On Aug. 27, 1964, comedienne Gracie Allen died of cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 62.
In 1965, The Beatles met Elvis Presley. The meeting was described as very awkward, and Presley greeted the Beatles while playing his guitar to the music on TV.
Also in 1965, Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” album was released.
In 1967, Beatles manager Brian Epstein was found dead at his London home. He had overdosed on sleeping pills. At the time, The Beatles were on a retreat with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
In 1990, guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, three members of Eric Clapton’s entourage and a pilot were killed in a helicopter crash in Wisconsin. Vaughan was 35. Two years later, federal investigators said pilot error was the probable cause of the crash.
Also in 1990, Garth Brooks released his album “No Fences.”
In 1998, The New York Times refused to print an ad featuring the cover of Marilyn Manson’s “Mechanical Animals” album. Manson appeared on it looking like a naked male-female alien hybrid.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor-singer Tommy Sands is 87. Actor Tuesday Weld is 81. Actor G.W. Bailey (“MASH,” ″The Closer”) is 80. Actor Marianne Sagebrecht (“The War of the Roses”) is 79. Guitarist Alex Lifeson of Rush is 71. Actor Peter Stormare (“Fargo,” ″The Big Lebowski”) is 71. Actor Diana Scarwid (“Mommie Dearest”) is 69. Bassist Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols is 68. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 63. Guitarist Matthew Basford of Yankee Grey is 62. Bassist Mike Johnson (Dinosaur Jr.) is 59. Percussionist Bobo of Cypress Hill is 57. Country singer Colt Ford is 55. Actor Chandra Wilson (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 55. Bassist Tony Kanal of No Doubt is 54. Rapper Mase is 49. Actor Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs,” second Becky on “Roseanne”) is 48. Actor RonReaco Lee (“Madea Goes To Jail”) is 48. Actor Demetria McKinney (“House of Payne”) is 46. Actor Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”) is 45. Guitarist Jon Siebels of Eve 6 is 45. Actor Shaun Weiss (“The Mighty Ducks”) is 45. Keyboardist Megan Garrett of Casting Crowns is 44. Actor Patrick J. Adams (“Suits”) is 43. Actor Karla Mosley (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 43. Actor Amanda Fuller (“Last Man Standing”) is 40. Singer Mario is 38. Actor Alexa PenaVega (“Spy Kids”) is 36. Actor Ellar Coltrane (“Boyhood”) is 30. Actor Savannah Paige Rae (“Parenthood”) is 21.
Litchfield’s Central Park has hosted musical acts nearly every Thursday evening this past summer – thanks to the Litchfield Downtown Council – and the final concert of the season is coming up this Thursday, August 29th. Flannel Plaid will be performing, and the Downtown Council will be selling pizza and pop.
Darlene Kotelnicki says the Downtown Council will split the proceeds from the food sales between the Litchfield Police Dept., Meeker County Sheriff’s Office, Litchfield Fire Dept. and Litchfield Rescue Squad. She says Flannel Plaid, which consists of Tim Cook and Kristi Olson, will perform from 6-to-8 p.m.
Kotelnicki says the concerts for next summer are almost all booked already. She says the Downtown Council is helping to coordinate a Frankenstein Friday trick or treat event on October 25th in Downtown Litchfield, the Candy Cane parade in December, and a buffet and 57 Chevy Band concert during Wintercade in February.
The Litchfield School Board has approved of an assistant FFA advisor position. The action came after FFA Advisor and agriculture teacher Rob Cole composed a letter and also visited with the Litchfield School Board last night.
Cole says with the current level of activity of current FFA members, they lack the capacity to support them in additional opportunities in which the students have expressed interest. He says an assistant advisor would provide for less instructional days out of the classroom for himself, increased advisor time to coach for career development event activities, increase advisor time to support student interests, and the potential for middle school students to participate in FFA.
Board member Darrin Anderson says Litchfield has lost students to other school districts because of the FFA opportunities available in those districts. He says Litchfield currently does not offer FFA activities for Middle School students.
The Litchfield School Board also approved of a level 4 coach for the volleyball program on a 4-to-1 vote with Julie Pennertz opposed. Pennertz questioned why this position warranted higher pay than the FFA assistant position that the Board approved of earlier in the meeting. Head volleyball coach Darin Swenson says there are 41 players in the high school program this year and the addition of a B-squad would allow more of them to be able to play. He says the additional coach would only be for 2024 and then the situation would be evaluated in future seasons.
Also last night, the Litchfield School Board approved of a resolution for the City of Litchfield’s establishment of a tax increment financing district at 415 South Ramsey Avenue.
On Sept. 7, 1936, Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock, Texas.
In 1967, the situation comedy “The Flying Nun” debuted on ABC. Sally Field starred as a novice nun who discovers she can fly.
In 1978, Who drummer Keith Moon died in London of an overdose of a drug he was prescribed to combat alcoholism. He was 32.
In 1979, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) made its cable TV debut.
In 1984, singer Janet Jackson married singer James DeBarge of the group DeBarge. The marriage was annulled after less than a year.
In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur and record company executive Suge Knight were shot while driving in Las Vegas. Shakur died six days later.
In 1998, the movie “There’s Something About Mary” hit number one at the box office, eight weeks after its release.
In 2003, musician Warren Zevon died in his sleep at his home near Los Angeles, a year after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He was 56. His final album, “The Wind,” had been released just two weeks earlier.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins is 94. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 81. Singer Alfa Anderson of Chic is 78. Actor Susan Blakely (“The Towering Inferno,” ″The Concorde: Airport ’79″) is 76. Actor Julie Kavner (“The Simpsons”) is 74. Singer Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders is 73. Keyboardist Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is 71. Actor Corbin Bernsen is 70. Actor Michael Emerson (“Lost”) is 70. Pianist Michael Feinstein is 68. Songwriter Diane Warren is 68. Singer Margot Chapman (Starland Vocal Band) is 67. Actor W. Earl Brown (“Deadwood”) is 61. Comedian Leslie Jones (“Supermarket Sweep,” ″Saturday Night Live”) is 57. Model Angie Everhart is 55. Actor Diane Farr (“Numb3rs,” “Rescue Me”) is 55. Actor Monique Gabriela Curnen (“The Dark Knight”) is 54. Actor Tom Everett Scott (“Southland,” ″That Thing You Do!”) is 54. Drummer Chad Sexton of 311 is 54. Actor Shannon Elizabeth (“American Pie”) is 51. Actor Oliver Hudson (“Nashville”) is 48. Actor Devon Sawa (“Slackers,” ″Final Destination”) is 46. Actor Benjamin Hollingsworth (“Code Black”) is 40. Actor Alyssa Diaz (“The Rookie”) is 39. Contemporary Christian musician Wes Willis of Rush of Fools is 38. Actor Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld,” ″Thirteen”) is 37. Actor Jonathan Majors (“Lovecraft Country”) is 35. Actor Ian Chen (“Fresh Off The Boat”) is 18.