Today in History: Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Television:
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” won at 17th “Tony Awards” in 1963…Then 22-year-old Barbra Streisand was featured in her first-ever TV special, “My Name Is Barbra,” on CBS in 1965. Airing in conjunction with the release of her fifth album and the winner of three Emmy Awards, Streisand signed a contract for another four specials…Johnny Carson broadcast his final episode of “The Tonight Show” from New York City’s Rockefeller Center studios in 1972, before the late night talk show moved to Burbank, Calif…Made-for television movie “We’re Fighting Back,” based on the Guardian Angels, aired on CBS in 1981…WLUG Channel 55 from Riverhead and New York City in New York began broadcasting in 1985. Eleven years later, its call letters changed to WLNY. The independent station that is also located on Channel 10 depending on the area within the New York market was purchased by CBS in the spring of 2012…Vietnam drama “Tour of Duty” starring Terence Knox (“St. Elsewhere”) ended its run in 1990. It ran for three seasons…Fox animated mainstay “The Simpsons” aired its 100th episode in 1994. To-date, 706 episodes have been produced…Before “CSI,” William Petersen starred in the two-part NBC TV miniseries, Peter Benchley’s “The Beast,” which premiered in 1996…“Fox News Sunday” began its run on Sunday mornings in 1996…“NCIS: Los Angeles” aired as the first of a two-part backdoor pilot on “NCIS” on CBS in 2009. Originally entitled “NCIS: Legend”, the action drama stars Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J. Recently, it was renewed for a thirteenth season…The CW named Mark Pedowitz as its network president in 2011, having replaced Dawn Ostroff who held the position since the 2006 merger of The WB and UPN. To date, Pedowitz remains in his position…Steve Carell makes his final performance as a series regular on NBC comedy “The Office” in 2011. In the episode entitled “Goodbye, Michael”, Michael Scott departs for Colorado to live with fiancé/co-worker Holly Flax (Amy Ryan)…Craig Ferguson announced in 2014 he would be leaving CBS’ “The Late Late Show” at the end of the year…Three short-lived series launched: stand-up comedy showcase “The Sunday Comics” on Fox in 1991; ABC mystery drama “Happy Town” in 2010; and CBS limited series “The Red Line” in 2019…Five short-lived series concluded: 1) CBS sitcom “Payne” in 1999; 2) The WB sitcom “Modern Men” in 2006 starring pre-“New Girl” Max Greenfield; 3) CW docuseries “High Society” in 2010; 4) NBC sitcom “One Big Happy” in 2015; and 5) Fox procedural “Rosewood” in 2017…Two series debuted on Netflix in 2017: Comedy-drama “Dear White People” — its upcoming fourth and final season set for later this year; and 1920s-set Spanish drama “Las Chicas de Cable” (which concluded in 2020).

Movies:
In 2019, Marvel film “Avenger: Endgame” made an estimated $1.2 billion worldwide, which was the first film to make more than 1 billion on opening.

Music:
Glenn Miller recorded single “Pennsylvania 6-5000” in 1940…“Heart of Glass” by Blondie hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979.

Theater:
Musical “A Chorus Line” closed at the Shubert Theater on Broadway in New York City after 6,137 performances in 1990…“Gypsy” opened at the Marquis Theater in New York City for 105 performances in 1991…Also at the Shubert Theater: “Big,“ based on the 1988 Tom Hanks film of the same name, opened for 193 performances in 1996.

Sports:
Muhammad Ali, who had then recently converted to Islam, was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing title in 1967 after refusing induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, having cited religious reasons…Historical baseball TV movie “61*” premiered on HBO in 2001. Directed by Yankee fan Billy Crystal, it starred Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane as New York Yankees sluggers Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, respectively, during their 1961 chase to eclipse Babe Ruth’s previous single-season record of 60 home runs. Maris hit the record-setting 61st home run during the 162nd game — the final game — of the season. And Ruth accomplished his 60-homer mark within a 154-game season in 1927 which prompted then-MLB commissioner Ford Frick to include an asterisk to Maris’ achievement. Baseball voted to remove the asterisk from record books in 1991.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actress Ann-Margret is 80; actor Paul Guilfoyle (“CSI”) is 72; Former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno is 71; actress Mary McDonnell (“Dances with Wolves”) is 69; “Remote Control” co-host Kari Wuhrer is 54; actress Bridget Moynahan (“Blue Bloods”) is 50; former “Lost” star Jorge Garcia is 48; actress Penelope Cruz is 47; TV personalities Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott (“Property Brothers”) are 43; actress Jessica Alba is 40; actor Harry Shum Jr. (“Glee”) is 39; actress Jenna Ushkowitz (“Glee”) is 35.

-Did You Know?:
Prior to his six season stint on “The Drew Carey Show” (from 1997 to 2003), Craig Ferguson co-starred opposite Marie Osmond and Betty White in ABC sitcom “Maybe This Time.” It aired in the 1995-96 season…Before “Lost,” Jorge Garcia was a familiar face as Hector Lopez on 13 episodes of CBS comedy “Becker.” Afterwards, he spent six seasons on the “Hawaii Five-O” reboot on CBS as Jerry Ortega.