris Mills
basketball: Univ of Kentucky, Univ of Arizona; Cleveland Cavaliers, NY Knicks, Golden State Warriors
1971 - Kevin R. Williams
football [wide receiver]: Univ of Miami; NFL: Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Bufflalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers
1974 - Erika Wicoff
golf: consecutive medalist honors at 1994, 1995 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships
1975 - John Wade
football: Marshall Univ; NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders
1978 - Gordie Dwyer
hockey: TB Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes
1979 - Christine Lakin
actress: Step by Step, Big Monster on Campus, Finding Kelly, Whatever It Takes, Boston Public, Opposite Sex
1981 - Alicia Keys
singer: You Don’t Know My Name, Fallin’, Gangsta Lovin’, Brotha, Jane Doe, Why Do I Fell So Sad, Rear View Mirror
Chart Toppers January 25
1946Symphony - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Clyde Rogers)
I Can’t Begin to Tell You - Bing Crosby with the Carmen Cavallaro Orchestra
Let It Snow - Vaughn Monroe
Guitar Polka - Al Dexter
1955Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes
Let Me Go, Lover! - Teresa Brewer
Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) - The Penguins
Loose Talk - Carl Smith
1964There! I’ve Said It Again - Bobby Vinton
I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
Surfin’ Bird - The Trashmen
Love’s Gonna Live Here - Buck Owens
1973Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Your Mama Don’t Dance - Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina
(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine - Tom T. Hall
1982Physical - Olivia Newton-John
Centerfold - The J. Geils Band
I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Red Neckin’ Love Makin’ Night - Conway Twitty
1991The First Time - Surface
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C & C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
Sensitivity - Ralph Tresvant
Forever’s as Far as I’ll Go - Alabama
2000What A Girl Wants - Christina Aguilera
Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65
Rhythm Divine - Enrique Iglesias
Breathe - Faith Hill
2009Just Dance - Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Beyoncé
Live Your Life - T.I. featuring Rihanna
Start a Band - Brad Paisley with Keith Urban
Chart Topper January 25, 1982...Centerfold - The J. Geils Band
View attachment 9816
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
EMMY DAY
The first Emmys, the awards presented each year in recognition of excellence in television performance and production, were presented at the Hollywood Athletic Club on this day in 1949.
The event was the 1st Annual Los Angeles Emmy Awards (for programming which appeared in 1948) and was presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Academy was also an infant, having formed just three years earlier.
Mike Sotkey’s Pantomime Quiz Time was selected as the year’s top television show. The local L.A. panel show which began in 1947, featured Howard Morris, Stubby Kaye, Rocky Graziano, Hans Conried, Milt Kamen and the orchestra of Frank DeVol and aired on KTLA-TV.
Shirley Dinsdale and her puppet, Judy Splinters, took honors as Most Outstanding Television Personality.
The Necklace, a film shown on Your Show Time on NBC, took the Best Film Made for Television Award.
The Emmy Awards ceremonies are still going strong. Although the statuettes are no longer awarded in January (in fact, they have been awarded in February, March, May, June, August and September, over the years) they are now divided into two ceremonies. The Academy administers the prime-time awards which are presented in the fall; while the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents the daytime program awards in the spring.
The Emmy Awards ceremonies are still going strong. Although the statuettes are no longer awarded in January (in fact, they have been awarded in February, March, May, June, August and September, over the years) they are now divided into two ceremonies. The Academy administers the prime-time awards which are presented in the fall; while the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presents the daytime program awards in the spring.
Some of the magic Emmy numbers are as follows:
Most won by an individual (Dwight Hemion, James L. Brooks: 18)
Most Emmys won by a male performer (Carl Reiner: 9)
Most Emmys won by a female performer (Dinah Shore: 8; Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Tracey Ullman: 7)
Most won by a series (Frasier: 30)
Most won by a miniseries (Roots: 9)
Most Emmys for a dramatic series (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law: 4) and for a comedy series (Frasier: 5)
Events January 25
1799 - Eliakim Spooner patented the seeding machine. The device, like so many that we found while Christmas shopping, proved to be... impractical.
1858 - Mendelssohn’s Wedding March was presented for the first time, as the daughter of Queen Victoria married the Crown Prince of Prussia.
1870 - G.D. Dows patented the ornamental soda fountain. The marble fountain featured a double stream draft arm and sold for $225! Make that a strawberry soda with two scoops of vanilla, please!
1905 - The world’s largest cut diamond, The Cullinan (3,106 carats, 621.2 grams or 1 and 1/4 pounds) was discovered in the Premier Mine, near Pretoria, South Africa.
1915 - Alexander Graham Bell in New York spoke to his assistant (Thomas Watson) in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental telephone service.
1927 - Jack Benny married Sadye Marks on this day. You thought he married Mary Livingstone, didn’t you? You are right. Sadye changed her name after she married the timeless comedian.
1937 - NBC radio presented the first broadcast of The Guiding Light. The program became the longest-running story line in daytime drama. The radio show remained until 1956. The Guiding Light began its long run on CBS-TV in 1952.
1940 - Mary Martin recorded My Heart Belongs to Daddy -- for Decca Records. The song was her signature song until she starred in South Pacific in 1949. Then, Larry Hagman’s mother had a new trademark: “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair...”
1944 - The character, a black maid named Beulah and played by a white man, Marlin Hunt, aired on radio for the first time on Fibber McGee and Molly. The spinoff, Beulah, became a radio series in 1945.
1945 - Richard Tucker debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in the production of La Gioconda.
1945 - Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first U.S. community to fluoridate water.
1949 - The first Israeli election resulted in a win for David Ben-Gurion’s Mapai party.
1952 - The Autronic Eye was introduced by General Motors. It was an automatic car headlight dimmer.
1956 - The record 24-hour rainfall in the U.S. was 38 inches. The deluge happened on Jan 24-25, 1956 at Kilauea Plantation on the island of Kauai in Hawaii.
1959 - American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707 for $301.
1961 - John F. Kennedy presented the first live presidential news conference from Washington, DC. Kennedy’s quick wit made him “an immediate sensation,” according to reporters gathered at the scene.
1964 - The Beatles reached the #1 spot on the music charts, as their hit single, I Want to Hold Your Hand, grabbed the top position in Cash Box magazine, as well as on the list of hits on scores of radio stations. It was the first #1 hit for the Beatles. Billboard listed the song as #1 on February 1. The group’s second #1 hit song, She Loves You, was also released this day -- but not on Capitol Records. It was on Swan Records (#4152). Other songs by The Beatles were released on Vee Jay (Please, Please Me), M-G-M (My Bonnie with Tony Sheridan), Tollie (Twist and Shout), Atco (Ain’t She Sweet) and the group’s own label, Apple Records, as well as Capitol.
1969 - U.S.-North Vietnamese peace talks began in Paris. However, it would be four more years of fighting and bloodshed before an agreement was finally reached ending direct U.S. participation in the war.
1970 - Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H movie premiered. The war comedy/drama stars Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, Rene Auberjonois, David Arkin, Jo Ann Pflug, Gary Burghoff, Fred Williamson, Michael Murphy, Indus Arthur, Ken Prymus and Bobby Troup.
1971 - A trial strike of the Eisenhower Dollar was performed at the Philadelphia mint.
1974 - Ray Kroc, fast-food entrepreneur of McDonald’s, bought the San Diego Padres baseball team for $12 million.
1978 - Muriel Humphrey was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of her husband, Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota. She served until Nov 7, 1978.
1981 - Super Bowl XV (at New Orleans): Oakland Raiders 27, Philadelphia Eagles 10. The second Super Bowl win for the Raiders (they won Super Bowl XI), this one belonged to Oakland all the way. They led 14-0 after one quarter, 14-3 at the half and 24-3 after three quarters. MVP: Raiders’ QB Jim Plunkett. Tickets: $40.00.
1984 - Apple’s Macintosh computer went on sale. Price tag: $2,500.
1985 - Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie of Boston College signed a $7-million, five-year contract. Flutie would play with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. The deal made him the highest paid football player and the best paid rookie ever -- in any sport. The USFL would soon fold and players like Flutie joined the CFL; and some went to the NFL.
1987 - Super Bowl XXI (at Pasadena): New York Giants 39, Denver Broncos 20. MVP: Giants’ QB Phil Simms. It was all Phil Simms. He completed 22 of 25 passes (88%) for 268 yards and three touchdowns and he brought the Giants back from a first-half 10-9 deficit. The 30 second half points were a Super Bowl half-game record. Tickets: $75.00. The game featured TV commercials that cost $550,000 for 30 seconds of NBC’s most prime time.
1990 - An Avianca Boeing 707 ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, NY. 73 of the 161 people aboard Flight #52 were killed.
1993 - Sears, Roebuck & Co. announced the closing of its famous ‘big book’ catalog sales department -- after 97 years. Sears also Closed 113 of its stores and eliminated 50,000 jobs.
1994 - Pop super-star Michael Jackson settled a child molestation lawsuit that had been brought against him -- for some $20 million.
1997 - Astrologer Jeane Dixon died in Washington, DC at 79 years of age. Dixon became famous after John F. Kennedy’s death, because she had predicted in 1956 (in Parade magazine) that “a Democrat would be elected in 1960 and would die in office.”
1998 - Super Bowl XXXII (at San Diego): Denver Broncos 31, Green Bay Packers 24. The dream finally came true for John Elway and the Broncos. They broke a 4-game Super Bowl losing streak with 1:45 to go in the game. The Broncos’ MVP RB Terrell Davis ran for a 1-yard TD run up the middle and put Denver in the Super Bowl win column at last. Tickets: $275.00.
1998 - Grease Closed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in New York City -- after 1,505 performances.
1999 - A powerful earthquake of a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale rocked el Eje Cafetero, in the coffee growing region. In 32 seconds 150 buildings collapsed and 1,500 houses were destroyed. Other facts & figures: 1,052 dead; 4,500 injured; 205,000 homeless; 138,000 in improvised shelters; 51,600 houses destroyed or damaged; 80% of schools destroyed.
2000 - Martina Navratilova was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame -- in the ‘Recent Player’ category.
2000 - A snow storm hit the U.S. East Coast and left Raleigh, NC with over a foot of snow. At least five deaths were blamed on the storm.
2001 - A jury in Fort Lauderdale, FL found 13-year-old Lionel Tate guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a six-year-old family friend. Tate said he accidentally killed the girl while imitating moves by pro wrestlers.
2002 - These new films were in U.S. theatres: I Am Sam, with Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest, Doug Hutchison, Stanley Desantis, Brad Allan Silverman, Joseph Rosenberg, Richard Schiff, Laura Dern and Loretta Devine; Kung Pow! : Enter the Fist, starring Steve Oedekerk, Leo Lee and Jennifer Tung; and A Walk to Remember, with Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah, Lauren German and Clayne Crawford.
2002 - A judge in Cambridge, MA sentenced Thomas Junta to six to ten years in prison for beating another man to death at their sons’ hockey practice.
2004 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final installment of the epic fantasy trilogy won the best dramatic film award and three other trophies at the Golden Globes.
2004 - NASA’s Opportunity rover transmitted its first pictures of Mars to Earth, delighting and puzzling scientists just hours after the spacecraft bounced to a landing on the opposite side of the red planet from its twin rover, Spirit.
2005 - Lawmakers in San Francisco, CA voted to ban smoking in public parks. It was the first major American city to embrace such an expansive ban on the use of tobacco.
2006 - Google’s launch of a new, self-censored search engine in China was a “black day” for freedom of expression, says leading international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
2007 - Ford Motor Co. reported a $5.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter amid slumping sales and huge restructuring costs. All in all, the automaker's deficit for 2006 was $12.7 billion, the largest in its 103-year history.
2008 - Movies debuting in the U.S.: How She Move, starring Tracey Armstrong, Clé Bennett, Nina Dobrey, Romina D'Ugo, Kevin Duhaney, Shawn Fernandez, Brennan Gademans, Jason Harrow, Jai Jai Jones, Tristan D. Lalla, Daniel Morrison, Dwain Murphy, Mya and Rutina Wesley; Meet the Spartans, with Diedrich Bader, Kevin Sorbo, Method Man, Ken Davitian, Jim Piddock, Sean Maguire, Greg Ellis, Crista Flanagan, Nicole Parker and Emily Wilson; Rambo, starring Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, Matthew Marsden, Graham McTavish, Rey Gallegos, Tim Kang, Jake LaBotz, Maung Maung Khin and Ken Howard; and Untraceable, starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks and Erin Carufel.
2008 - India and France announced their intentions to push their military ties beyond weapons sales and open up nuclear power cooperation.
2009 - An avalanche slammed into a group of Turkish hikers on a trip to a remote mountain plateau. The group was dragged some 500 meters (1640 feet) into a valley. Ten of the hikers were killed.
2010 - China announced plans to close thousands of local government lobbying offices in Beijing to cut down on waste and corruption. Beijing said closing offices of xome 10,000 county administrations, industrial zones, and local government departments would cut down on a bloated bureaucracy and limit abuses of public resources.
Birthdays January 25
1759 - Robert Burns
poet: “Oh wad some power the giftie gie us / To see oursels as others see us!”; wrote Auld Lang Syne; died July 21, 1796
1860 - Charles Curtis
31st U.S. Vice President under Herbert Hoover [1929-1933]; died Feb 8, 1936
1874 - W. (William) Somerset Maugham
author: Of Human Bondage, The Razor’s Edge; died Dec 16, 1965
1882 - Virginia Woolf
author: Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, Golven; committed suicide Mar 28, 1941
1901 - Mildred Dunnock
actress: Death of a Salesman [1951], Baby Doll, The Pick-Up Artist, And Baby Makes Six, A Summer Without Boys, Sweet Bird of Youth; died Jul 5, 1991
1918 - Ernie Harwell
Radio Hall of Fame sportscaster: baseball announcer: Detroit Tigers, Brooklyn Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Giants, Atlanta Crackers; actor: Cobb, Cooperstown, Tiger Town; died May 4, 2010
1919 - Edwin Newman
journalist: NBC News, PBS; author: Comet, A Civil Tongue; died Aug 13, 2010
1924 - Lou Groza
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Cleveland Browns; Ohio State; sports broadcaster: ABC Radio; died Nov 29, 2000
1925 - Barbara Carroll
jazz pianist, arranger, occasional vocalist: LPs: Everything I Love, This Heart of Mine, Live at the Carlyle, Old Friends
1926 - **** McGuire
Basketball Hall of Famer: ‘Tricky ****’, NY Knicks player and coach, Detroit Pistons player and coach
1927 - Ferdinand ‘Fernie’ Flaman
Hockey Hall of Famer: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs; career: scored 34 goals, 174 assists; one Stanley Cup; was a coach, general manager, player representative, scout
1929 - Elizabeth Allen
actress, singer: The Paul Lynde Show, C.P.O. Sharkey, Bracken’s World; died Sep 19, 2006
1931 - Stig Anderson
songwriter, lyricist, publisher, founder of group: ABBA: Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, Thank You for the Music, Voulez Vous, Fernando, SOS; died Sep 12, 1997
1931 - Dean Jones
actor: The Love Bug, Tea and Sympathy, Beethoven
1933 - Corazon Aquino
President of the Philippines
1935 - Don Maynard
Pro Football Hall of Famer: New York Jets wide receiver: Super Bowl III
1936 - Diana Hyland (Gentner)
Emmy Award-winning actress: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, The ABC Friday Night Movie [11/12/76], One Man’s Way, Eight is Enough, Peyton Place; died Mar 27, 1977
1938 - Etta James
singer: Wallflower, Good Rockin’ Daddy, All I Could Do Was Cry, Tell Me Mama, I’ve Found a Love
1941 - Buddy Baker
International Motorsports Hall of Famer: fastest win ever in the Daytona 500: 177.602mph [1980]
1942 - Carl Eller
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Minnesota Vikings Defensive end: Super Bowl IV, VIII, IX, XI; one of the ‘Purple People Eaters’
1944 - Eugene Washington
football: wide receiver: Univ of Minnesota, Minnesota Vikings (1967-1972): Super Bowl IV, Pittsburgh Steelers (1972-1973), Denver Broncos (1973), New England Patriots (1974-1976)
1944 - Bob ****son
golf: won British & U.S. amateurs [1967]; left job as Tournament Director of Nike Tour to join Senior Tour [1994]
1945 - Wally (Wallace Edward) Bunker
baseball: pitcher: Baltimore Orioles [World Series: 1966], KC Royals
1945 - Leigh Taylor-Young
actress: I Love You Alice B. Toklas, Soylent Green, Can’t Stop the Music, Honeymoon Academy, Peyton Place, Dallas
1950 - John Terry
actor: Nine Dead, Surfer, Dude, Crazylove, A Change of Heart, Dead By Sunset, Miracle Child, A Killing in a Small Town
1951 - Vern (Vernon Gerald) Ruhle
baseball: pitcher: Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, California Angels; died Jan 20, 2007
1952 - Ken Grandberry
football: Washington State Univ., Chicago Bears
1954 - Richard Finch
songwriter, musician: bass: group: KC and the Sunshine Band: Blow Your Whistle, Do It Good, Queen of Hearts, Rock Your Baby, Get Down Tonight, That’s the Way [I Like It], [Shake, Shake, Shake] Shake Your Booty, I’m Your Boogie Man, Keep It Comin’ Love, I like to Do It, Boogie Shoes, It’s the Same Old Song, Please Don’t Go
1956 - Andy Cox
musician: guitar: groups: Fine Young Cannibals: Johnny Come Home; The Beat: Stand Down Margaret, Wha’appen, Can’t Get Used to Losing You
1957 - Jenifer Lewis
actress: Antwone Fisher, The Brothers, Cast Away, Blast from the Past, Mystery Men, The Temptations, Jackie’s Back!
1957 - Edmund Sylvers
singer: group: The Sylvers: Boogie Fever, Wish That I Could Talk to You, Through the Love in My Heart, Stay Away From Me, Can You Handle It, Cotton Candy
1958 - Dinah Manoff
Tony Award-winning actress: I Ought to be in Pictures [1980]; Soap, Empty Nest
1962 - Chris Chelios
hockey: Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings
1966 - Paul Ranheim
hockey: Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes
1966 - Mark Schlereth
football: Univ of Idaho; NFL: Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos
1967 - Randy McKay
hockey: Detroit Red Wings, NJ Devils, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens
1969 - Steve Maltais
hockey: Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, TB Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets
1970 - Mark Greig
hockey: Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers
1970 - Chris Mills
basketball: Univ of Kentucky, Univ of Arizona; Cleveland Cavaliers, NY Knicks, Golden State Warriors
1971 - Kevin R. Williams
football [wide receiver]: Univ of Miami; NFL: Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Bufflalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers
1974 - Erika Wicoff
golf: consecutive medalist honors at 1994, 1995 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships
1975 - John Wade
football: Marshall Univ; NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders
1978 - Gordie Dwyer
hockey: TB Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes
1979 - Christine Lakin
actress: Step by Step, Big Monster on Campus, Finding Kelly, Whatever It Takes, Boston Public, Opposite Sex
1981 - Alicia Keys
singer: You Don’t Know My Name, Fallin’, Gangsta Lovin’, Brotha, Jane Doe, Why Do I Fell So Sad, Rear View Mirror
Chart Toppers January 25
1946Symphony - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Clyde Rogers)
I Can’t Begin to Tell You - Bing Crosby with the Carmen Cavallaro Orchestra
Let It Snow - Vaughn Monroe
Guitar Polka - Al Dexter
1955Mr. Sandman - The Chordettes
Let Me Go, Lover! - Teresa Brewer
Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine) - The Penguins
Loose Talk - Carl Smith
1964There! I’ve Said It Again - Bobby Vinton
I Want to Hold Your Hand - The Beatles
Surfin’ Bird - The Trashmen
Love’s Gonna Live Here - Buck Owens
1973Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Crocodile Rock - Elton John
Your Mama Don’t Dance - Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina
(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine - Tom T. Hall
1982Physical - Olivia Newton-John
Centerfold - The J. Geils Band
I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Red Neckin’ Love Makin’ Night - Conway Twitty
1991The First Time - Surface
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C & C Music Factory featuring Freedom Williams
Sensitivity - Ralph Tresvant
Forever’s as Far as I’ll Go - Alabama
2000What A Girl Wants - Christina Aguilera
Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65
Rhythm Divine - Enrique Iglesias
Breathe - Faith Hill
2009Just Dance - Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Beyoncé
Live Your Life - T.I. featuring Rihanna
Start a Band - Brad Paisley with Keith Urban
Chart Topper January 25, 1982...Centerfold - The J. Geils Band
View attachment 9816