Today in Entertainment History

On December 2nd, 1933, "Dancing Lady," Fred Astaire's first film, was released. Joan Crawford was his dance partner. In 1943, "Carmen Jones" opened on Broadway. It was Oscar Hammerstein II's contemporary reworking of the Bizet opera "Carmen" with an all-black cast. In 1949, Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" hit the pop charts. In 1973, mail-in ticket requests for a Bob Dylan U.S. tour went on sale. At one San Francisco post office, there was a five block-long traffic jam. Also in 1973, The Who spent the night in jail in Montreal after causing $6,000 worth of damage to a hotel room. The incident inspired John Entwistle to write "Cell Block Number Seven." In 1979, Stevie Wonder appeared at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. He performed selections from his album "Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants" with the National Afro-American Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1983, MTV first aired Michael Jackson's 14-minute "Thriller" video. In 1986, Jerry Lee Lewis checked into the Betty Ford Clinic to overcome an addiction to painkillers. In 1990, composer Aaron Copland died at age 90. Also in 1990, actress Katharine Hepburn made a rare appearance in Washington to accept the Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime Achievement. In 1996, actor Burt Reynolds filed for bankruptcy. In 2000, Smashing Pumpkins played their last concert, at a club in Chicago. It was the same club where they played their first show 13 years earlier. In 2004, Brian Williams anchored his first "Nightly News" on NBC. He took over for Tom Brokaw.

Associated Press - December 2, 2008 3:13 AM ET