Gooding, whose home is in Los Angeles, has been flirting with a stage debut for a few years, but needed something special to make him leave his wife and three children, who range in age from 18 to 7.

WSJ: Cuba Gooding Jr., onstage and in 'creative place'

We've been waiting on pins and needles for Google to announce some official Android tablet plans for so long we'd almost forgotten about Mountain View's other operating system -- but from what we're hearing, Chrome OS is about to jump to center stage with a tablet debut on Verizon just before the holidays.

ENGADGET: Chrome OS tablet coming from Google and Verizon on Black Friday? (update: probably not)

Tim Cook and his C-Suite team took to the stage yesterday to debut a number of new devices, refreshing almost the entire consumer product line in time for the holiday season.

FORBES: Tim Cook Blinked First - The Nexus 7 Takes Pride Of Place At The iPad Mini Launch

Even so, Palin drew enormous, enthusiastic crowds throughout the country and energized McCain's flagging candidacy, not a bad debut for a newcomer to the national political stage.

CNN: Commentary: What Alaska learned about Palin

Babak Tafti makes an auspicious New York stage debut as Khadim, a transfer student from Syria whose initial pleasant and respectful demeanor masks a lot of anger.

WSJ: Review: Rajiv Joseph's 'The North Pool' engrossing

At this stage, Emmett, making his debut aboard a Yamaha after splitting from the IFC Ducati team due to their financial problems, was in second.

BBC: Hislop extends lead

Her debut in "Applause" on stage earned her accolades and a Tony nomination in 1970 in the category of featured actress in a musical.

CNN: 'One Day at a Time' actress Bonnie Franklin dies