Wednesday March the 5th

ON THIS DAY in 1927                                                        
the US Federal Radio Commission held its first meeting.

                                                                                                          
Also in 1927, actor Jack Cassidy was born in Richmond Hill NY.  Besides a successful Broadway career, he was nominated for Emmys for his guesting work on TV's He & She and The Andersonville Trial. He appeared on other series from Bewitched & Get Smart, to Columbo, Hawaii Five-O, Match Game and McCloud. He was killed in an early-morning fire in his West Hollywood apartment Dec 12, 1976 at age 49.  

In 1928, bop-jazz pianist Lou Levy was born in Chicago.  He recorded with many of the giants like Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Nancy Wilson, Anita O'Day, Stan Getz & Sarah Vaughn. He died Jan 23, 2001 at age 72.

In 1931, "Without a Song" was recorded by Lawrence Tibbett for Victor Records. Tibbett was the opera star who in 1945 became the lead singer on radio's Lucky Strike Hit Parade.  The song has been a hit for many, including Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

In 1936, actor/producer Michael Landon was born in Queens NY.  
                        
He starred in three long-lasting TV series, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, & Highway to Heaven.  He died of pancreatic cancer July 1 1991 at age 55.

In 1958, pop singer Andy Gibb, the younger brother of the Bee Gees, was born in Brisbane, Australia. His brothers often supervised his recording sessions, and Andy came up with the number-one hits "I Just Want to Be Your Everything'' in 1977 and "Shadow Dancing'' in '78. Andy Gibb was the host of the "Solid Gold'' T-V show from 1981 to mid-1982. He died at age 30 March 10th, 1988 in Oxfordshire, England of a heart condition.

In 1959, singer Bobby Darin recorded his soon-to-be smash hit "Dream Lover."

In 1960, Elvis Presley was discharged from the U-S Army in one of the most publicized returns of a soldier since General Douglas MacArthur. Presley made almost no personal or T-V appearances following his two-year army stint, concentrating instead on making a string of successful movies.

In 1963, country singers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed when their small plane crashed near Camden, Tennessee. The three were returning to Nashville from Kansas City, where they had performed at a benefit concert for the widow of a disc jockey killed in a car crash.

                                                                                                                      
In 1966, "The Ballad of the Green Berets'' by Staff-Sergeant Barry Sadler reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was the top song in the U-S for five weeks. The album did even better, topping the L-P chart for 13 weeks.

In 1973, singer Roberta Flack, riding at #1 on the pop music charts with, Killing Me Softly with His Song, could hardly wait to rip into the fancy frame containing her brand new gold record. She flew to the stereo machine and set the needle down on the shiny surface, only to hear Come Softly to Me. She was so impressed by this unexpected turn of the table that she wound up humming the old Fleetwoods song for three days.

In 1974, actor Billy Dewolfe, who played a series of effeminate characters on TV's Doris Day Show, The Pruitts of Southampton, The Queen & I, The Debbie Reynolds Show, etc., died of lung cancer at age 67.

In 1975, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Have You Never Been Mellow'' by Olivia Newton-John. The song was also a country hit for the singer, reaching No. 3 on Billboard's country singles chart.

                              
In 1977, "Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen)" by Barbra Streisand topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.

In 1977, President Carter took questions from 42 telephone callers in 26 states on a radio call-in program moderated by Walter Cronkite.

In 1979, MCA Records absorbed the ABC record label. More than 300 staffers were fired.

In 1980, Canadian-born actor Jay Silverheels died at age 61, following a stroke.  He had been born Harold J. Smith May 26, 1919 on the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford Ontario. He played The Lone Ranger's sidekick Tonto in the movies & on TV (220 episodes).

                                                                                                                
In 1982, comedian John Belushi, who starred on Saturday Night Live before his big screen career, died of a drug overdose at age 32.

In 1983, the song "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson topped the charts and stayed there for 7 weeks.

In 1984, orchestra leader Harry Salter died at age 85. He played for a plethora of radio shows such as  the ''Lucky Strike Hit Parade,'' ''Your Unseen Friend,'' ''Philco Show,'' ''Hobby Lobby'' and ''Mr. District Attorney'' and for performers such as Lanny Ross and Milton Berle. He was musical director for "Stop the Music" on radio & TV, as well as TV's "Name That Tune."

            
In 1985, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Can't Fight This Feeling'' by REO Speedwagon.

In 1989, Pepsi Cola in the U-S said it would withdraw its Madonna TV ads from any station that showed the singer's new video, "Like a Prayer.'' Pepsi in Canada declined to take similar action. But in any case the entire Madonna-Pepsi campaign was scrapped a month later. The video, which already had been banned in Italy, showed a scantily-clad Madonna kissing the naked feet of a statue in a church sanctuary and caressing a priest. Pepsi had paid the singer a reported five-million dollars to star in a two-minute T-V commercial, featuring the same music as the video but showing a more subdued Madonna.

In 1990, actor Gary Merrill died of lung cancer at age 75. His rich voice had led to success in radio soaps, then to 50 feature films, and frequent TV guest work (Playhouse 90, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Littlest Hobo, etc) including recurring roles on Young Dr. Kildare & Then Came Bronson.

In 1994, former Jefferson Airplane and Starship lead singer Grace Slick was arrested for pointing a shotgun at police at her Tiburon, Calif., home. The former Jefferson Starship lead singer later said she'd been under stress since her Mill Valley home burned down the previous fall. She lost most of her memorabilia, including some items stolen by Corte Madera firefighters (who were later fired).

                                                                                                            
In 1996, actor Whit Bissell died of the effects of Parkinson's Disease at age 86.  He turned up as a supporting actor on practically every dramatic TV series for 35 years.
He had regular roles on The Time Tunnel, Bachelor Father, and Days of Our Lives.

In 1998, Chuck Berry performed for an hour at the opening of a Hard Rock Cafe in Dubai. The 71-year-old rocker even managed to crouch down in his famous "duck walk." The Hard Rock Cafe building in the United Arab Emirates was a 35-metre-tall replica of the Empire State Building in New York.

Also on this date in 1998, singer Mariah Carey flew to the Dominican Republic for a quickie divorce from Sony Music president Tommy Mottola. They had separated the previous May after five years of marriage.

Still on this date in 1998, the teenage daughter of heavy-metal star Ozzy Osbourne paid 16-thousand dollars at a charity auction in Los Angeles for the privilege of hanging out with the teen band Hanson. Aimee Osbourne's prize included socializing, concert tickets and backstage passes.

In 1999, actor Richard Kiley died of bone marrow disease at age 76. He was one of the busiest actors in TV's early days on so many of the live dramas dominating the schedules, like The US Steel Hour, Kraft TV Theatre, Danger, Studio One & Robert Montgomery Presents. In the mid-80's he headed the cast of the family drama series A Year in the Life.

In 2000, Toronto-born actor John Colicos died at age 71 after a series of heart attacks.  He is best remembered as the Klingon Kor in the Star Trek TV series, as well as Deep Space Nine. He played Count Baltar in the original Battlestar Gallactica, and was a key villain on General Hospital during the Luke & Laura craze.  He also played Van Horne the railway builder in the CBC mini-series The National Dream.

In 2002, MTV began airing "The Osbournes." The reality television show followed the daily activities of rock musician Ozzy Osbourne and his family.
      
In 2004, TV's domestic divia Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice and lying to government investigators involving her ImClone stock. She was sentenced to five months in a minimum-security prison.

In 2006, on the Acadeny Awards telecast, with Jon Stewart as host,"Crash" won the Best Picture Oscar in an upset over "Brokeback Mountain"; Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for "Walk the Line."


Today's Birthdays:

Actor James Noble (Benson) is 86.

Actor James B. Sikking (Hill Street Blues, Doogie Howser, M.D.) is 74.

Actor Paul Sand (Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers, Gimme a Break, Joan of Arcadia) is 73.

Actor Dean Stockwell (Battlestar Gallactica, Quantum Leap) is 72.

Actor Fred Williamson (Half Nelson, Julia) is 70.

Actress Samantha Eggar (Commander in Chief, Santa Barbara) is 69.

Actor Michael Warren (Soul Food, Hill Street Blues) is 62.

Actor-singer Eddie Hodges is 61.

Singer Eddy Grant is 60.

Keyboardist Alan Clark of Dire Straits is 56.

Actress-comedian Marsha Warfield (Night Court) is 54.

Comedian-magician Penn Jillette (Identity, Penn & Teller: Bullshit) is 53.

Singer Teena Marie is 52.

Singers Craig and Charlie Reid of The Proclaimers are 46.

Guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is 38.

Singer Rome is 38.

Actor Kevin Connolly (Entourage) is 34.

Actress Jolene Blalock (StarTrek: Enterprise) is 33.

Actor Jake Lloyd (The Pretender, ER) is 19.


Chart Toppers

March 5

1944
Besame Mucho - The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Bob Eberly & Kitty Kallen
My Heart Tells Me - The Glen Gray Orchestra (vocal: Eugenie Baird)
Mairzy Doats - The Merry Macs
Ration Blues - Louis Jordan

1952
Cry - Johnnie Ray
Slowpoke - Pee Wee King
Anytime - Eddie Fisher
Wondering - Webb Pierce

1960
The Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
Handy Man - Jimmy Jones
Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin
He’ll Have to Go - Jim Reeves

1968
Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat
(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls - Dionne Warwick
(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
Skip a Rope - Henson Cargill

1976
Theme from S.W.A.T. - Rhythm Heritage
Love Machine (Part 1) - The Miracles
All by Myself - Eric Carmen
Good Hearted Woman - Waylon & Willie

1984
Jump - Van Halen
99 Luftballons - Nena
Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Woke Up in Love - Exile