Lalo Schifrin (June 21, 1932 – June 26, 2025)

Lalo Schifrin, the composer who wrote the endlessly catchy
theme for “Mission: Impossible” and more than 100 other
arrangements for film and television, died Thursday from
complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Los Angeles.

Schifrin was a five-time Grammy Award winner; he was
nominated for six Academy Awards and four Emmy
Awards. He was 93.

Series originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from
September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975.

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson, one of the most commercially successful entertainers in history, died at the age of 50 at his
home in Los Angeles, California, after suffering from cardiac
arrest caused by a fatal combination of drugs given to him by
his personal doctor Conrad Murry (below).

Conrad Murray

Released on June 21, 1965, the Byrds’ debut album, Mr.
Tambourine Man, marked the beginning of the folk-rock
revolution.

In just a few months, the Byrds had become a household
name, with a number-one single and a smash-hit album
that married the ringing guitars and backbeat of the British
Invasion with the harmonies and lyrical depth of folk to
create an entirely new sound.

Singer-songwriter who rose to fame with his fellow Liverpool
lads in the most influential pop band of all time, The Beatles.

His songwriting partnership with John Lennon is the most
successful in music history.

  
CAMILLE BOHANNON

More than 1,000 people taking a pleasure trip on New York City’s
East River were drowned or burned to death when a fire swept
through the riverboat-style steamer General Slocum. This was
one of the United States’ worst maritime disasters.

The General Slocum was built in 1890 and used mostly for taking
large groups on day outings. On June 15, the St. Mark’s German Lutheran Church assembled a group of 1,360 people, mostly
children and teachers, for their annual Sunday School picnic.

The picnic was to take place at Locust Point in the Bronx after
a cruise up the East River on the General Slocum.

At about 9 a.m., the dangerously overcrowded boat left its dock
in Manhattan with Captain William Van Schaik in charge. As the
boat passed 83rd Street, accounts indicate that a child spotted
a fire in a storeroom and reported it to the Captain. The onboard
fire hose, which had never been used, tested or inspected, did
not work.

In all, 630 bodies were recovered and another 401 were missing
and presumed dead.

The boat’s crew, and officers in the Knickerbocker Company,
owner and operator of the General Slocum, were charged with
criminal negligence.