Mr. Pop History -
So many ask – when did the original Santa Clause, Edmund Gwenn pass? He died suddenly on September 6, 1959 after answering a question about… ironically, dying. “Yes, it’s tough but not as tough as doing farce.”
Best known for the “Miracle” movie in 1947, he appeared in one of the earliest 1950′s sci-fi classics, “Them.”
Mr. Pop History -
It was 1946 when the new Channel 2, the CBS-TV station in New City – sent a color-TV test witnessed by CBS executives 25 miles away in Tarrytown, NY!
Back then, WCBS-TV transmitted off the Chrysler building in Manhattan, and CBS wanted to see if their own color-broadcasting would work outside the city – in their “B” contour. TV’s were set-up at Tappen Hill Restaurant in Tarrytown NY – and the channel 2 signal along with the CBS color system, came through loud and clear. Executives made the drive – with food, drink and a terrific color picture.
The CBS Color system eventually went away, because – it was not compatible with black&white transmission. But – this is an interesting not in color-TV pop history.
Mr. Pop History – The English version only lasted a year or so, but on Univision, Cristina Saralegui would last some twenty years – ending in 2010. A comparable English version of “Cristina” ran on U.S. stations – for a few years during the 1990′s.
It was daring to take her successful Spanish/Univision show – produce an English version for U.S. syndication – and produce both at the same time. No one has done it since. Today, Cristina does specials for Univison.
Mr. Pop History – The first pre-teen/teen superstar of the Disney Channel dates back to January 2001 when Lizzie McGuire debuted. That started it all – and today, most of the channel’s popular series comes from the age 9-14 audience, then 15 to 18. Disney at one time, contemplated an animated “McGuire” series.
I’d say the next popular “tween” show on that channel – “That’s So Raven” starring then teen idol Raven Simone, formerly of the Cosby Show.
Mr. Pop History – Back in 2006. Richards was doing all sorts of damage control – because he had to. The “Seinfeld” shows were being re-released on DVD – and Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David didn’t want to risk anything.
Here’s something from November of 2006 – With Jerry Seinfeld helping out in damage control:
Michael Richards appears on David Letterman’s show – and with him – Jerry Seinfeld – to express contrition for his racist tirade in Los Angeles at a nightclub. As Richards apologized, Seinfeld told the studio crowd, “stop laughing, it’s not funny.”
Week of January 8, 2010
Police have identified the body of a woman found in a burning trash bin in North Miami earlier this week. Playboy model Paula Sladewski, 26, went missing after traveling from California to go to the Lady Gaga concert at the Fontainbleau on New Year’s Eve with her boyfriend. Some time over the weekend, the couple got into an argument, according to the Miami New Times, and Sladewski, a native of Michigan, stormed off never to be seen alive again. The body was found on NE 130th just off Archer Road on Sunday in an empty bin.
College football- Alabama rules! That defense knocked Texas quarterback Colt McCoy out of the BCS title game early Thursday night, then made a big play to save the win late and restore glory to Bear Bryant’s football factory with a 37-21 victory for the Crimson Tide’s first national title since 1992. “We back,” said Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, the offensive MVP.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the investigation of a bomb plot against New York City. FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko says Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay were arrested early Friday in New York. The FBI says the arrests were part of “an ongoing investigation.” The charges were not immediately detailed.
President Barack Obama on Saturday renewed his pitch for final congressional passage of a U.S. healthcare overhaul and promised Americans they will begin reaping the benefits soon after he signs a bill into law. As Obama’s fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate struggle to merge their healthcare bills into one, the president used his weekly radio address to try to ease lingering public doubts over his top legislative priority. The president stepped back into the center of the healthcare debate after being preoccupied for much of his first week back from vacation in Hawaii with fallout over the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner.
A man believed to have breached security to bid his girlfriend goodbye, triggering the shutdown of a busy Newark Airport terminal that led to snarled flights worldwide, was arrested in New Jersey and faces a trespassing charge and a fine of up to $500, punishment a senator says should be much harsher. Haisong Jiang, 28, of Piscataway was taken into custody at 7:30 p.m. Friday at his home, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said. He was questioned at the airport by Port Authority police, who arrested him, and released shortly after midnight.
A powerful offshore earthquake rattled communities in far northern California, cutting power to thousands of customers, causing minor damage to homes and businesses and forcing many people to seek treatment for cuts and bruises from falling debris. The 6.5 magnitude temblor hit at about 4:27 p.m. PST Saturday and was centered in the Pacific about 22 miles west of Ferndale, but was felt as far south as Capitola in central California and as far north as central Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey said. In Eureka, about 240 miles north of San Francisco, residents of an apartment building were evacuated, and an office building and two other commercial structures were declared unsafe for occupancy, according to Humboldt County spokesman Phil Smith-Hanes.
Prominent Democrats defended Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid after a new book revealed racial remarks he made about Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign. In a private conversation reported in the book, Reid described Obama as a “light-skinned” African-American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
A nuclear physics professor who publicly backed Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the disputed June presidential election was killed Tuesday when a remote-controlled bomb rigged to a motorcycle blew up outside his home. State media identified the victim as Masoud Ali Mohammadi, 50, a professor at Tehran University, which has been at the center of recent protests by student opposition supporters. Before the election, pro-reform Web sites published Ali Mohammadi’s name among a list of 240 Tehran University teachers who supported Mousavi.
An earthquake hit the impoverished country of Haiti. A hospital and other buildings collapsed and people were screaming for help.
The earthquake had a magnitude of 7 and was centered about 10 miles west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed a short time later by two powerful aftershocks of magnitude 5.9 and 5.5. The death toll could be tens of thousands and beyond.
U.S. officials are laying out a massive military response to the Haiti earthquake, saying that ships, helicopters, transport planes and a 2,000-member Marine unit are either on the way or likely to begin moving soon. Gen. Douglas Fraser, head of U.S. Southern Command, said Wednesday that one of the U.S. Navy’s large amphibious ships will likely head to Haiti with a Marine expeditionary unit aboard. Fraser said other U.S. military forces are on alert, including a brigade, which includes about 3,500 troops.
Sarah Palin is joining Fox News where she’ll be a commentator.
Simon Cowell is leaving “American Idol” after this next season. He’s producing X-Factor” – a hit in Britain which is coming to Fox-TV – in which, he’ll also appear.
Mark McGwire finally came clean, admitting he used steroids when he broke Baseball’s Home run record in 1998. McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade. “I wish I had never touched steroids,” McGwire said in a statement. “It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”
Miley Cyrus is leaving “Hannah Montana” as enough episodes will be shot until her contract expires in 2011.
Jay Leno is back at 11:35p – but will Conan follow? Leno’s prime time show ends in early February. But wait, O’Brien says he’s rejecting NBC’s attempt to move “The Tonight Show” ” to a post-midnight slot to accommodate Jay Leno’s return to late-night. In a statement Tuesday, O’Brien says that NBC has given him a scant seven months to try to establish himself as host of “Tonight.”
Backstreet Boy AJ Mclean is making it official. McLean, 32, proposed to his girlfriend Rochelle Deanna Karidis while performing solo in Las Vegas.
The economic slump has prices for Super Bowl commercial time falling for only the second time in its history, but it is still the most expensive on television. TNS Media Intelligence saidthat 30-second commercials during next month’s Super Bowl on CBS are selling for between $2.5 million and $2.8 million. That’s a drop from last year, when ads averaged $3 million on NBC.
“American Idol” season 9 begins – with auditions in Boston. Victoria Beckham was this season’s first guest judge (Ellen Degeneres won’t appear until the Hollywood rounds). As always – Simon Cowell had the most quips.
R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass, who was one of the most electric and successful figures in music until a car crash 28 years ago left him in a wheelchair, has died of colon cancer. He was 59. Pendergrass died in suburban Philadelphia, where he had been hospitalized for months. The singer’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, said his father underwent colon cancer surgery eight months ago and had “a difficult recovery.”
George Clooney is the latest celebrity to plead for help in raising funds for the Haitian earthquake relief effort — the actor will host a U.S. telethon later this month. The Up in the Air star has reportedly partnered with MTV to host the show next Friday. Clooney is urging his famous pals to appear on the telethon to aid in fundraising. The actor’s pal Brad Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie have already donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders and Haitian singer Wyclef Jean has also urged support for earthquake survivors through his Yele Haiti charity. Stars including Ben Stiller, Jessica Alba, Shakira, Oprah Winfrey and Chris Martin have also called for people to lend their support to those left homeless after Tuesday’s disaster.
Hot hits this week –
Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
Tik Tok – Ke$ha
Replay – Iyaz
Empire of the State – Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
Sexy Chick – David Guetta and Akon
Down – Jay Sean fea. Lil’ Wayne
Fireflies – Owl City
Watcha Say – Jason Derulo
Party in the U.S.A. – Miley Cyrus
I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
BedRock – Young Money fea. Lloyd
Do You Remember – Jean Sean fea. Sean Paul, Lil John
Meet Me Halfway – Black Eyed Peas
Paparazzi – Lady Gaga
You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
Hard – Rihanna fea. Jeezy
3 – Britney Spears
Drop The World – Lil’ Wayne fea. Eminem
Forever – Drake fea. Lil’ Wayne Kanye West, Eminem
Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
Two Is Better Than One – Boys Like Girls fea. Taylor Swift
How Low – Ludacris
Sweet Dreams – Beyonce
Evacuate the Dance Floor – Cascada
Already Gone – Kelly Clarkson
Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
One Time – Justin Bieber
Hey, Soul Sister – Train
At the movies this week:
Avatar
Sherlock Holmes
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Speakquel
Daybreakers
It’s Complicated
Leapyear
The Blind Side
Up In The Air
Youth In Revolt
The Princess And the Frog
Mr. Pop History – Believe or not – it’s going on its sixth year – debuting in 2005! Harmonix developed the first “Guitar Hero” game and was later bought by MTV.
Suicide bomber – A powerful explosion tears through a mess tent at a U.S military base near Mosul during lunchtime, taking out 22 people. Officials say it was an inside job.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld makes a surprise Christmas Eve visit to the military base near Mosul – where 14 troops were killed in a suicide bombing.
More Iraq – as heavy fighting is reported in Fallouja – the heaviest fighting in weeks.
President Bush urges Americans to help the neediest among them by volunteering to care for the sick, the elderly and the poor in a Christmas day call for compassion.
An earthquake in the Indian Ocean, triggering tidal waves that has so far, killed 500 (that number would go up to ten’s of thousands.) The earthquake – measuring 9.0 – struck 155 miles off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
A gang of thieves makes off with at least $39 million in cash from the vaults of a Northern Ireland bank.
The death toll stands at 125,000 in Indonesia from an earthquake and resultant tsunami. At least 80,000 of the dead were from Indonesia.
President Bush says more aid will be sent and defended the U.S. response to the Indian Ocean area disaster.
After a weekend of cancellations and lost luggage – Comair and U.S. Airways resume flights. It was a combination of bad weather and a number of employees calling in sick – including baggage handlers.
A federal judge says that Arizona can enforce a proposition that bars services for undocumented (mostly Mexican) workers. The law requires proof if immigration status from anyone trying to obtain state and local welfare benefits.
A divided Montana Supreme Court declared that the state constitution’s guarantee of equal protection extended to gays and that the state university system must offer same sex couples the same health benefits available to heterosexual ones.
A Texas woman has paid $50,000 to a biotech company to clone her dead cat.
Two Wal-Mart employees in Evansville (Indiana) have been charged with felony animal cruelty after authorities said they followed a manager’s orders to shoot and kill a stray cat.
El Paso – Brandon Moon (43) – who served nearly 17 years for rape is freed from prison after DNA tests determine he was not responsible for the crime.
An unmanned cargo ship (Progress M-51) on a vital supply mission docked at the international space station, carrying badly needed food for a U.S.-Russian crew that has been forced to ration dwindling supplies.
169 die in a nightclub fire during a rock concert in Buenos Aires. The blaze was caused by a flare that was fired into the club’s ceiling.
Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps is sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading guilty to drunk driving at Salisbury, Maryland.
The FDA approves Prait – a new drug that fights severe pain – an option for patients who no longer benefit from morphine and other traditional pain medications.
Passing – Artie Shaw – one of the king’s of the swing era. He was 94.
Passing – Actor Jerry Orbach (69).
Passing – Author and activist Susan Sontag. She was 71.
Wet Seal says it will close about 150 stores, eliminating some 2,000 jobs.
Sirius Satellite Radio says it has achieved its year-end goal of 1 million subscribers.
Sports – Vancouver Canuck forward Todd Bertuzzi receives a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to assault more than nine months after slugging Colorado forward Steve Moore from behind during a game.
Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick becomes the richest player in the NFL with a new 10-year, $130-million contract
Entertainment news –
Eddie Murphy is selling his NJ estate for $30 million. He owned it for 18 years.
Univision – the largest U.S. Spanish-language TV and radio broadcaster, will purchase TV stations WLII and WSUR in Puerto Rico for about $190 million.
Some top albums –
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb – U2
American Idiot – Green Day
Collision Course – Jay-Z/Linkin Park
Confessions – Usher
Encore – Eminem
Destiny Fulfilled – Destiny’s Child
Loyal to the Game – Tupac
Passing – Freddie Perren (61) – composer, arranger and record producer who wrote a number of disco hits. And worked at Motown with the early Jackson 5 – among other projects. He was 61.
Eric Clapton says that “Cream” (Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce) will reunite – for four shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Television news –
Dick Clark plans to watch his New Year’s Eve show from the hospital. “As I always have in the past, at midnight, I plan on kissing my wife, Kari, and wishing her a happy new year.”
The “Apprentice 2” finale scores with 16.93 million viewers.
New Year’s Eve television (Friday night) –
CBS – Joan of Arcadia, JAG, Without a Trace, David Letterman
NBC – Dateline NBC, New Year’s Eve w/Carson Daly, Jay Leno
ABC – 8 Simple Rules, Complete savages, Hope & Faith, Less than Perfect, Dick Clark’s Prime Time New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2005
PBS – Washington National Opera’s Die Fledermaus
Fox – Movie, New Year’s Eve Live Form Times Square With Ryan Seacrest
MTV – New Year’s Bash
Dick Clark prime time – Regis Philbin fills-in for ailing Dick Clark with Catherine McCord and Mike Richards. Ashlee Simpson is the West Coast host.
Carson Daily – Conan O’Brien, Brian Williams, Tina Fey, Amy Phehler, Jill Hennessy, Dule Hill, Kathy Griffin and Donald Trump. With performances by Maroon 5, Avril Lavigne and Duran Duran.
Ryan Seacrest – Hoobastank, Evanescence.
MTV New Year’s Bash – hosted by Damien Fahey, La La Vasquez, Quddus, Hilarie Burton and Vanessa Minnillo. With Green Day, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jimmy eat World, Ryan Cabrera, Lindsay Logan, Destiny’s Child, Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Fabolous, Ludacris, Ying Yank Twins, Simple Plan.
At the movies –
Meet the Fockers
Fat Albert
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Aviator
Ocean’s Twelve
Darkness
The Polar Express
Spanglish
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
The Phantom of the Opera
A partial shutdown of the government enters its third week. The House approvesa bill that would return 280 thousand federal workers to their jobs. Congress and the White House still have work to do to balance the budget. In a surprise move,House Speaker Newt Gingrich throws his support behind the plan.
The U.S Army completes a ribbon pontoon bridge and now NATO troops can cross over the flooded Sava Riverinto Bosnia from Croatia – to beginenforcing the Dayton, Ohio peaceaccord. The temporary bridge spansmore than 3 football fields.
The FDA approves a new therapy that useslight to destroy cancerous throat tumors sobig, that even swallowing is difficult. Photofrin is the first of a new type of cancertreatment called photodynamic therapy, inwhich patients get a drug to make their tumorslight sensitive. The light then kills cancer cells.One drawback – patients are susceptible tosevere sunburns for 30 days. Up until now,lasers would chip-away at the tumor, butthroat tumors are known to grow large in size, even lasers became useless.
German authorities order CompuServe to shutdown access to more than 200 Internetnewsgroups deemed indecent and offensive. It’s the first case involving government censorship of a commercial online service. CompuServe reluctantlycomplies. Some of the newsgroups in question contain child pornography andother sexually explicit materials. The cutoff directly affects all 4 millionCompuServe subs in the U.S. and 146 other countries. Some fear the action is a precedent.
Best selling books -Politically Correct Holiday Stories – James Finn-Garner…The Christmas Box – Richard Paul Evans…Five days In Paris – Danielle Steel…The Horse Whisperer – Nicholas Evans
More Books -
The Tiger In The Grass – Harriet Doerr…The Lost World – Michael Crichton…In The Cut – Susanna Moore…The Road Ahead – Bill Gates…Charles Kuralt’s America – Charles Kuralt… The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – Deepak Chopra…Miss America – Howard Stern…Lincoln – David Herbert Donald…Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman
Passing – singer/actor Dean Martin (Dino Paul Crocetti) (78) dies at his Beverly Hills Home of acute respiratory failure. Known as the “chief-deputy” to the chairman of the board in Sinatra’s “Rat Pack,” Martin started out as a solo singerin records and radio. (He did a 15-minute late-afternoon show on WMCA in NewYork City in the late 40′s.) Teaming up with Jerry Lewis, the pair wasunstoppable in movies and as a night-club act from 1946-1956. As a solo artist,Martin scored on the charts during this period with huge hits on Capitol Records -hits like “Return To Me,” “That’s Amore,” “Memories Are Made of This” and “Volare.” After the pair split up in 1956, Martin continued his recording and moviecareer, often appearing in dramas such as “The Young Lions” in 1958, “Some Came Running” in 1959 and “Rio Bravo” in 1959. The late 50′s and early 60′s saw Martin team with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and JoeyBishop for several movies and nightclub appearances (esp in Las Vegas) as “The Rat Pack.” In the middle of the Rock n Roll British invasion – he scored a #1record with “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime” and other top-10 records during the mid-60′s “The Dean Martin” variety show, was one of the top television shows through the 60′s and into the 70′s.
Some Dean Martin quotes through the years- “Two of the greatest turnin’ points in my career were, first, meetin’ Jerry Lewis. Second, leaving Jerry Lewis. I became a realactor because of these two things.” About acting – “And if any actor tells you it’s tough, tell ‘em they ‘re full of beans … To become half a success in what you do, you have to enjoy it or else you become a griper. The good Lord gave me a talent and I’ll use it until I run dry.” “I like people. I love what I am doing and Ithink people can tell that. You know more men want to see me than girls. You know why? I never sing to the girl. I figure that some guy is paying the bill and here I am singing to his girl, then he’s gong to get threatened. I don’t flirt with the girls like Wayne Newton does. I sing over their heads”
Martin’s second wife – onetime Orange Bowl queen Jeanne Beigger – “I married him knowing nothing about him. I divorced him 23 years later and I still know nothing about him.” Condolences – Frank Sinatra – “Dean was my brother -not through blood but through choice. Our friendship has traveled down many roads over many years and therewill always be a special place in my heart and soul forDean. He has been like the air I breathe, always there, always close by.” Jerry Lewis, according to his manager Joe Stabile is “completely shattered and grief stricken.”
Said comedian Alan King: “I am going to have a drink right now for him.âGoodbye Dino – Jerry Lewis, closing his tributeto his longtime partner said – “Rest well and don’t forget to short-sheet my bed when I get there.” Also paying tributes to the superstar at his funeral – Shirley MacLaine andRosemary Clooney. Other attendees included Barbara Sinatra (Frank couldn’t make it and was said to be too overwrought to attend), Angie Dickinson, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Robert Stack, Tony Danza, Edie Adams and Cyd Charisse. Las Vegas hotels including the Sands, Stardust and Flamingo dimmedtheir lights on Thursday evening for 10 minutes, in Martin’s memory.
Tech news -
The first wiretap on the Internet leads to three arrests on charges of illegallyselling and manufacturing electronic devices and cellular telephone cloning.Secret Service Agent Brian Gimlett tells a news conference that the governmentfollowed the alleged mastermind of the operation – Bernhard Bowitz, on theInternet, documenting his worldwide equipment sales.
Television News -
Turner Broadcasting System Inc launches its eighth cable network this week – the CNNfn business channel. Says Lou Dobbs, CNNexecutive vice president and veteran business journalist – “We’re not going to be pretentious, but aim to be entertaining and fun, presenting eventhe absurdities of business. There is no monolithic market authority that has asole handle on the truth and we won’t pretend there is. We’ ll have psychics and astrologers as well as hard empiricalists. We’re not trying to be hip, we’re trying to be human.” Its rival, CNBC, targets hard-core investors with serious talkingheads. CNBC is doing well financially. Advertising revenue has swelled to $110million this year – up from $40 million in 1993. The channel will make $80 million in profit for its parent – General Electric Company.
Television ratings -Monday Night Football – 17/8 ER – 17.1 Seinfeld – 16.8 Frasier – 16.6 Caroline in the City -14.6 NYPD Blue – 14.5 Friends – 14.4 Coach – 14.2 Home Improvement -13.6 Grace Under Fire - 13.1 Single Guy – 12.7 Wings – 12.7 The John Larroquette Show – 12.6 NewsRadio – 12.5 Movie – Eye of the Stalker – 12.0 Roseanne – 11.5 Dateline NBC (Tues) – 11.3 PrimeTime Live – 11.0 Hudson Street – 10.8 Family Matters – 10.5 20/20 – 10.5 Ellen – 10.2 The Naked Truth – 10.1 Kathie Lee/Home For Christmas – 10.0 Law & Order – 9.9
Saturday Night television -CBS – Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, Touched By An Angel, Walker, Texas Ranger NBC – Movie (My Girl), JAG ABC – The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Maybe This Time, Movie Fox – Cops, Cops, America’s Most Wanted A&E – At the Improve Biography, Movie(Monty Python &The Holy Grail) Comedy Central – Stand-Up, Offisides, Comics Kill, Dr Katz,The Critic, Ben Stiller, Exit 57 Sci-Fi Channel – Max Headroom, Twilight Zone, Tales of theDarkside, Movie(Nightflyers) TNN – Backstage, Grand Ole Opry, Statler Brothers, Ralph Emery on the Record with Mel Tillis, Charlie Daniels Talent Roundup
A& E Biography – Dean Martin
Top Albums This Week In 1995 -
Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness -Smashing Pumpkins
Something To Remember – Madonna
R. Kelly – R. Kelly
Liquid Swords – Genius/GZA
Waiting to Exhale – Soundtrack
Tigerlily – Natalie Merchant
Dogg Food – The Dogg Pound
Jagged Little Pill – Alanes Morissette
Alice In Chains – Alice in Chains
Oscar & Steve – Mandy Patinkin
Insomniac – Green Day
Fresh Horses – Garth Brooks
Presidents of the USA – Presidents of the USA
Four – Blues Traveler
Fresh Horses – Garth Brooks
Home – Deep Blue Something
Sixteen Stone – Bush
More Albums This Week -
The Ghost of Tom Joad -Bruce Springsteen…Nirror Ball – Neil Young…To Bring You My Love – PJ…HarveyPost – Bjork…Elastica – Elastica
Top Albums In 1995
Cracked Rear View – Hootie &The Blowfish
CrazySexyCool – TLC
Jagged Little Pill – AlanisMorissette
The Hits – Garth Brooks
Waiting To Exhale – soundtrack
Anthology 1 – The Beatles
Top Videos for 1995
The Lion King
Forrest Gump
Cinderella
Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs
The Mask
The Santa Clause
Angels In The Outfield
SpeedCasper
The Barney Series
At the movies this week in 1995 -
Toy Story
Waiting To Exhale – Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett
Jumanji – Robin Williams
Heat – Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro
Father of the Bride Part II – Steve Martin, Diane Keaton
Grumpier Old Men – Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau
Sudden Death – Jean-Claude Van Damme
Sabrina – Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond
Cutthroat Island – Geena Davis, Matthew Modine
An American President – Michael Douglas, AnnetteBening
Casino – Robert DeNiro, Sharon Stone
Tom and Huck – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro
Sense & Sensibility – Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant
Dracula Dead and Loving – Leslie Nielson
Week of December 25, 1995 as compiled by Gary West for www.mrpopculture.com and www.mrpophistory.com
Militant group Hamas announces that it is suspended its campaign of suicide bombings and mortar attacks against Israelis.
A man on an airliner with 197 people on board is wrestled into submission as he tried to light an explosive in his shoe. The FBI says there is no link between Al Qaeda and Richard Reid, a British citizen. His shoe was drilled with holes fitted with a wire and contained a flammable substance.
A helicopter being used by state wildlife authorities to relocate moose clipped a steel cable and crashed into a frozen reservoir near Salt Lake City and three are dead.
Rudolph W. Giuliani bids farewell as mayor of New York. “My strength and energy comes entirely from the people of the city of New York.”
Donald Rumsfeld says the Pentagon is readying the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay to hold captured Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners.
A videotape broadcast by Al Jazeera television showing Osama bin Laden raises questions about whether he had been killed in U.S. bombings. “Our terrorism is benign. It seeks to make the unjust stop making injustice. It seeks to make America stop its support for Israel which kills our people.”
A group of New York City firefighters and police officers all affected by the Sept. 11 attacks, deliver tons of donated food and supplies to Afghan orphans.
A week before filing for bankruptcy protection, energy giant Enron Corp donated $10,000 to the Democratic party committee that helps Senate candidates, campaign finance reports show.
President Bush said in a Christmas message that Americans were thinking of families who lost loved ones, both in the Sept. 11 attacks and on the battlefield in Afghanistan. “America grieves with you,” said Bush in a holiday message heard on radio.
The government says family members of some of the nearly 3,000 World Trade Center victims will get an average payment of $1.6 million and each family will receive $250,000 for pain and suffering.
Airport security agents across the country begin implementing a new federal order to check for weapons in the shoes of travelers.
Boston – A federal judge orders Richard C. Reid – suspected of trying to detonate explosives aboard a Paris-to-Miami flight held without bail.
Army General Tommy Franks gives holiday cheer to those aboard the USS Roosevelt. He’s the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
North American movie/box office revenue grew in 2001 – and it’ll be a record year – at about $8.3 billion!
A Days Inn hotel on Long Island that overcharges stranded travelers for rooms after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has agreed to pay a $9,5000 penalty. The hotel in Hicksville raised rates for some rooms from a posted rate of $139 to $399 a night.
After barely escaping from the 87th floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower on Sept. 11 – Adam Mayblum poured out his heart in an e-mail sent to family and friends. That e-mail has gotten around and so far, about 1,000 strangers from around the world have responded to his story.
Rudolph Giuliani is Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for his leadership after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sports – Tennis star Jennifer Capriati wins the Associated Press female athlete of the year. Barry Bonds gets the male athlete of the year award.
Russian figure skater Kira Ivanova is found dead in her Moscow apartment. She was covered with knife wounds.
Pfizer Inc agrees to settle a lawsuit over the diabetes drug Rezulin after a jury awarded $43 million to a Teas woman who said it destroyed her liver.
In Peru – at least 80 people died and 200 were injured in a fire sparked by an explosion in a fireworks store in a historic district in Lima.
Workers begin a third attempt to destroy residual anthrax spores in the heating and ventilation system of the hart Senate Office Building in Washington DC.
President Bush says it’s just a mater of time before the U.S. captures Osama bin Laden.
The editors of Mad magazine who describe themselves as “America’s foremost experts in stupidity” – give their “The Dumbest People, Evens and Things of 2001” to Jerry Falwell.
Speaking from Texas, President Bush speaks to ease tensions between India and Pakistan. He told President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to take new steps to eliminate extremism in his country.
Murders in Oregon as authorities have discovered a 5-year-old boy, his sister (3), mom and a two-year-old in Newport. Wanted – the father/husband Christian Longo – a convicted check forger.
Adolfo Rodriquez, the interim president of Argentina, resigns, citing party infighting.
Sports –
NHL – Atlanta’s Ray Ferraro scores his 400th goal.
Technology –
Yahoo has agreed to acquire hotjobs.com – the nation’s second biggest online job search site. Price is $436 million.
XM satellite radio says it will meet analysts’ estimates for 20,000 to 30,000 subscribers. The stock is at $10.58.
Microsoft Corp. says it will buy a stake ($500 million) in Korea Telecom Corp – a top provider of high-speed Internet connections in S. Korea.
Music news –
Looking back this year, Mariah Carey’s “Glitter” – her first album under her new 4-album ($80 million) EMI deal was considered a flop, selling only 2 million c opies worldwide. EMI says it has a $10 million loss! Other disappointments came from R.E.M., Macy Gray and Shelby Lynne.
A judge awards the Sugar Hill Gang $3 million in their suit against Snapple and TBS because a video of “Rapper’s Delight” was used in a 1998 ad for the Goodwill games without permission.
N Sync did $86.8 million in concert business this past year and album sales of $53.3 million – the hottest act in pop for the year!
Country music singer Deana Carter is arrested and charged with drunk driving in Nashville.
Entertainment news –
Passing – Foster Brooks (89) – best known for his drunken act.
Top TV –
CSI – 23.67
Everybody Loves Raymond – 22.20
Survivor: Africa – 19.60
Monday Night Football – 19.58
Yes, Dear – 17.29
King of Queens – 16.50
Law & Order – 15.04
Friends – 14.69
60 Minutes – 14.53
JAG – 14.18
Judging Amy – 14.08
NYPD Blue – 13.76
The Ellen Show – 13.01
Law & Order: SVU – 12.81
ER – 12.60
The West Wing – 12.57
The Guardian – 12.51
Family Law – 11.81
Television news –
It’s back after a 10-year hiatus – WPIX-TV (Channel 11) presents its “Yule Log” on Christmas morning. It’s simply firewood burning in a fireplace with background Christmas music. Some 611,000 tuned in between 8a and 10a Christmas morning. The channel 11 tradition began back in 1966, but on Christmas Eve.
Wednesday night – CBS broadcasts the Kennedy Center honors, recognizing Jack Nicholson, Van Cliburn, Julie Andrews, Luciana Pavarotti and Quincy Jones.
“Emeril” – in which chief Emeril Lagasse was trying his luck at becoming a sitcom star – is canceled by NBC. Oh well!
New Year’s Eve television –
CBS – King of Queens, Yes, Dear, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Ellen Show, 48 Hours, David Letterman, Craig Kilborn.
NBC – Weakest Link, Third Watch, Crossing Jordan, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien
ABC – ABC 2002, Dick Clark’s Prime Time New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2002, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2002
Fox – Boston Public, Ally McBeal, Billboard’s Rock ‘n Roll New Year’s Eve
PBS – Crucible of the Millennium
WB – 7th Heaven, Raising dad
MTV – MTV 2001: 50 to 1, New Year’s Eve 2002
Dick Clark’s Prime Time New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2002 – Aerosmith, Elton John, Destiny’s Child, Dave Matthews Band, Kool and the Gang, Barry Manilow
Billboard’s Rock ‘n Roll New Year’s Eve – ‘N Sync, Britney Spears, Tim McGraw, Incubus, No Doubt, Shaggy, Alicia Keys, Eve, Destiny’s Child.
Jay Leno – Bill Maher, Blue Man Group, Chris Isaak
Craig Kilborn – Merv Griffin, Green Day
Mr. Pop Culture Report
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