January 10, 2017

120 years ago
1897

Born on this date
Lya De Putti. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. actress. Miss De Putti, a native of what is now part of Slovakia, was known for playing vamp characters in European movies in the early 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1926, but had little success. Miss De Putti's movies included The Mistress of the World (1919); Varieté (1925); and The Sorrows of Satan (1926). She reportedly attempted suicide several times, and eventually died on November 27, 1931 at the age of 34, from pleurisy originating from surgery to remove a chicken bone from her throat.

110 years ago
1907

Born on this date
Peggy Shannon. U.S. actress. Miss Shannon, born Winona Sammon, appeared in Broadway plays before moving to Hollywood and replacing Clara Bow as the latest "It" girl in the movie The Secret Call (1931). Miss Shannon had an undistinguished career in motion pictures before dying on May 11, 1941 at the age of 34 from a heart attack brought on by heavy drinking. Her second husband, Albert Roberts, shot himself to death three weeks later.

110 years ago
1917

Born on this date
Jerry Wexler. U.S. record producer. Mr. Wexler produced records from the 1950s through the 1980s, but was best known for his work with Atlantic Records, producing rhythm and blues artists such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Wilson Pickett. Mr. Wexler died on August 15, 2008 at the age of 91.

Died on this date
Buffalo Bill Cody, 70. U.S. entertainer. William Frederick Cody served as a civilian scout for the United States Army after the Civil War, acquiring his nickname after obtaining a contract to supply the Kansas Pacific Railroad with bison meat. He was best known for popularizing the image of the American West through his travelling show Buffalo Bill's Wild West, which regularly toured North America and Europe from 1883-1906.

90 years ago
1927

At the movies
Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang and starring Alfred Abel, opened in theatres in Germany.

75 years ago
1942

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Chattanooga Choo Choo--Glenn Miller and his Orchestra (6th week at #1)

70 years ago
1947

At the movies
Lighthouse, directed by Frank Wisbar, and starring Don Castle, June Lang, and John Litel, opened in theatres.



60 years ago
1957

Died on this date
Gabriela Mistral, 67. Chilean poet. Miss Mistral, whose real name was Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, was awarded the 1945 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her lyric poetry, which inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world." She died in New York of pancreatic cancer.

Politics and government
Chancellor of the Excehequer Harold Macmillan took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the day after Anthony Eden had announced his resignation.

50 years ago
1967

On television tonight
The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC
Tonight's episode: The Other Side of the Coin, with guest stars John Larch, Joseph Campanella, and Beau Bridges

The Invaders, starring Roy Thinnes, on ABC
Tonight's episode: Beachhead

This was the pilot and first episode of the series.

Politics and government
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson delivered his State of the Union address, asking for a 6% surcharge on all income taxes. Edward Brooke (Republican--Massachusetts) took his seat in the United States Senate, two months after becoming the first Negro to be elected to the Senate by popular vote. The House of Representatives declined to seat Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (Democrat--New York), pending investigation of his behaviour.



40 years ago
1977

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Kent Music Report): If You Leave Me Now--Chicago (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Japan (Oricon Singles Chart): Kita no Yadokara--Harumi Miyako (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Sandokan--Oliver Onions

Economics and finance
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to lend over $111 million to 24 backward nations.

30 years ago
1987

Hit parade
#1 single in Italy: The Final Countdown--Europe (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Spain (PROMUSICAE): Geronimo's Cadillac--Modern Talking (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Flanders (Ultratop 50): Walk Like an Egyptian--Bangles (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the Netherlands (De Nederlandse Top 40): Walk Like an Egyptian--Bangles (6th week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)--Jackie Wilson

#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl in Town)--Jackie Wilson

This was a reissue of a single that had been a hit for Mr. Wilson in 1957. It was reissued as a single in the U.K. after a clay animation video of the song was shown on an episode of the BBC Two documentary series Arena. This set a record for the longest time between a single's debut on the chart and the time that it reached #1: 29 years, 1 month, 11 days.

#1 single in Canada (RPM): The Way it Is--Bruce Hornsby and the Range (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Walk Like an Egyptian--Bangles (4th week at #1)

#1 single in the U.S.A. (Cash Box): Everybody Have Fun Tonight--Wang Chung (3rd week at #1)

On television tonight
The Return of Sherlock Holmes, starring Michael Pennington and Margaret Colin, on CBS

This made-for-television movie was apparently intended to be a pilot for a series, but no series resulted.



Died on this date
Marion Hutton, 67. Miss Hutton, born Marion Thornburg and the older sister of actress Betty Hutton, sang with Glenn Miller and his Orchestra from 1938-1942. She and her third husband, arranger Vic Schoen, overcame drinking problems and founded the addiction treatment centre Residence XII in Kirkland, Washington in 1981, with Miss Hutton serving as executive director. She died of cancer.

25 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Let's Talk About Sex--Salt-n-Pepa (9th week at #1)

Economics and finance
The U.S. Labor Department reported that unemployment in December 1991 stood at 7.1%, the highest level in more than five years.

20 years ago
1997

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Time to Say Goodbye--Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman (5th week at #1)

#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): Breathe--The Prodigy (3rd week at #1)

Died on this date
Sheldon Leonard, 89. U.S. actor, director, and producer. Mr. Leonard, born Sheldon Leonard Bershad, played tough guys in various movies and radio programs before achieving success producing such television series as Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964); The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968); The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966); and I Spy (1965-1968).

Alexander Todd, 89. U.K. biochemist. Dr. Todd was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his work on nucleotides and nucleotide co-enzymes."

10 years ago
2007

Died on this date
Bradford Washburn, 96. U.S. mountaineer. Mr. Washburn was one of America's leading mountaineers from the 1920s through the 1950s, and pioneered the use of aerial photography of mountains.

Carlo Ponti, 94. Italian movie producer. Mr. Ponti produced over 140 movies; La Strada (1954) and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) won Academy Awards as Best Foreign Language Film. Mr. Ponti was married to actress Sophia Loren from 1957-1962 and 1966 until his death.

War
U.S. President George W. Bush announced that he would send a "surge" of 21,500 U.S. forces to Iraq.

Protest
A general strike began in Guinea in an attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.