Today in History: Thursday, May 23, 2024

Television
The BBC ordered 13 episodes of “Monty’s Python’s Flying Circus” in 1969…Two “Star Trek” series concluded: Syndicated “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in 1994 and “Star Trek: Voyager” on UPN in 2001…Also ending were: ABC family dramedy “Eight is Enough” after five seasons in 1981; ABC sitcom “Full House” after eight seasons in 1995, The WB sitcom “Sister, Sister” after five-and-one-half seasons in 1999 (its first 1.5 seasons were on ABC), ABC drama “Lost” after six seasons in 2010; and CBS procedural “NCIS: New Orleans” after seven seasons in 2021…On an episode of NBC’s “Seinfeld” in 1991, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and George (Jason Alexander) endured a series of misadventures while waiting to get a table at a Chinese restaurant…A bizarre moment: Tom Cruise professed his love for his then girlfriend Katie Holmes by jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch in his infamous appearance on the daytime syndicated talker “Oprah” in 2005…Former NFL running back Rashad Jennings and professional dancer Emma Slater were crowned season 24 champions of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” in 2017. Former Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross (with Lindsay Arnold) were runners-up. Former Fifth Harmony singer Normani Kordei (with Valentin Chmerkovskiy) placed third…On the 36th season finale of CBS’ “Survivor” in 2018, for the edition entitled “Survivor: Ghost Island”, it was the first time in series history that two players were tied for having the most jury votes at the Final Tribal Council. Domenick Abbate and Wendell Holland each received five votes from the jury. Because fellow Final-3 member Laurel Johnson received no jury votes, she became the tiebreaker and cast her vote for Holland as the million-dollar Sole Survivor…Three performers were crowned as winners of “American Idol” in their respective years: Jordan Sparks in 2007, Phillip Phillips in 2012 and Chayce Beckham in 2021.

Movies
The horror classic “The Shining”, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, was released in theaters in 1980. It starred Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall…“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, the second in the film series, directed by Stephen Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford, opened in theaters in 1984…President Ronald Reagan awarded Jimmy Stewart the Presidential Medal of Freedom and promoted him to Major General on the Retired List in 1985.

Music
Rapper Eminem released “The Marshall Mathers LP” in 2000, which became the fastest-selling album in the history of rap.

Sports
In his 20th World Heavyweight Boxing title Joe Louis knocked out Buddy Baer in round 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1940… Phil Mickelson, at the age of 50, became the oldest golfer to ever win a major tournament when he was victorious at the PGA Championship in 2021.

News 
Benjamin Franklin announced his invention of bifocals in 1785…Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the notorious American outlaws, were killed in a police shoot-out near Gibsland, Louisiana in 1934.

Celebrity Birthdays
Actress Barbara Barrie is 93; actress Joan Collins (“Dynasty”) is 91; actress Lauren Chapin (“Father Knows Best”) is 79; author Mitch Albom is 66; comedian Drew Carey is also 66; actor Linden Ashby (“Melrose Place”) is 64; actress-model Karen Duffy is 63; actress Melissa McBride (“The Walking Dead”) is 59; actress Laurel Holloman (“The L Word”) is 56; singer Maxwell is 51; singer Jewel is 50; actor LaMonica Garrett (“Designated Survivor,” ″Sons of Anarchy”) is 49; actor Adam Wylie (“Picket Fences”) is 40; director Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) is 38; Pro Bowl defensive end Aaron Donald is 33.

Did You Know?
Matthew Fox found his second regularly scheduled series success after “Party of Five” on “Lost,“ of course. But the original plan for his character, Jack Shephard, was to be killed by the monster in the pilot episode after the airplane crash. And the actor cast in the role was Michael Keaton. But ABC told the producers that they shouldn’t kill off the hero so soon in the series and the script was changed. After the change, Michael Keaton backed out of the role because he did not want to commit to a regular series.