Nov. 30: June Pointer, lead vocalist of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters, was born on this date in 1953...

... sadly, she died on April 11, 2006.

The Pointer Sisters, from  Oakland, California achieved mainstream success over three decades. Their sound spanned diverse genres including pop, disco, jazz, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country and rock.

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(ADVANCED WARNING: You might not be able to avoid jumping out of your seat and dancing when you watch "I'm So Excited" below. Remember; I warned you!!!)

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Born June Antoinette Pointer, she was the youngest of six to minister parents Reverend Elton and Sarah Pointer. Early on, June shared a love for singing with her sisters. In 1969, she and sister Bonnie founded The Pointers - A Pair. The duo became a trio later on that year when Anita quit her job as a secretary to join them; the group changed its name to The Pointer Sisters.

After failed singles with Atlantic Records, eldest sister Ruth was enlisted to join the group in 1972. The sisters then signed with Blue Thumb, and their careers finally began taking off.

Releasing their self-titled debut album in 1973, the Pointer Sisters found fame with pop hit singles such as "Yes We Can Can," the country hit, "Fairytale," and the R&B hits, "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)" and "You Gotta Believe" before Bonnie exited from the group to forge a solo career in 1977.

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June suffered a stroke on February 27, 2006. While in the hospital, June was also diagnosed with cancer which had metastasized in her breast, colon, liver and bone.

June died at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California in the company of her older sisters and brothers: Ruth, Anita, Aaron, and Fritz.

The remaining sisters continued on as a trio and then found huge success, hitting the Top 10 with a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" in 1978, then following that with "He's So Shy," and "Slow Hand." 

They then released what would be their biggest album to date, 1983's Break Out, which included the hits "Automatic," "Jump (for My Love)," a re-release of "I'm So Excited" - which became a bigger hit than when originally released in 1982 - and Neutron Dance."

Other hits from follow up albums included "Dare Me" "Freedom" and "Goldmine."

June is notable for being the lead singer of "He's So Shy," "Jump (For My Love)," "Baby Come And Get It" and "Dare Me" among others. The group eventually would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

During the 1980s, June ventured into a solo career, releasing albums in 1983 and 1989. She scored modest hits with "Ready For Some Action" (1983) and 1989's "Tight On Time (I'll Fit U In)." She also performed the song "Little Boy Sweet" for the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation.

Together with Bruce Willis she scored a top 5 pop single in 1987 with a cover of the Staples Singers' "Respect Yourself." June also gained some notoriety for posing for Playboy magazine in the 80's.

Struggling with drug addiction for much of her career, June was ousted from the Pointer Sisters by 2004 as her sisters hoped and waited for her to become drug-free. Ruth's daughter filled in for June during stage performances.

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Nov. 30: Kaley Cuoco - "8 Simple Rules," "The Big Bang Theory" & "Growing Up Brady"-- is 25 today.

Kaley Christine Cuoco is best known for her roles as Bridget Hennessy on the sitcom 8 Simple Rules, Billie Jenkins on the supernatural drama Charmed, and presently as Penny on the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

On The Big Bang Theory, she plays a character who moved to California from Omaha, Nebraska to pursue a career in acting. She is a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. Her neighbors across the hall are Sheldon and Leonard (named for legendary TV icon, Sheldon Leonard.)

Sheldon and Leonard are "science nerds" but she becomes Leonard's girlfriend (played by Johnny Galecki who she DID date away from the set);  and Sheldon's foil.  

As part of a running gag on Big Bang, "Penny" and "Sheldon," played by Emmy winner Jim Parsons, sing the song, "Soft Kittee" to each other when they're sick. (See video below.)

In 2010 she broke her leg in a horse-riding accident and missed two episodes of the show.

 

Kaley was born in Camarillo, California. She began modeling and acting at age 6. Her first major role was in the 1992 TV movie Quicksand: No Escape. Her role as Maureen McCormick in the 2000 TV movie Growing Up Brady brought her a great deal of attention, as well as a role on the CBS sitcom Ladies Man.

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In 2004, in addition to her role on 8 Simple Rules where she played a a teenager named Bridget. While her character was the eldest child, Cuoco was six years younger than her on-screen little sister Amy Davidson. Her dad was played by the late John Ritter.

Kaley's character was portrayed as "the most beautiful girl in the school," and ran through lots of boyfriends. 


She also starred in the NBC miniseries 10.5, on the ABC Family original movie Crimes of Fashion, and in the independent film Debating Robert Lee. In 2000 she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Alley Cats Strike.

Also in 2004, she began providing the voice of the character of Brandy Harrington on the Disney Channel's cartoon, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers. That same year, Cuoco co-starred in the movie The Hollow with Nick Carter and Kevin Zegers.

Autographed pictures from Amazon
 

In the eighth season of the hit cult TV show Charmed, Kaley's character was Billie Jenkins. At one point it was thought her character would become a spin-off.

She enjoys horseback riding, kickboxing, bowling, and playing the drums, and playing table tennis (known as ping-pong to most of us.) She was also a nationally ranked amateur tennis player, which she began playing when she was three years-old.

Kaley was named #77 on FHM

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