"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"...
Nielsen Media Research, Inc. lists the final episode of "M*A*S*H" number one on its top 10 Network Telecasts of All time list, ranked by Household Ratings. The 2 1/2 hour special drew a 60.2% household rating and was seen in over 50 million homes when "Taps" were played ending the 11-year run on February 28, 1983...
"M*A*S*H" or Mobile Army Surgical Hospital made its debut on September 17, 1972 with one of the best casts ever assembled for a TV series: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Loretta Swit, McLean Stevenson, Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr and Mike Farrell. Gary Burghoff (Radar) was the only member of the cast who played the same role in the movie version of "M*A*S*H". The novel was written by a doctor who had actually served in one of the Korean War "M*A*S*H" units...
To give you an idea of how highly rated the last episode was, it finished 7% higher than the show that finished second, "Dallas" (11/21/80). The final episode of "M*A*S*H" reached 9 million more homes than "Dallas"...
More February 28 Memories...
1854) The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, WI when 50 slavery opponents started the new political party...
1883) The 1st vaudeville theater opened in Boston...
1940) The 1st televised basketball game was aired on experimental TV station W2XBS in New York when Pittsburgh beat Fordham at Madison Square Garden (only several hundred homes in New York watched the game despite a 20-minute blackout caused by technical problems)...
1953) The double-helix structure of DNA is discovered in a Cambridge University lab by scientists Francis H.C. Crick and James D. Watson...
1960) The U.S. wins its 1st Olympic gold medal in hockey with a 9-4 win over Czechoslovakia at the Squaw Valley Games in California...
1962) WMGM in New York City changes call letters to WHN...
1967) The Rolling Stones are #1 with "Ruby Tuesday", the "B" side of "Let's Spend The Night Together" (banned by many stations but we played it at WRKO)...
1968) Frankie Lymon, lead singer of the Teenagers dies of a heroin overdose at 25 (Lymon provided the inspiration for many future singers including Ronnie Spector and Diana Ross)...
1974) Bobby Bloom ("Montego Bay") fatally shoots himself at 28...
1974) "Seasons in the Sun" was #1 for Terry Jacks...
1979) Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the TV show dies (no age disclosed)...
1983) "M*A*S*H" becomes the most watched TV program in history when the final episode airs (feature story)...
1984) Michael Jackson wins a record 8 Grammy's for the album "Thriller"...
1986) 21 MLB players are fined or suspended including Keith Hernandez and Dave Parker in the largest drug scandal in baseball history...
1993) U.S. Federal agents raid the compound of the Branch Davidians, led by David Koresh in Waco, TX. The 51-day long standoff will result in the killing of 4 agents and 6 Davidians including Koresh...
1994) The Brady Law, imposing a waiting period for hand-gun purchases goes into effect...
To ensure accuracy in dates and content, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...
Happy Birthday To...
1923) Charles Durning...
1931) Gavin MacLeod (Capt. Stubing on "The Love Boat" and Murray on "Mary Tyler Moore")...
1931) Hall of Fame basketball coach Dean Smith...
1939) Dancer, choreographer Tommy Tune...
1940) Race car racing great Mario Andretti...
1948) Bernadette Peters...
1969) Robert Sean Leonard (Dr. Wilson on "House")...
Commentary...
If you believe as many people do about 3 famous folks dying within days of each other than maybe this troika is now complete. With the weekend death of Dennis Weaver announced just yesterday, the actor who played "Chester" on "Gunsmoke" and then "McCloud" joined Don Knotts and Darren McGavin to form that threesome...
Can't you just see it now ? Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud assisted by Barney Fife putting the bad guys away and hey, it they have a problem all they have to do is call in Mike Hammer...
Today is the 59th day of 2006 with 306 days left in the year, 20 days until spring and 32 days until opening day...
