March 27, 2012

120 years ago
1892

Born on this date
Ferde Grofe. U.S. musician and composer. Mr. Grofe, a native of New York City, trained as a pianist and violinist and joined Paul Whiteman’s orchestra in 1917 as a pianist. From 1920-1932 he was employed by Mr. Whiteman as pianist, assistant conductor, orchestrator, and librarian. Mr. Grofe moved to the National Broadcasting Company as staff conductor in 1932, and joined the faculty of the Juilliard School in 1939. His best-known composition, Grand Canyon Suite, was first performed by Mr. Whiteman and his orchestra on November 22, 1931 at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago. Mr. Grofe’s other compositions included Mississippi Suite (1926); Tabloid Suite (1932); Hollywood Suite (1935); Death Valley Suite (1949); Hudson River Suite (1955); and Niagara Falls Suite (1961). He died after a series of heart attacks on April 3, 1972 at the age of 80.

100 years ago
1912

Diplomacy
U.S. First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador to the United States, planted two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

70 years ago
1942

Boxing
Joe Louis (53-1) retained his world heavyweight title with a knockout of Abe Simon (36-10-1) at 16 seconds of the 6th round at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was Mr. Louis’s 21st successful defense of his championship, his second against Mr. Simon, and his last before entering the United States Army. For Mr. Simon, it was his last professional fight.



50 years ago
1962

On television tonight
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, on NBC
Tonight's episode: The Last Remains, starring Ed Gardner, John Fiedler, and Walter Kinsella

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Semi-Finals
Chicago 1 @ Montreal 2 (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0))
New York 2 @ Toronto 4 (Toronto led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Dickie Moore and Jean Beliveau scored for the Canadiens and Jacques Plante won the goaltending duel over Glenn Hall at the Montreal Forum.

Tim Horton's goal at 14:42 of the 2nd period was the winner as the Maple Leafs defeated the Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens. Johnny Bower won the goaltending duel over Gump Worsley.

40 years ago
1972

War
An agreement ending the civil war in Sudan between the predominantly Arab and Muslim north and Christian and animist south was signed by Sudanese Foreign Minister Manzur Khaled and Major General Joseph Lagu, leader of the Anyanya rebels. The agreement was signed a week after the Sudanese government had lifted the 17-year state of emergency.

Crime
An all-white jury in San Francisco acquitted Fleeta Drumgo and John Clutchette, the two remaining “Soledad Brothers,” of the 1970 killing of John Mills, a guard at California’s Soledad State Prison. Both were serving terms at Soledad at the time of Mr. Mills’ death, and Mr. Drumgo was one of six defendants in another murder charge involving the deaths of three guards and two trusty convicts in a shootout at Soledad on August 21, 1971 that had resulted in the death of fellow defendant and convict George Jackson. The verdict in San Francisco coincided with the beginning of opening statements in San Jose in the trial of Angela Davis, a Marxist professor at University of California at Los Angeles who had been charged with helping to plot the kidnapping and slaying of Superior Court Judge Harold Haley and three others in a courthouse in San Rafael, California in an attempt to free the Soledad Brothers on August 7, 1970.

30 years ago
1982

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K.: Seven Tears--Goombay Dance Band

#1 single in the U.S.A.: (Billboard): I Love Rock 'N' Roll--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (2nd week at #1)

U.S. top 10 (Cash Box)
1 I Love Rock 'N' Roll--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (2nd week at #1)
2 That Girl--Stevie Wonder
3 Centerfold--J. Geils Band
4 We Got the Beat--Go-Go's
5 Open Arms--Journey
6 Make a Move on Me--Olivia Newton-John
7 Pac-Man Fever--Buckner & Garcia
8 Shake it Up--The Cars
9 Titles--Vangelis
10 Key Largo--Bertie Higgins

Singles entering the chart were The Beatles' Movie Medley (#60); Since You're Gone by the Cars (#80); Let's Hang On by Barry Manilow (#81); Still in Saigon by the Charlie Daniels Band (#85); Man on the Corner by Genesis (#86); The Gigolo by O'Bryan (#87); Stars on 45 III (#88); One to One by Carole King (#89); Hollywood by Shooting Star (#90); and If I Could Get You (Into My Life) by Gene Cotton (#97). Stars on 45 III consisted of a medley of songs originally performed by Stevie Wonder.

Canada’s top 10 (RPM)
1 I Love Rock 'N' Roll--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (2nd week at #1)
2 Tonight I'm Yours--Rod Stewart
3 Tainted Love--Soft Cell
4 Centerfold--J. Geils Band
5 Open Arms--Journey
6 Make a Move on Me--Olivia Newton-John
7 Pretty Woman--Van Halen
8 Our Lips are Sealed--Go-Go's
9 Johnny are You Queer?--Josie Cotton
10 We Got the Beat--Go-Go's

Singles entering the chart were Don't Talk to Strangers by Rick Springfield (#40); Did it in a Minute by Daryl Hall and John Oates (#42); Stick it Where the Sun Doesn't Shine by Nick Lowe (#46); When it's Over by Loverboy (#48); and Over the Line by Eddie Schwartz (#49).

25 years ago
1987


Hit parade
#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Stay--Pierre Cosso & Bonnie Bianco (3rd week at #1)

Abominations
Two days of massacres of Dinka civilians by government forces in southern Sudan concluded with approximately 1,500 fatalities.

War
Chad announced that its army had taken the town of Faya-Largeau, the last major Libyan stronghold in Chad, without a fight. The Libyans had been reported withdrawing from Faya-Largeau two days earlier.

Economics and finance
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, citing Japan’s failure to abide by a 1986 agreement forbidding Japanese companies from selling semiconductor chips in the United States for less than “fair market value” (as determined by the U.S.), announced that the United States would impose duties that would double the import prices of many electronic products imported from Japan.

The United States Labor Department reported that consumer prices had risen 0.4% in February.

20 years ago
1992

Hit parade
#1 single in Germany (Media Control): Das Boot--U96 (10th week at #1)

Protest
Fishermen in Newfoundland left idle by shutdowns and cutbacks in the Newfoundland fishery began a four-day protest, targeting foreign vessels that continued to fish on the Grand Banks, outside Canada’s 200-mile limit.

10 years ago
2002

Died on this date
Billy Wilder, 95. Austro-Hungarian-born U.S. film director and writer. One of the best writers and directors in movie history, Mr. Wilder won the Academy Award as Best Director for The Lost Weekend (1945) and The Apartment (1960), and shared Oscars for writing for those two movies and Sunset Blvd. (1950).

Milton Berle, 93. U.S. comedian. Sometimes credited as the first person to appear on television because of his appearance in an experimental broadcast in 1929, "Uncle Miltie" spent many years as a vaudeville comic, but achieved fame as one of the biggest names in the early years of television as the host and star of Texaco Star Theatre, later known as The Milton Berle Show (1948-1956).

Dudley Moore, 66. U.K. actor, comedian, pianist, and composer. A graduate of Oxford University, Mr. Moore was a member of the Beyond the Fringe comedy revue in the 1960s before achieving greater fame and success as the star of such movies as 10 and Arthur.

Terrorism
At least 19 people were killed when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself in a hotel dining room in Netanya, Israel, as 200 people were sitting down to celebrate Passover.

A deranged man opened fire on a city council meeting in Nanterre, France, killing 8 council members and wounding 19 people.

Business
General Motors announced a plan to revive the Pontiac GTO, the original “muscle car,” which had been manufactured from 1964-1974.