Vicki Lawrence, born March 26, 1949 in Inglewood, California, is a singer, dancer, and comedian who appeared on the Carol Burnett Show. She also starred in the spin-off series Mama's Family.
In 1973, she released an album which spawned the #1 hit song, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. She hosted the talk show Vicki! from 1992-1994.
She won a Primetime Emmy in 1976 for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Variety or Music for her work on the Carol Burnett Show.
Marc Garneau, born February 23, 1949 in Quebec City, Quebec, passed away today after a brief illness. He was the first Canadian in space when he launched on Challenger (STS-41-G) in October 1984. He went into space twice more, in May 1996 aboard Endeavour (STS-77), and finally in December 2000 aboard Endeavour (STS-97).
He was appointed executive vice-president of the Canadian Space Agency in 2001, and then he was announced as president in November 2001. He resigned from the CSA in November 2005.
He served as a member of Parliament for Notre-Dame-de-Grace - Westmount from 2008-2023. During that time, he served as Minister of Transport, and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Anna Lee Fisher, born August 24, 1949 in New York City, went into space aboard Discovery (STS-51-A) as mission specialist in November 1984. She is the first mother to go into space and was married to fellow astronaut Bill Fisher. She operated the Canadarm to successfully capture a satellite.
Fisher was scheduled to fly aboard STS-61-C but after the Challenger disaster, the mission was cancelled. She spent almost 8 days in space.
Astronaut James Voss, born March 3, 1949 in Cordova, Alabama, is a veteran of 5 space shuttle flights. He graduated from Auburn University in 1972 with a Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army. He attended the University of Colorado and graduated with a Master's Degree in Aerospace Engineering Sciences.
His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-44) as mission specialist in November-December 1991. The crew was scheduled for a ten-day mission but was scrubbed after only 6 days, due to failure of one of the three orbiter inertial measurement units.
His second trip was aboard Discovery (STS-53) as mission specialist in December 1992. The payload was a classified by the US Department of Defense. Voss and the crew spent over 7 days in space.
His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-69) as mission specialist in September 1995. During the mission, Voss conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Michael Gernhardt which lasted o6 hours 46 minutes. The crew spent nearly 11 days in space.
Voss's fourth trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-101) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May 2000. During the mission, he conducted another EVA with fellow astronaut Jeffrey Williams which lasted 6 hours and 44 minutes. The crew spent nearly 10 days in space.
His fifth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-102) as mission specialist launched in March 2001 to the International Space Station. Along with fellow astronauts Susan Helms (who celebrated her birthday last week) and cosmonaut Yuri Usachov, he participated in Expedition 2 aboard the ISS. He and Voss conducted the longest EVA to date: 8 hours, 56 minutes. They returned to Earth in August 2001 aboard Discovery (STS-105).
Wesley Anthony Brown, born April 3, 1927 in Baltimore, Maryland, became the first African-American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in May 1949. Five other black men had been admitted before him but never finished due to extensive hostility. Brown also faced hostility but did not leave.
He served for twenty years in the US Navy and participated in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Brown retired in June 1969 as lieutenant commander.
Brown passed away in Silver Spring, Maryland in May 2012. The Wesley Brown Field House at the US Naval Academy is named in his honor.
Jeffrey Alan Cook, born August 27, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama, passed away November 7, 2022. He announced in 2017 that he had contracted Parkinson's disease. He is one of the founding members of the country supergroup Alabama with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry. He provided guitar, backing vocals, keyboard and fiddle to the band's sound.
Cook was in ducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019. While with the group, Cook won multiple Grammy Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and was inducted into Alabama Hall of Fame three times.
Chuck Jones premiered Fast and Furry-ous, the first appearance of the comic duo Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, September 17, 1949. Jones meant the couple to be a parody of cartoon characters Tom and Jerry. As of 2020, fifty cartoons have been made feature the characters.
TV Guide listed Wile E. Coyote as one of the 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time in 2013.
Jeff Cook, born August 27, 1949 in Fort Payne, Alabama, is one of the founding members of the country super-group Alabama. He founded the band with his cousins Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry in 1972. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019.
He has released solo projects including a recording with William Shatner.
Frank Culbertson, born May 15, 1949 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been in space three times, and is the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as pilot in November 1990. The mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51) as commander in September 1993. The astronauts were filmed by a camera crew from the United Kingdom and the documentary was released as Space Shuttle Discovery.
His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-105), launched in August 2001 as mission specialist to the International Space Station. He was commander of the ISS during Expedition 3. He conducted one space walk with fellow astronaut Vladimir Dezhurov for just over 5 hours. He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-108) in December 2001.
Jerome "Jay" Apt III, born April 28, 1949 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
HIs first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-37) as mission specialist in April 1995. He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross for over 10 hours.
His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as mission specialist in September 1992. The mission included two experiments prepared by an all-girls school in Kent, UK.
Apt's third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-59) as mission specialist in April 1994. He exchanged greetings with the cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station.
His fourth and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-79) as mission specialist to Mir in September 1996. It was the first shuttle mission to dock with a completed Mir space station.
Bonnie Dunbar, born March 3, 1949 in Sunnyside, Washington, has flown on five space shuttle missions and been to Mir twice.
Her first flight as aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) as mission specialist in October-November 1985. The mission was funded and directed by West Germany.
Her second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as mission specialist in January 1990.
Her third flight was again aboard Columbia (STS-50) as mission specialist in June-July 1992. Its primary objective was the US Microgravity Laboratory 1.
Her fourth flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist to the space station Mir in June-July 1995. It was the first Space Shuttle docking to the Russian space station.
Her fifth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-89) as mission specialist to Mir in January 1998. The mission swapped crew members aboard Mir.
Ted Poston, born July 4, 1906 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, is one of the first African-American journalists to work for a mainstream, white-owned newspaper, the New York Post. He was a reporter for the New York Amsterdam News, which was published for the African-American community in 1928. He became the editor in 1935.
He was hired by the New York Post in 1936, the third black reporter for a major NYC daily paper. He reported on Jackie Robinsons' entrance to the MLB, and the Little Rock Nine.
Poston worked for the Office of War Information during WWII as part of the Negro Liaison, FDR's Black Cabinet.
He was awarded the George Polk Award in 1949 for National Reporting. He passed away in January 1974.
Lonnie Johnson, born October 6, 1949 in Mobile, Alabama, is a NASA scientist and entrepreneur. Although he owns a number of patents for his work developing a nuclear power source for the Galileo probe to Jupiter, and the stealth bomber program, he is more famous for inventing the Super Soaker. The Super Soaker first appeared in 1990 and in November 2013, after months of litigation, he was awarded almost $73M from Hasbro.
Charles Simonyi, born September 10, 1949 in Budapest, Hungary is the fifth space tourist in space. He is the second Hungarian in space and made two trips to the International Space Station.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-10 in April 2007. He returned to Earth 12 days later aboard Soyuz TMA-9.
His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-14 in March 2009. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-13 in April 2009.
Yuri Baturin, born June 12, 1949 in Moscow, Russia, is a veteran of two space flights.
His first mission was aboard Soyuz TM-28 to the space station Mir in August 1998. He was part of the expedition Mir EP-4 and stayed on board for over 11 days. He returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-27.
His second and final mission was aboard Soyuz TM-32 in April 2001 to the International Space Station. He was part of ISS EP-1 and remained on board for almost 8 days. He returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-31.
Prior to becoming an astronaut,Baturin was an Assistant to the President for Boris Yeltsin.
Oleg Atkov, born May 9, 1949 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz T-10 as flight engineer to Salyut 7 in February 1984. He stayed aboard the space station until October and returned to Earth in Soyuz T-11.
David Leestma, born May 6, 1949 in Muskegon, Michigan, is a veteran of three space missions.
His first flight was aboard Challenger (STS-41-G) as mission specialist in October 1984. He conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Kathryn Sullivan which lasted 3 hours 29 minutes. It was filmed as part of the IMAX movie The Dream Is Alive, which aired in 1985.
His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-28) as mission specialist in August 1989. It carried a payload for the US Department of Defense into orbit. They returned to Earth on August 13.
His third and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as mission specialist in March-April 1992. They carried an array of instruments, that were not to be deployed, into space. They returned to Earth April 2.
Jean-Jacques Favier, born April 13, 1949 in Kehl, Germany, is a French astronaut for the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), the French space agency. He went into space once, aboard Columbia (STS-78) in June-July 1996 as a payload specialist. He spent almost 17 days in space.
Judith Resnik, born April 5, 1949 in Akron, Ohio, was a veteran of two space shuttle flights. She was the second US woman in space and the first Jewish astronaut ever.
Her first flight was on Discovery (STS-41-D) as mission specialist August-September 1984. It was the first flight of the Discovery.
Her second flight was aboard Challenger (STS-51-L) as mission specialist on January 28, 1984. Unfortunately, Resnik and the rest of the crew were lost when Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off.
Judy Strangis, known to us 70's kids as Dyna Girl, was born December 23, 1949 in Los Angeles, California. She starred with Diedre Hall as the female superhero duo Electro Woman and Dyna Girl, a cheesey but entertaining Saturday morning show.
Strangis also appeared in episodes of the Twilight Zone, Bewitched, and the A-Team. She stopped work in front of the camera after someone began stalking her. She focused on doing voice-overs.
