Hillary gets the nod, disco dances in, and the Hoff is hassled

July 26, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By SCOTT TAYLOR

1941 — In retaliation for the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt freezes all Japanese assets in the United States. Less than five months later, the Japanese would show their displeasure.

1945 — The Labour Party wins the U.K. election in a landslide, punting Winston Churchill from power. How quickly they turn.

1945 — The navy warship USS Indianapolis arrived in Tinian with parts of the warhead for the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Eleven days later she would be sunk, leaving only 316 survivors from 1,195 crew. Do you remember that speech Quint delivered in Jaws? That was the boat.

1971 — Apollo 15 is launched and with it the first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.

2005 — The space shuttle Discovery is launched. It’s the first shuttle since the Columbia tragedy.

2016 — Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman nominated for president of the United States by a major political party. It would not end well.

Born on This Day

1928 — Stanley Kubrick, director, screenwriter, known for A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Shining. That’s not bad.

1943 — Mick Jagger, singer, musician, actor and still one of the hardest working people in showbiz with the Rolling Stones, who have somehow found new life over the past decade.

1949 — Roger Taylor, drummer for Queen.

1954 — Tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis, whom we include only for this quote: “Let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.” He said that after beating Jimmy Connors who had won the previous 16 matches between them.

1959 — Kevin Spacey, award-winning actor, scandal ruined his career. And like that, poof, he was gone.

This Day in Music

1968 — An unknown band called The Jackson Five sign their first record deal with Motown.

1975 — The Eagles start a five-week run at the top of the U.S. album charts with One of These Nights.

1975 — Van McCoy and Soul City go to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with The Hustle. Thus, the disco era is born.

2000 — Oasis are booed off the stage at the Paleo Festival in Switzerland after singer Liam Gallagher insults the audience.

2006 — Paul McCartney’s first guitar sells for about $600,000 at auction. It’s the one he played when he asked to join John Lennon’s band, The Quarrymen. They soon found George Harrison and Pete Best and changed their name to . . . oh, it’s on the tip of our tongue.

This day in Film and TV

1991 — Paul Rubens, who you might know as Pee Wee Herman, is arrested for exposing himself in an adult movie theatre.

1992 — KISS guitarist Paul Stanley weds model Pamela Bowen. No idea what type of makeup they wore for this.

1997 — Director James Cameron weds his Terminator star Linda Hamilton. Two years later, Hamilton told him he was terminated – or something along those lines.

2006 — Speaking of divorces, David Hasselhoff and wife Pamela Bach call it quits after 16 years of wedded bliss – or something along those lines.

This is Also On This Day

Day of National Significance in Barbados. It doesn’t really roll off the tongue, does it?

Day of National Rebellion in Cuba. Now that has some electricity to it.

It is Independence Day in both Liberia and Maldives, who separated from American Colonization Society and the United Kingdom, respectively.