9/11 Entertainment History

I have always tried to insert events of a historical nature from the “world of entertainment” inside the Daily History lessons. Sometimes they fit and other times they seemed out of place. Starting today I will be posting historical events from rock and roll, movies/television and sports in an article separate from news events.

1921 – Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, a silent-film era performer at the height of his fame, was arrested in San Francisco for the rape and murder of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe.
Arbuckle was later acquitted by a jury, but the scandal essentially put an end to his career.

1954 – The 28th Miss America pageant, held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, marked the first live nationally televised broadcast of the annual event.
Miss California – Lee Meriwether, who later came to fame as co-star of the television series Barnaby Jones and as the ‘Catwoman’ character in the 1966 film version of Batman — was the winner.

1959 – Actor Paul Douglas died of a heart attack at the age of 52.
Among his more than 40 films, Douglas is best remembered for two baseball comedy movies; It Happens Every Spring and Angels in the Outfield.

1962 – The Beatles recorded their first single, Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You, at EMI Studios – long before the name was changed to Abbey Road Studios – in London.
Producer George Martin brought in drummer Andy White (pictured above), for the session and relegated Ringo Starr to playing a tambourine. White’s version can be heard on the Please Please Me album, while Ringo’s drumming (recorded one week earlier) was heard on the single.
There is a very easy way to tell the difference between the two versions. If you can hear a tambourine, then you’re listening to Andy White – who died in 2015 – on drums.

1967 – The Carol Burnett Show debuted on CBS. The show would run until 1978 and win 25 prime-time Emmy Awards.

1967 – The Beach Boys recorded Never Learn Not To Love.
Manson Factoid: The song – released as the b-side of the Bluebirds Over The Mountain single and on the band’s 20/20 album – was notable for one reason. It was written by Charles Manson (yes, that Charles Manson) under the title of Cease To Exist.
The Beach Boys changed the key phrase to “cease to resist”, but otherwise left the melody essentially unchanged. Dennis Wilson – not Manson – was credited as the writer of the song.
Manson Factoid #2: Manson exchanged his writing credit for a sum of cash and a motorcycle, but was incensed when he learned that Wilson had changed his original lyrics.
Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks recalled that Manson brought a bullet and showed it to Dennis, who asked, “What’s this?” Manson replied, “It’s a bullet. Every time you look at it, I want you to think how nice it is your kids are still safe.”
Manson Factoid #3: During Manson’s trial for the 1969 Tate/LaBianca murders, he released his debut studio album, Lie: The Love and Terror Cult. It included Manson’s original arrangement of Cease To Exist.
Only 300 albums were reportedly sold.

1974 – Little House On The Prairie premiered on NBC.
The program would run for nine seasons.

1977 – Bing Crosby and David Bowie filmed a scene for Bing’s last Christmas TV special, singing a medley of Little Drummer Boy and Peace On Earth.

1985 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds recorded his 4,192nd base hit, breaking Ty Cobb’s career record.

1987 – Actor Lorne Greene of Bonanza and Battlestar Galactica fame died of complications from pneumonia, following ulcer surgery. He was 72.
Long before he became a household name on American television, Greene – a native Canadian – was the news anchor on the CBC National News and his deep, authoritarian voice quickly propelled him to prominence as Canada’s top newscaster.

1987 – Musician Peter Tosh – second only in reggae fame to the legendary Bob Marley – was murdered during a home invasion.
Tosh was one of the core members of Marley’s band (The Wailers), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist.
Dennis Lobban, a man whom Tosh had previously befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence, entered Tosh’s home with a small gang of friends and attempted to rob the singer.
Even though Tosh claimed he had no money in the house, the gang tortured him for several hours before losing patience and shooting Tosh and his houseguests in the head. Tosh died instantly, as did two of his friends, though three others somehow survived.
Lobban was sentenced to death by hanging for his crime, though his sentence was later commuted and he remains in prison in Jamaica.

1994 – Academy Award winning actress Jessica Tandy died at the age of 85.
She appeared in over 100 stage productions, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress three times. Her movie career was equally successful. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Driving Miss Daisy, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Fried Green Tomatoes.

2001 – Terrible Timing:
Dream Theater, a progressive metal band, released a live album (Live Scenes from New York) on the same day terrorists attacked America.
The cover depicted an apple (as in “Big Apple”) and a burning New York City skyline (including the World Trade Center buildings) in the flame above the apple.
The album was quickly recalled by the band and was re-released with revised artwork.

2002 – Academy Award winning actress Kim Hunter died of a heart attack at the age of 79.
She was best known for her performance as Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, which earned her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

2002 – Football Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas died at the age of 69.
Unitas, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, is considered by many as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

2003 – Actor John Ritter died during surgery to repair a torn aortic dissection. He was 54.
He was best known for playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three’s Company, and for his masterful dramatic performance in the film Sling Blade.

2009 – Larry Gelbart, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series M*A*S*H, died of cancer at the age of 81.
Gelbart’s best known screen work was Tootsie, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

2009 – Singer/songwriter/author Jim Carroll died from a heart attack at the age of 60.
He was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which inspired a 1995 film of the same title that starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll. The two are pictured above.
As a musician, the Jim Carroll Band was best known for People Who Died (about friends of the singer who died before their time).

2010 – Actor Kevin McCarthy died of pneumonia at the age of 96.
Although he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Death Of A Salesman, McCarthy was perhaps best known for his role in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

2014 – Bob Crewe, producer and co-writer of many hits by the Four Seasons, died at the age of 83.
Together with Four Seasons keyboardist Bob Gaudio, Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles for the group, including Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Rag Doll, Silence Is Golden, Dawn (Go Away), and Sherry.
Crewe and Gaudio also teamed up to write My Eyes Adored You and Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, both smash solo hits for Frankie Valli.

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2005-2020 RayLemire.com / Streamingoldies.com. All Rights Reserved.