Entertainment History
On July 23, 1969, James Brown walked out of Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty’s office when the mayor failed to show up on time to present the singer with a proclamation for “James Brown Day.”
In 1980, former Grateful Dead keyboardist Keith Godchaux was killed in a car accident in Marin County, California. He was 32.
In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two children were killed during the filming of “Twilight Zone: The Movie” when a helicopter crashed. Director John Landis and four others were acquitted of charges in the deaths.
In 1984, Vanessa Williams became the first Miss America to resign her title, after nude photographs of her were published in Penthouse magazine.
In 1990, production began on the film “Falling From Grace,” which marked John Mellencamp’s acting and directing debut.
Also in 1992, the rock band Chicago got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1999, Woodstock 99 began in Rome, New York. The three-day festival started off peacefully but ended in fires, looting and accusations of rape.
Also in 1999, musician Phil Collins married Orianne Cevey in a private civil ceremony in Switzerland. He was 48, she was 27. They have since split up.
In 2010, Kings of Leon cut short a concert outside St. Louis after pigeons in the rafters defecated on the stage.
In 2011, singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her home in London. She was 27. Her death was attributed to accidental alcohol poisoning.
In 2015, a gunman killed two people and injured nine others before shooting himself during a showing of the film “Trainwreck” in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Ronny Cox (“Deliverance,” “RoboCop”) is 86. Actor Larry Manetti (“Magnum, P.I.”) is 81. Singer David Essex is 77. Singer and former Congressman John Hall (Orleans) is 76. Guitarist Blair Thornton of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 74. Actor Belinda Montgomery (“Doogie Howser, MD”) is 74. Actor Lydia Cornell (“Too Close For Comfort”) is 71. Actor Woody Harrelson is 63. Guitarist Martin Gore of Depeche Mode is 63. Actor Eriq Lasalle (“ER”) is 62. Drummer Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing) is 61. Guitarist Slash of Velvet Revolver and of Guns N’ Roses is 59. Actor Juan Pope (“My Name Is Earl,” ″Family Matters”) is 57. Model Stephanie Seymour is 56. Actor Charisma Carpenter (“Veronica Mars”) is 54. Singer Sam Watters of Color Me Badd is 54. Singer Dalvin DeGrate of Jodeci is 53. Musician Alison Krauss is 53. Drummer Chad Gracey of Live is 53. Actor-comedian Marlon Wayans (“The Wayans Brothers”) is 52. Country singer Shannon Brown is 51. Actor Kathryn Hahn (“Transparent,” “Crossing Jordan”) is 51. Actor Stephanie March (“Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”) is 50. Actor Shane McRae (“Sneaky Pete”) is 47. Fiddler David Pichette (Emerson Drive) is 47. Singer Michelle Williams (Destiny’s Child) is 44. Actor Paul Wesley (“The Vampire Diaries”) is 42. Actor Krysta Rodriguez (“Smash”) is 40. Actor Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter” movies) is 35. Drummer Neil Perry of The Band Perry is 34. Actor Lili Simmons (TV’s “The Purge”) is 31. Country singer Danielle Bradbery (“The Voice”) is 28.
