- 1893] Debuted on this date: The 1st Ferris Wheel premieres at the Chicago Columbian Exposition (6/21)...1948] "The Toast of the Town", soon to be known as "The Ed Sullivan Show" debuts on CBS-TV (6/20)...1951] Gene Rayburn and Dee Finch ("Rayburn and Finch") debut on WNEW (6/22). That show will morph into "Klavan and Finch" when Rayburn becomes a TV game show host...1975] "Jaws' premieres and becomes the big summer blockbuster (6/20). Most of the exteriors are filmed on Martha's Vineyard where the water will still freezing...1985] The surprise summer hit of the season is "Cocoon" starring husband and wife team, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy and let's not forget Don Ameche (6/21)...
- 1915] The straphanger is born: The BMT, then the Brooklyn Rapid Transit, begins subway service from Brooklyn to Manhattan (6/22)...
- 1937] Joe Louis makes the clock strike 12 for 'Cinderella Man', James J. Braddock by taking the heavyweight title from him with a KO in the 8th round (6/22)...1938] Same date, one year later: Louis defends his title with a 1st round KO of Germany's Max Schmeling (6/22)...
- 1947] Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel is rubbed out, gangland style in Beverly Hills, apparently over soaring costs on his pet project, the Flamingo resort in Las Vegas (6/20)...
- 1963] The U.S. and Soviet Union sign an agreement to set up a hotline between the two superpowers (6/20)...
- 1964] Future Baseball Hall of Famer and U.S. Senator from Kentucky, Jim Bunning, pitches a perfect game against the Mets at Shea Stadium on "Father's Day" (6/21). His catcher, Gus Triandos becomes the first catcher to catch no-hitters in both leagues, having done it previously in the 50s when he caught Hoyt Wilhelm's no-hitter (this is a great trivia question)...
- 1969] "Happy Trails": Judy Garland dies of an overdose of sleeping pills at 47 (6/22)...1987] Fred Astaire dies from pneumonia at 88 (6/22)...1993] Former first lady Pat Nixon is a victim of lung cancer at 81 (6/22)...1997] Lawrence Payton of the Four Tops passes away from liver cancer at 59 (6/20)...2001] Carroll O'Connor dies from a heart attack brought about by diabetes at 76 (6/21)...2001] Legendary blues singer John Lee Hooker, believed to be 83, dies from natural causes at his home in Los Altos (CA) (6/21)...2002] St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile is found dead of heart disease in the Cardinals' Chicago hotel. Kile was just 33 (6/22)...2002] Advice columnist Ann Landers passes away from multiple myeloma at 83 (6/22)...
- 1970] Richard Nixon signs a measure lowering the voting age to 18 (6/22)...
- 1981] Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to killing John Lennon (6/22)...
- 1982] John Hinckley Jr. is found innocent by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and 3 others (6/21)...
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