It’s the birthday

… of Gene Hackman. The Oscar-winning actor is 75. He won Best Actor for The French Connection and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Unforgiven. He has received three other nominations.

… of Dick Cheney. The Vice President is 64.

… of Phil Collins. The singer is 54.

It’s the birthday

… of Katharine Ross. Mrs. Robinson’s daughter is (gasp!) 65. (Mrs. Robinson, Anne Bancroft, turned 73 last September.)

… of Tom Selleck. Thomas Magnum is 60.

… of Oprah Winfrey. She’s 51.

… of Judy Norton Taylor. Mary Ellen Walton is 47. (Which makes her older than Patricia Neal was when playing the mother in the original Walton film, The Homecoming: A Christmas Story.)

It’s the birthday

… of Alan Alda. Hawkeye is 69 today, just three days after being nominated for his first Oscar for his portrayal of Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster in The Aviator.

It’s the birthday

… of Mariska Hargitay. Jayne Mansfield’s daughter is 41. (Mariska was in the car when her mother was killed in 1967.) Ms. Hargitay plays Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

It’s the birthday

… of Jean Stapleton. Edith Bunker is 82.

… of Tippi Hedren. The actress in The Birds is 75. As it’s her birthday NewMexiKen won’t say how bad she was in that role.

… of Phil Everly. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (with older brother Don) is 66.

… of Shelley Fabares. Donna Reed’s television daughter is 61.

… of Desi Arnaz Jr. Little Ricky is 52.

… of Katey Sagal. The Married…With Children mom is 48.

… of Drea de Matteo. The actress who was whacked on The Sopranos last season is 32.

Paul Cezanne was born on this date in 1839.

It’s the birthday

… of Kevin Costner. Costner won the Oscars for Diretor and Best Picture for Dances With Wolves and was nominated for the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lt. John Dunbar. He’s 50 today.

It’s also the birthday of Cary Grant (Archibald Alexander Leach, 1904-1986) and Danny Kaye (David Daniel Kaminski, 1913-1987).

It’s the birthday

… of Bart Starr. The hall-of-fame quarterback is 71.

… of Bob Denver. Gilligan (and Maynard Krebs) is 70.

… of Dick Enberg. The sportscaster is 70 (oh, my!).

… of Joan Baez. The singer is 64.

… of Jimmy Page. The Led Zeppelin rocker is 61.

… of Crystal Gayle. Loretta Lynn’s little sister is 54.

… of Dave Matthews. He’s 38.

It’s the birthday

… of Boo Radley. Robert Duval is 74.

… of Annie Hall. Diane Keaton is 59.

It’s the birthday

… of Jane Wyman. The Oscar-winning first Mrs. Reagan is 91.

… of Floyd Patterson. The former heavyweight champion is 70.

… of Dyan Cannon. The actress and Lakers fan is 68.

… of Julia Ormond. Guinevere or Sabrina, take your pick, is 40.

It’s the birthday

… of George Martin. The man who produced The Beatles’ records is 79.

… of Dabney Coleman. Franklin M. Hart Jr. is 73 (that’s the boss in Nine To Five).

… of Bobby Hull. The hockey hall-of-famer is 66.

… of Stephen Stills. The rock and roll hall-of-famer is 60.

… of Victoria Principal. Pamela Barnes Ewing (Dallas) is 59.

… of Mel Gibson. Old Blood and Guts is 49.