Craig Hill Media and Consulting
Entertainment
October 27 1970 Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber release Jesus Christ Superstar
On October 27th 1970, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who would go on to become the most successful composer-lyricist team in modern theatre history, released a double-LP “concept” album called Jesus Christ Superstar, which only later would become the smash-hit Broadway musical of the same name. From the late 1950s to the mid 1960s, … Continue reading
October 25 1980 AC/DC earn their first Top 40 hit with “You Shook Me All Night Long”
On October 25th 1980, AC/DC earned their first pop Top 40 hit with “You Shook Me All Night Long.” Back when they were releasing albums like Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1977), AC/DC would have seemed an unlikely candidate to become one of the top-selling pop-music acts of all time. But over the course of … Continue reading
October 24 1962 James Brown records breakthrough Live at the Apollo album
On October 24th 1962, James Brown took a major step toward his eventual crossover to, and conquest of, the mainstream with an electrifying performance on black America’s most famous stage—a performance recorded and later released as Live at the Apollo (1963), the first breakthrough album of his career. James Brown began his professional career at … Continue reading
October 23 1925 Johnny Carson is born
On October 23rd 1925, John William Carson, who would become known to most of America as the longtime host of the popular late-night TV program The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, was born in Corning, Iowa. As host of the highly rated Tonight Show, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1992, Carson became a … Continue reading
October 20 1994 Burt Lancaster dies
On this day in 1994, Burt Lancaster, a former circus performer who rose to fame as a Hollywood leading man with some 70 movies to his credit, including From Here to Eternity and Atlantic City, in a career that spanned more than four decades, died of a heart attack at the age of 80 in … Continue reading
October 13 1950 Jimmy Stewart stars in Harvey
On October 13th 1950, the actor James Stewart starred in Harvey, a drama about an eccentric man whose best friend is a giant invisible rabbit. Directed by Henry Koster and based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Mary Chase, Harvey earned Stewart the fourth Best Actor Oscar nomination of his career. … Continue reading
October 11 1975 Bruce Springsteen has first pop hit with “Born to Run”
On October 11th 1975, the epic single “Born to Run” became Bruce Springsteen‘s first-ever Top 40 hit, marking the start of his eventual transition from little-known cult figure to international superstar. By 1975, 26-year-old Bruce Springsteen had two heavily promoted major-label albums behind him, but nothing approaching a popular hit. Tapped by Columbia Records as … Continue reading
October 10 2004 Superman star Christopher Reeve dies
On October 10th 2004, the actor Christopher Reeve, who became famous for his starring role in four Superman films, died from heart failure at the age of 52 at a hospital near his home in Westchester County, New York. Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident, was a leading advocate for spinal cord … Continue reading
October 7 1983 Sean Connery plays James Bond in Never Say Never Again
On October 7th 1983, Sean Connery starred in Never Say Never Again as the British secret service agent James Bond, a role he last played in 1971. The film’s title referenced the fact that the Scottish-born actor had previously remarked that he would never play Agent 007 again. Connery, who was born in Edinburgh on … Continue reading
October 4 1970 Janis Joplin dies of a heroin overdose
On October 4th 1970, Janis Joplin died of an accidental heroin overdose, and was discovered in her Los Angeles hotel room after failing to show for a scheduled recording session. She was 27 years old. In the summer of 1966, Janis Joplin was a drifter; four years later, she was a rock-and-roll legend. She’d gone … Continue reading
October 2 1971 Rod Stewart earns his first #1 hit with “Maggie May”
On October 2nd 1971, one of the greatest rock songs of all time, “Maggie May,” became Rod Stewart’s first #1 hit. If living well is the best revenge, then Rod Stewart has long since avenged the critical barbs he’s suffered through the years. Still active in his fifth decade as a recording star, he can … Continue reading
September 30 1955 James Dean dies
On September 30th 1955, movie star James Dean died at age 24 in a car crash on a California highway. Dean was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder, nicknamed “Little Bastard,” headed to a car race in Salinas, California, with his mechanic Rolf Wuetherich, when they were involved in a head-on collision with a car driven … Continue reading
September 26 2008 Screen legend Paul Newman dies
On September 26th 2008, Paul Newman, one of the leading movie stars of the 20th century, died at the age of 83 from cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut. In a career spanning more than five decades, Newman made over 65 movies, including the classics “Cool Hand Luke,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” … Continue reading
September 24 1966 The Monkees get their first real-life pop hit
On September 24th 1966, the made-for-television Monkees smashed into the real world when their first single, “Last Train To Clarksville,” entered the Billboard Top 40. When producers Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson conceived a situation comedy called The Monkees in 1965, they hoped to create a ratings success by blurring the line between pop music … Continue reading
September 23 1994 The Shawshank Redemption debuts
On September 23rd 1994, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, opened in theatres around the United States. Based on a short story titled “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” by the best-selling author Stephen King, the movie followed the story of a man named Andy Dufresne (Robbins) who is sentenced to life … Continue reading
September 20 1946 First Cannes Film Festival
On September 20th 1946, the first annual Cannes Film Festival opened at the resort city of Cannes on the French Riviera. The festival had intended to make its debut in September 1939, but the outbreak of World War II forced the cancellation of the inaugural Cannes. The world’s first annual international film festival was inaugurated … Continue reading
September 14 1982 Hollywood star and real-life princess Grace Kelly dies
On this day in 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco, the American-born former film star Grace Kelly, whose movie credits include The Country Girl and Rear Window, died at the age of 52 from injuries suffered after her car plunged off a mountain road near Monte Carlo. During the height of her Hollywood career in the … Continue reading
September 13 1916 Children’s author Roald Dahl is born
On September 13th 1916, Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) and James and the Giant Peach (1961), was born in South Wales. Dahl’s childhood was filled with tragedy. His father and sister died when Dahl was three, and he was later brutally abused at his boarding school. After high school, he … Continue reading
September 4 2002 Kelly Clarkson wins first American Idol
On September 4th 2002, Kelly Clarkson, a 20-year-old cocktail waitress from Texas, won Season One of American Idol in a live television broadcast from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre. Clarkson came out on top in the amateur singing contest over 23-year-old runner-up Justin Guarini after millions of viewers cast their votes for her by phone. She was … Continue reading
September 2 1973 Lord of the Rings creator Tolkien dies
On September 2nd 1973, J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the best-selling fantasy novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings–the source of the award-winning blockbuster movie trilogy directed, co-produced and co-written by Peter Jackson–dies at the age of 81 in Bournemouth, England. With legions of fans worldwide, The Lord of the Rings has had … Continue reading
August 26 1978 Grease movie soundtrack earns its second #1 hit
On August 29th 1978, the album Grease earned its second chart-topping hit when its third single, Frankie Valli’s “Grease”, reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The 1960s was the final decade in which the musical hits of Broadway were routinely and successfully adapted by Hollywood into big-budget screen versions. West Side Story … Continue reading
August 23 1926 Rudolph Valentino dies
On August 23rd 1926, the death of silent-screen idol Rudolph Valentino, at the age of 31, sent his fans into a hysterical state of mass mourning. In his brief film career, the Italian-born actor established a reputation as the archetypal screen lover. After his death from a ruptured ulcer was announced, dozens of suicide attempts … Continue reading
August 20 1918 Valley of the Dolls author Jacqueline Susann born
On August 20th 1918, Jacqueline Susann, the author of Valley of the Dolls, the 1966 mega-hit novel about the showbiz lives of three women (reportedly modelled in part after Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Like her characters in Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann moved to New York … Continue reading
August 16 1977 Elvis Presley dies
On August 16th 1977, popular music icon Elvis Presley died in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 42. The death of the “King of Rock and Roll” brought legions of mourning fans to Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. Doctors said he died of a heart attack, likely brought on by his addiction to prescription barbiturates. Elvis Presley … Continue reading
August 15 1969 Woodstock festival opens in Bethel, New York
On August 15th 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival opened on a patch of farmland in White Lake, a hamlet in the upstate New York town of Bethel. Promoters John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfield and Michael Lang originally envisioned the festival as a way to raise funds to build a recording studio and rock-and-roll retreat … Continue reading
Craig Hill Media and Consulting 