On December 28th, 1968, the first big East Coast rock festival opened in Miami. Performers at the Miami Pop Festival included Chuck Berry, Country Joe and the Fish and Richie Havens.

In 1976, bluesman Freddie King died in Dallas at age 42. He was a major influence on British rockers like Eric Clapton.

In 1983, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson drowned while swimming in the harbor at Marina Del Rey, California. He was 39.

In 1991, nine people were killed at a charity basketball game at City College in New York that featured Run DMC and LL Cool J. The victims were crushed when the crowd surged to get into the gym where the game was to be played.

In 1993, country singer Shania Twain married producer Mutt Lange. They have since divorced.

In 1996, actor Ken Wahl was arrested for allegedly threatening a bartender with a hunting knife in Los Angeles.

In 2005, the body of singer-bassist Barry Cowsill of The Cowsills was found on a New Orleans wharf. He had been missing since Hurricane Katrina three months earlier. Cowsill was 51.

 

Today’s birthdays: Comic book creator Stan Lee (“Spider-Man,” ”The Incredible Hulk”) is 90. Actor Martin Milner (“Adam 12,” ”Route 66″) is 81. Actress Nichelle Nichols (“Star Trek”) is 80. Actress Maggie Smith (“Harry Potter”) is 78. Saxophonist Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers is 74. Singer-keyboardist Edgar Winter is 66. Actor Denzel Washington is 58. Country singer Joe Diffie is 54. Drummer Mike McGuire of Shenandoah is 54. Country singer-guitarist Marty Roe of Diamond Rio is 52. Actor Malcolm Gets (“Caroline in the City”) is 48. Comedian Seth Meyers (“Saturday Night Live”) is 39. Actor Brendan Hines (“Lie To Me”) is 36. Singer John Legend is 34. Actress Sienna Miller is 31. Actress Mackenzie Rosman (“7th Heaven”) is 23. “American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta is 22.

On December 26th, 1944, Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” was first performed publicly in Chicago.
In 1955, Decca Records released “See You Later, Alligator” by Bill Haley and the Comets.
In 1957, Elvis Presley got a temporary draft deferment so he could finish the movie “King Creole.”
In 1963, Capitol Records released the single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles, which became the band’s first number one hit in the U.S.
In 1967, The Beatles film “Magical Mystery Tour” premiered on BBC television.
In 1968, Led Zeppelin played its first U.S. show, opening for Vanilla Fudge.
In 1973, “The Exorcist” made its premiere nationwide.
In 1974, comedian Jack Benny died. He was 80.
In 1999, musician Curtis Mayfield died outside Atlanta at the age of 57.
In 2010, singer Teena Marie died at her home in Pasadena, California. She was 54. Her death was attributed to natural causes.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Donald Moffat (“Clear and Present Danger”) is 82. Actor Caroll Spinney (Big Bird on “Sesame Street”) is 79. Singer Abdul “Duke” Fakir (fah-KEER’) of The Four Tops is 77. Record producer Phil Spector is 73. “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is 67. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 66. Humorist David Sedaris is 56. Drummer James Kottak of Scorpions is 50. Country drummer Brian Westrum of Sons of the Desert is 50. Drummer Lars Ulrich of Metallica is 49. Country singer Audrey Wiggins is 45. Guitarist J (White Zombie) is 45. Guitarist Peter Klett of Candlebox is 43. Singer James Mercer of The Shins is 42. Actor Jared Leto (LEE’-toh) is 41. Singer Chris Daughtry is 33. Actress Beth Behrs (“2 Broke Girls”) is 27. Actress Eden Sher is 21. Actor Zach Mills is 17.

WASHINGTON (AP) – District of Columbia police say they are investigating an incident in which NBC News reporter David Gregory displayed what he described as a high-capacity ammunition magazine on “Meet the Press.”

Police spokesman Tisha Gant said Wednesday the department is investigating whether Gregory may have violated D.C. firearms laws that ban the possession of high-capacity magazines. She declined to comment further.

While interviewing National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre on Sunday’s program, Gregory held an object, apparently as a prop to make a point, and said it was a magazine that could hold 30 rounds.

High-capacity ammunition magazines are banned in the District of Columbia, regardless of whether they’re attached to a firearm. “Meet the Press” is generally taped in Washington.

An email seeking comment from NBC was not immediately returned.

LOS ANGELES — Charles Durning grew up in poverty, lost five of his nine siblings to disease, barely lived through D-Day and was taken prisoner at the Battle of the Bulge.

His hard life and wartime trauma provided the basis for a prolific 50-year career as a consummate Oscar-nominated character actor, playing everyone from a Nazi colonel to the pope to Dustin Hoffman’s would-be suitor in “Tootsie.”

Durning, who died Monday at age 89 in New York, got his start as an usher at a burlesque theater in Buffalo, N.Y. When one of the comedians showed up too drunk to go on, Durning took his place. He would recall years later that he was hooked as soon as he heard the audience laughing.

He told The Associated Press in 2008 that he had no plans to stop working. “They’re going to carry me out, if I go,” he said.

Durning’s longtime agent and friend, Judith Moss, told The Associated Press that he died of natural causes in his home in the borough of Manhattan.

“Not only was Charlie a World War II hero but he was also a hero to his family. Charlie loved Christmas and if he could have chosen a time to pass, he would have chosen this day,” said a statement from his stepdaughter, Anita Gregory, released Tuesday by Ana Martinez, spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

LOS ANGELES — Jack Klugman, the prolific, craggy-faced character actor and regular guy who was loved by millions as the messy one in TV’s “The Odd Couple” and the crime-fighting coroner in “Quincy, M.E.,” died Monday, a son said. He was 90.

Klugman, who lost his voice to throat cancer in the 1980s and trained himself to speak again, died with his wife at his side.

“He had a great life and he enjoyed every moment of it and he would encourage others to do the same,” son Adam Klugman said.

Adam Klugman said he was spending Christmas with his brother, David, and their families. Their father had been convalescing for some time but had apparently died suddenly and they were not sure of the exact cause.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – In three weeks, Jay Leno will be outnumbered. He’ll be opposite two guys who don’t like him. Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman. Kimmel is moving his show 25 minutes earlier, putting him head-to-head with Leno and Letterman. Kimmel says he hasn’t liked Leno since he beat David Letterman to the “Tonight” show. He says Leno “schemed to take something from” Letterman and “the scheming seems to have continued.” Kimmel might not like Leno, but he says he doesn’t “hate him.” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” moves from midnight to 11:35 pm starting January 8.

NEW YORK (AP) – Some of the people who managed Michael Jackson’s career are teaming up for a musical about the late pop icon. The producers – Mark Lamica, Quincy Krashna, Jerry Greenberg and Larry Hart – call “The Man” a cross between “Dreamgirls and Goodfellas.” The Man is a fictional show that is inspired by the rise to fame of Jackson as well as Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley. The show is expected to open in Las Vegas in late fall of next year.