Today in History: Sunday, February 25, 2024

Television and Radio
Classic NBC comedy-variety series “Your Show of Shows,” starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner, debuted in 1950. Writers on the series included Mel Brooks and Neil Simon…The concept of long-running sitcom “Happy Days” was introduced in a segment of ABC’s “Love, American Style” in 1972 titled “Love and the Television Set” (which was changed to “Love and the Happy Days”). Specifically, a family in the 1950s, the Cunninghams, gets their first television and the neighbors are stirring with anticipation. Teenage son Richie (Ron Howard) and his friend Warren “Potsie” Weber (Anson Williams) assume it can be used as a chick magnet. Here there was no Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli or Ralph Malph, and the characters of Howard Cunningham and his daughter Joanie were played by Harold Gould and Susan Neher, respectively.…”The Dukes of Hazzard” featured the return of John Schneider (Bo) and Tom Wopat (Luke) in 1983, who exited after a contract dispute and proved there was more to the series than the General Lee…Frank Sinatra guest starred on “Magnum, P.I.” in 1987…On an episode of NBC sitcom “Seinfeld” in 1993, Sidra (Teri Hatcher) breaks up with Jerry and departs his apartment famously telling him “they’re real and they’re spectacular!”…Period drama “Camelot“, starring Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green and Jamie Campbell Bower, premiered in the U.S. on Starz in 2011. The series only lasted ten episodes…Dramedy “Bunheads” starring Sutton Foster, Alan Ruck and Kelly Bishop concluded its run on ABC Family in 2013. The series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino about a former Vegas showgirl who befriends a group of budding dancers from the dance studio of her mother-in-law, only ran for 18 episodes…Dramedy “Mind Games“, starring Steve Zahn and Christian Slater as brothers who ran a firm employing psychological techniques to influence outcomes for those in need, debuted on ABC in 2014. Only five episodes aired before the network pulled it from its schedule…”Survivor: Worlds Apart“, the 30th season of the long-running reality competition “Survivor“, premiered on CBS in 2015. The 18 competing castaways were split into three tribes of six members apiece based on social class: white collar, blue collar and no collar. Among the notable contestants included Joe Anglim, Sierra Dawn Thomas, Hali Ford, Shirin Oskooi, NFL place kicker Tyler Fredrickson, Mike Holloway and Rodney Lavoie Jr.…Adam West guest starred as himself in his appearance at the birthday party for Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) in the 200th episode of CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” in 2016…Actress Marissa Jaret Winokur defeated TV personality Ross Matthews by a 6-3 jury vote to become the first winner of the U.S. edition of “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2018 on CBS. The grand prize awarded to Jaret Winokur was $250,000…Investigative thriller “The Enemy Within“, starring Morris Chestnut and Jennifer Carpenter, launched on NBC in 2019. It ran for just 13 episodes.

Movies:
Jennifer Hudson, the seventh-place finisher on the third season of “American Idol” from 2004, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Effie White in “Dreamgirls” in 2007. Also at the 79th Academy Awards that night, “The Departed” won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director (for Martin Scorsese). The acting award recipients alongside Hudson were Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”), Helen Mirren (“The Queen”) and Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”).

Music
Buddy Holly & the Crickets recorded single “That’ll Be the Day” in 1957…Paul McCartney released single “Give Ireland back to the Irish” in 1972.

Sports:
The first televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadians) aired on W2XBS in New York City in 1940…Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) won his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston failed to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center in Miami Beach in 1964.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actress Ann McCrea (“The Donna Reed Show”) is 93; daytime talk show host Sally Lowenthal aka Sally Jessy Raphael is 89; CBS News reporter Bob Schieffer is 87; actor Tom Courtenay (“Dr. Zhivago”) is also 87; comedian Scott Thompson aka Carrot Top is 59; actress Tea Leoni (“Madam Secretary”) is 58; actor Alexis Denisof (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is also 58; actor Sean Astin is 53; actor Anson Mount (“Hell on Wheels”) is 51; comedienne Chelsea Handler is 49; actress Rashida Jones (“Angie Tribeca”) is 48; actress Jameela Jamil (“The Good Place”) is 38; “Malcolm in the Middle” star Justin Berfield is 38.

Did You Know?
The roles of Howard Cunningham and his daughter Joanie in “Love and the Happy Days” segment of “Love, American Style” were played Harold Gould and Susan Neher, respectively. Tom Bosley and Erin Moran, of course, portrayed the characters on “Happy Days.” Oldest son Chuck was portrayed by Ric Carrot. Marion Ross (Marion) and Anson Williams (“Potsie”) were also on the segment…Marissa Jaret Winokur was one of the original hosts on CBS daytime chatfest “The Talk” in 2010. She was featured in an out-of-the studio position as the “mother on the street,” interviewing everyday people. But she exited midway through the first season.