"Battlestar Galactica" "The Incredible Hulk" win Primetime Emmys 1979

Battlestar Galactica and The Incredible Hulk both won Primetime Emmys at the 31st annual ceremony September 9, 1979.

Battlestar Galactica won for Outstanding Costume Design for a Series and Outstanding Individual Achievement-Creative Technical Crafts. The series was also nominated for Outstanding Art Direction for a series but lost to Little Women.

Mariette Hartley won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Series for her performance in The Incredible Hulk. Amazing that one of the top awards was given to a science fiction show!

Backstairs at the White House was nominated for a whopping eleven Primetime Emmys, but only won for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup.

Venera 11 launched 1978

 

Venera ll, an unmanned Soviet spaceship, blasted off September 9, 1978.  It traveled about 3 1/2 months to Venus and ejected the lander.  The lander entered the Venusian atmosphere on December 25, 1978. It transmitted data for 95 minutes until the flight platform moved out of range.

The flight platform continued on and settled into a heliocentric orbit, detecting solar winds and gamma ray bursts.  Its mission ended February 1, 1980.

Venera 11 lands on Venus

Remembering Dolly Parton (1946-2026)

 

Dolly Parton, one of the most iconic and beloved people in the history of the world, has passed away. So far, a cause of death has not been given.

I am very heartbroken about this because I've admired her for so long.  I remember watching her on the Porter Wagoner Show in the late sixties, so there really isn't a time in my life when she was not some part of it.

She was always humble and kind.

A Message from the family of Dolly Parton

"Sunset Boulevard" premieres 1950

 

Billy Wilder's classic film noir Sunset Boulevard premiered in New York City, August 10, 1950. It starred Gloria Swanson (Norma Desmond), William Holden, Jack Webb, and cameos from Buster Keaton, Hedda Hopper, and Cecil B. DeMille.

It was nominated for a whopping eleven Oscars and won three.  Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black and White, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.  Gloria Swanson and William Holden were nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively. 

It got seven Golden Globe nominations and won four: Best Motion Picture, Best Director for Wilder, Best Actress for Gloria Swanson, and Best Original Score.

Sunset Boulevard trailer

"Sharknado 5: Global Swarming" premieres 2017

Sharknado 5:Global Swarming, he fifth installment of the crazy, popular Syfy Sharknado series, premiered on August 6, 2017.  In this chapter, the sharknados are occurring across the globe, so Fin and his crew travel all over the world to save it.

Ian Ziering and Tara Reid reprise their roles from the previous four films. It starred Nichelle Nichols, Bret Michaels, Olivia Newton-John, Greg Louganis, Fabio, Al Roker, Kathy Lee Gifford, and Dolph Lundgren.

Sharknado 5 trailer 

Actor John Saxon born 1936

 

John Saxon, born August 5, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, had a long, prolific career, appearing in some of the most popular and iconic movies.  He first appeared in two uncredited roles in 1954.  In 1958, he appeared with Angela Lansbury in The Reluctant Debutante. The same year, he won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer for his work in This Happy Feeling. He appeared in Enter the Dragon in 1973 and the next year, he starred in the cult classic Black Christmas, which help start the slasher genre.

Saxon worked on numerous movie and television projects until 1984, when he appeared in another slasher classic, Nightmare on Elm Street, which has become a lasting franchise. He appeared in the second sequel Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.  He continued acting until 2017.

 Saxon passed away in July 2020 from pneumonia. 

 John Saxon in Enter the Dragon

Yoshifumi Tajima, Godzilla actor, born 1918

Yoshifumi Tajima, born August 4, 1918 in Kobe, Japan, appeared in many Godzilla and Toho Company films.  His first kaiju film was Rodan in 1956. He went on to star in Mothra (1961), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Ghidora, the Three-headed Monster (1964), Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), Destroy All Monsters (1968), and The Return of Godzilla (1984).

He passed away in 2009.

 Yoshifumi Tajima