Actress Linda Blair played the possessed Regan in The Exorcist (1973) which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination. In 1977, she reprised her role in Exorcist II: The Heretic. Her career began as a child model at age six in 1970.
Director and composer John Carpenter is known for his horror, thriller and science fiction films. His filmography includes The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Halloween (1978), Escape from New York (1981) and Starman (1984). He has composed most of the music for his films. Carpenter made short horror films on 8mm before high school.
Communist East Germany opened its borders on this day in 1989, allowing its citizens to travel freely to West Germany.
On this day in 1938, Nazi troops and sympathizers destroyed and looted 7,500 Jewish businesses, burned 267 synagogues, killed 91 Jews, and rounded up over 25,000 Jewish men in an event that became known as Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass."
The great Northeast blackout occurred on this day in 1965, as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours.
Dylan Marlais Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953)
Thomas came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts.
At the post-mortem, the pathologist found three causes of death – pneumonia, brain swelling and a fatty liver. Despite his heavy drinking his liver showed no sign of cirrhosis. He was only 39.
Arthur William Matthew "Art" Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003)
On this day in 1938, Orson Welles’ "The War of the Worlds" aired on CBS radio. The belief that the realistic radio dramatization was a live news event about a Martian invasion caused panic among listeners.
George Orson Welles(May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985)
A deadly mudslide hit Nicaragua after hurricane Mitch on this day in 1998.
On this day in 1974.
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000)
Comedian Steve Allen achieved national fame as the first host of NBC’s The Tonight Show, the first late night television talk show in September 1954.
Sigourney Weaver played the resourceful action hero Ellen Ripley in Alien (1979), Aliens (1986) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). She also played Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989) and Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar (2009).