BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
345th day of 2010 - 20 remaining
Saturday, December 11, 2010
AURORA BOREALIS DAY
The first display of the northern lights was recorded in America. The sighting was made in New England on this day in 1719. The report said that a mysterious face seemed to appear in the atmosphere; and, since most aurora borealis displays occur in September and October and again in March and April, this is very strange, indeed!
The simplest explanation for the green, red, and frost-white northern lights is that, just as the gas in a neon light glows when charged with electricity, so the gas in the atmosphere glows with specific colors when charged with electric particles from the sun. For a more technical explantation, see Mankind’s Explanation: Aurora Borealis or Aurora Season Begins.
As far as we know, there is still no technical explanation for the off-season display.
Events December 11
1816 - The Hoosier state, Indiana, entered the United States of America as the 19th state. The nickname, meaning rustic, is not a good decription of Indianapolis, the major metropolis that is its capital. However, much of the state is still farmland, and the little state flower, the peony, grows in many Hoosier front yards. The cardinal, the state Bird , is also the state Bird of each of the states (except Michigan) that border Indiana: Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio.
1844 - Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford, CT had a tooth extracted. Ouch! But wait. He became the first to receive an anesthetic for this dental procedure. Ah, muth bether, Dothtuh.
1882 - The Bijou Theatre in Boston, MA became the first theatre to be lighted by electricity.
1919 - The kind citizens of Enterprise, Alabama dedicated the first known monument to an insect! The town turned out to honor the boll weevil; the evil weevil that destroyed cotton plants. However, by forcing folks to diversify their crops, the farmers wound up tripling their income. Thus, the tribute to those bugs.
1936 - Britain’s King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so that he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.
1939 - Betty Grable and her famous legs were featured on the cover of LIFE magazine. Legend has it that she didn’t care much for the picture, but it became an international symbol of ‘back home’ for those at war.
1939 - Marlene Dietrich recorded Falling In Love Again -- on the Decca label.
1941 - Four days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the United States responded in kind.
1941 - Japan attacked Wake Island. U.S. Marine Corps. shore batteries successfully repulsed the attempted landing, sinking one destroyer and damaging two cruisers, two destroyers and a transport ship. After the fleet withdrew, Marine Fighter Squadron 211 sank an additional destroyer. It was the only failed Japanese landing of WWII. (The Japanese did mount a full-scale invasion and overrun Wake Island on Dec 23, 1941.)
1944 - The Chesterfield Supper Club debuted on NBC radio. Perry Como, Jo Stafford and many other stars of the day shared the spotlight on the 15-minute show that aired five nights a week. The show was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes.
1946 - John D. Rockefeller, Jr. offered up a six-block area of land in New York City for use as world headquarters of the United Nations. The offer was accepted the following day. No one connected with the United Nations has been able to make a decision that quickly since.
1951 - Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from baseball. Joltin’ Joe played only for the New York Yankees during his 13-year career. His lifetime batting average was .325; and his streak of 56 games batted safely in, still stands as a record. Joe’s two brothers, Vince and Dom, were also major-league players.
1952 - An audience of 70,000 people watched from 31 theatres as Richard Tucker starred in Carmen from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The event was the first pay-TV production of an opera. Ticket prices ranged from $1.20 to $7.20.
1961 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy provided an assortment of helicopters and crews to a small country called South Vietnam. It was the first direct American military support for South Vietnam’s battle against Communist guerillas from the north.
1964 - Gospel superstar and rock ’n’ roller Sam Cooke was shot to death at the Hacienda motel in Los Angeles by Bertha Franklin, the motel’s manager. He was 33 years old. Franklin said Cooke had tried to rape 21-year-old Elisa Boyer (whom Cooke had checked into the motel with). Boyer had left the room with most of Cooke’s clothing. Cooke, wearing one shoe and a jacket, broke into the motel’s office where he thought Boyer was hiding. That’s when Franklin, thinking Cooke was coming after her, shot him three times with her .22. In 1957, Sam Cooke released You Send Me, which became a number #1 hit and sold 1.7 million copies. The smash established him as a commercial artist pop stylist. Other hits followed: Everyone Like to Cha Cha Cha and Only Sixteen (1959); Wonderful World and Chain Gang (1960); Cupid (1961); Twistin’ the Night Away (1962); and Frankie and Johnny (1963).
1967 - The French prototype Concorde 001 was rolled out in Toulouse, France (the British 002 prototype was not quite finished in Bristol). The joint British-French venture and the world’s first supersonic airliner, took two more years of testing and fine-tuning the powerful engines before it made its maiden flight.
1973 - Karen and Richard Carpenter received a gold record for their single, Top of the World.
1973 - Ron Santo was traded to the Chicago White Sox from crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Santo became the first major-league baseball player to invoke the rule which permits 10-year veterans of a club to refuse to be traded. He turned down a trade to the California Angels.
1976 - Al Stewart debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 with Year of the Cat. It peaked at #8, but not until March 1977.
1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The law created a $1.6 billion environmental superfund to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps.
1981 - It was Muhammad Ali’s 61st -- and last -- fight. He lost to future champ Trevor Berbick.
1982 - Toni Basil reached the #1 one position on the pop music charts for the first time, with her single, Mickey. The chorus: “Hey Mickey, you’re so fine, you’re so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey, hey Mickey.” Romantic, huh?
1983 - Noises Off, a London play, opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City. The three-act play was described by critics as “an outrageous slapstick comedy of utter chaos.”
1985 - The most expensive non-oil acquisition in U.S. history took place. General Electric Company agreed to buy RCA Corporation for $6.3 billion. The conglomerate would bring in about $39 billion in revenues. The deal also included NBC radio and TV.
1985 - With the season still in progress, the Chicago Bears declared their intention to appear in and win the Super Bowl. Members of the team, known as Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew, released their Superbowl Shuffle. The Bears went on to defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, 46-10.
“You better start makin’
Your Superbowl plans.
But don’t get ready or go to any trouble,
Unless you practice
The Superbowl Shuffle.”
1988 - A Soviet military transport plane crashed at Leninakan, Armenia, killing 78 people involved in Armenian earthquake relief efforts.
1990 - Ivana Trump was divorced from real estate mogul Donald Trump after twelve years of marriage.
1991 - A jury in West Palm Beach, Florida acquitted William Kennedy Smith of sexual assault and battery. The jury rejected allegations by Patricia Bowman, who said Smith had raped her on the Kennedy estate lawn earlier in 1991.
1993 - Snoop Doggy Dogg’s Doggystyle was number one on U.S. album charts. The rest of the top five: 2-Vs., Pearl Jam; 3-Music Box, Mariah Carey; 4-The Spaghetti Incident?, Guns N' Roses; 5-The Beavis & Butt-Head Experience, Various artists.
1994 - Russia sent tanks and troops into Chechnya in an attempt at ending the rebel territory’s three-year unilateral drive for independence.
1995 - The Malden Mills textile manufacturing plant in Lawrence, MA burned down. Owner Aaron Feuerstein kept all of his employees on full pay until the plant was rebuilt. Malden Mills manufacturs Polartec fleece, synthetic fabrics.
1997 - Negotiators from around the world (more than 150 countries) agreed on a package of measures that for the first time would legally obligate industrial countries to cut emissions of waste industrial (greenhouse) gases that scientists say are warming the Earth’s atmosphere.
1998 - Movies debuting in the U.S.: Jack Frost (“Jack Frost is getting a second chance to be the world’s coolest dad... if he doesn’t melt first.”), with Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston, Mark Addy and Joseph Cross; and Star Trek: Insurrection (“The Battle for Paradise Has Begun”), with Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise.
1999 - Ron Dayne the University of Wisconsin’s record-setting tailback, was a landslide winner of the Heisman Trophy.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from lawyers representing George W. Bush and Al Gore concerning the Florida presidential vote recount. Plans for the Jan 20, 2001 inauguration ceremonies continued under the Direction of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, even though the new president had not been decided upon yet.
2001 - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission agreed to the proposed purchase of the Ralston Purina company by Swiss food giant Nestle S.A. Purchase price was $10.3 billion.
2002 - A U.S. congressional report found that intelligence agencies that were supposed to protect Americans from the Sept. 11 hijackers failed to do so because they were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented the attacks.
2003 - Striking Kroger workers in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio ratified a new contract, ending strike that began Oct 13.
2003 - U.S. health officials reported an early flu outbreak had hit all 50 states and was widespread in 24.
2004 - A doctor said dioxin poisoning caused the mysterious illness of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko.
2005 - A series of explosions at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal -- better known as the Buncefield oil depot -- set fire to several tanks at facility north of London. Damage from the blasts, including broken windows and blown-in or warped front doors, occurred more than a half mile away. Cars in nearby streets caught fire and the roof of at least one house was blown off.
2006 - A boiler explosion in Diyarbakir, Turkey knocked down part of a five-story building housing military families. The blast killed four people and trapped four others.
2006 - Fiji’s military regime banished ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase from the capital and warned that opposition to the takeover would be met with force.
2007 - The Iraqi government ordered all policewomen to surrender their weapons for redistribution to men -- or face having their pay withheld. The order thwarted a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation’s police force. (The U.S. had begun training women in 2004 and graduated 1000 from the police academy.)
2008 - 70-year-old Bernard Madoff, Wall Street 'investment' firm boss for decades, was arrested and charged with running a $50-billion Ponzi scheme. Madoff’s operation ranks among the biggest fraud schemes in U.S. history.
2008 - Bettie Page, 1950s secretary-turned-model, died at 85 years of age. Her controversial photographs in skimpy attire, or none at all, helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution.
2009 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres: A Single Man, starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin, Nicholas Hoult and Paulette Lamori; Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon; My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, with Michael Shannon, Udo Kier, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Brad Dourif, Michael Pena, Bill Cobbs and Grace Zabriskie; Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, with Ranbir Kapoor; The Lovely Bones, with Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Saoirse Ronan; The Slammin’ Salmon, with Michael Clarke Duncan, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Cobie Smulders, April Bowlby, Olivia Munn, Vivica A. Fox and Morgan Fairchild; and Yesterday Was a Lie, starring Kipleigh Brown, Deborah Gibson, John Newton, Mik Scriba, Nathan Mobley and Warren Davis.
2009 - Germany announced Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport would be given the secondary name Willy Brandt, after the former West German chancellor. Brandt championed East-West relations and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
Birthdays December 11
1803 - Hector Berlioz
musician, composer, major force in the development of musical form during the Romantic Era; died Mar 8, 1869
1863 - Annie Jump Cannon
astronomer: discovered five stars; National Academy of Science Draper Medal-winner; died Apr 13, 1941
1882 - Fiorello LaGuardia
‘Little Flower’: politician: NYC mayor [1933-45]; LaGuardia Airport in NY bears his name; died Sep 20, 1947
1904 - Marjorie (Henderson) Buell
cartoonist: Little Lulu; died May 30, 1993
1905 - Gilbert Roland (Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso)
actor: Barbarosa, Islands in the Stream, Cheyenne Autumn, Treasures of Pancho Villa, Thunder Bay, Captain Kidd, The Cisco Kid series; died May 15, 1994
1912 - Carlo Ponti
producer, director: Marriage, Italian Style; died Jan 10, 2007
1916 - (Damaso) Perez Prado
musician: piano, organ: Patricia, Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, Mambo No. 5, Mambo No. 8 died Sep 14, 1989
1918 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
dissident Russian writer: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; died Aug 3, 2008
1921 - Liz Smith
actress: Imperium: Nerone, Donovan Quick, Oliver Twist, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Doggin’ Around, Dakota Road, Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool
1923 - Betsy Blair
actress: Broadway: Panama Hattie, The Beautiful People; films: The Guilt of Janet Ames, A Double Life, The Snake Pit, Another Part of the Forest, Marty; married to dancer Gene Kelly [1940-1957]; died Mar 13, 2009
1926 - Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton
blues singer: pre-Elvis version of Hound Dog; died July 25, 1984
1930 - Jean-Louis Trintignant
actor: Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Is Paris Burning?, And God Created Woman, A Man and a Woman
1931 - Rita Moreno (Rosita Alverio)
dancer, Academy Award-winning actress: West Side Story [1961]; The Wharf Rat, I Like It Like That, Portrait of a Showgirl, The Four Seasons, Anatomy of a Seduction, Carnal Knowledge, Summer and Smoke, The King and I, Singin’ in the Rain; Emmy Award-winning actress: The Muppet Show [1976-77], The Paper Palace, The Rockford Files [1/20/78]; won Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards
1931 - Pierre Pilote
Hockey Hall of Famer: NHL: Chicago Black Hawks defenseman: Norris Trophy winner [1964, 1965, 1966], Toronto Maple Leafs
1932 - Anne Heywood
actress: The Fox, The Equalizer, Memories of Manon, Sadat, A Terrible Beauty, I Want What I Want, Trader Horn
1934 - (Arthur) Lee Maye
baseball: Milwaukee Braves, Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox; died July 17, 2002
1934 - Curtis Williams
singer: group: The Penguins: Earth Angel; died Aug 10, 1979
1935 - Tom Brumley
musician: steel guitar: group: Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, Stone Canyon Band; died Feb 3, 2009
1935 - Ron Carey
comedian, actor: Barney Miller, The Out of Towners, High Anxiety, History of the World Part I; died Jan 16, 2007
1938 - Fred Cox
football: Minnesota Vikings: kicked field goals in 31 consecutive games [1968-70] - a record
1939 - Tom Hayden
politician: California state assembly member [1982-1992] and state senator [1992-2000]; author: The Other Side, Rebellion in Newark: Official Violence, Ghetto Response; former husband of actor Jane Fonda
1940 - David Gates
musician: guitar, keyboard, singer: solo: Goodbye Girl; group: Bread: Make It With You, If, Baby I’m-A Want You, Diary, Aubrey
1940 - Donna Mills
actress: Knots Landing, The Good Life, False Arrest, Curse of the Black Widow, Beyond the Bermuda Triangle, Play Misty for Me
1941 - Larry Stallings
football: Georgia Tech, SL Cardinals LB
1943 - John Kerry
U.S. Senator [Massachusetts: 1985-present; Democratic Party candidate for U.S. president [2004]
1944 - Lynda Day George
actress: Young Warriors, Casino, Ants, The Barbary Coast, The Silent Force, Roots, Rich Man, Poor Man-Book I, Mission: Impossible
1944 - Brenda Lee (Tarpley)
singer: I’m Sorry, All Alone Am I, I Want to Be Wanted, Sweet Nothin’s, That’s All You Gotta Do
1945 - Earlie Thomas
football: NY Jets
1947 - Teri Garr
actress: Tootsie, Young Frankenstein, Oh, God!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Mom, After Hours; TV: Star Trek, It Takes a Thief, McCloud
1952 - Robert Cochran
skier: U.S. slalom champion [1969, 1970], downhill champion [1971, 1973], Alpine combined champion [1971, 1972], giant slalom champion [1971, 1974]; 1972 U.S. Olympic Ski Team
1952 - Susan Seidelman
director: Desperately Seeking Susan, She-Devil, Making Mr. Right, Smithereens
1953 - Bess Armstrong
actress: The Skateboard Kid, Jaws 3, Nothing in Common, Four Seasons, On Our Own, My So-Called Life, Married People
1954 - Jermaine Jackson
singer: Daddy’s Home, Let’s Get Serious; group: The Jackson Five: I’ll be There; brother of Michael, Janet, La Toya, Tito, Randy, Marlon and Jackie
1958 - Nikki Sixx (Frank Ferranno)
musician: bass: group: Motley Crue: LPs: Too Fast for Love, Theatre of Pain
1965 - Jay Bell
baseball: Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets
1966 - Gary Dourdan
actor: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, A Different World, Weekend at Bernie’s II, Alien: Resurrection, King of the World
1968 - Derek Bell
baseball [third base, outfield]: Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates
1969 - Max Martini
actor: Saving Private Ryan, Level 9, The Great Raid, The Unit , Silver Bells, Taken, Desert Son, Love Lessons, The Great Raid
1971 - Willie McGinest
football [defensive end]: Univ of Southern Calif; NFL: New England Patriots
1976 - Shareef Abdur-Rahim
basketball [forward]: Univ of California; NBA: Vancouver Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings
1981 - Jared Hillman
actor: Hannah Montana TV series, Eviction, The Favor, Still Standing, Stacked, Without a Trace, Boston Public
Chart Toppers December 11
1946Ole Buttermilk Sky - The Kay Kyser Orchestra (vocal: Mike Douglas & The Campus Kids)
Rumors are Flying - The Frankie Carle Orchestra (vocal: Marjorie Hughes)
The Old Lamplighter - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Billy Williams)
Divorce Me C.O.D. - Merle Travis
1955Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
Memories are Made of This - Dean Martin
Nuttin’ for Christmas - Barry Gordon
Love, Love, Love - Webb Pierce
1964Ringo - Lorne Greene
Mr. Lonely - Bobby Vinton
She’s Not There - The Zombies
Once a Day - Connie Smith
1973Top of the World - Carpenters
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Just You ’N’ Me - Chicago
The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich
1982Truly - Lionel Richie
Gloria - Laura Branigan
Mickey - Toni Basil
Redneck Girl - The Bellamy Brothers
1991Black or White - Michael Jackson
It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
All 4 Love - Color Me Badd
For My Next Broken Heart - Brooks & Dunn
2000Independent Woman, Part 1 - Destiny’s Child
Shape of My Heart - Backstreet Boys
Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do) - Mya
We Danced - Brad Paisley
2009Whatcha Say - Jason DeRulo
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga
Party In The U.S.A. - Jay Sean featuring Miley Cyrus
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
Enjoy All
Born On This Day 1934...Curtis Williams of The Penguins...R.I.P.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
AURORA BOREALIS DAY
The first display of the northern lights was recorded in America. The sighting was made in New England on this day in 1719. The report said that a mysterious face seemed to appear in the atmosphere; and, since most aurora borealis displays occur in September and October and again in March and April, this is very strange, indeed!
The simplest explanation for the green, red, and frost-white northern lights is that, just as the gas in a neon light glows when charged with electricity, so the gas in the atmosphere glows with specific colors when charged with electric particles from the sun. For a more technical explantation, see Mankind’s Explanation: Aurora Borealis or Aurora Season Begins.
As far as we know, there is still no technical explanation for the off-season display.
Events December 11
1816 - The Hoosier state, Indiana, entered the United States of America as the 19th state. The nickname, meaning rustic, is not a good decription of Indianapolis, the major metropolis that is its capital. However, much of the state is still farmland, and the little state flower, the peony, grows in many Hoosier front yards. The cardinal, the state Bird , is also the state Bird of each of the states (except Michigan) that border Indiana: Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio.
1844 - Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford, CT had a tooth extracted. Ouch! But wait. He became the first to receive an anesthetic for this dental procedure. Ah, muth bether, Dothtuh.
1882 - The Bijou Theatre in Boston, MA became the first theatre to be lighted by electricity.
1919 - The kind citizens of Enterprise, Alabama dedicated the first known monument to an insect! The town turned out to honor the boll weevil; the evil weevil that destroyed cotton plants. However, by forcing folks to diversify their crops, the farmers wound up tripling their income. Thus, the tribute to those bugs.
1936 - Britain’s King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so that he could marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.
1939 - Betty Grable and her famous legs were featured on the cover of LIFE magazine. Legend has it that she didn’t care much for the picture, but it became an international symbol of ‘back home’ for those at war.
1939 - Marlene Dietrich recorded Falling In Love Again -- on the Decca label.
1941 - Four days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the United States responded in kind.
1941 - Japan attacked Wake Island. U.S. Marine Corps. shore batteries successfully repulsed the attempted landing, sinking one destroyer and damaging two cruisers, two destroyers and a transport ship. After the fleet withdrew, Marine Fighter Squadron 211 sank an additional destroyer. It was the only failed Japanese landing of WWII. (The Japanese did mount a full-scale invasion and overrun Wake Island on Dec 23, 1941.)
1944 - The Chesterfield Supper Club debuted on NBC radio. Perry Como, Jo Stafford and many other stars of the day shared the spotlight on the 15-minute show that aired five nights a week. The show was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes.
1946 - John D. Rockefeller, Jr. offered up a six-block area of land in New York City for use as world headquarters of the United Nations. The offer was accepted the following day. No one connected with the United Nations has been able to make a decision that quickly since.
1951 - Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from baseball. Joltin’ Joe played only for the New York Yankees during his 13-year career. His lifetime batting average was .325; and his streak of 56 games batted safely in, still stands as a record. Joe’s two brothers, Vince and Dom, were also major-league players.
1952 - An audience of 70,000 people watched from 31 theatres as Richard Tucker starred in Carmen from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The event was the first pay-TV production of an opera. Ticket prices ranged from $1.20 to $7.20.
1961 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy provided an assortment of helicopters and crews to a small country called South Vietnam. It was the first direct American military support for South Vietnam’s battle against Communist guerillas from the north.
1964 - Gospel superstar and rock ’n’ roller Sam Cooke was shot to death at the Hacienda motel in Los Angeles by Bertha Franklin, the motel’s manager. He was 33 years old. Franklin said Cooke had tried to rape 21-year-old Elisa Boyer (whom Cooke had checked into the motel with). Boyer had left the room with most of Cooke’s clothing. Cooke, wearing one shoe and a jacket, broke into the motel’s office where he thought Boyer was hiding. That’s when Franklin, thinking Cooke was coming after her, shot him three times with her .22. In 1957, Sam Cooke released You Send Me, which became a number #1 hit and sold 1.7 million copies. The smash established him as a commercial artist pop stylist. Other hits followed: Everyone Like to Cha Cha Cha and Only Sixteen (1959); Wonderful World and Chain Gang (1960); Cupid (1961); Twistin’ the Night Away (1962); and Frankie and Johnny (1963).
1967 - The French prototype Concorde 001 was rolled out in Toulouse, France (the British 002 prototype was not quite finished in Bristol). The joint British-French venture and the world’s first supersonic airliner, took two more years of testing and fine-tuning the powerful engines before it made its maiden flight.
1973 - Karen and Richard Carpenter received a gold record for their single, Top of the World.
1973 - Ron Santo was traded to the Chicago White Sox from crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Santo became the first major-league baseball player to invoke the rule which permits 10-year veterans of a club to refuse to be traded. He turned down a trade to the California Angels.
1976 - Al Stewart debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 with Year of the Cat. It peaked at #8, but not until March 1977.
1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The law created a $1.6 billion environmental superfund to pay for cleaning up chemical spills and toxic waste dumps.
1981 - It was Muhammad Ali’s 61st -- and last -- fight. He lost to future champ Trevor Berbick.
1982 - Toni Basil reached the #1 one position on the pop music charts for the first time, with her single, Mickey. The chorus: “Hey Mickey, you’re so fine, you’re so fine, you blow my mind, hey Mickey, hey Mickey.” Romantic, huh?
1983 - Noises Off, a London play, opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City. The three-act play was described by critics as “an outrageous slapstick comedy of utter chaos.”
1985 - The most expensive non-oil acquisition in U.S. history took place. General Electric Company agreed to buy RCA Corporation for $6.3 billion. The conglomerate would bring in about $39 billion in revenues. The deal also included NBC radio and TV.
1985 - With the season still in progress, the Chicago Bears declared their intention to appear in and win the Super Bowl. Members of the team, known as Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew, released their Superbowl Shuffle. The Bears went on to defeat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, 46-10.
“You better start makin’
Your Superbowl plans.
But don’t get ready or go to any trouble,
Unless you practice
The Superbowl Shuffle.”
1988 - A Soviet military transport plane crashed at Leninakan, Armenia, killing 78 people involved in Armenian earthquake relief efforts.
1990 - Ivana Trump was divorced from real estate mogul Donald Trump after twelve years of marriage.
1991 - A jury in West Palm Beach, Florida acquitted William Kennedy Smith of sexual assault and battery. The jury rejected allegations by Patricia Bowman, who said Smith had raped her on the Kennedy estate lawn earlier in 1991.
1993 - Snoop Doggy Dogg’s Doggystyle was number one on U.S. album charts. The rest of the top five: 2-Vs., Pearl Jam; 3-Music Box, Mariah Carey; 4-The Spaghetti Incident?, Guns N' Roses; 5-The Beavis & Butt-Head Experience, Various artists.
1994 - Russia sent tanks and troops into Chechnya in an attempt at ending the rebel territory’s three-year unilateral drive for independence.
1995 - The Malden Mills textile manufacturing plant in Lawrence, MA burned down. Owner Aaron Feuerstein kept all of his employees on full pay until the plant was rebuilt. Malden Mills manufacturs Polartec fleece, synthetic fabrics.
1997 - Negotiators from around the world (more than 150 countries) agreed on a package of measures that for the first time would legally obligate industrial countries to cut emissions of waste industrial (greenhouse) gases that scientists say are warming the Earth’s atmosphere.
1998 - Movies debuting in the U.S.: Jack Frost (“Jack Frost is getting a second chance to be the world’s coolest dad... if he doesn’t melt first.”), with Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston, Mark Addy and Joseph Cross; and Star Trek: Insurrection (“The Battle for Paradise Has Begun”), with Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise.
1999 - Ron Dayne the University of Wisconsin’s record-setting tailback, was a landslide winner of the Heisman Trophy.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from lawyers representing George W. Bush and Al Gore concerning the Florida presidential vote recount. Plans for the Jan 20, 2001 inauguration ceremonies continued under the Direction of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, even though the new president had not been decided upon yet.
2001 - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission agreed to the proposed purchase of the Ralston Purina company by Swiss food giant Nestle S.A. Purchase price was $10.3 billion.
2002 - A U.S. congressional report found that intelligence agencies that were supposed to protect Americans from the Sept. 11 hijackers failed to do so because they were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented the attacks.
2003 - Striking Kroger workers in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio ratified a new contract, ending strike that began Oct 13.
2003 - U.S. health officials reported an early flu outbreak had hit all 50 states and was widespread in 24.
2004 - A doctor said dioxin poisoning caused the mysterious illness of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko.
2005 - A series of explosions at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal -- better known as the Buncefield oil depot -- set fire to several tanks at facility north of London. Damage from the blasts, including broken windows and blown-in or warped front doors, occurred more than a half mile away. Cars in nearby streets caught fire and the roof of at least one house was blown off.
2006 - A boiler explosion in Diyarbakir, Turkey knocked down part of a five-story building housing military families. The blast killed four people and trapped four others.
2006 - Fiji’s military regime banished ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase from the capital and warned that opposition to the takeover would be met with force.
2007 - The Iraqi government ordered all policewomen to surrender their weapons for redistribution to men -- or face having their pay withheld. The order thwarted a U.S. initiative to bring women into the nation’s police force. (The U.S. had begun training women in 2004 and graduated 1000 from the police academy.)
2008 - 70-year-old Bernard Madoff, Wall Street 'investment' firm boss for decades, was arrested and charged with running a $50-billion Ponzi scheme. Madoff’s operation ranks among the biggest fraud schemes in U.S. history.
2008 - Bettie Page, 1950s secretary-turned-model, died at 85 years of age. Her controversial photographs in skimpy attire, or none at all, helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution.
2009 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres: A Single Man, starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin, Nicholas Hoult and Paulette Lamori; Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon; My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, with Michael Shannon, Udo Kier, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Brad Dourif, Michael Pena, Bill Cobbs and Grace Zabriskie; Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, with Ranbir Kapoor; The Lovely Bones, with Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli and Saoirse Ronan; The Slammin’ Salmon, with Michael Clarke Duncan, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Cobie Smulders, April Bowlby, Olivia Munn, Vivica A. Fox and Morgan Fairchild; and Yesterday Was a Lie, starring Kipleigh Brown, Deborah Gibson, John Newton, Mik Scriba, Nathan Mobley and Warren Davis.
2009 - Germany announced Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport would be given the secondary name Willy Brandt, after the former West German chancellor. Brandt championed East-West relations and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971.
Birthdays December 11
1803 - Hector Berlioz
musician, composer, major force in the development of musical form during the Romantic Era; died Mar 8, 1869
1863 - Annie Jump Cannon
astronomer: discovered five stars; National Academy of Science Draper Medal-winner; died Apr 13, 1941
1882 - Fiorello LaGuardia
‘Little Flower’: politician: NYC mayor [1933-45]; LaGuardia Airport in NY bears his name; died Sep 20, 1947
1904 - Marjorie (Henderson) Buell
cartoonist: Little Lulu; died May 30, 1993
1905 - Gilbert Roland (Luis Antonio Damaso de Alonso)
actor: Barbarosa, Islands in the Stream, Cheyenne Autumn, Treasures of Pancho Villa, Thunder Bay, Captain Kidd, The Cisco Kid series; died May 15, 1994
1912 - Carlo Ponti
producer, director: Marriage, Italian Style; died Jan 10, 2007
1916 - (Damaso) Perez Prado
musician: piano, organ: Patricia, Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, Mambo No. 5, Mambo No. 8 died Sep 14, 1989
1918 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
dissident Russian writer: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; died Aug 3, 2008
1921 - Liz Smith
actress: Imperium: Nerone, Donovan Quick, Oliver Twist, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Doggin’ Around, Dakota Road, Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool
1923 - Betsy Blair
actress: Broadway: Panama Hattie, The Beautiful People; films: The Guilt of Janet Ames, A Double Life, The Snake Pit, Another Part of the Forest, Marty; married to dancer Gene Kelly [1940-1957]; died Mar 13, 2009
1926 - Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton
blues singer: pre-Elvis version of Hound Dog; died July 25, 1984
1930 - Jean-Louis Trintignant
actor: Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Is Paris Burning?, And God Created Woman, A Man and a Woman
1931 - Rita Moreno (Rosita Alverio)
dancer, Academy Award-winning actress: West Side Story [1961]; The Wharf Rat, I Like It Like That, Portrait of a Showgirl, The Four Seasons, Anatomy of a Seduction, Carnal Knowledge, Summer and Smoke, The King and I, Singin’ in the Rain; Emmy Award-winning actress: The Muppet Show [1976-77], The Paper Palace, The Rockford Files [1/20/78]; won Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards
1931 - Pierre Pilote
Hockey Hall of Famer: NHL: Chicago Black Hawks defenseman: Norris Trophy winner [1964, 1965, 1966], Toronto Maple Leafs
1932 - Anne Heywood
actress: The Fox, The Equalizer, Memories of Manon, Sadat, A Terrible Beauty, I Want What I Want, Trader Horn
1934 - (Arthur) Lee Maye
baseball: Milwaukee Braves, Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox; died July 17, 2002
1934 - Curtis Williams
singer: group: The Penguins: Earth Angel; died Aug 10, 1979
1935 - Tom Brumley
musician: steel guitar: group: Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, Stone Canyon Band; died Feb 3, 2009
1935 - Ron Carey
comedian, actor: Barney Miller, The Out of Towners, High Anxiety, History of the World Part I; died Jan 16, 2007
1938 - Fred Cox
football: Minnesota Vikings: kicked field goals in 31 consecutive games [1968-70] - a record
1939 - Tom Hayden
politician: California state assembly member [1982-1992] and state senator [1992-2000]; author: The Other Side, Rebellion in Newark: Official Violence, Ghetto Response; former husband of actor Jane Fonda
1940 - David Gates
musician: guitar, keyboard, singer: solo: Goodbye Girl; group: Bread: Make It With You, If, Baby I’m-A Want You, Diary, Aubrey
1940 - Donna Mills
actress: Knots Landing, The Good Life, False Arrest, Curse of the Black Widow, Beyond the Bermuda Triangle, Play Misty for Me
1941 - Larry Stallings
football: Georgia Tech, SL Cardinals LB
1943 - John Kerry
U.S. Senator [Massachusetts: 1985-present; Democratic Party candidate for U.S. president [2004]
1944 - Lynda Day George
actress: Young Warriors, Casino, Ants, The Barbary Coast, The Silent Force, Roots, Rich Man, Poor Man-Book I, Mission: Impossible
1944 - Brenda Lee (Tarpley)
singer: I’m Sorry, All Alone Am I, I Want to Be Wanted, Sweet Nothin’s, That’s All You Gotta Do
1945 - Earlie Thomas
football: NY Jets
1947 - Teri Garr
actress: Tootsie, Young Frankenstein, Oh, God!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Mom, After Hours; TV: Star Trek, It Takes a Thief, McCloud
1952 - Robert Cochran
skier: U.S. slalom champion [1969, 1970], downhill champion [1971, 1973], Alpine combined champion [1971, 1972], giant slalom champion [1971, 1974]; 1972 U.S. Olympic Ski Team
1952 - Susan Seidelman
director: Desperately Seeking Susan, She-Devil, Making Mr. Right, Smithereens
1953 - Bess Armstrong
actress: The Skateboard Kid, Jaws 3, Nothing in Common, Four Seasons, On Our Own, My So-Called Life, Married People
1954 - Jermaine Jackson
singer: Daddy’s Home, Let’s Get Serious; group: The Jackson Five: I’ll be There; brother of Michael, Janet, La Toya, Tito, Randy, Marlon and Jackie
1958 - Nikki Sixx (Frank Ferranno)
musician: bass: group: Motley Crue: LPs: Too Fast for Love, Theatre of Pain
1965 - Jay Bell
baseball: Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets
1966 - Gary Dourdan
actor: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, A Different World, Weekend at Bernie’s II, Alien: Resurrection, King of the World
1968 - Derek Bell
baseball [third base, outfield]: Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates
1969 - Max Martini
actor: Saving Private Ryan, Level 9, The Great Raid, The Unit , Silver Bells, Taken, Desert Son, Love Lessons, The Great Raid
1971 - Willie McGinest
football [defensive end]: Univ of Southern Calif; NFL: New England Patriots
1976 - Shareef Abdur-Rahim
basketball [forward]: Univ of California; NBA: Vancouver Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings
1981 - Jared Hillman
actor: Hannah Montana TV series, Eviction, The Favor, Still Standing, Stacked, Without a Trace, Boston Public
Chart Toppers December 11
1946Ole Buttermilk Sky - The Kay Kyser Orchestra (vocal: Mike Douglas & The Campus Kids)
Rumors are Flying - The Frankie Carle Orchestra (vocal: Marjorie Hughes)
The Old Lamplighter - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Billy Williams)
Divorce Me C.O.D. - Merle Travis
1955Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
Memories are Made of This - Dean Martin
Nuttin’ for Christmas - Barry Gordon
Love, Love, Love - Webb Pierce
1964Ringo - Lorne Greene
Mr. Lonely - Bobby Vinton
She’s Not There - The Zombies
Once a Day - Connie Smith
1973Top of the World - Carpenters
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Just You ’N’ Me - Chicago
The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich
1982Truly - Lionel Richie
Gloria - Laura Branigan
Mickey - Toni Basil
Redneck Girl - The Bellamy Brothers
1991Black or White - Michael Jackson
It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday - Boyz II Men
All 4 Love - Color Me Badd
For My Next Broken Heart - Brooks & Dunn
2000Independent Woman, Part 1 - Destiny’s Child
Shape of My Heart - Backstreet Boys
Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do) - Mya
We Danced - Brad Paisley
2009Whatcha Say - Jason DeRulo
Paparazzi - Lady Gaga
Party In The U.S.A. - Jay Sean featuring Miley Cyrus
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
Enjoy All
Born On This Day 1934...Curtis Williams of The Penguins...R.I.P.
