ON THIS DAY,
A BIRTHDAY EDITION
On FanWorld's Twitter and Instagram, we baffle Richard daily, with content themed to obscure anniversaries, and National Days.
So, for his birthday this year, we bring you a very special 'On This Day..'
CULTURE
1893 Beatrix Potter first writes ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ in a letter Noel Moore, a five-year-old boy recovering from scarlet fever.
1965 The Beatles’ ‘Help’ tops the US singles chart, for the first of its 3 week stay.
1971 Clarence Clemons joins The Boss onstage for the first time, at the Student Prince, Asbury Park. The story of their meeting will be told in ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-out’ on Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ album.
1976 14 months after its release, Fleetwood Mac reached No.1 on the Billboard album chart with their self-titled album, the first with Stevie Nicks as vocalist.
1981 George Strait’s first album, ‘Strait Country’ was released in the US. In November 2021, RSJrFanWorld would use a riff on the album's title for an interview with Richard.
2002 Kelly Clarkson Becomes the First American Idol – Rich references her covering a song in tribute to Kenny Rogers in the first ever ‘And My Guest is Richard Speight’
HISTORY
1781 Spanish settlers laid claim to what became Los Angeles, now the second most populous U.S. city and the home to Hollywood (and Richard!)
1882 At 3pm, New York City was illuminated by electric lights for the first time. The New York Times was among the first buildings to be illuminated.
1888 1888 George Eastman receives a patent for the first roll-film camera and registers the name "Kodak."
1951 On September 4, 1951, President Harry S. Truman’s opening speech before a conference in San Francisco is broadcast across the nation, marking the first time a television program was broadcast from coast to coast.
1998 Google is founded. (Boobgoogle was founded April 25th, 2000).
September 4th, 1969
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The Rolling Stones topped the charts with ‘Honky Tonk Women’.
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Johnny Cash topped Billboard’s Country chart with ‘A Boy Named Sue’.
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‘Goodbye, Columbus’, which gave Ali MacGraw her first starring role, was number one at the US box office. A ticket would have cost $1.42.
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Noah Taylor, the Australian actor who played Locke in ‘Game of Thrones’ and Darby Sabini in ‘Peaky Blinders’ was born.
September 4th National Days
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National Wildlife Day was created to honour the legacy of Australian zookeeper and conservationist Steve Irwin, who died September 4th, 2006.
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National Eat an Extra Dessert Day “I love cherries, and I’m man enough to admit it.” Our birthday boy’s favourite cake is Black Forest. Red Velvet is a runner up - Rich says his Grandmother’s was the best. As a child, a lack of sweet tooth meant his birthday dessert pick was his Mom’s apple pie.
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National Newscarrier Day celebrates America’s first newsboy, 10-year-old Barney Flaherty. Flaherty answered an ad placed in the New York Sun, and was hired on September 4th, 1833.
A youthful Rich portrayed a paper delivery boy in his first movie role, Disney’s ‘Love Leads the Way’