November 19th is the birthday

… of Larry King. He’s 73. Before CNN, King was one of the first stars of national talk radio. He left his keys on the table of a fast food restaurant in Crystal City, Virginia, near where I was staying during a business trip in 1983. I noticed the keys and called after him. Only when he thanked me did I hear his voice and know who he was.

… of Dick Cavett. He’s 70. Time for the University of Nebraska to get someone else to narrate its football in-game television promotion.

… of Ted Turner. He’s 68. Turner is America’s largest individual private landowner. Turner owns about 1.8 million acres in 10 states, more than one million of it in New Mexico (though he is not New Mexico’s largest private individual landowner). According to Forbes (in 2003):

Despite his reputation as a die-hard conservationist, the cable pioneer makes plenty of money off his land. He sells bison meat to restaurants (including his own). He opened some of his New Mexico holdings to gas and coal exploration. Timber is harvested and sold. Hunting and fishing fees generate $5 million a year. “I’m doing things as natural as I can and trying to make some money at the same time,” he says. “I have the same credo with my land as I had with my business: He who profits most serves the best.”

… of Calvin Klein. He’s 64.

… of Ahmad Rashad. He was born Bobby Moore 57 years ago. Rashad proposed to Cosby TV mom Phylicia Ayers-Allen on national TV during halftime of a Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game. O.J. Simpson was his best man. Rashad and Allen were divorced in 2001.

… of Ann Curry. She’s 50. Daughter of an American father and Japanese mother, Curry was born on Guam and raised in Oregon.

… of Allison Janney. She’s 46. Six Emmy nominations for “West Wing,” four wins.

… of Meg Ryan. She’s 45. Ryan has been nominated for best acting Golden Globes, but no Oscars.

… of Jodie Foster. She’s 44. Nominated for the best actress Oscar three times and best supporting actress once, Foster won for “The Accused” and “Silence of the Lambs.”