Sammy Tran articles

Behind Donald O'Connor's famous grin was a performer whose life was repeatedly shaken by exhaustion, illness, and a body pushed far beyond its limits.

The 1970s gave American listeners disco, arena rock, singer-songwriters, punk, and an astonishing collection of records that sound as if they slipped past the gatekeepers when nobody was looking. For this list, “one-hit wonder” refers to acts remembered in the United States for one major Top 40 breakthrough, even when they enjoyed longer careers or greater success overseas. Once you revisit what some of these songs were actually about, the decade starts looking considerably stranger than the soft-focus nostalgia suggests.

Mention 1978 and younger listeners may immediately reach for the Bee Gees, Queen, or the soundtrack to Grease. The actual radio landscape was much bigger, with soft rock, disco, soul, country-pop, and arena rock all fighting for space while Saturday Night Fever turned disco into a full-blown cultural phenomenon. Plenty of songs that dominated American radio that year have since slipped out of everyday pop culture, even though one chorus can still transport a whole generation straight back to the car radio.

Paul Benedict had a career that stretched across stage, film, children’s television, and sharp American comedy—but there's more to him than most people know.

Jack Cassidy had the kind of charm that could light up a Broadway stage, butt years after his shocking demise, his son revealed a more complicated truth.

Cass Elliot had one of the most unforgettable voices of the 1960s—but one of the most personal parts of her life stayed hidden for years.

Every great sitcom needs a strong lead, but the funniest person in the room is not always the one whose name appears first in the credits.

Gregory Peck’s performance in The Omen already carried a chilling premise—but the role became even more haunting because of Peck's personal life.

Sometimes it takes only five words to bring an entire television show rushing back into your head. You remember the narrator’s voice, the theme music, and exactly where you used to sit when the program came on. The best classic TV openings did more than explain the premise. They created a weekly ritual that viewers can still recite decades later.