Today in History: Friday, May 28, 2021

Television:
ABC debuted on season variety-themed “The Jerry Colonna Show” in 1951…Leonard Maltin made his first appearance on syndicated “Entertainment Tonight” in 1982…The final episode of the original version of sitcom “One Day at a Time” aired on CBS in 1984, one week after the official conclusion when Ann (Bonnie Franklin) moved to London with her husband Sam (Howard Hesseman). In this pilot for a proposed spinoff, Schneider (Pat Harrington, Jr.) is left to care for his suddenly orphaned niece and nephew (the latter played by a young Corey Feldman). It never made it to series…William Shatner cop drama “T. J. Hooker” concluded in 1986. It had aired for four seasons on ABC from 1982-85 and its final season on CBS in 1985-86…”Scarecrow and Mrs. King” starring Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson ended after four seasons on CBS in 1987… Summer CBS sketch series “The Dave Thomas Comedy Show” began its four episode run in 1990…Valerie Bertinelli comedy “Cafe Americain” ended after one season on NBC in 1994. A total of 18 episodes were produced… 

Movies:
The first animated 3-D cartoon in technicolor, “Melody,” was released in 1953… Sylvester Stallone had two hit films released in different years: with Mr. T and Hulk Hogan in “Rocky III” in 1982; and, with John Lithgow and “Northern Exposure’s” Janine Turner in the action film “Cliffhanger” in 1993…“Nottling Hill,“ starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, opened in theaters in 1999.

Music:
Paul McCartney released his second solo album, “Ram,“ in 1971… “Flashdance (What A Feeling)” by Irene Cara hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. The theme to the hit movie of the same title won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in the spring of 1984… Single “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready”) by Alicia Keys was released in 2010.

News:
“SNL” alum Phil Hartman was shot and killed by his wife Brynn in a murder-suicide in Encino, California in 1998…American poet and memoirist Maya Angelou, whose several volumes of autobiography explore the themes of economic, racial, and sexual oppression, died in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2014.

Celebrity Birthdays
Actress Carroll Baker (“Baby Doll”) is 90; NBA legend Jerry West is 83; singer Gladys Knight is 77; singer Billy Vera is also 77; singer John Fogerty is 76; actor Louie Mustillo (“Mike & Molly”) is 63; “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” former child star Brandon Cruz is 59; actress Christa Miller (“The Drew Carey Show”) is 56; singer Kylie Minogue is 53; actor Justin Kirk (“Weeds”) is 52; former “The View” co-host and “Survivor: Australian” contestant Elizabeth Hasselbeck is 44.

-Did You Know?:
CBS had expressed interest in a two-season renewal for “One Day at a Time,“ which would have taken it through 11 seasons. But both Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli called it quits…Gladys Knight and Flip Wilson appeared together in a CBS family comedy called “Charlie and Company” that was patterned after NBC’s “The Cosby Show.” It only lasted one season in 1985-86…Heather Locklear, who co-starred in T.J. Hooker,” reprised her role as Sammy Jo on “Dynasty” at the same time.