Today in History: Wednesday, August 14, 2024

TODAY IN HISTORY

Television
In 1965, the Beatles traveled to CBS’ New York studio to rehearse and tape their third (and final) appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Their performance kicked-off the 18th season-premiere of the long-running variety hour on September 12, which was its final black and white telecast…Variety series “The Diahann Carroll Show” premiered on CBS in 1976. Its first night featured Sammy Davis Jr., Telly Savalas and Jon Lucien. The program had a limited run of four weeks that summer.

Private eye drama “I Had Three Wives” starring Victor Garber, Maggie Cooper, Shanna Reed and Teri Copley debuted on CBS in 1985. Six episodes were produced but only five had aired…Educational animated program “Dora the Explorer” premiered as a weekly series on Nickelodeon in 2000. It ran for eight seasons thru to 2014. The last six episodes aired in the summer of 2019 to help promote its feature film “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.“

Movies
“A Place in the Sun,“ directed by George Stevens, starring Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor and Shelley Winters was released in theaters in 1951. It won six Academy Awards, including George Stevens as Best Director.

Cult musical classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick premiered in 1975.

Romantic comedy “Can’t Buy Me Love” starring Patrick Dempsey was released in 1987…Copycat identity thriller “Single White Female” starring Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Steven Weber was released in theaters in 1992…Romantic comedy-drama “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” starring Angela Bassett, Taye Diggs and Whoopi Goldberg opened in 1998. It was adapted from the bestselling Terry McMillan novel of the same title.

Music:
Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” hit #1 on the Billboard charts in 1965…”Battle of Brit Pop” rival bands Oasis (“Roll with It”) and Blur (“Country House”) release singles on the same day

News:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law in 1935, guaranteeing income for the unemployed and retirees…President Harry S. Truman announced that Japan had surrendered to the United States in 1945, bringing an end to World War II…The Sega Genesis video game console was released in 1989.

Sports:
To commemorate his entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Reggie Jackson had his jersey number 44 retired by the New York Yankees in 1993.

In 2004 in Athens, Greece, American swimmer Michael Phelps won his first gold medal at an Olympic Games. He won it in the 400-meter medley race. By the end of his stint at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, Phelps became the all-time Olympic record holder in gold medals (with 23) and total medals overall (28)…In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became the first athlete to win the gold medal in the 100-meter race in track and field in three consecutive Olympic Games, also including Beijing (2008) and London (2012).

Celebrity Birthdays
Comedian Steve Martin is 79; actress Susan Saint James (“Kate & Allie”) is 78; actor Antonio Fargas (“Starsky & Hutch”) is also 78; romance novelist Danielle Steel is 77; “Far Side” cartoonist Gary Larson is 74; actor Carl Lumbly (“Alias”) is 73; race car driver Rusty Wallace is 68; actress Jackée Harry (“227”) is also 68; basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson is 65; Oscar winning actress Marcia Gay Harden is also 65; opera singer Sarah Brightman is 64; “The Brady Bunch” star Susan Olsen is 63; actress actress Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”) is 58; Catherine Bell (“The Good Witch”) is 56; actor Mila Kunis (“That 70’s Show”) is 41; actor Lamorne Morris (“New Girl”) is also 41; Heisman-winning quarterback Tim Tebow is 37.

Did You Know?
Susan Olsen appeared in all the “Brady Bunch” reunion series, but missed 1988 made-for TV movie “A Very Brady Christmas” (which was filmed when she was on her honeymoon). Jennifer Runyon stepped in as “Fake Cindy.”