BROWNNOSE
BOOTLICKER
342nd day of 2010 - 23 remaining
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
LENNON REMEMBERED DAY
John Lennon was shot and killed on this day in 1980 as he stood outside of his New York City apartment house, the Dakota. The deranged, obsessed ‘fan’ was quickly apprehended by others gathered at the scene. A several-days vigil by hundreds of mourning fans is remembered as candles flickered and the song Give Peace a Chance was heard -- a continuing tribute to the musician and songwriter of a generation.
John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, together with New York’s officials, set up a permanent memorial to her husband: a section of Central Park, opposite The Dakota, named Strawberry Fields.
Events December 8
1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln announced his plan for the Reconstruction of the South. He also offered amnesty for confederate deserters.
1902 - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. became an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1924 - James B. Duke donated $40 million toward the founding of Duke University in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1940 - The Chicago Bears shut out the Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium, Washington DC. The final score: Chicago 73, Washington 0.
1941 - Ray Eberle and The Modernaires teamed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra to record Moonlight Cocktail on Bluebird Records. By April 1942, the song was a solid hit.
1941 - The United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan, a day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Great Britian also declared war on Japan.
1944 - The U.S. started the longest, most effective air raid of the Pacific theatre. For 74 consecutive days bombers hammered Iwo Jima with bombs and napalm.
1949 - One of America’s classic Broadway plays, and later, a major motion picture, debuted. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes began its long run at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Carol Channing starred in the musical and charmed audiences with the show’s songs such as her trademark signature, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.
1956 - The Olympic games, which had opened Nov 22, Closed this day at Melbourne, Australia. ‘The Friendly Games’, as this Olympiics came to be known, was Australia’s first attempt at hosting the Olympics and left “an enduring legacy not only for Melbourne and Australia but for the Olympic movement itself.”
1961 - Surfin’, The Beach Boys first record, was released on Candix Records. It became a local hit in Los Angeles but only made it to #75 nationally. The surfin’ music craze didn’t take hold across America for another year. By the time Surfin’ Safari entered the Top 40 (September 1962), though, The Beach Boys were ridin’ a wave of popularity that continues today even though The Beach Boys have become The Beach Men.
1962 - Striking workers of the International Typographical Union Closed nine New York City newspapers. The strike lasted 114 days, ending on April 1, 1963. A total of 5,700,000 readers were affected by the shutdown. It made people turn on radio and TV, of course.
1963 - Florence Henderson and Jose Ferrer co-starred in The Girl Who Came to Supper on Broadway. The production, however, only lasted for 112 shows.
1963 - Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He was set free three days later after his father paid a $240,000 ransom with no questions asked. Three men were eventually caught, convicted and imprisoned for the crime.
1965 - Humphrey Bogart’s wife, Lauren Bacall, opened in Cactus Flower on Broadway. The show also starred Barry Nelson. The production was awarded Best Play honors and ran for 1,234 performances.
1965 - Nikolai Podgorny succeeded Anastas Mikoyan as president of U.S.S.R.
1972 - Carly Simon was awarded a big, fat, gold disc for her No Secrets album. The album hit number one in the U.S. on Jan 13, 1973 and stayed there for five weeks.
1978 - Golda Meir, who had served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974, died in Jerusalem. She was 80 years old.
1979 - Styx Babe hit #1 in the U.S. It stayed there for two weeks, before being knocked out of the coveted spot by Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song).
1982 - The Federal Communications Commission approved the move of WOR-TV, Channel 9 in New York City to lovely Secaucus, New Jersey. The move, complete with new call letters WWOR, gave the Garden State its first VHF television station ... and a superstation at that!
1982 - Country singing superstar Marty Robbins died of complications from heart bypass surgery he had undergone six days earlier. Marty Robbins was not only was a successful recording artist. He was also a songwriter, actor, author, and stock car racer. Among Marty Robbins’ biggest hits were A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation), The Story of My Life, Don’t Worry, Devil Woman, My Woman, My Woman, My Wife and his Grammy Award-winning El Paso.
1986 - Santa Claus was really TV’s Ed McMahon (at least at the White House). Johnny Carson’s straight man arrived in D.C. for a Christmas bash. He and First Lady Nancy Reagan exchanged kisses and, according to Ed, “She gave me a kiss, and I gave her a Hershey.” Always the pitchman, that McMahon guy was. At least it wasn’t Alpo ... or Budweiser.
1988 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev cut short his U.S. visit to return home because of the 6.9 earthquake in Armenia the previous day. Some 60,000 people were killed in the quake.
1991 - Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine, declaring the Soviet national government dead, forged a new alliance known as the Commonwealth of Independent States.
1993 - U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into U.S. law the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The pact between the U.S., Canada and Mexico went into effect at the start of 1994.
1994 - Brazil composer composer Antonio Carlos Jobim (The Girl from Ipanema) died. He was 67 years old.
1995 - Father of the Bride - Part II opened in the U.S. The sequel to Father of the Bride stars Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, George Newbern and Kieran Culkin. And, as one moviegoer put it, “This film is proof that sequels should never be made to comedies.”
1995 - The first 75 mph speed limit signs were installed in Montana and Wyoming.
1997 - A $25 billion deal: Swiss Bank and Union Bank of Switzerland announced a plan to form a single bank with assets of well over half a trillion dollars. The combined group would be called the United Bank of Switzerland and would become the world’s biggest money manager.
1997 - Jenny Shipley was sworn in as the first woman prime minister of New Zealand.
1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the search incident to arrest doctrine in Iowa. The Court ruled that the doctrine did not apply to traffic stops when the driver was released on a citation rather than being arrested. The doctrine had authorized police to search drivers and the interiors of their cars following any traffic stop.
1999 - A civil trial jury in Memphis, TN ruled that the 1968 killing of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was a conspiracy. The jury concluded that Loyd Jowers, a former cafe owner, had conspired with elements of the Memphis Police, the federal government and organized crime to kill King.
2000 - Movies debuting in the U.S.: Dungeons and Dragons (“This is no game.”), starring Justin Whalin, Zoe Mclellan and Jeremy Irons; Proof of Life: “Suspense, suspense. Russell Crowe excellent and mesmerizing, Meg (Ryan) grew for this one ... big time, epic adventure.”; and Vertical Limit (“The Mountain Will Decide.”), starring Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton and Robin Tunney.
2001 - Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch was awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy as the outstanding college football player in the U.S.
2002 - 18-year-old University of Miami student, Devi Sridhar, was one of 32 recipients of the Rhodes scholarship -- and youngest U.S. recipient in the history of the University of Oxford international fellowship program.
2003 - U.S. President George Bush (II) signed into law the Medicare Act of 2003, the biggest expansion of Medicare since its creation in 1965.
2004 - A deranged ‘fan’ charged on stage and opened fire on a heavy metal band at a crowded bar in Columbus, Ohio. 25-year-old Nathan Gale killed heavy metal guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott and three others and wounding two more before being killed by police.
2005 - The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopted a Red Crystal design, allowing Israel to join as a fully-participating member.
2006 - It was opening day for these films in the U.S.: Apocalypto, with Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia; Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Sheen and Stephen Collins; The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell; Off the Black, starring Nick Nolte, Trevor Morgan, Timothy Hutton and Sally Kirkland; and Unaccompanied Minors, with Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Gina Mantegna, Quinn Shephard, Rob Corddry, Donny Osmond, Al Roker, Teri Garr, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, Rob Riggle, BJ Novak, David Koechner, DAVE Gruber Allen and Nick Thune.
2006 - Former San Francisco Giants baseball shortstop Jose Uribe was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. Local police said he was driving to his hometown in San Cristobal province at the time of the crash. Uribe was the Giants’ shortstop for eight seasons, including their 1987 National League western division championship and 1989 NL pennant.
2007 - South Korea’s worst-ever oil spill reached the southwest coastline, polluting beaches with pungent sludge and threatening valuable sea farms.
2008 - The Chicago-based Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy as it struggled with $13 billion in debt and a drop-off in advertising revenue.
2008 - An F/A-18D Hornet (fighter jet) crashed into a residential area in San Diego, about two miles from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as the pilot was returning from a training flight. Two homes were destroyed. Four people, a mother, 2 children and a grandmother, died in one of the houses.
2009 - The U.S. announced said it would pay $3.4 billion to settle claims that it has mismanaged the revenue in American Indian trust funds. The tentative settlement would resolve a 13-year-old lawsuit over hundreds of thousands of land trust accounts that dated back to the 19th century.
2009 - After years of declining ratings, CBS-TV announced the cancellation of As the World Turns. The soap opera had been on the air for more than a half-century. The first show aired April 2, 1956 and the final show was on Sep 17, 2010.
Birthdays December 8
1765 - Eli Whitney
inventor: cotton gin and uniformity method of musket manufacturing: beginning of mass production; died Jan 8, 1825
1861 - William Durant
auto manufacturer: cofounder of Chevrolet, founder of General Motors, Durant Motors; died Mar 18, 1947
1886 - Diego Rivera
artist: politically controversial murals in Ministry of Education Building, National Palace and other government buildings in Mexico City; died Nov 24, 1957
1894 - Elzie Segar
cartoonist: creator of Popeye; died Oct 13, 1938
1894 - James Thurber
writer: New Yorker magazine; author: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, My World and Welcome to It, The Last Flower, Is Sex Necessary?; died Nov 2, 1961
1902 - Oswald Jacoby
bridge player, author, journalist: syndicated bridge columnist [1949-1984], considered the best card player in the world in 1950; died June 27, 1984
1903 - Adele Simpson (Smithline)
fashion designer: “She gave the postwar U.S. its own couture identity.”; died Aug 23, 1995
1911 - Lee J. Cobb
actor: On the Waterfront, The Brothers Karamazov, Death of a Salesman, appeared in over 80 motion pictures; died Feb 11, 1976
1915 - Ernest Lehman
author: The French Atlantic Affair, The Comedian, Sweet Smell of Success; screenwriter: Sabrina, The King and I, Sweet Smell of Success, North by Northwest, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hello, Dolly; died Jul 2, 2005
1925 - Sammy Davis Jr.
entertainer: Sammy and Company, NBC Follies; singer: The Candy Man, What Kind of Fool Am I, Faraway Places, Hey There, Something’s Gotta Give, Love Me or Leave Me, That Old Black Magic, Mr. Wonderful, Too Close for Comfort; group: The Will Mastin Trio; actor: The Kid Who Loved Christmas, Cannonball Run series, Sweet Charity, A Man Called Adam, Robin and the 7 Hoods, The Three Penny Opera, Ocean’s 11, Porgy and Bess, Golden Boy, Mr. Wonderful, Rufus Jones for President; member: The Rat Pack; author: Why Me?; died May 16, 1990
1925 - Hank (Henry Curtis) Thompson
baseball: SL Browns, NY Giants [World Series: 1951, 1954]; died Sep 30, 1969
1928 - Jimmy Smith
Grammy Award-winning musician: modern jazz organist: LP: The Cat [1965]; Walk on the Wild Side; died Feb 8, 2005
1930 - Maximilian Schell
Academy Award-winning actor: Judgment at Nuremberg [1961]; Little Odessa, Abraham, Stalin, The Freshman, Peter the Great, The Chosen, Julia, The Man in the Glass Booth, The Odessa File, Heidi, The Young Lions, Wiseguy
1932 - Michael Levin
actor: Ryan’s Hope, All My Children, As the World Turns
1933 - John Green
basketball: Michigan State
1933 - Flip Wilson
Emmy Award-winning comedy writer: The Flip Wilson Show with Lena Horne and Tony Randall [12/10/70]; comedian: Uptown Saturday Night, The Flip Wilson Show: Geraldine: “The Devil Made Me Do It!”, Charlie & Co.; TV emcee: People are Funny; died Nov 25, 1998
1936 - David Carradine
actor: Karate Cop, Animal Instincts, Double Trouble, Future Zone, Night Children, Future Force, Warlords, The Bad Seed, Lone Wolf McQuade, The Long Riders, Gray Lady Down, Cannonball, Kung Fu: The Movie, North and South Book I & II, Shane, Kung Fu, Kung Fu-The Legend Continues; son of actor John Carradine, brother of actors Keith and Robert Carradine; died June 3, 2009
1937 - James MacArthur
actor: Hawaii Five-O: Dano of “Book ’em, Dano”, Hang ’Em High, Spencer’s Mountain, The Interns, The Swiss Family Robinson; son of actress Helen Hayes; died Oct 28, 2010
1939 - Gordon ‘Red’ Berenson
hockey: U. of Michigan; NHL: Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers, SL Blues [shares NHL record for goals [4] made in one period [11/7/68], Detroit Red Wings; coach
1939 - Jerry Butler
singer: For Your Precious Love, He Will Break Your Heart, Find Another Girl, I’m Telling You, Moon River, Never Give You Up, Hey Western Union Man, LP: Only the Strong Survive; group: The Impressions
1939 - James Galway
musician: flute: LP: In Ireland
1941 - Bob ‘Boomer’ Brown
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Univ of Nebraska; NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders
1942 - Bobby Elliott
musician: drums: group: The Hollies: Searchin’, Stay, Just One Look, Here I Go Again, We’re Through, Yes I Will, I’m Alive, Look Through Any Window, I Can’t Let Go, Bus Stop, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, The Air That I Breathe
1943 - Jim Morrison
‘The Lizard King’: singer: group: The Doors: Light My Fire, Love Her Madly, Riders on the Storm, When the Music’s Over, People are Strange, Love Me Two Times, Touch Me; died July 3, 1971
1943 - Mary Woronov
actress: Eating Raoul, Rock ’n’ Roll High School
1946 - John Rubinstein
Tony Award-winning actor: Children of a Lesser God [1980]; Crazy Like a Fox, Family, RoboCop the Series: The Future of Law Enforcement; composer: score: The Candidate
1947 - Gregg Allman
musician: keyboards, guitar, singer: Midnight Rider; group: Allman Brothers Band: Ramblin’ Man
1950 - Tim (Timothy John) Foli
baseball: shortstop: NY Mets, Montreal Expos, SF Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1979], California Angels, NY Yankees
1952 - Greg Collins
football: Notre Dame, San Francisco 49ers LB
1953 - Kim Basinger
actress: Ready to Wear, Wayne’s World 2, The Real McCoy, The Getaway, Final Analysis, Cool World, The Marrying Man, Batman, My Stepmother is an Alien, Blind Date, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Natural, Hard Country; former town owner: Braselton, GA; married to actor Alec Baldwin
1953 - Sam Kinison
comedian, actor: The Sam Kinison Family Entertainment Hour, Back to School, Savage Dawn; died Apr 10, 1992
1957 - Phil Collen
musician: guitar: group: Def Leppard: Photograph, Rock of Ages, Foolin’; group: Girl
1961 - Ann Coulter
fire-breathing, right-wing U.S. political commentator, syndicated columnist and author: High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
1964 - Teri Hatcher
actress: Desperate Housewives, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Love Boat, Karen’s Song, MacGyver, Heaven’s Prisoners, Straight Talk, The Cool Surface, Soapdish, Dead in the Water, Tango and Cash, The Big Picture
1966 - Bushwick Bill (Richard Shaw)
Hip Hop artist: group: Geto Boys: Scarface, Balls and My World, My Mind Playin’ Tricks on Me, Straight Gangstaism, Six Feet Deep, World Is a Geto
1966 - Sinéad O’Connor
singer: Nothing Compares to You, My Lagan Love, No Man’s Woman, Emma’s Song, This Is a Rebel Song, Molly Malone, Thank You for Hearing Me
1967 - Jeff George
football [quarterback]: Univ of Illinois; NFL: Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins
1968 - Mike Mussina
baseball [pitcher]: Stanford Univ; NFL: Balitmore Orioles, New York Yankees
1975 - Corey Bradford
football [wide receiver]: Jackson State Univ; NFL: Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans
1975 - Kevin Harvick
NASCAR race car champ: NASCAR Winston West Series [1998], Busch Series [2001], IROC [2002], Brickyard 400 [2003], Busch Series [2006], Daytona 500, Sprint All-Star Race XXIII [2007], Budwesier Shootout [2009]
1976 - Nathan Perrott
hockey [right wing]: NHL: Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars
Chart Toppers December 8
1952You Belong to Me - Jo Stafford
Glow Worm - The Mills Brothers
Because You’re Mine - Mario Lanza
Back Street Affair - Webb Pierce
1961Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean
Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes
Goodbye Cruel World - James Darren
Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke
1970I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family
The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Gypsy Woman - Brian Hyland
Endlessly - Sonny James
1979Babe - Styx
Still - Commodores
Please Don’t Go - K.C. & The Sunshine Band
I Cheated Me Right Out of You - Moe Bandy
1988Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley - Will To Power
Look Away - Chicago
How Can I Fall? - Breathe
I Know How He Feels - Reba McEntire
1997Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997 - Elton John
You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
Love Gets Me Every Time - Shania Twain
2006My Love - Justin Timberlake featuring T.I.
How to Save a Life - The Fray
Smack That - Akon featuring Eminem
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
Enjoy All
Rest In Peace John Lennon
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
LENNON REMEMBERED DAY
John Lennon was shot and killed on this day in 1980 as he stood outside of his New York City apartment house, the Dakota. The deranged, obsessed ‘fan’ was quickly apprehended by others gathered at the scene. A several-days vigil by hundreds of mourning fans is remembered as candles flickered and the song Give Peace a Chance was heard -- a continuing tribute to the musician and songwriter of a generation.
John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, together with New York’s officials, set up a permanent memorial to her husband: a section of Central Park, opposite The Dakota, named Strawberry Fields.
Events December 8
1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln announced his plan for the Reconstruction of the South. He also offered amnesty for confederate deserters.
1902 - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. became an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1924 - James B. Duke donated $40 million toward the founding of Duke University in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1940 - The Chicago Bears shut out the Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium, Washington DC. The final score: Chicago 73, Washington 0.
1941 - Ray Eberle and The Modernaires teamed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra to record Moonlight Cocktail on Bluebird Records. By April 1942, the song was a solid hit.
1941 - The United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan, a day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Great Britian also declared war on Japan.
1944 - The U.S. started the longest, most effective air raid of the Pacific theatre. For 74 consecutive days bombers hammered Iwo Jima with bombs and napalm.
1949 - One of America’s classic Broadway plays, and later, a major motion picture, debuted. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes began its long run at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Carol Channing starred in the musical and charmed audiences with the show’s songs such as her trademark signature, Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.
1956 - The Olympic games, which had opened Nov 22, Closed this day at Melbourne, Australia. ‘The Friendly Games’, as this Olympiics came to be known, was Australia’s first attempt at hosting the Olympics and left “an enduring legacy not only for Melbourne and Australia but for the Olympic movement itself.”
1961 - Surfin’, The Beach Boys first record, was released on Candix Records. It became a local hit in Los Angeles but only made it to #75 nationally. The surfin’ music craze didn’t take hold across America for another year. By the time Surfin’ Safari entered the Top 40 (September 1962), though, The Beach Boys were ridin’ a wave of popularity that continues today even though The Beach Boys have become The Beach Men.
1962 - Striking workers of the International Typographical Union Closed nine New York City newspapers. The strike lasted 114 days, ending on April 1, 1963. A total of 5,700,000 readers were affected by the shutdown. It made people turn on radio and TV, of course.
1963 - Florence Henderson and Jose Ferrer co-starred in The Girl Who Came to Supper on Broadway. The production, however, only lasted for 112 shows.
1963 - Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. He was set free three days later after his father paid a $240,000 ransom with no questions asked. Three men were eventually caught, convicted and imprisoned for the crime.
1965 - Humphrey Bogart’s wife, Lauren Bacall, opened in Cactus Flower on Broadway. The show also starred Barry Nelson. The production was awarded Best Play honors and ran for 1,234 performances.
1965 - Nikolai Podgorny succeeded Anastas Mikoyan as president of U.S.S.R.
1972 - Carly Simon was awarded a big, fat, gold disc for her No Secrets album. The album hit number one in the U.S. on Jan 13, 1973 and stayed there for five weeks.
1978 - Golda Meir, who had served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974, died in Jerusalem. She was 80 years old.
1979 - Styx Babe hit #1 in the U.S. It stayed there for two weeks, before being knocked out of the coveted spot by Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Pina Colada Song).
1982 - The Federal Communications Commission approved the move of WOR-TV, Channel 9 in New York City to lovely Secaucus, New Jersey. The move, complete with new call letters WWOR, gave the Garden State its first VHF television station ... and a superstation at that!
1982 - Country singing superstar Marty Robbins died of complications from heart bypass surgery he had undergone six days earlier. Marty Robbins was not only was a successful recording artist. He was also a songwriter, actor, author, and stock car racer. Among Marty Robbins’ biggest hits were A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation), The Story of My Life, Don’t Worry, Devil Woman, My Woman, My Woman, My Wife and his Grammy Award-winning El Paso.
1986 - Santa Claus was really TV’s Ed McMahon (at least at the White House). Johnny Carson’s straight man arrived in D.C. for a Christmas bash. He and First Lady Nancy Reagan exchanged kisses and, according to Ed, “She gave me a kiss, and I gave her a Hershey.” Always the pitchman, that McMahon guy was. At least it wasn’t Alpo ... or Budweiser.
1988 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev cut short his U.S. visit to return home because of the 6.9 earthquake in Armenia the previous day. Some 60,000 people were killed in the quake.
1991 - Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine, declaring the Soviet national government dead, forged a new alliance known as the Commonwealth of Independent States.
1993 - U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into U.S. law the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The pact between the U.S., Canada and Mexico went into effect at the start of 1994.
1994 - Brazil composer composer Antonio Carlos Jobim (The Girl from Ipanema) died. He was 67 years old.
1995 - Father of the Bride - Part II opened in the U.S. The sequel to Father of the Bride stars Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Martin Short, George Newbern and Kieran Culkin. And, as one moviegoer put it, “This film is proof that sequels should never be made to comedies.”
1995 - The first 75 mph speed limit signs were installed in Montana and Wyoming.
1997 - A $25 billion deal: Swiss Bank and Union Bank of Switzerland announced a plan to form a single bank with assets of well over half a trillion dollars. The combined group would be called the United Bank of Switzerland and would become the world’s biggest money manager.
1997 - Jenny Shipley was sworn in as the first woman prime minister of New Zealand.
1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the search incident to arrest doctrine in Iowa. The Court ruled that the doctrine did not apply to traffic stops when the driver was released on a citation rather than being arrested. The doctrine had authorized police to search drivers and the interiors of their cars following any traffic stop.
1999 - A civil trial jury in Memphis, TN ruled that the 1968 killing of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was a conspiracy. The jury concluded that Loyd Jowers, a former cafe owner, had conspired with elements of the Memphis Police, the federal government and organized crime to kill King.
2000 - Movies debuting in the U.S.: Dungeons and Dragons (“This is no game.”), starring Justin Whalin, Zoe Mclellan and Jeremy Irons; Proof of Life: “Suspense, suspense. Russell Crowe excellent and mesmerizing, Meg (Ryan) grew for this one ... big time, epic adventure.”; and Vertical Limit (“The Mountain Will Decide.”), starring Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton and Robin Tunney.
2001 - Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch was awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy as the outstanding college football player in the U.S.
2002 - 18-year-old University of Miami student, Devi Sridhar, was one of 32 recipients of the Rhodes scholarship -- and youngest U.S. recipient in the history of the University of Oxford international fellowship program.
2003 - U.S. President George Bush (II) signed into law the Medicare Act of 2003, the biggest expansion of Medicare since its creation in 1965.
2004 - A deranged ‘fan’ charged on stage and opened fire on a heavy metal band at a crowded bar in Columbus, Ohio. 25-year-old Nathan Gale killed heavy metal guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott and three others and wounding two more before being killed by police.
2005 - The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopted a Red Crystal design, allowing Israel to join as a fully-participating member.
2006 - It was opening day for these films in the U.S.: Apocalypto, with Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia; Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Sheen and Stephen Collins; The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell; Off the Black, starring Nick Nolte, Trevor Morgan, Timothy Hutton and Sally Kirkland; and Unaccompanied Minors, with Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Gina Mantegna, Quinn Shephard, Rob Corddry, Donny Osmond, Al Roker, Teri Garr, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, Rob Riggle, BJ Novak, David Koechner, DAVE Gruber Allen and Nick Thune.
2006 - Former San Francisco Giants baseball shortstop Jose Uribe was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. Local police said he was driving to his hometown in San Cristobal province at the time of the crash. Uribe was the Giants’ shortstop for eight seasons, including their 1987 National League western division championship and 1989 NL pennant.
2007 - South Korea’s worst-ever oil spill reached the southwest coastline, polluting beaches with pungent sludge and threatening valuable sea farms.
2008 - The Chicago-based Tribune Company filed for bankruptcy as it struggled with $13 billion in debt and a drop-off in advertising revenue.
2008 - An F/A-18D Hornet (fighter jet) crashed into a residential area in San Diego, about two miles from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as the pilot was returning from a training flight. Two homes were destroyed. Four people, a mother, 2 children and a grandmother, died in one of the houses.
2009 - The U.S. announced said it would pay $3.4 billion to settle claims that it has mismanaged the revenue in American Indian trust funds. The tentative settlement would resolve a 13-year-old lawsuit over hundreds of thousands of land trust accounts that dated back to the 19th century.
2009 - After years of declining ratings, CBS-TV announced the cancellation of As the World Turns. The soap opera had been on the air for more than a half-century. The first show aired April 2, 1956 and the final show was on Sep 17, 2010.
Birthdays December 8
1765 - Eli Whitney
inventor: cotton gin and uniformity method of musket manufacturing: beginning of mass production; died Jan 8, 1825
1861 - William Durant
auto manufacturer: cofounder of Chevrolet, founder of General Motors, Durant Motors; died Mar 18, 1947
1886 - Diego Rivera
artist: politically controversial murals in Ministry of Education Building, National Palace and other government buildings in Mexico City; died Nov 24, 1957
1894 - Elzie Segar
cartoonist: creator of Popeye; died Oct 13, 1938
1894 - James Thurber
writer: New Yorker magazine; author: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, My World and Welcome to It, The Last Flower, Is Sex Necessary?; died Nov 2, 1961
1902 - Oswald Jacoby
bridge player, author, journalist: syndicated bridge columnist [1949-1984], considered the best card player in the world in 1950; died June 27, 1984
1903 - Adele Simpson (Smithline)
fashion designer: “She gave the postwar U.S. its own couture identity.”; died Aug 23, 1995
1911 - Lee J. Cobb
actor: On the Waterfront, The Brothers Karamazov, Death of a Salesman, appeared in over 80 motion pictures; died Feb 11, 1976
1915 - Ernest Lehman
author: The French Atlantic Affair, The Comedian, Sweet Smell of Success; screenwriter: Sabrina, The King and I, Sweet Smell of Success, North by Northwest, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hello, Dolly; died Jul 2, 2005
1925 - Sammy Davis Jr.
entertainer: Sammy and Company, NBC Follies; singer: The Candy Man, What Kind of Fool Am I, Faraway Places, Hey There, Something’s Gotta Give, Love Me or Leave Me, That Old Black Magic, Mr. Wonderful, Too Close for Comfort; group: The Will Mastin Trio; actor: The Kid Who Loved Christmas, Cannonball Run series, Sweet Charity, A Man Called Adam, Robin and the 7 Hoods, The Three Penny Opera, Ocean’s 11, Porgy and Bess, Golden Boy, Mr. Wonderful, Rufus Jones for President; member: The Rat Pack; author: Why Me?; died May 16, 1990
1925 - Hank (Henry Curtis) Thompson
baseball: SL Browns, NY Giants [World Series: 1951, 1954]; died Sep 30, 1969
1928 - Jimmy Smith
Grammy Award-winning musician: modern jazz organist: LP: The Cat [1965]; Walk on the Wild Side; died Feb 8, 2005
1930 - Maximilian Schell
Academy Award-winning actor: Judgment at Nuremberg [1961]; Little Odessa, Abraham, Stalin, The Freshman, Peter the Great, The Chosen, Julia, The Man in the Glass Booth, The Odessa File, Heidi, The Young Lions, Wiseguy
1932 - Michael Levin
actor: Ryan’s Hope, All My Children, As the World Turns
1933 - John Green
basketball: Michigan State
1933 - Flip Wilson
Emmy Award-winning comedy writer: The Flip Wilson Show with Lena Horne and Tony Randall [12/10/70]; comedian: Uptown Saturday Night, The Flip Wilson Show: Geraldine: “The Devil Made Me Do It!”, Charlie & Co.; TV emcee: People are Funny; died Nov 25, 1998
1936 - David Carradine
actor: Karate Cop, Animal Instincts, Double Trouble, Future Zone, Night Children, Future Force, Warlords, The Bad Seed, Lone Wolf McQuade, The Long Riders, Gray Lady Down, Cannonball, Kung Fu: The Movie, North and South Book I & II, Shane, Kung Fu, Kung Fu-The Legend Continues; son of actor John Carradine, brother of actors Keith and Robert Carradine; died June 3, 2009
1937 - James MacArthur
actor: Hawaii Five-O: Dano of “Book ’em, Dano”, Hang ’Em High, Spencer’s Mountain, The Interns, The Swiss Family Robinson; son of actress Helen Hayes; died Oct 28, 2010
1939 - Gordon ‘Red’ Berenson
hockey: U. of Michigan; NHL: Montreal Canadiens, NY Rangers, SL Blues [shares NHL record for goals [4] made in one period [11/7/68], Detroit Red Wings; coach
1939 - Jerry Butler
singer: For Your Precious Love, He Will Break Your Heart, Find Another Girl, I’m Telling You, Moon River, Never Give You Up, Hey Western Union Man, LP: Only the Strong Survive; group: The Impressions
1939 - James Galway
musician: flute: LP: In Ireland
1941 - Bob ‘Boomer’ Brown
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Univ of Nebraska; NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders
1942 - Bobby Elliott
musician: drums: group: The Hollies: Searchin’, Stay, Just One Look, Here I Go Again, We’re Through, Yes I Will, I’m Alive, Look Through Any Window, I Can’t Let Go, Bus Stop, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, The Air That I Breathe
1943 - Jim Morrison
‘The Lizard King’: singer: group: The Doors: Light My Fire, Love Her Madly, Riders on the Storm, When the Music’s Over, People are Strange, Love Me Two Times, Touch Me; died July 3, 1971
1943 - Mary Woronov
actress: Eating Raoul, Rock ’n’ Roll High School
1946 - John Rubinstein
Tony Award-winning actor: Children of a Lesser God [1980]; Crazy Like a Fox, Family, RoboCop the Series: The Future of Law Enforcement; composer: score: The Candidate
1947 - Gregg Allman
musician: keyboards, guitar, singer: Midnight Rider; group: Allman Brothers Band: Ramblin’ Man
1950 - Tim (Timothy John) Foli
baseball: shortstop: NY Mets, Montreal Expos, SF Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1979], California Angels, NY Yankees
1952 - Greg Collins
football: Notre Dame, San Francisco 49ers LB
1953 - Kim Basinger
actress: Ready to Wear, Wayne’s World 2, The Real McCoy, The Getaway, Final Analysis, Cool World, The Marrying Man, Batman, My Stepmother is an Alien, Blind Date, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Natural, Hard Country; former town owner: Braselton, GA; married to actor Alec Baldwin
1953 - Sam Kinison
comedian, actor: The Sam Kinison Family Entertainment Hour, Back to School, Savage Dawn; died Apr 10, 1992
1957 - Phil Collen
musician: guitar: group: Def Leppard: Photograph, Rock of Ages, Foolin’; group: Girl
1961 - Ann Coulter
fire-breathing, right-wing U.S. political commentator, syndicated columnist and author: High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
1964 - Teri Hatcher
actress: Desperate Housewives, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Love Boat, Karen’s Song, MacGyver, Heaven’s Prisoners, Straight Talk, The Cool Surface, Soapdish, Dead in the Water, Tango and Cash, The Big Picture
1966 - Bushwick Bill (Richard Shaw)
Hip Hop artist: group: Geto Boys: Scarface, Balls and My World, My Mind Playin’ Tricks on Me, Straight Gangstaism, Six Feet Deep, World Is a Geto
1966 - Sinéad O’Connor
singer: Nothing Compares to You, My Lagan Love, No Man’s Woman, Emma’s Song, This Is a Rebel Song, Molly Malone, Thank You for Hearing Me
1967 - Jeff George
football [quarterback]: Univ of Illinois; NFL: Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins
1968 - Mike Mussina
baseball [pitcher]: Stanford Univ; NFL: Balitmore Orioles, New York Yankees
1975 - Corey Bradford
football [wide receiver]: Jackson State Univ; NFL: Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans
1975 - Kevin Harvick
NASCAR race car champ: NASCAR Winston West Series [1998], Busch Series [2001], IROC [2002], Brickyard 400 [2003], Busch Series [2006], Daytona 500, Sprint All-Star Race XXIII [2007], Budwesier Shootout [2009]
1976 - Nathan Perrott
hockey [right wing]: NHL: Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars
Chart Toppers December 8
1952You Belong to Me - Jo Stafford
Glow Worm - The Mills Brothers
Because You’re Mine - Mario Lanza
Back Street Affair - Webb Pierce
1961Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean
Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes
Goodbye Cruel World - James Darren
Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke
1970I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family
The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Gypsy Woman - Brian Hyland
Endlessly - Sonny James
1979Babe - Styx
Still - Commodores
Please Don’t Go - K.C. & The Sunshine Band
I Cheated Me Right Out of You - Moe Bandy
1988Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley - Will To Power
Look Away - Chicago
How Can I Fall? - Breathe
I Know How He Feels - Reba McEntire
1997Something About the Way You Look Tonight/Candle in the Wind 1997 - Elton John
You Make Me Wanna... - Usher
How Do I Live - LeAnn Rimes
Love Gets Me Every Time - Shania Twain
2006My Love - Justin Timberlake featuring T.I.
How to Save a Life - The Fray
Smack That - Akon featuring Eminem
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
Enjoy All
Rest In Peace John Lennon