Lester William Polfus is 92 today. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as Les Paul.
The name Les Paul is synonymous with the electric guitar. As a player, inventor and recording artist, Paul has been an innovator from the early years of his life. Born Lester William Polfus in 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Paul built his first crystal radio at age nine – which was about the time he first picked up a guitar. By age 13 he was performing semi-professionally as a country-music guitarist and working diligently on sound-related inventions. In 1941, Paul built his first solid-body electric guitar, and he continued to make refinements to his prototype throughout the decade. He also worked on refining the technology of sound, developing revolutionary engineering techniques such as close miking, echo delay and multitracking. All the while he busied himself as a bandleader who could play both jazz and country music.
Robert S. McNamara is 91.
Dick Vitale is 68 today, baby! Not exactly a diaper dandy.
Patricia Cornwall is 51.
Michael J. Fox is 46.
West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin is also 46.
Two-time nominee for the Best Actor Oscar (in two remarkably disparate roles), Johnny Depp is 44.
Queen (aka Princess) (aka Senator) Padmé Naberrie Amidalais was born on June 9th. She’s also known as Evey Hammond (V for Vendetta), Sara (Cold Mountain), Sam (Garden State) and Alice (Closer). That’s Natalie Portman. She’s 26.
Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana, on June 9th in 1891. The following is from the web site for the PBS series American Masters:
“Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love.”
“Night and Day,” “I Get A Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top,” “Begin the Beguine,” “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” — some of the cleverest, funniest, and most romantic songs ever written came from the pen of Cole Porter. He was unmatched as a tunesmith, and his Broadway musicals — from “Kiss Me Kate” and “Anything Goes” to “Silk Stockings” and “Can Can” — set the standards of style and wit to which today’s composers and lyricists aspire.
Night and Day was one of the NPR 100, their list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. The first note is repeated 35 times.
Donald Duck is 73 today. He debuted in the Disney Silly Symphony cartoon “The Wise Little Hen” on this date in 1934. (Donald Duck is one of three Disney characters with an “official” birthday. The others are Mickey and Minnie, who debuted on November 18, 1928.)
Donald Duck actually appeared in more theatrical cartoons than Mickey Mouse — 128. Donald’s middle name is Fauntleroy.
Q: Why does Donald Duck wear a towel when getting out of the shower when he usually doesn’t even wear pants?
A: Donald puts a towel when he gets out of the shower to dry off! When he gets out of the shower he’s pretty wet and doesn’t want to drip water all over the bathroom floor.
Seriously, Donald Duck was created as a human-like character. He reacts to many situations the same way that a man would. Since a man would normally wrap a towel around his waist when stepping out of the shower, so does Donald.
Q: What are the names of Donald Duck’s nephews? Who was their mother?
A: Donald’s nephews are Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They made their debut in the Donald Duck Sunday comic page on October 17, 1937, and first appeared on film in “Donald’s Nephews” in 1938. Huey wears red, Dewey wears blue, and Louie wears green.
Their mother was Donald’s sister, Dumbella Duck.