Today in History – Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Television and Radio
“My Friend Flicka”, based on the book and theatrical of the same name, opened on CBS in 1955. The following fall it moved to NBC for a second season… comedy “B.J. and the Bear” starring Greg Evigan as an independent trucker who traveled with his pet chimpanzee began as a weekly series on NBC in 1979. Produced at a time when the CB radio and trucking craze peaked in the United States, the series ran for three seasons…President Ronald Reagan was filmed throughout the day for NBC film “A Day in the Life of the President” in 1981…Two short-lived sitcoms debuted on ABC in 1983. The first was “Amanda’s“, the American adaptation of the classic BBC sitcom “Fawlty Towers“. Only 10 episodes aired of the series, which had starred Bea Arthur. The second was “Condo” starring McLean Stevenson — his fourth sitcom while “M*A*S*H”, the series he had departed eight years prior — was still on the air…Michael Jackson granted his first interview in 15 years to Oprah Winfrey in 1993. In the interview, Jackson claimed that he has a disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin and that he had had very little plastic surgery…In 2015, NBC News suspended Brian Williams for six months without pay for his misrepresenting of events concerning an Iraq war story. The story was found to be untrue.

Movies:
John Wayne western “Stagecoach” directed by John Ford opened in theaters in 1939. The film followed a group of strangers riding on a stagecoach through dangerous Apache territory.
 
Music:
Single “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller hit No. 1 on the Billboard Music charts in 1940…In 1942, Glenn Miller was awarded the first ever gold record for selling one million copies of “Chattanooga Choo Choo”…Single “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart peaked at No. 1 in 1979…Album “John Lennon: Live in NYC” album was released posthumously in 1986… “Opposites Attract” by Paula Abdul and the Wild Pair hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1990…Single “This Is How We Roll” was released by Florida Georgia Line (featuring Luke Bryan) in 2013. It was named the Billboard Song of the Year…British singer Amy Winehouse was the biggest winner at the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008, earning five awards including Best New Artist and, for her song “Rehab“, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance…At the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013, “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and Kimbra won for Record of the Year; folk band Mumford & Sons‘ “Babel” won Album of the Year; indie pop supergroup Fun. was Best New Artist and their No. 1 hit “We Are Young” featuring Janelle Monae was Song of the Year. Kelly Clarkson became the first two-time winner of the Best Pop Vocal Album Grammy award with her 2012 album “Stronger“…Hip-hop artist Childish Gambino (aka “Community” actor Donald Glover) did not attend the Alicia Keys-hosted 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019, but he still won two of the night’s biggest awards: Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “This Is America“. British singer Dua Lipa won for Best New Artist.

Books
“Valley of the Dolls” by Jacqueline Susann was first published in 1966. A theatrical film of the same named starring Barbara Perkins, Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, Susan Hayward, Paul Burke and Lee Grant was produced in 1967.
 
News
England’s Prince Charles announced his engagement to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005.

Celebrity Birthdays:
Actor Robert Wagner (“Hart to Hart”) is 91; singer Roberta Flack is 84; American Olympic gold medalist swimmer Mark Spitz is 71; Australian golfer Greg Norman is 66; “Good Morning America” co-host George Stephanopoulos is 60; Fox Sports NFL analyst Daryl Johnston is 55; Oscar winner Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”) is 54; actress Elizabeth Banks (“Picture Perfect”) is 47; actress Uzo Aduba (“Orange is the New Black”) is 40; actress Stephanie Beatriz (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) is 40; American Olympic gold medalist sprinter Justin Gatlin is 39; actress Emma Roberts (“American Horror Story”) is 30; actress Chloe Grace Moretz is 24; actress Yara Shahidi (“grown-ish”) is 21.

Did You Know?
A reported 90 million people worldwide tuned in for the Oprah’s interview with Michael Jackson, which is the most-watched interview in television history. Second was Barbara Walters’ sit-down with Monica Lewinsky on ABC’s “20/20,” which reached a reported 70 million viewers worldwide on March 3, 1999.