On Sept. 27, 1954, "The Tonight Show" made its debut on NBC with host Steve Allen.
In 1964, the Beach Boys made their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1972, singer Rory Storme of Rory Storme and the Hurricanes died in an apparent suicide pact with his mother. He reportedly couldn't accept that his band didn't enjoy the same success as other bands from the Liverpool scene.
In 1980, the Stray Cats were signed to Arista Records in Britain.
In 1986, bassist Cliff Burton of Metallica was killed when the band's tour bus skidded off an icy road in Sweden. He was 24.
Also in 1986, The Beatles song "Twist and Shout" re-entered the pop charts after it was featured in the movies "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Back to School." It eventually rose to number 23.
In 1987, the variety show "Dolly," starring Dolly Parton, premiered on ABC. It was canceled after one season.
In 1998, Phil Hartman's voice was featured for the last time on "The Simpsons" as Troy McClure. Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder-suicide the previous May.
In 2014, actor George Clooney married lawyer Amal Alamuddin (ah-MAHL' ah-luh-muh-DEEN') at a palace in Venice.
In 2021, singer R. Kelly was convicted on all nine counts in his sex-trafficking trial in New York. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison the following June.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Kathleen Nolan is 89. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. ("The Yearling") is 88. Singer-guitarist Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 79. Actor Liz Torres ("Gilmore Girls") is 75. Actor A Martinez ("LA Law," "Santa Barbara") is 74. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ("Pearl Harbor") is 72. Actor-opera singer Anthony Laciura (lah-CHOOR'-ah) ("Boardwalk Empire") is 71. Singer-actor-director Shaun Cassidy is 64. Comedian Marc Maron ("Maron") is 59. Singer-guitarist Stephan (STEE'-fan) Jenkins of Third Eye Blind is 58. Actor Patrick Muldoon ("Melrose Place") is 54. Singer Mark Calderon of Color Me Badd is 52. Actor Gwyneth Paltrow is 50. Actor Indira Varma ("For Life") is 49. Singer Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down is 44. Bassist Grant Brandell of Underoath is 41. Actor Anna Camp ("The Mindy Project," "True Blood") is 40. Rapper Lil' Wayne is 40. Singer Avril Lavigne (AV'-ril la-VEEN') is 38. Bluegrass musician Sierra Hull is 31. Actor Sam Lerner ("The Goldbergs") is 30. Actor Ames McNamara ("The Connors") is 15.