Today in History: Friday, October 13, 2023

Television and Radio
In 1947, station WBKB in Chicago introduced the children’s show, “Junior Jamboree” with creator and puppeteer Burr Tillstrom. On Nov, 29, 1948, the show moved to WNBQ (the predecessor of Chicago’s WMAQ) and was renamed “Kulka, Fran and Ollie.” “Fran” was Fran Allison, a radio comedian and singer who was usually the only human to appear on screen…In 1963, it was the official start of “Beatlemania” as young Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr appeared on the BBC’s “Sunday Night at the Palladium”…In 1971, the first Baseball World Series night game was telecast on NBC…On an episode of NBC sitcom “Seinfeld” in 1994, its co-creator Larry David portrayed Frank Costanza’s (Jerry Stiller) cape-wearing divorce attorney…Comedic telenovela “Jane the Virgin“, the tale of a young lady (Gina Rodriguez) who accidentally gets artificially inseminated by her gynecologist and becomes pregnant, debuted on The CW in 2014. Loosely based on the Venezuelan soap “Juana la virgen”, it was a critical favorite throughout its five-season run. Rodriguez earned a Golden Globe award for Best Lead Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy in 2015 — the first Golden Globe ever in the history of The CW.

Movies:
“All About Eve” directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter was released in theaters in 1950. The film won six Oscars including Best Picture…“Badlands” starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1973.

Music:
“52nd Street,” the sixth studio album by Billy Joel was released  in 1978. It won the Grammy Award for album of the Year…Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016.

Theater:
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” opened on Broadway in 1962.

Sports:
In 1967, the Anaheim Amigos lost to the Oakland Oaks, 134-129, in the inaugural game of the American Basketball Association.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 85; singer Paul Simon is 82; “Sanford and Son” star Demond Wilson is 77; rock singer Sammy Hagar is 76; singer John Ford Coley of England Dan and John Ford Coley is 75; model Beverly Johnson is 71; “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter is 67; Marie Osmond is 64; singer Joey Belladonna of Anthrax is 63; actor T’Keyah Crystal Keymah (“That’s So Raven”) is 61; actor Matt Walsh (“Veep”) is 59; actress Reginald Ballard (“Martin,” ″The Bernie Mac Show”) is 58; actress Kate Walsh (“Private Practice,” ″Grey’s Anatomy”) is 56; actress Tisha Campbell (“Martin”) is 54; “Extra” host Billy Bush is 52; actor Sasha Baron Cohen (“Borat”) is 52; actress Kiele Sanchez (“Lost”) is 46; singer Ashanti is 43; actor Caleb McLaughlin (“Stranger Things”) is 22.

Did You Know?
On Aug. 11, 2009, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp to honor “Kukla, Fran and Ollie.”