Today in History: Friday, November 24, 2023

Television and Radio
In 1958, “The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse” aired the episode entitled “The Time Element,” which was written by Rod Serling. It starred William Bendix as a man is sent back in time to December 6, 1941 who tries to warn people about the upcoming Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It served as the original pilot for the classic anthology series “The Twilight Zone“…Nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 in the first murder seen on live television. Oswald, of course, had fatally shot President John F. Kennedy as he rode in an open-car motorcycle through the streets of downtown Dallas just two days earlier. Some called Ruby a hero, but he was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder…Detective drama “Simon & Simon” starring Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker debuted on CBS in 1981. It ran for eight seasons…Miniseries “Mussolini: The Untold Story” starring George C. Scott premiered on NBC in 1985.

Movies:
“One Million Years B.C.” starring Raquel Welch was released in West Germany in 1966…The film adaptation of Agatha Christie‘s “Murder on the Orient Express” directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Albert Finlney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Perkins, Ingrid Bergman and Vanessa Redgrave opened in U.S. theaters in 1974…Blockbuster comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire” starring Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan and Harvey Fierstein opened in theaters nationwide in 1993.

Books:
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his landmark work “On The Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection” which introduced the theory of evolution or, better known as, survival of the fittest…John Steinbeck’s novel “Pearl” was published in 1947…“The Colour of Magic” by Terry Pratchett was published in 1983.

Commerce:
The Reebok Pump athletic shoe was introduced in 1989. It was the first footwear that featured an internal inflation mechanism to calibrate its fit.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Basketball Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson is 85; former Beatles drummer Pete Best is 82; actor Billy Connolly (“Head of the Class”) is 81; actor Stanley Livingston (“My Three Sons”) is 73; musician-producer Terry Lewis is 67; actor Garret Dillahunt (“Raising Hope”) is 59; comedian Brad Sherwood (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) is also 59; British comedian Stephen Merchant (“Extras”) is 49; Colin Hanks (“Life in Pieces”) is 46; Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 45; “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland is 33.

Did You Know?
“Mrs. Doubtfire” won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Robin Williams was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.