Today is the birthday
… of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The Nobel Prize winner (for Literature in 1970) is 89.
… of Rita Moreno. The Oscar winner — supporting actress for Anita in West Side Story — is 76.
… of author Jim Harrison, 70.
… born in Grayling, Michigan (1937), whose first big success was Legends of the Fall (1979). He’s written many more books. His most recent is the collection of poetry Saving Daylight, which came out this September (2007). Jim Harrison said, “I like grit, I like love and death, I’m tired of irony… A lot of good fiction is sentimental… The novelist who refuses sentiment refuses the full spectrum of human behavior, and then he just dries up… I would rather give full vent to all human loves and disappointments, and take a chance on being corny.”
… of Tom Hayden. Royal Oak’s most famous native, co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society and Jane Fonda’s one-time husband is 68.
… of John Kerry. He’s 64.
… of Brenda Lee. She’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree this year at age 63.
… of Terri Garr. The Oscar nominee (supporting actress for Tootsie) is 60.