By Kiesly Jameson
Ann Jillian (born Ann Jura Nauseda; January 29, 1950) is a former American actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom It’s a Living.
Jillian married Andy Murcia, a Chicago police sergeant, on March 27, 1978, and shortly thereafter Murcia retired to manage his wife’s career.
Jillian appeared in more than 25 films, mostly for television. Though she had nearly two decades’ worth of film and television credits already, she first came to national prominence in the 1980s series It’s a Living, a sitcom that elevated Jillian to sex symbol status in 1980. She was the last to be signed onto this series and received last place billing. The sitcom aired for two seasons on ABC before being cancelled due to low ratings and was sold into syndication for the burgeoning cable television market. (The show became a surprise success in syndication.) Toward the end of her time on the series for the ABC run, she portrayed Mae West in a 1982 made-for-television film. Jillian was nominated for a lead actress Emmy and Golden Globe for her performance.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
The new year is by far the most important festival of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is celebrated on the second new Moon after the winter solstice. The holiday is a time of renewal, with debts cleared, new clothes bought, shops and homes decorated, and families gathered for a reunion dinner. Chinese New Year is marked by fireworks, traditional lion dances, gift giving, and special foods. Learn more about Chinese New Year traditions.
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Thomas Paine (patriot) –
- William McKinley (25th U.S. president) –
- Anton Chekhov (author) –
- Whitney Warren (architect) –
- Vincente Blasco Ibanez (novelist) –
- W.C. Fields (actor) –
- Barnett Newman (painter) –
- Victor Mature (actor) –
- Katharine Ross (actress ) –
- Tom Selleck (actor) –
- Ann Jillian (actress) –
- Oprah Winfrey (television host) –
- Judy Norton-Taylor (actress) –
- Heather Graham (actress) –
- Sara Gilbert (actress) –
- Justin Hartley (actor) –
- Adam Lambert (singer) –
- Gretchen Walsh (Olympic swimmer) –
Died
- Robert Frost (poet) –
- Jimmy Durante (actor) –
- Dick “Night Train” Lane (football player ) –
- Harold Russell (received two Oscars for portrayal of wounded veteran in The Best Years of Our Lives, after losing both his hands in WW II) –
- Joshua Miner (Outward Bound USA founder) –
- Mary-Ellis Bunim (producer who helped bring television into the age of reality with The Real World and Road Rules) –
- Larry L. McGraw (founder of Home Orchard Society) –
- Rod McKuen (poet) –
Events
- Geologist William Edmond Logan became first Canadian-born knight –
- Kansas was admitted to the Union as the 34th state –
- Charles Steinmetz patented a system of distribution by alternating current. –
- U.S. physician Emil H. Grube became the first to use X-ray treatment for breast cancer –
- American Baseball League formed in Chicago –
- Carl Taylor’s ice cream cone-rolling machine patented –
- The Baseball Hall of Fame elected its first members –
- Actor Paul Newman married actress Joanne Woodward –
- Emily H. Warner became the first female pilot of a U.S. commercial airline –
- 21-pound 8-ounce bowfin caught in Forest Lake, South Carolina –
- Julio Cesar Chavez suffered the first defeat of his pro boxing career, losing his WBC super lightweight crown on a split decision to 32 year-old Frankie Randall in Las Vegas –
Weather
- The “Great Olympic Blowdown” windstorm struck the Washington coast, with winds up to 113 mph. Eight billion board feet of timber was destroyed in North Head, Washington. –
- 62 degrees in Nampa, Idaho –
- Fields full of snow rollers were sighted in Weld County, Colorado. –
- January 26 to 29: An atmospheric river caused a major West Coast storm –
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