TODAY IS ... 26 OCTOBER

TODAY IS ... 26 OCTOBER

BIRTHDAYS: 1981 - Guy Sebastian - an Australian singer-songwriter, and winner of the first Australian Idol television talent quest in 2003. Since winning the competition he has released four top 4 albums including one #1, all of which have achieved either platinum or multi platinum accreditation. He has also released five top 3 singles which includes four #1's, and three other top 20 and one top 40 single. 1967 - Keith Urban - made his name by mixing Nashville sounds with the scruffy rock-n-roll looks of Kurt Cobain. Urban was born in New Zealand and grew up in Australia; determined to be an entertainer, he quit school as a teenager and began singing and playing guitar professionally. A 1990 record deal with EMI produced his first album, Keith Urban. He is now married to Australia actor Nicole Kidman.

KEITH URBAN

1962 - Cary Elwes - English actor. Film: The Princess Bride (1987, her groom) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993, Robin).

CARY ELWES

1947 - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator, attorney, first lady of 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton. Currently Secretary of State under the Obama Presidency. OTHER EVENTS: 2004 – Forbes Magazine names Elvis Presley the highest-earning dead celebrity. Presley’s estate pulls in around $40 million a year in merchandise sales. John Lennon, George Harrison and Bob Marley also make the Top 10 list. 2001 - President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists. 2000 - Ontario Attorney-General Jim Flaherty requests that Canada's federal government, which handles immigration matters, prevent Eminem from entering the country for a concert at Toronto's SkyDome. The request stems from a complaint filed to the Toronto police hate crimes squad by a community activist who claims that the Interscope rapper's lyrics advocate violence toward women.

EMINEN

1998 – The Recording Industry Association of America is dealt a blow in its battle against the maker of a device that plays music downloaded from the Internet using a technology called MP3, when a federal judge refuses to issue an injunction against the sale of the device. 1993 - Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico open their doors for the night and urges residents to tie black ribbons on trees to protest Madonna's first concert there. 1986 - Donald Duck was shown for the first time in the People’s Republic of China. Chinese television launched a weekly half-hour of old Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse cartoons. We guess “quack” is the same in any language.

DONALD DUCK

1985 – The free-hold title to the ancestral lands around Uluru (Formerly Ayers Rock) was passed back to its Aboriginal owners, the Anangu. They then leased it back to the National Parks And Wildlife Service. Uluru rises 862.5 metres above sea level and is 9.4 kms around the base. Uluru was listed as a site of World Heritage in 1987.

ULURU

1985 – Number One in the US Charts – “Saving All My Love For You” from Whitney Houston. It stayed there for one week. 1982 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Who Can It Be Now?” Men at Work. The song is the 12th No. 1 single to pose a question and the first of two by the Australian band. 1981 - David Copperfield - The magician makes a 7-ton Learjet disappear on live national TV. 1975 – Elton John performs at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, dressed in a sequined Dodger outfit. It’s the last date on his sold-out American tour. 1967 - The Shah of Iran crowned himself and his queen after 26 years on the Peacock Throne. 1963 - Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O’Toole is released in Australia. Epic rumination on a flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during wartime service 1956 - Tommy Steele takes UK rock and roll into chart for the first time with 'Rock with the Cavemen' 1935 - A talented twelve-year-old sang on Wallace Beery’s NBC radio show on NBC. Judy Garland delighted the appreciative audience. The young girl would soon be in pictures and at the top of stardom. It would be only four years before Ms. Garland (George Jessel gave her the name, thinking it would be better than her own, Frances Gumm) captured the hearts of moviegoers everywhere with her performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

Judy Garland

1881 - The gunfight at the OK Corral took place in Tombstone, Ariz., as Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and "Doc" Holliday confronted Ike Clanton's gang. Three members of Clanton's gang were killed; Earp's brothers were wounded. 1863 - Red Cross - Delegates from fourteen nations meet to examine Swiss philanthropist Henri Dunant's plans for an international organization to help the wounded in time of war.