Today in History: Sunday, May 5, 2024

Television and Radio:
In 1979, ABC announced six new series to debut in the 1979-80 TV season: Sitcoms “The Associates,” “Nobody’s Perfect” (originally titled “Hart in San Francisco“) and “Benson;” and dramas “240-Robert,” “The Lazarus Syndrome,“ and “Hart to Hart,” the latter from Aaron Spelling and starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. Only “Benson” and “Hart to Hart” were successful…“The Harlem Globetrotters Meet Gilligan’s Island,“ the third — and final — television movie in the franchise — aired in 1981. This time, Ginger was played by Constance Forslund…Action crime drama “Hardcastle and McCormick” concluded its three-season run on ABC in 1986. The series starred Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh Kelly…The last original episode produced of sitcom “Brothers”  aired on Showtime in 1989. The series starred Paul Regina as a man who walks away from his bride at the alter on their wedding day, only to reveal to his two older brothers (Robert Walden and Brandon Maggart) that he is gay. It ran for five seasons and 115 episodes. One month later, Showtime aired a “lost episode” initially intended for its third season but instead served as a clip show of the series’ highlights…In 1992, made-for TV movie “Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo” featured the legal eagle (Raymond Burr) investigating the murder of a sleazy talk show host (Geraldo Rivera)…Time-travel comedy-drama “Quantum Leap” ended its five-season run on NBC in 1993. The series, created by prolific showrunner Donald P. Bellisario, starred Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. While never a mass appeal hit, “Quantum Leap” is an early example of a TV series that demonstrated the importance of the young adult demographics…The final episode produced of sitcom “Married with Children” aired on Fox in 1997. It marked an end to its 10 and one-half season run. The network at the time did not cancel the series until after the episode aired, so there was no official conclusion. An original episode previously filmed during the season aired on June 9, 1997…ABC TGIF sitcom “Boy Meets World” concluded its seven-season run on this day in 2000. The cast was reunited for spin-off “Girl Meets World”, which aired on Disney Channel from 2014 to 2016…In 2009, The CW announced plans it will turn over its Sunday night schedule back to its affiliates. Thanks to the gradual increased presence of superhero fare on the network throughout the 2010’s, The CW returned to programming on Sundays, starting in the fall of 2019 with the series premiere of “Batwoman”…Six short-lived series concluded: CBS science fiction dramedy “Now and Again” in 2000; ABC drama “Red Widow” in 2013; The CW science fiction drama “The Tomorrow People” in 2014; ABC fantasy crime drama “Forever” and Fox young adult comedy “Weird Loners” — both in 2015; and ABC farm comedy “Bless This Mess” in 2020…Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kim Raver and William Devane returned to the “24” franchise in the ninth season entitled “24: Live Another Day” which premiered on Fox in 2014. First promoted during Fox’s telecast of the Super Bowl three months prior, the highly-anticipated season took place in London, England four years following the events of the final season of the series’ original eight-season run (from May 2010)…“The Spanish Princess”, the 16th century-set drama based on the life of Catherine of Aragon who eventually became the Queen of England and the first wife of King Henry VIII, premiered on Starz in 2019. The  first eight episodes of the 16-episode limited series aired in the summer of 2019; the latter eight aired in the fall of 2020.

Movies:
Theatrical “Gladiator,” starring Oscar winner Russell Crowe, opened in 2000. “Gladiator” was the second highest-grossing film of 2000 with $187.7 million in the United States and $457 million worldwide

Music:
The “West Side Story” soundtrack album went No. 1 stayed No. 1 for 54 straight weeks in 1962, which is more than any other album historically…Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) released the music video to new single “This is America” in 2018.

News:
CBS News announced several anchor shifts in 2019: Norah O’Donnell to “CBS Evening News”, Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil to the weekday edition of “CBS This Morning” and John Dickerson to “60 Minutes”.

Sports:
At the 99th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1973, legendary horse Secretariat is victorious by a time of 1 minute and 59.4 seconds. To date, it is the fastest time in Kentucky Derby history. With jockey Ron Turcotte, Secretariat would eventually become that year’s Triple Crown winner.., In 2020, ESPN premiered live weekday coverage of the KBO League, the top level of professional baseball in South Korea. Due to that country’s effective prevention of major coronavirus outbreaks, the KBO League was one of the first sports leagues in the world to resume play. In the United States, KBO games’ start times were in the overnight hours.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actor Michael Murphy is 86; Actor Lance Henriksen (“Millennium,” ″Aliens”) is 84; comedian-actor Michael Palin (Monty Python) is 81; Actor John Rhys Davies (“Lord of the Rings,” ″Raiders of the Lost Ark”) is 80; former MTV News correspondent Kurt Loder is 79; MSNBC’s Brian Williams is 65; “Sons of Anarchy” and “Mayans M.C.” creator Kurt Sutter is 64; game show host Todd Newton is 54; TV personality Kyan Douglas (“Rachael Ray,” “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy”) is 54; “Family Ties” star Tina Yothers is 51; actor Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”) is 45; “Boy Meets World”/”Girl Meets World” star Danielle Fishel is 43; singer Craig David is 43; actor Henry Cavill (“The Tudors”) is 41; Grammy Award winner Adele is 36; Brooke Hogan (“Hogan Knows Best”) is also 36; singer Chris Brown is 35.

-Did You Know?:
Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal are remembered for their roles as Al and Peg Bundy Bundy on “Married with Children.” But the parts were originally offered to Sam Kinison and Roseanne Barr…Contrary to the rumors, the Bundys were not named after serial killer Ted Bundy…According to Lloyd Schwartz, the son of “The Brady Bunch” creator Sherwood Schwartz, there was talk of doing a theatrical where “The Brady Bunch” meets “Gilligan’s Island.“ Had it been produced, Jan would have probably been left on the island!