With its origins hailing from Sicily, Italy, the American mafia rose to power during the illegal bootlegging days of the Prohibition era. Its operations flourished mainly in Chicago and New York and began diversifying into illegal gambling, loan sharking and drug trafficking, among many other ...
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Biography (75 unread)
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20:35 10 of the Most Powerful Mob Bosses of All Time
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22:54
Kurt Cobain: The Inspiration and Meaning Behind Nirvana's Hit 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'
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23:59
Inside Dolly Parton's Private Marriage to Carl Dean
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23:23
Inside Whitney Houston's Relationship With Best Friend Robyn Crawford
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22:01
12 Famous Veterans Who Served in the United States Military
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23:16
How Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson Teamed up for Her Hit Song "Crazy"
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20:25
Tammy Wynette and George Jones' Rollercoaster Relationship
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23:25
Waylon Jennings' Close Call on 'The Day the Music Died'
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20:53
Why Faith Hill Embarked on a Journey to Meet Her Biological Family
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23:25
Johnny Cash Described His Love for June Carter as 'Unconditional'. Inside Their Love Story
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21:06
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s Road to Love, Marriage and Happiness
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18:35
How Garth Brooks' Humble Oklahoma Roots Drove Him to Succeed
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22:00
Mugshots of Famous Mobsters (PHOTOS)
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19:50
Tim McGraw Didn't Meet His Dad Tug Until He Was 11. Inside Their Complicated Relationship
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17:41
Inside Harriet Tubman's Life of Service After the Underground Railroad
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15:30
Michael Jackson: Behind the Scenes of His Iconic 'Thriller' Music Video
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21:11
The Devastating Plane Crash that Killed Reba McEntire's Band
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22:21
How Billy Graham Tried to Prevent JFK From Winning the Presidency
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19:49
Why Dolly Parton Has Devoted Her Life to Helping Children Read
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17:44
Why Loretta Lynn Stood by Her Husband Despite His Cheating and Violent Behavior
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22:23
Shania Twain: The Surprising Inspiration Behind “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
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21:37
Luke Bryan's Sister Passed Away Suddenly, So He and His Wife Adopted Their Nieces and Nephew
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18:31
12 True Stories Behind Edgar Allan Poe’s Terror Tales
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20:25
Carly Simon Was by Jackie Kennedy's Side When She Died. Inside Their Surprising Friendship
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21:33
7 Surprising Facts About 'The Partridge Family'
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23:21
Danny Rolling: The True Story Behind the Killer Who Inspired 'Scream'
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15:40
Ed Gein: 7 Horror Movies Inspired the Body Snatcher and Murderer
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21:48
Catherine the Great: The True Story Behind Her Real and Rumored Love Affairs
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22:42
Why Princess Diana Risked Her Life for Humanitarian Causes in Africa
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23:38
'The Exorcist' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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22:56
'Carrie' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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16:34
What Happened to Marie Antoinette’s Children?
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23:07
'Scream' Movies Cast: Where Are They Now?
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19:40
Inside Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn's Instantaneous and Unbreakable Bond
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19:29
'Halloween' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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20:55
Julie Andrews Had Surgery to Fix a 'Weak Spot' on Her Vocal Cords and Lost Her Singing Voice
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23:13
Why the Zodiac Killer Has Never Been Identified
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22:40
Rita Moreno Was Over Being Stereotyped in Hollywood, so She Quit Making Movies for Seven Years
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20:07
'Ghostbusters' and 'Ghostbusters II' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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23:28
How Wham!'s 1985 Concerts in China Broke Cultural Barriers
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0:09
'The Addams Family' & 'Addams Family Values' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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20:49
Martin Luther King Jr. Praised Cesar Chavez For His 'Indefatigable Work'
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23:11
Lisa Nowak: Why the Astronaut Drove 900 Miles to Attack Her Ex's Girlfriend
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18:54
The Joker: How a German Silent Film Star Served as Inspiration for the Batman Villain
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22:01
Gandhi's Surprising Letters to Hitler Pleading for Peace
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22:01
Gandhi's Surprising Letters to Hitler Pleading for Peace
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23:35
How Roberto Clemente Lived Life to the Fullest Before Tragically Dying in a Plane Crash
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23:35
How Roberto Clemente Lived Life to the Fullest Before Tragically Dying in a Plane Crash
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23:11
Judy Garland’s Personal Life Was a Search for Happiness She Often Portrayed Onscreen
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23:11
Judy Garland’s Personal Life Was a Search for Happiness She Often Portrayed Onscreen
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23:43
Inside John Lennon and Paul McCartney's 'Irreplaceable' Bond — and Epic Fall Out
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23:43
Inside John Lennon and Paul McCartney's 'Irreplaceable' Bond — and Epic Fall Out
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22:22
The Key Defendants in the Chicago 8 Trial
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22:22
The Key Defendants in the Chicago 8 Trial
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19:58
Sander Vanocur, TV Journalist and Host, Dies at 91
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19:58
Sander Vanocur, TV Journalist and Host, Dies at 91
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1:56
'Baywatch' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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1:56
'Baywatch' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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21:57
11 Famous 'Friends' Guest Stars That Stole the Show
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21:57
11 Famous 'Friends' Guest Stars That Stole the Show
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23:30
Why Cher Was 'Too Nervous' to Date Elvis Presley
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23:30
Why Cher Was 'Too Nervous' to Date Elvis Presley
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21:03
How Sonia Sotomayor Overcame Adversity to Become the United States' First Hispanic and Latina Justice
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21:03
How Sonia Sotomayor Overcame Adversity to Become the United States' First Hispanic and Latina Justice
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18:19
'Saved by the Bell' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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18:19
'Saved by the Bell' Cast: Where Are They Now?
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22:53
Cokie Roberts, Political Journalist and Best-Selling Author, Dies at 75
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22:53
Cokie Roberts, Political Journalist and Best-Selling Author, Dies at 75
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19:53
B.B. King Named His Beloved Guitar 'Lucille' After a Near-Death Experience
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19:53
B.B. King Named His Beloved Guitar 'Lucille' After a Near-Death Experience
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23:36
Jeff Davis 8: The True Story of the 'Murder in the Bayou' Killings
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23:36
Jeff Davis 8: The True Story of the 'Murder in the Bayou' Killings
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22:49
How Princes William and Harry Are Carrying out Princess Diana's Legacy
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22:49
How Princes William and Harry Are Carrying out Princess Diana's Legacy
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23:27
Which Historical Figures Are on U.S. Money?
» Biography
The song that launched 1,000 grunge bands and changed the course of popular music found its conceptual spark in a grocery store in Olympia, Washington, in August 1990. While pacing the aisles, Kurt Cobain's musician girlfriend Tobi Vail and her Bikini Kill bandmate Kathleen Hanna came upon a can of ...
On May 30, 1966, Dolly Parton married asphalt contractor Carl Dean. The two have been together ever since, despite seeming to have little in common – Parton's created hit albums, starred in movies and appeared on television, while Dean's preferred to live away from the spotlight. ...
The time: Summer of 1980. The place: A community center in East Orange, New Jersey. The characters: Two regular teenagers working a summer job. But the moment they met, Robyn Crawford knew there was something unique about Whitney Houston. “She introduced herself as ‘Whitney Elizabeth Houston,’ and ...
When World War I ended on the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" in 1918, it was immediately cemented as an essential day in history. A year later, on November 11, 1919, the first anniversary was celebrated as Armistice Day. “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice ...
While he is hailed today as one of the iconic musicians of his time, there was a time when Willie Nelson was trying to sell his songs for meal money like a fruit vendor on the streets. Such was the case when he arrived in Nashville, Tennessee in 1960, a broke balladeer armed with a trove of songs ...
Tammy Wynette may have been known for her 1968 breakout hit "Stand By Your Man," but she didn't stay true to that motto when it came to her relationship with third husband George Jones. She'd once described their dynamic as, "I was naggin' and he was nippin'," a reference to Jones' drinking and the ...
By the late 1950s, Waylon Jennings was among a group of west Texas musicians looking to hit the jackpot at the intersection of country and the burgeoning rock 'n' roll movement. Buddy Holly represented the mold to follow – a boy from Lubbock who'd blossomed in the wake of Elvis Presley's ...
During her years in the spotlight as a country music star, Faith Hill has been open about being an adoptee and how the experience shaped her. The singer is grateful she had the "chance to be placed in such a loving family." Yet adoption also left Hill with questions about her origins and her place ...
Their story inspired iconic love songs and was recreated in an Oscar-nominated film. Johnny and June Carter Cash became the torch-bearers of deep, passionate love – country-music style. But the lovebirds navigated rough waters leading up to and during their 35-year marriage which produced one son, ...
It’s a relationship made in country music heaven: Two unknown singers meet almost two decades before they tie the knot, admiring each other’s professional careers enough to collaborate before eventually finding love and companionship with each other. In the intervening years, both would become ...
The youngest of six children, Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on February 7, 1962. Oklahoma would be not only the location of his birth but a touchstone in the country music superstar’s life he continues to revisit both physically and emotionally. “Just to be in Oklahoma puts you on the ...
Notorious gangsters, like Al Capone, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd and Bugsy Siegel, ruled the 20th century's organized crime world. From making money as bootleggers during the Prohibition era and carrying out violent bank robberies to arranging hits on rival gang members, these famous mobsters ...
It was like something out of a country-music song: Two young adults, one a 21-year-old professional baseball pitcher, the other an 18-year-old aspiring dancer, meeting in a steamy Florida summer amid good times by the pool. Nine months after their summer fling, the dancer gives birth to a son. ...
On June 23, 1908, there was a grand celebration in Auburn, in the Finger Lakes region of New York. At the center of the festivities was a seemingly delicate, elderly woman. “With the Stars and Stripes wound about her shoulders, a band playing national airs and a concourse of members of her race ...
Zombies, werewolves and monsters, oh my! When Michael Jackson’s iconic music video for “Thriller” debuted on MTV on December 2, 1983, it changed the music video industry forever. Similar to the way Queen pushed through doubters and disobeyed the normal three-minute length for a song when they ...
As she remembered in her 1994 autobiography Reba: My Story, the extended weekend beginning March 14, 1991, was shaping up to be a busy one for country music superstar Reba McEntire and her band. A performance that day in Saginaw, Michigan, was to be followed by a private show for IBM executives in ...
As the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower neared its end in 1960, American citizens faced the question of whether incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon or Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy was better equipped to lead the country at a time of a changing racial landscape at home and a ...
Every month, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library mails a free book to children registered for the program; enrollment can begin at birth and lasts until a child turns five. A nonprofit promoting the joys of literacy to children may seem an unlikely endeavor for the iconic singer-songwriter who's ...
In 1948, Loretta Webb was a young bride of 15 when she wed 21-year-old Oliver Vanetta Lynn (nicknamed "Mooney" and "Doolittle") soon after they'd met at a pie social. They went on to have six children and stayed together until his death in 1996. The Lynns' complex marriage encompassed turmoil, ...
On the surface, Shania Twain’s 1999 hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” is the ultimate girl power anthem. With lyrics like “No inhibitions, make no conditions / Get a little outta line / I ain’t gonna act politically correct / I only want to have a good time / The best thing about being a woman is the ...
Whether he’s singing his hit country songs like “All My Friends Say” or “Knockin’ Boots," Luke Bryan is always the epitome of joviality. But the singer's had to endure the most horrific of family tragedies, time and time again. But through all the heartache, Bryan has maintained a positive ...
No other 19th-century author is as omnipresent in today’s pop culture as Edgar Allan Poe. He has "guest-starred" on the animated series South Park and The Simpsons and been featured as a character in numerous films. His face graces the cover of a Beatles album, he has fought crime ...
They were as different as could be. One was a free-flowing, hippy-spirited 70s rockstar and the other was a buttoned-up, perfectly poised former politician's wife. Yet “You’re So Vain” singer Carly Simon and President John F. Kennedy’s wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had a decade-long friendship ...
What do Richard Pryor, Rob Reiner and Ronald Reagan’s daughter Maureen have in common? They were all guest stars on The Partridge Family. The show hit the air in 1970 and quickly became a hit, transforming velour pantsuits, neck ruffles and David Cassidy into national obsessions. For ...
In March 1994, a struggling actor and screenwriter named Kevin Williamson became engrossed in a news program about a drifter who terrorized the town of Gainesville, Florida, with the murders of five college students over three days in August 1990. Spooked, he hammered out the screenplay for what ...
Ed Gein wasn't actually a serial killer — he only admitted to killing two women — rather, he was a body snatcher who had an obsession with his deceased mother, Augusta. After his mother passed away, Gein was the sole survivor of his family. He was a loner who lived on a farm and made a living ...
During her three decades as Russia’s longest-reigning female ruler, Catherine II, better known as Catherine the Great, made significant strides for the country, including building new towns, expanding the borders, improving the educational system by calling for free schools and supporting cultural ...
When Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car crash in 1997, Prince Charles knew exactly the place to take his young sons to escape the media and have the space to properly mourn their mother. “My dad told my brother and me to pack our bags — we were going to Africa to get away from it all,” ...
Based on William Peter Blatty's 1971 bestselling novel by the same name, The Exorcist (1973) transformed the supernatural horror genre by not only injecting abject terror into movie audiences in very physiological ways — there were reports of fainting, vomiting, miscarriages and heart attacks — but ...
Combine the dark forces of fanatical religion, high school bullying, a prom prank gone wrong and telekinesis, and you get Brian De Palma's 1976 supernatural horror flick Carrie. Based on Stephen King's novel by the same name, Carrie stars Sissy Spacek as the young leading lady who gets her ultimate ...
Marie Antoinette has been portrayed as the spendthrift wife who meddled in the political affairs of her weak-willed husband, Louis XVI. But she was also a devoted mother to her four children, who provided emotional solace for the troubled queen. The French Revolution would tear France — and ...
Directed by Wes Craven, Scream (1996) breathed new life in the cult horror film genre in its satirization of slasher flicks. Starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette (and a small but memorable role by Drew Barrymore), Scream made over $600 million at the box office and spawned three ...
Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn were friends up to the moment the 30-year-old Cline was killed in a plane crash on March 5, 1963. Though their friendship lasted a few years, it had a remarkable impact. Cline, whose emotion-filled alto had made her a star in country music, was a mentor to the then ...
John Carpenter's 1978 indie slasher film, Halloween, had a budget of just $300K but went on to make a whopping $70 million when it first came out. With its spine-tingling score and freakishly scary direction by Carpenter, Halloween spawned 11 films, a comic book series and a video game. In honor ...
Movies like Mary Poppins, Victor/Victoria and The Sound of Music showcased Julie Andrews' beautiful singing voice, which spanned four octaves and brought warmth and depth to any character she played. Unfortunately, a lifetime of singing has the potential to take a toll on any voice, even one ...
In 1968 and '69, the Zodiac Killer attacked seven people in four different Northern California locations. His first three targets were couples in secluded areas; two of these people survived. His last known victim was a taxi driver killed on October 11, 1969, in San Francisco. During and after his ...
At first glance, Rita Moreno's career appears to consist of triumph after triumph. After moving from Puerto Rico to New York City when she was five, she was on Broadway at the age of 13 and on her way to Hollywood by the time she was 17. Being cast as Anita in 1961's West Side Story earned her an ...
Written by actors Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the first two Ghostbusters flicks became such a hit with moviegoers that the franchise spawned an animation series, video games and recent reboots. The latest iteration, Ghostbusters 2020, is considered a continuation of the 80s franchise. Want ...
The past half-century has brought a handful of those remarkable moments when the barriers that separate cultures evaporate in a way for all the world to see. One of those transformative moments happened in April 1985, when the British chart-topping duo of Wham!, consisting of George Michael ...
Based on the characters of macabre cartoonist Charles Addams and the 1960s TV series by David Levy, the dark horror comedy The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel, Addams Family Values (1993), were a hit with audiences, thanks to an A-list cast led by Anjelica Huston, Raúl Juliá and Christopher ...
Cesar Chavez loomed large in the battle to win union rights for Mexican American farmworkers, raising the national awareness of the issue that in a manner that got results – and Martin Luther King Jr.'s attention. Born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, Arizona, Chavez spent his early years ...
In February 2007, U.S. astronaut Lisa Nowak drove from Houston, Texas, to Orlando, Florida, to confront the woman who'd won the affections of an astronaut that Nowak had been involved with. Instead of having the conversation she claimed she'd wanted, Nowak was arrested for attacking the other ...
With Joaquin Phoenix playing Batman's nemesis in Joker, fans will be treated to the latest screen interpretation of the cackling psychopath from a long line of acclaimed actors that includes Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto. The standalone movie underscores the notion that, ...
The two historical figures couldn’t be further opposites: Mahatma Gandhi led by example through peaceful protests as a form of civil obedience. Adolf Hilter, on the other hand, took a fascist approach, which led to World War II and the deaths of 11 million people. Yet they were somewhat ...
Baseball fans know of Roberto Clemente's professional accomplishments – 3,000 career hits, .317 batting average and two World Series championships with the Pittsburgh Pirates – along with the tales of his legendary throwing arm and his wild dashes around the basepaths. Yet for ...
Singer, dancer, actor and icon of old Hollywood, Judy Garland spent much of her troubled life seeking the kind of peace of mind she often sang about in songs, such as “Get Happy,” or “Over the Rainbow.” Despite the adoration she received from millions of fans around the world, Garland’s personal ...
It felt like any other summer day in Liverpool, but a chance encounter turned into one of the most notable days in music history: the day John Lennon first met Paul McCartney. On July 6, 1957, St. Peter’s Church in Woolton Village was having a church party, where The Quarrymen — Lennon’s skiffle ...
On September 24, 1969, eight anti-war demonstrators went to trial for the outbreak of violence that occurred at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Known as the Chicago 8 (later, the Chicago 7), the U.S. government wanted to make an example out of them. The charges? Conspiracy ...
Where there was history being made, Sander Vanocur was often there with the hard-hitting questions. The trailblazing journalist who covered politics for television and print for more than 40 years died of complications from dementia on Monday, September 16, 2019, while in hospice care in Santa ...
It is the television series that launched hundreds of slo-mo beach runs, created international sex symbols, changed central locations from Los Angeles to Hawaii and was initially cancelled after its debut season due to poor ratings, only to bounce back as a hit in global syndication thanks to star ...
After 10 years and 236 episodes, Friends has been lauded as one of the most successful TV shows in network history. Outside of its catchy opening theme song and the cast's irresistible chemistry, Friends is also highly memorable for its slew of celebrity guest actors. Check out some of the ...
Cher has long been known for her shocking comebacks. Take, for example, her surprise appearance as Meryl Streep’s mother in the 2018 film Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and her epic performance of ABBA’s “Waterloo” on America’s Got Talent in September 2019 — proving that the now 73-year-old singer is ...
Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was seven years old, at a time when most diabetics weren't expected to survive beyond the age of 50. Her father was an alcoholic who died when she was nine. And though she was smart and determined, her ...
From 1989 to 1993, Saved by the Bell made Saturday mornings must-watch TV. Up to that point, cartoons dominated the airwaves, which didn’t sit well with the tweens and teens wanting something a little more on their level. Originally packaged as Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell ...
Cokie Roberts, a trailblazer for women journalists who covered American politics for decades, died September 17, 2019, from complications of breast cancer. She was 75. Roberts paved the way for women to be taken seriously in journalism at a time when the industry was dominated by men. ...
When B.B. King stepped on stage, audiences were always mesmerized by the depth of the music he was able to create as a guitar soloist. But for him, it was never a solo act since he was always with Lucille, the name he gave to his guitar back in 1949. With 15 Grammy wins — his first in 1969 and ...
On May 20, 2005, the decomposed body of 28-year-old Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis was fished out of a canal on the outskirts of Jennings, in the Jefferson Davis Parish of southwest Louisiana. Known to turn tricks as she battled a crack addition, her death was seemingly the fallout of the drug trade ...
It was perhaps one of the most heart-breaking moments to watch in royal history: 15-year-old Prince William and 12-year-old Prince Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin from London’s St. James’s Place to Westminster Cathedral on September 6, 1997. Sitting on top of the coffin, a card simply ...
The history of U.S. currency and the many distinguished individuals that have been featured on them is a long and winding road that perhaps only a numismatist (a person who studies or collects currency) would be willing to travel down. The United States dollar was created as the official U.S. ...