Today in History: Thursday, June 17, 2021

Television:
“Star Trek: The Next Generation,“ the first spin-off series from “Star Trek,“ reached the 100-episode milestone in 1991. It aired for seven seasons (and 178 episodes), concluding on May 23, 1994…Seven years before starring in the blockbuster flick “Transformers”, Shia LaBeouf starred in the Disney Channel sitcom “Even Stevens” which launched in 2000. It ran for three seasons…In 2007, musical comedy “Flight of the Conchords” debuted on HBO. The series that starred Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie as a two-man New Zealand band who try to hit it big in New York City ran for 22 episodes across two seasons…Also in 2007 was the debut of History Channel docuseries “Ice Road Truckers“, which lasted 11 seasons…Prime time soap “Grand Hotel” starring Roselyn Sanchez and Demian Bichir debuted on ABC in 2019. Thirteen episodes were produced… “Love, Victor“, the comedy sequel series to the 2018 feature film “Love, Simon“, premiered on Hulu in 2020. Its returned for its second season earlier this month.
 
Movies:
“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” co-written by famed film critic Roger Ebert, premiered in theaters in 1970…”Superman III,” starring Christopher Reeve and Richard Pryor, was released in theaters in 1983…”Wolf,” starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer, opened in 1994…“The Incredibles 2” set a box office record for an animated release, earning $180 million in its opening weekend in 2018.

Music:
“Somebody To Love” by Jefferson Airplane peaked at #5 on the Billboard charts in 1967…”Tapestry“, the legendary album by Carole King, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1971. It would remain in that top spot for 15 consecutive weeks…Dolly Parton recorded her song “I Will Always Love You” for RCA in Nashville in 1973…The Police released their final studio album “Synchronicity” in 1983…Hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100: “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb in 1978; “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” by New Kids on the Block in 1989; Aaliyah‘s “Try Again” in 2000.

Comics:
The “Take Barney Google, F’rinstance” cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premiered in 1919. The title character, a small fellow with big “banjo” eyes, was an avid sportsman and ne’er-do-well involved in poker, horse racing and prize fights. Eventually it was retitled “Barney Google and Spark Plug”...

Sports:
Four teams from the former American Basketball Association (ABA) — New York Nets, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs — officially merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976… the Dallas Stars won their first (and, to date, only) Stanley Cup title by defeating the Buffalo Sabres four games to two in 1999. They achieved a 2-1 triple-overtime Game 6 victory, the series’ championship-clinching game. The telecast was the final NHL game televised on the Fox broadcast network, which had rights to the league since 1995…Assisted by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and coach Doc Rivers, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in six games of the NBA Finals in 2008 to earn their first NBA championship in 32 years. Two years later (to the day, in 2010), the Lakers returned the favor by beating the Celtics four games to three. It was 2010 Finals MVP Kobe Bryant‘s fifth and final NBA championship of his career.

News:
Five men — one a former CIA employee and three who were natives of Cuba — were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee for the purposes to bug it at the Watergate Hotel in 1972. It was the scandal that ultimately brought down Richard M. Nixon from the presidency in 1974…After being charged with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1994, O.J. Simpson became the suspect in a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV (driven by Simpson pal A.C. Cowlings) that interrupted coverage of the NBA Finals (to-date, the last time the New York Knicks had won a Finals game). The pursuit, arrest and trial were among the most highly publicized events in American history. On October 3, 1995, Simpson was found not guilty of the two murders.

Celebrity Birthdays
Actor Peter Lupus (“Mission: Impossible) is 89; actor William Lucking (“Sons of Anarchy”) is 80; singer Barry Manilow is 78; politician Newt Gingrich is also 78; comedian Joe Piscopo is 70; actor Mark Linn-Baker (“Perfect Strangers”) is 67; actor Jon Gries (“Napoleon Dynamite”) is 64; director Bobby Farrelly (“There’s Something About Mary”) is 63; actor Thomas Haden Church (“Wings”) is 61; actor and former talk show host Greg Kinnear is 58; actress Kami Cotler (“The Waltons”) is 56; American gold medalist speed skater Dan Jansen is also 56; actor Will Forte (“Saturday Night Live”, “Last Man on Earth”) is 51; tennis player Venus Williams is 41; actress Jodie Whittaker (“Doctor Who”) is 39;.rapper Kendrick Lamar is 34; actor KJ Apa (“Riverdale”) is 24; actress Odessa Adlon (“Fam”) is 22.

Did You Know?
The mother of Odessa Adlon is “Better Things” star Pamela Adlon, who as a child star had a one season role on NBC sitcom “The Facts of Life” (in 1984-85). She was billed as Pamela Segall.