On this date in 1987, Director John Huston passed away from pneumonia at the age of 81. Huston, whose father Walter Huston was of Irish descent, began his career as a writer and eventually got a contract with Samuel Goldwyn Productions as a script editor. As a director, Huston's first big hit was 1941's "The Maltese Falcon." After visiting Ireland, Huston became an Irish … [Read more...] about August 28, 1987
Today In History
January 19, 1987
Irish writer Christopher Nolan wins Whitbread Book of the Year. At age 22, Nolan (1965 – 2009), who was unable to speak or move any part of his body except for his head and eyes, won one of the literary world's most prestigious awards for his book Under the Eye of the Clock. His condition, an after-effect of asphyxiation at birth, left him only able to communicate by moving his … [Read more...] about January 19, 1987
November 15, 1985
English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement on this day in 1985. The two leaders met at Hillsborough Castle. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was considered at the time to be the most significant development in Anglo-Irish relations since the partition of Ireland in the Government of Ireland Act of 1920. The 1985 … [Read more...] about November 15, 1985
September 21, 1985
Irish American actor George Clooney makes his first debut in television's "Facts of Life" on this day in 1985. Clooney, who was unknown at the time, gained the reappearing role as the handyman on "Facts of Life," the popular tv sitcom. He was on the show for 17 episodes, but did not shoot to fame until his role as Dr. Doug Ross on "ER" beginning in 1994. Clooney went on to star … [Read more...] about September 21, 1985
June 23, 1985
329 passengers were killed in a plane crash off the coast of Ireland. Air India flight 182 was en route from Montreal to Dehli, when it was blown up in Irish airspace by a bomb. Investigation into the flight led Canadian officials to believe that a Sikh militant group called Babbar Khalsa was responsible for the bombing. 280 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens and 22 Indian … [Read more...] about June 23, 1985