440 International Those Were the Days
July 3
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Events on This Day   

1819 - This was a great day for those folks who liked to save for a rainy day. The first bank in the U.S. opened in New York City. Business was brisk with $2,807 deposited in The Bank for Savings.

1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) ended. It was a major Civil-War victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.

1871 - The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company introduced the first narrow-gauge locomotive. It was called the Montezuma.

1878 - John Wise of Lancaster, PA was the pilot for the maiden flight of a dirigible.

1890 - The Spud State, the Potato State, the Gem State are all synonymous with Idaho, which entered the United States of America on this day. The capital of the 43rd state is Boise. The official state bird is the mountain bluebird; the state flower is the syringa ... or lilac, to the non-botanists among us.

1912 - Rube Marquard set a baseball pitching record. The hurler and his New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-1, earning Marquard his 19th consecutive win.

1922 - Readers were introduced to Fruit Garden and Home magazine. In two years, the publication would be renamed Better Homes and Gardens.

1937 - Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (race track) opened in sunny Del Mar, California. Because it was the dream of singer/actor/horse-owner Bing Crosby, the track still plays his theme song, "Where the Turf Meets the Surf", before every card.

1939 - Chic Young’s comic strip character, Blondie was first heard on CBS radio. Later, the popular comic strip would become a TV favorite, as well.

1940 - The legendary comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debuted with their network radio show on NBC. The most famous of all Abbott and Costello routines was Who’s on First. The names of the players and their positions in the hilarious skit were: First base: "Who"; Second base: "What"; Third base: "I Don’t Know"; Shortstop: "I Don’t Care" (or, "I Don’t Give a Darn"); Pitcher: "Tomorrow"; Catcher: "Today"; Left field: "Why" and Center field: "Because". So, now you know. Features Spotlight

1941 - Cab Calloway and his orchestra recorded the standard, St. James Infirmary, for Okeh Records.

1945 - Victor Borge was first heard on NBC radio. The network gave the comedian/pianist the summer replacement slot for Fibber McGee and Molly.

1945 - The first civilian passenger car built since February 1942 was driven off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, MI. Automotive production had been diverted to military production for the war (WWII) effort.

1950 - United States and North Korean forces clashed for the first time in the Korean War.

1953 - Harry Belafonte was shown with actress Janet Leigh and film star Tony Curtis on the cover of Ebony magazine. Supposedly, it was the first time a black person and two Caucasians were seen together on a U.S. magazine cover.

1954 - Food rationing ended in Great Britain almost nine years after the end of World War II.

1962 - Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule as the Algerian revolution against French occupation ended. French President Charles de Gaulle signed an agreement recognizing and freeing Algeria from French control.

1968 - General William Westmoreland was named Army Chief of Staff -- just two days after leaving command of U.S. forces in Vietnam.

1969 - Brian Jones, former (by one month) guitar player with The Rolling Stones, was found dead in the swimming pool of his home near Hartsfield, England. The coroner’s report listed “death by misadventure,” reporting Jones had downed a potent cocktail of drugs and booze before he went for his fatal swim.

1971 - Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors, died in Paris, France, in his bathtub at the age of 27. Since Morrison’s death his records have continued to sell. The Doors have sold over 34 million albums in the U.S. and over 100 million records worldwide.

1973 - Clint Holmes received a gold record for his hit single, Playground in My Mind.

1976 - Brian Wilson rejoined The Beach Boys, who were appearing at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, CA (before 74,000 fans). Wilson had been out of the group’s road tour schedule for 12 years.

1976 - 103 hostages were rescued by an Israeli commando unit in a raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda. 106 hostages had been taken from a hijacked Air France airliner on its way to Paris from Tel Aviv. Seven pro-Palestinian guerrilla hijackers, 20 Ugandan soldiers and 3 hostages were killed in the raid.

1985 - Kevin Curren whipped #1-seeded John McEnroe in the quarterfinals at the Wimbledon tennis championships. McEnroe had been attempting to become the first American to earn three consecutive men’s titles at Wimbledon.

1986 - Rudy Vallee, the Jazz Age singing sensation who went on to star in movies, Broadway and radio, died at the age of 84. Vallee, who was one of the biggest stars on radio in the 1930s, was credited with being the first star crooner. His hits in the 1920s included My Time is Your Time, Springtime in the Rockies and I’m a Vagabond Lover.

1986 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, considered by many to be the world’s greatest ballet dancer, became a U.S. citizen in ceremonies at Ellis Island, New York Harbor.

1987 - British millionaire Richard Branson and Swedish-born Per Lindstrand, became the first hot-air balloon travelers to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The pair was forced to jump into the sea as their craft, Virgin Atlantic Flyer, went down off the coast of Scotland.

1988 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued a statement to the world, and an apology to the Iranian people, “I am saddened to report that it appears that in a proper defensive action by the USS Vincennes this morning in the Persian Gulf, an Iranian airliner was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz ... We greatly regret any loss of life ...” (290 died when the Vincennes fired upon Iran Air Flight 655, mistaking the plane for a hostile F-14 fighter plane.)

1989 - The movie Batman set a record of quickest $100 million (10 days).

1989 - Actor Jim Backus (Mister Magoo, Gilligan’s Island), died of pneumonia after suffering from Parkinson’s disease for many years. He was 76 years old.

1992 - 60-year-old U.S. Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy married 38-year-old Victoria Reggie.

1993 - Germany’s Steffi Graf won her third consecutive Wimbledon title as she defeated Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic.

1993 - Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale died in Montreal, Canada at the age of 56.

1994 - Pete Sampras defeated Goran Ivanisevic to win the Wimbledon men’s championship, 7-6, 7-6, 6-0.

1995 - Due to a record deal gone awry, the three members of the female rap group TLC, were forced to file for bankruptcy. They listed liabilities exceeding $3.5 million. A major liability was a $1.3 million claim against Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez for setting fire to her boyfriend’s Atlanta mansion.

1996 - “Earth, take a good look. It could be your last.” Independence Day was shown for the first time to U.S. audiences. Gigantic alien spacecraft are parked in orbit around the Earth, getting set to attack major points around the globe. The weirdos from outer space wipe out New York, Los Angeles, and Washington just for practice. Survivors come up with a plan to fight back ... and just do manage to save the planet. The movie was a blockbuster, doing $50.23 million in its debut weekend. How could it miss with a star-studded cast including Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin, James Rebhorn and Harvey Fierstein! Also opening this day: Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker, Jeffrey Demunn, Robert Duvall and Richard Kiley.

1996 - Russians went to the polls to sweep President Boris Yeltsin into a second term. In this runoff election, Russians decisively rejected Gennady Zyuganov, Yeltsin’s Communist opponent, who had called for the revival of the Soviet Union and its rigid controls.

1997 - Blues guitarist Johnny Copeland, known as the ‘Texas Twister’, died. Copeland’s 1985 Showdown album (w/Albert Collins and Robert Cray) won a Grammy for best Traditional Blues Recording.

2000 - Only ten survivors were found this day from a ferry, the Cahaya Bahari, which disappeared in a storm off Central Indonesia on June 30. The ferry was overloaded with Christian refugees fleeing Muslim violence on the Molucca islands. Nearly 500 people drowned.

2001 - General Electric’s $41 billion purchase of Honeywell International was vetoed by the European Union. It was the first time a merger of two U.S. companies was stopped solely by European regulators.

2002 - These films opened in the U.S.: Like Mike (Fox), with Lil’ Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Brenda Song and Jesse Plemons; Men in Black II (Sony), starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Rip Torn, Rosario Dawson and Patrick Warburton; and the animated The Powerpuff Girls Movie (Warner Bros.), featuring the voices of Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, Elizabeth Daily, Tom Kenny, Roger L. Jackson, Tom Kane and Jennifer Hale.

2003 - London’s Trafalgar Square reopened to the public after a $42-million facelift.

2004 - Two Estonian students clinched that country’s seventh straight ‘wife-carrying’ world championship, winning the wife’s weight in beer -- and a sauna.

2005 - Gaylord Nelson, former governor and U.S. senator from Wisconsin, died. He was 89 years old. Nelson founded Earth Day in 1969, and helped spawn the modern environmental movement. He was at the center of legislation that resulted in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968), the Clean Air Act (1970), and passage of the Endangered Species Act.

2006 - A U.S. federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the Navy from using a type of high-intensity sonar that could harm marine animals during war games in the Pacific Ocean. On July 7, the U.S. Navy and environmental groups reached an agreement which prevented the Navy from using the sonar within 25 miles of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument.

2007 - License to Wed debuted in U.S. movie theatres. the romantic comedy stars Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinski, Eric Christian Olsen, Christine Taylor and Josh Flitter.

2007 - And it was first-run day for Transformers in U.S. movie theatres. The action adventure stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight, Bernie Mac, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Amaury Nolasco, Kevin Dunn and Ronnie Sperling.

2007 - Hilton Hotels Corp. said it had agreed to be acquired by the Blackstone Group LP for $18.5 billion in cash. With debt included, the deal was valued at $26 billion.

2007 - Legendary tenor sax player Boots Randolph died in Nashville, TN at 80 years of age. Randolph was a major part of the ‘Nashville Sound’ for most of his professional career. His 1963 hit Yakety Sax, written with guitarist James Rich, became the theme song for TV’s The Benny Hill Show.

2008 - The Wackness opened in the U.S. the comedy stars Josh Peck, Sir Ben Kingsley, Method Man, Mary Kate Olsen, Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen and Aaron Yoo.

2008 - Phillip Bennett, former chief executive of Refco (financial services company), was sentenced to 16 years in prison for fleecing investors of more than $2.4 billion in a fraud that destroyed the company.

2009 - Movies opening in the U.S.: I Hate Valentine’s Day, with Nia Vardalos, John Corbett; and The Girl from Monaco, with Fabrice Luchini, Roschdy Zem, Stephane Audran and Louise Bourgouin.

2009 - Prison guards foiled a new attempt to smuggle a cell phone into Danilo Pinheiro prison near the city of Sorocaba, Brazil. How was the attempt made, you ask? By a carrier pigeon -- wearing a tiny backpack. Police said that the practice was becoming almost commonplace.

2009 - The ‘Dog Days of Summer’ officially began -- and continued to August 11. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the ‘Dog Days’ got its name from the Egyptian belief that the Dog Star, Sirius, adds heat to the Earth as the star rises and falls with the sun during this period every year.

2010 - The U.S. government said it was handing out nearly $2 billion for new solar plants that President Barack Obama said would create thousands of jobs and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

2011 - The Erik, a 100-foot (32-meter) tourist fishing boat, with 44 tourists aboard, was struck by a storm and then capsized about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Baja California port of San Felipe. Several U.S. tourists died, along with one Mexican crew member.

2012 - The Amazing Spider-Man opened in U.S. theatres. The action adventure fantasy stars Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Stan Lee, Rhys Ifans, Embeth Davidtz, Martin Sheen, Chris Zylka, C. Thomas Howell, Sally Field and Denis Leary.

2012 - TV actor Andy Griffith died at at his home in Dare County, North Carolina. He was 86 years old. Griffith was well known for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show that aired originally from 1960 to 1968 -- and for his role as a criminal defense lawyer on Matlock, which first ran from 1986 to 1995.

2012 - 95 people were killed in Assam by the worst monsoon floods to hit the Indian state in a decade.

2013 - Movies opening in U.S. theatres on this day: The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter, Barry Pepper, William Fichtner, James Badge Dale, James Frain, Tom Wilkinson, Nick W. Nicholson, Ruth Wilson and Matt O’Leary; the animated Despicable Me 2, featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Ken Jeong, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Moises Arias, Benjamin Bratt, Steve Coogan, Elsie Kate Fisher and Dana Gaier; the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, with Rick Clark; and the documentary Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, filmed at a sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden, comedian Kevin Hart delivers material from his 2012 Let Me Explain concert tour.

2013 - The British government announced the banning of khat, a herbal amphetamine-like stimulant. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) had reported that it had found “insufficient evidence” that khat caused health problems. But in Western Europe, there were concerns that sales of khat were being used to fund terrorism.

2014 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 17,000 for the first time, closing at 17,068.

2015 - U.S. health insurer Aetna said it was acquiring rival Humana for $37 billion in cash and stock.

2015 - Russia’s parliament gave its final approval of a law to force online search engines to remove results about a specific person -- at that person’s request.

2016 - China put the finishing touches on the world’s biggest radio telescope, whose 1,650-foot-wide dish was designed to scan the heavens for signs of intelligent alien life -- and other tasks. With a dish the size of 30 football fields, FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) is by far the largest single-aperture telescope in the world. The previous record holder in the field was the 1,000-foot-wide (300 meters) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

2016 - Some 91 people, including 15 children, were killed in two bombings in Baghdad, Iraq. The larger of the two attacks, claimed by the so-called Islamic State, killed 86 and wounded 170 others by blowing up a pickup truck next to a busy shopping center. “It was like an earthquake,” said Karim Sami, a street vendor who survived the explosion. “I was so scared to go back and started to make phone calls to my friends, but none answered.”

2017 - Iranians opened a ‘Trumpism’ cartoon contest. Hundreds of participants were invited to submit artwork mocking the U.S. leader. Hadi Asadi won first prize and a $1,500 award. His cartoon shows Trump wearing a jacket made of dollar notes while drooling on books (with his hair ablaze). “I wanted to show Trump while trampling symbols of culture,” said Asadi. “Trump’s behavior clearly sets out Iran’s reasons to distrust the U.S., consequently, we decided to use art’s capacity for displaying the behavior,” the competition’s deirector, Ali-Asghar Jafari, said.

2018 - A Danish appeals court increased the prison sentence of Frederik Oliver Schmidt (25), convicted of aggravated manslaughter for crashing his jet ski into a boat on May 6, 2016, and killing American students Leah Bell (18) of Madisonville, Louisiana, and Linsey Malia (21) of Easton, Massachusetts. “I’ll take my punishment for what I’ve done. I still have not done it on purpose,” Schmidt said. After the crash, he fled the scene and was arrested at a suburban Copenhagen harbor. He admitted steering the Jet Ski that slammed into a rental boat containing a group of students. They were on a trip with five other students from the Copenhagen-based Study Abroad in Scandinavia foundation. A license to use a Jet Ski became mandatory in Denmark following the crash.

2018 - The British government said it was banning gay conversion therapy as part of an effort to make society more inclusive for LGBT people. “These activities are wrong, and we are not willing to let them continue,” the action plan, published Tuesday by the Government Equalities Office, said of the practice. “We will fully consider all legislative and nonlegislative options to prohibit promoting, offering or conducting conversion therapy. Our intent is protect people who are vulnerable to harm or violence, whether that occurs in a medical, commercial or faith-based context.”

2019 - Arte Johnson, American comic actor, died in Los Angeles at 90 years of age. Johnson is best known for his work on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973. He played many characters, but a favorite was Wolfgang, the cigarette-smoking German soldier oblivious to the fact that World War II was long over, as he skulked behind a potted plant. He would invariably comment on a preceding gag with the catchphrase “Very interesting ...,” which Johnson claimed was inspired by a Nazi character who spoke the line during an interrogation scene in the film Desperate Journey (1942). Johnson’s other prominent Laugh-In character was the white-haired, trench coat-wearing dirty old man who repeatedly sought to seduce Ruth Buzzi’s brown-clad spinster character on a park bench. The old man would enter the scene, muttering a song (usually In the Merry, Merry Month of May), and, spying Gladys on the bench, would sit next to her. He would ask her a question, and regardless of the answer, turn it into a double entendre. She would then start hitting him with her purse until he fell off the bench. Born in Michigan, Johnson started his acting career on Broadway before moving to Los Angeles in the 1950s, where he went on to land parts on shows like Bewitched and Make Room for Daddy. Johnson guest starred on General Hospital and made appearances on game shows, such as The Gong Show and The Match Game, as well as doing voice work for cartoons like The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. While most of his roles were on TV, Johnson also worked on films, including The Subterraneans and The President’s Analyst.

2019 - California became the first state in the U.S. to ban discrimination against black employees based on their natural hairstyles.

2019 - Two U.S. Marines were stopped by U.S. Border Patrol agents driving from the Mexican border into into southern California -- with three Mexicans in the back their vehicle. Nine Marines were later charged with human smuggling.

2020 - Movies scheduled to open in U.S. theatres (many theatres were still closed by the Covid-19 crisis) included, The Outpost, starring Orlando Bloom, Caleb Landry Jones and Scott Eastwood; and Relic, with Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin and Bella Heathcote.

2020 - COVID-19 news: 1)Miami-Dade County, Florida Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued an overnight curfew closing casinos, movie theaters and other entertainment venues to slow the spread of the coronavirus. 2)The European Commission gave conditional approval for the use of antiviral remdesivir in patients following an accelerated review process, making it the region’s first authorized therapy to treat the coronavirus. 3)India reported another single-day record high of new coronavirus cases. The 20,903 new cases took the national total to 625,544 -- and 379 deaths took that total to 18,213. 4)Oman’s health minister said the sultanate had witnessed a “scary” surge in cases that required boosting hospital capacity, especially intensive care units.

2020 - President Vladimir Putin ordered amendments that would allow him to remain in power until 2036 to be put into the Russian Constitution after voters approved the changes during a week-long plebiscite. Other key reforms includeD an amendment granting former Russian presidents automatic immunity from criminal prosecution, as well as reforms enshrining a reference to “belief in God” and a statement about marriage being only the union of a man and a woman.

2021 - Tyson Foods said it was recalling some 8.5 million pounds of frozen, fully cooked chicken over fears of possible exposure to a harmful bacteria. The products were made at a plant in Missouri between Dec 26, 2020 and April 13, 2021.

2021 - Massachusetts police arrested a group of armed men clad in tactical gear who identified themselves as being part of a group known as Rise of the Moors.

2022 - Several explosions were reported in the Russian city of Belgorod, some 25 miles from the Ukrainian border. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the blasts killed three people and damaged 11 apartment blocks and 39 houses. Similar explosions had occurred in Russian border cities since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, but these were the deadliest so far.

2022 - A gunman killed three people, including two 17-year-olds, and wounded four others in a shopping mall in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. When the gunman opened fire, some shoppers hid and others fled in a panic. “It is pure terror. This is awful,” said Hans Christian Stoltz, 53, who had beem shopping with his daughters. Officers arrested a 22-year-old suspect who had a history of mental illness.

2022 - A huge chunk of an Alpine glacier broke free and crashed down an Italian mountain, killing eleven hikers. The glacier was the largest in the Dolomite mountains in northeastern Italy, and had melted rapidly in recent years.

2022 - Minions: The Rise of Gru grossed $108.5 million at in the U.S. and was projected to bring in $127.9 million by the end of the four-day Fourth of July weekend -- enough to give the Despicable Me prequel the biggest Fourth of July opening of all time.

and more...
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The day’s front pages

Jump to Top Birthdays on This Day    July 3

1878 - George M. (Michael) Cohan
actor, singer, composer: Over There, The Yankee Doodle Boy, Give My Regards to Broadway, Mary’s a Grand Old Name, You’re a Grand Old Flag, Harrigan; subject of movie: Yankee Doodle Dandy, and Broadway show: George M!; died Nov 5, 1942; more

1906 - George Sanders
Academy Award-winning actor: All About Eve [1950]; The Quiller Memorandum, Picture of Dorian Gray, Village of the Damned, A Shot in the Dark, Samson and Delilah; died Apr 25, 1972

1913 - Dorothy Kilgallen
crime reporter; Broadway columnist, radio cohost (w/husband Richard Kollmar): Breakfast with Dick and Dorothy; TV quiz show panelist: What’s My Line?; died Nov 8, 1965

1914 - Don Haggerty
actor: Sands of Iwo Jim, The Asphalt Jungle, Angels in the Outfield, The Narrow Margin, Legend of the Wild, The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler, Hell Is for Heroes, Fight for the Title, Mobs, Inc., Naked Alibi; died Aug 19, 1988

1915 - Jerry Gray
arranger, bandleader: The Glenn Miller Orchestra; died Aug 10, 1976

1921 - Susan Peters (Carnahan)
actress: Andy Hardy’s Double Life, Random Harvest; died Oct 23, 1952

1927 - Ken Russell
director: Women in Love, The Music Lovers, Altered States, Tommy, The Boy Friend, Prisoner of Honor; died Nov 27, 2011

1929 - David Lynch
singer: group: The Platters: Only You, The Great Pretender, My Prayer, Twilight Time, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes; died Jan 2, 1981

1930 - Pete Fountain
musician: clarinet: New Orleans jazz great; Lawrence Welk Show, For the First Time; died Aug 6, 2016

1934 - Roger Christian
songwriter: Dead Man’s Curve, The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena); DJ: KRLA, KFWB [LA], boss jock: 93/KHJ [LA]; died July 11, 1991

1935 - Harrison Schmitt
U.S. astronaut: Apollo 17 [last Apollo mission]: the 12th and last person to set foot on the Moon; U.S. Senator [New Mexico]

1937 - Tom Stoppard (Straussler)
playwright: The Real Thing, On the Razzle, Travesties, Empire of the Sun

1938 - Bolo Yeung
bodybuilder, actor: Enter the Dragon, Bloodsport, Double Impact, Tiger Claws, Shootfighter: Fight to the Death, Long zai jiang hu, Juk nei ho wan

1940 - Fontella Bass
singer: Rescue Me; died Dec 26, 2012

1940 - César (Leonardo) ‘Pepito’ Tovar
baseball: Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, NY Yankees; died July 14, 1994

1941 - Gloria Allred
U.S. lawyer famous for taking high-status cases, especially those dealing with the defense of women’s rights

1943 - Kurtwood Smith
actor: To Die For, The Crush, Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country, Dead Poets Society, Rambo 3, RoboCop, The New Adventures of Bean Baxter, Big Wave Dave’s

1944 - Lynn Cohen
actress: Sex and the City, The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Law & Order, Munich, Vanya on 42nd Street, Synecdoche, New York, Eagle Eye

1944 - Jethro Pugh
football: Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle: Super Bowl V, VI, X, XII, XIII; died Jan 7, 2015

1945 - Michael Cole
actor: Mod Squad, Chuka, Nickel Mountain

1945 - Paul Naumoff
football: Detroit Lions [Lions record: tackles in a game: 21 vs. Cleveland Nov. 9, 1975]

1946 - Johnny Lee
musician: guitar; singer: Lookin’ for Love, Country Party, Pickin’ Up Strangers, One in a Million, Bet Your Heart on Me, Hey Bartender, The Yellow Rose, You Could’ve Heard a Heart Break, Prisoner of Hope

1947 - Betty Buckley
actress: Cats, Eight is Enough, Carrie, Wyatt Earp; singer: Memory; more

1948 - Paul Barrere
musician: guitar: group: Little Feat: On Your Way Down, Day at the Dog Races; solo: LP: On My Own Two Feet

1949 - Jan Smithers
actress: WKRP in Cincinnati, Mr. Nice Guy, Where the Lilies Bloom

1952 - Laura Branigan
singer: Gloria, Solitaire, How am I Supposed to Live Without You, Self Control, Theme Song from Octopussy, Hot Night; died [brain aneurysm] Aug 26, 2004

1953 - Frank (Daryl) Tanana
baseball: pitcher: California Angels [all-star: 1976, 1977, 1978], Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, NY Mets, NY Yankees

1953 - Dave Lewis
hockey: NY Islanders, LA Kings, NJ Devils, Detroit Red Wings [player, coach]

1953 - John Verhoeven
baseball: pitcher: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins

1955 - Neil Clark
musician: guitar: group: Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

1955 - Matt (Lon) Keough
baseball: Oakland Athletics [all-star: 1978] , NY Yankees, SL Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros

1956 - Montel Williams
TV talk show host: The Montel Williams Show

1958 - Aaron Tippin
musician: guitar; songwriter, singer: You’ve Got to Stand for Something, There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With the Radio, For You I Will, Kiss This, Where the Stars and Stripes and Eagle Fly; TV series writer: Made in America

1960 - Vince Clarke
songwriter: group: DePeche Mode: Just Can’t Get Enough, See You; musician: keyboards: groups: Yaz: Only You, Don’t Go, Nobody’s Diary; The Assembly: Never Never; Erasure: Sometimes

1962 - Tom Cruise (Thomas Cruise Mapother IV)
actor: Mission: Impossible series, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Days of Thunder, Born on the Fourth of July, Cocktail, Top Gun, Rain Man, The Color of Money, Taps, Interview with a Vampire, Jerry Maguire, Eyes Wide Shut, Collateral, War of the Worlds

1962 - Thomas Gibson
actor: Criminal Minds, Far and Away, The Age of Innocence, Barcelona, Dharma & Greg, Eyes Wide Shut

1962 - Hunter Tylo
actress: All My Children, Final Cut, Days of Our Lives, Longshot

1964 - Yeardley Smith
comedienne, Emmy Award-winning actress: The Simpsons [1992]; Back By Midnight, Last Dance, As Good as It Gets, Just Write, Jingle All the Way, Toys

1965 - Connie Nielsen
actress: Gladiator, The Devil’s Advocate, Mission to Mars, One Hour Photo, Basic, The Hunted, The Ice Harvest, Nymphomaniac, Boss, The Following

1965 - Greg Vaughn
baseball: Univ of Miami, Milwaukee Brewers, SD Padres, Cincinnati Reds, TB Devil Rays, Colorado Rockies

1966 - Moises Alou
baseball: Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros

1966 - Neil O’Donnell
football [quarterback]: Univ of Maryland; NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers, NY Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans

1968 - Teppo Numminen
hockey: Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars

1970 - Audra McDonald
Tony Award-winning actress, singer: Carousel [1994], Master Class [1996], Ragtime [1998], Marie Christine [2000], A Raisin in the Sun [2004], 110 in the Shade [2007], Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill [2014]; TV: Private Practice, Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Wife, Liz, The Sound of Music Live!; films: It Runs in the Family, The Best Thief in the World, Rampart

1970 - Teemu Selanne
‘The Finnish Flash’: hockey: Winnipeg Jets [1992-1996], Anaheim Mighty Ducks [1996-2000]; San-Jose Sharks [2000-2003]; Colorado Avalanche [2003-2004]; Anaheim Ducks [2005-2014]: 2007 Stanley Cup champs

1970 - Shawnee Smith
actress: Becker, Iron Eagle, Who's Harry Crumb?, Desperate Hours, Leaving Las Vegas, Arsenio, Armageddon, Karen Black: Actress at Work

1971 - Julian Assange
Australian editor, activist, publisher, journalist: founder, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, which publishes submissions of secret information, news leaks, classified media from anonymous news sources and whistleblowers

1973 - Patrick Wilson
actor: Broadway: The Full Monty, Oklahoma!; film, TV: Angels in America, The Phantom of the Opera, Little Children, Watchmen, Insidious, The Conjuring, A Gifted Man

1975 - Ryan McPartlin
actor: Chuck, The Nanny, Passions, LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers, Game Time: Tackling the Past, Salvation, Do It Yourself

1976 - Andrea Barber
actress: Full House, Fuller House, Days of Our Lives, Do You Remember Love, The Skateboard Kid II

1976 - Grant Wistrom
football: Univ of Nebraska; NFL: SL Rams, Seattle Seahawks

1977 - David Bowens
football: Western Illinois Univ; NFL: Denver Broncos, GB Packers, Miami Dolphins

1979 - Alexander Gemignani
singer: tenor; Broadway actor: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [2005], South Pacific [2005], Les Misérables [2006], Passion, Sweeney Todd [2007], Sunday in the Park with George, Road Show, The People in the Picture, Chicago [2013]

1979 - Elizabeth Hendrickson
actress: The Young and the Restless, All My Children, That Guy, Searching for Bobby D

1980 - Kevin Hart
comedian: routines: I’m a Grown Little Man, Seriously Funny, Laugh at My Pain, Let Me Explain; actor: Undeclared, Paper Soldiers, Scary Movie 3, Along Came Polly, Soul Plane

1980 - Olivia Munn
actress: The Newsroom, Beyond the Break, Attack of the Show!, Big Stan, Date Night, Iron Man 2, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Chuck, I Don’t Know How She Does It

1987 - Sebastian Vettel
Formula One race car driver won four consecutive World Championships between 2010 and 2013

and still more...
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BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, HOCKEY, PRO-FOOTBALL

Jump to Top Hit Music on This Day    July 3

1947Peg o’ My Heart (facts) - The Harmonicats
I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder (facts) - Eddy Howard
Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba (facts) - Perry Como
It’s a Sin (facts) - Eddy Arnold

1956The Wayward Wind (facts) - Gogi Grant
I Almost Lost My Mind (facts) - Pat Boone
Picnic (facts) - The McGuire Sisters
Crazy Arms (facts) - Ray Price

1965I Can’t Help Myself (facts) - The Four Tops
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (facts) - The Rolling Stones
Wonderful World (facts) - Herman’s Hermits
Before You Go (facts) - Buck Owens

1974Sundown (facts) - Gordon Lightfoot
Be Thankful for What You Got (facts) - William DeVaughn
If You Love Me (Let Me Know) (facts) - Olivia Newton-John
Room Full of Roses (facts) - Mickey Gilley

1983Flashdance...What a Feeling (facts) - Irene Cara
Electric Avenue (facts) - Eddy Grant
Every Breath You Take (facts) - The Police
Love Is on a Roll (facts) - Don Williams

1992I’ll Be There (facts) - Mariah Carey
Baby Got Back (facts) - Sir Mix-A-Lot
Under the Bridge (facts) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Achy Breaky Heart (facts) - Billy Ray Cyrus

2001Lady Marmalade (facts) - Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim & P!nk
Pop (facts) - ’N Sync
Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) (facts) - Train
I’m Already There (facts) - Lonestar

2010California Gurls (facts) - Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
OMG (facts) - Usher featuring will.i.am
Airplanes (facts) - B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams
The House That Built Me (facts) - Miranda Lambert

2019Old Town Road (facts) - Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus
You Need To Calm Down (facts) - Taylor Swift
Bad Guy (facts) - Billie Eilish
God’s Country (facts) - Blake Shelton

and even more...
Billboard, Pop/Rock Oldies, Songfacts, Country


Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...


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Comments/Corrections: TWtDfix@440int.com

Written and edited by Carol Williams and John Williams
Produced by John Williams


Those Were the Days, the Today in History feature
from 440 International

Copyright 440 International Inc.
No portion of these files may be reproduced without the express, written permission of 440 International Inc.