(August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997)

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was a film actor, author, composer and
singer who is #23 on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest male
American screen legends of all time. He appeared in Charles Laughton’s
only film as director, The Night of the Hunter (1955). Mitchum also starred
in Thunder Road (1958), Cape Fear (1962), and the Howard Hawks western
El Dorado (1966). Robert Mitchum recorded a song he had written for the
film Thunder Road, titled “The Ballad of Thunder Road”. The country-styled
song became a modest hit for Mitchum, reaching #69 on the Billboard Pop
Singles Chart.

Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter

Robert Mitchum from Cape Fear

John Wayne (left) with Robert Mitchum in El Dorado

American Bandstand premiered in late September 1952 as Bandstand on
Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Ch. 6 (now WPVI-TV), as a local
replacement for a weekday movie. The new show was hosted by Bob Horn
(below) who had a show with the same name on WFIL radio. Bandstand
mainly featured short musical films with occasional studio guests. Horn
changed the shows format to a dance program, with local teens dancing
along with the latest hits on camera. On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a
drunk-driving arrest and the show went to fellow WFIL radio DJ, 26 year old
Dick Clark. In late spring of 1957, Clark pitched Bandstand to the ABC-TV
network and it was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on
August 5, 1957.

Bob Horn

Maureen Denise McCormick is a actress and recording artist who is best
remembered for her role as the oldest daughter, Marcie Brady in the
ABC television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974. After The
Brady Bunch, McCormick made guest appearances on many television
shows including Happy Days, Love Boat and Fantasy Island. She also
had supporting roles in a few B-movies.

Neil Alden Armstrong is a former astronaut, Navy test pilot aerospace engineer,
and university professor. He was the first person to set foot on the Moon July 21,
1969. For his spaceflights, Armstrong received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Sometime during the night of August 4-5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died. Her
body was discovered in the bedroom of her Brentwood home by Ralph S.
Greenson, Marilyn’s psychoanalyst. Cause of death was ruled "probable
suicide" by an overdose of sleeping pills. Monroe was 36 at the time. Her
funeral took place on August 8, at the Westwood memorial Park Chapel in
Westwood, California. There are many who believe that she was murdered,
but no murder charges were ever filed. The death of Marilyn Monroe has
since become one of the most debated conspiracy theories of all time.