Today in History: Friday, December 22, 2023

Television
It’s a boy! Archie’s (Carroll O’Connor) little “goil”, Gloria (Sally Struthers), gave birth to baby Joey on “All in the Family” in 1975…The oil rig Steven was working on exploded on ABC drama “Dynasty” in 1982, one of the many troubles facing the fictional Carrington clan. Fortunately, he was alive, but no one seemed to notice that he had a new face (courtesy of Jack Coleman replacing the departed Al Corley).

Movies:
Musical “Flying Down to Rio”, featuring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their first film together, opened in New York City in 1932…“The Mummy” starring Boris Karloff was released in the U.S. in 1932. In the film, an ancient Egyptian mummy named Imhotep who is discovered by a team of archaeologists and inadvertently brought back to life through a magic scroll…“Doctor Zhivago” directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie premiered in New York City in 1965…“The Graduate” directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft opened in theaters in 1967… Two notable films starring Tom Hanks were released: “Philadelphia” in 1993, which also starred Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas; and “Cast Away” directed by Robert Zemeckis and also starring Helen Hunt in 2000…Two films opened in 1989: “Tango & Cash” starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell; and “Always”, directed by Stephen Spielberg and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Brad Johnson and Audrey Hepburn in her final film role…”Miss Congeniality” starring Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt and William Shatner was released in 2000.

Music and Videos:
In 1958, “The Chipmunk Song”, featuring the singing skills of Alvin and the Chipmunks, rose to No. 1 on the Billboard charts…Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” single rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Music Charts in 1984 and remained there for six weeks… also reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes in 1979; “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback in 2001.

News:
In 1941, Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper made their debut in the comic book “Pep Comics“… The first Corvette, a production-ready prototype, was completed in 1952.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actor Hector Elizondo (“Pretty Woman”) is 87; baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton is 79; journalist Diane Sawyer is 78; motivational speaker Susan Powter is 66; Ralph Fiennes (“Schindler’s List”) is 61; actress Dina Meyer (“Starship Troopers”) is 55; actress Heather Donahue (“The Blair Witch Project”) is 49; actor Chris Carmack (“The O.C.”) is 43; “American Idol” season 6 winner Jordan Sparks is 34; rapper Jonathan Kirk aka DaBaby is 32; Pop singer Meghan Trainor is 30.

Did You Know?
Three years after “The Chipmunk Song” came “The Alvin Show” in 1961, the first animated series to feature Alvin, Simon, Theodore and manager David Seville. The series was initially telecast in black and white, but was later colorized for rebroadcasts. These episodes began airing in 1965 on CBS and have since aired at various intervals on other stations.