On Oct. 30, 1938, the radio play “The War of the Worlds,” starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS. Using fake news bulletins and simulated on-scene reports to portray an invasion by Martians, the broadcast sparked panic among listeners who thought the dramatized events were authentic.
In 1961, music producer Phil Spector’s Philles label released its first single. It was a record by The Crystals: “Oh, Yeah, Maybe Baby” backed with “There’s No Other (Like My Baby).”
In 1964, Roy Orbison was awarded a gold record for “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
In 1967, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones pleaded guilty to drug possession and was sentenced to nine months in jail. He was released pending an appeal.
In 1970, Jim Morrison of The Doors was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $500 for exposing himself in Miami. He never served the time because he was appealing the decision when he died the following July.
In 1972, Elton John did a command performance benefit for Queen Elizabeth.
In 1974, Kathy Silva filed for divorce from musician Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone after less than six months of marriage.
In 1978, the animated TV movie “Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park” aired on NBC.
In 1982, singer Paul Weller announced the breakup of the British band The Jam.
In 1984, Linda Ronstadt made her operatic debut in a production of “La Boheme” in New York.
In 1997, drummer Bill Berry quit R.E.M.
In 2002, Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was shot and killed at his recording studio in New York. He was 37.
In 2004, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker married former Miss USA Shanna Moakler in Santa Barbara, California. They have since split up.
Today’s Birthdays: Director Claude Lelouch (“A Man and a Woman”) is 87. Songwriter Eddie Holland of Holland-Dozier-Holland is 85. Singer Grace Slick is 85. Singer Otis Williams of The Temptations is 83. Actor Henry Winkler is 79. TV journalist Andrea Mitchell is 78. Drummer Chris Slade (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, AC/DC) is 78. Bassist Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles (and Poco) is 77. Actor Leon Rippy (“Saving Grace,” “Deadwood”) is 75. Actor Harry Hamlin is 73. Actor Charles Martin Smith (“American Graffiti,” “The Buddy Holly Story”) is 71. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 70. Actor Kevin Pollak is 67. Singer-guitarist Jerry De Borg of Jesus Jones is 64. Actor Michael Beach (“Soul Food,” ″Third Watch”) is 61. Singer-guitarist Gavin Rossdale of Bush is 59. Actor Jack Plotnick (“Reno 911!”) is 56. “Cash Cab” host Ben Bailey is 54. Actor Billy Brown (“How To Get Away With Murder,” “Dexter”) is 54. Actor Nia Long is 54. Country singer Kassidy Osborn of SHeDAISY is 48. Actor Gael Garcia Bernal (“Babel,” ″The Motorcycle Diaries”) is 46. Actor Matthew Morrison (“Glee”) is 46. Actor Fiona Dourif (“When We Rise,” ″True Blood”) is 43. Actor Shaun Sipos (SEE’-pohs) (“Melrose Place”) is 43. Actor Tasso Feldman (“The Resident”) is 41. Actor Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars”) is 36. Actor Tequan Richmond (“Everybody Hates Chris”) is 32. Actor Kennedy McMann (TV’s “Nancy Drew”) is 28.
The Litchfield Rotary Club had a successful rose and fall bouquet sale. The roses and fall bouquets will be available to be picked up at Davis Auto Body on East Highway 12 on Thursday and Friday from 11:30-to-1 and from 3:30-to-6 and on Saturday from 9-to-noon.
Litchfield Rotary Club President Andrew Letson says it helps if you can bring your sales stub, but if you lost it, they can look up your order. He says they order a few extra flowers, so if you forgot to place an order, you could call a Rotary member to secure a last minute bouquet.
Letson says this is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Litchfield Rotary Club and they use the proceeds for all kinds of great community projects. He says they recently helped with the purchase of an audio enhancement system at Lake Ripley Elementary School.
Letson says he would like to thank the community for all of the support it gives the Litchfield Rotary Club each year. Rotary Membership Chair Dennis Gartner says the Rotary Club meets on Tuesday mornings at 7 o’clock at the Rescue Hall for breakfast and new members are welcome.
Gartner says if anyone is interested in joining the Rotary Club, they may call him at 320-221-3636. He says the Litchfield Rotary Club supports all kinds of great projects such as Beds for Kids, scholarships, the installation of AEDs around the town, the Splash Pad at Memorial Park and the development of Prairie Park.
On Oct. 29, 1936, singer Hank Snow made his first recordings, “Lonesome Blue Yodel” and “Prisoned Cowboy.”
In 1956, “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” premiered as NBC’s nightly television newscast, replacing “The Camel News Caravan.”
In 1964, the “T.A.M.I. Show” was filmed in Santa Monica, California. It featured performances by the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Lesley Gore, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Rolling Stones and The Supremes.
In 1970, Neil Diamond received a gold record for “Cracklin’ Rosie.”
In 1971, Allman Brothers guitarist Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash in Macon, Georgia. A similar accident took the life of the band’s bassist, Berry Oakley, the next year.
In 1981, the TV comedy “Gimme A Break,” starring Nell Carter, made its debut on NBC.
In 1983, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” became the longest-running album on the Billboard music charts, with a total of 491 weeks. That record has since been broken.
In 1996, rappers the Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans became parents to a son, Christopher Wallace.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer-actor Melba Moore is 79. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 77. Actor Kate Jackson is 76. Actor Dan Castellaneta (“The Simpsons”) is 67. “Ziggy” cartoonist Tom Wilson is 67. Singer Randy Jackson of The Jacksons is 63. Drummer Peter Timmins of Cowboy Junkies is 59. Actor Joely Fisher (“Ellen”) is 57. Rapper Paris is 57. Actor Rufus Sewell (“The Diplomat”) is 57. Actor Grayson McCouch (“Gotham”) is 56. Singer SA Martinez of 311 is 55. Actor Winona Ryder is 53. Actor Tracee Ellis Ross (“black-ish”) is 52. Actor Gabrielle Union is 52. Actor Trevor Lissauer (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 51. Actor Milena Govich (“Law and Order”) is 48. Actor Jon Abrahams (“Meet the Parents”) is 47. Actor Brendan Fehr (“CSI: Miami,” ″Roswell”) is 47. Actor Ben Foster (“Six Feet Under”) is 44. Bassist Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend is 40. Actor Janet Montgomery (“New Amsterdam”) is 39. Actor India Eisley (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) is 31.