Today in History: Saturday, June 8, 2024

Television:
ABC sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter” concluded its four season run in 1979. By that time, both Gabe Kaplan and John Travolta were no longer series regulars and Marcia Strassman as Julie Kotter was suddenly working at James Buchanan High School as the office secretary and substitute teacher…ABC comedy “The Slap Maxwell Story” starring Dabney Coleman ended after one season in 1988…Daytime talk show “Forgive or Forget” began its summer trial run In syndication in 1998. It received good enough ratings to warrant a full season beginning later that fall. When the audience declined in its second season, there was a host change from Mother Love to former “Head of the Class” star Robin Givens. But the revamp could not salvage the show and it concluded in the spring of 2000…The series finale of animated comedy “Hey Arnold!” aired on Nickelodeon in 2004. Five seasons and 100 episodes were produced across eight years…Reality series “Blow Out” featuring celebrity hair stylist Jonathan Antin debuted on Bravo in 2004. It ran for three condensed seasons…Fox debuted two summer series, each of which were short-lived: legal drama “The Jury” in 2004, and crime drama “The Inside” in 2005…Teen thriller “Pretty Little Liars” debuted on ABC Family in 2010. The series about four former high school friends who reunite while their deepest darkest secrets become exposed by a mysterious figure starred headed by Troian Bellisario, Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, and Shay Mitchell. With 160 episodes across seven seasons, it was the longest-running scripted series in the ABC Family/Freeform era. And it also demonstrated the value of social media interest…Teen sitcom “Sam & Cat” starring Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande as roommates who embark on a babysitting business debuted on Nickelodeon in 2013. The series, which was a spinoff of both “iCarly” and “Victorious“, ran for 35 episodes…The second – and final – season of science fiction drama “Sense8” was released on Netflix in 2018. The series about a group of strangers who become psychically connected was created by “The Matrix” directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski… Syndicated “Crime Watch Daily” concluded its three-year run in 2018…Kids comedy “Game Shakers” ended its three-season run on Nickelodeon in 2019. It starred Kel Mitchell.

Music:
Bing Crosby recorded single “Silent Night” in 1942.

Sports:
Legendary tennis players won the French Open tournament: Rod Laver in 1969, Bjorn Borg in 1980, Chris Evert in 1985, Ivan Lendl in 1986, Monica Seles in 1991, Steffi Graf in 1996, Serena Williams in 2002 and 2013, Rafael Nadal in 2008 and 2014.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actor James Darren is 88; singer Nancy Sinatra is 84; singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is 82; singer Boz Scaggs is 80; actress Sonia Braga is 74; actress Kathy Baker (“Picket Fences”) is also 74; pop singer Bonnie Tyler is 73; actor Griffin Dunne (“This Is Us”) is 69; “Dilbert” cartoonist Scott Adams is 67; actor-director Keenan Ivory Wayans is 66; singer Mick Hucknall of Simply Red is 64; keyboardist Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran is 62; actress Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife,” ″ER”) is 57; actor Dan Futterman (“Judging Amy”) is also 57; actress Kelli Williams (“The Practice”) is 54; actor Mark Feuerstein (“West Wing,” ″Royal Paijs”) is 53; American tennis player Lindsay Davenport is 48; rapper Kanye West is 47; TV host Maria Menounos is 46; Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters is 41.

Did You Know?
At least three spin-offs From “Welcome Back, Kotter” were considered, but only one — the short-lived “Mr. T and Tina” starring Pat Morita in 1976 — ever became a series. There was also talk of developing a spin-off built around Arnold Horshack (Ron Pallillo) and his family titled “Rich Man, Poor Man; Horshack!”, but it never went beyond the backdoor stage. And, in the mid-1990s, Robert Hegyes (Juan Epstein) announced on daytime talker “The Jenny Jones Show” that plans were in the works to create a spin-off featuring the Sweathogs, all grown up, minus John Travolta’s Vinnie Barbarino. But the proposed project never got off the ground.