Senator John McCain is 74-years-old today.
Seven-time Oscar nominee for best actress, Ingrid Bergman was born on this date in 1915. She won the award three times: Gaslight, Anastasia, Murder on the Orient Express. No, she was not nominated for Casablanca. Ms. Bergman’s last role was as Golda Meir in 1982. She died that same year on her birthday, August 29.
Charlie Parker was born on this date in 1920.
Charlie Parker was one of the most influential improvising soloists in jazz, and a central figure in the development of bop in the 1940s. A legendary figure in his own lifetime, he was idolized by those who worked with him, and he inspired a generation of jazz performers and composers.
Parker died in 1955.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ruth Jones was born on this date in 1924.
Dinah Washington skirted the boundaries of blues, jazz and popular music, becoming the most popular black female recording artist of the ’50s.
She changed her name from Ruth Jones upon joining jazz vibraphonist Lionel Hampton’s band in 1943. After leaving Hampton in 1946, she began her own recording career, leading to Top 10 R&B hits in “Baby Get Lost” (No. 1, 1949), “Trouble in Mind” (No. 4, 1952), “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” (No. 4 R&B, No. 8 pop, 1959), and “This Bitter Earth” (No. 1 R&B, No. 24 pop, 1960).
In 1960, Washington also sang two No. 1 R&B duets with Brook Benton, “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)” (No. 5 pop) and “A Rockin’ Good Way” (No. 7 pop).
Washington died in 1963 after mixing alcohol and pills.
Sir Richard Attenborough is 87 today. Attenborough won Oscars for best director and best picture for Gandhi. He’s acted in several dozen films, most notably as Roger Bartlett in The Great Escape and Mr. Hammond in the Jurassic Park films.
Two-time Oscar nominee for director, William Friedkin is 75 today. He won for The French Connection; he was nominated for The Exorcist.
Oscar nominee Elliott Gould is 72 today. He was nominated for a supporting role in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Gould was married to Barbra Streisand 1963-1971.
Actress Rebecca DeMornay is 51. That was her opposite Tom Cruise in Risky Business and most famously as the twisted nanny in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.
Lea Michel of Glee is 24.
August 29th is the birthday of Michael Jackson. He would have been 52 today.