• Today in 1967, Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments was back in Detroit Theater. Dr. Zhivago was in it’s 10th week at the Bloomfield Quo Vadis and the Northwest Woods.
• Today in 1972, Tonight on TV, Carole Burnett’s guests were Vincent Price and Eydie Gorme on CBS. And Tom and Eddie take up karate on the Courtship of Eddie’s father. Jac LeGoff and John Kelly were still anchoring the 6 and 11 on TV 2 with Bill Bonds in the anchor chair at Channel 7. They would all end up together at ABC soon after.
• Today in 1977, A study produced by 35 business, government and academic leaders predicted a world war by 1981 if oil shortage trends continued. Even concerted efforts to conserve energy would not be enough to keep supply and demand in balance by the year 2000, the survey warned.
• Today in 1979, A Zippo lighter stopped a bullet that was headed for Detroiter Easter Walk’s chest. the 61 year-old was arguing with an unidentified driver at a National Bank of Detroit branch when he pulle a knife, inspiring the driver to pull a small calibre handgun and fire. A bullet lodged in the lighter, splitting it in two. Walk was treated and released at Harper Hospital.
• Today in 1982, Baltimore Sun columnist Matt Seiden lamented the May 6 cancellation of CBS’ Mary Tyler Moore spinoff Lou Grant. “It won’t be easy,” he wrote. “It was one of the few TV shows that did not appear to have been written for morons, madmen or future sex-offenders.”
• Today in 1987, Michigan Bell was touting it’s national calling card. “Why search for dimes when you can charge calls to your home or office?” the newspaper ad asked. Long distance calls averaged 30 cents a minute in 1987, that’s $7.60 for a ten minute call to mom in today’s dollars.

1804 Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate
1860 US Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president
1897 Herbert Henry Dow founds Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan
1912 Philadelphia Athletics beat Tigers 24-2, who use amateurs in protest at Ty Cobbs suspension from the game
1934 Trans-Word Airlines (TWA) begins commercial service
1965 Gene Roddenberry suggests 16 names for Star Trek Captain; they include Kirk
1965 American engineer Ray Dolby founds Dolby Laboratories in London, England
1967 Tennessee Governor Ellington approves repeal of the Butler Act (or “Monkey Law”) – prohibiting the teaching of evolution, upheld in 1925 Scopes Trial
1968 Al Kaline hits his 307th HR, surpassing Hank Greenberg as a Tiger
1980 Mount St Helens erupts in Washington state, causing the largest landslide in history, killing 57 people and costing $1 billion in damage
1990 TV movie “Return To Green Acres” airs
1995 “Braveheart” directed by Mel Gibson and starring Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau premieres at the Seattle Film Festival (Best Picture 1996)
1998 United States v. Microsoft: The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft

Music released today:

1972: Looking Glass • “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” • Pop-Rock • Looking Glass • “One By One”
1976: Warren Zevon —— Warren Zevon LP
1993: Janet Jackson —— janet. lP

Rock Birthdays: Via DrRock.com

1911: Big Joe Turner / (Joseph Vernon Turner), Premier blues “shouter” and boogie-woogie, jump blues and early rock ‘n’ roll vocalist, “Shake, Rattle And Roll” (#22, R&B #1, 1954), died from a kidney failure on 11/24/1985, age 74
1912: Perry Como / (Pierino Ronald Como), Small town barber turned pre-rock ‘n’ roll crooner, then Grammy-winning smooth easy listening/pop singer, “Catch A Falling Star” (#1, 1958) and 19 other Pop Top 25 singles plus nine Adult Contemporary Top 10 hits, died in his sleep on 5/12/2001, age 88
1922: Kai Winding / (Kai Chresten Winding), Danish-American jazz trombonist who played with every major jazz and be bop artist in small and large groups over a 40-year career, from Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton in the 40s to Quincy Jones and Chuck Mangione in the 70s, founded several of his own groups and collaborated with J. J. Johnson in the 50s, was the first to record “Time Is On My Side,” which later became the first US Top 10 hit for The Rolling Stones (#6, 1964), died following a heart attack during surgery for a brain tumor on 5/6/1983, age 60.
1933: Fred Smith / (Fred Sledge Smith), R&B songwriter and record producer, co-wrote several 50-60s hits for doo wop The Olympics, including novelty song “Western Movies” (#8, R&B #7, 1958) and dance-craze “(Baby) Hully Bully” (#72, 1960), produced hits for Bob & Earl (“Harlem Shuffle,” #44, 1964) and Jackie Lee (“The Duck,” #14, 1965), formed his own label, MoSoul, in 1967 and produced two albums for Bill Cosby, worked briefly for Stax Records until it closed in 1975, left the music industry thereafter and died from undisclosed causes on 7/29/2005, age 72
1939: Gary Paxton / (Larry Wayne Stevens), Grammy-winning, eccentric gospel musician whose career opened as a teenage pop singer with Clyde “Skip” Battin (later in The Byrds) in the duo Skip & Flip (“It Was I,” #11, 1959), later recorded with the Hollywood Argyles (“Alley-Oop,” #1, 1960) and produced “Monster Mash” (#1, 1962) for Bobby “Boris” Pickett, converted to Christianity in the 70s, won Best Inspirational Album award in 1975, survived an assassination attempt by hitmen in 1980, retired in 1999 and died at home on 7/16/2016, age 77
1942: Rodney Dillard, Progressive and influential bluegrass guitar and dobro player with brother Doug in duo country-rock The Dillards
1944: Albert Hammond, Brit-Gibraltarian pop singer/songwriter and guitarist, “It Never Rains In Southern California” (#5, 1973)
1945: Scar Lopez / (Richard Lopez), Founding member and vocals for pioneering “East Side Sound” of L.A., Mexican-American one hit wonder, brown-eyed-soul/garage rock quartet Cannibal And The Headhunters (“Land Of A Thousand Dances,” #30, 1965), died from lung cancer on 7/30/2010, age 65
1946: Bruce Gilbert, Guitarist for long-lived post-punk Wire, “Eardrum Buzz” (Modern Rock #2, 1989)
1946: George Alexander, Bassist for eclectic rock ‘n’ roll/proto-punk cult band The Flamin’ Groovies, album Shake Some Action reached #142 on the Billboard 200 chart
1949: Bill Wallace, Bassist for Canadian rockers The Guess Who, “American Woman” (#1, 1970), now college music instructor
1949: Rick Wakeman, Renowned keyboardist and composer, started as sessionman for Black Sabbath, David Bowie and others in the 60s, joined folk-prog-rock The Strawbs in 1970, moved to archetypal prog rock Yes, “Roundabout” (#13, 1971), successful solo career and film score composing
1950: Mark Mothersbaugh, Multi-instrumental musician, composer, singer and founding member of quirky 80s pop-rock Devo, “Whip It” (#14, 1980), also wrote musical scores for dozens of films and television shows in the 90s and 00s in music production company Mutato Muzika with his former Devo bandmates
1952: George Strait, The “King of Country,” traditionalist country, honky tonk and Western swing singer, songwriter and guitarist with more (57) Country #1 hits than any other artist, including “All My Ex’s Live In Texas” (Country #1, 1987)
1953: Butch Tavares / (Feliciano Tavares), Vocals for five brother R&B/funk-disco Tavares, “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel” (#15, 1976)
1954: Wreckless Eric / (Eric Goulden), Singer, songwriter and Stiff Records artist, had the punk classic UK airplay hit “I’d Go The Whole Wide World” (1978)
1956: Jim Moginie / (James Moginie), Australian singer and musician best known for founding politically-outspoken Aussie rock Midnight Oil (“Beds Are Burning,” #17, Mainstream Rock #6, 1988), the band’s album Diesel And Dust (1987) ranked #13 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Best Albums of the 80s
1957: Michael Cretu, Romanian-born founder, frontman, composer and creative genius behind new age electronic/world music Enigma, “Return To Innocence” (#4, 1994)
1958: Toyah Ann Wilcox, Brit actress and singer, appeared in the punk film Jubilee (1977) and in The Who‘s mod film Quadrophenia (1979), fronted punk-rock Toyah, “It’s A Mystery” (1981)
1961: Hugh Whittaker, Drummer for Brit jangle-guitar pop-rock The Housemartins, “Caravan Of Love” (UK #1, 1986)

Other Notable Birthdays: Via OnThisDay.com

1936 Dennis Hopper, American actor (True Grit, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider), born in Dodge City, Kansas (d. 2010)
1940 Alan Kay, American computer scientist (GUI design and object-oriented programming), born in Springfield, Massachusetts
1955 Bill Paxton, American actor (True Lies; Twister; Big Love), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2017)
1956 Bob Saget, American comedian, actor (Full House), and TV host (America’s Funniest Home Video), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2022)
1956 Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer (Olympic gold 1976), born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina
1962 Craig Ferguson, Scottish actor, writer and comedian, born in Glasgow, Scotland