Today in History: Friday, March 17, 2023

Television
“The Phil Silvers Show,” “Producer’s Showcase,” “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Lassie” were named Best Comedy, Dramatic, Variety and Children’s Series at the 8th Annual Emmy Awards in 1956. The Best Actress (Continuing Performance) was everyone’s favorite redhead, Lucille Ball, for “I Love Lucy“…On ABC’s “Bewitched” in 1966, a leprechaun enlisted Samantha’s help after his last pot of gold is stolen…On an episode of ABC sitcom “Three’s Company” in 1981, former apartment building landlords Stanley and Helen Roper (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley) encountered the current landlord Ralph Furley (Don Knotts)…Two limited-run comedies premiered on CBS in 1982: “Herbie, the Love Bug” (based on the Disney film) starring Dean Jones and Patricia Harty, and the police comedy “Baker’s Dozen” starring Ron Silver and Cindy Weintraub…Ashton Kutcher’s celebrity prank series “Punk’d” debuted on MTV in 2003…Two short-lived comedies launched: animated series “Ugly Americans” on Comedy Central in 2010; and, sitcom “One Big Happy” on NBC in 2015 starring Elisha Cuthbert, Nick Zano and Kelly Brook…Two short-lived series concluded: sitcom “Gary Unmarried” on CBS in 2010 starring Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall; and, detective drama “Perception” on TNT in 2015 starring Eric McCormack, Rachael Leigh Cook, and LeVar Burton…The “30 for 30” sports documentary “Survive and Advance” debuted on ESPN in 2013. It chronicled the improbable 1983 tournament run of the North Carolina State Wolfpack men’s basketball team, coached by the legendary Jim Valvano…Offbeat dramedy “iZombie” starring Rose McIver, David Anders and Robert Knepper debuted on The CW in 2015. It ran for five seasons…Also in 2015 was the sixth season premiere of comedy “Community” starring Joel McHale, Donald Glover and Ken Jeong, but it was the series debut on the Yahoo streaming service following five seasons were on NBC.

Movies and Theater:
The live action remake of “Beauty and the Beast”, starring Emma Watson, opened in theaters in 2017.

Music:
The Bee Gees made their US TV debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1968, performing “To Love Somebody” and “Words”.

Retail and Books:
Fantage, the online game for children, launched in 2008.

News:
The first parade in honor of St. Patrick’s Day was in 1762…Golda Meir became Israel’s 4th Prime Minister in 1969 and remains first and only female to hold the office.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Singer-songwriter John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful is 79; actor Patrick Duffy (“Dallas”, “Step by Step”) is 74; actor Kurt Russell (“Escape From New York”) is 72; actress Lesley-Anne Down (“Upstairs Downstairs”) is 69; actor Gary Sinise (“Forrest Gump”) is 68; actor Christian Clemenson (“CSI: Miami”) is 65; actor Arye Gross (“Castle”) is 63; actress Vicki Lewis (“NewsRadio”) is 63; actor Rob Lowe (“9-1-1: Lone Star”) is 59; singer Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins is 56; actor Yanic Truesdale (“Gilmore Girls”) is 53; CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson is 48; actress Natalie Zea (“Justified,” “Dirty Sexy Money”) is also 48; actress Brittany Daniel (“The Game”) is 47; singer and “Celebrity Big Brother 2” winner Tamar Braxton is 46; TV personality Rob Kardashian (“Keeping Up With The Kardashians”) is 36;  actor John Boyega (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) is 31.

Did You Know?
Tom Hanks, of course, won his second Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor for “Forrest Gump” in 1994. Prior to his being cast, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and John Travolta reportedly turned down the role…Inspired by playing Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump (which resulted in an Oscar nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor), Gary Sinise co-founded a rock and roll band during the mid-2000s called “The Lt. Dan Band.” It often went on U.S.O. tours to play for U.S. military personnel stationed around the world.