Today in History

[Aquarius]

Monday, November 9, 2009


On this day in 1938, 24-year-old Mary Martin made her Broadway stage debut in the musical comedy Leave It to Me. She brought down the house as she sang My Heart Belongs to Daddy. And the critics raved about New York’s bright new star.
The following year brought Martin a top-ten hit with the same song. Martin suddenly found herself singing duets with Bing Crosby; starring on Broadway in One Touch of Venus in 1943; Lute Song in 1946; touring in Annie Get Your Gun; and then taking on what would become her immortal role, that of Nellie in South Pacific. South Pacific was one of Broadway’s biggest hits and the cast album was one of the first of its kind -- also a big seller. Then came Mary’s stage and TV performances as Peter Pan. This would become her signature role -- a memorable moment as the petite actress flew through the air with Tinkerbell and fought the dangerous Captain Hook.

Broadway called to Mary Martin again in 1959 for The Sound of Music and once more in 1966 for I Do, I Do.

Back in 1951, Mary Martin recorded a duet with a young man who was also destined for instant and long-term stardom. The song they sang together was Get Out Those Old Records. The twenty-year-old was her son, Larry Hagman. Maybe you know him as J.R. Ewing. This is one man that Mary Martin didn’t want to wash out of her hair!



Events

November 9
1857 - Readers picked up a new magazine on newsstands. The Atlantic Monthly featured the first installment of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.
1911 - Georges Claude of Paris, France applied for a patent on neon advertising signs. You may have seen his handiwork for advertisers that appeared at various times on the Eiffel Tower.

1912 - Pop Warner was a legendary coach of the Carlisle School for Indians in Pennsylvania (Jim Thorpe played for Warner at Carlisle). On this day, Carlisle hammered Army 27-6. Playing right halfback on the Army team was a future U.S. war hero and president: Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1938 - The kids’ magazine, Jack and Jill, was published. 40,000 of the first edition were printed. By the late 1950s, the popular magazine reached a circulation of 702,000.

1938 - On this night and into the wee hours of the next morning, glass store and house windows were smashed throughout Jewish neighborhoods in Germany. Thousands of books -- volumes of history, philosophy, poetry and religion -- fueled bonfires throughout the ghettoes. Synagogues and the Torah scrolls inside them were burned to the ground. 91 Jews were killed and over 30,000 arrested. It was Kristallnacht (Crystal Night), a sign of the unconscionable, and unforgivable death and destruction soon to come at the hands of the Nazis.

1948 - This is Your Life debuted on NBC radio. Ralph Edwards hosted the radio show for two years and for nine more (1952-1961) on television.

1953 - Maurice Richard set a National Hockey League record by scoring his 325th career goal. Most guys would have kept the record-breaking puck. Richard sent this one to Queen Elizabeth of England.

1955 - Harry Belafonte recorded Jamaica Farewell and Come Back Liza for RCA Victor. The two tunes completed the Calypso album which led to Belafonte’s nickname, ‘Calypso King’.

1965 - A huge blackout in the northeast U.S. left millions without electricity. 800,000 people wound up trapped in New York subways, elevators and skyscrapers. Rioting broke out in New York City. Dramatic photos showed the eery sight of a moonlit, electric lightless, Manhattan skyline. Power was not restored until the next morning.

1967 - The first issue of Rolling Stone was published. John Lennon was on the cover. The magazine said it was not simply a music magazine but was also about “...the things and attitudes that music embraces.”

1982 - Sugar Ray Leonard retired from boxing, five months after having retinal surgery on his left eye. (In 1984, Leonard came out of retirement to fight one more time before becoming a fight commentator for NBC.)

1984 - There was a big fight in the NBA. Larry Bird of Boston tangled with Dr. J (Julius Erving) at the old Boston Garden. The Celtics won the game 130-119, but the two players lost $7,500 each. They were not alone: 16 other players who joined in the melee paid a total of $15,500 in fines in a game that was more like professional wrestling than pro basketball.

1984 - Donna Reed joined the cast of Dallas as J.R. Ewing’s new mamma, on CBS-TV. This was Reed’s first return to television since her own successful show ended in 1966. However radiantly beautiful, Reed would not score well with viewers who had become attached to Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie. Reed was written out of the script and Bel Geddes returned in 1985.

1984 - Three Servicemen, a sculpture by Frederick Hart, was unveiled in Washington, DC. It was the final addition to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The statue faces the wall of names of more than 58,000 Americans who were either killed or reported missing in action during the Vietnam War.

1986 - Bobby Rahal won his first national auto racing driving title. He had earned $300,000 for six victories, including an Indy 500 win.

1989 - The 27.9-mile-long Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War that separated East and West Germany for 28 years, was opened. Both East and West German citizens celebrated their freedom as they once again were able to walk freely between the two states.

1996 - Evander Holyfield joined Muhammad Ali, in making history as the second man to become the three-time World Heavyweight Champion. He accomplished this by defeating Mike Tyson at 37 seconds of the 11th round at the MGM Grand Garden, Las Vegas.


Birthdays
November 9

1802 - Elijah Lovejoy
newspaper editor/publisher: St. Louis Observer; abolitionist; shot to death Nov 7, 1837 by pro-slavery mob as he sought to protect his newspaper’s newly delivered press
1853 - Stanford White
architect: partner in architectural firm: McKim, Mead and White: NY’s Pennsylvania Station, old Madison Square Garden, Washington Arch, Players, Century and Metropolitan Clubs, Boston Public Library; shot to death June 25, 1906 by jealous husband of former mistress

1871 - Marie Dressler (Leila Marie Koerber)
Academy Award-winning actress: Min and Bill [1930-31]; Anna Christie, Dinner at Eight; died July 28, 1934

1886 - Ed Wynn (Isaiah Edwin Leopold)
Emmy Award-winning actor: The Ed Wynn Show [1949]; All Star Revue, Mary Poppins, Ziegfeld Follies, Marjorie Morningstar, The Diary of Anne Frank, Cinderfella, Babes in Toyland, The Absent-Minded Professor; actor Keenan Wynn’s father; died June 19, 1966

[Aquarius]

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
“DR. LIVINGSTONE, I PRESUME” DAY

On this day in 1871, Henry Stanley found the missing Scotsman, David Livingstone. Livingstone, an explorer and missionary, had been missing for two years. No white man had seen him in six years.Through a promotion sponsored by The New York Herald, Stanley and several companions set out looking for Livingstone some eight months earlier. (Stanley’s fellow explorers died before this day.) Stanley’s search for Dr. Livingstone ended at Ujiji, Africa.
He greeted the doctor, not with, “Are you all right?” or “I’m so glad I found you,” but with these famous words: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.”


Events
November 10
1775 - The Continental Congress of the American colonies, in preparation for their revolt against the British (The Revolutionary War),authorized the formation of two battalions of marines. Although this was the true birth of the U.S. Marine Corps, it wasn’t until 1798 that Congress recreated the Marine Corps as a separate military service.1888 - Fritz Kreisler, a 13-year-old violinist from Vienna, made his American debut in New York City.
1900 - Floradora opened in New York City this day. The play was received by cheering audiences.
1928 - It was on this day, after Knute Rockne delivered his ‘Win One for the Gipper’ halftime speech to the Irish players, that Notre Dame upset Army, 12-6. Rockne’s speech: “The day before he died, George Gipp asked me to wait until the situation seemed hopeless, then ask a Notre Dame team to go out and beat Army for him. This is the day, and you are the team.”
1931 - For the second year in a row, Conrad Nagel hosted the Academy Awards. This year’s gala celebration, the Academy’s fourth, was at the Sala D’Oro Room at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The runaway winner was Cimarron (Outstanding Production - RKO Radio; Art Direction - Max Ree; Writing/Adaptation - Howard Estabrook). Best Actor honors went to Lionel Barrymore for his stellar performance inA Free Soul; ditto for Best Actress Marie Dressler in Min and Bill. The Best Directing Award for Skippy went to Norman Taurog, and Best Cinematography accolades were earned by Floyd Crosby for his work on Tabu. The Academy Award for Best Writing/Original Story was presented to John Monk Saunders for his script, The Dawn Patrol. Several Scientific and Technical Awards were also presented for the first time.
1939 - Muggsy Spanier and his band recorded Dipper Mouth Blues on Bluebird Records.
1939 - The first air-conditioned automobiles went on display at the Auto Show in Chicago.
1950 - Monty Woolley starred as The Magnificent Montague, which debuted on NBC radio.
1956 - Billie Holiday returned to the New York City stage at Carnegie Hall after a three-year absence. The concert was called a high point in jazz history.
1969 - On this day, twenty years after the first release of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Gene Autry received a gold record for the single.
1969 - “Can you tell me how to get ... how to get to Sesame Street?” The classic, Sesame Street debuted on 170 Public Broadcasting stations and 20 commercial outlets. Created by the Children’s Television Workshop, the show starred endearing characters including Gordon, Susan, Bob, Bert, Ernie, the Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and, of course, Big Bird!
1972 - Mickey (Arthur) McBride died on this day. McBride owned the Cleveland Browns in the 1940s and 1950s -- and also owned a taxicab company. Browns’ coach Paul Brown kept five non-roster players on a special squad. They could practice with the team in case a regular player was hurt, but the squad’s salaries were paid by McBride’s taxi company. Thus, the term, ‘taxi squad’. According to Terry Pluto, in his When All the World was Browns Town, taxi squad members never drove cars, they were just driven in practice by Paul Brown -- and supported by Mickey McBride.
1975 - The worst Great Lakes shipwreck of the time, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, occurred this day. It was a cold and stormy Lake Superior (Native Americans knew it as Gitche Gumee) that took the lives of 29 crew members of the ore carrier.
1984 - The Maryland Terrapins set an NCAA football record. They came from a 31-0 halftime deficit to defeat Miami’s Hurricanes, 42-40. The game broke the record (set on October 20, 1984), when Washington State came back from 28 points behind to defeat Stanford, 49-42.
1986 - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live/1975-85, the long-anticipated album by ‘The Boss’, hit record stores this day. Fans made the LP a one-day sellout, buying over a million copies and generating more first-day dollars than any record in 30 years. It’s a five-disc, 40-song set.
1994 - The Codex Leicester, the only Leonardo da Vinci manuscript owned in the United States and the only one in the world still in private hands, was sold at auction. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates paid $30.8 million for it. It has been since been exhibited in Venice, Milan, Rome, Paris and New York.
1995 - Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, starring Jim Carrey, with a little help from Ian McNeice, Simon Callow, Maynard Eziashi and Tommy Davidson opened. It brought in $108,360,000 in the U.S. “ALLLRIGHTY then...”
1996 - Dan Marino was first NFL quarterback to throw for 50,000 yards in his career. He reached that mark as he completed a pass to O.J. McDuffie in a game against the Indianapolis Colts this day. Marino went on to a run up a career record of 61,361 yards passing.
1999 - Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back debuted in the U.S. Described variously as “weird and wacky humor”; “truly funny, goofy and stupid”; and “hilarious lowbrow humor,” the animated kiddie flick scooped up $85.7 million in the U.S, and $155.7 million worldwide. Wacky, indeed.
2000 - New movies in U.S. theatres: Little Nicky, starring Adam Sandler, Harvey Keitel and Patricia Arquette (“If your father was the devil And your mother was an angel You'd be messed up too!”); Men of Honor, with Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Charlize Theron (“History is made by those who break rules.”); and Red Planet, starring Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss and Tom Sizemore (“Not a sound. Not a warning. Not a chance. Not alone.”)


November 10
1483 - Martin Luther
religious leader: founder of Protestantism: wrote 95 theses: On the Power of Indulgences, calling for reformation of the Roman Catholic Church; died Feb 18, 15461697 - William Hogarth
painter, engraver: Four Stages of Cruelty, A Rake’s Progress, A Harlot’s Progress; died Oct 26, 1764
1728 - Oliver Goldsmith
playwright: She Stoops to Conquer, The Vicar of Wakefield; died Apr 4, 1774
1793 - Jared P. (Potter) Kirtland
physician; naturalist: found 1st Kirtland’s Warbler [now, a rare bird]; died Dec 10, 1877
1889 - Claude Rains
actor: Casablanca, The Invisible Man, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Lawrence of Arabia; died May 30, 1967
1907 - (Ellen) Jane Froman
singer: I Only Have Eyes for You, I’ll Walk Alone, I Believe; died Apr 22, 1980
1912 - (George Robert) Birdie Tebbetts
baseball: catcher: Detroit Tigers [World Series: 1940/all-star: 1941, 1942], Boston Red Sox [all-star: 1948, 1949], Cleveland Indians; manager: Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians; died Mar 24, 1999
1916 - Billy May
composer, bandleader: many of Sinatra’s Capitol hits; died Jan 22, 2004
1919 - George Fenneman
announcer: radio/TV: You Bet Your Life [w/Groucho Marx]; TV host: Your Funny, Funny Films, Anybody Can Play; died May 29, 1997
1925 - Richard Burton (Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.)
actor: Camelot, Hamlet, Anne of the Thousand Days, Becket, The Desert Rats, The Longest Day, Look Back in Anger, The Night of the Iguana, The Robe, The Sandpiper, The Taming of the Shrew, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; TV narrator: Winston Churchill-The Valiant Years, Ellis Island; one of Elizabeth Taylor’s ex-husbands; died Aug 5, 1984
1932 - Paul Bley
pianist, composer: LP: Open to Love, Fragments, My Standard; founding member: Jazz Composers Guild
1932 - Roy Scheider
actor: All that Jazz, Blue Thunder, Marathon Man, The French Connection, Jaws series, 2010, 52 Pickup, seaQuest DSV; died Feb 10, 2008
1940 - Russell Means
activist: Native American rights
1944 - Tim Rice
lyricist: with Andrew Lloyd Weber: Jesus Christ, Superstar, Evita, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; film scores: Gumshoe,Odessa File
1945 - Donna Fargo (Yvonne Vaughn)
Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter: The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A. [1972]; Funny Face
1947 - Dave Loggins
singer: Please Come to Boston; cousin of singer Kenny Loggins
1948 - Greg Lake
musician: bass, singer: group: Emerson, Lake and Palmer: From the Beginning, Lucky Man; solo: I Believe in Father Christmas
1949 - Ann Reinking
dancer, actress: Pippin, All that Jazz, Annie, Mickey and Maude
1950 - Ronnie Hammond
singer: group: Atlanta Rhythm Section: So in to You, Imaginary Lover
1951 - Jack Scalia
actor: Pointman, The Devlin Connection, Dallas, High Performance, Berrenger’s, Hollywood Beat, Storybook, Shattered Image, Wolf,Tequila & Bonetti; TV host: Stuntmasters
1953 - Rusty Chambers
football: Miami Dolphins LB
1955 - Jack (Anthony) Clark
baseball: SF Giants [all-star: 1978, 1979], SL Cardinals [World Series: 1985/all-star: 1985, 1986], NY Yankees, SD Padres, Boston Red Sox
1956 - Sinbad (David Adkins)
actor, comedian: A Different World, The Sinbad Show, The Redd Foxx Show, Coneheads, The Cherokee Kid, Good Burger; TV host:Showtime at the Apollo
1959 - (Laura) Mackenzie Phillips
actress: One Day at a Time, American Graffiti, Eleanor & Franklin; daughter of singer John Phillips [The Mamas and The Papas]
1977 - Brittany Murphy
actress: Clueless, Freeway, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Girl, Interrupted, Cherry Falls, Riding in Cars with Boys

Chart Toppers
November 10
1949That Lucky Old Sun - Frankie Laine
Don’t Cry, Joe - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Betty Brewer)
I Can Dream, Can’t I? - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Jack
Leonard)
Slipping Around - Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely1957Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
You Send Me - Sam Cooke
Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris
Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers
1965Get Off of My Cloud - The Rolling Stones
A Lover’s Concerto - The Toys
Everybody Loves a Clown - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
Hello Vietnam - Johnny Wright
1973Keep on Truckin’ - Eddie Kendricks
Heartbeat - It’s a Lovebeat - The DeFranco Family
Photograph - Ringo Starr
Paper Roses - Marie Osmond
1981Private Eyes - Daryl Hall & John Oates
Start Me Up - The Rolling Stones
Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You - Bob Seger
Fancy Free - The Oak Ridge Boys
1989Listen to Your Heart - Roxette
Cover Girl - New Kids on the Block
When I See You Smile - Bad English
Ace in the Hole - George Strait

Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end...

[Aquarius]

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

ARMISTICE DAY


This is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day or Veterans Day or Victory Day or World War I Memorial Day. The name of this special day may be different in different places throughout many nations; but its significance is the same.
It was on this day at 11 a.m. in 1918 that World War I ceased. The Allied and Central Powers signed an armistice agreement at 5 a.m. in Marshal Foch’s railway car in the Forest of Compiegne, France.

Many still bow their heads in remembrance at the 11th hour of this the 11th day of the 11th month.


Events
November 11
1851 - The telescope was patented by Alvan Clark of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1889 - Washington became the 42nd of the United States of America on this day. Known as the Evergreen State because of its rich stands of Douglas fir, white and ponderosa pine, and spruce trees, Washington calls the willow goldfinch its state bird. The colorful rhododendron is the official flower. Olympia, home of the famous Olympia oyster (from Puget Sound), is the state capital.

1905 - Editor William Bok of Ladies’ Home Journal called the Morris chair, which sold for $31.00, “a hideous piece of furniture.” The (very popular) Morris chair was named after William Morris, whose Morris & Company produced home furnishings. The chair had an adjustable back and loose, removable cushions. Editor Bok probably wouldn’t have been so critical had he known that the Morris chair (and others of similar design) would evolve into the big, soft, cushy, recliners we enjoy today.

1926 - The University of Wisconsin announced that women could get college credit for a dance course offered by the school.

1929 - Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy recorded Froggy Bottom -- in Kansas City.

1938 - Kate Smith sang God Bless America for the very first time. It would later become her signature song. Irving Berlin penned the tune in 1917 but never released it until Miss Smith sang it for the first time on her radio broadcast.

1940 - The chant, “invovo legem magicarum,” was heard for the first time when Mandrake the Magician debuted on WOR radio in New York City.

1944 - Frank Sinatra began a long and successful career with Columbia Records.

1944 - The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame got whipped by Army, 59-0. The shutout was the worst margin of defeat for any Notre Dame team.

1946 - A crowd of 17,205 showed up at Madison Square Garden to check out the new NBA team in town. The New York Knickerbockers, or Knicks, as they are known, played Chicago -- and lost, 78-68.

1965 - Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, declared its independence from Britain. It took until April 18, 1980 for independence to actually happen.

1981 - The first rookie baseball player to win the coveted Cy Young Award was honored. The 21-year-old honoree was LA Dodger Fernando Valenzuela.

1984 - 13-year-old TV star Gary Coleman (of Diff’rent Strokes) underwent a kidney transplant in Los Angeles. He had undergone his first transplant operation at age 5.

1984 - The Houston Oilers won their first game of the season by defeating the Chiefs, 17-16, in Kansas City. It was the first Oilers victory on the road since September 1981 (23 consecutive road losses).

1986 - Sperry Rand and Burroughs merged to form Unisys, becoming the #2 computer company. Changeover costs were estimated at $15 million.

1992 - For the first time, women were permitted to become priests of the Church of England. One of 28 Anglican state churches throughout the world, the Church of England voted in favor of women on this day.

1992 - Bobby Fischer won his re-match with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia. The match was organized by banker Jedzimir Vasiljevic. Fischer had 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws. He got $3.65 million for his winnings and Spassky received $1.5 million.

1995 - Smashing Pumpkins’ album Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness hit #1 on the U.S. album chart. The Smashing Pumpkins (Billy Corgan, James Iha, D’arcy and Jimmy Chamberlin) band was formed in 1988.


Birthdays
November 11
1744 - Abigail Smith Adams
First Lady: wife of 2nd U.S. President of the United States John Adams; died Oct 28, 1818
1821 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
political revolutionary, author: The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot; died Feb 9, 1881

1836 - Thomas Bailey Aldrich
author: The Story of a Bad Boy, Cruise of the Dolphin, The Sisters' Tragedy, The Wyndham Towers; died Mar 19, 1907

1885 - George S. (Smith) Patton Jr.
‘Old Blood and Guts’: U.S. Army General: commander of Third Army during drive across France in WWII: “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”; subject of film: Patton; died Dec 21, 1945

1889 - Clifton Webb (Webb Parmalee Hollenbeck)
actor: Laura, Razor’s Edge, Satan Never Sleeps, Titanic, Three Coins in the Fountain, Sitting Pretty, Mr. Belvedere series; died Oct 13, 1966

1899 - Pat (William Joseph Patrick) O’Brien
actor: Knute Rockne, All American, Ragtime, Fighting Father Dunne, Some like It Hot, Harrigan and Son; died Oct 15, 1983

1899 - Pie (Harold Joseph) Traynor
Baseball Hall of Famer: Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman: [World Series: 1925, 1927/all-star: 1933, 1934]; playing manager, Pirates’ scout, radio announcer; died Mar 16, 1972

1909 - Robert Ryan
actor: Bad Day at Black Rock, Battle of the Bulge, The Dirty Dozen, Flying Leathernecks, The Longest Day, On Dangerous Ground; TV narrator: World War I; died July 11, 1973

1911 - Patric (Reginald Lawrence) Knowles
actor: Chisum, The Devil’s Brigade, Auntie Mame, Three Came Home, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, The Wolfman, How Green was My Valley, The Adventures of Robin Hood [1938], The Charge of the Light Brigade; died Dec 23, 1995

1918 - Stubby Kaye
actor: Cat Ballou, Guys and Dolls, Li’l Abner, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, My Sister Eileen, Love & Marriage; TV panelist: Pantomime Quiz; died Dec 14, 1997

1922 - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
writer: Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions; died Apr 11, 2007

1925 - Jonathan (Harshman) Winters III
Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian: Davis Rules [1990-91]; The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters, NBC Comedy Hour, The Jonathan Winters Show, Mork & Mindy, Hee Haw, And Here’s the Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Shadow, The Flintstones; character: Maude Frickert; TV panelist: Masquerade Party; commercials: Hefty trash bags

1929 - LaVern Baker
singer: Tweedle-Dee, I Cried a Tear, Jim Dandy; second woman [Aretha Franklin was first] inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [1991]; died March 10, 1997

1935 - Bibi (Birgitta) Andersson
actress: Duel at Diablo, Story of a Woman, The Concorde: Airport ’79

1938 - Roger Lavern (Jackson)
musician: keyboards: group: The Tornados: Telstar, Globetrotter

1939 - Denise Alexander
actress: General Hospital

1944 - Jesse Colin Young (Perry Miller)
songwriter, musician: group: The Youngbloods: Get Together

1945 - Vince Martell
musician: guitar, singer: group: Vanilla Fudge: You Keep Me Hanging On, Take Me for a Little While

1945 - Daniel Ortega Saavedra
President: Nicaragua

1946 - Chris Dreja
musician: guitar: group: Yardbirds: For Your Love, I’m a Man

1947 - Pat Daugherty
musician: bass: group: Black Oak Arkansas: Jim Dandy to the Rescue, Memories at the Window

1950 - Jim Peterik
musician: keyboard: group: Survivor: Eye of the Tiger, Burning Heart; singer: group: Ides of March: Vehicle

1951 - Paul Cowsill
singer: group: The Cowsills: Hair, Indian Lake

1951 - Fuzzy (Frank) Zoeller
golf champion: Masters [1979], U.S. Open [1984]

1956 - Ian Craig Marsh
musician: keyboards: group: Heaven 17: We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang, Ball of Confusion, Temptation, Crushed by the Wheels of Industry, Soul Deep, The Foolish Thing to Do, Steel City; Human League: LP: Reproduction

1962 - Mic Michaeli
musician: keyboard: group: Europe: The Final Countdown

1962 - Demi Moore (Demetria Guynes)
actress: Indecent Proposal, Ghost, The Seventh Sign, A Few Good Men, Color of Night, St. Elmo’s Fire, Choices, General Hospital, Striptease, G.I. Jane

1964 - Calista Flockhart
actress: Ally McBeal, The Guiding Light, Pictures of Baby Jane Doe, Telling Lies in America

1964 - Philip McKeon
actor: Alice, Red Surf, Return to Horror High

1968 - Ronnie Devoe
singer: groups: New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe: Poison

1974 - Leonardo (Wilhelm) DiCaprio
actor: Titanic, Parenthood, Growing Pains, Critters 3, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Aviator




Chart Toppers
November 11
1950All My Love - Patti Page
Goodnight Irene - The Weavers
Thinking of You - Don Cherry
I’m Moving On - Hank Snow
1958It’s Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty
Tom Dooley - The Kingston Trio
To Know Him, is to Love Him - The Teddy Bears
City Lights - Ray Price

1966Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees
Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers
Dandy - Herman’s Hermits
Open Up Your Heart - Buck Owens

1974You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet/Free Wheelin’ - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Jazzman - Carole King
Whatever Gets You Thru the Night - John Lennon with The Plastic Ono
Nuclear Band
Love is like a Butterfly - Dolly Parton

1982Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
Heart Attack - Olivia Newton-John
I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) - Michael McDonald
You’re So Good When You’re Bad - Charley Pride

1990Love Takes Time - Mariah Carey
Pray - M.C. Hammer
Giving You the Benefit - Pebbles
Home - Joe Diffie

[Aquarius]

Thursday, November 12, 2009
LEOTARD DAY

Whether you’re doing steps, low-impact aerobics or a plié, where would you be without the latest design in leotards?The original leotard design was a skintight, one-piece garment with the lower portion resembling tights. On this day in 1859, the designer of the leotard, Jules Leotard, made his first public appearance as the world’sfirst flying trapeze artist, becoming the first to turn a somersault in mid-air and the first to jump from one trapeze to the next.
Just 21 years old, Jules had been practicing since he was a little boy. He would swing from a trapeze hanging over the swimming pool in his father’s gymnasium. The years of practice paid off ... first as the daring young man on the flying trapeze ... and second as the designer of the leotard, still worn by acrobats, dancers and exercise enthusiasts throughout the world.
OH - he floats through the air with the greatest of ease
The daring young man on the flying trapeze
His actions are graceful all girls he does please
And my love he has stolen away.

Events
November 12
1915 - Theodore W. Richards of Harvard University became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Richards was awarded the prize in Stockholm, Sweden.1920 - Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis accepted a contract to become the first baseball commissioner. He became the czar following the Black Sox scandal of 1919 and remained commissioner for seven years.
1925 - Louis Armstrong recorded My Heart, starting a career that brought him worldwide fame.
1927 - After playing forty years in blue jerseys, Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish wore brilliant green jerseys and stockings for the first time. They took to the gridiron against Army in New York City.
1931 - Maple Leaf Gardens opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the new home of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.
1941 - Hot Lips Page performed the vocal for Artie Shaw’s very long and very slow version of St. James Infirmary on RCA Victor.
1967 - Pearl Bailey took over the lead in the Broadway musical, Hello Dolly!. ‘Pearlie Mae’ was a smash hit in the role.
1970 - After a successful London run, Anthony Quayle starred in the Broadway opening of Sleuth.
1980 - John Lennon’s (Just Like) Starting Over, from his Double-Fantasy album, was released. John and Yoko were seen kissing on the record cover.
1983 - Lionel Richie began the first of four consecutive weeks at the top of the music charts as All Night Long (All Night) became themost popular song in the U.S.
1984 - Spacewalker Joseph Allen became the first astronaut to rescue a satellite. The Discovery space shuttle made the $35 million rescue. When capturing the wayward satellite, Allen might have told mission control, “Hey, I can see HBO in here! The Movie Channel, too! And, look, there’s Showtime! Way cool!”
1986 - For the first time in NBA history, both head coaches were absent from the game. K.C. Jones and Don Nelson were both too sick to coach the Boston-Milwaukee game. It became the 44th straight home victory for the Boston Celtics, as they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 124-116. So who needs a coach!
1988 - Rattle and Hum, the album by U2, started a six-week run at the top of the U.S. album charts. Hum along now, as we list the tracks on the Rattle and Hum: Helter Skelter, Van Diemen’s Land, Desire, Hawkmoon 269, All Along the Watchtower, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Freedom for My People, Silver and Gold, Pride (In the Name of Love), Angel of Harlem, Love Rescue Me, When Love Comes to Town, Heartland, God Part II, The Star Spangled Banner, Bullet the Blue Sky, All I Want is You.
1999 - First-run movies in the U.S. this day: Anywhere But Here, starring Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman and Bonnie Bedelia; Dogma, starring Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Matt Damon and Linda Fiorentino; Light It Up, with Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson and Vanessa L. Williams; and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, starring Milla Jovovich John Malkovich Faye Dunaway Dustin Hoffman.



Birthdays
November 12
1815 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
women’s rights activist; died October 26, 19021840 - Auguste Rodin
sculptor: Gates of Hell, The Kiss, The Thinker, The Balzac, The Burghers of Calais, St. John the Baptist Preaching; museums in Paris and Philadelphia named for him; died Nov 17, 1917
1866 - Sun Yat-Sen
Chinese revolutionary leader: China [1911]; died Mar 12,1925
1898 - Leon Stukelj
Olympic gold medalist: gymnast [2 gold medals in 1924]; first gymnast from Slovenia to win an Olympic gold medal; died Nov 8, 1999 [four days before his 101st birthday]
1903 - Jack Oakie (Lewis Delaney Offield)
actor: Lover Come Back, The Rat Race, Song of the Islands, Tin Pan Alley, The Texas Rangers; died Jan 23, 1978
1908 - Harry Blackmun
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court [1970]: wrote the majority opinion in Roe vs. Wade; died Mar 4, 1999
1917 - Jo Stafford
singer: Shrimp Boats [Are A-Comin’, There’s Dancin’ Tonight], Jambalaya, Long Ago and Far Away, No Other Love, Candy, You Belong to Me, Make Love to Me; group: Pied Pipers: Dream; died July 16, 2008
1920 - Sunset Carson (Winifred Maurice Harrison)
actor: Stage Door Canteen, Rio Grande Raiders, Alias Billy the Kid; died May 1, 1990
1920 - Richard Quine
actor: Babes on Broadway, For Me and My Gal, director: The World of Suzy Wong, Bell Book and Candle, How to Murder Your Wife,Sex and the Single Girl; died Jun 10, 1989
1922 - Kim Hunter (Janet Cole)
Academy Award-winning actress: A Streetcar Named Desire [1951]; Requiem for a Heavyweight, Planet of the Apes series, The Edge of Night, Backstairs at the White House; died Sep 11, 2002
1926 - George Ratterman
football: QB: Univ. of Notre Dame, Buffalo Bills, NY Yankees, Cleveland Browns; died Nov 3, 2007
1929 - Grace Kelly (Princess Grace of Monaco)
Academy Award-winning actress: The Country Girl [1954]; To Catch a Thief, High Society, High Noon, Rear Window, Dial “M” for Murder; singer: True Love [w/Bing Crosby]; died Sep 14, 1982
1931 - Bob Crewe
producer: The Four Seasons, Mitch Ryder, The Bob Crewe Generation: Music to Watch Girls By
1934 - Ann Flood
actress: The Edge of Night
1943 - Brian Hyland
singer: Sealed with a Kiss, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini, Let Me Belong to You
1943 - John Maus
musician: bass, singer: trio: The Walker Brothers: My Ship is Coming In, Make It Easy on Yourself, The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore
1943 - Wallace Shawn
actor: House Arrest, Clueless, The Magic Bubble, Radio Days, The Princess Bride, Micki & Maude, The Hotel New Hampshire, A Little Sex, My Dinner with Andre, Simon, All That Jazz
1944 - Booker T. Jones
musician: group: Booker T and the MG’s: Green Onions, Time is Tight
1944 - Ken Houston
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Houston Oilers safety: NFL Individual Season Record holder: 4 interceptions returned for touchdowns [1971]
1944 - Al Michaels
sportscaster: Monday Night Football [since 1986]; Emmy: Outstanding Sports Personality -- Play-by-Play [Host]: 1986, 1989, 1995]; inducted into National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame [1998]; NSSA Sportscaster of the Year: 1980, 1983, 1986]
1945 - John Schroeder
golf: PGA, SPGA tour; commentator: NBC Sports; son of Wimbledon and Davis Cup winner, Ted Schroeder
1945 - Neil Young
singer, songwriter, musician: Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Heart of Gold, Philadelphia; group: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: LP: Deja Vu; Buffalo Springfield: For What It’s Worth
1948 - Errol Brown
songwriter [w/Tony Wilson]: Think About Your Children, Bet Your Life I Do; singer: group: Hot Chocolate: Give Piece a Chance, Love is Life, I Believe in Love, Brother Louie, Cicero Park, Emma, Disco Queen, You Sexy Thing, So You Win Again, I’ll Put You Back Together Again, Every 1’s a Winner, Girl Crazy, Chances
1948 - Cliff Harris
football: Dallas Cowboys safety: Super Bowl: V, VI, X, XII, XIII
1950 - Barbara Fairchild
singer: The Teddy Bear Song, Kid Stuff
1952 - Steve Bartkowski
football: QB: Univ. of California, Atlanta Falcons [NFC Rookie of the Year: 1975]
1955 - Leslie McKeown
singer: group: The Bay City Rollers: Bye Bye Baby, Give Me a Little Love, I Only Wanna Be With You, Saturday Night
1961 - Nadia Comaneci
Olympic Gold Medalist: gymnastics [1976]: 7 perfect 10s
1968 - Sammy (Samuel Peralta) Sosa
baseball: Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs [joined Mark McGwire in breaking Roger Maris's record of 61 home runs in single season with 66 in 1998, 63 in 1999, 64 in 2001/all-star: 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001]
1970 - Tonya Harding
ice skater: involved in attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice

Chart Toppers
November 12
1951Because of You - Tony Bennett
Sin (It’s No) - Eddy Howard
And So to Sleep Again - Patti Page
Slow Poke - Pee Wee King1959Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin
Mr. Blue - The Fleetwoods
Don’t You Know - Della Reese
Country Girl - Faron Young
1967To Sir with Love - Lulu
Soul Man - Sam & Dave
It Must Be Him - Vikki Carr
You Mean the World to Me - David Houston
1975Island Girl - Elton John
Lyin’ Eyes - The Eagles
Who Loves You - Four Seasons
I’m Sorry - John Denver
1983All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie
Islands in the Stream - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
Somebody’s Gonna Love You - Lee Greenwood
1991Cream - Prince & The N.P.G.
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started - Bryan Adams
Real, Real, Real - Jesus Jones
Someday - Alan Jackson

[Aquarius]

Friday, November 13, 2009
THE SHEIK DAY

That great romancer of the silver screen, Rudolph Valentino, starred in The Sheik, which was released on this day in 1921. The Sheik firmly established Valentino’s popular reputation as the Great Lover, and his last film, the comical Son of the Sheik (1926), sealed that title.But the actor never thought of himself as a conqueror of women -- nor as a great actor. He found the Sheik films rather silly. Rudy’s wife, Natacha Rambova responded to her husband’s screen image: “My husband is a great lover of home life.” However, the publication of Valentino’s volume of poetry, Day Dreams (1923), further fueled the public’s imagination and drove fans into bookstores with a vengeance.
Rudolph Valentino had plans to make more serious films beginning with an ambitious version of El Cid, to be called The Hooded Falcon. In town for the premiere of Son of the Sheik, he collapsed in New York on August 15, 1926. Valentino died eight days later from peritonitis -- before he could begin to work on films that would make the public forget his sheikly shenanigans.
So the grandiose romantic persona persists, and we remember Rudolph Valentino as the Great Lover, The Sheik.
Remember, too, these great films from Valentino:
The Conquering Power (1921), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), Beyond the Rocks (1922), Blood and Sand (1922), The Young Rajah (1922), Monsieur Beaucaire (1924), A Sainted Devil (1924), The Eagle (1925), Cobra (1925) and The Son of the Sheik(1926).



Events
November 13
1927 - After seven years of construction and over $48 million, the Holland Tunnel, New York City’s connection to Jersey City, NJ, opened to traffic. It was named after the chief engineer of construction, Clifford Milburn Holland, who died before the tunnel was completed.1930 - The first revolving milk platform was used -- in Plainsboro, NJ. For the first time, 1,680 cows could be milked in seven hours. Now that’s a lot of milk!
1933 - The first sit-down strike was started. The U.S. Workers at the Hormel Packing Company plant in Austin, Minnesota (the home of SPAM) took action against management.
1940 - Alice Marble turned pro. The tennis star signed for $25,000 plus a percentage of the gate receipts.
1946 - The first artificial snow was produced -- by Vincent J. Schaefer over Mt. Greylock, Massachusetts.
1955 - NBC showed the first live TV program from a foreign country (noncontiguous). Scenes from Havana, Cuba were seen by viewers of Dave Garroway’s Wide Wide World program.
1965 - Julie Harris starred in Skyscraper, which opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The musical ran for seven months.
1968 - This was a good day for The Beatles. Their movie, Yellow Submarine, premiered in the U.S. and the single, Hey Jude, topped thepop music charts (it was in its 7th of 9 weeks at #1).
1975 - “Whoa Whoa Whoa, Feeeelings.” One of the great lounge-lizard songs of all time, Feelings by Morris Albert, went gold.
1977 - After 43 years as a regular feature in hundreds of newspapers, Al Capp brought his comic strip, Li’l Abner, to a final conclusion.
1982 - Business as Usual, the smash album by Men at Work, started a fifteen-week run at number one in the U.S. The tracks: Who Can It Be Now?, I Can See It in Your Eyes, Down Under, Underground, Helpless Automation, People Just Love to Play with Words, Be Good Johnny, Touching the Untouchables, Catch a Star, Down by the Sea.
1986 - The state of California put Fricot City on the auction block for $8.8 million. The ‘city’ was actually the former ranch/private estate of Desiré Fricot. It had become a California Youth Authority camp in 1945. Located about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento, Fricot City featured some twenty homes, two gymnasiums, two swimming pools, a full twelve-grade school, a fire station, an infirmary and a chapel.
1998 - These films made first runs in the U.S.: I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (Some Secrets Will Haunt You Forever), starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Brandy Norwood; I’ll Be Home for Christmas (This Yule, be cool.), with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jessica Biel and Adam Lavorgna; and Meet Joe Black (No one can die - while he loves!), starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani and Marcia Gay Harden.
1999 - “For the winner by unanimous decision and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world . . . Lennox Lewis!” Lennox Lewis tattoed Evander Holyfield for 12 rounds in Las Vegas, Nevada to earn a unanimous decision and capture the title.
Birthdays
November 13
1850 - Robert Louis Stevenson
author: Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, A Child’s Garden of Verses; died Dec 3, 18941856 - Louis Brandeis
jurist: Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court [1916-1939]; died Oct 5, 1941
1913 - Alexander Scourby
actor: The Big Heat, Affair in Trinidad; died Feb 22, 1985
1916 - Jack Elam
actor: Support Your Local Sheriff, High Noon, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Cannonball Run series, Pocketful of Miracles, Rawhide,Temple Houston, The Texas Wheelers, The Dakotas; died Oct 20, 2003
1922 - Madeleine Sherwood
actress: The Flying Nun, Hurry Sundown, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Broken Vows, Sweet Bird of Youth
1922 - Oskar Werner
actor: Ship of Fools, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Voyage of the Damned, Fahrenheit 451; died Oct 23, 1984
1923 - Linda Christian
actress: The Devil’s Hand, Athena
1928 - Steve Bilko
baseball: St. Louis Cardinals 1B, Cubs, Reds, Dodgers, Tigers, Angels; died Mar 7, 1978
1932 - Richard Mulligan
Emmy Award-winning actor: Soap [1979-1980], Empty Nest [1988-1989]; S.O.B., The Hero, The Group, Little Big Man, Diana; died Sep 26, 2000
1934 - Garry Marshall
producer: The Odd Couple, Mork & Mindy, Happy Days; director: Pretty Woman, Beaches; comedy writer: Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lucy Show; actor: A League of Their Own, Lost in America; brother of actress Penny Marshall
1938 - Jean Seberg
actress: Paint Your Wagon, The Mouse That Roared, Airport, Joan of Arc, Bonjour Tristesse; died Aug 30, 1979
1939 - Wes (Maurice Wesley) Parker
baseball: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1965, 1966/Gold Glove 1967-1972]
1941 - Dack (Norman) Rambo
actor: Dallas, All My Children, The Guns of Will Sonnett, Sword of Justice, The New Loretta Young Show; died Mar 21, 1994
1941 - Mel (Melvin Leon, Sr.) Stottlemyre
baseball: pitcher: NY Yankees [World Series: 1964/all-star 1965, 1966, 1968-1970]
1947 - Joe Mantegna
Tony Award-winning actor: Glengarry Glenn Ross [1984]; House of Games, Things Change, Airheads, Queen’s Logic, The Godfather Part III, Elvis: The Movie, The Money Pit, Three Amigos, Comedy Zone
1948 - Sheila Frazier
actress: The Hitter, Three the Hard Way, I’m Gonna Git You Sucker, Super Fly, Firehouse, The Lazarus Syndrome
1953 - Tracy Scoggins
actress: Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, Hawaiian Heat, Dynasty, The Colbys, Alien Intruder, Dead On, TheGumshoe Kid
1953 - Charlie Tickner
figure skater: Ice Capades, bronze medalist: Winter Olympics [1980]; U.S. Champion [1977, 1978, 1979, 1980]
1954 - Chris Noth
actor: Law & Order, Burnzy’s Last Call, Jakarta, Baby Boom, Sex and the City
1955 - Whoopi Goldberg (Caryn Johnson)
Academy Award-winning actress: Ghost [1990]; The Color Purple, Sister Act series, Made in America, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Comic Relief,The Whoopi Goldberg Show, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Bagdad Cafe, Whoopi; Grammy Award-winning comedienne: Whoopi Goldberg [1985]
1959 - Caroline Goodall
actress: Schindler’s List, Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story, Hook, Cliffhanger, The Princess Diaries
1963 - Vinny Testaverde
football: QB: University of Miami [Heisman Trophy winner: 1986]; Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baltimore Ravens
1967 - Steve Zahn
actor: Bye Bye Birdie, Sophistry, Reality Bites, Crimson Tide, That Thing You Do!, From the Earth to the Moon, You’ve Got Mail, Chain of Fools, Dr. Dolittle 2, Riding in Cars with Boys

[Aquarius]

Saturday, November 14, 2009
MOBY DICK DAY

“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago -- never mind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world...”Thus begins Herman Melville’s book Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, which was first published in New York City by Harpoon & Brothers on this day in 1851. (Sorry. We meant Harper & Brothers.)
The complex, but rousing sea story tells the tale of a sea captain’s search for Moby Dick, the great white whale that had once crippled him.
The story is told by sailor-narrator Ishmael. Through the pages of Moby Dick, we meet Ishmael’s bunkmate Queequeg, a whale harpooner from Polynesia; learn everything there is to know about whaling in the nineteenth century; and, of course, about Captain Ahab and his obsession with Moby Dick.
Melville dedicated his novel to author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Director and writer John Huston adapted the high seas saga to the big screen in 1956 so all the world could see Moby Dick as big as life.
Herman Melville died at home, of a heart attack, shortly after midnight on September 28, 1891, at the age of 72. At the time, he had been almost totally forgotten by all but a small group of admirers in the United Kingdom and the United States.


Events
November 14
1832 - The first horsecar (a streetcar drawn by horses) was displayed in New York City. The vehicle had room for 30 people in three compartments. The new service traveled Fourth Avenue between Prince and Fourteenth Streets.1921 - KYW radio, Chicago, IL broadcast the first opera by a professional company. Listeners heard Samson Et Dalila as it was being performed at the Chicago Auditorium.
1943 - Leonard Bernstein replaced an indisposed Bruno Walter as conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Thus began a legendary career and worldwide appreciation for Bernstein’s many compositions with the orchestra.
1944 - An outstanding array of musicians gathered in Hollywood to record a classic. Tommy Dorsey and orchestra made Opus No. 1, Victor record number 20-1608. Buddy Rich was the drummer in the session, Al Klink and Buddy DeFranco blew sax and Nelson Riddle played trombone on the Sy Oliver arrangement.
1945 - Captain Eddie Rickenbacker sold the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Former Indy winner Wilbur Shaw became the new president and manager of the speedway. The track was purchased by the Tony Holman family a short time later.
1951 - The first telecast of a world lightweight title fight was seen coast to coast. Jimmy Carter beat Art Aragon in Los Angeles.
1959 - The eruption of Kilauea Iki Crater (Nov 14-Dec 20, 1959) on the Big Island of Hawaii was a relatively brief event, but produced some of Kilauea’s most spectacular lava fountains of the 20th century. (The current Pu`u `O`o-Kupaianaha eruption of Kilauea began in 1983).
1964 - Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings set a National Hockey League record as he scored his 627th career goal in a game against Montreal.
1966 - Boxing’s largest indoor crowd assembled in the Houston Astrodome to see Cassius Clay defeat Cleveland Williams -- by a TKO.
1967 - The Monkees received a gold record for Daydream Believer.
1972 - For the first time in its 76-year history, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 1,000 mark: 1003.16.
1975 - They Just Can’t Stop It (The Games People Play) became a gold record for the Spinners. Their other hits include Then Came You(with Dionne Warwicke), Could It Be I’m Falling in Love, The Rubberband Man, Working My Way Back to You, Cupid, It’s a Shame andI’ll Be Around -- for Motown.
1981 - Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant tied the record of Amos Alonzo Stagg for most football wins. The Alabama Crimson Tide notched win #314for Coach Bryant. Alabama beat Penn State, 31-16.
1981 - For the second week in a row, Daryl Hall and John Oates owned the top spot on the pop music charts with Private Eyes.
1986 - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Ivan Boesky would have to pay $100 million in fines and alleged profits to settle insider-trading charges against him. The settlement was just $6 million less than the entire S.E.C. budget for 1986.
1987 - The Dirty Dancing movie soundtrack was the number one album in the U.S. It was number one for a total of eighteen weeks. The remainder of the top-five that week: 2)-Tunnel of Love (Bruce Springsteen); 3)-Bad (Michael Jackson); 4)-Whitesnake (Whitesnake); 5)-A Momentary Lapse of Reason (Pink Floyd).
1993 - Don Shula was carried off the Veterans Stadium field by his Miami Dolphins after a 19-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. That victory was #325 in Shula’s career and made him the winningest coach in NFL history, surpassing the legendary George Halas. (Of all NFL coaches, only Shula and Halas reached 300 victories.) Shula finished his career in 1995 with a coaching record of 347-173-6. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
1997 - New movies in U.S. theatres: The Jackal (“How do you stop an assassin who has no identity?”), starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier; The Man who Knew too Little (“He’s on a mission so secret, even he doesn’t know about it.”), with Bill Murray, Peter Gallagher and Joanne Whalley; and One Night Stand (“It was just one night that changed everything.”), starring Wesley Snipes, Nastassja Kinski and Robert Downey Jr.


Birthdays
November 14
1765 - Robert Fulton
builder of first profitable steamboat: the Clermont; died Feb 24, 18151840 - Claude Monet
artist: Water Lilies, La Grenouillere, Impression: Sunrise, Old St. Lazare Station, Paris; died Dec 5, 1926
1889 - Jawaharlal Nehru
India’s 1st prime minister after its independence; died May 27, 1964
1896 - Mamie Doud Eisenhower
First Lady: wife of 34th U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower; died Nov 1, 1979
1900 - Aaron Copland
Academy Award-winning composer: film score: The Heiress [1948]; Of Mice and Men, Our Town, Lincoln Portrait, Fanfare for the Common Man; ballet score: Billy the Kid; Pulitzer Prize-winner: Appalachian Spring [1945]; died Dec 2, 1990
1904 - Dick (Richard E.) Powell
actor: Too Busy to Work, Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Gold Diggers of 1935, Gold Diggers of 1937, Hollywood Hotel,Murder, My Sweet, Cry Danger, Four Star Playhouse, Susan Slept Here; TV Host: The Best in Mystery, Zane Grey Theater, The Dick Powell Show (1961) TV; died Jan 2, 1963
1908 - Harrison Salisbury
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for International Reporting [1955]; Moscow correspondent for New York Times; died July 5, 1993
1910 - Rosemary DeCamp
actress: Rhapsody in Blue, On Moonlight Bay, The Bob Cummings Show, That Girl, The Life of Riley; died Feb 20, 2001
1912 - Barbara Hutton
heiress: F.W. Woolworth; died May 11, 1979
1915 - Martha Tilton
singer: And the Angels Sing, A Stranger in Town; actress: The Benny Goodman Story, Sunny
1920 - Johnny Desmond (Giovanni Alfredo de Simone)
singer: Yellow Rose of Texas, Play Me Hearts and Flowers; group: Bob-O-Links w/Bob Crosby Band; solo: ‘G.I. Sinatra’: Glenn Miller AAF band, Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club, Your Hit Parade, Face the Music; actor: Escape from San Quentin, China Doll, Hawk of the Caribbean; died Sep 6, 1985
1921 - Brian Keith (Robert Keith Richey, Jr.)
actor: Family Affair, Hardcastle & McCormick, Heartland, The Westerner, Crusader, Centennial, The Brian Keith Show, Walter and Emily, Nevada Smith, The Loneliest Runner, The Parent Trap, The Young Philadelphians, Young Guns; died June 24, 1997
1922 - Boutros Boutros-Ghali
UN Secretary-General [Jan 1992–Jan 1997]
1924 - Phyllis Avery
actress: The George Gobel Show, Mr. Novak
1927 - McLean Stevenson
actor: M*A*S*H, The McLean Stevenson Show, Hello Larry, The Tim Conway Comedy Hour, The Doris Day Show, Condo; died Feb 15, 1996
1929 - Tiny (DeWayne) Lund
auto racer: Daytona 500 winner [1963]; died Aug 10, 1975
1929 - Jimmy (James Anthony) Piersall
baseball: Boston Red Sox [all-star: 1954, 1956], Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, LA Angels, New York Mets, California Angels
1933 - Fred Haise Jr.
astronaut: Apollo 13 [1970]
1935 - King Hussein bin Talal
head of state: King of Jordan; died Feb 7, 1999
1935 - Don Stewart
actor: Guiding Light, The Doomsday Flight; died Jan 9, 2006
1940 - Freddie Garrity
singer: group: Freddie and the Dreamers: I’m Telling You Now
1942 - Bryan Watson
hockey: NHL Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
1948 - Prince Charles (of Wales) (Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor Mountbatten)
heir to British throne
1948 - Robert Ginty
actor: The Paper Chase, Hawaiian Heat, Falcon Crest, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Lady Dragon, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man,Madhouse, Programmed to Kill, Exterminator series, Coming Home; died Sep 21, 2009
1949 - James Young
musician: guitar: group: Styx: Lady, Suite Madame Blue, Come Sail Away, Miss America, Castle Walls, Superstars, Renegade, Babe, The Best of Times, Too Much Time on My Hands, Mr. Roboto
1951 - Frankie Banali
musician: group: Quiet Riot
1951 - Stephen Bishop
singer: It Might Be You; musician: guitar; singer, songwriter: On and On, Save It for a Rainy Day, Everybody Needs Love, This is the Night,Living in the Land of Abe Lincoln, theme for Animal House, Dream Girl, theme for China Syndrome: Somewhere In Between, Don’t You Worry, LPs: Careless, Bish

[Aquarius]

On this day in 1806, Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike sighted a mountain peak that now bears his name. What? All right, who’s the genius out there who said, “Zebulon Peak?” Those in the know, of course, realize that we speak of Pikes Peak. The massive, towering (elevation 14,110 feet) behemoth had been called “The Long One” by Ute Indians. Its name was changed to honor the young army lieutenant. Zebulon Pike was leading a survey party into the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase when he spotted the snowcapped peak in the distance.
“Pikes Peak or Bust!” was the familiar slogan of many a wagon train settler traveling west in the 1800s. Visitors to the Pikes Peak region (near Colorado Springs) continue to be captivated, inspired, and enthralled by Colorado’s most famous mountain.


Events
November 15
1881 - The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada was formed -- in Pittsburgh, PA. Five years later the organization became the American Federation of Labor (AFL). 1884 - Samuel Sidney McClure of New York City started the first literary syndicate -- the McClure Syndicate. It bought authors’ works and then sold the right to print them to various newspapers across the U.S.
1904 - One of Broadway’s most famous phrases was uttered for the first time. Ethel Barrymore, appearing in the play, Sunday, spoke the famous line, “That’s all there is. There isn’t any more,” as the curtain fell.
1926 - Network radio was born. 24 stations carried the first broadcast from (bong-bing-bong) NBC, the National Broadcasting Company. The program was a gala 4½-hour broadcast from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Two remote pickups were also on the program. Opera star Mary Garden sang from Chicago and Will Rogers presented a humorous monologue from Independence, Kansas. Charles Lindbergh was among the luminaries who attended the broadcast.
1938 - Television’s first on-the-scene program took place. A fire on Ward’s Island, New York was seen by the cameras of NBC’s W2XBT. The cameras caught the unexpected fire as it broke out.
1939 - The New York Giants, formerly opposed to night baseball, made plans for a lighting system at the Polo Grounds for the 1940 season.
1948 - William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years, 4 1/2 months, the longest anyone has served as prime minister. He was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.
1950 - The first black man in organized hockey suited up. Arthur Dorrington became a member of the Atlantic City Seagulls of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League.
1954 - Studio One on CBS-TV featured Joan Weber singing Let Me Go, Lover. The song had enjoyed limited popularity before the TV show, but skyrocketed to fame immediately after.
1956 - Love Me Tender, the first Elvis Presley film, premiered.
1965 - The fastest man on wheels, Craig Breedlove, set a world speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah with a speed of 600.601 mph.
1969 - The first album featuring Karen and Richard Carpenter wasOffering would not be a big seller, but a single from the disc, a remake of The Beatles’ Ticket to Ride, would gain national attention. Their next album, however, would establish them as major international stars (Close to You). released by A&M Records.
1974 - The group, Faces, released their tune with the longest title. You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (Even Take the Dog for a Walk, Mend a Fuse, Fold Away the Ironing Board, Or Any Other Domestic Shortcomings). Whew!
1980 - After years of success on the music charts with the New Christy Minstrels and the First Edition, Kenny Rogers got his first #1 song. Lady, written by Lionel Richie, stayed at the top for six weeks.
1986 - The first major operetta written by Gian Carlo Menotti in over 20 years was presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Starring tenor Placido Domingo, Goya was said by critics to be only “intermittently good.”
1992 - After 200 victories, seven championships and more than 1,000 career starts, Richard Petty ended his career as a driver. In his final race, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he drove his red and blue SIP Pontiac to a 35th-place finish in the Hooters 500.
1994 - ‘Marvelous’ Martina Navratilova ended her 19-year tennis career with a disappointing 6-4, 6-2 loss to Gabriela Sabatini in the first round of the WTA Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York. Navratilova, a Tennis Hall-of-Famer, played 380 singles tournaments and 1,650 matches. She won 167 titles and 1,438 matches, with a won-lost mark of 1,438-212. She won $20,344,061.
1996 - These movies debuted in U.S. theatres: TriStar Pictures’ The Mirror Has Two Faces, with Barbra Streisnad, Jeff Bridges Pierce Brosnan, George Segal, Mimi Rogers, Brenda Vaccaro, Elle Macpherson, Austin Pendleton and Lauren Bacall.; and Warner Bros.’ Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan, Theresa Randle, Wayne Knight, Bill Murray, Billy West and Danny Devito.
1997 - Eddie Robinson coached his final home game at Grambling State University (losing 37-35 to North Carolina A&T). He was college football’s winningest coach with 408 wins. (Robinson ended his 56-year career two weeks later at the Bayou Classic against Southern University.)



Birthdays
November 15
1887 - Georgia O’Keefe
artist: Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses, A Cross by the Sea, Canada, Black Iris, Farmhouse Window and Door, Lake George; died Mar 6, 19861891 - W. Averell Harriman
U.S. diplomat, Governor of New York [1955-1959]; died July 26, 1986
1891 - Erwin Rommel
‘The Desert Fox’: WWII German field marshal and commander; accused in unsuccessful plot to assassinate Hitler: forced to commit suicide Oct 14, 1944
1919 - Carol Bruce
actress: WKRP in Cincinnati; died Oct 9, 2007
1919 - Joseph A. Wapner
judge, actor: The People’s Court
1928 - C.W. McCall (William Fries)
singer, songwriter: Convoy, Old Home, Filler-up, Keep on Truckin’ Cafe, Wolf Creek Pass, Classified, There Won’t be No Country Music, Roses for Mama
1929 - Edward Asner
Emmy Award-winning actor: The Mary Tyler Moore Show [1970-71, 1971-72, 1974-75], Rich Man, Poor Man [2/1/76], Roots-Part OneLou Grant [1977-78, 1979-80]; Thunder Alley, Hearts Afire, Change of Habit, The Doomsday Flight, Fort Apache The Bronx, JFK, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!; president of Screen Actor’s Guild [1/23/77],
1932 - Petula Clark
Grammy Award-winning singer [1965]: Downtown, I Know a Place, This is My Song, My Love
1933 - Clyde (Lensley) McPhatter
singer: Treasure of Love, Long Lonely Nights, A Lovers Question, Lover Please; groups: Dominoes: Do Something for Me, Sixty Minute Man, Have Mercy Baby; Drifters: Money Honey, Such a Night/Lucille, Honey Love; died June 13, 1972
1934 - Joanna Barnes
actress: The Trials of O’Brien, 21 Beacon Street, Spartacus, Parent Trap, Goodbye Charlie
1937 - Little Willie John (William Edward John)
singer: Sleep, Talk to Me Talk to Me, Fever; convicted of manslaughter, died Mar 26, 1968 in Washington State Prison
1937 - Yaphet Kotto
actor: Two If by Sea, The Puppet Masters, Extreme Justice, Midnight Run, The Running Man, Eye of the Tiger, Fighting Back, Alien, Raid on Entebbe, Shark’s Treasure, Live and Let Die, The Thomas Crown Affair, Five Card Stud, Nothing But a Man, Blue Collar, Homicide: Life on the Street, For Love and Honor
1940 - Sam Waterston
actor: The Killing Fields, Law & Order, Friendly Fire, I’ll Fly Away, The Great Gatsby, Serial Mom
1942 - Daniel Barenboim
musician: piano, conductor: English Chamber Orchestra
1945 - Anni-Frid Lyngstad
singer: group: Abba: Fernando, Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, Waterloo
1946 - Janet Lennon
singer: group: The Lennon Sisters: Tonight You Belong to Me
1947 - Bob Dandridge
basketball: Milwaukee Bucks forward
1950 - Otis Armstrong
football: Denver Broncos running back: AFC Leading Rusher: [1974]: Super Bowl XII
1951 - Beverly D’Angelo
actress: Coal Miner’s Daughter, Paternity, Hair, Annie Hall, Every Which Way but Loose, National Lampoon’s Vacation series, Captains and the Kings
1951 - Bo Matthews
football: Univ. of Colorado, San Diego Chargers, New York Giants, Miami Dolphins
1953 - Alexander O’Neal
songwriter, singer: The Time, Hearsay, All True Love, Lovers Again
1954 - Tony Thompson
musician: drums: group: Chic: Dance Dance Dance, Everybody Dance, Le Freak, I Want Your Love, Good Times; played with Led Zeppelin: Live Aid; drummer with Patti LaBelle
1957 - Kevin Eubanks
musician: guitar: bandleader: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; composer: film scores: Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault, Psalms from the Underground, The Dinner, The Week that Girl Died
1963 - Kevin J. O’Connor
actor: The Mummy, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Birdland, Gideon's Crossing
1967 - Mari Fernandez
singer: group: Sweet Sensation: If Wishes Came True, Love Child, Purely by Coincidence, Sad Sweet Dreamer


Source

[Aquarius]

Monday, November 16, 2009
SIXTEEN TONS DAY

‘Tennessee’ Ernie Ford drove to the top spot on the record charts on this day in 1955. Sixteen Tons, where he owed his “soul to the company store,” became the fastest-selling record in history, jumping to #1 in just 3 weeks. The tune, on Capitol Records, stayed at #1 for eight weeks.Ernie (bless his little pea-pickin’ heart) Ford is known for other classics, including: Mule Train (1949), The Shotgun Boogie (1950), The Cry of the Wild Goose (1950), I’ll Never Be Free (w/Kay Starr - 1950), Mr. and Mississippi (1951) and The Ballad of Davy Crockett (1955).
Ford was also famous for his religious albums, his NBC-TV show (1956-1961), and his many other television appearances. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1960.
But, we remember him most fondly for that 1955 smash about work, work, work: “You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt...”


Events
November 16
1864 - To celebrate General Sherman’s march to the sea, Henry Clay wrote the song, Marching Through Georgia.1875 - Dr. William G. Arlington Bonwill of Philadelphia, PA was issued a patent for his dental mallet used to impact gold into cavities. Noting the new invention, Bonwill’s first patient was reported to have said, “YeeeeeeeeOWWWWWWW!!!!” when the mallet hit the exposed nerve of a tooth. Dr. Bonwill replied with the well-known comeback line, “Oops!”
1901 - Henry Fournier drove a mile in 51 4/5 seconds, becoming the first auto racer to drive more than a mile-a-minute in competition -- in Brooklyn, NY.
1907 - Oklahoma, the Sooner State, was the 46th state to enter the United States of America. The word, Oklahoma, is a combination of two Choctaw words meaning red people. Then, why Sooner? Many, many Oklahoma homesteaders thought sooner was better than later, better to stake their homesteads first, before it was legal to do so. Oil wells pop up all over the Oklahoma landscape, even in the bustling state capital, Oklahoma City. And, when that wind comes sweeping down the plain, it picks up the state bird, the scissor-tail flycatcher, and spreads the parasitic state flower, the mistletoe.
1908 - Conductor Arturo Toscanini made his debut in the United States this day. He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, conducting Aida.
1932 - The Palace Theatre in New York City closed its doors to vaudeville. It had been the most famous vaudeville theatre in America. The Palace became a movie house with live performances preceding the flicks.
1935 - The Rodgers and Hart musical, Jumbo, opened in New York City for a run of 233 performances.
1937 - Bob Crosby and his orchestra recorded South Rampart Street Parade -- on Decca Records.
1958 - Six inches of snow fell on Tucson, Arizona, catching autumn golfers by surprise, to be sure...
1960 - The famed actor of the silver screen, Clark Gable, died at the age of 59. Gable, who played Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind and starred in so many other classic films, succumbed to a heart attack at 10:50 p.m. in Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital.
1967 - Retired harness racehorse Native Dancer died after stomach surgery in Philadelphia.
1970 - Anne Murray received a gold record for Snowbird. She was the first Canadian recording artist to receive a gold record.
1974 - NBC-TV began a two-night showing of the award-winning motion picture, The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando. The film represented the highest price paid for a movie shown on TV. NBC paid Paramount Pictures $10 million for the showing of the picture, a deal Paramount “...just couldn’t refuse.”
1975 - Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears rushed for 105 yards in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. It was Payton’s first game of 100 plus yards. He did it over 50 times throughout his career and added two 200-yard games, as well.
1982 - The 57-day strike by players in the National Football League ended. It was the first regular-season pro-football strike in the history of the NFL.
1986 - Gerber Products announced intentions to produce baby food in plastic jars, instead of glass -- a first for the industry.
1986 - The first comic miniseries was presented. Fresno poked fun at soap operas -- on CBS-TV.
1998 - TIME magazine (cover date Nov 16) reported in depth on Newt Gingrich’s resignation as Speaker of the U.S. House of Reprenstatives: Fall of the house of Newt, “An election shock ignites a Republican revolt: Gingrich is only the first victim in the growing fight for the party’s future.”


Birthdays
November 16
1873 - W.C. (William Christopher) Handy
composer: ‘Father of the Blues’: St. Louis Blues; died Mar 28, 19581889 - George S. (Simon) Kaufman
playwright: The Cocoanuts, A Night at the Opera, [w/Moss Hart]: The Man Who Came to Dinner, You Can’t Take It with You; died June 2, 1961
1895 - Paul Hindemith
composer: Gebrauchsmusik; operas: Cardillac, Matthias the Painter; concertmaster: Frankfurt Opera; conductor & viola soloist: Amar-Hindemith String Quartet; organized Turkey’s symphony orchestra; teacher: Berlin Conservatory, Yale University, University of Zurich; died Dec 28, 1963
1905 - Albert ‘Eddie’ Condon
musician: guitar, bandleader, promoter of Dixieland Jazz; died Aug 4, 1973
1909 - (Oliver) Burgess Meredith
Emmy Award-winning actor: The Big Event: Tail Gunner JoeBatman, Gloria, Mr. Novak, Search, The Day of the Locust,Rocky series, Advice and Consent, Grumpy Old Men, In Harm’s Way, Of Mice and Men; TV host: Those Amazing Animals; author: So Far, So Good a Memoir; died Sep 9, 1997
1922 - Royal Dano
actor: Mr. Lincoln, Ghoulies 2, The Red Badge of Courage, Huckleberry Finn, The Right Stuff, Johnny Guitar, The Trouble with Harry; died May 15, 1994
1931 - Bob Gibson
singer, songwriter, leader of folk music movement in late ’50s: John Riley, Old Blue, Daddy Roll ’Em, Wayfaring Stranger; duo: Gibson and [Bob] Camp; died Sep 27, 1996
1932 - Harry Chiti
baseball: catcher: Chicago Cubs, KC Athletics, Detroit Tigers, NY Mets; died Jan 31, 2002
1934 - Guy Stockwell
actor: The Richard Boone Show, Beau Geste, Return to Peyton Place, Airport 1975, Columbo: Columbo Goes to College; brother of actor Dean Stockwell; died Feb 6, 2002
1935 - Elizabeth Drew
journalist, author: On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency, Showdown: The Struggle Between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House, Whatever It Takes: The Real Struggle for Political Power in America
1935 - Clu Gulager
actor: The Killing Device, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Kenny Rogers as the GamblerForce of One, The Other Side of Midnight, Smile Jenny You’re Dead, The Last Picture Show, The Killers, The Virginian, The Tall Man, The Survivors, San Francisco International Airport
1942 - Joanna Pettet
actress: Best Sellers, Casino Royale, Double Exposure, Captains and the Kings, Knots Landing
1945 - Martine Van Hamel
ballet: American Ballet Theatre
1946 - Jo Jo (Joseph) White
basketball: Boston Celtics: MVP 1976 playoffs
1950 - David Leisure
actor: Empty Nest
1950 - Harvey Martin
football: Dallas Cowboys DE: Super Bowls X, XII, XIII; died Dec 24, 2001
1951 - Herb Washington
world indoor track records: 50 and 60-yard dashes: 5.0 and 5.8 seconds; baseball: Oakland A’s
1952 - Glenn (Lawrence) Burke
baseball: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1977], Oakland Athletics; died May 30, 1995
1958 - Marg Helgenberger
actress: C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, Ryan’s Hope, China Beach, Through the Eyes of a Killer, Fallen Angels, Fire Down Below,Gold Coast, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
1959 - Larry Mize
golf champion: Masters [1987]
1959 - Corey Pavin
golf: 14 PGA Tour victories; U.S. national teams: Walker Cup [1981]; USA vs. Japan [1982]; Nissan Cup [1985]; Ryder Cup [3: 1991, 1993, 1995]; The Presidents Cup 2: 1994, 1996
1963 - Zina Garrison
tennis: Olympic Gold Medalist [Seoul, 1988, w/Pam Shriver]; founder: Zina Garrison All-Court Tennis Academy [for inner city youth, Houston]
1964 - Dwight ‘Doc’ (Eugene) Gooden
baseball: pitcher: NY Mets [Rookie of the Year: 1984/all-star: 1984-1986, 1988/Cy Young Award: 1985/World Series: 1986], NY Yankees
1966 - Dean McDermott
actor: Earth : Final Conflict, La Femme Nikita, Spenser : Small Vices, The Outer Limits, Rookies, Due South, Power Play, Brian’s Song
1967 - Lisa Bonet
actress: The Cosby Show, A Different World, Angel Heart, Bank Robber
1970 - Martha Plimpton
actress: The Goonies, Parenthood, The Mosquito Coast [2-6-77], series,

[Aquarius]

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
SUEZ CANAL DAY

Over the years, a lot of squabbling has gone on over a 100-mile (160 kilometers) ditch called the Suez Canal. Formally opened on this day in 1869, the canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, eliminating a 4000-mile trip around Africa.The canal first belonged to France, then to Great Britain and then Egypt. Because of the single direction of the wind in the Suez area and the narrowness of the canal, sailing ships had a hard time navigating and were eventually taken out of service in the British fleets - never to return. They were replaced by steamships. The building of the Suez Canal not only eliminated the African route, it eliminated a whole nautical tradition of sailing that had been a part of society for nearly 4800 years.
The Suez Canal has played a major wartime role. It was blockaded (by Britain) in World War I to keep enemy ships from using the waterway. Axis ships were denied use of the canal in World War II; then in 1950, because of the Arab-Israeli war, Egypt banned Israeli ships from the canal. During the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, it was blocked once again, this time by sunken ships; and didn’t reopen until 1975.
Since 1956, when Egypt seized control and claimed the sovereign right to govern its use, the Suez canal has been a national treasure to the Egyptian people -- earning the country millions of dollars daily.


Events
November 17
1558 - Elizabeth I became Queen of England upon the death of Queen Mary this day. ‘Good Queen Bess’ ruled Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1558 to 1603 and during her reign, England became a world power.1877 - The first production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera, The Sorcerer, was presented -- in London.
1851 - The U.S. Post Office issued a 1-cent carrier stamp to make it easier to pay fees for delivering and collecting letters. It was the first postage stamp to depict an American eagle; and the last to make it easier to pay the fees.
1891 - Poland’s premier and premier ivory tickler, Ignace Jan Paderewski, made his American debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In later years, Paderewski, who suffered from arthritis, settled in Paso Robles, CA. The hot mineral baths located there eased his pain. He played only Steinway grand pianos custom-built to his specifications. In fact, five were made just for his use.
1938 - Orchestra leader Kay Kyser, speaking to an audience at the College of the City of New York (CCNY) told of the “inner workings and artistic features of swing music.” It marked the first of a series of lectures on swing music presented by Kyser, who went on to present The Kollege of Musical Knowledge on radio.
1950 - Roberta Peters filled in for the lead in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She would become one of the Met’s most famous stars.
1954 - Golfer Arnold Palmer signed a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods and became a pro.
1962 - The 4 Seasons, with Frankie Valli as lead singer, began a five-week run at the top of the tunedex with Big Girls Don’t Cry.
1966 - Woody Allen’s first play, Don’t Drink the Water, opened on Broadway.
1968 - The ‘Heidi Game’ happened on TV. The New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game was cut off to begin a family show (Heidi) on NBC. The TV audience missed Oakland’s two touchdowns (in nine seconds) to win the game 43-32. NBC was flooded with calls and the concept of program delay was instituted immediately by the networks.
1970 - Elton John recorded an album live, on what was WABC-FM in New York City. It marked the first time that a concert was aired live and recorded for release as aired. The LP was titled, 11/17/70.
1980 - Roger Mudd began working as chief Washington correspondent for NBC. Mudd had left CBS after being passed over as Walter Cronkite’s replacement on The CBS Evening News.
1981 - Luke Spencer married Laura Baldwin in what was called “the wedding of the year” on the TV serial General Hospital. An audience of 14 million viewers watched as vows were exchanged on the ABC program.
1986 - Racecar driver Rick Mears set a U.S. closed-course record at the Michigan International Speedway. Mears was timed at an averagespeed of 233.934 mph, breaking the record set by Mark Donahue in 1975.
1986 - The creator of the term ‘baby boomer’ released the first issue of the magazine Quality this day. Landon Jones subtitled his glossy effort, America’s Guide to Excellence. There was only one problem. Most of America wasn’t buying and Quality did not last very long on newsstands.
1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), by a vote of 234 to 200. The Senate voted 60 to 38 for approval of the legislation on November 20. The bill was signed into law by President Clinton on December 8, 1993. It took effect on January 1, 1994. Under NAFTA, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico become a single, integrated market with $6.5 trillion worth of goods and services annually.
1995 - These movies debuted in the U.S.: The American President (“Why can’t the most powerful man in the world have the one thing he wants most?”), with Michael Douglas, Annete Bening, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox; Goldeneye (“You know the name. You know the number.”), starring Pierce Brosnan for the first time as Bond ... James Bond; and It Takes Two (“Two identical strangers. Two different worlds. One perfect match.”), with Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg.
1997 - Mario Lemieux was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame. On Nov 19 Mario Lemieux’s number 66 wasretired in a ceremony at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. And, surprise, on Dec 27, 2000 Lemieux, part-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, became a player again.
2000 - It was opening day in the U.S. for these films: Bounce (“Two strangers fell in love. One knew it wasn’t by chance.”), starring Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tony Goldwyn; Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!”), with Jim Carrey as the Grinch, Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who, Christine Baranski as Martha May Whovier and Anthony Hopkins narrating;Rugrats in Paris - The Movie (“France never had a chance!”), starring the voices of Susan Sarandon, John Lithgow, Debbie Reynolds, Tim Curry and Casey Kasem; and The 6th Day (“They picked the wrong man to clone.”), with Arnold Schwarzenneger, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport and Robert Duvall.


Birthdays
November 17
1799 - Titian Ramsay Peale
artist, naturalist: travelled with Wilkes Expedition to the South Pacific [1838-1842]; son of artist Charles Willson Peale; died in 18851887 - Field Marshal Bernard (Law) ‘Monty’ Montgomery
British Army commander of ground forces at Normandy landing [1944]; British Eighth Army; died Mar 24, 1976
1901 - Lee Strasberg (Israel Strassberg)
director; teacher of method acting at Actor’s Studio; died Feb 17, 1982
1905 - Mischa Auer (Ounskowsky)
actor: My Man Godfrey, Brewster’s Millions, Destry Rides Again, You Can’t Take It with You; died Mar 5, 1967
1916 - Shelby Foote
historian, writer: The Civil War
1925 - Rock Hudson (Roy Harold Scherer Jr.)
actor: McMillan and Wife, Giant, A Gathering of Eagles, Ice Station Zebra, Magnificent Obsession, Pillow Talk, Written on the Wind; died Oct 2, 1985
1930 - Bob Mathias
Olympic & National Track & Field Hall of Famer: gold medalist decathlon [1948, 1952]; Sullivan Award; graced Wheaties boxes for years; Olympic torch lighter [1984]; U.S. congressman; played himself in The Bob Mathias Story; director: Olympic Training Center; died Sep 2, 2006
1933 - Orlando (Gregorio Quevara) Pena
baseball: pitcher: Cincinnati Redlegs, Cincinnati Reds, KC Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, SL Cardinals, California Angels
1936 - Gary Bell
baseball: pitcher: Cleveland Indians [all-star: 1960, 1966], Boston Red Sox [World Series: 1967/all-star: 1968], Chicago White Sox, Seattle Pilots
1937 - Jim (James Thomas) Brewer
baseball: pitcher: Chicago Cubs, LA Dodgers [World Series: 1965, 1966, 1974/all-star: 1973], California Angels; died Nov 16, 1987
1937 - Peter Cook
actor: Beyond the Fringe, Beyond the Fringe ’64, Monty Python Meets Beyond the Fringe, Bedazzled, Monte Carlo or Bust; writer:Bedazzled; died Jan 9, 1995
1938 - Gordon Lightfoot
singer: Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind, Carefree Highway, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald; songwriter: Early Morning Rain,Ribbon of Darkness
1941 - Gene Clark
singer, musician: guitar: group: The Byrds: Turn, Turn, Turn; New Christy Minstrels; died May 24, 1991
1942 - Bob Gaudio
singer: group: The Royal Teens: Short Shorts; The Four Seasons: Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk like a Man, Rag Doll
1942 - Martin Scorsese
director: Mean Streets, The Color of Money, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, New York, New York, The Last Temptation of Christ, Cape Fear, Michael Jackson’s Bad video
1943 - Lauren Hutton
actress: American Gigolo, Lassiter, Paper Lion
1944 - Danny DeVito
Emmy Award-winning actor: Taxi [1980-81]; Twins, Batman Returns, Hoffa, The Jewel of the Nile, Romancing the Stone, Terms of Endearment, director: Throw Mama from the Train, The War of the Roses, Jack the Bear; married to actress Rhea Perlman
1944 - Lorne Michaels
Emmy Award-winning writer: The Paul Simon Special [1977], Saturday Night Live [1976, 1977, 1989], Lily [1974]; Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Three Amigos; Emmy Award-winning producer: Saturday Night Live [1976, 1993, 2002]; Sunday Night, The New Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Stuart Saves His Family, Lassie, The Coneheads, Wayne’s World series, Three Amigos
1944 - Tom ‘Terrific’ (George Thomas) Seaver
Baseball Hall of Famer: NY Mets [World Series 1969, 1973/all-star: 1967-1973, 1975, 1976/Cy Young Award: 1969, 1973, 1975], Cincinnati Reds [all-star: 1977, 1978, 1981], Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox; broadcaster: Reds, Mets, ABC
1945 - Elvin Hayes
Basketball Hall of Famer: ‘The Big E’: San Diego/Houston Rockets, Baltimore Bullets; 5th on list of most games played in ABA/NBA; University of Houston, All America [1967, 1968]
1946 - Martin Barre
musician: guitar: Jethro Tull: Living in the Past
1948 - Herman Weaver
football: kicker: Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks
1950 - Roland Matthes
swimmer: Olympic Gold Medalist: 100 and 200 meter backstroke [1968, 1972]
1951 - Charlie Davis
football: Pittsburgh Steelers DT [Super Bowl IX], SL Cardinals, Houston Oilers
1955 - Yolanda King
actress: Ghosts of Mississippi, America’s Dream, The Secret Path, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.; died May 15 2007
1958 - Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
actress: The Color of Money, The Abyss, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Class Action, Consenting Adults, Scarface
1959 - William R. Moses
actor: Perry Mason, Falcon Crest, Mystic Pizza, Trial by Jury, The Perfect Wife
1962 - Eric Olson
actor: Apple’s Way, Swiss Family Robinson
1966 - Daisy Fuentes
model: Revlon; TV host: MTV VJ; actress: Loving, America’s Funniest Home Videos
1966 - Sophie Marceau (Maupu)
actress: La Boum, Pacific Palisades, Braveheart, The World is Not Enough, A Midsummer Night's Dream
1967 - Ronnie DeVoe
singer: groups: New Edition, Bell Biv DeVoe

[Aquarius]

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
STEAMBOAT WILLIE DAY

On this day in 1928, Walt Disney debuted his talking, animated cartoon, Steamboat Willie, at the Colony Theatre in New York. The short film featured a character who had been named Mortimer. Walt changed the name to Mickey Mouse.Steamboat Willie was the first cartoon with synchronized sound. And, for those of you who don’t remember,Steamboat Willie was in black and white. Disney’s first color cartoon wasn’t released for another four years.
The star of the film has changed somewhat over the years; but Mickey Mouse is still with us, in cartoons, on TV, in books and even in his own stores. What a great success story, especially for a mouse!


Events
November 18
1307 - The story of William Tell shooting the apple off of his young son’s noggin is said to have taken place on this day. The story is of either Swiss, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, or Persian origin. In other words, Who knows?1626 - St. Peter’s Basilica was dedicated in Rome by Urban VIII.
1894 - The New York World published the first colored Sunday comic.
1919 - One of the first ticker-tape parades was held -- to welcome the Prince of Wales to New York City. Ticker tape came from Wall Street, you know. Rolls of paper were used to record stock trades long before computers were invented. As the paper rolled over pins that punched stock information read by stock brokers, it would leave holes. When a big parade was organized, the shredded tape was scooped up and thrown out of windows on the marchers below. We now call the stuff confetti, since ticker tape isn’t used anymore.
1932 - For the first time, a tie occurred for the Best Actor Academy Award. Wallace Beery and Fredric March were only one vote apart so the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ruled it a tie. Both received an Oscar at the Fifth Annual Academy Awards, March forhis performance in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Beery for his role in The Champ. March thought it rather funny that the two were honored for ‘best male performance of the year’ when they each had adopted a child that year. The Champ also was honored when Frances Marionreceived the Writing/Original Story Academy Award for the film. There was only one Best Actress Award and it was presented to Helen Hayes for her performance in The Sin of Madelon Claudet. Host Lionel Barrymore greeted the film industry this night in the Fiesta Room at LA’s grand hotel, The Ambassador. The movie, Grand Hotel (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), earned the top honors as Outstanding Production. It was also a grand night for the film, Bad Girl. Its director, Frank Borzage, and its writer (adaptation), Edwin Burke, were both presented with Academy Awards. Walt Disney also received two awards: an honorary award for the creation of Mickey Mouse and for the cartoonshort subject, Flowers and Trees. Short Subject awards were presented to two other well-known Hollywood talents on this evening. Hal Roach won his prize for the comedy, The Music Box and Mack Sennett for the novelty short, Wrestling Swordfish. Both were first-time Academy Award winners as were Gordon Wiles for Art Direction (Transatlantic) and Lee Garmes for Cinematography (Shanghai Express). A grand night was had by all.
1942 - Thornton Wilder’s play, The Skin of Our Teeth, opened in New York City. The play was Wilder’s sequel to Our Town. The Skin of Our Teeth starred Tallulah Bankhead, Fredric March, Montgomery Clift and E.G. Marshall. One critic wrote, “As of last evening, the theatre was looking up.”
1949 - Alben W. Barkley married Jane Rucker Hadley in St. Louis. It was the first time a U.S. Vice President married while in office.
1951 - On this, a Sunday afternoon, Edward R. Murrow and Fred Friendly launched one of the most highly-praised TV productions in history. See It Now debuted on CBS. On that first program, Murrow showed a live camera shot of the Atlantic Ocean, followed by a live shot of the Pacific, then he said, “We are impressed by a medium through which a man sitting in his living room has been able to look at two oceans at once.” In April of 1952, See It Now moved into an evening time slot.
1967 - Lulu’s To Sir with Love, from the movie of the same name, started its fifth and final week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100chart. Lulu was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie (November 3, 1948). She changed her name to Lulu (and The Luvvers) in Scotland, early in her career.
1970 - Nobel Prize-winner Linus Pauling declared that large doses ofVitamin C could ward off the common cold.
1975 - John Denver received a gold record for I’m Sorry.
1978 - The worst case of murder-suicide in history took place in Jonestown, Guyana. Religious-cult leader Jim Jones (Peoples Temple)directed the ingestion of Kool-Aid (laced with cyanide) by at least 900 of his followers. He and his mistress then followed suit. Earlier in the day, Jones had directed the murder of California Congressman Leo J. Ryan, three newspeople and several ‘defectors’. Ryan, on a fact-finding tour of Jonestown, was boarding a privated airplan with the small group when they were shot down.
1986 - For the first time since his departure from his own late-night TV show, Jack Paar was a guest of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. One of TV’s great lines came from the show, when Carson quipped (after one of Paar’s long, long spiels), “Why is it that I feel I’m guesting on your show?”
1986 - Roger Clemens was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player. He was the first American League starter to be so named in 15 years. The Boston Red Sox hurler won the honor one week after earning the Cy Young Award.
1995 - Tha Dogg Pound’s album Dogg Food hit #1 in the U.S. for one week. The tracks were: Intro, Dogg Pound Gangstaz, Respect, New York, New York (Tha Night I Served 2,000 M.C.s), Smooth, Cyco-Lic-No (Bitch Azz Niggaz) Ridin’, Slipin’ and Slidin’, U Can’t See Me,Big Pimpin 2, Let’s Play House, I Don’t Like to Dream About Gettin Paid, Do What I Feel, If We All Fuc*, Some Bomb Azz Pussy, A Dogg’z Day Afternoon, Reality, "One By One (Subtracting Sucka Azz Niggaz from the Face of the Earth)", Sooo Much Style. This album will make the perfect gift for grandma this Christmas.
1997 - Two Willem de Kooning paintings topped the lots at Christie’s blue-chip contemporary sale in New York City. Two Standing Women (1949), sold for $4,182,500 and Woman (Blue Eyes) (1953), which went for about $2 million.
1997 - The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays begin taking shape with 35 selections apiece in baseball’s expansion draft. Both the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays began their baseball lives with sufficient funds to contend quickly.


Birthdays
November 18
1786 - Carl Weber
composer: Der Freischutz, Euryanthem Oberon, Invitation to the Dance; began the era of German romantic music; died June 5, 18261787 - Louis Daguerre
theater scene painter, physicist, inventor: daguerreotype photographic process; died in 1851
1836 - Sir William Gilbert
comic opera libretto writer: team: Gilbert & Sullivan: HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, Pirates of Penzance; died May 29, 1911
1882 - Amelita Galli-Curci
opera soprano: “If not the greatest coloratura soprano of all time, she must surely be recognized as among the world’s finest examples of true operatic artistry.”; died Nov 26, 1963
1899 - Eugene Ormandy (Jeno Blau)
conductor: The Philadelphia Orchestra; died Mar 12, 1985
1901 - George (Horace) Gallup
pollster whose opinion polls became famous by predicting FDR’s win in 1936; died in 1984; died July 26, 1984
1901 - Craig Wood
golf champion: PGA Hall of Famer: Masters [1941], U.S. Open [1941: he had entered 15 times before the win]; died May 7, 1968
1908 - Imogene Coca
Emmy Award-winning comedienne, actress: Your Show of Shows [1951]; Sid Caesar Invites You, It’s about Time, Grindl, Admiral Broadway Revue, National Lampoon’s Vacation; died June 2, 2001
1909 - Johnny (John Herndon) Mercer
Academy Award-winning composer, lyricist: On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe [1946], In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening[w/Hoagy Carmichael] [1951], Moon River [1961], Days of Wine and Roses [1962]; Autumn Leaves, One for My Baby, Charade, Satin Doll, You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby, Come Rain or Come Shine, Hooray for Hollywood, Jeepers Creepers, I’m An Old Cowhand, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive; wrote or co-wrote over a thousand songs; died June 25, 1976
1919 - Jocelyn Brando
actress: A Question of Love, The Big Heat; Sister of Marlon Brando; died Nov 27, 2005
1923 - Alan Shepard Jr.
astronaut: first American in space; died July 21, 1998
1925 - Gene (William) ‘Skip’ Mauch
baseball: Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, SL Cardinals, Boston Red Sox; manager: Philadelphia Phillies, LA Angels; died Aug 8, 2005
1926 - Dorothy Collins (Marjorie Chandler)
singer: My Boy Flattop, Your Hit Parade, sang with Benny Goodman band; actress: Follies; died July 21, 1994
1926 - Roy (Roy Edward) ‘Squirrel’ Sievers
baseball: SL Browns: [Rookie of the Year: 1949], Washington Nationals [all-star: 1956], Washington Senators [all-star: 1957, 1959], Chicago White Sox [all-star: 1961], Philadelphia Phillies
1931 - Roberto Goizueta
businessman: CEO of Coca-Cola Company; died Oct 18, 1997
1936 - Hank Ballard
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, songwriter: group: The Midnighters: The Twist, Finger Poppin’ Time, Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go,Work with Me Annie, Sexy Ways, Annie Had a Baby
1939 - Margaret Atwood
author: Cat’s Eye, Dancing Girls & Other Stories, The Handmaid’s Tale
1939 - Brenda Vaccaro
Emmy Award-winning actress: The Shape of Things [1973-74]; Once is Not Enough, Cactus Flower, The Goodbye People, How Now Dow Jones, Midnight Cowboy, Airport ’77, Ten Little Indians
1941 - Gary Bettenhausen
auto racer: fastest Indy 500 qualifying time ever: 224.468 mph [1991]
1941 - David Hemmings
actor: The Deadly Game, Islands in the Stream, The Old Curiosity Shop, Blow Up, Charge of the Light Brigade, Camelot, Barbarella,L.A. Law; died Dec 3, 2003
1942 - Linda Evans (Evanstad)
actress: Dynasty, The Big Valley, Standing Tall, Hunter, North and South, Book II
1942 - Susan Sullivan
actress: It’s a Living, Falcon Crest, Rich Man Poor Man Book II, Having Babies, The George Carlin Show, The Dark Ride, The Incredible Hulk, Deadman’s Curve; commercial spokesperson: Tylenol
1947 - Jameson Parker
actor: Simon and Simon, Curse of the Crystal Eye, Prince of Darkness, American Justice, A Small Circle of Friends, The Gathering: Part 2, Anatomy of a Seduction
1948 - Andrea Marcovicci
actress: Trapper John, M.D., Berrenger’s, Jack the Bear, The Water Engine, The Stuff, Kings and Desperate Men, The Concorde: Airport ’79, The Devil’s Web
1948 - Jack Tatum
football [safety]: Oakland Raiders: longest fumble return in history: 104 yards [1972, against the Green Bay Packers]; Super Bowl XI
1950 - Graham Parker
singer: group: Graham Parker and The Rumour: Between You and Me, Back to Schooldays, Hey Lord Don’t Ask Me Questions, Discovering Japan, Local Girls, Passion is No Ordinary Word, Stupefaction, The Beating of Another Heart; solo: LPs: Another Grey Area, The Real Macaw, Steady Nerves, The Mona Lisa’s Sister
1953 - Kevin Nealon
actor: Saturday Night Live, All I Want for Christmas, Roxanne, Champs
1953 - Herman Rarebell
musician: drums: group: Scorpions: LPs: Taken by Force, Tokyo Tapes, Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism, Blackout, Love at First Sting,World Wide Live
1956 - Warren Moon
football: QB: Univ. of Washington [1978 Rose Bowl MVP]; Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, KC Chiefs
1960 - Elizabeth Perkins
actress: Moonlight and Valentino, Miracle on 34th Street, The Flintstones, Indian Summer, He Said, She Said, Avalon, Big, About Last Night...

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1960 - Kim Wilde
singer: Kids in America, Rage to Love, You Keep Me Hangin’ On
1962 - Kirk Hammett
musician: guitar: group: Metallica: Enter Sandman, Nothing Else Matters
1968 - Gary (Antonian) Sheffield
baseball: Milwaukee Brewers, SDiego Padres [all-star: 1992], Florida Marlins [all-star: 1993, 1996]; nephew of baseball all-star Dwight Gooden
1970 - Peta Wilson
actress: La Femme Nikita, Naked Jane, Vanishing Point, Other People, Joe and Max