Wednesday February the 20th

ON THIS DAY in 1900
Canadian radio pioneer Graham Spry was born at St Thomas Ontario. Spry founded the Canadian Radio League, and is regarded as The Father of Canadian Public Broadcasting.  He helped mobilize public opinion that led to the formation in 1932 of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, the predecessor of the CBC. He died November 24, 1983 at age 83.
                                                                                                                      
On this day in 1914, broadcast journalist/TV host John Daly was born in Johannesburg South Africa. Although best remembered as host of the CBS TV game show What's My Line, he had a distinguished newscasting career on CBS radio, bringing first word of both the Pearl Harbour attack & the death of President Roosevelt.  He died Feb 24, 1991 at age 77.

On this day in 1916, actor/TV host Paul Tripp was born in New York City. His first children's show Mr. I. Magination, was seen on CBS TV, but most of his subsequent informational children's programs were only on local New York TV.  Among his acting credits was a role as Sally's unfaithful boyfriend on The Dick Van Dyke Show.  He died Aug. 29 2002 at age 86.

On this day in 1922, WOR-AM, New York City, went on the air.

On this day in 1929, actress Amanda Blake  was born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo NY.  Although she had other TV assignments before & after, she will be forever remembered as Miss Kitty in 337 episodes of Gunsmoke spanning nearly 20 years. She died at age 60 Aug 16, 1989 of AIDS-related viral hepatitis.  
                    

On this day in 1936, actor/comedian Larry Hovis was born in Wapito Washinton.  His break-through role was on TV's Gomer Pyle USMC, and he became a regular on the long-running Hogan's Heroes.  He also wrote & performed for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, plus numerous guest roles. He died of cancer Sept. 9 2003 at age 67.

On this day in 1940, Larry Clinton and his orchestra recorded "Limehouse Blues" on Victor Records.

On this day in 1941, Quebec singer and songwriter La Bolduc died in Montreal. She was 46. Her songs, detailing the life of ordinary Quebecers in the 1920's and '30s, were very popular at the time, and had a great influence on later Quebec singers.

On this day in 1949, future teen singing idol, Ricky Nelson, began performing on his parents' radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet. His 9th birthday was still 3 months away.

On this day in 1958, actor Thurston Hall, who was featured in TV's Adventures of Hiram Holliday & was Mr. Schuyler on Topper, died at age 75 following a heart attack.

                                                                                                                          
On this day in 1964, the Beach Boys recorded "Don't Worry Baby".

On this day in 1965, the Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love'' was released. It would become their fourth number-one hit.

Also this day in 1965, "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis & the Playboys topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks.  Gary is Jerry Lewis' son.

On this day in 1966, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "These Boots Are Made for Walkin''' by Nancy Sinatra. The singer is the oldest of Frank and Nancy Sinatra's three children.

On this day in 1967, singer Kurt Cobain of Seattle-based Nirvana was born in Aberdeen Washington.  His death by shotgun wound April 8 1994 has been legally ruled a suicide.

On this day in 1968, Monty Python's John Cleese married his Fawlty Towers co-star, American actress Connie Booth (pictured, right).  They would divorce 10 years later.
                  

On this day in 1970, the John Lennon single "Instant Karma'' was released.

On this day in 1972, gossip columnist & iconic radio star Walter Winchell died of prostate cancer at age 74.  His weekly broadcasts in the 30's, 40's & 50's began: "Hello Mr. & Mrs. North America & all the ships at sea, let's go to press."  A later generation would only know him as narrator on the TV series The Untouchables.

On this day in 1974, singer-actress Cher filed for separation from her husband, Sonny Bono after ten years of marriage.  

On this day in 1975, orchestra leader Edgar "Cookie" Fairchild, who led the band on the Eddie Cantor radio shows, died at age 76.

                                                                      
On this day in 1975, burly, gravel-voiced character actor Robert Strauss, who had recurring roles on TV series Bewitched and Mona McCluskey, died following a stroke at age 61.

On this day in 1976, a judge in New York ruled that Roulette Records could not release an album of John Lennon singing rock 'n' roll oldies. The judge ruled Lennon had a previous commitment to Capitol Records.

Also on this date in 1976, the members of Kiss placed their footprints in cement outside Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

On this day in 1981, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "9 to 5'' by Dolly Parton. The single was the title song to the film starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

On this day in 1983, actor Ray Vitte, featured as Cody in the TV series The Quest, died after a scuffle with LA police at age 33.

                                                                                                                                      
On this day in 1987, David Hartman exited as host of ABC's "Good Morning America" after 11 years on the job. He introduced his replacement, Charles Gibson who, with Joan Lunden, would co-host the morning television program into 1998.

On this day in 1988, "Seasons Change" by Expose topped the charts, but only for a week.

Also this day in 1988, Canadian rocker Bryan Adams performed a private concert for three-thousand athletes and media people at the Calgary Olympics. More than 200 athletes joined Adams on stage for the finale.

                                                                  
Also in 1988, Canadian singer Bruce Cockburn opened a U-S tour in Seattle before a sellout crowd of three-thousand. The concert netted Cockburn more than 10-thousand dollars, which he donated to the Central American Peace Campaign.

On this day in 1989, Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing'' became only the second single to be certified double-platinum in the U-S -- meaning it had sold two-million copies. Since the double-platinum category was created in 1984, only one other single, "We Are the World,'' had reached that plateau. The phenomenal sales of "Wild Thing'' showed that rap had moved out of the urban ghettos into the pop music mainstream.

On this day in 1991, Vancouver's CHQM 1320 dumped it’s “Lite 1320” format for “Memory Music” from the 30s to 60s.

Also in 1991, Quincy Jones won six Grammy awards for his album "Back on the Block," making him the second-biggest winner in Grammy history with 25. Toronto rocker Alannah Myles was named best female rock vocalist for "Black Velvet," a number-one single from her self-named debut album.

On this day in 1992, actor Dick York, best known as the first Darrin on TV's Bewitched, died of emphysema at age 63.

On this day in 1992, singer Paula Abdul and actor Emilio Estevez announced their engagement. It was the first marriage for both, but lasted only two years.

On this day in 1993, Jackyl lead singer Jesse James Dupree was arrested for allegedly exposing himself on stage during a concert a few days earlier in Long Beach, California.

On this day in 1996, rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg (now Snoop Dogg) and his ex-bodyguard were acquitted of murder in a 1993 drive-by shooting in a Los Angeles park. Prosecutors alleged that the bodyguard, McKinley Lee, had shot 25-year-old Philip Woldemariam from a Jeep driven by the rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus. The two claimed self-defence because Woldemariam was reaching for a gun.

On this day in 1998, Bob McBride, former lead singer of the Canadian jazz-rock band Lighthouse, died in a Toronto hospital after years of illness and drug abuse. He was 51.

On this day in 1999, movie critic Gene Siskel, co-star of TV's Siskel and Ebert and the Movies, died  after brain surgery at age 53.

                                                                                                                                  
On this day in 2001, actress Rosemary De Camp succumbed to pneumonia at age 90. She was active in bigtime radio, playing nurse Judy Price on CBS' Dr. Christian. On TV she was Peg Riley on Life of Riley, and had feature roles on The Bob Cummings Show & That Girl.
                                                                                                                
On this day in 2000, ABC-TV aired the "Little Richard" TV movie.

On this day in 2003, 100 people were killed and 200 were injured in an inferno at The Station nightclub in Providence, Rhode Island. Pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable foam around the stage during a performance by the heavy metal band "Great White.''

On this day in 2006, sportscaster Curt Gowdy died in Palm Beach, Fla., at age 86. He'd been part of the national broadcast of 13 World Series, 16 baseball All-Star Games, 9 Super Bowls, 14 Rose Bowls, 8 Olympic Games and 24 NCAA Final Fours. He also hosted the long-running outdoors show The American Sportsman on ABC.
                    

On this day in 2007, Britney Spears first checked into rehab. She checked out the next day.


Today's Birthdays:

Actor Sidney Poitier (David & Lisa, Separate But Equal) is 81.

Actress Patricia Smith (Bob Newhart Show, Debbie Reynolds Show) is 78.

Actress Marj Dusay (Guiding Light, All My Children, Facts of Life) is 72.

Jazz and soul singer Nancy Wilson is 71.

Actor Richard Beymer (TwinPeaks, Murder She Wrote) is 70.

Olympia Wash-born singer Barbara Ellis of The Fleetwoods is 68.

Saskatchewan-born singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 67.

Actress Sandy Duncan (Sandy Duncan Show, The Hogan Family) is 62.

Guitarist J. Geils of The J. Geils Band is 62.

Actress Brenda Blethyn (Alias Smith & Jones, RKO 281) is 62.

Actor Peter Strauss (Rich Man Poor Man, Moloney) is 61.

Singer-bassist Walter Becker of Steely Dan is 58.

Singer Paul Cooper, a founder of the Canadian a-capella group the Nylons, is 58.

Country singer Kathie Baillie of Baillie and the Boys is 57.

Actor Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Monarch of the Glen) is 54.

Bassist Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing) is 49.

Actor Joel Hodgson (Mystery Science Theater 3000) is 48.

Singer Ian Brown of Stone Roses is 45.

Actor French Stewart (Third Rock from the Sun, The New WKRP) is 44.

Actor Ron Eldard (Men Behaving Badly, Bakersfield P.D.) is 43.

Model Cindy Crawford (House of Style, Sex With Cindy Crawford)is 42.

Actor Andrew Shue (Melrose Place) is 41.

Actress Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under) is 41.

Singer Brian Littrell of Backstreet Boys is 33.

Actress Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) is 30.

Actor Jay Hernandez (Six Degrees, Undressed, Hang Time) is 30.

Actress Majandra Delfino (Roswell) is 27.

Singer-musician Chris Thile is 27.

Actor Jake Richardson (Invasion, Fudge) is 23.

Singer Rihanna is 20.


Chart Toppers

February 20

1947
For Sentimental Reasons - Nat King Cole
A Gal in Calico - Johnny Mercer
Oh, But I Do - Margaret Whiting
So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed - Merle Travis

1955
Sincerely - McGuire Sisters
Melody of Love - Billy Vaughn
Tweedle Dee - Georgia Gibbs
Let Me Go, Lover! - Hank Snow

1963
Hey Paula - Paul & Paula
Walk like a Man - The 4 Seasons
Ruby Baby - Dion
The Ballad of Jed Clampett - Flatt & Scruggs

1971
One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
Mama’s Pearl - The Jackson 5
Help Me Make It Through the Night - Sammi Smith

1979
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? - Rod Stewart
Y.M.C.A. - Village People
A Little More Love - Olivia Newton-John
Every Which Way But Loose - Eddie Rabbitt

1987
Livin’ on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Change of Heart - Cyndi Lauper
Touch Me (I Want Your Body) - Samantha Fox
How Do I Turn You On - Ronnie Milsap