Today in History – Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Television:
Kids afternoon series “The Pinky Lee Show” concluded in 1956…In 1969, the British comedy troupe Monty Python, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin formed…In 1980, no-longer-nasty Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) married Percival Dalton (Steve Tracy) on the NBC family drama “Little House on the Prairie”…The ABC sitcom “The Wonder Years” ended its five-and-one-half season run in 1993. The upcoming reboot, with original star Fred Savage as one of the producers, is expected to air on ABC next season….Alexis Colby (Joan Collins) and Dex Dexter (Michael Nader) both plunged off a hotel balcony while Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) was shot by a corrupt police officer in the original series finale of prime time soap “Dynasty” on ABC in 1989. This was intended as a season finale. But when the network canceled “Dynasty” after nine seasons, the cliffhanger was not resolved until the miniseries “Dynasty: The Reunion” in October 1991…The backdoor pilot for Jackee Harry’s character Sandra Clark on NBC sitcom “227” aired in the episode titled “Jackee” in 1989. When the proposed project was not picked up, Harry departed “227” as a series regular….NBC drama “Sisters”, starring Sela Ward, Patricia Kalember, Swoosie Kurtz and Julianne Philipps, debuted in 1991. It ran through May 4, 1996…NBC sitcom “Amen”, starring Sherman Hemsley, ended after five seasons in 1991…Miniseries “The Last Don” based on the Mario Puzo novel and starring starring Joe Mantegna, Danny Aiello, and Daryl Hannah, premiered on CBS in 1997…Dick Van Dyke detective drama “Diagnosis: Murder” ended its eight-season series run on CBS in 2001. The series was a backdoor spinoff from drama “Jake and the Fatman”. Two “Diagnosis: Murder” TV movies aired in 2002…Family drama “Jack & Bobby” starring Christine Lahti and John Slattery ended its single season run on The WB in 2005…Two UPN sitcoms concluded in 2006: “Eve” (after three seasons) and “Love Inc.” (after one season)…Actress Jennifer Finnegan starred in two programs that concluded: CBS crime drama “Close to Home” ended after two seasons in 2007; and ABC single-season sitcom “Better With You” In 2011…Former model Parvati Shallow became the $1 million Sole Survivor on the 16th edition of CBS reality competition “Survivor” in 2008, which was titled “Survivor: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites”. Shallow defeated Amanda Kimmel by a 5-3 jury vote. For the second consecutive season, James Clement was the recipient of the $100,000 viewers choice prize…The third and final season of reality competition “Charm School” premiered on VH1 in 2009. Fourteen contestants from “Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels” and “Real Chance of Love” competed. Former daytime talk show host Ricki Lake was the school’s headmistress…Short-lived “Bones” spinoff “The Finder” concluded on Fox in 2012. It starred Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan…Critically-acclaimed horror drama “Penny Dreadful” debuted in the U.S. on Showtime in 2014. It ran for three condensed seasons. In the spring of 2020, it was revived as “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” for a brief run…“Chelsea”, hosted by Chelsea Handler, premiered on Netflix in 2016. It was the streamer’s first foray into the talk show genre. The thrice-a-week show ran for just 19 months for a total of 120 episodes…NBC picked up the Andy Samberg police comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” in 2018 for its sixth season. Just 37 hours earlier, Fox had canceled it after five seasons. The series’ upcoming eighth season is slated to be its last…Docuseries “Cops” concluded after 32 seasons in 2020. Its first 25 seasons aired on Fox (primarily on Saturday nights) before moving to Spike/Paramount in 2013. “Bad Boys”, the show’s theme song by Inner Circle, was a Billboard magazine top-ten hit in 1993.

Music:
“Puff (The Magic Dragon)” by Peter, Paul & Mary reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard charts in 1963…Natalie Cole released her debut album “Inseparable” in 1975. It won two Grammy Awards… Madonna’s “Crazy For You” single went No. 1 in 1985.

Books:
William Faulkner’s collections of short stories, “Go Down, Moses”, was published in 1942.

Sports:
“Saturday Night’s Main Event”, NBC’s showcase of the World Wrestling Federation that occasionally filled-in for “Saturday Night Live”, debuted in 1985. It was the first time a broadcast network televised professional wrestling since the 1950’s. In the premiere, Hulk Hogan faced Bob Orton for the WWF Heavyweight Championship. Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper made guest appearances.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Comedian Mort Sahl is 94. Singer Eric Burdon (The Animals, War) is 80. Actress Pam Ferris (“Call the Midwife”) is 73; actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (“24″) is 69; actress Frances Fisher (“Resurrection,” ″Titanic”) is 69; sports journalist Mike Lupica is 69; actor Boyd Gaines (“One Day at a Time”) is 68; former MTV VJ Martha Quinn is 62; actor Tim Blake Nelson (“Lincoln,” ″O Brother, Where Art Thou?”) is 57; actor Jeffrey Donovan (“Fargo”) is 53; Rapper Giggs is 40; Model and reality star Blac Chyna is 33; football’s Cam Newton is 32; singer Prince Royce is also 32.

Did You Know?:
Becky Slater, Kevin’s (Fred Savage) occasional love interest and frequent nemesis on “The Wonder Years”, was played by Danica McKellar’s (Winnie Cooper) younger sister Crystal McKellar. The role of Becky was specifically created for Crystal after she had been a close runner up for the part of Winnie.