Happy Birthday NickelNine Events November 13 1927 - After seven years of construction and over $48 million, the Holland Tunnel, New York City’s connection to Jersey City, NJ, opened to traffic. It was named after the chief engineer of construction, Clifford Milburn Holland, who died before the tunnel was completed. 1930 - The first revolving milk platform was used -- in Plainsboro, NJ. For the first time, 1,680 cows could be milked in seven hours. Now that’s a lot of milk! 1933 - The first sit-down strike was started. The U.S. Workers at the Hormel Packing Company plant in Austin, Minnesota (the home of SPAM) took action against management. 1940 - Alice Marble turned pro. The tennis star signed for $25,000 plus a percentage of the gate receipts. 1946 - The first artificial snow was produced -- by Vincent J. Schaefer over Mt. Greylock, Massachusetts. 1955 - NBC showed the first live TV program from a foreign country (noncontiguous). Scenes from Havana, Cuba were seen by viewers of Dave Garroway’s Wide Wide World program. 1965 - Julie Harris starred in Skyscraper, which opened on Broadway in New York City. The musical ran for seven months. 1968 - This was a good day for The Beatles. Their movie, Yellow Submarine, premiered in the U.S. and the single, Hey Jude, topped the pop music charts (it was in its 7th of 9 weeks at #1). 1975 - “Whoa Whoa Whoa, Feeeelings.” One of the great lounge-lizard songs of all time, Feelings by Morris Albert, went gold. 1977 - After 43 years as a regular feature in hundreds of newspapers, Al Capp brought his comic strip, Li’l Abner, to a final conclusion. 1982 - Business as Usual, the smash album by Men at Work, started a fifteen-week run at number one in the U.S. The tracks: Who Can It Be Now?, I Can See It in Your Eyes, Down Under, Underground, Helpless Automation, People Just Love to Play with Words, Be Good Johnny, Touching the Untouchables, Catch a Star, Down by the Sea. 1986 - The state of California put Fricot City on the auction block for $8.8 million. The ‘city’ was actually the former ranch/private estate of Desiré Fricot. It had become a California Youth Authority camp in 1945. Located about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento, Fricot City featured some twenty homes, two gymnasiums, two swimming pools, a full twelve-grade school, a fire station, an infirmary and a chapel. 1998 - These films made first runs in the U.S.: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Some Secrets Will Haunt You Forever), starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Brandy Norwood; I’ll Be Home for Christmas (This Yule, be cool.), with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jessica Biel and Adam Lavorgna; and Meet Joe Black (No one can die - while he loves!), starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani and Marcia Gay Harden. 1999 - “For the winner by unanimous decision and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world . . . Lennox Lewis!” Lennox Lewis tattoed Evander Holyfield for 12 rounds in Las Vegas, Nevada to earn a unanimous decision and capture the title. Birthdays November 13 1850 - Robert Louis Stevenson author: Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, A Child’s Garden of Verses; died Dec 3, 1894 1856 - Louis Brandeis jurist: Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court [1916-1939]; died Oct 5, 1941 1913 - Alexander Scourby actor: The Big Heat, Affair in Trinidad; died Feb 22, 1985 1916 - Jack Elam actor: Support Your Local Sheriff, High Noon, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Cannonball Run series, Pocketful of Miracles, Rawhide, Temple Houston, The Texas Wheelers, The Dakotas; died Oct 20, 2003 1922 - Madeleine Sherwood actress: The Flying Nun, Hurry Sundown, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Broken Vows, Sweet Bird of Youth 1922 - Oskar Werner actor: Ship of Fools, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Voyage of the Damned, Fahrenheit 451; died Oct 23, 1984 1924 - Linda Christian actress: The Devil’s Hand, Athena 1928 - Steve Bilko baseball: St. Louis Cardinals 1B, Cubs, Reds, Dodgers, Tigers, Angels; died Mar 7, 1978 1932 - Richard Mulligan Emmy Award-winning actor: Soap [1979-1980], Empty Nest [1988-1989]; S.O.B., The Hero, The Group, Little Big Man, Diana; died Sep 26, 2000 1934 - Garry Marshall producer: The Odd Couple, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days; director: Pretty Woman, Beaches; comedy writer: Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lucy Show; actor: A League of Their Own, Lost in America; brother of actress Penny Marshall 1938 - Jean Seberg actress: Paint Your Wagon, The Mouse That Roared, Airport, Joan of Arc, Bonjour Tristesse; died Sep 8, 1979 1939 - Wes (Maurice Wesley) Parker baseball: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1965, 1966/Gold Glove 1967-1972] 1941 - Dack (Norman) Rambo actor: Dallas, All My Children, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Sword of Justice, The New Loretta Young Show; died Mar 21, 1994 1941 - Mel (Melvin Leon, Sr.) Stottlemyre baseball: pitcher: NY Yankees [World Series: 1964/all-star 1965, 1966, 1968-1970] 1947 - Joe Mantegna Tony Award-winning actor: Glengarry Glenn Ross [1984]; House of Games, Things Change, Airheads, Queen’s Logic, The Godfather Part III, Elvis: The Movie, The Money Pit, Three Amigos, Comedy Zone 1948 - Sheila Frazier actress: The Hitter, Three the Hard Way, I’m Gonna Git You Sucker, Super Fly, Firehouse, The Lazarus Syndrome 1953 - Tracy Scoggins actress: Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, Hawaiian Heat, Dynasty, The Colbys, Alien Intruder, Dead On, The Gumshoe Kid 1953 - Charlie Tickner figure skater: Ice Capades, bronze medalist: Winter Olympics [1980]; U.S. Champion [1977, 1978, 1979, 1980] 1954 - Chris Noth actor: Law & Order, Burnzy’s Last Call, Jakarta, Baby Boom, Sex and the City 1955 - Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Johnson) Academy Award-winning actress: Ghost [1990]; The Color Purple, Sister Act series, Made in America, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Comic Relief, The Whoopi Goldberg Show, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Bagdad Cafe, Whoopi; Grammy Award-winning comedienne: Whoopi Goldberg [1985] 1959 - Caroline Goodall actress: Schindler’s List, Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story, Hook, Cliffhanger, The Princess Diaries 1963 - Vinny Testaverde football: QB: University of Miami [Heisman Trophy winner: 1986]; Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens 1968 - Steve Zahn actor: Bye Bye Birdie, Sophistry, Reality Bites, Crimson Tide, That Thing You Do!, From the Earth to the Moon, You’ve Got Mail, Chain of Fools, Dr. Dolittle 2, Riding in Cars with Boys Chart Toppers November 13 1944 Dance with the Dolly - The Russ Morgan Orchestra (vocal: Al Jennings) I’ll Walk Alone - Dinah Shore The Trolley Song - The Pied Pipers Smoke on the Water - Red Foley 1952 You Belong to Me - Jo Stafford Wish You Were Here - Eddie Fisher Because You’re Mine - Mario Lanza Jambalaya (On the Bayou) - Hank Williams 1960 Save the Last Dance for Me - The Drifters Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson Georgia on My Mind - Ray Charles Wings of a Dove - Ferlin Husky 1968 Hey Jude - The Beatles Those Were the Days - Mary Hopkin Love Child - Diana Ross & The Supremes I Walk Alone - Marty Robbins 1976 Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot Love So Right - Bee Gees Somebody Somewhere (Don’t Know What He’s Missin’ Tonight) - Loretta Lynn 1984 Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) - Billy Ocean Purple Rain - Prince & The Revolution Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham! I’ve Been Around Enough to Know - John Schneider