We take a look at some of the events that occurred on March 26th.

Today In …

1199 - Richard the Lionheart was fatally wounded by Pierre Basile during the siege of Chalus-Charbrol.

1953 - Jonas Salk announced his discovery of the polio vaccine.

1979 - The Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty was signed.

1997 - The bodies of the Heaven’s Gate Cult members were found. Thirty-nine people perished.

2000 - Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia.

Sharing A Birthday Today…

Marcus Allen former NFL running back and Super Bowl MVP was born in 1960.

Alan Arkin the Oscar winning actor of “Little Miss Sunshine” was born in 1934.

James Caan who starred in “The Godfather” and “Misery” was born in 1940.

Kenny Chesney the popular singer of “Young” and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” was born in 1968.

Johnny Crawford best known as Mark McCain from the TV western “The Rifleman” was born in 1946.

Robert Frost the author/poet whose works include “The Road Not Taken” was born in 1874.

Leeza Gibbons daytime talk show host, TV personality and “Dancing with the Stars” alumni was born in 1957.

Jennifer Grey who starred in the hit film “Dirty Dancing” was born in 1960.

Duncan Hines the food entrepreneur was born in 1880.

T.R. Knight from TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy” was born in 1973.

Keira Knightley who starred in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, “Love Actually” and “Pride and Prejudice” was born in 1985.

Vicky Lawrence who starred on TV’s “The Carol Burnett Show” and “Mama’s Family” and who also had a hit song with “The Nights the Lights Went Out in Georgia” was born in 1949.

Charly McClain the country music artist who had a hit single with “Paradise Tonight” was born in 1956.

Jessica McClure who became known worldwide when she became trapped in a well in Midland, Texas at the age of 18 months was born in 1986.

Ronnie McDowell who had hit singles with “Older Women” and “You’re Going to Ruin My Bad Reputation” was born in 1950.

Leonard Nimoy the actor best known for his portrayal of Mr. Spock in “Star Trek” was born in 1931.

Sandra Day O’Connor former U.S. Supreme Court Justice was born in 1930.

Nancy Pelosi politician from California and first female Speaker of the House was born in 1940.

Diana Ross the legendary singer for the “Supremes” and popular solo artist with such hits as “Chain Reaction” as well as actress who starred in the movie “Lady Sings the Blues” for which she received an Oscar nomination was born in 1944.

Martin Short the actor/comedian who starred on TV’s “Saturday Night Live” and “Primetime Glick” as well as the films “The Three Amigos” and “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” was born in 1950.

Amy Smart from “Rat Race” and TV’s “Felicity” and “Scrubs” was born in 1976.

Steven Tyler front man for the rock band Aerosmith was born in 1948.

Tennessee Williams the Pulitzer prize winning writer of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” was born in 1911.

We Said Goodbye To…

Ludwig van Beethoven the world renowned composer of “Moonlight Sonata” and “Fidelio” passed away in 1827 at the age of 56.

Jan Berry one half of rock music’s Jan & Dean passed away in 2004 at the age of 62.

Frederick Louis Maytag founder of the Maytag Company passed away in 1937 at the age of 79.

David Packard one of the co-founders of Hewlett-Packard passed away in 1996 at the age of 83.

Walt Whitman the author of “O Captain! My Captain!” and “Leaves of Grass” passed away in 1892 at the age of 72.

Top Of The Charts On This Day In…

1955 - “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” by Bill Hayes
1977 - “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates
1983 - On The Country Charts – “Swingin’” by John Anderson
1988 - “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson

TV Moments In…

1971 - “Cannon” starring William Conrad premiered on CBS.

Movie Moments In...

1975 - The rock opera “Tommy” starring rock legends The Who, Elton John, and Eric Clapton premiered in the United Kingdom.

In Print In…

1920 - F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel “This Side of Paradise” was published.

(See Little Miss Sunshine Movie Mistakes and my reviews of Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.)

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