Today in History: Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Television
“The Nat King Cole Show” debuted on NBC in 1956, which was the first variety program to be hosted by an African-American individual.

“Jump the Shark” bait: In 1981, legendary comedian Jonathan Winters joined the cast of ABC sitcom “Mork & Mindy” as the couple’s newborn son Mearth. Apparently, Orkans aged “backwards,” thus explaining Mearth’s adult appearance as a child.

TV movie “Stone Pillow,” starring Lucille Ball as a homeless woman, premiered on CBS in 1985. The success of the film led Lucy to make one last attempt to return to her comedy roots with ABC sitcom “Life With Lucy” the following year. Daphne Zuniga co-starred.

Dennis Franz as Norman Buntz lived on, albeit briefly, in the “Hill Street Blues” spin-off “Beverly Hills Buntz” on NBC, which debuted in 1987. The half-hour combination of comedy and drama also featured Peter Jurasik as Sid “the Snitch” Thurston. Thirteen episodes were filmed, but only nine were broadcast.

Movies:
According to the film “Back to the Future,” Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) traveled back in time to this day in 1955.
 
Music:
George Harrison released album “Gone Troppo” in 1982…”Kokomo” by The Beach Boys from the Tom Cruise film “Cocktail” hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1988.

Sports:
Then 45-year-old George Foreman knocked out 27-year-old Michael Moorer to become the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1994, the oldest to ever win that honor. Foreman had first earned that title in 1973 but lost it to Muhammad Ali in the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle”.

News:
In 1872, American icon Susan B. Anthony voted in an election for the first time. Since it was then a violation of the law for women to vote, Anthony was arrested, convicted and required to pay a $100 fine. Anthony, though, never paid the fine…In 1935, Parker Brothers released the board game “Monopoly.” It was derived from another board game, “The Landlord’s Game”, which was created in 1903 as a way to demonstrate that an economy that rewards wealth creation is better than one where monopolists work under few constraints.  The original version of “Monopoly” was based on the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congess…Bill Clinton was re-elected President of the United States, defeating Republican candidate Bob Dole in 1996.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actress Elke Summer is 84; singer Art Garfunkel is 83; Herman’s Hermits singer Peter Noone is 77; Kardashian “Momager” Kris Jenner is 69; actor Robert Patrick (“Scorpion”) is 66; singer Bryan Adams is 65; Oscar winner Tilda Swinton (“Michael Clayton”) is 64; Oscar-winning actress Tatum O’Neal is 61; actress-singer Andrea McArdle is also 61; actress Judy Reyes (“Scrubs”) is 57; Oscar-winning actor Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri”) is 56; Sal Vulcano of truTV’s “Impractical Jokers” is 48; guitarist Kevin Jonas is 37.

Did You Know?
Prior to “Hill Street Blues,” Dennis Franz was a regular on two short-lived NBC dramas: “Chicago Story” in 1982 and “Bay City Blues” (also featuring Peter Jurasik) from 1983-84. Before ABC’s “NYPD Blue,“ which began its 12-season run in 1993, he appeared on NBC’s “Nasty Boys” in 1990.