Richard Henry Lee was born on January 20, 1732. It was Lee who made the motion in the Second Continental Congress on June 7, 1776, calling for the Congress to declare independence from Great Britain.
Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
In August Lee signed the Declaration of Independence that had followed from his motion. He was the great-uncle of Robert E. Lee.
Nathan Birnbaum was born in New York City on January 20, 1896. He lived to be 100. As George Burns, his career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies. He met Gracie Allen in 1923 and as Burns put it: “”And all of a sudden the audience realized I had a talent. They were right. I did have a talent — and I was married to her for 38 years.” Burns and Allen began on radio in 1932, first on CBS, then on NBC, then back on CBS. They began on CBS TV in 1950 and lasted until 1958, when Allen retired. After some false starts on TV, Burns appeared in The Sunshine Boys with Walter Matthau (1975) and even more successfully in the title role of Oh, God! with John Denver in 1977. Burns won the Oscar for best supporting Oscar. He was 82.
Dr. “Bones” McCoy was born Jackson DeForest Kelly on January 20, 1920. He died in 1999.
Ray Anthony is 90 today. He was born Raymond Antonini. Anthony was a big band leader in the 1950s, well after the big band era had ended. Nonetheless, the Ray Anthony Orchestra had a few hits in the early fifties including the theme from the popular TV series Dragnet. I once saw Anthony live in a Detroit record store. I was 12 and it didn’t leave an impression. I was with my mom though and it left an impression on her. Anthony was very good looking.
Oscar-winner for best actress for Hud, Patricia Neal was born on January 20, 1926. She died in 2010. Neal is still known as the widow in The Day the Earth Stood Still, the matron in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and as the mother of the Walton brood in The Homecoming, the made-for-television movie (not the TV series). Ms. Neal had three burst cerebral aneurysms in 1965 (she was in a coma for three weeks); she had to turn down the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. Neal had an affair (and an aborted pregnancy) with married Gary Cooper when he was 46 and she was 21. She married Roald Dahl (1953-1983) and had five children.
Frank Kush, the football coach at Arizona State University 1958-1979 is 83 today. God, how I hated that man.
“Verrrry interesting, but …” Arte Johnson is 83 today.
The second man on the Moon, Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, is 82 today.
Director David Lynch is 66.
Bill Maher is 56.
Rainn Wilson is 46.