Today in History: Thursday, September 19, 2024

Television
Mary Tyler Moore “made it after all” in her self-titled CBS comedy, which premiered in 1970.  It aired for seven seasons and spun-off “Rhoda,” “Phyllis” and “Lou Grant.”

Other notable series premieres: “Highway to Heaven” on NBC in 1984, syndicated action/adventure “Renegade” in 1992, “ER” on NBC in 1994, “Judging Amy” on CBS in 1999, and Eye net sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” in 2005.

Movies
“Ordinary People”, directed by Robert Redford and starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton and Judd Hirsch opened in theaters in 1980. It won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Roles, and Best Director.

Music
Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.

Sports
Baseball legend Jackie Robinson was named “Rookie of Year” in 1947.

Celebrity Birthdays
“Emergency!” star Randolph Mantooth is 79; Oscar winner Jeremy Irons is 76; model Twiggy is 75; “Real Housewife” and former child star Kim Richards is 60; country singer Trisha Yearwood is 60; NBC’s Jimmy Fallon is 50; daytime soap star and “The Biggest Loser” host Alison Sweeney is 48.

Did You Know?:
Although “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is credited for being the first sitcom to focus on a single, independent woman, that distinction actually goes to “That Girl,” which starred Marlo Thomas and aired on ABC from 1996-71…“ER,” which ran for 15 seasons, was the top-rated show in all of primetime in the 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1998-99 seasons. Overall, it finished in the Top 5 from 1994 to 2003 and is the second longest running medical drama in the history of television (behind “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC)…If you grew up in the “Brady Bunch” era, you might remember Kim Richards as little Prudence Everett on 1970-71 ABC sitcom “Nanny and the Professor.”