1930- "Ba, ba, ba, boo. I will, ba ba ba boo ... marry you!" 'Der Bingle', better known as
Bing Crosby, America's premier crooner for decades, married Dixie Lee.
~~~~~~~~~~
1946- Mystery fans remember when The Adventures of Sam Spade
debuted on CBS radio this Sunday night. (It had aired in the
summer of 1946 on ABC on Friday nights.) The Adventures of
Sam Spade, with Howard Duff playing Spade, became a big
hit in the Sunday night radio lineup. And now a word from our sponsor:
"Use Wildroot Cream Oil, Charlie ... it keeps your hair in trim..."
~~~~~~~~~~
1947- Dizzy Gillespie presented his first Carnegie Hall concert in New York,
adding a sophisticated jazz touch to the famous concert emporium.
Diz would become one of the jazz greats of all time. His trademark:
Two cheeks pushed out until it looked like his face would explode.
But, as the hepcats said, "Man, that guy can blow!"
~~~~~~~~~~
1953- Danny Thomas, who many now remember as Marlo's dad and
Phil Donahue's father-in-law, is also remembered for many
things that influenced television. At the suggestion of his friend,
Desi Arnaz, Thomas negotiated a deal that would allow him to
retain ownership rights to his programs, like Make Room for Daddy,
which debuted this day on ABC-TV. Later, in 1957, the show would
move to CBS under the Desilu/Danny Thomas Productions banner.
The rest is, literally, TV history. His success allowed him to give
something back to the world, in the form of his philanthropic efforts
to build St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. "All I prayed for
was a break," he once told an interviewer, "and I said I would do
anything, anything, to pay back the prayer if it could be answered. All I
needed was a sign of what to do and I would do it." And so it was.
~~~~~~~~~~
1960- My Three Sons was welcomed into U.S. homes on ABC-TV. Fred MacMurray,
who was a movie actor, had a difficult time making the adjustment to
the small screen. But adjust he did, and My Three Sons endured so well
that CBS bought the successful hit for somewhere between seven and ten
million dollars in 1965.
~~~~~~~~~~