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This Day in History: Wednesday, November 17, 2021

© by www.nationalgeographic.org

Television and Radio
NBC broke away from a pro football game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders in 1968 to air a TV movie adaptation of “Heidi,” sparking furious protest. From that point on, all televised NFL football games have been shown in their entirety, taking precedence over subsequent programming…In 1973, Mary (Mary Tyler Moore) enlisted Sue Ann’s (Betty White) help in a dinner party she was preparing for a Congresswoman on CBS’ “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”…Two-part miniseries “Salem’s Lot,“ based on the horror novel of the same name by Stephen King, premiered on CBS in 1979. It starred David Soul and James Mason.
 
Movies:
“Yentl,”  produced, directed and starring Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin, opened in theaters in 1983. It was based on Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer’s play of the same name, which itself was based on Singer’s short story “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy”…”Twilight,“ based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, premiered in Los Angeles in 2008.
 
Music:
The Madonna compilation album “You Can Dance” was released in 1987…Whitney Houston released single “My Love is Your Love” in 1998…Also in 1998: Mariah Carey released single “#1’s.“

History
Abraham Lincoln began the first draft of his Gettysburg Address in 1863.

Merchandising:
Sony’s PlayStation 3 went on sale in the United States in 2006. The PlayStation 3 competed primarily against Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.
 
Celebrity Birthdays:
Director Martin Scorsese is 78; “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Danny DeVito is 76; TV show host RuPaul is 60; actress Daisy Fuentes is 54; actress Rachel McAdams (“Wedding Crashers”) is 42.

Did You Know?
Betty White, who joined the cast of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in season four, was originally signed as a guest star. But the character of Sue Ann Nivens became so popular she was upped to regularly scheduled status and won two Emmy Awards for her efforts.