| June 21 |
1921 -- Judy Holliday is born Judith Tuvim in New York City. Deftly playing the 'dumb' blonde' in 'Born Yesterday' and 'The Big, Solid Gold Cadillac,' Judy's connection with television is somewhat tepid with one exception: from 1953 - 1963, she logged four appearances as the 'Mystery Guest' on 'What's My Line.' Tragically, Judy died of breast cancer on July 7, 1965. She was just 43 years old. 1937 -- BBC's coverage of the Wimbledon Championships marks the Wembley classic's first time on television. Don Budge and Dorothy Edith Round Little are the men's and women's champions, respectively. 1948 -- The Republican Party descends on Philadelphia and it's another first for television as networks cover their first major political convention. 1964 -- It's Father's Day, and WOR-TV is there as future Kentucky senator Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches a perfect 6 - 0 game against the Mets at Shea Stadium. Lindsay Nelson and Bob Murphy broadcast the game; Pirate great Ralph Kiner interviews Bunning after the game. Visit kinescopestealshome.com,for a top article and for more great 'kinescope caps' from that broadcast. 1970 -- It's a rerun, but it's terrific. On 'The Bill Cosby Show,' Bill's high school gym teacher, Chet Kincaid, is trapped in an elevator with an English teacher and a cleaning woman in the episode 'The Elevator Doesn't Stop Here Anymore.' Who played Bill's companions? Henry Fonda and Elsa Lanchester. Now that's television! 1978 -- It's another rerun, but on 'Starsky and Hutch,' Hutch falls in love with a Russian ballerina while protecting her from potential assassins. Now that's typical television! 2001 -- Actor Carroll O'Connor passes away of a heart attack brought on by diabetes. Sadly, his last years were filled with tragedy; in 1995 his only child, son Hugh (who was also part of the cast of 'In the Heat of the Night'), struggling with a long-term drug addiction and despondent on what would have been his third wedding anniversary, shot and killed himself while talking to his dad on the phone. Carroll O'Connor publicly blasted Harry Perzigian, the man he blamed as Hugh's drug dealer. Perzigian, in turn, sued O'Connor for defamation. The case went to trial and jury sided with O'Connor. In a copyrighted story posted by CNN on their website July 25, 1997, Carroll O'Connor is quoted as saying 'There isn't a day that I don't think of (Hugh) and want him back and miss him, and I'll feel that way until I'm not here any more.' Carroll O'Connor was 76 at his death. |
| Images courtesy of kinescopestealshome.com |