ON THIS DAY
RUSSIAN ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev made his famous dash for freedom when he broke free from Russian embassy guards at Le Bourget Airport in Paris and asked for asylum declaring: “I want to stay and to be free.”
The 23-year-old was appearing with the Kirov Ballet on their first foreign tour at the time and never returned to Russia during his lifetime.
He was sentenced to prison in his absence. BRITISH actress Patsy Byrne, pictured here with Gordon Jackson, died at the age of 80. She was classically trained and toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but is probably best known for playing Nursie in Blackadder opposite Miranda Richardson’s Elizabeth I.
She also played the domineering mother in ITV sitcom Watching and her last TV appearance was in BBC hospital drama Holby City in 2006. OJ Simpson led Los Angeles police on a 50-mile car chase in his white Ford Bronco – driven by his friend Al Cowlings – when he did not turn himself in on murder charges.
The chase was shown live on TV with more than 20 media helicopters filming the car and the 20 police cars following it. The actor and former American footballer eventually gave up after stopping outside his home. BRITISH actress Beryl Reid was born. She first made her mark in radio co-starring opposite a ventriloquist dummy in the show Educating Archie. She went on to appear in ground-breaking British films like The Killing Of Sister George and Entertaining Mr Sloane.
She was awarded an OBE for services to entertainment in 1985 and lived with her collection of stray cats in Honeypot Cottage on the banks of the Thames in Berkshire. BOXING legend Rocky Marciano beat Ezzard Charles in 15 rounds in New York to take the heavyweight boxing title.
The 30-year-old American won on points, but fought Ezzard again in September and knocked him out in the eighth round.
He once pointed out: “Why waltz with a guy for 10 rounds if you can knock him out in one?” FILM director Alfred Hitchcock’s early movie Blackmail premiered in London. The first reel was shot before the studio was equipped for sound and the first part of the movie features only sound effects and music. Dialogue was introduced for the second reel.
The thriller is considered to be the first British talkie. DON McLean’s song Vincent about artist Vincent Van Gogh was at number one in Britain.
The song is regularly played at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. There is a time capsule at the site containing the sheet music to the song along with some of Van Gogh’s paint brushes.