Rocky, a film written by and starring Sylvester Stallone and directed by John Avildsen, opened in theaters 40 years ago today. Made for $1 million, it has officially grossed more than $225 million.

At the following year’s Academy Awards, Stallone was nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Actor, and the film won Best Picture and Avildsen won Best Director. Six sequels have followed, including four that were directed by Stallone.

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“Aw, da poor putty tat—he cwushed his widdow head!”—Tweety Bird

A Tale of Two Kitties, a Merrie Melodies short animated movie, debuted on this date in 1942. The movie marks the debut of the character Tweety Bird, although the widdow yellow bird is unnamed in the short.

 
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The “Who Done It?” episode of Dallas, in which the identity of bad-guy J.R. Ewing’s assailant was revealed (non-spoiler non-alert: it was Kristen) aired on CBS 36 years ago tonight. The episode, which ended an eight-month long media frenzy, received a 53.3 rating, which meant that almost 90 million viewers were watching. A little more than 75% of all television sets that were turned on at that moment were tuned in to Dallas.

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Rene Magritte was born on this date in 1898. Stan Musial was born 96 years ago today.

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Joseph Campanella is 92 today. Marlo Thomas is 79. Dr. John is 76 today. Livingston Taylor is 66 today. Lorna Luft is 64. Nicollette Sheridan is 53. Björk is 51. Ken Griffey Jr. is 47. Michael Strahan is 45. Chris Moneymaker is 41.

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