235th day of 2009 - 130 remaining
Sunday, August 23, 2009
LINDY HOP DAY
On this day in 1943, LIFE magazine spotlighted a dance craze that was sweeping the U.S.A. -- the Lindy Hop. The Lindy was named after American aviation hero Charles A. Lindbergh; and began its entry into the American lifestyle in 1927. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York was really jumping when George ‘Shorty’ Snowden, one of the Savoy’s famous dancers, started doing twists, turns, jumps and twirls to the music of greats like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald. Snowden told everyone he was doing the Lindy Hop.
The jitterbug, swing or Lindy as it was called by white dancers became an integral part of Hollywood’s golden era and was picked up by the youth of America during WWII, as exhibited on the LIFE cover.
The Lindy Hop was still being danced in the 1950s to rock ’n’ roll at sock hops; and was the jump start for the dance styles of the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, people throughout the world still do the Lindy ... or Boogie Woogie, Rock ’n’ Roll, Le Roc, Ceroc, etc. (current variations of the first acrobatic social dance).
Events
August 23
1858 - A melodrama titled Ten Nights in a Barroom opened at the National Theatre in New York City. It was a temperance melodrama -- about the evils of drinking.
1892 - John H. Stedman of Rochester, NY patented the printed streetcar transfer. Don’t forget. You have to ASK for the transfer.
1902 - Fannie Merrit Farmer opened her cooking school, Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery, in Boston, MA. Ms. Farmer was the leading cooking authority of her day. Known as the ‘mother of measurements’, she revolutionized food preparation throughout the world with her introduction of precise measurements -- the level teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, etc. And, in 1919, candy maker Frank O’Connor paid Fannie the ultimate compliment by naming his now famous company, Fanny Farmer Candy Shops.
1904 - Harry D. Weed of New York state patented the grip-tread tire chain for automobiles. On those snowy, winter mornings in New York, et al, you can still hear those tire chains as cars ride by. Some still prefer the chains to today’s snow-tread tires.
1913 - The statue of The Little Mermaid, based on the tale by Hans Christien Andersen, was unveiled in Copenhagen. It was a donation from brewer Carl Jacobsen to the City of Copenhagenand has become a famous symbol of the city.
1923 - Billy Jones and Ernie Hare, The Happiness Boys, were heard on radio for the first time. The two were billed as radio’s first comedians and were also credited with creating and performing the first singing commercial.
1936 - Bob Feller made his pitching debut with the Cleveland Indians. Feller struck out 15 St. Louis Browns in his first outing. Three weeks later, he tied the American League record by striking out 17 Philadelphia Athletics.
1942 - Francisco ‘Pancho’ Segura of Ecuador won the Longwood Bowl at Brookline, MA. Francisco became the first player from South America to win a major U.S. grass-court tennis tournament.
1947 - Margaret Truman, daughter of U.S. President Harry S Truman, presented her first public concert. Margaret sang before 15,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert did not get great reviews. In fact, the critics didn’t like Margaret’s singing at all. And Margaret’s dad didn’t like the critics, and said so, from the White House.
1965 - The U.S. premiere of the motion picture Help!, starring The Beatles, was held for thousands of moviegoers wanting to see the group’s first color motion picture. Their first film, A Hard Day’s Night, had been produced in black and white.
1969 - Mrs. Audrey McElmury of La Jolla, CA won the world cycling championship in Czechoslovakia.
1970 - U.S. swimmer Gary Hall broke three world records at the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) outdoor swimming meet, held in Los Angeles, CA.
1982 - Gaylord Perry was tossed out of a game for throwing an illegal spitball. Perry, pitching for the Seattle Mariners, was given the heave-ho by the home plate umpire in the seventh inning of the game.
1984 - South Fork Ranch, the home of the fictitious Ewing clan of the CBS-TV show "Dallas", was sold. The ranch, a 200-acre spread near Dallas, was to be transformed from a tourist site into a hotel, according to the new owners.
1985 - The gang from the PBS series Sesame Street was seen in a feature film. The plot of the movie, starring Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, revolved around Big Bird leaving Sesame Street and joining a family of dodo birds.
1986 - Darrell Waltrip became the first racecar driver to earn $7 million in a racing career.
1987 - The Pan American games concluded in Indianapolis, with the United States winning a record 369 medals. 168 of the meals were of the gold variety.
Birthdays
August 23
1754 - Louis XVI
last King of France [1774-1792]; executed Jan 21, 1793
1785 - Oliver Hazard Perry
American naval officer: Battle of Lake Erie: “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”; died Aug 23, 1819
1869 - Edgar Lee Masters
poet: Spoon River Anthology; died Mar 5, 1950
1912 - Gene (Eugene Curran) Kelly
dancer, actor: Singin’ in the Rain, An American in Paris, Anchors Aweigh, The Three Musketeers, Marjorie Morningstar, Inherit the Wind, North and South Book I; director: Singin’ in the Rain, Hello, Dolly!, A Guide for the Married Man, The Cheyenne Social Club; died Feb 2, 1996
1917 - Tex (Sol) Williams
singer: Smoke, Smoke, Smoke [That Cigarette], Shame on You, The Rose of the Alamo, Bluebird on Your Windowsill, Bottom of a Mountain; died Oct 11, 1985
1922 - George (Clyde) Kell
Baseball Hall of Famer: Philadelphia Athletics, Detroit Tigers [all-star: 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951], Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox [all-star: 1954], Baltimore Orioles [all-star: 1956, 1957]
1922 - Jean Darling (LeVake)
actress: March of the Wooden Soldiers, Little Rascals-Book 17
1929 - Vera Miles (Vera June Ralston)
actress: The Wrong Man, Psycho, The FBI Story, Autumn Leaves, Into the Night, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Sergeant Ryker, Jigsaw, Our Family Business
1929 - Peter Thompson
golf champion: British Open [1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965]
1932 - Mark Russell (Ruslander)
comedian: Real People, The Starland Vocal Band Show
1934 - Barbara Eden (Barbara Jean Moorhead)
actress: I Dream of Jeannie, Harper Valley P.T.A., The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
1934 - Sonny (Christian) Jurgensen
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Washington Redskins QB: shares record for longest pass completion [99 yds. - 1968]; Philadelphia Eagles; broadcasting: sports announcer
1934 - Johnny (John Anthony) Romano
‘Honey’: baseball: catcher: Chicago White Sox [World Series: 1959], Cleveland Indians [all-star: 1961, 1962], SL Cardinals
1936 - Rudy Lewis
singer: group: Up on the Roof, On Broadway; died in May 1964
1940 - Tony Bill
actor: Barb Wire, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Shampoo, Ice Station Zebra, You’re a Big Boy Now, None But the Brave, Come Blow Your Horn, What Really Happened to the Class of ’65?; director: Next Door, Crazy People, The Princess and the Pea, My Bodyguard
1942 - Patricia McBride
ballerina: New York City Ballet: for many years she was Mikhail Baryshnikov’s only partner
1942 - Nancy Richey-Gunter
tennis: Australian Open Grand Slam Champion [1968]
1945 - Tom Boerwinkle
basketball: Chicago Bulls
1946 - Keith Moon
singer, drummer: group: The Who: Substitute, I’m a Boy, Happy Jack, Pinball Wizard, See Me, Feel Me; solo: Two Sides of the Moon; actor: Sextette, Tommy, That’ll Be the Day; died Sep 7, 1978
1948 - Ron (Ronald Mark) Blomberg
‘Boomer’: baseball: NY Yankees [baseball's first designated hitter: 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored against the Red Sox at Fenway Park: Apr 6, 1973], Chicago White Sox
1949 - Shelley Long
Emmy Award-winning actress: Cheers [1982-83]; Irreconcilable Differences, Outrageous Fortune, Troop Beverly Hills, Night Shift, Don’t Tell Her It’s Me, The Brady Bunch Movie, The Money Pit
1949 - Rick Springfield
singer: Jessie’s Girl; actor: General Hospital, Hard to Hold, The Human Target
1951 - Lisa Najeeb Halaby (Queen Noor)
widow of Jordan’s King Hussein; active in social and cultural circles in Jordan and internationally
1951 - Mark Hudson
singer: group: The Hudson Brothers: So You are a Star; TV: The Hudson Brothers Show
1951 - Jimi Jamison
singer: group: Survivor: I Can’t Hold Back, Burning Heart
1953 - Bobby G. (Gubby)
singer: group: Bucks Fizz: Making Your Mind Up, Land of Make Believe, My Camera Never Lies, Now Those Days are Gone, If You Can’t Stand the Heat, You and Your Eyes So Blue; solo singer, songwriter: theme for TV sitcom: Big Deal
1962 - Shaun Ryder
singer: group: Happy Mondays
1970 - River (Jude) Phoenix
actor: Running on Empty, Stand by Me, This Thing Called Love, Sneakers, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Little Nikita, The Mosquito Coast, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; died Oct 31, 1993
Chart Toppers
August 23
1950Mona Lisa - Nat King Cole
I Wanna Be Loved - The Andrews Sisters
Play a Simple Melody - Bing Crosby
I’m Moving On - Hank Snow
1958Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno
Little Star - The Elegants
My True Love - Jack Scott
Alone with You - Faron Young
1966Summer in the City - The Lovin’ Spoonful
Sunny - Bobby Hebb
See You in September - The Happenings
Almost Persuaded - David Houston
1974The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
(You’re) Having My Baby - Paul Anka
Tell Me Something Good - Rufus
As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
1982Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Hurts So Good - John Cougar
Abracadabra - The Steve Miller Band
Nobody - Sylvia
1990Vision of Love - Mariah Carey
Come Back to Me - Janet Jackson
If Wishes Came True - Sweet Sensation
Next to You, Next to Me - Shenandoah
Chart Topper August 23rd, 1982...Hurts So Good-John Cougar
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Guapo Vic.
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