Today in History: Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Television:
Hidden camera classic” “Candid Camera,” hosted by Allen Funt, bowed on ABC in 1948 and has been present in some format in every decade ever since. The original title was “Candid Microphone”…Summer variety series “Manhattan Transfer,” hosted by the then popular recording group, debuted on CBS in 1975.  It ran for four episodes.

Movies:
“Sunset Boulevard”, directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 1950. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and won three: Best Writing, Story and Screenplay; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

Music:
“Off the Wall”, the fifth studio album by Michael Jackson was released in 1979. It was named the Billboard Album of the Year…Michael Jackson bought ATV Music (every Beatle song) for $47 million in 1985.

Sports:
In 2008, American super-star swimmer Michael Phelps won the 400m individual medley at the Beijing Olympics with a world record time of 4:03.84.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Singer Ronnie Bennett Greenfield (Ronnie Spector) of The Ronettes is 78; actor James Reynolds (“Days of Our Lives”) is 75; singer-flutist Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is 74; singer Patti Austin is 71; actress Rosanna Arquette (“Desperately Seeking Susan”) is 62; actor Antonio Banderas is 61; singer Neneh Cherry is 57; singer Lorraine Pearson of Five Star is 54; singer Michael Bivins (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 53; actor-writer Justin Theroux (“The Leftovers”) is 50; actress Angie Harmon (“Rizzoli & Isles”) is 49; actress JoAnna Garcia Swisher (“Reba”) is 42; actor Ryan Eggold (“The Blacklist: Redemption,” ″90210″) is 37; actor Lucas Till (“MacGyver”) is 31; reality star Kylie Jenner is 24.

Did You Know?:
The most recent version of “Candid Camera” aired on TV Land in 2014 with hosts Peter Funt and “The Big Bang Theory’s” Mayim Bialik. It aired for just 10 episodes.