Opening statements in the Phil Spector murder trial are set for Wednesday...
Court TV cameras will be there for live coverage of the entire trial beginning Wednesday with a jury of 9 men, 3 women, Judge Larry Fidler and you, set to hear the opening statements. Keith Richards and Yoko Ono will reportedly be character witnesses for Spector, accused of killing B-level actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. Bruce Cutler, who never met a Gotti he didn't defend will apparently use the "accidental suicide" defense already established by Spector. No word on whether of not Phil Spector and his hair will take the stand...
Will this become another sensational O.J. Simpson trial complete with a new cast of characters just like Johnnie Cochran, Judge Lance Ito, Marcia Clark and Chris Darden? Will Judge Fidler turn into a bawling Larry Seidlin? Will Phil Spector replace Anna Nicole Smith as the central figure in one of the more bizarre cases with no ending? Stay tuned. It all starts Wednesday...
Since about 99.9% of the music downloading nation of iPod users think Phil Spector is a senator, safe to say that this trial will have interest to baby-boomers who listened to or actually, bought music 40 years ago. Since I qualify, I know I'll be there. Pass the popcorn...
Look for videos in the "Happy Trails" and "Recorded on this date" timelines...
Timeline Memories...
"Happy Trails": 1993] Labor leader Cesar Chavez dies in his sleep at 66...1995] Howard Cosell dies at 77 from a heart embolism (this is a tribute to Muhammad Ali which turned out to be a tribute to the "coach" as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ylmD7kbams )...1998] James Earl Ray who at first confessed to killing Martin Luther King Jr. and then denied it, saying he was framed, dies of kidney disease in prison. Ray was 70...
Packing the U-Haul: 1789] President-elect George Washington and his wife Martha move into the 1st executive mansion, the Franklin House in Manhattan...
No butter on mine: 1896] The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen is demonstrated in New York City...
Play Ball: 1954] Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits the 1st of his 755 home runs. Now get ready for 2 great trivia questions: 1) Who was the pitcher? (ans. ex-Yankee, Cardinal righthander Vic Raschi). 2) Who was the pitcher who served up Barry Bonds 1st homerun? (ans. the Braves Craig McMurtry on June 4, 1986). And who will serve up homeruns Nos. 755 and 756? Stay tuned...1964] Ken Johnson of Houston throws the 1st no-hitter for a loss. The Reds win the game on 2 Houston errors...
Laker legends: 1950] Led by George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers with their 1st NBA title over Syracuse in 6 games...1989] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar plays his final NBA game for the Lakers...
Guilty as charged: 1969] Sirhan B. Sirhan is sentenced to death for the assassination of New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The sentence is later reduced to life in prison, something Sirhan is now serving in California...
Recorded on this date: 1963] "Surf City" - Jan & Dean (here's a classic clip of Steve Allen introducing Jan & Dean on his show. The duo is singing live to a track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO0lMzy9IUI )...
Released on this date: 1971] "Sticky Fingers" LP - Rolling Stones...
Rock & Roll tragedy: 1975] Pete Ham of Badfinger hangs himself in his London garage at 27...
Ain't nothing like the real thing baby: 1985] Coca-Cola changes its 99-year old secret formula but "new Coke" fizzes out and they go back to the original Coke...
Smoking only permitted outside: 1988] A U.S. federal law takes effect banning smoking on flights under 2 hours...
Ban on SARS: 2003] Global health officials warn travelers to avoid Beijing and Toronto because of an outbreak of SARS, a potentially deadly disease...
Sanc you very much: 2004] President George W. Bush eases Reagan-era sanctions against Libya in return for Moammar Qaddafi's giving up weapons of mass destruction...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]...
Commentary...
How petty is the lawsuit by CBS Radio against KCAA to stop it from broadcasting Don Imus' morning radio show, which according to the station, would've stopped airing it anyway? You can't even compare this to the pirate stations that ripped off Howard Stern from Sirius and aired it for free. This will not help CBS Radio's image You couldn't buy worse publicity...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Melina Kanakaredes (40), George Lopez (46), Valerie Bertinelli (47), Michael Moore (53), Lee Majors (68), David Birney (68), my bro-in-law Phil Vettor (72) and Shirley Temple Black (79)...
Timeline Countdown: 5 days until the NFL draft, 12 days until the Kentucky Derby and 35 days until Memorial Day...
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