This Day in History August 30

[buddyjh]

242nd day of 2009 - 123 remaining

Sunday, August 30, 2009
FRANKENSTEIN DAY

What would we do without the legendary monster created by Dr. Frankenstein! Thanks to author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, born on this day in 1797, we have been frighteningly entertained for almost two centuries. In 1818, Ms. Shelley wrote the Gothic horror novel about Dr. Henry Frankenstein, the scientist who created the terrifying, yet loveable, monster. (Mary Shelley was the wife of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.)

Hollywood took over in 1931 with an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel directed by Great Britain’s James Whale. Boris Karloff was the monster, a role that led to a monster career for Karloff. From then on, Frankenstein lived in sequel after sequel and adaptation after adaptation. Karloff reprised his role in two such films -- The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935 and Son of Frankenstein in 1939.

The opening scene in The Bride of Frankenstein features the author, Mary Shelley. Ms. Shelley is played by Elsa Lanchester. Lon Chaney picked up the monster role following in the difficult, huge footsteps of Karloff.

Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein really were on to something. The movie and TV industries continue to create Frankenstein spin-offs, thrilling ... or should we say, scaring the pants off new generations.

Events
August 30
1682 - William Penn sailed from England. He later established the colony of Pennsylvania (which, as some of you may know, is now one of the United States) and now stands on top of City Hall in Philadelphia, PA. Not him, really, but a famous statue of him...

1806 - The last issue of the Daily Advertiser was published. It was known as New York City’s second daily newspaper.

1905 - Ty Cobb appeared in his first major-league baseball game. He played for the Detroit Tigers.

1922 - The New Orleans Rhythm Kings recorded Tiger Rag, one of the most familiar ragtime jazz tunes ever. It was released on the General record label.

1926 - The first running of the Hambletonian happened in Syracuse, New York. Guy McKinney was the first horse to win first place in the famous race.

1951 - The Philippines and the United States signed the Treaty of Mutual Defense.

1965 - After 40 years in baseball, Casey Stengel announced his retirement.

1968 - The Beatles recorded their first songs for their own Apple label. The initial session included the big hits Revolution and Hey Jude.

1968 - The stars came out for charity as John and Yoko Lennon hosted the One on One concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Among the music greats appearing were Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack. Over $250,000 was raised to aid mentally retarded children.

1972 - President Nixon announced that John Dean had completed his investigation into the Watergate wiretapping debacle. And he added that no one from the White House was involved. Well, good. That takes care of that...

1974 - The Brady Bunch, a typical 1970s scrubbed-face American family sitcom which first aired on TV Sept. 26, 1969, came to an end on this day. This original series starred Robert Reed as the architect-widower with three sons (played by Barry Williams as Greg, Christopher Knight as Peter and Mike Lookinland as Bobby), who married a widow (Florence Henderson). The new Mrs. Brady had three daughters (played by Maureen McCormick as Marcia, Eve Plumb as Jan and Susan Olsen as Cindy). Add a nutsy housekeeper, Alice (Ann B. Davis), a family dog and cat and ABC-TV ended up with one giant TV success viewed weekly by millions of youngsters ... and their loving parents. Don’t you miss those Friday night family gatherings in front of the TV?

1974 - The largest fountain in America, the visual symbol of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was dedicated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this day. The fountain takes up one-fifth of 36-acre Point State Park at the convergence of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. 90 percent of the fountain is unseen. That’s the part that pumps water from an underground river (a fourth, unnamed river that runs under the city and flows south, unlike the other three rivers), stores it and feeds it into the fountain. Designed by Charles Stotz and Louis Fosner and built by Robert R. Busse, the fountain is controlled by computers and operates automatically. Wind velocity specifies the height of the water column (2 feet in diameter by up to 200 ft. high. 24 white and gold quartz-iodine lights present a dramatic display of shifting colors by night. That’s how you can see the fountain in all its glory whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers play on Monday Night Football. The most interesting structural fact and a very complicated procedure -- this fountain was built to withstand water pressure from beneath, so the pressure would not push it up and cause it to float.

1984 - President Ronald Reagan, along with Red Barber, Bill Stern, Graham McNamee, Don Dunphy and Ted Husing were inducted into the Sportscasters Hall of Fame, in ceremonies at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

1986 - Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox became the first 20-game winner of the year. Clemens was the first Red Sox pitcher to achieve that feat since 1978.

1993 - Late Show with David Letterman debuted on CBS-TV. CBS remodeled the Ed Sullivan Theater (on 54th Street in New York City) for Letterman, who had just spent over a decade on NBC (Late Night with David Letterman). The first musical guest to appear on the new show was Billy Joel.

1995 - James Taylor and former wife Carly Simon got back together for their first concert together in 16 years. Livestock ’95 was a benefit performance on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusettes to raise funds for a new barn for the island’s agricultural society.

1997 - Mo Money Mo Problems, by The Notorious B. I.G. featuring Puff Daddy & Mase, hit #1 (for two weeks) on U.S. singles charts. An entire generation fell in love to: “You tell me who flopped who copped the blue drop; Who jewels got robbed who’s mostly Goldie down to the tube sock...” and so much more.

Birthdays
August 30
1797 - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
author; died Feb 1, 1851; see Frankenstein Day [above]

1837 - Ellen Arthur (Ellen Lewis Herndon)
wife of Chester A. Arthur [21st U.S. President]; died Jan 12, 1880 [Arthur became President in 1881]

1891 - Dr. Claire Straith
cosmetic surgeon; developed many techniques of plastic surgery, designed new surgical instruments for this type of surgery; was instrumental in auto manufacturers use of safety glass; died July 13, 1958

1896 - Raymond (Hart) Massey
actor: The President’s Plane is Missing, McKenna’s Gold, How the West was Won, The Great Impostor, Battle Cry , The Naked and the Dead, East of Eden, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Dr. Kildare; died July 29, 1983

1898 - Shirley Booth (Thelma Booth Ford)
Academy Award-winning actress: Come Back Little Sheba [1952]; Hot Spell, The Matchmaker; Emmy Award-winner [1962]: Hazel ; A Touch of Grace; died Oct 16, 1992

1901 - Roy Wilkins
civil rights leader: Executive Director of NAACP; died Sep 8, 1981

1906 - (Rose) Joan Blondell
actress: The Baron, The Champ, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Public Enemy; died Dec 25, 1979

1908 - Fred (Fredrick Martin) MacMurray
actor: My Three Sons, The Caine Mutiny, Egg and I, Above Suspicion, The Apartment, The Happiest Millionaire, The Shaggy Dog, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, The Miracle of the Bells; died Nov 5, 1991

1914 - Julie Bishop (Wells)
actress: Westward the Women, Rhapsody in Blue, My Hero; died Aug 30, 2001

1918 - Ted (Theodore Samuel) Williams
‘The Kid’, ‘The Thumper’, ‘The Splendid Splinter’: Baseball Hall of Famer: Boston Red Sox outfielder [World Series: 1946/all-star: 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946 thru 1951, 1953 thru 1960/Baseball Writers’ Award: 1946, 1949]; died July 5, 2002

1919 - Kitty Wells (Muriel Ellen Deason)
‘The Queen of Country Music’: Country Music Hall of Famer: Jealousy, It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels, I Don’t Want Your Money, I Want Your Time, Payin’ for that Back Street Affair, Makin’ Believe, Searching, Heartbreak U.S.A., We’ll Stick Together [w/husband Johnny Wright]

1922 - Regina Resnik
mezzo-soprano: songs from Kismet

1923 - Vic Seixas
tennis champion: Wimbledon [1953]; U.S. Open [1954]

1927 - Geoffrey Beene
fashion designer

1931 - John Swigert Jr.
NASA astronaut: flew on Apollo 13: said, “Houston, we have a problem!”; died Dec 27, 1982

1935 - John Phillips
singer: group: The Mamas & The Papas: Monday Monday, California Dreamin’, Creeque Alley; songwriter: California Dreamin’, San Francisco [Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair]; actress MacKenzie Phillips’ father; died Mar 18, 2001

1939 - Elizabeth Ashley (Cole)
actress: The Carpetbaggers, Ship of Fools, Stagecoach, Paperback Hero, Dangerous Curves, Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday, Evening Shade

1941 - John McNally
singer, musician: guitar: The Searchers: Needles and Pins, Love Potion Number 9

1942 - Coy (Lander McCoy) Bacon
football: LA Rams [1968-1972], San Diego Chargers [1973-1975]; Cincinnati Bengals [1976-1977]; Washington Redskins [1978-1981]

1943 - Jean-Claude Killy
Olympic Gold Medal skier [3]: downhill, slalom and giant slalom [1968]

1944 - Tug (Frank Edwin) McGraw
baseball: pitcher: NY Mets [all-star: 1972/World Series: 1973], Philadelphia Phillies [all-star: 1980/World Series: 1980]; died Jan 5, 2004

1947 - Billy Keller
basketball: Purdue Univ., Indiana Pacers [ABA league champions: 1970, 1972, 1973]

1947 - Peggy Lipton
actress: Twin Peaks, The Mod Squad

1947 - Jon (Paul) Kolb
football: Pittsburgh Steelers tackle: Super Bowl: IX, X, XIII, XIV

1950 - Micky Moody
musician: guitar: group: Whitesnake: Fool for Your Loving, Don’t Break My Heart Again

1951 - Timothy Bottoms
actor: Last Picture Show, The Paper Chase, The Other Side of the Mountain Part II, Texasville, East of Eden

1954 - David Paymer
actor: Unforgettable, Nixon, Get Shorty, City Slickers series, Mr. Saturday Night, Crazy People, No Way Out, The Commish, Downtown

1972 - Cameron Diaz
model; actress: The Mask, Head Above Water, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, There’s Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Charlie’s Angels [2000]

Chart Toppers
August 30
1949You’re Breaking My Heart - Vic Damone
Room Full of Roses - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Don Cornell)
Some Enchanted Evening - Perry Como
I’m Throwing Rice (At the Girl I Love) - Eddy Arnold

1957Love Letters in the Sand - Pat Boone
Tammy - Debbie Reynolds
Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis
(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear - Elvis Presley

1965I Got You Babe - Sonny & Cher
Help! - The Beatles
California Girls - The Beach Boys
Yes, Mr. Peters - Roy Drusky & Priscilla Mitchell

1973Brother Louie - Stories
Live and Let Die - Wings
Let’s Get It On - Marvin Gaye
Everybody’s Had the Blues - Merle Haggard

1981Endless Love - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
Slow Hand - Pointer Sisters
Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & The
Heartbreakers
(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me - Ronnie Milsap

1989Right Here Waiting - Richard Marx
Cold Hearted - Paula Abdul
Hangin’ Tough - New Kids on the Block
Are You Ever Gonna Love Me - Holly Dunn

Chart Topper August 30th, 1981...Ronnie Milsap-(There's) No Gettin' Over Me

[slowboy]

THANKS FOR THE INFO AND SONG I LIKE HIS MUSIC TOO THANKS!!!!l

[Victor Hugo]

Excellent Job, thanks Buddy.

[yahoodsl]

thanks bud.......If I ever go on who wants to be a millionaire.....i know this will all be helpful....lets hear it for buddyjh and Ronnie Milsap

[deanluna]

[peggy13]

Wow, scary day!! lol Let's hear it for Wm. Penn also...we have lots of members living there!! lol

Thanks Buddy!!

[Crystal Dragon]

YAY!!!! Ronnie Milsap!!!!

Thanks Buddy!!

[snakebite]

very good buddy ,thank you for are daily read.

[dal bilkoski]

really enjoyed the history about the fountian and ronnie one of my fav thanks bud

[ccelectro]

Thanks Buddy, another fine read. Keep up the excellent work.

[marty napier]

thinks buddy!