History Blog

Category Archives: History

August 13

Happy Birthday RIP Irving “Bert” Lahrheim(1895–1967) Alfred Hitchcock(1899–1980) Neville Brand(1920–1992) Herbert Ritts(1952–2002) Daniel “Pat” Harrington Jr(1929–2016) ; “Kevin Tighe”(John Fishburn)–80 Dante “Danny” Bonaduce–65 John Slattery Jr–62 James Carpinello–49 Augusto “Álex” González–44 ; 1942 – Walt Disney’s animated feature “Bambi” premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

August 12

Happy Birthday RIP Jane Wyatt(1910–2006) Cecil Blount DeMille(1881–1959) Marjorie Reynolds(Goodspeed 1917–1997) ; George Hamilton–85 Patrick “Pat” Metheny–70 Bruce Greenwood–68 Peter Krause–59 Rebecca Gayheart–53 Michael Ian Black(Schwartz)–53 Caleb Casey Affleck–49 ; 1851 – Isaac Singer is granted a patent for his invention, the sewing machine

August 11

Happy Birthday Ian McDiarmid–80 Terry Bollea(“Hulk Hogan”)–71 Viola Davis–59 Anna Gunn–56 Chris Messina–50 Chris Hemsworth–41 ; 1934 – The first civilian prisoners arrive at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island ; 1965 – deadly rioting and looting broke out in the predominantly black populated Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

August 10

Happy Birthday RIP Herbert Hoover(1874–1964) Edith Norma Shearer(1902–1983) John “Jack” Haley Jr “Scarecrow”:(1898–1979) Noah Beery Jr. (1913–1994) “Jeff Corey”(Arthur Zwerling 1914–2002) Eddie Fisher(Edwin Tisch 1928–2010) Jimmy Dean(1928–2010) Martha Lou Spring(“Martha Hyer 1924 – 2014)” ; Ian Anderson–77 Donald Swayze–66 Rosanna Arquette–65 José Antonio Banderas–64 Justin Theroux–53 Ryan Eggold–40 Lucas Till–34 ; 1977 – In Yonkers, New York, 24yo postal employee David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”) is arrested for a series of killings in the New York City area over the period of one year. He is still alive and in prison.

August 9

Happy Birthday RIP Whitney Houston(1963–2012) ; Samuel Elliott–80 Melanie Griffith–67 Amanda Bearse–66 Gillian Anderson–56 Eric Banadinovic(Eric Bana)–56 Chris Cuomo–54 Audrey Tautou–48 Anna Kendrick–39 ; 1969 – Actress Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring and Steven Parent were found murdered in Los Angeles at 10500 Cielon Drive ; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the murders

August 8

Happy Birthday RIP Esther Williams(1921–2013) Richard Anderson(1926–2017) Lonnie Melvin Tillis(1932–2017) ; Donald P. Bellisario–89 Dustin Hoffman–87 Concetta Ingolia(“Connie Stevens”)–86 Larry Wilcox–77 Keith Carradine–75 Donald Most–71 Joshua “J.C.” Chasez–48 Jackie Cruz–38 ; 1876 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph ; 1974 – Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day

August 7

Happy Birthday RIP Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer (1927–1959) Mary “Billie” Burke(1884–1970) ; John Glover Jr–80 Wayne Knight–69 Paul Bruce Dickinson–66 David Duchovny–64 Michael Shannon–50 Charlize Theron–49 Eric Johnson–45 Randy Wayne Frederick–43 ; 1782 – George Washington orders the creation of the Badge of Military Merit to honor soldiers wounded in battle. It is later renamed to the more poetic Purple Heart ; 1981 – The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication

August 6

Happy Birthday RIP Robert Mitchum(1917–1997) Andy Warhola(1928–1987) Lucille Ball(1911–1989) Barbara Windsor(Deeks 1937–2020) ; Manoj Nelliyattu “M Night” Shyamalan–54 Vera Farmiga–51 Soleil Moon Frye–48 Melissa George–48 Karl Davies–42 Christopher Anton Ploszczansky–38 ; 1926 – In New York City, the Warner Bros.’ Vitaphone system premieres with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore ; 1945 – the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare ; 1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

August 5

Happy Birthday RIP John Huston(1906–1987) Selma Diamond(1920–1985) Neil Armstrong(1930–2012) “John Saxon”(Carmine Orrico 1935–2020) Jeannette “Ja’net” DuBois 1945–2020) : Loni Anderson–79 Maureen McCormick–68 ; 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping ; 1957 – “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark, made its network TV debut on ABC network

August 4

Happy Birthday RIP Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon(Queen Mother 1900–2002) Anita Page(Pomares 1910–2008) Louis Armstrong(1901–1971) Richard Belzer(1944–2023) ; William Robert “Billy Bob” Thornton–69 Barack H. Obama II–63 Daniel Dae Kim–56 Meghan Duchess of Sussex “Markle”–43 Abigail Spencer–43 ; 1977 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy ; 1993 – A federal judge sentences Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King’s civil rights.