The song "Lucille", originally recorded by Little Richard, was released in 
February. It reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart, 21 on the US 
pop chart, and number 10 on the UK chart.

Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) turned 84 in December.

John Howard Carpenter was born in Los Angeles, California.

Director John Carpenter is known for his horror, thriller and science fiction
films such as The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Halloween
(1978), Escape from New York (1981) and Starman 1984).

He made short horror films on 8mm before high school. He was enrolled at the
University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, but dropped out.

From left: John Carpenter with Jamie Lee Curtis on the set of
Halloween.

Eugene Andrew "Gene" Cernan (March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017)

(FoxNews) – Gene Cernan, an early NASA astronaut who was the last man to
set foot on the moon, died Monday, according to a NASA announced in a
tweet.

Cernan was the commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972 – the last lunar
mission and one of the final Apollo flights.

Richard "Dick" Gautier (October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017)

(AP) – Actor Dick Gautier, who gained fame playing an Elvis-like singer
in the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie" and went on to play Hymie the
Robot on TV’s "Get Smart," has died.

His publicist Harlan Boll told The Associated Press.Gautier died Friday
at an assisted living facility in Los Angeles County.

Gautier, who started out as a standup comic, was nominated for a Tony
for his stage turn as Conrad Birdie.

“Get Smart” Don Adams and Barbara Feldon with Richard
‘Dick’ Gautier, who plays Hymie the Robot.

Dick Gautier and Company in “BYE BYE BIRDIE” (1961).

On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill, proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana, to create a federal holiday honoring
Martin Luther King JR. The bill had passed the House of Representatives
by a count of 338 to 90, a veto-proof margin. The holiday was observed for
the first time on January 20, 1986.