9/18 Entertainment History

Here is a look at September 18 in Rock and Roll History, Movie and TV History, and Sports History; divided into separate categories and all presented at no charge because that’s just the kind of guy that I am. 😉
Have a Fantabulous Friday!

ROCK & ROLL HISTORY

1968 – The Beatles recorded Birthday.
After taping 20 takes of the backing track, the group, along with Yoko Ono, Pattie Harrison and Chris Thomas (who was filling in for George Martin as producer), left the studio and went to Paul McCartney’s house to watch the classic rock and roll film The Girl Can’t Help It on BBC2.
After that they went back into the studio and recorded the vocals and overdubs.

1970 – Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose. He was 27.
Coroner Gavin Thurston concluded that Hendrix aspirated his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. Citing “insufficient evidence of the circumstances”, he declared an open verdict, meaning the death was suspicious, but he was unable to reach any other verdict.
Monika Dannemann, his girlfriend, later revealed that Hendrix had taken nine of her prescribed Vesparax sleeping tablets, 18 times the recommended dosage.
Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as “arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.”

1976 – Boston released More Than A Feeling.
The single, which took five years to complete, peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1978 – All four members of Kiss released solo albums.
Casablanca Records shipped five million total copies of the albums (guaranteeing instant platinum status). That was soon followed by retailers shipping them back to the record company.
The actual and legitimate number of copies sold was slightly over 2 million.

MOVIE/TV HISTORY

1949 – Actor Frank Morgan died of a heart attack at the age of 59.
He starred in The Affairs Of Cellini and Tortilla Flat – both of which earned him Academy Award nominations – but he is best remembered for his performance as the title character in The Wizard Of Oz.
In addition to playing the Wizard in that epic film, Morgan also played Professor Marvel , the Gatekeeper at the Emerald City, the coachman of the carriage drawn by “The Horse of a Different Color,” and the Guard who blubbered loudly upon seeing Dorothy cry at not being admitted to see the Wizard.

1951 – A Streetcar Named Desire, adapted from Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 play, premiered in theaters.
Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden were all cast in their original Broadway roles. Vivien Leigh, who had appeared in the London theatre production of the play, was cast in the film adaptation based on her star power.
The film set an Oscar record when it became the first film to win in three acting categories; Best Actress (Leigh), Best Supporting Actor (Malden), Best Supporting Actress (Hunter), and Art Direction.
Brando rose to prominence as a major Hollywood film star and received the first of four consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Actor.

1957 – Wagon Train premiered on NBC. After five years, the series switched to ABC in 1962 and ran for three more years.
Ward Bond was the original wagon master. Following his death in 1960 (in the middle of the fourth season), he was replaced by John McIntire as wagon master.

1964 – The Addams Family premiered on ABC.
Based on the characters from Charles Addams’ New Yorker cartoons, the series starred John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, and Ted Cassidy (as “charming” butler Lurch).
They Worked Hard Factoid:Although the series ran for only two seasons, a total of 64 episodes were aired because back then, boys and girls, television series usually contained 30 or more episodes per season, not the 18-24 shows per season TV viewers get today.

1965 – I Dream Of Jeannie premiered on NBC.
The show, which starred Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, lasted five seasons.

1965 – Get Smart premiered on NBC.
The series starred Don Adams, Barbara Feldon and Edward Platt and ran for five years.

1968 – Actor Franchot Tone died of lung cancer at the age of 63.
He was Oscar-nominated for his role as Midshipman Roger Byam in the 1935 production of Mutiny On The Bounty and became a leading man in films such as Dangerous, Phantom Lady, Dark Waters, and Advise and Consent.

SPORTS HISTORY

1963 – In the Polo Grounds’ final game, played in front of a paltry 1,752 fans, Jim Hickman of the New York Mets hit the last home run in the 52-year history of the ballpark.
The iconic stadium, which served as the home of the Giants (1911-1957), Yankees (1913-1922), and Mets (1962-63), first opened its doors on June 28, 1911.

1994 – Ken Burns’ Baseball premiered on PBS.
The nine-part documentary explored the relationship between the sport and society by using archived pictures, film footage along with a soundtrack consisting of interviews and the music of the times.
The series drew an audience of 45 million viewers, making the 18.5-hour miniseries the most watched program in Public Television history.

1996 – Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens struck out 20 Detroit Tigers, tying his own major league record for most strikeouts in a game; a record he had set ten years earlier against Seattle.

2013 – Former heavyweight boxing champion Ken Norton died after a series of strokes. He was 70.

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