… of Deborah Kerr. The six-time Oscar nominee for best actress is 86 today — among the nominations: The King and I, From Here to Eternity and The Sundowners.
… of Elie Wiesel, 79. The Writer’s Almanac has background.
… of Angie Dickinson. “Pepper” is 76 today.
… of Johnny Mathis. Chances are the singer is 72 today.
… of Barry Williams. Greg Brady is 53 today.
… of Fran Drescher, 50. (Only 50?)
… of Dharma. Jenna Elfman is 36.
Truman Capote was born in New Orleans on this date in 1924. The Writer’s Almanac has a couple of paragraphs on Capote. The New York Times has his obituary from 1984.
James Dean was killed on this date 52 years ago at the junction of California Highways 41 and 46. He was 24.
[Dean] and his mechanic, Rolf Wuetherich, were traveling in Dean’s new Porsche Spyder 550, which he planned to race that afternoon in Salinas. Dean had traded in his Porsche Speedster just nine days earlier, purchasing the Spyder for $6,900 and naming it “Little Bastard.”
From JamesDean.com.
NewMexiKen’s very own grandfather was born in Alvord, Texas, on this date in 1881. He died before I was born, but I met his mother, my great-grandmother, when I was a small child. She was not quite 16 when my grandfather was born; she was 87 when I met her (and lived to be 93).