BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
England’s Leslie Townes Hope was born on this day in 1903, and he was probably smiling instead of crying when he entered the world. You see, Leslie, better known to us as Bob, kept the world smiling for seven decades.
In his autobiography, ‘Ski Nose’ gave us an insight into his sense of humor and comedic timing, “In Russia, I had no trouble with the language -- nobody talked.”
With a career that began with appearances in comedy short films in the 1930s, he made his first feature film appearance in The Big Broadcast of 1938 singing Thanks for the Memory, which became his theme song. Bob Hope hit it big, however, in 1940 with his first ‘road’ picture, The Road to Singapore. Co-starring with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, he hit the road to Zanzibar, Morroco, Utopia, Rio, Bali (the first in color), and the last, Hong Kong in 1962.
The consummate entertainer, Bob Hope appeared in a multitude of films other than the roadies. Millions caught his act on nightclub stages, and on countless TV specials, including 17 years as host of The Academy Awards. Yet he was still best known for his USO tours and entertaining of troops overseas and on the front lines during World War II, the Korean War, the Viet Nam War and during Desert Storm in the early 1990s.
How could one human being have done so much, always seeming to have one more hour to give to entertain the world? Hope, who died July 27, 2003 at age 100, said it best in one of his quips, “If I could live my life over, I wouldn’t have time!”
Thank you for the memories, Mr. Hope, and for giving others hope.
Events May 29
1790 - The smallest of the United States joined the first 12 states as number 13. Rhode Island, the Ocean State, probably got its name when discoverer Verrazano noted that, the area we know as Rhode Island, looked about the size of the tiny Greek Isle of Rhodes. Rhode Island’s capital city is Providence, and the tiny violet is appropriate as the state flower. Probably the most famous variety of chicken, the Rhode Island Red, is the state bird.
1827 - The first nautical school opened in Nantucket, MA. Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin’s Lancastrian School was the name. Learning to set sail was the game...
1844 - The first dark horse candidate was born at the Democratic Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. With the political rush of support for James K. Polk, after just seven ballots, Mr. Polk’s name appeared to break the deadlock. Polk won the nomination on the ninth ballot and, eventually, the U.S. Presidency.
1848 - The land of lakes and large expanses of green gave name to Wisconsin, the 30th state to enter the United States of America. (Wisconsin, is thought to be the Chippewa Indian word for "grassy place".) The wood violet is the state flower, the robin is the state Bird and Madison is the capital city. All this is quite elementary. However, Wisconsin’s nickname is the Badger State, but it is not named after the little animal, as you might have thought. It seems that the many lead miners in the Wisconsin grass lands in the 1830s were called -- badgers.
1858 - This one is really tough to nail down an absolute timeline on, but the story goes that Milton Hay of Springfield, Illinois heard Abraham Lincoln utter offhand a rule or maxim in politics. Hay later passed it on to Joseph Fifer of Bloomington, Illinois who found it so simple, so nicely singsong, that he couldn’t forget it: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
1900 - The trademark ‘Escalator’ was registered by Charles D. Seeberger. ‘Escalator’ became the sole property of the Otis Elevator Co. in 1910 when the company purchased the trademark and Seeberger’s patents.
1910 - Aviator Glenn Curtiss completed the first ‘long distance’ airplane flight -- from Albany, New York to New York City -- winning a prize of $10,000 in the process. The challenge (and the check) were issued by New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
1912 - Fifteen women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia, PA -- for dancing the Turkey Trot while on the job!
1916 - The U.S. President’s flag was adopted by executive order
1939 - When a Girl Marries was first heard on CBS. The serial continued for eighteen years on radio.
1942 - The biggest selling record of all time was recorded. A little out of season, perhaps, but White Christmas, the Irving Berlin classic, was recorded by Bing Crosby for Decca Records. The song was written for the film Holiday Inn. More than 30-million copies of Crosby’s most famous hit song have been sold and a total of nearly 70-million copies, including all versions of the standard, have been sold.
1943 - The Million Dollar Band was heard for the first time on NBC radio. Charlie Spivak was the first leader of the band that featured Barry Wood as vocalist. The unusual feature of the show was the awarding each week of five diamond rings!
1943 - Norman Rockwell’s portrait of Rosie the Riveter, symbolizing American women employed as industrial workers during the war, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
1944 - The USS Block Island, an American aircraft carrier, was sunk by a German submarine near Madeira. It was the only U.S. carrier lost in the Atlantic in World War Two.
1945 - The U.S. First Marine Division captured Shuri-castle on Okinawa, killing 67,000 Japanese troops.
1951 - The first North Pole flight in a single engine plane was accomplished by Charles F. Blair on this day.
1953 - Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, became the first humans to reach the top of Mount Everest.
1961 - Ricky Nelson reached the top spot on the Billboard singles chart with Travelin’ Man. It was was Nelson’s second chart-topping hit. Poor Little Fool made it to the top in August of 1958.
1962 - Buck (John) O’Neil became the first black coach in major-league baseball. He accepted the job with the Chicago Cubs. O’Neil had previously been a scout with the Cubs organization.
1968 - The Truth in Lending Act was signed into U.S. law.
1970 - Mike Cuellar of Baltimore became one of just 11 major-league hurlers since 1900 to strike out four batters in one inning -- because the catcher dropped the third strike of the third out.
1972 - The Osmonds received a gold record for the album, Phase III.
1973 - Tom Bradley was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, Calfornia. He defeated incumbent Sam Yorty. Bradley retired in 1993.
1978 - The 13-cent postage stamp became the 15-cent postage stamp when new U.S. rates to mail letters went into effect.
1982 - Pope John Paul II became the first Pontiff to visit England in over 450 years.
1985 - Death and hundreds of injuries resulted from a riot at a soccer match in Brussels, Belgium. The European Cup Final at Heysel stadium between Liverpool and Juventus of Turin was televised throughout Europe. Just before the match was to begin, soccer fans rioted killing 39 and injuring 400 or more. 26 British soccer fans identified from the video tapes were extradited to Belgium to stand trial. The riot prompted increased security at later British soccer games.
1988 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan arrived in Moscow, starting his first visit to the Soviet Union. Reagan opened the superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.
1991 - Scientists at Emory University discovered the gene that causes fragile X syndrome, an untreatable mental retardation.
1992 - Peter John ‘Ollie’ Halsall (43) guitarist, died of a heart attack in Madrid, Spain.
1992 - Actress Pippa Steele (Vampire Lovers), died of cancer. She was 44 years old.
1995 - Margaret Chase Smith died at 97 in Skowhegan, Maine. She was the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House and Senate (R-ME).
1997 - TV announcer George Fenneman died. He was 77 years old. Fenneman was best known as the announcer for Groucho Marx and his crazy quiz show, You Bet Your Life.
1998 - Barry M. Goldwater, five-term Arizona senator and 1964 Republican U.S. presidential candidate died. He was 89 years old.
1998 - New films opening in the U.S.: Almost Heroes, starring Chris Farley, Matthew Perry, Eugene Levy and Kevin Dunn; Hope Floats, with Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlans; and The Last Days of Disco, with Chloe Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale and Chris Eigeman.
1999 - Hikers found a skeleton in a minivan at the bottom of a canyon near Malibu, California. It turned out to be the remains of Iron Butterfly bassist Philip ‘Taylor’ Kramer who had been missing since Feb 1995.
2000 - Indonesia’s state prosecutors placed former President (Mohamed) Suharto under house arrest. The former strongman’s trial on corruption charges was later abandoned because of concerns for his health.
2001 - Four followers of Osama BIN Laden were convicted in New York of the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa (224 died). Mohamed Rashid Daoud al-'Owhali, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, Wadih El-Hage, and Mohamed Saddiq Odeh were found guilty of all 576 charges in the 302 counts included in their indictment.
2002 - FBI Director Robert Mueller said there may have been missed clues before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He suggested that investigators might have uncovered the plot had they been more diligent in their pursuit of leads.
2003 - AOL Time Warner and Microsoft reached a settlement in their battle over Internet browsers, with Microsoft agreeing to pay AOL $750 million.
2004 - Two Watergate figures died on this day: Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox died in Maine at 92 years of age. Cox was fired by U.S. President Richard Nixon for his efforts in the Watergate investigation; and Samuel Dash (79), chief Senate counsel during the Watergate hearings, died in Washington DC.
2005 - French voters rejected the European Union’s first constitution, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the charter.
2006 - Toronto transit workers were ordered back to work, ending a wildcat strike that had stranded some 700,000 commuters and filled the streets of the city with cars, bicycles and pedestrians as commuters Scrambled to get to work.
2008 - Comedian Harvey Korman died in Los Angeles at 81 years of age. Korman won four Emmys for his outrageously funny antics on TV’s The Carol Burnett Show and played the conniving politician Hedley Lamarr to hilarious effect in the film Blazing Saddles.
2009 - New movies in U.S. theatres: Drag Me to Hell, starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Jessica Lucas, Lorna Raver, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza, Fernanda Romero and Reggie Lee; The Brothers Bloom, starring Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi and Robbie Coltrane; the animated Up, featuring the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Delroy Lindo and Jordan Nagai; and What Goes Up, with Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Molly Shannon, Olivia Thirlby and Josh Peck.
2009 - 69-year-old former music producer Phil Spector was sentenced in Los Angeles to 10 years to life in prison for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
2009 - The U.S. National Ignition Facility was dedicated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. It was designed to create conditions like those found in stars and in the explosions of hydrogen bombs.
Birthdays May 29
1630 - King Charles II
British monarch: King of England, Scotland, Ireland [1660-1685]; died Feb 6, 1685
1736 - Patrick Henry
American revolutionary patriot: “...give me liberty, or give me death!”; died June 6, 1799
1874 - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
author: created Father Brown crime-fiction series; The Man Who was Thursday, English Men of Letters; died June 14, 1936
1880 - Oswald Spengler
historical author: The Decline of the West; died May 8, 1936
1894 - Beatrice Lillie (Gladys Lillie)
actress: On Approval, Thoroughly Modern Millie; died Jan 20, 1989
1903 - Bob Hope (Leslie Townes Hope)
comedian, entertainer, actor; died July 27, 2003; see Hope Day [above]
1909 - **** Stabile
musician: saxophone, bandleader; worked with Jimmy Dorsey, Vincent Lopez, Bunny Berigan, Paula Kelly, Burt Shaw, Gracie Barrie, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis; died Sep 25, 1980
1914 - (Walter) Stacy Keach Sr.
actor: The Parallax View, High Velocity, Fighting Back, Armed and Dangerous, The Rockford Files, Bonanza, Longstreet, Maverick; father of actors Stacy and James Keach; died Feb 13, 2003
1917 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th U.S. President [1961-1963]; married to Jaqueline Bouvier [two sons, one daughter]; nickname: JFK, Jack; youngest, first Roman Catholic, first to win Purple Heart, first to serve in U.S. Navy, first to win Pulitzer Prize [book: Profiles in Courage], fourth U.S. President to be assassinated, secondnd buried at Arlington National Cemetery; assassinated Nov 22, 1963
1921 - Clifton James
actor: Lone Star, The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, The Man with the Golden Gun, Live and Let Die, David and Lisa, Cool Hand Luke, Lewis & Clark, City of Angels
1922 - Joe Weatherly
NASCAR Hall of Famer: championship [1953]; Grand National Champion [1962, 63]; killed in crash at Riverside International Raceway Jan 19, 1964; The Joe Weatherly Museum at Darlington International Raceway is named for him
1923 - Eugene Wright
jazz musician: bass: led 16-piece band: Dukes of Swing; played w/DAVE Brubeck, Gene Ammons, Count Basie, Arnett Cobb, Buddy DeFranco, Red Norvo
1932 - Richie Guerin
basketball: NY Knicks [in 8 years w/Knicks he scored 10,392 points and averaged 20.1 points; St. Louis Hawks; player/coach: St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks; lifetime stats: 14,676 points [17.3 ppg], 4,278 rebounds [5.1 rpg], 4,211 assists [5.0 apg] over 848 games [in 42 playoff contests he averaged 15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists]; broadcaster: NY Knicks; Wall Street stockbroker
1932 - Paul Ehrlich
biologist, writer: The Population Bomb; helped form group: Zero Population Growth, advocating a limit of 2 children per family
1938 - Francis ‘Fay’ Vincent Jr.
baseball: commissioner
1939 - Al Unser Sr.
auto racer: Indy 500 winner [1970, 1971, 1978, 1987]) retired [1994]; younger brother of Bobby and father of Al Jr. [first father/son to race each other at Indy [1983]
1941 - Roy Crewsdon
musician: guitar: group: Freddie and The Dreamers: I’m Telling You Now, Do the Freddie
1942 - Kevin Conway
actor: Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy, The Quick and the Dead, Gettysburg, One Good Cop, Home Boy, Rage of Angels, Paradise Alley, Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye, Other People’s Money, Of Mice and Men, When You Comin’ Back - Red Ryder?
1942 - Larry Mavety
hockey: Port-Huron Flags, LA Sharks, Chicago Cougars, Indianapolis Racers; Coach/GM: Kingston Frontenacs
1944 - Helmut Berger
actor: The ****ed, Dorian Gray, The Godfather, Part 3
1945 - Gary Brooker
musician: keyboards, singer: solo: Say It Ain’t So Joe, Switchboard Susan, LPs: No More Fear of Flying, Lead Me to the Water, Echoes in the Night; groups: Procol Harum: Whiter Shade of Pale; The Paramounts
1947 - Anthony Geary
actor: General Hospital, High Desert Kill, Scorchers, Night of the Warrior, Crack House, UHF
1948 - Nick Mancuso
actor: Dr. Scorpion, Ice Time, Ticket to Heaven, Heartbreakers, My Soul to Take, In the Mix, Lives of the Saints, Lightning: Bolts of Destruction, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1950 - Rebbie (Maureen Reilette) Jackson
singer: LPs: Centipede [written by brother, Michael], Reactions; oldest member of the Jackson family
1952 - Fred (Fredrick William) Holdsworth
baseball: pitcher: Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Milwaukee Brewers
1953 - Mike (Michael Dennis) Dupree
baseball: pitcher: SD Padres
1953 - Danny Elfman
singer: group: Oingo Boingo; composer: soundtracks: Batman, Beetlejuice, The Simpsons; film composer: Mission: Impossible, Mars Attacks!, Men in Black, Good Will Hunting, Scream 2
1956 - Larry Blackmon
musician: drums, singer: group: Cameo: Word Up!
1956 - LaToya (Yvonne) Jackson
singer: The Jacksons; solo: Playboy photo spread
1957 - Ted Levine
actor: Crime Story, Ironweed, The Last Outlaw, Wiseguy, Flubber, From the Earth to the Moon, Wild Wild West, Evolution, Monk
1958 - Annette Bening
actress: Richard III, The American President, Love Affair, Bugsy, Postcards from the Edge, The Grifters, Valmont, The Great Outdoors, Mars Attacks!, American Beauty
1959 - Rupert Everett
actor: My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Right Hand Man, Shakespeare in Love, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Inspector Gadget
1961 - Melissa Etheridge
Grammy Award-winning singer: Come to My Window [1994], Ain’t It Heavy [1992]
1962 - Eric Davis
baseball: Cincinnati Reds, LA Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, SL Cardinals, SF Giants
1963 - Lisa Whelchel
actress: The Facts of Life, Where the Red Fern Grows: Part 2, Twirl, The Double McGuffin
1965 - Charlie Hayes
baseball: San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros
1967 - Mike Keane
hockey: Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, NY Rangers, Dallas Stars, SL Blues, Vancouver Canucks
1972 - Bill Curley
basketball [forward]: Boston College; NBA: Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houson Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks
1973 - Trever Miller
baseball [pitcher]: Detroit Tigers, L.A. Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros
1975 - Jason Allison
hockey [right wing]: NHL: Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, L.A. Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs
1975 - Melanie ‘Scary’ Brown
singer: group: Spice Girls: 2 Become 1, Wanna Be, Spice Up Your Lives, Let Love Lead the Way, Wasting My Time, Oxygen; LPs: Forever, Spice, Goodbye, Spiceworld
1976 - Raef LaFrentz
basketball [forward]: Univ of Kansas; NBA: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics
ABA Birthdays Today
mamang , MattDaTester , pizzaladies (62) , Mac2919 (60) , herbsmon (55) , roylund (55) , CaptainHowdy (53) , rosarij (53) , hdannynguyen (53) , vonmundo (53) , orion_1 (51) , scorpgem (51) , fountain (49) , nitrofish (46) , goveeman (42) , sammydina (41) , zoogor (37) , phi26 (35) , eduardo_vmp (30) , samiong7 (29) , osofm (27)
Chart Toppers May 29
1948Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
Baby Face - The Art Mooney Orchestra
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold
1957All Shook Up Elvis Presley
Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation) - Marty Robbins
Four Walls - Jim Reeves
1966When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders
Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Distant Drums - Jim Reeves
1975Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
How Long - Ace
I’m Not Lisa - Jessi Colter
1984Let’s Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Oh Sherrie - Steve Perry
As Long as I’m Rockin’ with You - John Conlee
1993That’s the Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
Freak Me - Silk
Knockin’ da Boots - H-Town
I Love the Way You Love Me - John Michael Montgomery
2002Foolish - Ashanti
A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
Don’t Let Me Get Me - Pink
Drive (For Daddy Gene)- Alan Jackson
Chart Topper May 29th, 1975...Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
In his autobiography, ‘Ski Nose’ gave us an insight into his sense of humor and comedic timing, “In Russia, I had no trouble with the language -- nobody talked.”
With a career that began with appearances in comedy short films in the 1930s, he made his first feature film appearance in The Big Broadcast of 1938 singing Thanks for the Memory, which became his theme song. Bob Hope hit it big, however, in 1940 with his first ‘road’ picture, The Road to Singapore. Co-starring with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, he hit the road to Zanzibar, Morroco, Utopia, Rio, Bali (the first in color), and the last, Hong Kong in 1962.
The consummate entertainer, Bob Hope appeared in a multitude of films other than the roadies. Millions caught his act on nightclub stages, and on countless TV specials, including 17 years as host of The Academy Awards. Yet he was still best known for his USO tours and entertaining of troops overseas and on the front lines during World War II, the Korean War, the Viet Nam War and during Desert Storm in the early 1990s.
How could one human being have done so much, always seeming to have one more hour to give to entertain the world? Hope, who died July 27, 2003 at age 100, said it best in one of his quips, “If I could live my life over, I wouldn’t have time!”
Thank you for the memories, Mr. Hope, and for giving others hope.
Events May 29
1790 - The smallest of the United States joined the first 12 states as number 13. Rhode Island, the Ocean State, probably got its name when discoverer Verrazano noted that, the area we know as Rhode Island, looked about the size of the tiny Greek Isle of Rhodes. Rhode Island’s capital city is Providence, and the tiny violet is appropriate as the state flower. Probably the most famous variety of chicken, the Rhode Island Red, is the state bird.
1827 - The first nautical school opened in Nantucket, MA. Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin’s Lancastrian School was the name. Learning to set sail was the game...
1844 - The first dark horse candidate was born at the Democratic Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. With the political rush of support for James K. Polk, after just seven ballots, Mr. Polk’s name appeared to break the deadlock. Polk won the nomination on the ninth ballot and, eventually, the U.S. Presidency.
1848 - The land of lakes and large expanses of green gave name to Wisconsin, the 30th state to enter the United States of America. (Wisconsin, is thought to be the Chippewa Indian word for "grassy place".) The wood violet is the state flower, the robin is the state Bird and Madison is the capital city. All this is quite elementary. However, Wisconsin’s nickname is the Badger State, but it is not named after the little animal, as you might have thought. It seems that the many lead miners in the Wisconsin grass lands in the 1830s were called -- badgers.
1858 - This one is really tough to nail down an absolute timeline on, but the story goes that Milton Hay of Springfield, Illinois heard Abraham Lincoln utter offhand a rule or maxim in politics. Hay later passed it on to Joseph Fifer of Bloomington, Illinois who found it so simple, so nicely singsong, that he couldn’t forget it: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
1900 - The trademark ‘Escalator’ was registered by Charles D. Seeberger. ‘Escalator’ became the sole property of the Otis Elevator Co. in 1910 when the company purchased the trademark and Seeberger’s patents.
1910 - Aviator Glenn Curtiss completed the first ‘long distance’ airplane flight -- from Albany, New York to New York City -- winning a prize of $10,000 in the process. The challenge (and the check) were issued by New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer.
1912 - Fifteen women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia, PA -- for dancing the Turkey Trot while on the job!
1916 - The U.S. President’s flag was adopted by executive order
1939 - When a Girl Marries was first heard on CBS. The serial continued for eighteen years on radio.
1942 - The biggest selling record of all time was recorded. A little out of season, perhaps, but White Christmas, the Irving Berlin classic, was recorded by Bing Crosby for Decca Records. The song was written for the film Holiday Inn. More than 30-million copies of Crosby’s most famous hit song have been sold and a total of nearly 70-million copies, including all versions of the standard, have been sold.
1943 - The Million Dollar Band was heard for the first time on NBC radio. Charlie Spivak was the first leader of the band that featured Barry Wood as vocalist. The unusual feature of the show was the awarding each week of five diamond rings!
1943 - Norman Rockwell’s portrait of Rosie the Riveter, symbolizing American women employed as industrial workers during the war, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
1944 - The USS Block Island, an American aircraft carrier, was sunk by a German submarine near Madeira. It was the only U.S. carrier lost in the Atlantic in World War Two.
1945 - The U.S. First Marine Division captured Shuri-castle on Okinawa, killing 67,000 Japanese troops.
1951 - The first North Pole flight in a single engine plane was accomplished by Charles F. Blair on this day.
1953 - Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, became the first humans to reach the top of Mount Everest.
1961 - Ricky Nelson reached the top spot on the Billboard singles chart with Travelin’ Man. It was was Nelson’s second chart-topping hit. Poor Little Fool made it to the top in August of 1958.
1962 - Buck (John) O’Neil became the first black coach in major-league baseball. He accepted the job with the Chicago Cubs. O’Neil had previously been a scout with the Cubs organization.
1968 - The Truth in Lending Act was signed into U.S. law.
1970 - Mike Cuellar of Baltimore became one of just 11 major-league hurlers since 1900 to strike out four batters in one inning -- because the catcher dropped the third strike of the third out.
1972 - The Osmonds received a gold record for the album, Phase III.
1973 - Tom Bradley was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, Calfornia. He defeated incumbent Sam Yorty. Bradley retired in 1993.
1978 - The 13-cent postage stamp became the 15-cent postage stamp when new U.S. rates to mail letters went into effect.
1982 - Pope John Paul II became the first Pontiff to visit England in over 450 years.
1985 - Death and hundreds of injuries resulted from a riot at a soccer match in Brussels, Belgium. The European Cup Final at Heysel stadium between Liverpool and Juventus of Turin was televised throughout Europe. Just before the match was to begin, soccer fans rioted killing 39 and injuring 400 or more. 26 British soccer fans identified from the video tapes were extradited to Belgium to stand trial. The riot prompted increased security at later British soccer games.
1988 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan arrived in Moscow, starting his first visit to the Soviet Union. Reagan opened the superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.
1991 - Scientists at Emory University discovered the gene that causes fragile X syndrome, an untreatable mental retardation.
1992 - Peter John ‘Ollie’ Halsall (43) guitarist, died of a heart attack in Madrid, Spain.
1992 - Actress Pippa Steele (Vampire Lovers), died of cancer. She was 44 years old.
1995 - Margaret Chase Smith died at 97 in Skowhegan, Maine. She was the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House and Senate (R-ME).
1997 - TV announcer George Fenneman died. He was 77 years old. Fenneman was best known as the announcer for Groucho Marx and his crazy quiz show, You Bet Your Life.
1998 - Barry M. Goldwater, five-term Arizona senator and 1964 Republican U.S. presidential candidate died. He was 89 years old.
1998 - New films opening in the U.S.: Almost Heroes, starring Chris Farley, Matthew Perry, Eugene Levy and Kevin Dunn; Hope Floats, with Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick Jr., Gena Rowlans; and The Last Days of Disco, with Chloe Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale and Chris Eigeman.
1999 - Hikers found a skeleton in a minivan at the bottom of a canyon near Malibu, California. It turned out to be the remains of Iron Butterfly bassist Philip ‘Taylor’ Kramer who had been missing since Feb 1995.
2000 - Indonesia’s state prosecutors placed former President (Mohamed) Suharto under house arrest. The former strongman’s trial on corruption charges was later abandoned because of concerns for his health.
2001 - Four followers of Osama BIN Laden were convicted in New York of the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa (224 died). Mohamed Rashid Daoud al-'Owhali, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, Wadih El-Hage, and Mohamed Saddiq Odeh were found guilty of all 576 charges in the 302 counts included in their indictment.
2002 - FBI Director Robert Mueller said there may have been missed clues before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He suggested that investigators might have uncovered the plot had they been more diligent in their pursuit of leads.
2003 - AOL Time Warner and Microsoft reached a settlement in their battle over Internet browsers, with Microsoft agreeing to pay AOL $750 million.
2004 - Two Watergate figures died on this day: Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox died in Maine at 92 years of age. Cox was fired by U.S. President Richard Nixon for his efforts in the Watergate investigation; and Samuel Dash (79), chief Senate counsel during the Watergate hearings, died in Washington DC.
2005 - French voters rejected the European Union’s first constitution, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the charter.
2006 - Toronto transit workers were ordered back to work, ending a wildcat strike that had stranded some 700,000 commuters and filled the streets of the city with cars, bicycles and pedestrians as commuters Scrambled to get to work.
2008 - Comedian Harvey Korman died in Los Angeles at 81 years of age. Korman won four Emmys for his outrageously funny antics on TV’s The Carol Burnett Show and played the conniving politician Hedley Lamarr to hilarious effect in the film Blazing Saddles.
2009 - New movies in U.S. theatres: Drag Me to Hell, starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Jessica Lucas, Lorna Raver, David Paymer, Adriana Barraza, Fernanda Romero and Reggie Lee; The Brothers Bloom, starring Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi and Robbie Coltrane; the animated Up, featuring the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Delroy Lindo and Jordan Nagai; and What Goes Up, with Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Molly Shannon, Olivia Thirlby and Josh Peck.
2009 - 69-year-old former music producer Phil Spector was sentenced in Los Angeles to 10 years to life in prison for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson.
2009 - The U.S. National Ignition Facility was dedicated at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. It was designed to create conditions like those found in stars and in the explosions of hydrogen bombs.
Birthdays May 29
1630 - King Charles II
British monarch: King of England, Scotland, Ireland [1660-1685]; died Feb 6, 1685
1736 - Patrick Henry
American revolutionary patriot: “...give me liberty, or give me death!”; died June 6, 1799
1874 - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
author: created Father Brown crime-fiction series; The Man Who was Thursday, English Men of Letters; died June 14, 1936
1880 - Oswald Spengler
historical author: The Decline of the West; died May 8, 1936
1894 - Beatrice Lillie (Gladys Lillie)
actress: On Approval, Thoroughly Modern Millie; died Jan 20, 1989
1903 - Bob Hope (Leslie Townes Hope)
comedian, entertainer, actor; died July 27, 2003; see Hope Day [above]
1909 - **** Stabile
musician: saxophone, bandleader; worked with Jimmy Dorsey, Vincent Lopez, Bunny Berigan, Paula Kelly, Burt Shaw, Gracie Barrie, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis; died Sep 25, 1980
1914 - (Walter) Stacy Keach Sr.
actor: The Parallax View, High Velocity, Fighting Back, Armed and Dangerous, The Rockford Files, Bonanza, Longstreet, Maverick; father of actors Stacy and James Keach; died Feb 13, 2003
1917 - John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th U.S. President [1961-1963]; married to Jaqueline Bouvier [two sons, one daughter]; nickname: JFK, Jack; youngest, first Roman Catholic, first to win Purple Heart, first to serve in U.S. Navy, first to win Pulitzer Prize [book: Profiles in Courage], fourth U.S. President to be assassinated, secondnd buried at Arlington National Cemetery; assassinated Nov 22, 1963
1921 - Clifton James
actor: Lone Star, The Bonfire of the Vanities, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, The Man with the Golden Gun, Live and Let Die, David and Lisa, Cool Hand Luke, Lewis & Clark, City of Angels
1922 - Joe Weatherly
NASCAR Hall of Famer: championship [1953]; Grand National Champion [1962, 63]; killed in crash at Riverside International Raceway Jan 19, 1964; The Joe Weatherly Museum at Darlington International Raceway is named for him
1923 - Eugene Wright
jazz musician: bass: led 16-piece band: Dukes of Swing; played w/DAVE Brubeck, Gene Ammons, Count Basie, Arnett Cobb, Buddy DeFranco, Red Norvo
1932 - Richie Guerin
basketball: NY Knicks [in 8 years w/Knicks he scored 10,392 points and averaged 20.1 points; St. Louis Hawks; player/coach: St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks; lifetime stats: 14,676 points [17.3 ppg], 4,278 rebounds [5.1 rpg], 4,211 assists [5.0 apg] over 848 games [in 42 playoff contests he averaged 15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists]; broadcaster: NY Knicks; Wall Street stockbroker
1932 - Paul Ehrlich
biologist, writer: The Population Bomb; helped form group: Zero Population Growth, advocating a limit of 2 children per family
1938 - Francis ‘Fay’ Vincent Jr.
baseball: commissioner
1939 - Al Unser Sr.
auto racer: Indy 500 winner [1970, 1971, 1978, 1987]) retired [1994]; younger brother of Bobby and father of Al Jr. [first father/son to race each other at Indy [1983]
1941 - Roy Crewsdon
musician: guitar: group: Freddie and The Dreamers: I’m Telling You Now, Do the Freddie
1942 - Kevin Conway
actor: Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy, The Quick and the Dead, Gettysburg, One Good Cop, Home Boy, Rage of Angels, Paradise Alley, Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye, Other People’s Money, Of Mice and Men, When You Comin’ Back - Red Ryder?
1942 - Larry Mavety
hockey: Port-Huron Flags, LA Sharks, Chicago Cougars, Indianapolis Racers; Coach/GM: Kingston Frontenacs
1944 - Helmut Berger
actor: The ****ed, Dorian Gray, The Godfather, Part 3
1945 - Gary Brooker
musician: keyboards, singer: solo: Say It Ain’t So Joe, Switchboard Susan, LPs: No More Fear of Flying, Lead Me to the Water, Echoes in the Night; groups: Procol Harum: Whiter Shade of Pale; The Paramounts
1947 - Anthony Geary
actor: General Hospital, High Desert Kill, Scorchers, Night of the Warrior, Crack House, UHF
1948 - Nick Mancuso
actor: Dr. Scorpion, Ice Time, Ticket to Heaven, Heartbreakers, My Soul to Take, In the Mix, Lives of the Saints, Lightning: Bolts of Destruction, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
1950 - Rebbie (Maureen Reilette) Jackson
singer: LPs: Centipede [written by brother, Michael], Reactions; oldest member of the Jackson family
1952 - Fred (Fredrick William) Holdsworth
baseball: pitcher: Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Milwaukee Brewers
1953 - Mike (Michael Dennis) Dupree
baseball: pitcher: SD Padres
1953 - Danny Elfman
singer: group: Oingo Boingo; composer: soundtracks: Batman, Beetlejuice, The Simpsons; film composer: Mission: Impossible, Mars Attacks!, Men in Black, Good Will Hunting, Scream 2
1956 - Larry Blackmon
musician: drums, singer: group: Cameo: Word Up!
1956 - LaToya (Yvonne) Jackson
singer: The Jacksons; solo: Playboy photo spread
1957 - Ted Levine
actor: Crime Story, Ironweed, The Last Outlaw, Wiseguy, Flubber, From the Earth to the Moon, Wild Wild West, Evolution, Monk
1958 - Annette Bening
actress: Richard III, The American President, Love Affair, Bugsy, Postcards from the Edge, The Grifters, Valmont, The Great Outdoors, Mars Attacks!, American Beauty
1959 - Rupert Everett
actor: My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Right Hand Man, Shakespeare in Love, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Inspector Gadget
1961 - Melissa Etheridge
Grammy Award-winning singer: Come to My Window [1994], Ain’t It Heavy [1992]
1962 - Eric Davis
baseball: Cincinnati Reds, LA Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, SL Cardinals, SF Giants
1963 - Lisa Whelchel
actress: The Facts of Life, Where the Red Fern Grows: Part 2, Twirl, The Double McGuffin
1965 - Charlie Hayes
baseball: San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros
1967 - Mike Keane
hockey: Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, NY Rangers, Dallas Stars, SL Blues, Vancouver Canucks
1972 - Bill Curley
basketball [forward]: Boston College; NBA: Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houson Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks
1973 - Trever Miller
baseball [pitcher]: Detroit Tigers, L.A. Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros
1975 - Jason Allison
hockey [right wing]: NHL: Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, L.A. Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs
1975 - Melanie ‘Scary’ Brown
singer: group: Spice Girls: 2 Become 1, Wanna Be, Spice Up Your Lives, Let Love Lead the Way, Wasting My Time, Oxygen; LPs: Forever, Spice, Goodbye, Spiceworld
1976 - Raef LaFrentz
basketball [forward]: Univ of Kansas; NBA: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics
ABA Birthdays Today
mamang , MattDaTester , pizzaladies (62) , Mac2919 (60) , herbsmon (55) , roylund (55) , CaptainHowdy (53) , rosarij (53) , hdannynguyen (53) , vonmundo (53) , orion_1 (51) , scorpgem (51) , fountain (49) , nitrofish (46) , goveeman (42) , sammydina (41) , zoogor (37) , phi26 (35) , eduardo_vmp (30) , samiong7 (29) , osofm (27)
Chart Toppers May 29
1948Nature Boy - Nat King Cole
Now is the Hour - Bing Crosby
Baby Face - The Art Mooney Orchestra
Texarkana Baby - Eddy Arnold
1957All Shook Up Elvis Presley
Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation) - Marty Robbins
Four Walls - Jim Reeves
1966When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
A Groovy Kind of Love - The Mindbenders
Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones
Distant Drums - Jim Reeves
1975Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
How Long - Ace
I’m Not Lisa - Jessi Colter
1984Let’s Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams
Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
Oh Sherrie - Steve Perry
As Long as I’m Rockin’ with You - John Conlee
1993That’s the Way Love Goes - Janet Jackson
Freak Me - Silk
Knockin’ da Boots - H-Town
I Love the Way You Love Me - John Michael Montgomery
2002Foolish - Ashanti
A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
Don’t Let Me Get Me - Pink
Drive (For Daddy Gene)- Alan Jackson
Chart Topper May 29th, 1975...Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire