Today in History: Sunday, July 16, 2023

Television:
Late fringe talk show “Into the Night Starring Rick Dees” debuted on ABC in 1990. It was only distributed to 44 percent of the network’s affiliates (New York was not included) and lasted one season…The “Stargate SG-1” spin-off “Stargate: Atlantis,” which chronicled the exploits of a team that was dispatched from Earth to explore Atlantis, made its debut on the Sci-Fi (now Syfy) Channel in 2004. It aired through January 9, 2009, producing 100 episodes…Also in 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison plus five months in home confinement for lying to federal investigators…In 2017, the BBC announced the first ever female Doctor Who would be played by Jodie Whittaker.

Movies
Two family films from Disney opened in 1993: supernatural comedy “Hocus Pocus,” starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy; and, “Free Willy“, about a foster boy who befriends a captive orca whale, and featured the top-10 Michael Jackson hit song “Will You Be There“…Two films were released in 1999: Stanley Kubrick‘s final film “Eyes Wide Shut,” starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman; and, famed TV scribe David E. Kelley wrote the horror flick “Lake Placid,” starring Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda and Betty White… “Jurassic Park III,“ starring Sam Neill and William H. Macy, opened in theaters in 2001…Science-fiction thriller “I, Robot” starring Will Smith and current “Blue Bloods” star Bridget Moynihan premiered in 2004…“The Dark Knight Rises,“ starring Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway, premiered in New York in 2012.

Music:
“Da Doo Ron Ron” by Shaun Cassidy hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.

Books:
Famed novel “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger was first published in 1951.

Sports:
The “Yankee Clipper” Joe DiMaggio goes 3-for-4 for the New York Yankees in 1941, extending his hitting streak to 56 consecutive games, a record that still stands to this day…The American League defeated the National League 5-4 in 15 innings in the 79th MLB All-Star Game in 2008, at the original site of Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY — the final year baseball would take place at that specific location.

Celebrity Birthdays
Hall of Fame football coach and Fox NFL studio analyst Jimmy Johnson is 80; actor-singer Rúben Blades (“Fear the Walking Dead”) is 75; playwright Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”) is 67; actress Faye Grant (“V”) is 66; dancer Michael Flatley (“Lord of the Dance”) is 65; Actress Phoebe Cates (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) is 60; actor/”SNL” alum Will Ferrell is 56; Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders is 55; actor Daryl Mitchell (“Galaxy Quest”) is 54; actress Rain Pryor (“Head of the Class”) is also 54; actor Corey Feldman is 52; “Glee” star Jayma Mays is 44; actor-Singer James Maslow (“Big Time Rush”) is 33.

Did You Know?
Corey Feldman’s first regularly scheduled TV series role was in the small screen version of “The Bad News Bears.” He was eight years old at the time and it aired for two half-seasons on CBS from 1979 to 1980.