TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, March 27, the 87th day of 2024. There are 279 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY

On March 27, 1973, “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor, and in what would become one of the Oscars’ most famous moments sent in his place actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who spoke out about the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood. (In 2022, months before her death, the Academy would apologize for the “abuse” Littlefeather received at the time.)

1513 — Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted present-day Florida.

1964 — Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (the strongest on record in North America) and tsunamis that together claimed about 130 lives.

1977 — In aviation’s worst disaster, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off in heavy fog, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on an airport runway on the Canary Island of Tenerife.

2022 — Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscar and won best actor just minutes later. (Smith was later expelled from the movie academy and received a 10-year ban from the Oscars.)

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Julian Glover is 89. Actor Jerry Lacy is 88. Actor-director Austin Pendleton is 84. Actor Michael York is 82. Rock musician Tony Banks (Genesis) is 74. Rock musician Andrew Farriss (INXS) is 65. Jazz musician Dave Koz is 61. Movie director Quentin Tarantino is 61. Rock musician Derrick McKenzie (Jamiroquai) is 60. Rock musician Johnny April (Staind) is 59. Actor Talisa Soto is 57. Actor Ben Koldyke is 56. Actor Pauley Perrette is 55. Singer Mariah Carey is 54. Rock musician Brendan Hill (Blues Traveler) is 54. Actor Elizabeth Mitchell is 54. Actor Nathan Fillion is 53. Hip-hop singer Fergie is 49. Jazz musician Tia Fuller is 48. Former MLB catcher Buster Posey is 37.