On this day in 2009, country singer/songwriter John Rich releases a song about the plight of autoworkers titled “Shuttin’ Detroit Down.” The song, which featured such lyrics as “While they’re living it up on Wall Street in that New York City town, here in the real world they’re shuttin’ Detroit down,” quickly became a hit […]
Continue reading“Gran Torino” Opens Down Under
On this day in 2009, “Gran Torino,” a movie named for the 1972 Ford muscle car, opens in Australia and New Zealand. The critically acclaimed film, which starred Clint Eastwood as a retired Detroit autoworker, had opened across the U.S. earlier that month and later premiered around the rest of the world, eventually grossing more […]
Continue readingToyota Officially Passes GM As Planet’s Biggest Car Maker
After more than seven decades as the world’s largest automaker, General Motors (GM) officially loses the title on January 21, 2009, when it announces worldwide sales of 8.36 million cars and trucks in 2008, compared with Toyota’s 8.97 million vehicle sales that same year. However, the news wasn’t all rosy for the Japanese auto giant, […]
Continue readingGM Auctions Off Historic Cars
January 18, 2009, marks the final day of a weeklong auction in which auto giant General Motors (GM) sells off historic cars from its Heritage Collection. GM sold around 200 vehicles at the Scottsdale, Arizona, auction, including a 1996 Buick Blackhawk concept car for $522,500, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1 COPO Coupe for $319,000 and […]
Continue readingRare Bugatti Found In British Garage
On this day in 2009, media outlets report that a rare unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe has been found in the garage of a British doctor. A month later, on February 7, the car sold at a Paris auction for some $4.4 million. The black two-seater, one of just 17 57S Atalante Coupes […]
Continue readingThe Dark Knight Opens With Highest-Grossing Weekend
On this day in 2008, The Dark Knight, the fifth film in the big-screen Batman series, opens in theaters around the United States, six months after the death of one of its stars, Heath Ledger, who played the Joker. The Dark Knight beat out the previous record-holder, 2007’s Spider-Man 3, to score the then-highest-grossing opening […]
Continue readingMTV’s The Real World Leaves Hollywood
On this day in 2008, the final episode of The Real World: Hollywood, a reality television show about seven young adults selected to live together, airs on MTV. Real World: Hollywood marked the 20th season of the pioneering reality program, which debuted in 1992 and went on to become MTV’s longest-running show. MTV (Music Television) […]
Continue readingGeorge Carlin Dies
On this day in 2008, the influential comic writer, actor and stand-up comedian George Carlin dies of heart failure at the age of 71. Born in New York City, Carlin dropped out of high school and joined the Air Force. While stationed in Shreveport, Louisiana, he got a job as a radio disc jockey; after […]
Continue readingCyd Charisse Dies
Cyd Charisse, who shot to Hollywood stardom as the graceful, long-legged dancing partner of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in classic Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Brigadoon (1954) and Silk Stockings (1957), dies of a heart attack on this day in 2008, in Los Angeles. She was 86. Charisse was born […]
Continue readingAngelina Jolie Gives Birth To Twins
On this day in 2008, a girl named Vivienne Marcheline and a boy named Knox Leon are born to actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at Fondation Lenval hospital in Nice, France. The twins’ arrival made headlines around the world, as their celebrity parents had been a source of media fascination since their romantic relationship […]
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