Wednesday, January 20, 2010

TODAY IS ... 20 JANUARY

TODAY IS ... 20 JANUARY

BIRTHDAYS -

1984 - Olivia Hallinan - an English actress best known for her role as Kim in the critically acclaimed Sugar Rush and Ellie in Girls in Love. She also stars as the main character, Laura Timmins in the BBC TV series Lark Rise to Candleford.

1971 - Gary Barlow - an English singer-songwriter, pianist and producer. He is a member of the pop group Take That and was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1990s, penning no fewer than 16 hit singles during the decade.

1966 - Stacey Dash - actress: Clueless, Moving, Mo’ Money, Renaissance Man, Cold Around the Heart, Illegal in Blue, The Strip

1966 - Rainn Wilson - an American actor who is primarily known for his roles as the egomaniacal Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office, the leading role in the 2008 comedy The Rocker, and assistant mortician Arthur Martin in HBO's Six Feet Under.

1958 - Lorenzo Lamas - actor: Falcon Crest, Renegade, SnakeEater, Bad Blood

1946 - David Lynch - American director. Film: Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Dune (1985), and Blue Velvet (1986). TV: Twin Peaks.

1937 - Dorothy Provine - actress: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

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1933 - Earl Grant - singer: [At] The End [Of a Rainbow], Ebb Tide

1930 - Buzz (Edwin) Aldrin Jr. - astronout: Gemini 12 [Nov 11, 1966]: made then-record 5.5 hour space walk; Apollo 11: one of first trio of American men to land on the moon [July 16, 1969]

1926 - Patricia Neal - Academy Award-winning actress: Hud [1963]; All Quiet on the Western Front, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Heidi, In Harm’s Way

1924 - Slim Whitman - singer: Indian Love Call, Secret Love, Rose-Marie, Cattle Call, More Than Yesterday, Guess Who, Something Beautiful [To Remember]; has sold 70,000,000 records worldwide

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1922 - Ray Anthony - bandleader: themes from Dragnet, Peter Gunn; Bunny Hop, Dancing in the Dark, Melody of Love; host of 1950s TV show; film: Daddy Long Legs.

1920 - Federico Fellini - director, screenwriter: Oscar-winning Best foreign-language [Italian] films: La Strada [1956], The Nights of Cabiria [1957], 8 1/2 [1963], Amarcord [1974]

1920 - DeForest Kelley - actor: Star Trek series, Apache Uprising, The Law and Jake Wade, Gunfight at O.K. Corral, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Fear in the Night

OTHER EVENTS –

2009- Standing in front of the U.S. Capitol, a building built mostly by slaves, Barack Obama is inaugurated 44th President of the United States. The first African-American.

2008 – Scouting For Girls went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut and self titled album.

2007 – Darla K. Anderson is awarded the Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures for her work on the Disney/Pixar Cars.

2005 – Oliver Stone directed Alexander which started screening in Australia. It starred Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Alexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest military leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world.

2005 - Disney's London theatrical production Mary Poppins earns 9 Olivier Award nominations

2003 - 8 Mile, starring Eminem toppled The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers from its four-week hold at the top of the UK box office. The story of a Detroit rapper took £4,440,334 at 423 cinemas in the UK and Ireland.

2003 – Backstreet Boys member Kevin Richardson makes his Broadway debut joining the cast of “Chicago.” The singer portrays slick lawyer Billy Flynn, replacing Billy Zane.

2002 - Usher started a four-week run at No.1 on the US singles charts with 'U Got It Bad'.

2002 - Stereophonics started a two-week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with their second No.1 ‘Just Enough Education To Perform.'

2002 - George Harrison had the posthumous UK No.1 single with the re-release of the 1971 former No.1 'My Sweet Lord'. Harrison's single replaced Aaliyah's 'More Than A Woman', the only time in chart history that one deceased artist had taken over from another at No.1.

2002 - Sting won his first Golden Globe for his song "Until" from the "Kate & Leopold" soundtrack.

2001- George W. Bush inaugurated as the 43rd President. He is only the second son of a president to be elected, the other being John Quincy Adams, the son of John Adams. Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of William Henry Harrison. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a second cousin of Teddy Roosevelt.

2001 - Donald Rumsfeld: Rumsfeld becomes the oldest Secretary of Defense in American history. When he took office in 1975, he was the youngest Secretary of Defense in American history.

2000 – Stigmata starring Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Pryce started screening in Australia. A priest from the Vatican is sent in to investigate claims that a small town in Brazil has a church where statues bleed from the eyes. Meanwhile, a young woman in the U.S. begins to show signs of stigmata, the wounds of Christ

2000 - Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s, Girl Interrupted starred Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie and Brittany Murphy. It commenced screening in Australia on this day.

1999 - The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafés.

1997 - Ben and Jerry's introduced ‘Phish food’, a new flavor of ice cream named after the rock group Phish. The ingredients are chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge.

1995 - "Love! Valor! Compassion!" opens at Walter Kerr NYC for 276 performances

1994 – Fatal Instinct starring Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, Kate Nelligan and Sean Young started screening in Australia. A spoof of the late 80s and early 90s suspense thrillers and murder mysteries, including Basic Instinct, Sleeping With The Enemy, Cape Fear and others.

1991 - "Black and Blue" closes at Minskoff Theater New York City after 829 performances

1990 - Michael Bolton started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'How Am I Supposed To Live Without You', the singers first No.1 and the first No.1 single of the 90's in the US.

1990 - Although nominated for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical, The Little Mermaid is edged out by Driving Miss Daisy at the Golden Globe Awards. The Little Mermaid does win Best Original Song - Motion Picture for "Under the Sea" - written by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman. Ironically they beat out another of their own tunes nominated - "Kiss the Girl" also from The Little Mermaid. Alan Menken is awarded Best Original Score - Motion Picture for his work on The Little Mermaid.

1988 - The Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Yoko, Sean, and Julian Lennon all attend. Paul McCartney does not attend, sending instead a letter stating that continuing business differences with the other ex-Beatles was the reason for his absence.

1988 - The Third Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York City. Inductees include The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan, and The Supremes. Beach Boy Mike Love raises eyebrows with his acceptance speech, which methodically insults most of the honorees

1987 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “At This Moment,” Billy Vera & the Beaters. The song takes off after being featured in several episodes of the NBC-TV show “Family Ties.”

1987 - Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon. He was there attempting to negotiate the release of Western hostages. He was not freed until November 1991.

1986 – Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan appeared at a concert to celebrate the first Martin Luther King day in the US.

1986 - New footage of the 1931 horror classic, Frankenstein, was found. It depicted the monster, played by Boris Karloff, throwing a girl into a lake and showed a hypodermic needle in the monster’s arm! Yeeeeeow! The scenes had been cut because they were considered too shocking for the 1930’s theatre crowd. They have since been put back in and the film has been rereleased.

1986 - Britain and France announced their plans to build the Channel Tunnel.

1985 - Foreigner had their only UK No.1 single with 'I Want To Know What Love Is'. London-born Mick Jones wrote the song and sang lead vocals with the British-American rock band.

1982 - Stiff Little Fingers played the first night of an 11- date tour at The Tower in Hull, promoting their new 4-track EP. The press ads said, 'Pay no more than £1.10, more cuts than Maggie Thatcher.'

1982- SONY introduced the Camcorder, the personal video camera.

1981- As President Reagan was being sworn in, the hostages taken at the United States Embassy in Teheran were released after being held for 444 days. Years later it was revealed a deal was made with the Iranian militants to release the hostages in exchange for a ransom of weapons.

1980 - Olympic boycott: Pres. Carter announces that the U.S. will boycott the Moscow Summer Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

1979 - Chic appeared at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The group's latest single 'Le Freak' had reached No.7 on the UK chart.

1977 – No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “I Wish,” Stevie Wonder. The song is the first single from the album “Songs in the Key of Life,” which is only the third album to debut at No. 1 on Chart Toppers’s Top Pop Albums chart.

1975 - The US Top 5 singles: No.5, Stevie Wonder, 'Boogie On Reggae Woman', No.4, Ohio Players, 'Fire', No.3, Barry Manilow, 'Mandy', No.2, Neil Sedaka, 'Laughter In The Rain', No.1, The Carpenters, 'Please Mr Postman'.

1973 - Following his newfound success as a country and western artist, Jerry Lee Lewis finally takes the stage at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.

1973 – Bob Dylan begins recording in Mexico City the soundtrack to Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, a Western starring Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn and himself.

1972 - On the first date of a UK tour, Pink Floyd premiered their new album Dark Side Of The Moon at The Dome, Brighton, England.

1969 - Richard Nixon sworn in as President capping one of the most amazing comebacks in political history. After losing to Kennedy in 1960 Nixon lost yet again to Pat Brown for the governorship of California and was considered politically finished. Anybody remember Michael Dukakis, Dan Quayle or Fritz Mondale, Yet Nixon worked on his image over the years and re-emerged in 1968 as “The New Dick”.

1969 – Shooting for the Beatles documentary Let It Be moves to the basement of 3 Saville Row, where Apple have their headquarters and the Beatles have put in a new recording studio

1968, One hit wonders John Fred and the Playboy Band started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Judy In Disguise, (With Glasses)', it made No.3 in the UK. The song was inspired by The Beatles 'Lucy In The Sky'.

1969 - Bruce Springsteen had two of his poems published in the Ocean County College Literary Yearbook Seascapes. Springsteen was in his second semester at the Toms River, New Jersey College. 1970, during a UK tour Led Zeppelin appeared at Leeds Town Hall, England.

1967 - The Monkees TV show was shown for the first time in the UK.

1967 – Paul McCartney records his vocal for the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”. John Sings the main theme while Paul singer the middle section.

1967 - Arthur Conley recorded "Sweet Soul Music".

1966 - The Spencer Davis Group were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Keep On Running'.

1965 - The Rolling Stones and the Kinks both make their debut on ABC's Shindig! along with guests Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Bobby Vee, Bobby Sherman and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

1964 - The trial of the perpetrators of Britain's Great Train Robbery begins.

1964 - The album "Meet the Beatles" is released in the U.S. on Capitol Records. It's the British group's U.S. debut LP.

1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the youngest man, and first-ever Roman Catholic, to become elected President of the United States. John F. Kennedy gave his famous inaugural speech:”Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Outgoing President Eisenhower disliked JFK personally and was angry that his election seemed a repudiation of his policies, so almost nothing was said between them in the limousine during the drive to the ceremony. John Kennedy also went through that day mostly hatless, inaugurating the fashion. Before JFK, a man was not fully dressed without a fedora or cap of some sort.

1958 - Rick Nelson started a two-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 'Ricky'.

1958 - Radio station KWK in St. Louis, MO, finishes its "Record Breaking Week" of weeding out rock and roll and rhythm and blues records from its playlist. Records were spun once, then broken on air.

1958 - Elvis Presley receives his draft notice in Memphis, TN. It allows a sixty-day deferment for the King to finish his film King Creole.

1958 - "Get a Job" by the Silhouettes was released.

1954 - Lowest recorded temperature in the continental U.S., -69.7º in Rogers Pass, Montana.

1953 - A television show was transmitted from the United States to Canada for the first time. The CBS Television production of Studio One was transmitted to CBLT-TV in Canada.

1952 - Patricia McCormick debuted as the first professional woman bullfighter! She got herself two bulls in the contest held in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

1950 - Disney's Donald Duck short Lion Around, featuring the voice of Clarence Nash, is released. Donald's nephews use a mountain lion costume to scare Donald away so they can grab a pie off the windowsill. Their trick is exposed ... but a short while later, a real mountain lion comes along!

1942 - Harry Babbitt sang as Kay Kyser and his orchestra recorded, Who Wouldn’t Love You, on Columbia Records. The record went on to be a big hit for Kyser.

1937- Franklin D. Roosevelt inaugurated for his second term after defeating Gov. Alf Landon of Kansas. He is the first president to be inaugurated in January instead of the customary March 4th. The Depression was still going, despite many of his efforts, he gives the inaugural speech decrying the rampant poverty in the U.S. "I see one third of the nation, ill-housed, ill-fed, ill-clothed, living in conditions far beneath the minimum standards we regard as decent, etc."

1929 - In Old Arizona was released. The movie was the first full-length talkie to be filmed outdoors. Mainly, the great outdoors of the states of Utah and California.

1841 - The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain; it returned to Chinese control in July 1997.

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