American Graffiti premiered on August 2 at the Locarno International Film
Festival in Switzerland and was released on August 11, 1973 in the U.S. The
George Lucas film received widespread critical acclaim and was nominated
for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A young Harrison Ford is among the cast members of this coming-
of-age comedy/drama film.
Harrison Ford turned 75 July 13.
MIKE GRACIA
On this day in 1966, Charles Whitman, a former Marine sharpshooter, took
rifles and other weapons to the observation deck atop the Main Building
tower at The University of Texas at Austin, then opened fire on persons indiscriminately on the surrounding campus and streets. The incident
ended when police reached Whitman and shot him dead.
Adolf Hitler during opening ceremonies at the Berlin Olympics.
It was on this day in 1936.
In Warsaw, Poland, an uprising against Nazi occupation began on this
day in 1944. The revolt continued until October 2 when Polish forces
surrendered.
Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891)
A popular figure in American literature, Melville is the author of several seafaring
tales, including "Billy Budd, Sailor," "Typee," and "Moby-Dick." He is also famous
for shorter works such as "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "Benito Cereno."
He worked as a surveyor for the Erie Canal before taking a position on the crew
of a New York ship headed for Liverpool. Later, he sailed on the whaling ship
Acushnet, an experience that inspired his masterpiece novel, “Moby-Dick”.
MTV made its debut at 12:01am on this day in 1981. The first video
to be shown was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.
Paul Albert Anka was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Anka released hits like "Put Your Head
on my Shoulder" "You Are My Destiny" and "Diana." He wrote music for
Tom Jones, including his biggest hit "She’s a Lady."
The instrumental song "Sleep Walk" was written and recorded by brothers Santo &
Johnny Farina, with their uncle Mike Dee playing the drums. It was recorded at
Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. The single entered Billboard‘s Top
40 on August 17, 1959 and rose to the number 1 position for the last two weeks
in September and remained in the Top 40 until November 9. It also reached
number 4 on the R&B chart and was the last instrumental to hit number one in
the 1950s and earned Santo & Johnny a gold record.
Kenneth Ray Rogers will be 78 years old on August 21.
Singer Kenny Rogers has announced he is retiring after his current 200-date
tour. He admitted it will be difficult to hold back tears when he and Dolly Parton
perform together for the last time this fall. Rogers said he wants to spend more
time with his wife and twin boys.
.
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
