April 18
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Events on This Day
1775 - At about 10 p.m., three men took to their horses to ride from Boston to Concord, MA to warn the citizens of the approaching British army. The famous poem, Paul Revere’s Ride, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, glorified the Bostonian as the lone rider. He was, in fact, accompanied by William Dawes and Samuel Prescott. Only Prescott made it all the way to Concord. Revere was nabbed by a British cavalry patrol near Lexington, MA (Dawes and Prescott escaped). We’re not sure what happened to Dawes but Revere was released and returned to Lexington -- without his horse. There was lots of running/riding around that night, but suffice to say, when British forces arrived in Lexington, they found the minutemen waiting for them.
1796 - The Archers, the first opera written by an American composer, was performed in New York City. Benjamin Carr wrote the work.
1846 - The telegraph ticker (“....- ....- -----”) was patented by Royal E. House of New York City. What does the telegraph message above say? “440”.
1877 - Charles Cros wrote a paper on that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Mr. Cros is still regarded as the inventor of the phonograph, while in the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit.
1895 - New York State passed an act that established free public baths! They were to be open 14 hours a day and provide hot and cold water.
1906 - The Great San Francisco Earthquake occurred at 5:12 a.m. The tremendous earthquake was responsible for some 3,000 deaths and catastrophic damage. There were many fires that followed the quake and they took days -- even weeks -- to contain. Survivors of the earthquake gathered annually for memorial services beginning at the moment the predawn temblor struck and became history.
1910 - Walter R. Brookins made the first airplane flight at night. He passed over Montgomery, AL. At least he was pretty sure it was Montgomery...
1923 - Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx, NY as the hometown team, the NY Yankees, hosted the Boston Red Sox. A record crowd of 74,000 fans saw the action at the first three-level stadium in the U.S.
1929 - Red Nichols and his Five Pennies recorded the Glenn Miller arrangement of Indiana for Brunswick Records. Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Jack Teagarden were all part of the recording session that took place in New York City.
1934 - J.F. Cantrell opened the first laundromat, called the Washateria, in Fort Worth, TX. For the first time, folks could rent washing machines for laundering clothes. Eventually progress made it possible to rent dryers, too!
1936 - Singing cowboy Gene Autry recorded his lifelong theme song Back in the Saddle Again.
1942 - The first World War II edition of The Stars and Stripes was published as a weekly newspaper for U.S. troops in Northern Ireland. (It became a daily paper the following November.)
1942 - U.S. bombers hit the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu island. In what became known as the Doolittle Raid, the U.S. demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack. Serving as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the raid provided an important boost to U.S. morale while damaging Japanese morale. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James ‘Jimmy’ Doolittle, U.S. Army Air Forces.
1945 - It was on Ie Shima, a small island off Okinawa, that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ernie Pyle was killed. Worrying more about his Army buddies than himself, he didn’t take cover but turned to ask if they were OK while under Japanese sniper fire. He took a bullet in the left temple. A memorial on the site where Ernest T. Pyle was killed reads, “At this spot the 77th Infantry Division lost a buddy. Ernie Pyle 18 April 1945.” Once buried there, his remains now lie at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater on Oahu, Hawaii. Pyle was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.
1949 - The Irish Republic came into existence as it withdrew from the British Commonwealth.
1956 - Eddie Rommel, a baseball umpire, wore eyeglasses, a first for the game. This game was between the NY Yankees and Washington Senators.
1957 - Comedian Johnny Carson turned briefly to TV acting in a role on the Playhouse 90 production of Three Men on a Horse on CBS-TV. Carson, of Who Do You Trust? fame, was five years from becoming the host of The Tonight Show.
1960 - The Mutual Broadcasting System was sold to the 3M Company of Minnesota for $1.25 million. Previously, the network had been owned by MONY (Mutual of New York).
1965 - Contralto Marian Anderson wound down her 30-year singing career with a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
1966 - Bob Hope did it again after six years! He both hosted and received an award at the 38th Annual Academy Awards celebration at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. This time he received a gold medal, the Honorary Award for unique and distinguished service to the film industry and the Academy. Other award recipients included Shelley Winters for her Best Supporting Actress role in A Patch of Blue; Martin Balsam, Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Thousand Clowns. The Best Actor Oscar went to Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou); and Julie Christie picked up the Best Actress Oscar (Darling). The Oscar for the Best Music/Song from a 1965 movie was The Shadow of Your Smile from The Sandpiper (Johnny Mandel-music, Paul Francis Webster-lyrics). It’s a good thing that the Oscars were being broadcast in color this night (the first time) because the Best Director and Best Picture winner was The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, producer and director). We don’t think the hills wouldn’t look very alive in black and white.
1968 - London Bridge was sold to American Robert McCullough for one million pounds. It was later rebuilt at Lake Havasu, Arizona.
1976 - (30th annual) Tony Awards show was held at the Shubert Theatre, New York. Winners included Travesties (best Play); A Chorus Line (best Musical); John Wood in Travesties (best Actor Dramatic); Irene Worth in Sweet Bird of Youth (best Actress Dramatic); George Rose in My Fair Lady (best Actor Musical); and Donna McKechnie in A Chorus Line (best Actress Musical).
1977 - Alex Haley, the author of Roots, was awarded the Pultizer Prize; and Michael Cristofer got a Pulitzer for Shadow Box.
1981 - Tom Seaver of the Cincinnati Reds became the fifth pitcher in the history of major-league baseball to earn 3,000 strikeouts in a career. Seaver struck out Keith Hernandez for the historic ‘K’. The Cardinals, however, beat Tom Terrific, 10-4.
1983 - Pulitzer Prizes went to Alice Walker for her novel The Color Purple and Marsha Norman for her play 'Night, Mother.
1984 - Michael Jackson faced surgery in Los Angeles. Doctors performed scalp surgery to repair damage done after the megastar’s hair caught fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial on January 27. Jackson was hospitalized and recuperated for months before he could return to work. His single recording of Thriller had been certified platinum in February, 1984.
1985 - The sequined ‘King of Show Business’, Liberace, broke his own record for ticket sales at Radio City Music Hall. Liberace grossed more than $2,000,000 for his engagement in the historic New York City venue. His previous record was set in 1984 ($1.6 million in tickets sold).
1987 - Aretha Franklin set the record for longest gap between #1 U.S. singles. The span of time from Respect (June 1967) to I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) was 19 years, ten months.
1989 - Thousands of Chinese students demanding democracy tried to storm Communist Party headquarters in Beijing. More than 5,000 protesters march into Tiananmen Square, shouting, “Down with tyranny,” “Down with corruption” and “Long live democracy.”
1990 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the states may make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one’s home.
1991 - The Dalai Lama, exiled spiritual leader of the nation of Tibet, addressed the U.S. Congress.
1992 - British comedian Benny Hill died at his home in England at age 67. He had suffered heart ailments for many years. The pop-eyed, youthful-looking, irreverent Hill was known throughout the world for his racy humor, witty songs, and winning smile. Always with a leer on his face and a beautiful woman at his side, Benny Hill charmed millions of people around the world.
1994 - Beauty and the Beast opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre. The musical starred Susan Egan and Terrence Mann as the eponymous Belle and Beast, respectively. The show opened to mixed reviews from theatre critics, but was a massive commercial success. Beauty and the Beast ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances for thirteen years, closing Jul 29, 2007.
1995 - The Houston Post newspaper closed after more than a century of publication.
1997 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres: 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, starring Joe Pesci, Andy Comeau, Kristy Swanson, George Hamilton and and Dyan Cannon; McHale’s Navy, with Tom Arnold, Tim Curry, Dean Stockwell, David Alan Grier and Debra Messing; Murder at 1600, Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Alan Alda, Daniel Benzali, Dennis Miller and Ronny Cox; and Traveller, starring Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, Julianna Margulies, James Gammon, Luke Askew and Nikki Deloach.
1998 - Former North Carolina governor and U.S. Senator Terry Sanford died in Durham. He was 80 years old.
1998 - It was reported that Richard Mellon Scaife, fourth generation heir to the Mellon banking fortune, had donated millions of dollars over more than thirty years to right-wing conservative groups and research centers.
1999 - Hockey great Wayne Gretzky played his last NHL game as his New York Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 (in overtime) at Madison Square Garden.
2000 - The worst air crash in Philippine history killed 131 aboard a Philippine Air jet (a Boeing 737-200).
2001 - The U.S. Federal Reserve lowered short term interest rates by a half point to 4.5%. The surprise cut jolted the DJIA by 399.10 to 10,615.83. Nasdaq rose 156.22 to 2,079.78.
2002 - Actor Robert Blake (68), TV’s Baretta, was arrested for the murder of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, in May 2001.
2002 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian head of the 1947 Kon-Tiki voyage, died in northern Italy. He was 87 years old.
2002 - Thoroughly Modern Millie made its debut at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre. The musical tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for money instead of love – a thoroughly modern aim in 1922, when women were just entering the workforce. The show was a hugh success, winning six Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, including the win for Best Musical at both. Thoroughly Modern Millie closed on June 20, 2004 after 903 performances.
2003 - These films debuted in the U.S.: Holes, with Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, Shia LaBeouf, Khleo Thomas, Jake M. Smith, Byron Cotton, Brenden Jefferson, Miguel Castro, Max Kasch, Noah Poletiek, Zane Holtz, Steven Kozlowski, Ski Carr and Jim Wilkey; and Malibu’s Most Wanted, with Jamie Kennedy, Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, Regina Hall, Blair Underwood, Damien Wayans, Ryan O'Neal, Bo Derek, Jeffrey Tambor, Kal Penn, Nick Swardson, Keili Lefkovitz, Kellie Martin, Greg Grunberg and J.P. Manoux.
2004 - North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il crossed into China in a special train for a summit to discuss the North’s nuclear weapons program with Chinese president.
2005 - The Boston Marathon was won by Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia, 2:11:45; Catherine Ndereba of Kenya led the women, 2:25:13. Ndereba became the only woman to win four Boston titles.
2005 - Desktop publishing giant Adobe Systems announced a $3.4 billion all-stock merger with and/or buyout of multimedia applications maker Macromedia.
2006 - Two Duke University lacrosse players were arrested on charges of raping and kidnapping a stripper hired to dance at an off-campus party on Mar 13. The D.A. said he hoped to charge a third person -- and soon did. In late December rape counts were dropped when the alleged victim changed her story. All charges were dropped -- and the D.A. apologized -- in April 2007.
2006 - Greenpeace reported that 100,000 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, countering a U.N. report that predicted the death toll would be around 4,000. The Greenpeace piece said, “the full consequences of the Chernobyl disaster could top a quarter of a million cancer cases and nearly 100,000 fatal cancers.”
2006 - The 1940s-era Jamestown Bridge in Rhode Island was demolished. It connected North Kingstown and Jamestown and was replaced by the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge.
2007 - The No. D460 bullet train, designed to run at 200 kph, departed Shanghai Station, heralding a new era of high-speed rail travel in China.
2008 - New movies in the U.S.: 88 Minutes, starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Amy Brenneman, Leelee Sobieski, Benjamin McKenzie, Deborah Kara Unger, William Forsythe, Neal McDonough, Stephen Moyer, Michael Eklund, Michal Yannai and Brendan Fletcher; EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed, with Ben Stein and Jason Collett; Forbidden Kingdom, with Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano, Collin Chou, Crystal Liu Yi Fei and Li Bing Bing; and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Jack McBrayer and Jonah Hill.
2009 - President Hugo Chavez said that he was restoring Venezuela’s ambassador in Washington, voicing hopes for a new era in relations. Chavez and U.S. President Barack Obama had exchanged greetings at a regional summit in Trinidad. At that meeting, Chavez presented Obama with a Spanish hardcover edition of Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent, by Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano.
2010 - The International Cannabis and Hemp Expo closed at the Cow Palace, Daly City, CA. It was the first trade show in the U.S. to allow on-site pot smoking.
2010 - Chinese President Hu Jintao pleaded with rescuers to keep searching for survivors as he visited victims of a powerful earthquake in Tibet that had killed some 2,000 people.
2011 - A pair of U.S.-made robots on treads was sent to explore buildings inside the crippled Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan. They came back with disheartening news that radiation levels were far too high for repair crews to go inside plant.
2012 - Longtime TV host and ‘America’s oldest teenager’, Dick Clark, died in Los Angeles of a heart attack (age 82) following a medical procedure. Clark hosted American Bandstand from 1956 to 1987 and literally introduced rock ’n’ roll to much of the U.S. He also hosted the TV game show Pyramid and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve from Times Square. Dick Clark, who was a diabetic, suffered a massive stroke on December 8, 2004, the results of which left him unable to speak clearly. But he did return to his New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show a year later and to every New Year’s show through the 2011–2012 show. Clark is also remembered for his trademark sign-off, “For now, Dick Clark. So long!”, accompanied with a military salute.
2013 - Investigators began walking through the aftermath of the massive April 17th explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant. It was later determined that 15 people had been killed, some 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings had been damaged or destroyed. The blast obliterated the plant, threw people to the ground several blocks away, and forced the evacuation of half of the town of West. The dead included ten first responders as well as two civilians who had volunteered to fight the fire that preceded the explosion. The district’s schools remained closed until April 22 due to the toxic fumes in the aread and the large number of displaced families.
2014 - New movies in U.S. theatres included: the Disney documentary, Bears; A Haunted House 2, with Marlon Wayans, Jaime Pressly and Cedric the Entertainer; Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall and Morgan Freeman; 13 Sins, with Ron Perlman, Mark Webber, and Pruitt Taylor Vince; Kid Cannabis, with Jonathan Daniel Brown, Kenny Wormald and Ron Perlman; Proxy, starring Joe Swanberg, Kristina Klebe and Alexa Havins; and Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It, with John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, Mike Smith and Lucy Decoutere.
2014 - A massive Mount Everest avalanche killed 16 Nepali mountaineering guides at the beginning of the climbing season. The avalanche swept across the entire width of the Khumbu Icefall.
2015 - Hundreds of Australian police arrested five teens who had planned an Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack at an event marking the hundredth anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli during World War One. Melbourne police were the target in the alleged plot.
2015 - Green Day was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of the 2015 class. It was the rock band’s first year of eligibility. The other members of that class were Bill Withers; Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble; Lou Reed; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
2016 - Goldman Environmental Prize winners included: 20-year-old Destiny Watford of Maryland for her 4-year fight to stop a potentially hazardous trash incinerator from being built in her south Baltimore neighborhood of Curtis Bay and Cambodian Leng Ouch, 42, for working to uncover mass logging that devastated his homeland.
2016 - A Ukrainian court sentenced two Russian servicemen captured in 2015 to 14 years each in prison after finding them guilty of terrorism and waging a war in eastern Ukraine.
2017 - Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, began publishing a Form 10-K (a summary of a company’s financial performance) on the U.S. government. This, on the new website USAfacts.org. 2.6 million page views were logged on the first day.
2018 - POTUS Donald Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to reach a a new trade deal that would exempt Japan from U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. The negotiations were tried at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
2018 - Britain’s Costa Coffee chain pledged to recycle as many disposable cups as it sells, trying to appease public anxiety over the increasing levels of waste in the world’s oceans.
2019 - A redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report was released. President Donald Trump, backed by his attorney general, declared himself fully vindicated in the investigation into Russian election meddling and alleged collusion with his campaign. The two-volume, 448-page report recounts how Trump repeatedly sought to take control of the Russia probe. Trump discouraged witnesses from cooperating with prosecutors and prodded aides to mislead the public on his behalf to hamper the Russia probe he feared would cripple his administration. Mueller reported that Trump was so agitated at the special counsel's appointment on May 17, 2017, that he slumped back in his chair and declared: “Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I’m f---ed.”
2020 - COVID-19 news: 1)Protesters in the U.S. staged demonstrations in several cities including Austin, Texas, calling for an end to social restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus. Governor Greg Abbott had already announced that he would be easing restrictions. 2)Brazil reported 2,917 new coronavirus cases and 211 deaths in 24 hours. Total deaths rose to 2,352 from 2,141. 3)Britain’s daily deaths rose by 888 to 15,464. As the number of cases reached more than 114,000. Britain paid $20 million for new coronavirus antibody test kits from two Chinese companies, AllTest Biotech and Wondfo Biotech. The testing kits did not work. 4)Germany reported 3,699 new infections, taking its total to 141,397. The number of fatalities rose by 300 to 4,352. 5)181 new cases were found in Tokyo, with cases in Japan exceeded 10,000. Hospitals were increasingly turning away sick people as the country struggled to keep its emergency medical system from collapsing. 6)Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada and the U.S. had agreed to extend border restrictions to help control the spread of coronavirus.
2021 - France’s National Center for Scientific Research calculated that Earth was receiving about 14 tons of micrometeorites (space dust) each day.
2021 - Russia expelled 20 Czech diplomats in an escalating diplomatic clash with the Czech Republic. Moscow was retaliating for Czech allegations that two Russian spies suspected of the nerve-agent poisoning of a former Russian agent in the United Kingdom were behind a 2014 explosion that killed two people at a Czech ammunition depot.
2022 - The Biden administration said it was barring U.S. anti-satellite missile testing. The move was made to underscore U.S. hopes of establishing new norms for military action in space.
2022 - A federal judge in Florida struck down a mask requirement on airplanes, trains, buses and other public transportation, less than a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had extended it through May 3. Airlines welcomed the move by saying they would no longer require masks.
2022 - Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $99 million to settle claims by West Virginia that J&J had helped fuel an opioid addiction crisis in the state. The payment removed Johnson & Johnson from an ongoing state trial against Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, Teva Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Inc.’s Allergan and their family of companies.
2023 - Fox News settled a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million -- moments before trial the trial was to begin -- with Fox admitting it had defamed Dominion during the U.S. 2020 election by broadcasting conspiracy theories. “Fox has admitted to telling lies,” John Poulos, Dominion’s CEO said. Justin Nelson, lead attorney for Dominion, told NBC News he hopes the settlement will restore faith in elections. “This alone can’t do it, right? But this shows that there is accountability, that we showed that if you are caught lying, you will be held responsible,” he said.
and more...
Birthdays on This Day April 18
1480 - Lucrezia Borgia
‘Wicked Woman of Ferrara’: Italian Aristocracy; third child of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia [later Pope Alexander VI] and his mistress Vanozza dei Cattanei; her father and/or brother arranged several marriages for her to important or powerful men in order to advance their own political ambitions; Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza [Lord of Pesaro], Alfonso of Aragon (Duke of Bisceglie), and Alfonso d’Este [Duke of Ferrara]; died Jun 24, 15191857 - Clarence Darrow
attorney: famous Scopes ‘monkey trial’; died Mar 13, 19381880 - Sam (Samuel Earl) Crawford
‘Wahoo Sam’: Baseball Hall of Famer: Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers [all-star: 1907, 1908, 1909]; holds individual career record of 312 triples; died June 15, 19681882 - Leopold Stokowski
conductor: Philadelphia Orchestra; died Sep 13, 19771904 - Dewey ‘Pigmeat’ Markham
actor: Junction 88, Fight That Ghost, House-Rent Party, That’s My Baby!, Am I Guilty?, Mr. Smith Goes Ghost, One Big Mistake; died Dec 13, 19811912 - Wendy Barrie
actress: Submarine Alert, A Date With the Falcon, Men Against the Sky, The Saint Strikes Back, Wings Over Honolulu, Love on a Bet; died Feb 2, 19781918 - Tony Mottola
guitarist: played with Al Caiola, George Hall’s orchestra, CBS radio studio orchestra, worked w/Raymond Scott backing up young Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, arranger for Como’s TV variety show; composer: films: Running on Empty, Violated; died Aug 9, 20041922 - Barbara Hale
actress: Perry Mason, The Oklahoman, The Defense Never Rests, Airport; died Feb 26, 20171924 - Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown
singer, songwriter, musician: piano, fiddle, guitar, violin, drums, harmonica; musical career included big band, jazz, country, bluegrass; died Sep 10, 20051930 - Clive Revill
actor: The Sea Wolf, The Empire Strikes Back, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes1934 - James Drury
actor: The Virginian, Firehouse, Alias Smith and Jones, Breakout, The Devil and Miss Sarah, The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw, Hell to Pay; died Apr 6, 20201936 - Don Ohl
basketball: Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, Atlanta Hawks1937 - Robert Hooks
actor: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, A Woman Called Moses, Heat Wave, The Execution, Passenger 57, Day of Absence, Where’s Daddy?1938 - Hal Galper
jazz pianist: group: Hal Galper Quintet; played with Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd, Stan Getz, Chuck Mangione, Joe Henderson; author: The Touring Musician1938 - Richie Pettibone
football: Washington Redskins; coach: Oregon State University1941 - Walt Sweeney
football: Syracuse Univ; NFL: San Diego Chargers; died Feb 2, 20131941 - Mike Vickers
musician: guitar, reeds: group: Manfred Mann: Why Should We Not, Cock-A-Hoop, 5-4-3-2-1, Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Oh No Not My Baby, If You Gotta Go, Go Now, Just like a Woman, The Mighty Quinn, Pretty Flamingo, Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James, The One in the Middle1942 - Steve Blass
baseball: pitcher: Pittsburgh Pirates [World Series: 1971/all-star: 1972]1942 - Pete Gogolak
football: first soccer-style kicker in pro football: Buffalo Bills, NY Giants1942 - Jochen Rindt
auto racer: Grand Prix champ: U.S. [1969], Monaco GP, Dutch, French, British, German [1970]; killed Sep 5, 1970 during practice for Italian Grand Prix1946 - Lennie Baker
musician: sax: groups: Danny and the Juniors: At the Hop; Sha Na Na: Rama Lama Ding Dong, Runaround Sue, Hound Dog, Earth Angel, Rock ’N’ Roll Is Here to Stay, Yakety Yak, Get a Job, Remember Then, Just Like Romeo and Juliet; died Feb 24, 20161946 - Hayley Mills
actress: The Parent Trap, The Moon Spinners, Pollyanna; singer: Let’s Get Together1946 - Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence
musician: drummer: Jefferson Airplane; guitar, singer: group: Moby Grape; died Apr 16, 19991947 - Dorothy Lyman
actress: All My Children, Mama’s Family, Camp Cucamonga: How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Ruby in Paradise1947 - Cindy Pickett
actress: Guiding Light, St. Elsewhere, I Know My First Name Is Steven, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Hate Crime, The Stepdaughter, Painted Hero, The Making of a Hollywood Madam, Evolver1947 - James Woods
actor: Shark, The Onion Field, Holocaust, The Way We Were, Night Moves, Against All Odds, Salvador, Casino, Nixon, Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story, Riding in Cars with Boys, Dirty Pictures1949 - Geoffrey Bodine
NASCAR race car driver: NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year [1982], Daytona 500 Winner [1986], International Race of Champions champ [1987]; listed in the Guiness Book for 55 modified wins in one season; oldest of three NASCAR-driving Bodine brothers [w/Brett, Todd]1953 - Rick Moranis
actor: Little Giants, The Flintstones, My Blue Heaven, Parenthood, Honey I Shrunk the Kids series, Ghostbusters series, Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horrors, Brewster’s Millions, SCTV; writer: Strange Brew1956 - John James
actor: Search for Tomorrow, Dynasty, As the World Turns; son of WABC personality Herb Oscar Anderson1956 - Eric Roberts
actor: Doctor Who TV movie, The Hard Truth, Fugitive Among Us, A Family Matter, Descending Angel, To Heal a Nation, The Pope of Greenwich Village, The Coca-Cola Kid, Star 80, Raggedy Man, King of the Gypsies; brother of actress Julia Roberts1961 - Jane Leeves
actress: Frasier, Throb, Miracle on 34th Street, Mr. Write1962 - Jeff Dunham
ventriloquist, stand-up comic: Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show, Sonny With a Chance, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special1962 - Shirlie Kemp
dancer, singer: groups: Wham!, Pepsi and Shirlie: Heartache, Can’t Give Me Love, What’s Going on Inside Your Head, Surrender, All Right Now, Goodbye Stranger1963 - Eric McCormack
Emmy-winning actor: Will & Grace [2001]; Immigrants, Best Thing Ever, Alien Trespass, My One and Only, Textuality, Barricade, Knife Fight, The New Adventures of Old Christine1963 - Conan O’Brien
TV talk show host: Late Night with Conan O’Brien; Emmy Award-winning writer: Saturday Night Live [1989]; The Simpsons; producer: Lockwell; comedian: Not Necessarily the News, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien [Jun 1, 2009-Jan 22, 2010]; Conan [Nov 8, 2010–Mar 12, 2020]1966 - Valeri Kamensky
hockey: [left wing]: Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, NY Rangers, Dallas Stars, NJ Devils1967 - Maria Bello
actress: Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, ER, NCIS1968 - David Hewlett
actor: Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, Cube, Foolproof, A Dog’s Breakfast, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Morlocks1971 - David Tennant
actor: 10th Doctor Who [2005–2010, 2013], Casanova, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire; stage: Hamlet; more1973 - Derrick Brooks
Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker: Florida State Univ; NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers [1995–2008: 2003 Super Bowl XXXVII champs]; Tampa Bay Storm [arena football: co-owner/president]1976 - Melissa Joan Hart
actress: Clarissa Explains It All, Twisted Desire, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Clarissa Explains It All, Melissa & Joey, No Good Nick1976 - Kevin Rankin
actor: Trauma, Friday Night Lights, Bionic Woman, Friendship, 1%, Heads N TailZ, Hulk, Carman: The Champion, After Diff’rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped1977 - Bryce Johnson
actor: Pretty Little Liars, Popular, Lone Star, Sleeping Dogs Lie1977 - Cindy Taylor
fashion model, TV host, actress: Vegas Confessions, Retirement, Descansos, Wedding Crashers, Daydream Believer1979 - Kourtney Kardashian
socialite, model, reality TV personality: Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami1983 - Miguel Cabrera
baseball [first baseman, designated hitter]: Florida Marlins [2003-2007], Detroit Tigers [2008–2023]1984 - America Ferrera
actress: Ugly Betty, Real Women Have Curves, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The Dry Land, Lords of Dogtown, Our Family Wedding, Hacia la oscuridad, Steel City, Plainsong, $5.15/Hr.; voice of Astrid the Viking in How to Train Your Dragon1986 - Billy Butler
baseball [1st base]: Kansas City Royals [2007–2014]: 2014 World Series1987 - Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
model, designer, actress: Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Mad Max: Fury Road1990 - Britt Robertson
actress: Dan in Real Life, Scream 4, Swingtown, The Tenth Circle, Life Unexpected, Avalon High, The Secret Circle, Triple Dog, Girlboss, For the People1992 - Chloe Bennet
actress: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nashville1994 - Moisés Arias
actor: Hannah Montana, The Kings of Summer, The Wall of Mexico, Pitch Perfect 3, Five Feet Apart, Ender’s Game, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Jockey, The Perfect Game, The King of Staten Island1995 - Virginia Gardner
actress: The Goldbergs, Marvel’s Runaways, Halloween, All the Bright Places
and still more...
Hit Music on This Day April 18
1948Now Is the Hour (facts) - Bing Crosby
I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover (facts) - The Art Mooney Orchestra
1957
1966
1975
1984
1993
2002
2011
2020
and even more...
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...
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