Just 61 days until Christmas.
Pablo Picasso was born on this date in 1881.
Today is the birthday
… of Marian Ross, 83 today. She was Marion Cunningham on Happy Days.
… of basketball coach Bobby Knight. He’s 71.
… of singer Helen Reddy. “I am woman, hear me roar” is a roaring 70.
… of author Anne Tyler (not to be confused with Ann Taylor). The Pulitzer winner (for Breathing Lessons) is 70.
… of basketball hall-of-famer Dave Cowens. The tenacious Celtic is 63.
… of Nancy Cartwright. The voice of Bart Simpson is 54.
… of Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, 27. She’s better known as Katy Perry.
Charles Edward Coughlin was born on this date in 1891.
One of the first public figures to make effective use of the airwaves, Charles E. Coughlin, was for a time one of the most influential personalities on American radio. At the height of his popularity in the early 1930s, some 30 million listeners tuned in to hear his emotional messages. Many of his speeches were rambling, disorganized, repetitious, and as time went by, they became increasingly full of bigoted rhetoric. But as a champion of the poor, a foe of big business, and a critic of federal indifference in the face of widespread economic distress, he spoke to the hopes and fears of lower-middle class Americans throughout the country. Years later, a supporter remembered the excitement of attending one of his rallies: “When he spoke it was a thrill like Hitler. And the magnetism was uncanny. It was so intoxicating, there’s no use saying what he talked about…”
Minnie Pearl was born Sarah Ophelia Colley on this date in 1912.