Today in History: Friday, April 9, 2021

Television and Radio:
Animated special “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” launched on CBS in 1974…Johnny Carson hosted “The Academy Awards” for the first time in 1979. “The Deer Hunter” was named Best Picture…In 1980, the Madison Square Garden Sports Network relaunched as USA Network…Also in 1980 was the debut of CBS made-for television movie “Nurse,“ starring Michael Learned (“The Waltons”) and “The Brady Bunch’s” Robert Reed. It led to the short-lived drama, which resulted in Learned’s fourth Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama…“The Jeffersons” spin-off “Checking In,” starring Marla Gibbs,” debuted in 1981. It aired for only four episodes…Also on CBS in 1981 was the launch of another failed comedy, “Park Place,“ starring Rhoda and Brenda Morgenstern’s TV Dad Harold Gould…In 1985, Patty Duke debuted on short-lived ABC comedy “Hail to the Chief”…The producers of the original “Dallas” on CBS announced in 1986 that Patrick Duffy would be returning after his one-season absence, which led to his character, Bobby Ewing, stepping out of the shower at the end of the season. It was all a dream!…Eight short-lived series launched: 1) newspaper staff drama “Capitol News” on ABC in 1990 starring Lloyd Bridges; 2) Aaron Spelling soap opera “Pacific Palisades” on Fox in 1997; 3) improvisational comedy “Thank God You’re Here” on NBC in 2007 hosted by David Alan Grier with Dave Foley as judge; 4) police drama “Southland” on NBC in 2009; 4) horror mystery “Harper’s Island” on CBS in 2009; 5 and 6) reality series “Ready for Love” on NBC and “The Kandi Factory” on Bravo, both in 2013; 7) comedy “The Comedians” on FX in 2015 starring Billy Crystal and Josh Gad; and 8) AMC talk show “Talking with Chris Hardwick” in 2017…Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore) got whacked in the second season finale of HBO’s “The Sopranos” in 2000…“Pacific Blue”, the hour-long cop series often referred as “Baywatch on Bikes”, concluded its five-season run on USA Network in 2000…Seven short-lived series concluded: 1) medical drama “Gideon’s Crossing” on ABC in 2001 starring Andre Braugher; 2) legal drama “The Court” on ABC in 2002 starring Sally Field; 3) legal drama “The D.A.” on ABC in 2004; 4) Bonnie Hunt sitcom “Life With Bonnie” on ABC in 2004; 5) Fox sitcom “Free Ride” in 2006; and 6 and 7) comedies “The Tick” on Amazon and ABC’s “Splitting Up Together” in 2019…“Parks and Recreation”, the “Office”-like mockumentary style comedy from former “Office” writers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, debuted on NBC in 2009. It starred Amy Poehler as mid-level bureaucrat Leslie Knope. Also featured in the cast: Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir, Retta and Ben Schwartz. It aired for seven seasons. An original episode was produced to help support the charity Feeding America in response to COVID-19 in April 2020… With earnings of $110,914, James Holzhauer first surpassed the single-day winnings record on syndicated game show “Jeopardy!” in 2019. The previous record was set by Roger Craig when he won $77,000 on the show’s Sep. 14, 2010 episode. Throughout his 32-game winning streak, Holzhauer would top Craig’s single-day mark a whopping 16 times.

Movies:
“West Side Story” was named Best Picture at the 34th Annual Academy Awards. Sophia Loren (“Two Women”) and Maximillian Schell (“Judgement At Nuremburg”) were named Best Lead Actress and Best Lead Actor, respectively…Alfred Hitchcock’s final film, “Family Plot,“ opened in theaters in 1976…Also in 1976 in movie theaters was the opening of “All the President’s Men,” starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman…“The Deer Hunter” was named Best Picture at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979. Jane Fonda and Jon Voight were Named Best Lead Actor and Actress for “Coming Home”…Best Picture Oscar winner “Chariots of Fire” opened in theaters in 1982…“Terms of Endearment” was named Best Picture at the 56th Academy Awards in 1984. Robert Duvall (“Tender Mercies”) and “Shirley MacLaine” (Terms of Endearment”) won in the lead acting categories.

Music:
Paul McCartney announced he was leaving “The Beatles” in 1970…In 1977, ABBA song “Dancing Queen” hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Sports:
The Astrodome in Houston, Tex. hosted its first baseball game in 1965 — an exhibition contest between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees. It was the first MLB game to be held indoors.

Celebrity Birthdays:
“The Waltons” star Michael Learned is 82; Actor Dennis Quaid is 67; “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough is 58; model Paulina Porizkova is 56; “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon is 55; “Cosby Show” star Keshia Knight Pulliam is 42; “Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam is 41; Leighton Meester (“Gossip Girl”) is 35; actress Kristen Stewart (“Panic Room”) is 31; Jackie Evancho (“America’s Got Talent”) is 21.

Did You Know?:
The premise behind sitcom “Checking In” was Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston accepting a job to become the executive housekeeper at the fictional St. Frederick Hotel in New York City. When the spinoff was canceled, Florence returned “The Jeffersons” as the family’s housekeeper after the St. Frederick Hotel burned down…According to Patrick Duffy, not even the cast, crew, or CBS executives knew the scene had been shot when Bobby stepped out of the shower on “Dallas.“ It was edited in less than an hour before airtime; Victoria Principal, who played Pam, hadn’t even been on set with Duffy and she was reacting to another actor in the shower.