July 13
1938 -- Approximately 200 spectators in Boston,
Massachusetts, pay to witness the first 'television
theatre.' The variety show acts are performed on a floor
above the theater and transmitted downstairs via
television. The cost of admission? Twenty-five cents.



1942 -- Robert Forster is born Robert Foster in
Rochester, New York. Prior to having his career
resurrected by Quentin Tarantino in 1997's big screen
noir-ish 'Jackie Brown,' Robert, who has a degree in
psychology, was best-known for his television roles as
Depression Era private investigator 'Banyon' in 1973
and, intriguingly, as a Navajo deputy sheriff in 1974's
'Nakia.'










1960 -- On 'American Bandstand,' Freddy Cannon
performed 'Happy Shades of Blue.'


1973 -- Lon Chaney, Jr., the only actor to portray
Frankenstein's monster, the Wolfman, Count Dracula
and the Phantom of the Opera, dies of liver failure in
San Clemente, California. While never equalling the
status of his father (but then again, who could?), Lon,
Jr.'s, portrayal of Larry Talbot/The Wolfman was both
poignant and terrifying. In television, he had recurring
roles in both 'Hawkeye and The Last of the Mohicans' &
'Pistols 'n' Petticoats.' Lon was 67 at his death.








1987 -- Bette Midler's $10 million lawsuit against Ford
Motor Company for using a sound-alike singer in a
commercial was dismissed by a federal judge.



2006 -- Red Buttons dies of vascular disease in Century
City, California. A television icon in the 1950s whose
reputation was tarnished by his frequent hiring and firing
of writers, Red found more lasting fame as a dramatic
actor with roles in 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?,'
'The Poseidon Adventure' and 'Sayanora,' for which he
won an Academy Award. Born Aaron Chwatt in New
York City, Red was 87 years old at the time of his death.
Happy
Birthday,
Robert
Forster!!!
In 1997, both
Lon Chaney,
Jr., and his dad
were among
those honored
by the United
States Post
Office.