Today in History – Friday, January 29, 2021

Television and Radio
“The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” debuted on CBS in 1969. It ran through June 13, 1972 and is considered one of the victims of the “rural purge”…Shades of “I Love Lucy”: Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) and Jack (John Ritter) got handcuffed together on ABC sitcom “Three’s Company” in 1980. Early the following season, Somer’s demands at contract re-negotiation time (from a reported $30,000 to $150,000 per episode, plus 10 percent of the show’s profits) resulted in her untimely firing and the arrival of Jenilee Harrison as Chrissy’s cousin Cindy on December 16, 1980. Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden was introduced at the beginning of season six on October 6, 1981…Two short-lived series with female leads debuted: private eye drama “Cassie and Co.” starring Angie Dickinson on NBC in 1982; and sitcom “City” starring Valerie Harper on CBS in 1990…Children’s series “Shining Time Station,” featuring Ringo Starr and George Carlin, began its three season morning run on PBS in 1989.

Movies:
“Dr. Strangelove”, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, opened in theaters in 1964…Marvel film “Black Panther” starring the late Chadwick Boseman premiered in Los Angeles in 2018.

Music:
Reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Car Wash” by Rose Royce in 1977; “I Knew I Loved You” by Savage Garden in 2000.
 
Sports:
The first players were elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson…Jim Thorpe, Red Grange and George Halas were elected to the Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

News:
Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “Raven” was first published in 1845…The U.S. postal service issued a stamp commemorating chemist Percy Lavon Julian in 1993…The U.S. postal service issued a 39-cent stamp in 2006 featuring Hattie McDaniel in the dress she wore in 1940 when she became the first African-American actress to accept an Academy Award.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actress Katharine Ross is 81; “Blue Bloods” star Tom Selleck is 76; actor Marc Singer (“Beastmaster”) is 73; actress Ann Jillian (“It’s A Living”) is 71; former lead singer of The Gap Band Charlie Wilson is 68; producer-entrepreneur Oprah Winfrey is 67; actress Judy Norton (“The Waltons”) is 63; American Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis is 61; actor Nicholas Turturro (“NYPD Blue”) is 59; director-actor Ed Burns (“Bridge and Tunnel”) is 53; actor Sam Trammell (“True Blood”) is 52; actress Heather Graham (“Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”) is 51; “The “Conners” star Sara Gilbert is 46; “This Is Us” star Justin Hartley is 44; “American Idol” season 8 runner-up Adam Lambert is 39.

Did You Know?
At age 81, Len Cariou as Henry Reagan on CBS crime solver “Blue Bloods” is only five years older than his TV son Tom Selleck…In addition to “City”, Valerie Harper also headlined sitcom “The Office” in 1995, which is no relation to the the long-running comedy on NBC of the same name. It aired for just six episodes.