BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
341st day of 2010 - 24 remaining
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR DAY
December 7, 1941 is remembered as “a date which will live in infamy”: Pearl Harbor Day. Thousands of lives were lost, a major portion of America’s Pacific fleet was in pieces and the U.S. was catapulted into war in the Pacific.
Today, at the onshore USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, we can see displays of World War II naval history and wartime Hawaii; and view a film about the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. A ferry shuttles back and forth between the visitor center and the memorial where one can actually stand right above the Arizona.
In fact, the rusted remains of the Arizona are clearly visible under the waters of Pearl Harbor. The memorial to the 1,100 men entombed forever within the sunken, once mighty, battleship, straddles the USS Arizona. One wall of the structure bears their names. Although there were many suggestions throughout the years for a USS Arizona memorial, planning for the structure did not begin until 1960.
And, without the help of Elvis Presley, the Memorial might still be just a dream. Elvis staged a benefit concert at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena on March 25, 1961, raising more than $60,000 to start the USS Arizona Memorial’s building fund. Construction was completed in 1980.
We pause to reflect on one of America’s most tragic days.
Events December 7
1787 - Delaware, the First State, was first to ratify the proposed U.S. Constitution and was the first state admitted to the Union (on this day). Also known as the Diamond State, Delaware is the smallest Southern state and the second smallest of all 50 states. “So what,” you say. “We want to know what the Delaware state Bird is!” Ye of little faith. That was coming next. The Delaware state Bird is the blue hen chicken. And, in case you wanted to know even more, the capital of Delaware is Dover and the peach blossom is the state flower.
1842 - The New York Philharmonic Society gave its first public concert by performing works of Beethoven. The conductor that historical day was Ureli Corelli Hill. The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest in the world.
1891 - The AFL granted a charter to the newly-formed National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on this day. The union, later to become the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), had sweeping jurisdiction over electrical workers in every branch of the trade and industry.
1925 - Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in the 150-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 25 and 2/5 seconds -- in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Johnny went on to fame swinging from vines as ‘King of the Jungle’, Tarzan, in movies.
1926 - The household refrigerator, operating on gas, was patented. No, not by what you might think of as a major appliance manufacturer. The refrigerator was patented by the Electrolux Servel Corporation. Name sound familiar? Yep -- the vacuum cleaner people.
1934 - Wiley Post established a new altitude record altitude of 50,000 feet. Post, in his aircraft the "Winnie Mae", wore a pressurized space suit that he developed himself. Wiley Post is also credited with discovering the jet stream during his record breaking flights. (Post was at the controls of an experimental aircraft when he and humorist Will Rogers were killed as the plane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska.)
1935 - Byron Haines, a halfback for the University of Washington, scored all the points as the Huskies defeated the University of Southern California, 6-2. He scored all the points for his team -- and the other team as well. He was responsible for Washington’s touchdown and he was tackled in the end zone giving USC a safety.
1941 - 6:45 a.m.: The USS Ward sank a Japanese midget submarine some three miles from Pearl Harbor. It was the first Japanese sub to be sunk by an American ship. The submarine was finally located on Aug 29, 2002 by two research craft on routine training dives, in an area described as a ‘military junkyard’ about 1,200 feet below the surface. The sub had led four other Japanese midget submarines to Pearl Harbor before the Sunday morning attack by Japanese planes.
1946 - Fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, GA. The conflagration killed 119 people, including the hotel’s founder, W. Frank Winecoff.
1948 - NBC presented the Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program for the first time. The talent show earned **** Contino, an accordionist, the $5,000 prize as the program’s first national winner. Over the years Heidt gave some big stars their big starts: Art Carney, Frankie Carle, Gordon MacRae, the King Sisters, Alvino Rey, Ken Berry, Frank DeVol, **** Contino, Al Hirt, Fred Lowrey, Ronnie Kemper, Larry Cotton, Donna and her Don Juans, Ollie O'Toole and many others.
1948 - The man referred to as the Babe Ruth of cricket retired in Australia. His name was Donald Bradman. Wisden, cricket’s authoritative almanac, named Sir Donald as the best cricketer of the 20th century. In 52 Test matches from 1928 to 1948, he scored 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94.
1952 - My Little Margie, starring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell, made its debut on CBS radio. The TV version of the popular show had begun on June 16, 1952. My Little Margie stayed on radio for three years. Miss Storm got a show of her own called The Gale Storm Show. She also recorded several hit songs, including I Hear You Knocking and Ivory Tower between 1955-57.
1955 - Robert Sarnoff was elected president of NBC. Sarnoff was promoted to put NBC on the road to economic self-sufficiency, replacing the rather flamboyant (and big spending) president/CEO Pat Weaver.
1957 - Singer Pat Boone was at the top of the pop charts for the first of six weeks with April Love. His other number one hits included Ain’t That a Shame, I Almost Lost My Mind, Don’t Forbid Me and Love Letters in the Sand. See what wearing white buck shoes and drinking lots of milk can do for you?
1963 - Instant replay was used for the first time during the Army-Navy game. CBS-TV used the new video technique over and over and over and over and over again.
1968 - The great grandson of Mr. M. Dodd, who had borrowed a volume on diseases from the University of Cincinnati Medical Library in 1823, was assessed the largest library fine ever -- $2,646. No charges were pressed, but the great grandson was placed on detention for 12 years, 5 months and 23 days -- in the library, of course.
1970 - Harry Reasoner, who had left CBS News weeks before, joined Howard K. Smith for The ABC Evening News with Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner. The Smith-Reasoner team lasted almost five years.
1972 - Apollo 17, the sixth and last U.S. moon mission, blasted off from Cape Canaveral. Flight Commander Eugene Cernan was the last man on the moon. The flight returned to Earth Dec 19.
1973 - Sally Quinn, writer for The Washington Post, author, and co-host of CBS Morning News, left the program after only three months, never to return to television. No sweat, Sally. Lots of people left the CBS Morning News after only three months.
1974 - Kung Fu Fighting, by Carl Douglas, reached the #1 position on the pop charts. It stayed there for two weeks.
1975 - The National Fire Safety Council was founded as a separate division of National Child Safety Council.
1983 - Madrid, Spain, saw its second aviation disaster in ten days (an Avianca Boeing 747 crashed Nov 27, killing 181 people). An Aviaco DC-9 collided on a runway with an Iberia Air Lines Boeing 727 that was accelerating for takeoff. The collision killed all 42 people aboard the DC-9 and 51 aboard the Iberia jet.
1984 - Michael Jackson was in Chicago to testify that the song, The Girl is Mine, was exclusively his and he didn’t swipe the song, Please Love Me Now. It was a copyright infringement case worth five million dollars. He won.
1988 - Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev was cheered by Wall Street crowds upon his arrival in New York City. Gorby was in the Big Apple to address the United Nations General Assembly. After speaking about the recent changes in the Soviet Union, Gorbachev amazed the global community when he announced drastic cuts in the Soviet military presence in Eastern Europe and along the Chinese border -- a move that ultimately allowed Soviet satellites to choose their own paths.
1988 - An earthquake struck Armenia in the Soviet Union. The quake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and devastated northwestern Armenia. 25,000 people were killed and another 15,000 injured. Some 517,000 were left homeless.
1991 - Fifty years after Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a visibly moved President George Bush (I) led the U.S. in commemorating the anniversary.
1993 - U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders suggested that the government study the impact of drug legalization.
1993 - Félix Houphouët-Boigny died. He was Africa’s longest serving leader and the only president Ivory Coast had known.
1995 - The U.S. spacecraft Galileo arrived at Jupiter, and fired its main engine for 49 minutes to attain a successful orbit around Jupiter. The same day, Galileo's atmospheric probe plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and relayed information on the structure and composition of the solar system’s largest planet.
1996 - Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The hit, from her Secrets album, stayed at number one half-way thru Feb 1997.
1997 - Singer actress Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, actor Charlton Heston, opera singer Jessye Norman and ballet master Edward Villella shared the 20th annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC.
1998 - President Boris Yeltsin left the hospital in Russia, fired several aides, then returned to the hospital to continue his recovery from pneumonia.
1999 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed suit against Internet Web site Napster for being a haven for music piracy.
2000 - Al Gore lawyer David Boies pleaded with the Florida Supreme Court to order vote recounts and revive his presidential campaign, while Republican attorneys called George W. Bush the certified, rightful victor.
2001 - These movies opened in the U.S.: The Business of Strangers, starring Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Frederick Welller, Mary Testa and Jack Hallett; No Man’s Land, with Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic, Georges Siatidis and Serge-Henri Valcke; and Ocean’s 11, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, Eddie Jemison, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck and Shaobo Qin.
2001 - Taliban forces abandoned their last bastion in Afghanistan, fleeing the southern city of Kandahar.
2002 - In Australia wildfires raging across Sydney’s northern fringe blackened 250,000 acres.
2003 - A Nicaraguan judge sentenced former President Arnoldo Aleman to twenty years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges. Aleman diverted some $100-million in government funds to his party’s election campaigns during his tenure in office, which ended in Jan 2002.
2003 - Tropical Storm Odette lashed the Dominican Republic with torrential rains, prompting thousands to flee their homes and killed at least 8 people before it dissipated over the Atlantic.
2004 - After Babs the gorilla died at age 30, keepers at Brookfield, IL Zoo decided to allow surviving gorillas to mourn the most influential female in their social family. One by one, the gorillas filed into the Tropic World building where Babs' body lay, arms outstretched. Curator Melinda Pruett Jones called it a “gorilla wake.”
2005 - A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shot Rigoberto Alpizar in a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida. Alpizar, a U.S. citizen who had disembarked from an American Airlines flight from Medellín, Colombia, claimed to have a bomb. Witnesses on aircraft later disputed the claim that Alpizar had made bomb threats. No explosive was found.
2006 - U.S. President George Bush (II) and Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that coalition forces would prevail in Iraq, saying success depended on victory over extremists across the entire Middle East.
2007 - The Golden Compass debuted in U.S. movie theatres. The fantasy acton adventure stars Nicole Kidman, Eva Green, Daniel Craig and Dakota Blue Richards.
2007 - CompUSA, the computer retailer controlled by Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu’s Grupo Carso SA, announced that it was going out of business after the 2007 December holidays.
2008 - Gunmen blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan and torched more than 160 vehicles, including 70 Humvees, destined for U.S. troops and the Western-trained Afghan National Army in Afghanistan. The losses probably exceeded $10 million.
2009 - Virgin Galactic unveiled its first commercial spaceship, the sub-orbital VSS Enterprise, at the Mohave Air and Space Port in California. Initial trips to the edge of space were expected to cost $200,000 per person.
2009 - British TV channel ITV apologized for the death of a rat during filming of its reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in Australia. Two contestants skinned, cooked and ate the rat during filming in Australia. Chef Gino D’Acampo and actor Stuart Manning were later convicted of animal cruelty.
Birthdays December 7
1873 - Willa Sibert Cather
Pulitzer Prize-Winning author: One of Ours [1923]; O Pioneers!, My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Alexander’s Bridge; died Apr 24, 1947
1879 - (Charles) Rudolf Friml
musician, composer: Rose Marie, Indian Love Call; died Nov 12, 1972
1907 - Arch Oboler
radio playwright: Lights Out; novelist, screenwriter: The Night of the Auk, Five, Bewitched, Escape; died Mar 19, 1987
1909 - Jacob Kainen
artist: lyrical and poetic abstractions; died Mar 19, 2001
1910 - Rod Cameron (Nathan Roderick Cox)
actor: Midnight Auto Supply, Psychic Killer, Evel Knievel, The Last Movie, Northwest Mounted Police, Wake Island, State Trooper, City Detective; died Dec 21, 1983
1911 - Louis Prima
musician: trumpet, bandleader: Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang, Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra; songwriter: Sing, Sing, Sing, Christopher Columbus, It’s the Rhythm in Me, Sunday Kind of Love, Robin Hood, Bell-Bottom Trousers, Civilization, Oh, Babe; singer: [w/wife Keely Smith]: Just a Gigolo, That Old Black Magic, I Ain’t Got Nobody, I’ve Got You Under My Skin; solo: Wonderland by Night; voice of Orangutan: The Jungle Book; died Aug 24, 1978
1915 - Eli Wallach
actor: Emmy Award-winning actor: The Poppy is Also a Flower [1966-67]; Our Family Honor, Too Much, Legacy of Lies, Mistress, The Two Jakes, The Godfather, Part 3, Tough Guys, Christopher Columbus, Sam’s Son, The Deep, Cinderella Liberty, MacKenna’s Gold, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Tiger Makes Out, The Magnificent Seven, How the West was Won
1923 - Ted Knight (Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka)
Emmy Award-winning Actor: The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1972-73, 1975-76]; Too Close for Comfort, The Ted Knight Show; Caddyshack, Countdown, Psycho; died Aug 26, 1986
1926 - Victor Kiam II
business executive: Lever Brothers, Playtex, Remington: chairman: “I liked it [electric shaver] so much, that I bought the company.”; NFL team owner: New England Patriots; died May 27, 2001
1930 - Dan Sikes Jr.
golf: champ: Bay Hill Invitational: 1968; one of golf leaders who laid groundwork for Senior Tour in 1980
1931 - Bobby Osborne
musician: mandolin, singer: duo: Osborne Brothers: Rocky Top, Up This Hill and Down, Tennessee Hound Dog, Georgia Pinewoods
1932 - Ellen Burstyn (Edna Rae Gilhooley)
Academy Award-winning actress: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore [1974]; The Color of Evening, When a Man Loves a Woman, The Cemetery Club, Same Time Next Year, Harry and Tonto, The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, The Ellen Burstyn Show, The Doctors
1935 - Don (Donald Eugene) Cardwell
baseball: pitcher: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Mets [World Series: 1969], Atlanta Braves; died Jan 14, 2008
1940 - Gerry Cheevers
Hockey Hall of Famer: Boston Bruins goalie: longest undefeated streak [32 games]; Stanley Cup winner [1970, 1972]; coach: Boston Bruins
1942 - Harry Chapin
songwriter, singer: Taxi, W-O-L-D, Cat’s in the Cradle; Recipient of Special Congressional Gold Medal: Worldwide Humanitarian for the Hungry, Needy and Homeless; died of a heart attack and car crash on Long Island Expressway July 16, 1981
1942 - Alex (Alexander) Johnson
baseball: Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California Angels [all-star: 1970], Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, NY Yankees, Detroit Tigers
1945 - Al Woodall
football: QB: Duke Univ, NY Jets
1947 - Johnny (Lee) Bench
Baseball Hall of Famer: catcher: Cincinnati Reds [Rookie of the Year: 1968/all-star: 1968-1980, 1983] World Series: 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976]/Baseball Writers’ Award: 1970, 1972]; ten Gold Glove Awards; broadcaster: CBS radio
1947 - Garry Unger
hockey: Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, SL Blues, Atlanta Flames, LA Kings, Edmonton Oilers
1948 - James Keach
actor: Wildcats, Love Letters, Vacation, The Experts, Moving Violations, Comes a Horseman, The Razor’s Edge; director: The Stars Fell on Henrietta, A Passion for Justice: The Hazel Brannon Smith Story, Sunstroke, Praying Mantis, The Absolute Truth; married to actress Jane Seymour, son of actor Stacy Keach Sr., brother of actor Stacy Keach
1948 - Gary Morris
singer: The Wind Beneath My Wings, Baby Bye Bye, I’ll Never Stop Loving You, 100% Chance of Rain, Leave Me Lonely, Making Up For Lost Time [The Dallas Lovers Song] [w/Crystal Gayle], Plain Brown Wrapper, Another World, Bring Him Home; actor: Broadway: Les Misérables, La Boheme
1949 - Tom Waits
singer: Shiver Me Timbers, Diamonds on My Windshield, Small Change, The Piano Has Been Drinking, Tom Traubert’s Blues, Burma Shave, Potter’s Field, Jersey Girl, LP: Foreign Affairs, Swordfishtrombone; songwriter: I Never Talk to Strangers; actor: Short Cuts, Paradise Alley, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Ironweed, The Cotton Club; playwright [w/wife, Kathleen Brennan]: Frank’s Wild Years
1954 - Mike Nolan
singer: group: Bucks Fizz: Making Your Mind Up, Land of Make Believe, My Camera Never Lies, Now Those Days are Gone, If You Can’t Stand the Heat, You and Your Eyes So Blue
1955 - Priscilla Barnes
actress: Mallrats, Licence to Kill, Time Machine, Delta Fox, Beyond Reason, Three’s Company, The American Girls
1956 - Larry Bird
Basketball Hall of Famer: Boston Celtics: Rookie of the Year [1979-80]; NBA MVP [1984, 1985, 1986], AP Male Athlete of the Year [1986], Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year [1986]
1956 - Rich Campbell
musician: keyboards, bass, composer, songwriter, singer: groups: Three Dog Night, America; performed with DAVE Mason, Natalie Cole
1956 - Mark Rolston
actor: Aliens, Steal the Sky, Lethal Weapon 2, Robocop 2, Body of Evidence, The Shawshank Redemption, Eraser, Profiler, Rush Hour, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Highway
1956 - Ozzie (Osvaldo Jose) Virgil (Jr.)
baseball: catcher: Philadelphia Phillies [World Series: 1983/all-star: 1985], Atlanta Braves [all-star: 1987], Toronto Blue Jays
1960 - David Woodley
actor: PictoCrime, Sick Puppy, Tunnel Vision, Over the Hill, Home and Away
1966 - C. Thomas Howell
actor: Two Marriages, Hourglass, Payback, Breaking the Rules, A Tiger’s Tale, Soul Man, Tank, The Outsiders, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial; rodeo cowboy
1967 - Tino Martinez
baseball [first base]: Univ of Tampa; Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
1968 - Tom Myslinski
football [guard]: Univ of Tennessee, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys
1973 - Terrell Owens
football [wide receiver]: NFL: San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles
1974 - Al Harris
football [cornerback]: NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers
1978 - Shiri Appleby
actress: Roswell, ER, Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife, I Love You to Death, The Thirteenth Floor, A Time for Dancing
1979 - Jennifer Carpenter
actress: The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Dexter, The Factory, Faster, Quarantine, White Chicks, Ash Tuesday, People Are Dead
1987 - Aaron Carter
singer: Shake It, I Will Be Yours, Tell Me How to Make You Smile, Life Is a Party, [Have Some] Fun With the Funk, Summertime, Aaron’s Party [Come and Get It], Leave It Up to Me
Chart Toppers December 7
1951Sin (It’s No) - Eddy Howard
Because of You - Tony Bennett
Down Yonder - Del Wood
Slow Poke - Pee Wee King
1960Are You Lonesome To-night? - Elvis Presley
Last Date - Floyd Cramer
Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky
1969Wedding Bell Blues - The 5th Dimension
Take a Letter Maria - R.B. Greaves
And When I Die - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Okie from Muskogee - Merle Haggard
1978You Don’t Bring Me Flowers - Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond
Le Freak - Chic
I Just Wanna Stop - Gino Vanelli
I Just Want to Love You - Eddie Rabbitt
1987Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle
Faith - George Michael
Should’ve Known Better - Richard Marx
Somebody Lied - Ricky Van Shelton
1996Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
Nobody - Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
Don’t Let Go (Love) - En Vogue
Little Bitty - Alan Jackson
2005Run It - Chris Brown
Photograph - Nickelback
Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
Come a Little Closer - Dierks Bentley
enjoy all
Chart Topper December 7th, 1996...Nobody - Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR DAY
December 7, 1941 is remembered as “a date which will live in infamy”: Pearl Harbor Day. Thousands of lives were lost, a major portion of America’s Pacific fleet was in pieces and the U.S. was catapulted into war in the Pacific.
Today, at the onshore USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, we can see displays of World War II naval history and wartime Hawaii; and view a film about the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. A ferry shuttles back and forth between the visitor center and the memorial where one can actually stand right above the Arizona.
In fact, the rusted remains of the Arizona are clearly visible under the waters of Pearl Harbor. The memorial to the 1,100 men entombed forever within the sunken, once mighty, battleship, straddles the USS Arizona. One wall of the structure bears their names. Although there were many suggestions throughout the years for a USS Arizona memorial, planning for the structure did not begin until 1960.
And, without the help of Elvis Presley, the Memorial might still be just a dream. Elvis staged a benefit concert at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena on March 25, 1961, raising more than $60,000 to start the USS Arizona Memorial’s building fund. Construction was completed in 1980.
We pause to reflect on one of America’s most tragic days.
Events December 7
1787 - Delaware, the First State, was first to ratify the proposed U.S. Constitution and was the first state admitted to the Union (on this day). Also known as the Diamond State, Delaware is the smallest Southern state and the second smallest of all 50 states. “So what,” you say. “We want to know what the Delaware state Bird is!” Ye of little faith. That was coming next. The Delaware state Bird is the blue hen chicken. And, in case you wanted to know even more, the capital of Delaware is Dover and the peach blossom is the state flower.
1842 - The New York Philharmonic Society gave its first public concert by performing works of Beethoven. The conductor that historical day was Ureli Corelli Hill. The New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest in the world.
1891 - The AFL granted a charter to the newly-formed National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on this day. The union, later to become the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), had sweeping jurisdiction over electrical workers in every branch of the trade and industry.
1925 - Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in the 150-yard freestyle with a time of 1 minute, 25 and 2/5 seconds -- in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Johnny went on to fame swinging from vines as ‘King of the Jungle’, Tarzan, in movies.
1926 - The household refrigerator, operating on gas, was patented. No, not by what you might think of as a major appliance manufacturer. The refrigerator was patented by the Electrolux Servel Corporation. Name sound familiar? Yep -- the vacuum cleaner people.
1934 - Wiley Post established a new altitude record altitude of 50,000 feet. Post, in his aircraft the "Winnie Mae", wore a pressurized space suit that he developed himself. Wiley Post is also credited with discovering the jet stream during his record breaking flights. (Post was at the controls of an experimental aircraft when he and humorist Will Rogers were killed as the plane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska.)
1935 - Byron Haines, a halfback for the University of Washington, scored all the points as the Huskies defeated the University of Southern California, 6-2. He scored all the points for his team -- and the other team as well. He was responsible for Washington’s touchdown and he was tackled in the end zone giving USC a safety.
1941 - 6:45 a.m.: The USS Ward sank a Japanese midget submarine some three miles from Pearl Harbor. It was the first Japanese sub to be sunk by an American ship. The submarine was finally located on Aug 29, 2002 by two research craft on routine training dives, in an area described as a ‘military junkyard’ about 1,200 feet below the surface. The sub had led four other Japanese midget submarines to Pearl Harbor before the Sunday morning attack by Japanese planes.
1946 - Fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, GA. The conflagration killed 119 people, including the hotel’s founder, W. Frank Winecoff.
1948 - NBC presented the Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program for the first time. The talent show earned **** Contino, an accordionist, the $5,000 prize as the program’s first national winner. Over the years Heidt gave some big stars their big starts: Art Carney, Frankie Carle, Gordon MacRae, the King Sisters, Alvino Rey, Ken Berry, Frank DeVol, **** Contino, Al Hirt, Fred Lowrey, Ronnie Kemper, Larry Cotton, Donna and her Don Juans, Ollie O'Toole and many others.
1948 - The man referred to as the Babe Ruth of cricket retired in Australia. His name was Donald Bradman. Wisden, cricket’s authoritative almanac, named Sir Donald as the best cricketer of the 20th century. In 52 Test matches from 1928 to 1948, he scored 6,996 runs at an average of 99.94.
1952 - My Little Margie, starring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell, made its debut on CBS radio. The TV version of the popular show had begun on June 16, 1952. My Little Margie stayed on radio for three years. Miss Storm got a show of her own called The Gale Storm Show. She also recorded several hit songs, including I Hear You Knocking and Ivory Tower between 1955-57.
1955 - Robert Sarnoff was elected president of NBC. Sarnoff was promoted to put NBC on the road to economic self-sufficiency, replacing the rather flamboyant (and big spending) president/CEO Pat Weaver.
1957 - Singer Pat Boone was at the top of the pop charts for the first of six weeks with April Love. His other number one hits included Ain’t That a Shame, I Almost Lost My Mind, Don’t Forbid Me and Love Letters in the Sand. See what wearing white buck shoes and drinking lots of milk can do for you?
1963 - Instant replay was used for the first time during the Army-Navy game. CBS-TV used the new video technique over and over and over and over and over again.
1968 - The great grandson of Mr. M. Dodd, who had borrowed a volume on diseases from the University of Cincinnati Medical Library in 1823, was assessed the largest library fine ever -- $2,646. No charges were pressed, but the great grandson was placed on detention for 12 years, 5 months and 23 days -- in the library, of course.
1970 - Harry Reasoner, who had left CBS News weeks before, joined Howard K. Smith for The ABC Evening News with Howard K. Smith and Harry Reasoner. The Smith-Reasoner team lasted almost five years.
1972 - Apollo 17, the sixth and last U.S. moon mission, blasted off from Cape Canaveral. Flight Commander Eugene Cernan was the last man on the moon. The flight returned to Earth Dec 19.
1973 - Sally Quinn, writer for The Washington Post, author, and co-host of CBS Morning News, left the program after only three months, never to return to television. No sweat, Sally. Lots of people left the CBS Morning News after only three months.
1974 - Kung Fu Fighting, by Carl Douglas, reached the #1 position on the pop charts. It stayed there for two weeks.
1975 - The National Fire Safety Council was founded as a separate division of National Child Safety Council.
1983 - Madrid, Spain, saw its second aviation disaster in ten days (an Avianca Boeing 747 crashed Nov 27, killing 181 people). An Aviaco DC-9 collided on a runway with an Iberia Air Lines Boeing 727 that was accelerating for takeoff. The collision killed all 42 people aboard the DC-9 and 51 aboard the Iberia jet.
1984 - Michael Jackson was in Chicago to testify that the song, The Girl is Mine, was exclusively his and he didn’t swipe the song, Please Love Me Now. It was a copyright infringement case worth five million dollars. He won.
1988 - Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev was cheered by Wall Street crowds upon his arrival in New York City. Gorby was in the Big Apple to address the United Nations General Assembly. After speaking about the recent changes in the Soviet Union, Gorbachev amazed the global community when he announced drastic cuts in the Soviet military presence in Eastern Europe and along the Chinese border -- a move that ultimately allowed Soviet satellites to choose their own paths.
1988 - An earthquake struck Armenia in the Soviet Union. The quake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and devastated northwestern Armenia. 25,000 people were killed and another 15,000 injured. Some 517,000 were left homeless.
1991 - Fifty years after Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a visibly moved President George Bush (I) led the U.S. in commemorating the anniversary.
1993 - U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders suggested that the government study the impact of drug legalization.
1993 - Félix Houphouët-Boigny died. He was Africa’s longest serving leader and the only president Ivory Coast had known.
1995 - The U.S. spacecraft Galileo arrived at Jupiter, and fired its main engine for 49 minutes to attain a successful orbit around Jupiter. The same day, Galileo's atmospheric probe plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and relayed information on the structure and composition of the solar system’s largest planet.
1996 - Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The hit, from her Secrets album, stayed at number one half-way thru Feb 1997.
1997 - Singer actress Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan, actor Charlton Heston, opera singer Jessye Norman and ballet master Edward Villella shared the 20th annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC.
1998 - President Boris Yeltsin left the hospital in Russia, fired several aides, then returned to the hospital to continue his recovery from pneumonia.
1999 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed suit against Internet Web site Napster for being a haven for music piracy.
2000 - Al Gore lawyer David Boies pleaded with the Florida Supreme Court to order vote recounts and revive his presidential campaign, while Republican attorneys called George W. Bush the certified, rightful victor.
2001 - These movies opened in the U.S.: The Business of Strangers, starring Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Frederick Welller, Mary Testa and Jack Hallett; No Man’s Land, with Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic, Georges Siatidis and Serge-Henri Valcke; and Ocean’s 11, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, Eddie Jemison, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck and Shaobo Qin.
2001 - Taliban forces abandoned their last bastion in Afghanistan, fleeing the southern city of Kandahar.
2002 - In Australia wildfires raging across Sydney’s northern fringe blackened 250,000 acres.
2003 - A Nicaraguan judge sentenced former President Arnoldo Aleman to twenty years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges. Aleman diverted some $100-million in government funds to his party’s election campaigns during his tenure in office, which ended in Jan 2002.
2003 - Tropical Storm Odette lashed the Dominican Republic with torrential rains, prompting thousands to flee their homes and killed at least 8 people before it dissipated over the Atlantic.
2004 - After Babs the gorilla died at age 30, keepers at Brookfield, IL Zoo decided to allow surviving gorillas to mourn the most influential female in their social family. One by one, the gorillas filed into the Tropic World building where Babs' body lay, arms outstretched. Curator Melinda Pruett Jones called it a “gorilla wake.”
2005 - A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shot Rigoberto Alpizar in a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida. Alpizar, a U.S. citizen who had disembarked from an American Airlines flight from Medellín, Colombia, claimed to have a bomb. Witnesses on aircraft later disputed the claim that Alpizar had made bomb threats. No explosive was found.
2006 - U.S. President George Bush (II) and Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that coalition forces would prevail in Iraq, saying success depended on victory over extremists across the entire Middle East.
2007 - The Golden Compass debuted in U.S. movie theatres. The fantasy acton adventure stars Nicole Kidman, Eva Green, Daniel Craig and Dakota Blue Richards.
2007 - CompUSA, the computer retailer controlled by Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu’s Grupo Carso SA, announced that it was going out of business after the 2007 December holidays.
2008 - Gunmen blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan and torched more than 160 vehicles, including 70 Humvees, destined for U.S. troops and the Western-trained Afghan National Army in Afghanistan. The losses probably exceeded $10 million.
2009 - Virgin Galactic unveiled its first commercial spaceship, the sub-orbital VSS Enterprise, at the Mohave Air and Space Port in California. Initial trips to the edge of space were expected to cost $200,000 per person.
2009 - British TV channel ITV apologized for the death of a rat during filming of its reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! in Australia. Two contestants skinned, cooked and ate the rat during filming in Australia. Chef Gino D’Acampo and actor Stuart Manning were later convicted of animal cruelty.
Birthdays December 7
1873 - Willa Sibert Cather
Pulitzer Prize-Winning author: One of Ours [1923]; O Pioneers!, My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Alexander’s Bridge; died Apr 24, 1947
1879 - (Charles) Rudolf Friml
musician, composer: Rose Marie, Indian Love Call; died Nov 12, 1972
1907 - Arch Oboler
radio playwright: Lights Out; novelist, screenwriter: The Night of the Auk, Five, Bewitched, Escape; died Mar 19, 1987
1909 - Jacob Kainen
artist: lyrical and poetic abstractions; died Mar 19, 2001
1910 - Rod Cameron (Nathan Roderick Cox)
actor: Midnight Auto Supply, Psychic Killer, Evel Knievel, The Last Movie, Northwest Mounted Police, Wake Island, State Trooper, City Detective; died Dec 21, 1983
1911 - Louis Prima
musician: trumpet, bandleader: Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang, Gleeby Rhythm Orchestra; songwriter: Sing, Sing, Sing, Christopher Columbus, It’s the Rhythm in Me, Sunday Kind of Love, Robin Hood, Bell-Bottom Trousers, Civilization, Oh, Babe; singer: [w/wife Keely Smith]: Just a Gigolo, That Old Black Magic, I Ain’t Got Nobody, I’ve Got You Under My Skin; solo: Wonderland by Night; voice of Orangutan: The Jungle Book; died Aug 24, 1978
1915 - Eli Wallach
actor: Emmy Award-winning actor: The Poppy is Also a Flower [1966-67]; Our Family Honor, Too Much, Legacy of Lies, Mistress, The Two Jakes, The Godfather, Part 3, Tough Guys, Christopher Columbus, Sam’s Son, The Deep, Cinderella Liberty, MacKenna’s Gold, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Tiger Makes Out, The Magnificent Seven, How the West was Won
1923 - Ted Knight (Tadeus Wladyslaw Konopka)
Emmy Award-winning Actor: The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1972-73, 1975-76]; Too Close for Comfort, The Ted Knight Show; Caddyshack, Countdown, Psycho; died Aug 26, 1986
1926 - Victor Kiam II
business executive: Lever Brothers, Playtex, Remington: chairman: “I liked it [electric shaver] so much, that I bought the company.”; NFL team owner: New England Patriots; died May 27, 2001
1930 - Dan Sikes Jr.
golf: champ: Bay Hill Invitational: 1968; one of golf leaders who laid groundwork for Senior Tour in 1980
1931 - Bobby Osborne
musician: mandolin, singer: duo: Osborne Brothers: Rocky Top, Up This Hill and Down, Tennessee Hound Dog, Georgia Pinewoods
1932 - Ellen Burstyn (Edna Rae Gilhooley)
Academy Award-winning actress: Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore [1974]; The Color of Evening, When a Man Loves a Woman, The Cemetery Club, Same Time Next Year, Harry and Tonto, The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, The Ellen Burstyn Show, The Doctors
1935 - Don (Donald Eugene) Cardwell
baseball: pitcher: Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, NY Mets [World Series: 1969], Atlanta Braves; died Jan 14, 2008
1940 - Gerry Cheevers
Hockey Hall of Famer: Boston Bruins goalie: longest undefeated streak [32 games]; Stanley Cup winner [1970, 1972]; coach: Boston Bruins
1942 - Harry Chapin
songwriter, singer: Taxi, W-O-L-D, Cat’s in the Cradle; Recipient of Special Congressional Gold Medal: Worldwide Humanitarian for the Hungry, Needy and Homeless; died of a heart attack and car crash on Long Island Expressway July 16, 1981
1942 - Alex (Alexander) Johnson
baseball: Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California Angels [all-star: 1970], Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, NY Yankees, Detroit Tigers
1945 - Al Woodall
football: QB: Duke Univ, NY Jets
1947 - Johnny (Lee) Bench
Baseball Hall of Famer: catcher: Cincinnati Reds [Rookie of the Year: 1968/all-star: 1968-1980, 1983] World Series: 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976]/Baseball Writers’ Award: 1970, 1972]; ten Gold Glove Awards; broadcaster: CBS radio
1947 - Garry Unger
hockey: Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, SL Blues, Atlanta Flames, LA Kings, Edmonton Oilers
1948 - James Keach
actor: Wildcats, Love Letters, Vacation, The Experts, Moving Violations, Comes a Horseman, The Razor’s Edge; director: The Stars Fell on Henrietta, A Passion for Justice: The Hazel Brannon Smith Story, Sunstroke, Praying Mantis, The Absolute Truth; married to actress Jane Seymour, son of actor Stacy Keach Sr., brother of actor Stacy Keach
1948 - Gary Morris
singer: The Wind Beneath My Wings, Baby Bye Bye, I’ll Never Stop Loving You, 100% Chance of Rain, Leave Me Lonely, Making Up For Lost Time [The Dallas Lovers Song] [w/Crystal Gayle], Plain Brown Wrapper, Another World, Bring Him Home; actor: Broadway: Les Misérables, La Boheme
1949 - Tom Waits
singer: Shiver Me Timbers, Diamonds on My Windshield, Small Change, The Piano Has Been Drinking, Tom Traubert’s Blues, Burma Shave, Potter’s Field, Jersey Girl, LP: Foreign Affairs, Swordfishtrombone; songwriter: I Never Talk to Strangers; actor: Short Cuts, Paradise Alley, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Ironweed, The Cotton Club; playwright [w/wife, Kathleen Brennan]: Frank’s Wild Years
1954 - Mike Nolan
singer: group: Bucks Fizz: Making Your Mind Up, Land of Make Believe, My Camera Never Lies, Now Those Days are Gone, If You Can’t Stand the Heat, You and Your Eyes So Blue
1955 - Priscilla Barnes
actress: Mallrats, Licence to Kill, Time Machine, Delta Fox, Beyond Reason, Three’s Company, The American Girls
1956 - Larry Bird
Basketball Hall of Famer: Boston Celtics: Rookie of the Year [1979-80]; NBA MVP [1984, 1985, 1986], AP Male Athlete of the Year [1986], Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year [1986]
1956 - Rich Campbell
musician: keyboards, bass, composer, songwriter, singer: groups: Three Dog Night, America; performed with DAVE Mason, Natalie Cole
1956 - Mark Rolston
actor: Aliens, Steal the Sky, Lethal Weapon 2, Robocop 2, Body of Evidence, The Shawshank Redemption, Eraser, Profiler, Rush Hour, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Highway
1956 - Ozzie (Osvaldo Jose) Virgil (Jr.)
baseball: catcher: Philadelphia Phillies [World Series: 1983/all-star: 1985], Atlanta Braves [all-star: 1987], Toronto Blue Jays
1960 - David Woodley
actor: PictoCrime, Sick Puppy, Tunnel Vision, Over the Hill, Home and Away
1966 - C. Thomas Howell
actor: Two Marriages, Hourglass, Payback, Breaking the Rules, A Tiger’s Tale, Soul Man, Tank, The Outsiders, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial; rodeo cowboy
1967 - Tino Martinez
baseball [first base]: Univ of Tampa; Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
1968 - Tom Myslinski
football [guard]: Univ of Tennessee, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys
1973 - Terrell Owens
football [wide receiver]: NFL: San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles
1974 - Al Harris
football [cornerback]: NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers
1978 - Shiri Appleby
actress: Roswell, ER, Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife, I Love You to Death, The Thirteenth Floor, A Time for Dancing
1979 - Jennifer Carpenter
actress: The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Dexter, The Factory, Faster, Quarantine, White Chicks, Ash Tuesday, People Are Dead
1987 - Aaron Carter
singer: Shake It, I Will Be Yours, Tell Me How to Make You Smile, Life Is a Party, [Have Some] Fun With the Funk, Summertime, Aaron’s Party [Come and Get It], Leave It Up to Me
Chart Toppers December 7
1951Sin (It’s No) - Eddy Howard
Because of You - Tony Bennett
Down Yonder - Del Wood
Slow Poke - Pee Wee King
1960Are You Lonesome To-night? - Elvis Presley
Last Date - Floyd Cramer
Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson
Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky
1969Wedding Bell Blues - The 5th Dimension
Take a Letter Maria - R.B. Greaves
And When I Die - Blood, Sweat & Tears
Okie from Muskogee - Merle Haggard
1978You Don’t Bring Me Flowers - Barbra Streisand & Neil Diamond
Le Freak - Chic
I Just Wanna Stop - Gino Vanelli
I Just Want to Love You - Eddie Rabbitt
1987Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle
Faith - George Michael
Should’ve Known Better - Richard Marx
Somebody Lied - Ricky Van Shelton
1996Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
Nobody - Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
Don’t Let Go (Love) - En Vogue
Little Bitty - Alan Jackson
2005Run It - Chris Brown
Photograph - Nickelback
Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
Come a Little Closer - Dierks Bentley
enjoy all
Chart Topper December 7th, 1996...Nobody - Keith Sweat featuring Athena Cage
