WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME

December 29 in history:

The former Republic of Texas became the 28th state in the Union on December 29th, 1845.

The U.S. has had two presidents named Johnson…one from Texas, and one from Tennessee.  Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was born on this date in 1808.  Johnson made history as the first president to be impeached, and as the vice president who rose to the Oval Office after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

A 1988 mini-series about Lincoln starred Sam Waterston as President Lincoln, and Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Todd Lincoln.  Moore, born on December 29th, 1936, is best known for her comedy roles as Mary Richards on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and Laura Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”  She and Waterston also worked together in the 1986 movie Just Between Friends, in which Ted Danson played her husband.  Danson, born on this date in 1947, has starred on the TV series “CSI,” “Becker,” “The Good Place,” and on “Cheers” as Boston bartender Sam Malone.

Boston was the home of the first YMCA founded in America.  Thomas Sullivan established that YMCA on December 29th, 1851, modeling it after a Y in England.

MORE MASSACHUSETTS CONNECTIONS

September 16 in history:

More than 100 “pilgrims” left Plymouth, England on September 16th, 1620, aboard the Mayflower.  They were headed to Virginia, but landed instead at Cape Cod in Massachusetts that November.

Ten years later, on September 16th, 1630, another Massachusetts settlement named Shawmut was renamed after a town in England. The community’s new name was “Boston.”

When the sitcom “Cheers,” set in Boston, ended in 1993, a spinoff was created for supporting character Frasier Crane, who moved to Seattle and started a radio talk show.  “Frasier” debuted on this date in ’93, and like “Cheers,” it lasted for 11 years.

Actress Amy Poehler, Boston College Class of ’93, shares a September 16th birthday (1971) with another veteran of “Saturday Night Live,” Molly Shannon (1964).  Poehler joined “SNL” in 2001, a few months after Shannon ended a six-year run on the show.

I AM NOT A COOK

July 24 in history:

Someone’s in the kitchen with Nikita…and on July 24th, 1959, it was U.S. Vice-President Richard Nixon. He and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev met in the kitchen area of an American home exhibit in Moscow and, through interpreters, debated eastern culture vs. western culture. The videotaped discussion became known as the “Kitchen Debate.”

Fifteen years later, Nixon had moved up to the job of president, but his presidency would soon come to an end. On July 24th of 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Nixon would have to release secret tape recordings to the Watergate prosecutor. Nixon resigned shortly after the release of one tape showing that he wanted to use the CIA to block an FBI probe into Watergate.

In the 1999 Watergate comedy “Dick,” President Nixon was played by actor Dan Hedaya, born July 24th, 1940.  Hedaya is better known as Nick Tortelli, the ex-husband of Carla on “Cheers” and its spin-off, “The Tortellis”.

During his 1968 campaign, Nixon made a brief appearance on the TV comedy show “Laugh-In,” saying “Sock it to me?” Ruth Buzzi was a “Laugh-In” cast member for the show’s entire six-season run. She was born on this date in 1936.

 

KNOW-IT-ALLS

April 6th in history:

On April 6th, 1909, explorers Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reported reaching the North Pole. Henson was African-American, and Peary has been criticized for not treating Henson as an equal member of the expedition.

Baseball executive Al Campanis was accused of making racist remarks on a broadcast of “Nightline” on April 6th, 1987. Campanis was general manager of the Dodgers until the TV interview, when he said blacks “may not have some of the necessities” to be baseball managers. He later said that he meant many blacks might not have the proper experience for the job.

Famous baseball stadiums that opened on April 6th include Miller Park in Milwaukee (2001) and Camden Yards in Baltimore (1992).  It’s also the birthday of Baltimore native Barry Levinson (1942), who directed the classic baseball movie “The Natural,” starring Robert Redford and Kim Basinger.

“The Natural” was Basinger’s follow-up to the Burt Reynolds comedy “The Man Who Loved Women.”  That film also featured Burt’s future TV wife on “Evening Shade,” Marilu Henner, born April 6th, 1952.  Best known as Elaine on “Taxi,” Henner has written several books about health and fitness, and is one of the small group of Americans identified as having “highly superior autobiographical memory.”

Cliff Clavin also remembers lots of things, but he’s fictional.  John Ratzenberger, who played know-it-all mailman Cliff on “Cheers,” was born on this date in 1947.  “Cheers” and “Taxi” aired back to back Thursday nights on NBC in 1982 and ’83, and had a number of producers and writers in common.

Watch Marilu Henner, along with Triviazoids’ Brad Williams, on “60 Minutes”:

 

PRESIDENTS AND STRUCTURES

February 21st in history:

Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China on February 21st, 1972. Nixon’s historic week-long visit included a stop at the Great Wall of China.

A different kind of structure was discovered on this date in 1953. February 21st was the date James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of a DNA molecule.

The Washington Monument was the world’s tallest structure when it was dedicated on February 21st, 1885, one day before George Washington’s birthday.  The monument is about 40 feet taller than the previous record-holder, the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.

George Washington was once played by Kelsey Grammer in a TV movie about Benedict Arnold. Grammer is best known as Frasier Crane on Frasier and Cheers, and Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons. He was born February 21st, 1955.