ROSS SIMPSON

In an attempt to lift the state out of the hard times of the Great Depression,
the Nevada state legislature voted to legalize gambling on this day in 1931.

James Orsen "Jim" Bakker turned 77 in January.

Bob Dylan’s debut album released by Columbia on this day in 1962.

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry
(October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017)

Police in St. Charles County, Missouri, were called to Berry’s house
today where he was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the
scene.

Charley Pride was a pitcher for the New York
Yankees’ minor league team.

Charley Frank Pride was born in Sledge, Mississippi.

African American country singer Charley Pride is responsible
for over thirty #1 singles, including "All I Have to Offer You
(Is Me)" and "I’m Just Me." He started playing guitar when he
was a teenager. Pride was inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame in 2000.

Charley Pride is one of the few African Americans to have had considerable success in the country music industry.

SANDY KOZEL

Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov became the first man to
conduct a spacewalk in 1965.

The staff at the Pinellas Park hospice facility disconnected the
feeding tube on March 18, 2005, and Schiavo died on March 31,
2005.

John Edmund Andrew Phillips
(August 30, 1935 – March 18, 2001)

Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of
the vocal group The Mamas & the Papas.

The film American Hot Wax is a 1978 biopic directed by Floyd Mutrux and
written by John Kaye, telling the story of pioneering disc jockey Alan Freed,
who was instrumental in introducing and popularizing rock and roll in the
1950s. It stars Tim McIntire as Freed, and Fran Drescher as Freed’s feisty
secretary, Laraine Newman plays a young aspiring songwriter, and Jay
Leno as Freed’s limousine driver. It also features performances by Chuck
Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Ford, and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. On theater
release, the film did not do well at the box office.  

Albert James "Alan" Freed
(December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965)