Entertainment History
On Feb. 4, 1938, "Our Town," Thornton Wilder's play about small-town
life in America, opened on Broadway. In 1961, singer Johnny Burnette
underwent an emergency appendectomy in Los Angeles and was forced to
cancel a British tour. He's known for the hit "You're Sixteen," which
was on the Top 40 charts at the time. In 1969, Columbia Records signed
Johnny Winter to a five-year, $300,000 contract, which was
unprecedented for a new artist. In 1971, The Osmonds received their
first gold record, for "One Bad Apple. In 1983, singer Karen Carpenter
died of cardiac arrest in Downey, California, at age 32. She had
suffered from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. In 1987, Liberace
died at his home in Palm Springs, California, of AIDS-related
complications. He was 67. In 1993, entertainer Ben Vereen was
discharged from a rehabilitation center in New Jersey. He had been
getting therapy for seven months after he was hit by a truck near his
home in Malibu, California. The truck was driven by Grammy
Award-winning producer David Foster, who wasn't charged. Today's
birthdays: Actor Gary Conway ("Burke's Law") is 81. Drummer John Steel
of The Animals is 76. Singer Florence LaRue of the Fifth Dimension is
75. Singer Alice Cooper is 69. Actor Michael Beck is 68. Actress Lisa
Eichhorn is 65. Singer Tim Booth of James is 57. Country singer Clint
Black is 55. Guitarist Noodles of The Offspring is 54. Country bassist
Dave Buchanan of Yankee Grey is 51. "Daily Show" correspondent Rob
Corddry is 46. Actor Michael Goorjian ("Party of Five") is 46. TV
personality Nicolle Wallace ("The View") is 45. Bassist Rick Burch of
Jimmy Eat World is 42. Singer Natalie Imbruglia (im-BROO'-lee-uh) is
42. Rapper Cam'ron is 41. Singer Gavin DeGraw is 40. Actor Charlie
Barnett ("Secrets and Lies," 'Chicago Fire") is 29.
