On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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LEAD: The Denver Broncos had what New England lacked today - a running game, an inspiring quarterback and a penetrating defense.
LEAD: Joseph W. Bellacosa, New York State's chief administrative judge and a longtime friend of Governor Cuomo, has been chosen by the Governor to fill a vacancy on the state's highest court, according to people familiar with the decision.
LEAD: It may not be as hard as making the trains run on time, but the Transit Authority has had its problems telling people at what times the trains would run.
LEAD: Outside the corporate headquarters of General Mills Inc., the ducks paddle tranquilly in the oval pond. Inside, H. Brewster Atwater Jr. talks nervously about the quality of his company's management.
LEAD: The special prosecutor in the Iran arms case is expected to assume control soon of a Justice Department investigation in Miami of possibly illegal aid to the Nicaraguan rebels, according to Government officials knowledgeable about the case.
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 31, 1986, covering January 5, 1987.
Bruce Springsteen
Bon Jovi
Boston
Bruce Hornsby & The Range
Huey Lewis & The News
1987Dexter Bean, American race car driver[†]
Dexter Bean is an American professional stock car racing driver and crew chief. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro SS for DGM Racing, and also crew chiefs for the team on occasion. He also last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado for Young's Motorsports. He has also previously competed part-time in both the NASCAR Cup Series in 2009. Prior to competing in those series, he ran full-time for three years in what is now the ARCA Menards Series, where he finished third in the standings in 2007.
1987Kristin Cavallari, American television personality[†]
Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari is an American television personality, fashion designer and author. She first rose to fame in 2004 as a cast member on the popular MTV reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County (2004–2005), then on the spin-off MTV reality television series The Hills (2006–2010), and was later given her own E! reality series to star in, Very Cavallari (2018–2020). She also starred as an actress on television shows and in films, including National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year. In 2017, Cavallari founded the company Uncommon James, which sells jewelry, homeware and beauty products.
1987Stuart Flanagan, Australian rugby league player[†]
Stuart Flanagan is a former Hungary international rugby league footballer who last played for the Appin Dogs and previously Cronulla Sharks in the Australian National Rugby League (NRL) competition. He primarily plays at hooker.
1987Jason Mitchell, American actor[†]
Jason Mitchell is an American actor. Mitchell started his career acting in minor roles in films such as the action-thriller Contraband (2012), and the neo‑noir Broken City (2013). He is best known for portraying rapper Eazy-E in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton. The film is considered his career breakthrough, for which he received numerous award nominations including the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture. Mitchell has also appeared in the Key and Peele comedy film Keanu (2016), the Netflix film Barry (2016), James Franco's The Disaster Artist (2017), and the blockbuster Kong: Skull Island (2017). He has also appeared in critically acclaimed film such as Kathryn Bigelow's crime drama Detroit (2017), Dee Rees' historical drama Mudbound (2017) and Janicza Bravo's black comedy Zola (2021).
1987Alexander Salák, Czech ice hockey player[†]
Alexander Salák is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He played two games in the National Hockey League with the Florida Panthers in 2009. Internationally Salák has played for the Czech national team at three World Championships, and at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
1987Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (born 1926)[†]
Jean Margaret Laurence was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-profit literary organization that seeks to encourage Canada's writing community.
1987Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (born 1875)[†]
Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen, was a Norwegian skier and supercentenarian. He was the oldest living person from 14 December 1986 to 5 January 1987. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1972. He is credited for building many ski jumps and blazing trails in Canada, and New York. He is known for his one-day ascent of Mount Marcy, the tallest mountain in New York. He was born in Horten, Norway, and later moved to the United States, before settling in Piedmont, Quebec.
In 1987, the world population was approximately 5,049,746,397 people[†]