Today we celebrate the birthdays
… of Hugh Hefner. Hef is 84. Be sure to read his website biography.
… of Michael Learned. Momma Walton is 71.
… of Jerry Lee Lewis, Gordon Cooper, Doc Holliday, Sam Houston and, lest we forget, New Orleans Det. Remy McSwain. Dennis Quaid is 56.
… of Cynthia Nixon. The Sex in the City star is 44. Nixon played the maid hired by Salieri to spy on Mozart in the film Amadeus.
… of Rudy Huxtable. Keshia Knight Pulliam is 31.
Paul Robeson was was born on this date in 1898.
Paul Robeson was the epitome of the 20th-century Renaissance man. He was an exceptional athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist. His talents made him a revered man of his time, yet his radical political beliefs all but erased him from popular history. Today, more than one hundred years after his birth, Robeson is just beginning to receive the credit he is due.
Read more from the profile of Robeson at the PBS site for American Masters. Listen to Robeson sing Ol’ Man River.