On July 23, 1982, Vic Morrow and two child actors, Renee Shinn
Chen and Myca Dinh Le, are killed in an accident involving a
helicopter during filming on the California set of Twilight Zone:
The Movie. Morrow, age 53, and the children, ages six and seven,
were shooting a Vietnam War battle scene in which they were
supposed to be running from a pursuing helicopter. Special-
effects explosions on the set caused the pilot of the low-flying
craft to lose control and crash into the three victims. The accident
took place on the film’s last scheduled day of shooting.

Twilight Zone co-director John Landis (Blues Brothers, Trading
Places, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and four other men
working on the film, including the special-effects coordinator and
the helicopter pilot, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. According to a 1987 New York Times report, it was the first time
a film director faced criminal charges for events that occurred
while making a movie.

Victor Morrow (Victor Morozoff)
(February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982)

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since
1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered
using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the
White House. Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret
Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation,
seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional
limousine motorcade.

 
The Bell H-13J helicopter pictured on Presidents Day,2018.

The ferry carrier, USNS Core, arrived in Saigon with the first U,S,
helicopter unit. This contingent included 33 H-21C Shawnee Pysanki
helicopters and 400 air and ground crewmen to operate and maintain
them.Their assignment was to airlift South Vietnamese Army troops
into combat.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Buster (Joseph Frank) Keaton
(October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966)

1926…Filmed in Oregon

CAMILLE BOHANNON

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I into orbit around the Earth on
this day in 1957. Sputnik was the first manmade satellite to enter
space. It fell out of orbit on January 4, 1958.

The rocket that carried Sputnik 1, is shown on the launch pad.

The ‘Great Stone Face’ in 1925.

Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966)

Buster Keaton was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark
was physical comedy with a consistent deadpan expression, earning him
the nickname "The Great Stone Face".  Critic Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton’s "extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, [when] he worked on a series of
films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor–director in the history of
the movies". His career declined with a loss of his artistic independence
when hired by MGM studios, a divorce and alcoholism. He recovered in 
the 1940s, remarried, and revived his career to a degree as an honored
comic performer for the rest of his life, earning an Academy Honorary 
Award.

1924

1926

1928