25 February in Entertainment History

The stupid crackers at the stupid cracker telebision station web-page we usually steal the entertainment "history" from have stopped posting it, or are just incompetent stupid crackers in North Carolina & forgotten it, or are offended by our calling them stupid NoCar crackers & have cut us off.  But now that we have time on our hands (& are keeping our hands out of our pants) we can find other sites whence to copy & paste. (This item actually published 26 February 2009 @ 1835 or so.) On February 25th, 1950, the variety series "Your Show of Shows" made its debut on NBC. In 1957, Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded "That'll Be The Day," their first and only number one hit. In 1963, Vee Jay Records released the first Beatles record in the U-S, "Please Please Me" backed with "Ask Me Why." At the time, the single went unnoticed by the record-buying public. In 1973, the Stephen Sondheim musical "A Little Night Music" opened on Broadway. In 1981, singer Christopher Cross was the big winner at the Grammy Awards, picking up an award for best album for his self-titled debut LP. His hit "Sailing" was named best song and best record. Other winners included Pat Benatar and the Police. [Whatever happened to that fat talentless hack? Did he end up like this fat talentless hack, sleeping under playground equipment in a park? — Ed.] In 1983, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams was found dead in his New York hotel suite. He was 71. In 1992, Natalie Cole won seven Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for "Unforgettable." Bonnie Raitt and R.E.M. each won three. Garth Brooks and Mary Chapin Carpenter were winners too. In 1993, Marshall Tucker Band founder Toy Caldwell was found dead at his home in South Carolina. He was 45. A coroner later ruled that Caldwell's death was cocaine-related. Actor Dick Van Dyke got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But at the star's unveiling, Van Dyke was shocked to see that his last name had been engraved as one word instead of two. In 1995, singer Lyle Lovett broke his collarbone in a motorcycle accident while practicing for a segment for "Moto World" on ESPN. In 1996, actor Dr. Haing Ngor was shot to death outside his home in Los Angeles. He was 45. Ngor won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in "The Killing Fields" and was a real-life survivor of the Khmer Rouge death camps. In 1998, Bob Dylan won his first Best Album Grammy for "Time Out of Mind," his 42nd album. His performance was interrupted by a dancing man with "Soy Bomb" written on his chest. At that same ceremony, singer Shawn Colvin's acceptance speech was interrupted by rapper ODB, who upstaged her with a rant about his clothes.[And where is ODB (Old Dirty Bastard) today? Dead, that's where. — Ed.] In 2004, "The Passion of the Christ" opened nationwide.