(Saturday, June 17, 1972) — The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie debuted at #196 on today’s Billboard’s 200 albums chart (it will eventually peak at #75). The track Ziggy Stardust is ranked #277 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Category Archives: 1970s
Clifford Irving gets prison, fine in Hughes autobiography hoax 40 years ago today (1972)
Video: '60 Minutes' report (Jan. 16, 1972)
(Friday, June 16, 1972) — Clifford Irving, pleading for leniency and on the verge of tears, was sentenced today to 2.5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on federal conspiracy and grand larceny charges for selling McGraw-Hill Inc. a faked autobiography of industrialist Howard Hughes for $750,000. Continue reading Clifford Irving gets prison, fine in Hughes autobiography hoax 40 years ago today (1972)
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Director Alfred Hitchock appears on ‘The Dick Cavett Show’ 40 years ago this hour (1972)
(Thursday, June 8, 1972) — Film director and producer Alfred Hitchock appeared on tonight’s ‘The Dick Cavett Show’ on ABC-TV, making the memorable quote: “Puns are the highest form of literature.” (Click here to watch complete interview, part 1 | part 2? | part 3? | part 4?
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2,000 fans attempt to crash first Rolling Stones’ gig of 1972 North American tour 40 years ago tonight (1972)
Audio: 'Gimme Shelter' (June 3, 1972)
(Saturday, June 3, 1972) — The Rolling Stones tonight began their first North American Tour since 1969 in Vancouver, British Columbia, where 31 policemen were treated for injuries when more than 2,000 fans attempted to crash the Pacific Coliseum.
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Plane trouble delays Nixon’s departure from Moscow 40 years ago today (1972)
Video: May 29, 1972 (at 3:18)
(Monday, May 29, 1972, during the Cold War) — President Richard Nixon landed at Kiev’s Boryspil International Airport one hour late today after an engine failed to start on the plane which his Russian hosts had provided him for the trip from Moscow. It was Nixon’s last stop on the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to the Soviet Union.
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Nixon eulogizes Hoover as a ‘giant’ 40 years ago today (1972)
Video: Hoover's funeral, May 4, 1972 (at 1:05/43:41)
(Thursday, May 4, 1972) — FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was buried in Washington today, extolled by U.S. President Richard Nixon as a giant who stood head and shoulders above his countrymen.
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91 workers killed as fire sweeps big silver mine 40 years ago today (1972)
(Tuesday, May 2, 1972) — A fire today at the Sunshine silver mine in Kellogg, Idaho, claimed the lives of 91 workers who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
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Apollo 16 right on target as 11-day mission ends 40 years ago this hour (1972)
Video: Apollo 16 on Apr. 27, 1972 (at 25:10)
(Thursday, April 27, 1972, 2:45 p.m. EST) — Three U.S. astroanuts splashed down with unparalleled accuracy in the Pacific today, concluding the 11-day flight of Apollo 16 in gentle blue seas about 1,520 miles south of Honolulu. Commander John W. Young and his rookie spacemen, Charles M. Duke Jr. and Thomas K. “Ken” Mattingly, pronounced themselves in “outstanding” condition.
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Commander reflects as Apollo 16 streaks towards splashdown 40 years ago today (1972)
Video: Apollo 16 on Apr. 26, 1972 (at 24:58)
(Wednesday, April 26, 1972) — As Apollo 16 streaked toward a splashdown in the South Pacific, its commander, John W. Young, proclaimed in a press conference from space today: “We’ve seen as much in 10 days as most poeple see in 10 lifetimes.”
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Apollo 16 astronaut Mattingly makes walk in space 40 years ago this hour (1972)
Video: Apollo 16 on Apr. 25, 1972 (at 24:20)
(Tuesday, April 25, 1972, 3:47 p.m. EST) — A floating “walk” in space and a mid-course rocket firing kept the Apollo 16 astronauts busy today as they sped smoothly away from the moon on their homeward journey to earth.
