Today in History: Saturday, September 2, 2023

Television
In 1963, “CBS Evening News” became network television’s first half-hour weeknight news program…Sunday late night sports highlight show “The George Michael Sports Machine” (not hosted by the famous British singer by the sportscaster with the same name) debuted in syndication (mostly on NBC affiliates) in 1984. It originated from the studios of WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., and served as the offshoot of a similar local sports program there from 1980-84. As ESPN’s daily and nightly “SportsCenter” rose in popularity in the 90’s, interest in this show waned considerably. Its run ended in March 2007. Michael’s co-host Lindsay Czarniak from 2004-07 anchored “SportsCenter” from 2011-17…Animated “Galtar and the Golden Lance” from Hanna-Barbera Productions launched in syndication in 1985. Only 21 episodes were produced…Fox debuted two series in 1990: interracial family sitcom “True Colors” starring Frankie Faison and Nancy Walker (it lasted for two seasons), and teen comedy “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” which aired for three seasons…Also in 1990 was the premiere of the Family Channel sitcom “Big Brother Jake” starring Jake Steinfeld as a former Hollywood stuntman who moved back him to help his recently widowed foster mother. The series ran for four seasons…Sitcom “The John Larroquette Show“, Larroquette’s first star vehicle after his multiple-Emmy winning stint on “Night Court,“ premiered on NBC in 1993. Here he portrayed a recovering alcoholic who was hired as a manger at a bus depot. It lasted four moderately rated seasons…ABC aired the final episode of “The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show” in 2000, which was the last time a “Bugs Bunny,” “Looney Tunes” or “Merrie Melodies” cartoon appeared on broadcast television as part of a regularly scheduled series. Since its launch in 1960, the “Bugs Bunny and Company Cartoon Show,” which was known by several different names, alternated between ABC and CBS. In 2000, Cartoon Network became the exclusive home to the library.

Movies:
“The Third Man,“  starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli and Orson Welles, was released in the United Kingdom in 1949. It won the Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1950.

Music:
Rod Stewart’s first #1 hit, “You Wear it Well,“ topped the charts in 1972… “Ropin’ the Wind,” the third studio album by Garth Brooks, was released in 1991. It won the Billboard Album of the Year in 1992… also reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Cold Hearted” by Paula Abdul in 1989; “You Are Not Alone” by Michael Jackson in 1995, which became the first song in the Rock era to debut at the No. 1 spot.

News:
Holocaust diarist Anne Frank was sent to Auschwitz an concentration camp in 1944. She gained fame posthumously with the publication of “The Diary of a Young Girl” (originally Het Achterhuis in Dutch; English: The Secret Annex), in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II…V-J Day, the formal surrender of Japan aboard USS Missouri marked the end of World War II in 1945….in 1969, a Chemical Bank branch in Rockville Centre, NY installed the first automated teller machine in the United States.

Sports:
Then teenage Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors won their first matches at the US Open Tennis Championships at Forest Hills in 1971.

Celebrity Birthdays
Actress Beverly Sanders (“Rhoda”, “Lotsa Luck”) is 83; NFL on Fox studio analyst Terry Bradshaw is 75; “NCIS” star Mark Harmon is 72; Tennis legend Jimmy Connors is 71; actress Linda Purl (“Happy Days”) is 68; football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson is 63; actor Keanu Reeves is 59; heavyweight boxer Lennox Lewis is 58; actress Salma Hayak (“Frida”) is 57; comedian Katt Williams is 52; DJ/music producer Anton Zavlavski aka Zedd is 34.

Did You Know?
The original “Bugs Bunny Show” debuted on ABC prime time on October 11, 1960, airing on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.  ET, under the sponsorship of General Foods.