Entertainment History
On February tenth, 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra received a gold
record for their recording of "Chattanooga Choo Choo," which had sold
more than one million copies. It was the first gold record ever
presented to an artist. Twelve years later, on this date in 1954, "The
Glenn Miller Story," starring Jimmy Stewart, premiered in New York. In
1949, Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" opened on Broadway,
with Lee J. Cobb in the role of Willy Loman. In 1971, Carole King
released her "Tapestry" album. In 1975, record producer Phil Spector
was injured in a car accident. Not much was known about what happened,
except that it occurred somewhere between Los Angeles and Phoenix and
that Spector was injured. In 1990, Paula Abdul became the first female
artist to have an album stay in the top ten for over 50 weeks. It was
her debut album, "Forever Your Girl. In 1992, Alex Haley, the author of
"Roots," died in Seattle at age 70. Also in 1992, New Kids On The Block
filed a slander suit against a former producer, who claimed they didn't
do much singing on the "Hangin' Tough" album or during New Kids
concerts. The producer eventually retracted his claims. In 1993,
Michael Jackson revealed during a live TV interview with Oprah Winfrey
that he had a disorder that destroys the pigmentation of his skin. He
also insisted he's had very little plastic surgery, contrary to what
the public has thought. In 1995, rapper Dr. Dre was sentenced to five
months' probation for drunk driving. In 1997, singer Brian Connolly of
Sweet died of kidney failure in a hospital in southern England. He was
52. Also in 1997, Liam Gallagher of Oasis called off his wedding to
actress Patsy Kensit because of what he called "obsessive and
intrusive" media attention. They quietly got married the following
April. They have since separated. In 2006, singer Scott Stapp married
former Miss New York Jaclyn Nesheiwat (NESH'-waht) in Miami. The next
day, he was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in the Los Angeles
International Airport. Today's Birthdays: Actor Robert Wagner is 86.
Guitarist Don Wilson of The Ventures is 83. Singer Roberta Flack is 79.
Singer Jimmy Merchant of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers is 76. Bassist
Bob Spalding of The Ventures is 69. Keyboardist Cory Lerios of Pablo
Cruise is 65. Actress Kathleen Beller ("Dynasty") is 60. Country singer
Lionel Cartwright is 56. "Good Morning America" co-host George
Stephanopoulos is 55. Actress Laura Dern is 49. Country singer Dude
Mowrey is 44. Actor Jason Olive ("For Better or Worse) is 44. Actress
Elizabeth Banks is 42. Actress Julia Pace Mitchell ("The Young and the
Restless") is 38. Actress Uzo Aduba ( "Orange is the New Black") is 35.
Actor Barry Sloane ("Revenge") is 35. Singer Eric Dill (The Click Five)
is 34. Keyboardist Ben Romans of The Click Five is 34. Actress Emma
Roberts ("American Horror Story," 'We're the Millers") is 25. Actress
Makenzie Vega ("The Good Wife") is 22. Actress Chloe Grace is 19.
Actress Yara Shahidi ("black-ish") is 16.
