March 25, 2008

175 years ago
1833

Theatre
Edmund Kean, regarded in his time as the greatest actor ever, was playing Othello at Covent Garden, with his son Charles as Iago. At the words "Villain, be sure," in scene 3 of act iii, he suddenly broke down, and crying in a faltering voice, "O God, I am dying. Speak to them, Charles," fell insensible into his son’s arms. It turned out to be Edmund Kean's last performance; he died on May 15 at the age of 44.

160 years ago
1848

Politics and government
Conservative Gerrit Schimmelpenninck took office as Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

80 years ago
1928

Died on this date
C.L. Lankford, 17. U.S. youth. Clumsiness was responsible for the death of Mr. Lankford when the Atlanta youth stumbled over the brink of the north precipice of Georgia’s Stone Mountain and plunged 800 feet to his death near the carved figure of General Robert E. Lee.

Politics and government
General Antonio Carmona, acting President and Prime Minister, was elected President of the Republic of Portugal by popular vote.

Disasters
A flock of 1,000 wild swans that had landed in the night were swept over Niagara Horse Shoe Falls, and many were killed when they struck the ice floes in the gorge below.

70 years ago
1938

Music
The Ink Spots recorded the song That Cat is High.

50 years ago
1958

Aviation
The delta-winged interceptor aircraft Avro CF-105 Arrow, with chief development pilot Jan Zurakowski at the controls, made its first flight at the A.V. Roe headquarters at Malton, Ontario, taking off and landing without a hitch. The plane was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force’s interceptor for the 1960s and beyond.

Boxing
Sugar Ray Robinson, aged 37, gained a 15-round split decision over Carmen Basilio, 31, the New York State onion farmer, at Chicago Stadium to become the world middleweight champion for a record fifth time.

40 years ago
1968

Hit parade
#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Yūbe no Himitsu--Tomoko Ogawa

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): I'm Coming Home--Tom Jones

On television tonight
The Monkees, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Frodis Caper

This was the 58th and final episode of the series.

Golf
George Archer won the Pensacola Open with a score of 268. First prize money was $14,000.

30 years ago
1978

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy (Hit Parade Italia): Gianna--Rino Gaetano (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Mull of Kintyre--Wings (9th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland: Wuthering Heights--Kate Bush (2nd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.K. (BMRB): Wuthering Heights--Kate Bush (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Night Fever--Bee Gees (2nd week at #1)

Terrorism
The kidnappers of Aldo Moro announced that they had begun a "people's trial" of the former Italian Prime Minister, accusing him of being the leading representative of a repressive regime for 30 years.

Labour
The United Mine Workers of America ratified a settlement, ending the longest strike in the industry’s history after 110 days.

Hockey
NHL
New York Rangers 5 @ Toronto 2

Toronto defenceman Mike Pelyk scored the first Toronto goal--his first National Hockey League goal in 4 years--but it wasn't enough to keep the Maple Leafs from losing to the Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens in the national Hockey Night in Canada telecast.

CHL
Kansas City 3 @ Salt Lake City 5

25 years ago
1983

At the movies
The Outsiders, a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on S.E. Hinton’s novel about troubled teenagers in Oklahoma in the 1960s, opened in theatres . It’s a rather strange movie; Mr. Coppola directed it as though he were making a Douglas Sirk 1950s melodrama, but that approach didn’t fit the setting. The most remarkable feature of the movie is the young cast, which included Matt Dillon; Ralph Macchio; Patrick Swayze; Rob Lowe; Emilio Estevez; and Leif Garrett. Those who saw the film in the spring of 1983 forecast a great career for C. Thomas Howell, who played Ponyboy, the central character. Few would have predicted (in fact, I don’t know if anybody did predict) that the cast member with the most successful career would turn out to be Tom Cruise, whose part in The Outsiders was so small as to be almost invisible. A few months after this movie came out, Mr. Cruise hit it big with Risky Business, and he’s been a big star ever since. C. Thomas Howell’s career, on the other hand, quickly tanked. He made a few forgettable (and forgotten) movies, and was best-known for marrying Rae-Dawn Chong. The Outsiders remains Mr. Howell’s most (only?) memorable movie--a fate that would have amazed moviegoers and critics in the spring of 1983.

Died on this date
Bob Waterfield, 62. U.S. football player. Mr. Waterfield was a quarterback with the University of California at Los Angeles Bruins before joining the U.S. Army in World War II. He was drafted by the Cleveland Rams in 1944 and joined them in 1945, leading them to the NFL championship, and winning the Joe F. Carr Trophy--by unanimous vote--as the league's Most Valuable Player. The Rams moved to Los Angeles in 1946, and Mr. Waterfield played with them through 1952, starring as a kicker and punter, and sharing quarterbacking duties with Norm Van Brocklin in his last four seasons. The Rams were West Division champions in 1949 and 1950, and won the NFL championship in 1951. Mr. Waterfield was known for his ability to throw the deep ball, and finished his career with 97 touchdown passes. He also kicked 315 extra points and 60 field goals, while punting for a 42.6-yard average and making 20 interceptions. Mr. Waterfield married actress Jane Russell in 1943, and he became a movie producer after his football career ended. The couple were divorced in 1968. Mr. Waterfield was named head coach of the Rams in 1960, but resigned after 8 games of the 1962 season after compiling a record of just 9-24-1. He was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

Carry Back, 25. U.S. race horse. Carry Back won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1961 (with John Sellers aboard), and was the leading money-winning horse that year ($565,349 U.S.). In 61 races he recorded 21 wins, 11 places, and 11 shows, with lifetime winnings of $1,241,165.

20 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Tell it to My Heart--Taylor Dayne (4th week at #1)

Crime
A sensational murder trial ended in New York City when the defendant, Robert Chambers, Jr., admitted that he had caused the death of his victim, Jennifer Levin. Miss Levin, 18, had been found strangled in Central Park in 1986 and Mr. Chambers, then 19, had been charged with second-degree murder. The two had left a bar at 4:30 A.M. and gone to the park. Mr. Chambers told police that he had killed Miss Levin unintentionally during a session of "rough sex" in which she had tied his hands with her panties and hurt him. He said that he had responded in a frenzy and had strangled her accidentally. During the ninth day of jury deliberations, Mr. Chambers pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter, admitting that he had intended to injure Miss Levin. Under the plea bargain, Mr. Chambers would have to serve at least five years in prison. Don’t you just love plea bargaining? It makes things easier for the legal profession, but it’s hard to see how it helps the cause of justice.