The San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys 28–27 in the NFC Championship Game 35 years ago today, a game that was won by the 49ers with a fourteen-play drive and a third-and-three touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Montana to receiver Dwight Clark with 58 seconds remaining in the game.

When NFL fans refer to “The Catch,” this pass is the one that has carried that nickname for the 35 years since (video after the jump, Vin Scully broadcast):

 
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Arsenic and Old Lace has been performed thousands of times in productions on Broadway and many more times in high school and college theaters across the country. (In 1984, I played the murderous cousin Jonathan Brewster in a star-not-making turn at Spackenkill High School.) Joseph Kesselring’s beloved play was performed for the first time ever on this date in 1941 in the Fulton Theatre on Broadway (now the Helen Hayes Theatre.)

Preceding me that night in 1941 in the role of Jonathan Brewster, the murderous cousin who “looks like Boris Karloff,” was of course Boris Karloff himself.

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Julius Caesar led his legion, the Legio tertia decima Geminia, across the Rubicon River on this date in 49 B.C.

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The Sopranos debuted on HBO on this date in 1999. The first season opener:

 
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Sinclair Lewis died on this date in 1951. Dashiell Hammett died on this date in 1961. Coco Chanel died in 1971 on this date. Howlin’ Wolf died in 1976 on this date. Paul Lynde died on this date in 1982. Spalding Gray disappeared on this date in 2004. Carlo Ponti died ten years ago today. David Bowie died one year ago today. “Young Americans” on Dick Cavett’s talk show (Luther Vandross background vocals):

 
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Jerry Wexler was born 100 years ago today. (One of my favorite human beings is his daughter, Lisa.) Max Roach was born on this date in 1924. Philip Levine was born on this date in 1928. Jim Croce was born on this date in 1943. The late Frank Sinatra Jr. was born on this date in 1944. (He died March 16, 2016.) Teresa Graves was born on this date in 1948.

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Ron Galella is 86. Ronnie Hawkins is 82. Willie McCovey is 79. Sir Rod Stewart is 72 today. William Sanderson is 69. Donald Fagen is 69. George Foreman is 68. Pat Benatar is 64. Shawn Colvin is 61 today. Janet Jones is 56. Brad Roberts is 53 today.

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