THIS TIME OF YEAR AUGUST 12, 1929
AUGUST 26, 1968
Happy Birthday Buck
“Hey Jude,” the first Beatles single issued on their Apple label, is released in the U.S. August 26, 1968. At more than seven minutes, it was the longest song to hit Number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Paul McCartney wrote the song to comfort John Lennon’s son, Julian, during his parents divorce. The single has sold about eight million copies and is frequently included on critics’ lists of the greatest songs of all times.
Alvis Edgar “Buck” Owens was born into a family of sharecroppers August 12, 1929, in Sherman, Texas. He dropped out of school to help work on the farm, but he had fierce ambition and a keen interest in music and he became a chart-topping performer with hits like “Tiger by the Tail,” “Act Naturally,” and “Streets of Bakersfield.” His TV show, Hee Haw made him a favorite entertainer in households across the country. He passed away March 25, 2006.
AUGUST 31, 1931
Beloved Charactor Actor Got Start in Northeast Texas Willingham was perhaps best known for his role in TV’s Walker, Texas Ranger. Spanning eight seasons, he played the character of C.D. Parker, owner of a bar and grill and retired law enforcement confidante for the lead role played by Chuck Norris. He also appeared in City Slickers (1991), City Slickers II (1994), Independence Day (1983), La Bamba (1987), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Ace Venture: Pet Detective (1994), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Chinatown (1974), and Paper Moon (1973). His other TV credits include Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Waltons, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Dallas, The A-Team, Highway to Heaven, The Dukes of Hazzard, Home Improvement, and Murder, She Wrote. Noble Willingham was born in Mineola on August 31, 1931, to Noble Henry Sr. and Ruby Ladell Speights. He went on to become a beloved character actor — most often as a “good ol’ boy” who appeared in more than 30 feature films and numerous TV shows before his death in 2004.
Most of his characters exhibited a Southern charm and homespun outlook on life. Willingham got into acting despite his training in other areas. After a stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he graduated from North Texas State College (now the University of North
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Texas) in Denton in 1953. After working in oil fields for a time, he returned to academia to get a master’s degree in educational psychology from Baylor University. While teaching at Sam Houston High School in Houston, he was encouraged by the school’s drama teacher to try out for a role in a made-for-TV film being made in Point Bolivar. His big break came next when he landed a part in the iconic Peter Bogdonavich film The Last Picture Show, filmed and set in North Texas. Willingham left Walker, Texas Ranger to run for U.S. Representative, 1st District, which included Longview, Texarkana, Nacogdoches, Marshall and Paris. He lost the race to the incumbent Max Sandlin. Through the course of his life, he became a champion of civil rights. He formed the Noble Willingham Foundation which directed most of his residuals to the African-American Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas.