… of Melinda Dillon. That’s the mom in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. She’s 67. Dillon was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar for that role and for her part in Absence of Malice.
… of Paul Simon. He’s “Still Crazy After All These Years” at 65.
It’s the birthday of singer and songwriter Paul Simon, born in Newark, New Jersey (1941). His father was a musician and his mother was a music teacher. When he was in sixth grade, he got a part in the school play as the White Rabbit in Alice In Wonderland. A boy named Art Garfunkel played the Mad Hatter. The two became friends after walking home from rehearsal every day. They started a singing duo, playing sock hops and high school dances, and they made a hit record when they were only 16 years old.
The two recorded their first folk album, Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m. in 1964, but it only sold a few thousand copies. They figured their career was probably over, but, unbeknownst to Simon and Garfunkel, their record label had added electric guitars to the song “The Sounds of Silence” and released it as a single. They had just moved back in with their parents and were sitting in Simon’s car, wondering what to do next, when they heard the song come on the radio, and the DJ said it had gone to number one. Simon turned to Garfunkel and said, “That Simon and Garfunkel, they must be having a great time.” (The Writer’s Almanac)
… of Demond Wilson. Sanford’s son is 60.
… of Marie Osmond. She’s 47.
… of Jerry Rice. He’s 44.
… of skater Nancy Kerrigan. She’s 37.
… of Leonard Alfred Schneider, born on this date in 1925. That’s Lenny Bruce, who said, “All my humor is based on destruction and despair. If the whole world were tranquil, I’d be standing in the breadline, right back of J. Edgar Hoover.”
And it’s the third birthday of Sofie, official youngest granddaughter of NewMexiKen. Happy Birthday, Sofie!