Today in History: Thursday, February 29, 2024

Television
Classic 1965 theatircal “The Sound of Music,“ starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, began its annual airing on ABC in 1976.

NBC sitcom “Day by Day” featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus pre-“Seinfeld” began its two-season run in 1988. It also starred three other familiar TV faces: Doug Sheehan (“Knots Landing”), Linda Kelsey (“Lou Grant”), and Courtney Thorne-Smith pre-“Melrose Place.”

Western drama “The Boys of Twilight” starring Richard Farnsworth and Wilfred Brimley debuted on CBS in 1992. Only four episodes had ran…“Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan” launched on Nickelodeon in 2020. The sitcom starring Dylan Gilmer and Carl Anthony Payne II is currently in its fourth season.

Movies
The 76th Academy Awards in 2004: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” Sean Penn (“Mystic River” – Best Actor), Charlize Theron (“Monster” – Best Actress), Tim Robbins (“Mystic River” – Best Supporting Actor) and Renee Zellweger (“Cold Mountain” – Best Supporting Actress) all won. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won 11 Oscars,, tying the record held by “Ben-Hur” (1959) and “Titanic” (1997).

Comic Strips
“The Family Circus” comic strip, created by Bill Keane, debuted in 1960. Historically, it is the most widely syndicated cartoon panel in the world, appearing in 1,500 newspapers. Compilations of “Family Circus” comic strips have sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

Sports
In 1980: At the age of 51, Canadian hockey player Gordie Howe became the first to score 800 goals in the NHL.

Music
The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1968, the first rock LP to do so.

News
The first Playboy Club, featuring Playboy Bunnies, opened in Chicago in 1960. The opening acts were comedian Dick Gregory and then 17-year old singer, Aretha Franklin. Chicago jazz pianist, Sam Distefano, was the Musical Director. It relocated to Clark and Armitage in Lincoln Park in 1980 and closed in June 1986.

Celebrity Birthdays
Actress Susan Sennett (“Big Bad Mama”) is 72; motivational speaker Tony Robbins is 64; actor Antonio Sabato Jr. is 52; rapper Ja Rule is 48; Foster the People lead singer Mark Foster is 40.

Did You Know?:
Singer, actress and television personality Dinah Shore was born on this day in 1916. She died on February 24, 1994 at the age of 77.