Just a few random TV related events that happened on January 29. Discuss or comment as you please……
1901: Television pioneer Allen B. DuMont is born in Brooklyn, New York.
1918: Actor John Forsythe (Bachelor Father, To Rome with Love, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty) is born (as John Lincoln Freund) in Penns Grove, New Jersey. DYK: Prior to his acting career, Forsythe was for a brief period the announcer at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.
1945: Actor Tom Selleck (Magnum P.I.) is born in Detroit.
1950: Actress Ann Jillian (It’s a Living) is born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1954: Media mega-diva Oprah Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Misissippi.
1962: Actor Nicholas Turturro (NYPD Blue) is born in Queens, New York.
1975: Actress Sara Gilbert (Roseanne) is born (as Sara Rebecca Abeles) in Santa Monica, California.
1975: Actress Kelly Packard (Baywatch, California Dreams) is born in Glendale, California.
1977: Comedian/actor Freddie Prinze (Chico and the Man) dies in Los Angeles from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, aged 22. Initially ruled a suicide, years later (after much campaigning by his mother) the cause of his death would be officially changed to "accidental shooting due to the influence of Quaaludes." Despite writing a suicide note, the fact that he committed the act in the presence of a witness (very rare for suicides) -- as well as having a history of playing with guns and faking suicide attempts to playfully scare his friends -- gave some credence to the notion that he was not seriously planning to take his own life.
1980: Singer/comedian/actor Jimmy Durante dies of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California, aged 86. Universally regarded as one of the nicest guys in show business, it was once said of Durante, “you could warm your hands on this man.”
1989: Shining Time Station premieres on PBS.
2006: Journalist Bob Woodruff, recently elevated to anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, and Canadian cameraman Doug Vogt are seriously injured by an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq. Woodruff would undergo major surgeries, a medically induced coma, a battle with speech problems and aphasia, and a long period of rehabilitation before slowly beginning to resume his career.
2007: i: Independent Television (formerly PAX TV) rebrands as Ion Television. Two name changes in 18 months fail to alter its status as the lowliest broadcast network.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)
1901: Television pioneer Allen B. DuMont is born in Brooklyn, New York.
1918: Actor John Forsythe (Bachelor Father, To Rome with Love, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty) is born (as John Lincoln Freund) in Penns Grove, New Jersey. DYK: Prior to his acting career, Forsythe was for a brief period the announcer at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.
1945: Actor Tom Selleck (Magnum P.I.) is born in Detroit.
1950: Actress Ann Jillian (It’s a Living) is born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1954: Media mega-diva Oprah Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Misissippi.
1962: Actor Nicholas Turturro (NYPD Blue) is born in Queens, New York.
1975: Actress Sara Gilbert (Roseanne) is born (as Sara Rebecca Abeles) in Santa Monica, California.
1975: Actress Kelly Packard (Baywatch, California Dreams) is born in Glendale, California.
1977: Comedian/actor Freddie Prinze (Chico and the Man) dies in Los Angeles from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, aged 22. Initially ruled a suicide, years later (after much campaigning by his mother) the cause of his death would be officially changed to "accidental shooting due to the influence of Quaaludes." Despite writing a suicide note, the fact that he committed the act in the presence of a witness (very rare for suicides) -- as well as having a history of playing with guns and faking suicide attempts to playfully scare his friends -- gave some credence to the notion that he was not seriously planning to take his own life.
1980: Singer/comedian/actor Jimmy Durante dies of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California, aged 86. Universally regarded as one of the nicest guys in show business, it was once said of Durante, “you could warm your hands on this man.”
1989: Shining Time Station premieres on PBS.
2006: Journalist Bob Woodruff, recently elevated to anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, and Canadian cameraman Doug Vogt are seriously injured by an improvised explosive device near Taji, Iraq. Woodruff would undergo major surgeries, a medically induced coma, a battle with speech problems and aphasia, and a long period of rehabilitation before slowly beginning to resume his career.
2007: i: Independent Television (formerly PAX TV) rebrands as Ion Television. Two name changes in 18 months fail to alter its status as the lowliest broadcast network.
(Just a little featurette I hope to do as time permits. It’s an entirely random selection based on a quick Net search, and is not meant to be comprehensive. So, don’t post nasty messages about “you forgot THIS” or “how could you not mention THAT?” Do so, and I’ll just take my keyboard and go home…..)
