On Sept. 30, 1950, the Grand Ole Opry was first televised by Nashville station WSM. WSM-AM had been broadcasting the Opry on radio since 1925.
In 1955, actor James Dean was killed in the collision of his sports car with another automobile in Cholame, California. He was 24.
In 1960, “The Flintstones” made its debut on ABC.
In 1965, Donovan made his American TV debut on “Shindig!”
In 1967, John Lennon and Paul McCartney appeared on “The David Frost Show” to talk about the virtues of transcendental meditation as taught by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
In 1982, “Cheers,” starring Ted Danson and Shelly Long, made its debut on NBC. It ran until 1993.
In 1984, “Murder, She Wrote,” starring Angela Lansbury, premiered on CBS.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Angie Dickinson is 93. Singer Cissy Houston is 91. Singer Johnny Mathis is 89. Actor Len Cariou (TV’s “Blue Bloods,” film “The Four Seasons”) is 85. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 81. Actor John Finn (“Cold Case”) is 72. Guitarist John Lombardo (10,000 Maniacs) is 72. Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall (“Chicago Hope, “Daredevil”) is 74. Country singer Deborah Allen is 71. Actor Calvin Levels (“Adventures in Babysitting”) is 70. Jazz singer Patrice Rushen is 70. Actor Barry Williams (“The Brady Bunch”) is 70. Actor Fran Drescher is 67. Country singer Marty Stuart is 66. Actor Crystal Bernard (“Wings”) is 63. Actor Eric Stoltz is 63. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 62. Country singer Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry is 61. Singer Trey Anastasio of Phish is 60. Actor Monica Bellucci (“The Passion of the Christ,” ″The Matrix Reloaded”) is 60. Bassist Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls is 60. Actor Lisa Thornhill (“Veronica Mars”) is 58. Actor Andrea Roth (“Rescue Me”) is 57. Actor Amy Landecker (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is 55. Actor Silas Weir Mitchell (“Grimm”) is 55. Actor Tony Hale (“Veep,” ″Arrested Development”) is 54. Actor Jenna Elfman is 53. Actor Ashley Hamilton is 50. Actor Marion Cotillard (“Public Enemies,” ″La Vie en Rose”) is 49. Actor-musician Christopher Jackson (“Bull,” ″Oz”) is 49. Actor Toni Trucks (“SEAL Team”) is 44. Actor Lacey Chabert (“Mean Girls,” ″Party of Five”) is 42. Actor Kieran Culkin is 41. Rapper T-Pain is 40.
The Litchfield Area Mentorship Program is hosting a Back-to-School Carnival this Saturday from 10-to-1 at Litchfield Middle School. There will be games, food and more in the Middle School Gym and Cafeteria.
Judy Hulterstrum says admission is free and there will be inexpensive games to play with 3 tickets for $1, 30 tickets for $10 or 65 tickets for $20, and the lunch will be $5 which will consist of a hot dog, chips, cookie and water. She says the games will include bowling, duck pond, ring toss, basketball, fishing, ax throwing, and a cake walk; and there will also be take-a-chance baskets.
Hulterstrum says the Parent-Teacher Association had a spring carnival years ago to raise funds for elementary school field trips which is where this idea came from to help raise funds for the Litchfield Area Mentorship Program. She says she would like to thank all of those who are helping to make this event possible.
Hulterstrum says LAMP has its planter sale underway and Turkey Bingo will be coming up on November 22nd. She says they are always looking for more mentors. For more details, call 320-699-1616 or go to lampkinship.org.
On Sept. 27, 1954, “The Tonight Show” made its debut on NBC with host Steve Allen.
In 1964, the Beach Boys made their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
In 1972, the bodies of singer Rory Storm of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and his mother were found at her home in Liverpool, England. Storm was 34.
In 1980, the Stray Cats were signed to Arista Records in Britain.
In 1986, bassist Cliff Burton of Metallica was killed when the band’s tour bus skidded off an icy road in Sweden. He was 24.
Also in 1986, The Beatles song “Twist and Shout” re-entered the pop charts after it was featured in the movies “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Back to School.” It eventually rose to number 23.
In 1987, the variety show “Dolly,” starring Dolly Parton, premiered on ABC. It was canceled after one season.
In 1998, Phil Hartman’s voice was featured for the last time on “The Simpsons” as Troy McClure. Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder-suicide the previous May.
In 2014, actor George Clooney married lawyer Amal Alamuddin at a palace in Venice.
In 2021, singer R. Kelly was convicted on all nine counts in his sex-trafficking trial in New York. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison the following June.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Kathleen Nolan is 91. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. (“The Yearling”) is 90. Singer-guitarist Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 81. Actor Liz Torres (“Gilmore Girls”) is 77. Actor A Martinez (“LA Law,” ″Santa Barbara”) is 76. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (“Pearl Harbor”) is 74. Actor-opera singer Anthony Laciura (“Boardwalk Empire”) is 73. Singer-actor-director Shaun Cassidy is 66. Comedian Marc Maron (“Maron”) is 61. Singer-guitarist Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind is 60. Actor Patrick Muldoon (“Melrose Place”) is 56. Singer Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd is 54. Actor Gwyneth Paltrow is 52. Actor Indira Varma (“For Life”) is 51. Singer Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down is 46. Bassist Grant Brandell of Underoath is 43. Actor Anna Camp (“The Mindy Project,” ″True Blood”) is 42. Rapper Lil’ Wayne is 42. Singer Avril Lavigne is 40. Bluegrass musician Sierra Hull is 33. Actor Sam Lerner (“The Goldbergs”) is 32. Actor Ames McNamara (“The Connors”) is 17.