President Richard M.Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974, 
after addressing the nation on television the previous evening. Gerald R. Ford
(below) took Nixon’s place, and became the 38th president of the United States.

The Ford Family in the Oval Office prior to the swearing-in ceremony

    
                (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969)

Sharon Marie Tate was a actress who played small television roles before
appearing in several films during the 1960s. She received positive reviews
for her performances and was hailed as one of Hollywood’s most promising
newcomers. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role in
Valley of the Dolls (1967). Tate was seen regularly in fashion magazines as
a model and cover girl. She was married to film director Roman Polanski in
1968 and was eight and a half months pregnant when she and the unborn
child were gruesomely murdered in her home, along with four others by 
followers of Charles Manson.

The coroner’s report for Tate noted that she had been stabbed sixteen
times. The murders committed by the Manson “Family” have been
described by social commentators as one of the defining moments of
the 1960s. Manson is currently incarcerated at Corcoran Prison in Kings
County, California. 

Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski on their wedding day

Charles Manson

Manson is now 76 years old

Actor Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California and later moved to
Oregon with his family during his teenage years. He graduated from David
Douglas High School in Portland and attended Clark College in Vancouver,
Washington, where he completed a two-year program. Elliott began his
career as a character actor; his appearance and bearing were ideally
suited to Westerns. One of his first film roles was as ‘Card Player #2’ in
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

In 1970-71, Sam Elliott starred as Doug Robert in the popular TV series
Mission: Impossible in 1970 to 1971, and played the lead character Sam
Damon in the NBC miniseries Once an Eagle (1976-1977). Sam was also 
the oldest brother in the made-for-TV NBC miniseries The Sacketts which 
also starred Tom Selleck.

 

Sam Elliott in Tombstone (1993)

Sam Elliott played "The Stranger" (above), a character narrating
the story of The Big Lebowski (1998).