This Day in History: Monday, May 23, 2022

Television
The BBC ordered 13 episodes of “Monty’s Python’s Flying Circus” in 1969…Two “Star Trek” series concluded: Syndicated “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in 1994 and “Star Trek: Voyager” on UPN in 2001…Also ending were: ABC family dramedy “Eight is Enough” after five seasons in 1981; ABC sitcom “Full House” after eight seasons in 1995, The WB sitcom “Sister, Sister” after five-and-one-half seasons in 1999 (its first 1.5 seasons were on ABC), ABC drama “Lost” after six seasons in 2010; and CBS procedural “NCIS: New Orleans” after seven seasons in 2021…A bizarre moment: Tom Cruise professed his love for his then girlfriend Katie Holmes by jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch in his infamous appearance on the daytime syndicated talker “Oprah” in 2005.

Movies
The horror classic “The Shining”, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, was released in theaters in 1980. It starred Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall…“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, the second in the film series, directed by Stephen Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford, opened in theaters in 1984…President Ronald Reagan awarded Jimmy Stewart the Presidential Medal of Freedom and promoted him to Major General on the Retired List in 1985.

Music
Rapper Eminem released “The Marshall Mathers LP” in 2000, which became the fastest-selling album in the history of rap.

Sports
In his 20th World Heavyweight Boxing title Joe Louis knocked out Buddy Baer in round 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1940.

News 
Benjamin Franklin announced his invention of bifocals in 1785…Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the notorious American outlaws, were killed in a police shoot-out near Gibsland, Louisiana in 1934.

Celebrity Birthdays
Actress Barbara Barrie is 91; actress Joan Collins (“Dynasty”) is 89; actor Charles Kimbrough (“Murphy Brown”) is 86; actress Lauren Chapin (“Father Knows Best”) is 77; New York Mets manager Buck Showalter is 66; author Mitch Albom is 64; comedian Drew Carey is also 64; actor Linden Ashby (“Melrose Place”) is 62; actress-model Karen Duffy is 61; actress Melissa McBride (“The Walking Dead”) is 57; actress Laurel Holloman (“The L Word”) is 54; singer Maxwell is 49; singer Jewel is 48; actor LaMonica Garrett (“Designated Survivor,” ″Sons of Anarchy”) is 47; actor Adam Wylie (“Picket Fences”) is 38; director Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) is 36; Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Donald is 31.

Did You Know?
The cast of “Eight Is Enough” reunited for two TV movies: “Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion” in 1987 and “An Eight Is Enough Wedding” in 1989.” In “Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion,” the gang gathered for Tom’s (Dick Van Patten) 50th birthday. That means when the series began Tom was only 16 when David (Grant Goodeve) was born…Matthew Fox found his second regularly scheduled series success after “Party of Five” on “Lost,“ of course. But the original plan for his character, Jack Shephard, was to be killed by the monster in the pilot episode after the airplane crash. And the actor cast in the role was Michael Keaton. But ABC told the producers that they shouldn’t kill off the hero so soon in the series and the script was changed. After the change, Michael Keaton backed out of the role because he did not want to commit to a regular series.