SANDY KOZEL

Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950)

Hattie W. Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate
when Arkansas Governor Harvey Parnell appointed Caraway to fill
her late husband Thaddeus’ seat; her appointment was formally confirmed by a special election held on this day in 1932.
 

On this day in 1971, the television sitcom "All In the Family" debuted
on CBS-TV. It is often regarded as one of the greatest TV series of
all time. It soon became the most watched show during summer
reruns and afterwards ranked number one in the yearly Neilsen
ratings from 1971 to 1976. TV Guide ranked “All in the Family” 
as the fourth-greatest show of all time. The final original show
was April 8, 1979.

From left: Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, Carroll O’Connor, and Sally
Struthers.

ED DANAHUE

Thomas Edison gave his first public demonstration of incandescent lighting to an audience in Menlo Park, NJ. on this day in 1879.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company ran special trains to Menlo Park on the
day of the demonstration in response to public enthusiasm over the event.

Although the first incandescent lamp had been produced 40 years earlier, no inventor had been able to come up with a practical design until Edison, after
countless tests, developed a high-resistance carbon-thread filament that
burned steadily for hours and an electric generator sophisticated enough to
power a large lighting system.

Thomas Edison’s greatest contribution to the modern industrial world came
from his work in electricity. He acquired 1,093 patents in his lifetime and
died in 1931 at the age of 84.

The 1879-Thomas-Edison -Longines-Wittnauer-
Bronze-Commemorative-Medal.

Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins is 81 years old today.

Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins is best known for his portrayal
of the ingenious serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence
of the Lambs (1991), a role that won him the Academy Award
for Best Actor. He has also played roles in The Mask of Zorro 
(1998), and Nixon (1995). He turned to TV in 2016 upon landing
a starring role on HBO’s Westworld.

Anthony Hopkins portraying Hannibal Lecter from The Silence
of the Lambs.

ROSS SIMPSON

The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (" ‘Twas
the night before Christmas…") was published on this day in 1823.

Donald Moffat (December 26, 1930 – December 20, 2018) 

Tony Award-nominated actor Donald Moffat died Thursday due to
complications from a stroke. Moffat’s daughter, Lynn, told The New
York Times her father died in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

He appeared on television in “One Life to Live,” “Logan’s Run” and
“The New Land.” His best-known movie roles include the 1982 horror
classic “The Thing” and “The Right Stuff.”

Moffat retired from acting in 2005 and one of his last appearances was
an off-Broadway production of “A Few Stout Individuals” in 2002.

Donald Moffat in John Carpenter’s “The Thing”.

“I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I’d rather not spend the rest of this winter TIED TO THIS ——- COUCH!”

 
Donald Moffat as U.S. Senator and Vice President  Lyndon B.
Johnson in the 1983 historical drama film “The Right Stuff”.

Promotion still, ABC television sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983)

Carole Penny Marshall (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018)

(Fox News) – Penny Marshall, who starred in "Laverne & Shirley," has
died. A publicist for Marshall told Fox News that the actress died 
"peacefully at her Hollywood Hills home" from complications due to
diabetes on Monday.