Today in History: Friday, September 1, 2023

Television
Known as the first detective-themed scripted drama, “Martin Kane, Private Eye,” based on a radio series, debuted on NBC in 1949. Produced live, four different actors (William Gargan, Lloyd Nolan, Lee Tracy and Mark Stevens) played Martin Kane and a tobacco shop hangout integrated commercials into the series. United States Tobacco Company was the sponsor…CBS western “Gunsmoke,” the third longest running scripted drama in the history of television (behind “Law & Order: SVU” and parent “Law & Order”) exited the airwaves in 1975 after 20 seasons. A total of 635 episodes were produced (which were followed by five made-for television movies)…Animated series “Taz-Mania,” based on the Warner Bros. cartoon character of the Tasmanian Devil, premiered on Fox’s daytime kids programming block in 1991. It lasted for four years…Medical school comedy-drama “Going to Extremes” debuted on ABC in 1992. It starred Erika Alexander and aired for 17 episodes.

Movies:
“Rear Window,“ directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, was released in theaters in 1954. The film received four Academy Award nominations and was ranked number 42 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies list. In 1997, it was added to the United States National Film Registry in the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

Music:
Reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart: “What’s Love Got to Do With It” by Tina Turner in 1984; “If Wishes Came True” by Sweet Sensation in 1990.

News:
Electronic device The Clapper was first released nationwide in 1985. The famous slogan in theadvertisement for this product was “Clap on, clap off…the Clapper!“… “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone“, J.K. Rowling‘s debut novel, was first published in the United States in 1998.

Sports:
Bobby Fischer defeats the USSR’s Boris Spassky to win the World Chess Championship in 1972, becoming the first American player to become a world chess champion… in 2006, Roger Goodell begins his tenure as commissioner of the National Football League, succeeding Paul Tagliabue.

Celebrity Birthdays
“Grace and Frankie” star Lily Tomlin is 84; singer Barry Gibb is 77; daytime talk show host Phil McGraw is 73; singer Gloria Estefan is 66; ESPN SportsCenter anchor Kenny Mayne is 64; “Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi is 53; actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira (“Despicable Housewives”) is 52; actor Scott Speedman (“Felicity”) is 48; Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman is 27.

Did You Know?
Lloyd Nolan is remembered for his three season stint as Dr. Morton Chegley on 1968-71 groundbreaking NBC sitcom “Julia”…”Gunsmoke” was originally supposed to be canceled in 1967 after 12 seasons. But then-CBS president William Paley reversed his decision and moved the show from Saturday to Monday. That gave the western a new lease in life and it resulted in the cancellation of sitcom “Gilligan’s Island” to make room for “Gunsmoke”…“Rear Window” was updated as a television movie in 1998 with Christopher Reeve in the lead role.