Today in History: Friday, February 16, 2024

Television
The Beatles made their second appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on CBS in 1964…The character of genetically-enhanced human Khan Noonien Singh, portrayed by Ricardo Montalban, made his first appearance on NBC’s “Star Trek” in 1967 in an episode entitled “Space Seed“. Fifteen years later, Montalban returned to the franchise again as Khan, the primary villain of the theatrical feature film “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan“…Telly Savalas reprised his classic role as Lt. Theo Kojak in TV movie “Kojak: The Belarus File” in 1985.  Four years later, “Kojak” was one of the rotating elements on the “ABC Mystery Movie,“ and Ving Rhames inherited the part for the short-lived revival on USA in 2005-06…In 1995, Carl Reiner returned as Alan Brady from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” on NBC’s “Mad About You” and he won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series…Also on NBC in 1995, in an episode of sitcom “Seinfeld“, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) wishes for her chiropractor friend Wendy (Wendie Malick) to change her 60’s-style hairdo while Kramer (Michael Richards) attempts to create a Utopian society by displaying pictures of all the residents in the apartment building on the wall of the lobby…”Survivor: Redemption Island“, the 22nd season of the long-running reality competition series “Survivor“, premiered on CBS in 2011. It was the first season where voted-off contestants would be able to re-enter the game via competition duels amongst each other. Popular castaways “Boston” Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz returned to compete alongside 18 other castaways, notably including Andrea Boehlke, Phillip Sheppard, Matt Elrod and Francesca Hogi…Also in 2011, “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” debuted on CBS. The spin-off of “Criminal Minds“, which starred Forest Whitaker, Janeane Garofalo, and, from the parent series, Kirsten Vangsness, did not last past its 13-episode initial season…Disney Channel family sitcom “Good Luck Charlie” starring Brigit Mendler concluded its four-season run in 2014. It was among the most-watched series in the network’s history, having peaked in June 2012 at 7.5 million viewers when the Duncans welcomed a baby boy named Toby, their fifth child… Animated series “Duncanville” debuted on Fox in 2020. It features the voices of Amy Poehler, Ty Burrell, Rashida Jones and rapper Wiz Khalifa  It’s currently in its second season.
 
Movies:
Screwball comedy “Bringing Up Baby” starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant opened in theaters in 1938. The film tells the story of a paleontologist in a number of predicaments involving a scatterbrained heiress and a leopard named Baby…Swedish film classic “The Seventh Seal” starring Max Von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot was released in 1957.

Music:
In 2015, CBS aired the music special “Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life — An All-Star Grammy Salute“. Among the artists paying tribute to Wonder and performing his biggest hits were Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Babyface, John Legend, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Annie Lennox, Pharrell Williams, Tony Bennett, Andrea Bocelli and Jennifer Hudson.

Sports:
Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers became the first player in NBA history to reach the career 30,000 point mark during a 110-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns in 1972…The U.S. female Figure Skating championship was won by Tonya Harding in 1991… Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), WWE’s prime time offering alongside their “Raw” and “SmackDown” series, concluded after four years in 2010. Its entire run had aired on Syfy… the 69th NBA All-Star Game in 2020 was held in Chicago, Ill. and incorporated a new format: each of the first three quarters was a separate game; the last quarter used the Elam Ending rule as a tribute to the No. 24, the former jersey number of basketball legend Kobe Bryant who had tragically died in a helicopter crash three weeks prior. Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard was the game’s Most Valuable Player; its award newly named after Kobe Bryant who had been an All-Star Game MVP four times throughout his career, tied for the most with Bob Pettit.

Celebrity Birthdays:
“Roots” star LeVar Burton is 67; rapper and “Law & Order: SVU” star Ice T is 66; R&B singer The Weeknd is 34.
 
Did You Know?
“Kojak” on CBS finished its first season in 1973-74 ranked No. 7 overall in primetime in a tie with CBS’ “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.” CBS had 9 of the top 10 shows that season, with “All in the Family” No. 1 at a 31.2 household rating (according to Nielsen). Next was “The Waltons” at a 28.1 rating, followed by NBC’s “Sanford and Son” (27.5), “MASH” (25.7), “Hawaii Five-O” (24.0), “Maude” (23.5), aforementioned “Kojak” and “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” (23.3 each), “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Cannon” (tied at a 23.3 rating).