| May 20 |
| 1908 -- One of America's most beloved actors, Jimmy Stewart, was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The star of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and many other classics, he starred in two short-lived television series towards the end of his career: 'Hawkins' (with a killer theme song heard on this website) in which he played a West Virginia lawyer aided by Strother Martin, who played his cousin, and 'The Jimmy Stewart Show,' a gentle sitcom in which he's a college professor married to Julie Adams. Be sure to visit The Jimmy Stewart Museum either in person or on-line. Interviewed by TV Guide in its October 2 - 8, 1971, issue during the filming of his sitcom, Jimmy had a surprisingly harsh comment on child actors: "The only kid actor I knew who was worth a damn was a boy name of Billy Mumy . . . The only reason he was any good was because he didn't want to be an actor at all. He wanted to be a ballplayer . . . He'd be so anxious to get back to playing ball that whenever we went to work before the camera, he'd just feed me my lines. A fine boy, that Billy Mumy.' Jimmy died of cardiac arrest and a pulmonary embolism July 2, 1997, at age 89. After his beloved wife Gloria's funeral service three years earlier, he'd vowed to make no more public appearances and rarely left his home. 1919 -- folksy comedian George Leslie Gobel is born in Chicago. Although a singer as a youngster, he first started doing standup during WWII for his fellow soldiers. He became wildly popular with his self-titled sitcom in the '50s but his momentum tailed off considerably following its cancellation but his put-upon humor continued for years on game shows and talkshows. In a frequently seen clip from 'The Tonight Show,' George was the third guest on the couch, following Bob Hope and Dean Martin. While George is telling stories about his years in the military, the audience is not only laughing at George but also at the fact that Dean is tapping his cigarette ashes into George's drink everytime George turns to talk to Johnny. Finally, realizing that maybe his stories aren't that funny, he turns to Johnny and says "Did you ever feel like life was a tuxedo and that you were a pair of brown shoes?" Carson, Hope, Martin and the audience broke up hysterically. George died following bypass surgery in 1991. He was 71. 1927 -- Albert David Hedison, Jr., is born in Providence, Rhode Island. Although he's best known to filmgoers (as 'Al Hedison') for his starring role as 'The Fly,' he also played James Bond's CIA cohort Felix Leiter in both 'Live and Let Die' and 'License to Kill.' For tv fans, though, he'll always be remembered as Captain Lee Crane in 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,' which ended in 1968. Interestingly, imdb.com says that he was offered but declined the role of architect Mike Brady in 'The Brady Bunch' that started the next season. When asked why he turned the role down he reportedly said " . . . after four years of subs and monsters, who needs kids and dogs?" 1939 -- the first telecast over telephone wires was sent from Madison Square Garden to the NBC-TV studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. The event was a bicycle race. 1954 -- Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock'' was released. The record was not a hit until the following year, when it was included in the soundtrack of "Blackboard Jungle.'' It was also the original theme song used on 'Happy Days.' 1962 -- It's little known, but the British began this date -- and was led by instrumentalist Acker Bilk -- as 'Stranger on the Shore' hit #1, making it the first British hit to make the top of the U.S. charts. 1972 -- once-powerful gossip columnist Walter Winchell, who narrarated TV's 'The Untouchables,' died of cancer at age 75. He was portrayed by Stanley Tucci in HBO's 1998 teleflick 'Winchell.' 1989 -- Gilda Radner, who created so many memorable characters on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live, dies of ovarian cancer at age 42. Following her death, her husband, Gene Wilder, Joel Siegel and Joanna Bull, her cancer psychotherapist during Gilda's illness, formed an organization to help the fight against ovarian cancer. If you or someone you know is facing that battle, or if you'd like to help, visit Gilda's Club. The organization takes its name from Gilda's comment that cancer gave her "membership to an elite club I'd rather not belong to." 1993 -- the 274th and final episode of 'Cheers' aired on NBC. No, Sam didn't end up with Diane, but Kirstie Alley did end up with Tom Berenger. 1996 -- 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' airs for the final time on NBC. 1998 -- about 400 people attended the invitation-only funeral for Frank Sinatra in Beverly Hills. The mourners included Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas and Sophia Loren. |