Today in History: Sunday, September 22, 2024

Television
“Friends” turns 30…it debuted on this day in 1994…There were 19 other notable series premieres: 1) “Maverick” (ABC, 1957), 2) “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (NBC, 1964), 3) “Charlie’s Angels” (ABC: 1976), 4) “Hart to Hart” (ABC, 1979), 5) “Family Ties” (NBC, 1982), 6)  “ALF” (NBC, 1986), 7) “Full House” (ABC, 1987), 8) “Baywatch” (NBC, 1989), 9) “Family Matters” (ABC, 1989), 10) “Friends” (NBC, 1994), 11) “The West Wing” (NBC, 1999), 12) “Two and a Half Men” (CBS, 2003), 13) “CSI: NY” (CBS, 2004), 14) “Lost” (ABC, 2004), 15) “Veronica Mars” (UPN, 2004), 16) “Criminal Minds” (CBS, 2005), 17) “NCIS: Los Angeles” (CBS, 2009), 18) “Person of Interest” (CBS, 2011), 19) “Gotham” (Fox, 2014), and 20) “Scorpion” (CBS, 2014)…Damn! Damn! Damn! In the fourth season opening episode of CBS sitcom “Good Times” in 1976, the family learned that James (John Amos) was killed in a car accident in Mississippi. Amos was fired following disagreements with Norman Lear over the direction of the show, while also disillusioned Esther Rolle exited after season four. Rolle ultimately returned for the sixth – and final – season of “Good Times.” For a look, click here…In the fifth season premiere of NBC drama “Quantum Leap” in 1992, Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) leaps into the identity of noted JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

Movies:
Two films opened in wide release in 1995: “Se7en” starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow; and, the NC-17 rated “Showgirls” starring Elizabeth Berkeley, Kyle Mclachlan and Gina Gershon.
 
Music:
Marvin Gaye‘s classic tune “Let’s Get It On” reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973…Elton John’s tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales “Candle in the Wind 1997” was released in the U.S. in 1997. Its B-side track was “Something About the Way You Look Tonight“.

News:
In 2019, actor Billy Porter won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for his role on FX’s “Pose.” He’s the first openly gay black man to ever win an Emmy in any of the awards’ lead acting categories.

Sports:
In 1969, San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays became the second MLB player ever to hit his 600th career home run (Babe Ruth was the first.)

Celebrity Birthdays
Singer-dancer Toni Basil is 81; Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale is 73; actress Shari Belafonte (“Hotel”) is 70; singer Debby Boone is 68; singer Joan Jett is 66; opera singer Andrea Bocelli is also 66; “Happy Days” star Scott Baio is 64; actress Bonnie Hunt is 63;  actress Catherine Oxenberg (“Dynasty”) is also 63; actor-producer Dan Bucatinsky (“Scandal”) is 59; actress Mireille Enos (“The Killing”) is 49; actress Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) is 39; actor Tom Felton (“Harry Potter” films) is 37.

Did You Know?
NBC actually canceled “Baywatch” after one season. But the action/adventure continued in first-run syndication for 10 more seasons, ultimately spinning off “Baywatch Nights.”  Effective in season 10 the series was re-titled “Baywatch Hawaii”…In an episode of “Good Times,” Florida (Esther Rolle) is exhausted after claiming to walk up 18 flights of stairs when the elevator is broken. But the building the Evans family lived in, according to the closing credits, only had 12 stories. Dy-No-Mite!