With this, our 686th issue,
American Way celebrates 40
years of history. Here's to 40 more.
February 20
Cindy Crawford is born in DeKalb,
Illinois, to John Crawford and
Jennifer Moluf, whom nobody knew from Adam. Twenty years later,
everybody in the world knew their daughter, one of the most
successful supermodels to be produced on American shores in the
history of beautiful people. The facial mole would never be the
same.
March 4
In what is one of the earliest examples of British Band
Foot-in-Mouth disease, the Beatles' John Lennon utters the infamous
"We're more popular than Jesus now" to an interviewer from
England's Evening Standard. Folks on this side of the pond
are none too pleased.
March 19
The Texas Western Miners basketball team, with five
African-American starters, defeats the Kentucky Wildcats, with five
white starters, to win the NCAA Championship, breaking the
segregation barrier in college basketball for the first time.
May 16
The Beach Boys unleash Pet Sounds, which would become one of the
most legendary and cutting-edge albums in history. Songs like
"Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows," "Caroline No," and "Sloop
John B" own the airwaves the rest of the summer.
June 13
The United States Supreme Court rules 5-4 in the landmark decision
Miranda v. Arizona, protecting rights of the accused and giving us
all the right to remain silent. Until the invention of the cell
phone, that is.
July 30
England defeats West Germany at London's Wembley Stadium to take
home their first - and thus far only - World Cup. The Americans,
oddly enough, do not qualify.
August 11
At a press conference in Chicago, John Lennon apologizes for suggesting that his band was more popular than Jesus, saying, “I never meant it to be a lousy antireligious thing.” Years later, fellow British rock group Oasis, however, has yet to apologize for saying the band is bigger than both God and the Beatles.
September 8
NBC airs “The Man Trap,” the first episode of the science-fiction television series Star Trek (though there remains a debate as to whether or not this was the actual first episode in the series). Star Trek was canceled after only three seasons, which is strange, considering it’s still on.
October 5
Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Moe Drabowsky enters Game 1 of the 1966 World Series in the third inning and strikes out 11 Los Angeles Dodgers — the most ever by a relief pitcher in a World Series game. The Orioles go on to sweep the series.
December 15
Walt Disney dies of lung cancer at age 65. Though urban legend says Disney remains cryogenically frozen in a capsule somewhere, his remains were actually cremated at the celeb-heavy Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary in Glendale, California.