Timeline December 2008

Events in December 2008 9

• 1916 – 2008 Van Johnson (1916-2008) American actor, MGM's boy next door of the war years.
• 1927 – 2008 Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) Died 25 December 2008, aged 81 American singer and actress known for her distinctive purring vocal style, hit song "Santa Baby," and portrayal of Catwoman in the Batman television series. Her career spanned seven decades on stage, screen and recordings.
• 2007 – 2008 1986 EP and Daft Punk Tour Released the 1986 EP, recorded entirely on a vintage Yamaha DX7 synthesiser. Opened for Daft Punk on their Alive 2006/07 tour, introducing his music to stadium-sized audiences.
• 2007 – 2008 America's Got Talent Hosted the television talent show America's Got Talent for two seasons.
• 2007 – 2008 What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Published What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a memoir reflecting on the parallels between long-distance running and writing. By this point he had completed more than 25 marathons and a 62-mile ultramarathon.
• 2008 2008: Lewis Hamilton McLaren British driver Hamilton became F1's youngest World Champion at 23 and its first Black champion, overtaking Timo Glock on the final corner of the final lap of the final race in Brazil to win the title by a single point.
• 2008 "Hallelujah" reaches UK Christmas #1 Eleven years after his death Eleven years after his death, Buckley's recording of "Hallelujah" reached #1 in the UK singles chart at Christmas 2008 — after an X Factor version by Alexandra Burke prompted a campaign to push Buckley's version to the top. The moment brought his music to an entirely new generation.
• 2008 Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme exposed Wall Street financier arrested for record fraud Bernard Madoff was arrested on 11 December 2008 after confessing to his sons that his investment business was an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Losses to investors were later estimated at roughly $65 billion, making it the largest fraud of its kind in history.
• 2008 Van Johnson dies in Nyack Van Johnson dies aged 92.