Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835), Dick Clark (1929), Bill Walsh (1931) and Sandra Oh (1970) were all born on November 30th.
And it’s not a national holiday!
Seriously?!
It’s the birthday of Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, in Florida, Missouri (1835), who wrote Life on the Mississippi (1883), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), and his own favorite, The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1891). He was cynical and irreverent, but he had a tender spot for cats. There were always kittens in the house, and he gave them names like “Sin” and “Sour Mash.” “Mamma has morals,” said his daughter Suzy, “and Papa has cats.” He swore constantly and without shame. His streams of profanity broke his wife’s heart on a daily basis. One day he cut himself shaving, and she heard a string of oaths from the bathroom. She resolved to move him to repentance, and she repeated back to him all the bad words he had just said. He smiled at her and shook his head. “You have the words, Livy,” he said, “but you’ll never learn the tune.” After he published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he found himself awash in cash, which he invested in a typesetting machine that was very complicated and very ingenious and demanded more and more investment and in the end would not work. He had to declare bankruptcy, and he decided to go on a worldwide lecture tour, the proceeds of which he would use to pay back all of his creditors. His visits to Africa and Asia convinced him that a God who allowed Christians to believe that they were better than savages was a God he wanted no part of. He was a funny man and is remembered for his humorous sayings. He said, “It is better to keep you mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” He also said, “Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
As a teenager, Clark began his career in broadcasting in 1945 in the mailroom of station WRUN in Utica, New York, working his way up to weatherman and then newsman. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1951, Clark moved from radio into television broadcasting at station WKTV in Utica. Here, Clark hosted Cactus Dick and the Santa Fe Riders, a country music program which became the training ground for his later television hosting persona. In 1952, Clark moved to Philadelphia and radio station WFIL as a disc jockey for Dick Clark’s Caravan of Music. At that time, WFIL was affiliated with a television station which carried Bandstand, an afternoon teen dance show. Clark often substituted for Bob Horn, the show’s regular host. When Horn was jailed for drunken driving in 1956, Clark took over as permanent host, boosting Bandstand into Philadelphia’s best-known afternoon show. From that point on, he became a fixture in the American television broadcasting arena.
In 1957, the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) picked up the program for its daytime schedule, changing the name to American Bandstand.
William Ernest Walsh. . .Led 49ers to three Super Bowl wins (XVI, XIX, XXIII) in 10 years. . .Overall record: 102-63-1. . . Got first head coaching job at age 47. . .Led 49ers to first-ever NFL title in just three years. . . Won six NFC Western division titles, three NFC championships. . .NFL Coach of Year, 1981; NFC Coach of Year, 1984. . .Widely recognized as passing offense expert with keen ability to evaluate talent. . . Born November 30, 1931, in Los Angeles, California. . .Died July 30, 2007, at age of 75.
It’s also the birthday
… of Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Inspector Lewis Erskine and Stuart Bailey is 93.
… of Robert Guillaume, 84.
… of G. Gordon Liddy, 81. If the good die young, Liddy will live forever.
… of movie director Ridley Scott. He’s 74. Three nominations for the best director Oscar: Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down.
… of Terrence Malick, 68.
… of David Mamet. The playwright is 64. Two Oscar nomintations for writing, Wag the Dog and The Verdict.
… of Mandy Patinkin. “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Patinkin is 59.
… of Billy Idol, 56.
… of Bo Jackson, 49.
… of Ben Stiller. He’s 46.
… of Amy Ryan, 42.
Oliver Winchester was born 201 years ago today. A clothing manufacturer, Winchester bought a small failing division of Smith & Wesson in 1850, the division that made a rudimentary repeating rifle. In 1860, an engineer working for Winchester, Benjamin Tyler Henry, developed the first successful repeating rifle. It was improved upon and became known as the Winchester in 1866.
Winston Churchill was born on this date in 1874.
Lucille Ball married Desi Arnaz 71 years ago today.