Category: Birthdays

April 15th is the birthday of Emma Thompson and Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson. The actresses are 48 and 17.

Emma Thompson has been nominated four times for an acting Oscar, winning best actress in a leading role for Howards End. She also won the screen adaptation Oscar for Sense and Sensibility.

Emma Watson has played just one character so far in her acting career, that of Hermione Granger.

. . . of Ben Nighthorse Campbell, 74.

. . . of Paul Sorvino. The 68-year-old actor has more than 100 credits at IMDB, including a season as Detective Sergeant Philip “Phil” Cerreta on Law & Order and Henry Kissinger in Nixon.

. . . of Wally Cleaver. Tony Dow is 62.

. . . of Al Green, staying together at 61.

With his incomparable voice, full of falsetto swoops and nuanced turns of phrase, Al Green rose to prominence in the Seventies. One of the most gifted purveyors of soul music, Green has sold more than 20 million records. During 1972 and 1973, he placed six consecutive singles in the Top Ten: “Let’s Stay Together,” “Look What You Done for Me,” “I’m Still in Love With You,” “You Ought to Be With Me,” “Call Me” and “Here I Am (Come and Take Me).” “Let’s Stay Together” topped the pop chart for one week and the R&B charts for nine; it was also revived with great success by Tina Turner in 1984. In terms of popularity and artistry, Green was the top male soul singer in the world, voluntarily ending his reign with a move from secular to gospel music in 1979.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

. . . of chess champion Gary Kasparov, 44.

. . . of Davis Love III. He’s 43.

. . . of Rick Schroeder. Just nine when he won a Golden Globe, he’s 37 now.

It’s also the birthday of playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett, born on this date in 1906. Waiting for Godot was published in 1952.

. . . of Clarence ‘Lumpy’ Rutherford. Actor Frank Bank of Leave It to Beaver is 65.

. . . of Ed O’Neill. He’s 61. O’Neill was nominated for two Golden Globes for playing shoe salesman Al Bundy on Married … with Children.

. . . of David Letterman. He’s 60, but a part of him seemingly never left the 8th grade.

. . . of Tom Clancy. He’s 60.

He was an insurance salesman, and he was doing well for himself, but he’d always wanted to be a writer. He had spent all his spare time reading magazines about military technology, such as Combat Fleets of the World and A Guide to the Soviet Navy, and one day he began to wonder what would happen if a Soviet submarine tried to defect to the United States. That became the basis for his first novel, The Hunt for Red October (1984).

Instead of focusing on the interactions between his characters, Clancy focused more on the technology. He described the soviet submarine in intricate detail, the way it moved and maneuvered, and all its weaponry and hardware. Since he didn’t think the novel would appeal to a mass audience, he published it with a small military publishing house called the Naval Institute Press. But the book got passed around among officers and generals, and eventually made its way to Ronald Reagan, who said he loved it. That endorsement from the president helped turn The Hunt for Red October into a huge best-seller.

The Writer’s Almanac

. . . of Scott Turow. He’s 58. He wanted to be a writer but went to law school so he’d have a day job. His first novel was Presumed Innocent, published in 1987.

. . . of David Cassidy. Once a teen heart throb, he’s now 57.

. . . of Andy Garcia. He’s 51. Garcia was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in The Godfather: Part III.

. . . of Vince Gill. He’s 50.

. . . of Claire Danes, 28.

The photographer Imogen Cunningham was born on this date in 1883.

. . . of Ethel Kennedy, 79, Joel Grey, 75, and Joss Stone, 20.

. . . of Betty Ford, 89.

. . . of John Havlicek, 67.

Known for clutch performances in big games, Havlicek posted impressive numbers during his illustrious 16-year career. In 1,270 regular-season games he scored 26,395 points and averaged 20.8 points to rank as the Celtics’ all-time leading scorer and the sixth-highest scorer in NBA history. He also grabbed 8,007 rebounds, recorded 6,114 assists, and played on eight Boston championship teams. He appeared in 13 consecutive NBA All-Star Games, earned 11 selections to the All-NBA First or Second Team, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First or Second Team eight times.

NBA.com

. . . of Gary Carter, 53.

A rugged receiver and enthusiastic on-field general, Gary Carter excelled at one of baseball’s most demanding positions, as both as offensive and defensive force. A three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Carter belted 324 home runs in his 19-season major league career. “Kid” showed a knack for the big-time, twice earning All-Star Game MVP awards in his 11 selections. His clutch 10th-inning single in Game Six of the 1986 World Series sparked a dramatic Mets’ comeback victory, ultimately leading to a World Series title.

National Baseball Hall of Fame

. . . of Barbara Kingsolver, 52.

. . . born in Annapolis, Maryland (1955). She majored in biology at DePauw University in Indiana, and then got a master’s degree in evolutionary biology. She was working on a Ph.D. thesis on the social lives of termites when she decided to abandon a career in science and try to become a writer. Kingsolver began writing short stories in her spare time, and then she wrote her novel The Bean Trees (1986) about a woman from rural Kentucky who leaves home so she won’t get stuck in a boring, dead-end life. The Bean Trees was a huge success, and Kingsolver has gone on to write many more novels, including The Poisonwood Bible (1998), about the wife and four daughters of an evangelical Baptist minister who go as missionaries to the Belgian Congo in 1959.

The Writer’s Almanac

. . . of the Princess bride. Robin Wright Penn is 41.

Gladys Marie Smith was born on this date in 1892. We know her as Mary Pickford. Miss Pickford won the Oscar for best actress for Coquette. The first big female movie star, Pickford was an industry leader as well, helping found United Artists and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Jim “Catfish” Hunter was born on this date in 1946.

The bigger the game, the better he pitched. Jim “Catfish” Hunter, with his pinpoint control, epitomized smart pitching at its finest. He pitched a perfect game in 1968, won 21 or more games five times in a row, and claimed the American League Cy Young Award in 1974. Arm trouble ended his career at age 33, but he still won 224 games and five World Series rings. The likable pitching ace died in 1999 at age 53 – a victim of ALS, the same disease that cut short the life of Lou Gehrig.

National Baseball Hall of Fame

. . . of Ravi Shankar. Norah Jones’ father is 87.

. . . of Hendley “The Scrounger,” Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford. That’s James Garner, 79 today.

. . . of Trapper. Wayne Rogers is 74.

. . . of Governor Moonbeam. Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is 69.

. . . of Francis Ford Coppola. The Oscar-winning writer and director is 68. Coppola has been nominated 14 times overall, winning five, three for writing (Patton, Godfather and Godfather II). He won the best director and best picture Oscars for Godfather II.

. . . of David Frost. The journalist, television celebrity is 68.

. . . of Russell Crowe. The 3-time best actor Oscar nominee is 43. He won for Gladiator.

. . . of Tiki and Ronde. The Barber brothers are 32 each.

Eleanora Fagan was born on this date in 1915. We know her as Billie Holiday.

Miss Holiday set a pattern during her most fruitful years that has proved more influential than that of almost any other jazz singer, except the two who inspired her, Louis Armstrong and the late Bessie Smith.

Miss Holiday became a singer more from desperation than desire. She was named Eleanora Fagan after her birth in Baltimore. She was the daughter of a 13-year-old mother, Sadie Fagan, and a 15-year-old father who were married three years after she was born.

The first and major influence on her singing came when as a child she ran errands for the girls in a near-by brothel in return for the privilege of listening to recordings by Mr. Armstrong and Miss Smith.
. . .

At Jerry Preston’s Log Cabin, a night club, she asked for work as a dancer. She danced the only step she knew for fifteen choruses and was turned down. The pianist, taking pity on her, asked if she could sing. She brashly assured him that she could. She sang “Trav’lin’ All Alone” and then “Body and Soul” and got a job–$2 a night for six nights a week working from midnight until about 3 o’clock the next afternoon.

Miss Holiday had been singing in Harlem in this fashion for a year or two when she was heard by John Hammond, a jazz enthusiast, who recommended her to Benny Goodman, at that time a relatively unknown clarinet player who was the leader on occasional recording sessions.

She made her first recording, “Your Mother’s Son-in-Law” in November, 1933, singing one nervous chorus with a band that included in addition to Mr. Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Gene Krupa and Joe Sullivan.

Two years later Miss Holiday started a series of recordings with groups led by Teddy Wilson, the pianist, which established her reputation in the jazz world. On many of these recordings the accompanying musicians were members of Count Basie’s band, a group with which she felt a special affinity. She was particularly close to Mr. Basie’s tenor saxophonist, the late Lester Young.

It was Mr. Young who gave her the nickname by which she was known in jazz circles–Lady Day. She in turn created the name by which Mr. Young was identified by jazz bands, “Pres.” She was the vocalist with the Basie band for a brief time during 1937 and the next year she signed for several months with Artie Shaw’s band.

The New York Times (1959)

. . . of Gale Storm. My Little Margie is 85. That TV series ran 1952-1955. Storm’s real name was neither Gale, nor Margie (nor Susanna Pomeroy). It was Josephine Cottle.

. . . of Colin Powell. He’s 70. As NewMexiKen exited my office in 2001, I nearly ran into Secretary Powell and Condoleezza Rice walking down the hall after leaving one of Vice President Cheney’s Energy Task Force meetings. Powell is one of eight Secretaries of State that I’ve met or seen, but the only one I almost knocked down.

. . . of Michael Moriarty. He’s 66. Moriarty has won three Emmy awards, but none for playing Ben Stone in Law and Order despite five nominations. NewMexiKen liked Moriarty best as Henry “Author” Wiggen in Bang the Drum Slowly (with Robert De Niro). The IMDB mini biography for Moriarty says he’s 6-feet-4. Interestingly, the mini biography was written by Michael Moriarty.

Booker T. Washington was born on this date in 1856.

An incident of Dr. Washington’s life that stirred up a controversy throughout the country was the occasion of his dining at the White House with President Roosevelt on Oct. 16, 1901. Dr. Washington went to the White House at the invitation of the President, and, when the news was spread abroad, thousands, both North and South, who were moved by race prejudice or by a belief that social equality between blacks and whites had been encouraged, became angry. Most of the criticism fell upon Colonel Roosevelt, but the incident served also to injure Dr. Washington’s work in some parts of the South.

The New York Times

Spencer Tracy was born on this date in 1900. Tracy was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar nine times and won twice, for Captains Courageous and Boys Town. Tracy died in 1967.

Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born on this date in 1908. As Bette Davis she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar 11 times, winning for Dangerous and Jezebel. Davis died in 1989.

Conductor Herbert von Karajan was also born on this date in 1908 and he, too, died in 1989.

Gregory Peck was born on this date in 1916. Peck was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar five times, winning for To Kill a Mockingbird. Mr. Peck also won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Peck died in 2003.

Joseph Lister was born on this date in 1827. His principle that bacteria must never enter a surgical incision was a breakthrough for modern surgery. Lister died in 1912.

. . . of Doris Day. She’s 83 today. Day had three number one hits on her own and was the vocalist with Les Brown for one of the great hits of all-time, “Sentimental Journey.” Her most famous other single, “What Ever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)” was a number two song in 1956. Day was nominated for the best actress Oscar for Pillow Talk.

. . . of primatologist Jane Goodall. She’s 73.

. . . of Marsha Mason; she’s 65. Mason is a four-time Oscar nominee for best actress — Cinderella Liberty, The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two and Only When I Laugh.

. . . of Wayne Newton and Billy Joe Royal. They’re both 65. Each had exactly one top ten hit — Newton with “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast” (reached number 4 in 1972) and Royal with “Down in the Boondocks” (reached number 9 in 1965). Of the two, Newton has surely done the better job of hanging on.

. . . of Tony Orlando, 63. Orlando had three number one hits in the early 70s: “Knock Three Times” as Dawn, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Rond the Ole Oak Tree” as Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando, and “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You)” as Tony Orlando and Dawn.

. . . of Richard Thompson. He’s 58 and he’s never had a top ten hit, however:

One of Britain’s most gifted guitarists and songwriters; Richard has been the mainstay of the folk rock scene for over 30 years. Whatever the size of his record sales, he has a reputation among his peers that is second to none. (BBC – Music)

. . . of Alec Baldwin. He’s 49. Baldwin was nominated for the best supporting actor Oscar for Cooler.

. . . of David Hyde Pierce. Frasier Crane’s brother Niles is 48.

. . . of Eddie Murphy. He’s 46. Murphy was 19 when he started with “Saturday Night Live.” Murphy was nominated recently for the best supporting actor Oscar.

The actor Leslie Howard was born on this date in 1893. Most famous as Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, Howard was nominated for two best acting Oscars earlier in his career. Wilkes’ was killed when his plane was shot down by German fighters during World War II.

. . . of Leon Russell. He’s 65.

The ultimate rock & roll session man, Leon Russell’s long and storied career includes collaborations with a virtual who’s who of music icons spanning from Jerry Lee Lewis to Phil Spector to the Rolling Stones. A similar eclecticism and scope also surfaced in his solo work, which couched his charmingly gravelly voice in a rustic yet rich swamp pop fusion of country, blues and gospel. . . . As a member of Spector’s renowned studio group, Russell played on many of the finest pop singles of the 1960s, also arranging classics like Ike & Tina Turner’s monumental “River Deep, Mountain High”; other hits bearing his input include the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ “This Diamond Ring,” and Herb Alpert’s “A Taste of Honey.”

allmusic

. . . of jazz-rock guitarist of Larry Coryell. He’s 64.

. . . of Linda Hunt. The actress won an Oscar for playing a man in The Year of Living Dangerously. She did not play a woman posing as a man, like Barbra Streisand in Yentl. She actually played a male part. Ms. Hunt is 62. NewMexiKen liked Hunt particularly as the barkeep/saloon-owner in Silverardo.

. . . of baseball hall-of-famer Don Sutton. He, too, is 62. Sutton had 324 victories, 3,574 strikeouts (fifth best all-time) and a career ERA of 3.26. Sutton never lost a turn in the starting rotation due to illness or injury. (That’s impressive.)

. . . of Emmylou Harris. She’s 60 today.

Though other performers sold more records and earned greater fame, few left as profound an impact on contemporary music as Emmylou Harris. Blessed with a crystalline voice, a remarkable gift for phrasing, and a restless creative spirit, she traveled a singular artistic path, proudly carrying the torch of “Cosmic American music” passed down by her mentor, Gram Parsons. With the exception of only Neil Young — not surprisingly an occasional collaborator — no other mainstream star established a similarly large body of work as consistently iconoclastic, eclectic, or daring; even more than three decades into her career, Harris’ latter-day music remained as heartfelt, visionary, and vital as her earliest recordings.

allmusic

. . . of SVU Detective Elliot Stabler. Actor Christopher Meloni is 46.

The French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was born on April 2 in 1834. He is the creator of the Statue of Liberty. The statue’s face is said to be that of Bartholdi’s mother.

Walter Chrysler was born on this date in 1875.

After a successful career in the railroad industry that began as a sweeper, then a skilled machinist and finally the plant manager of the American Locomotive Company, Chrysler switched gears to enter the auto industry as the plant manager for Buick. After rising to the presidency of Buick, Chrysler moved to Willys-Overland in 1920, reorganizing and saving the company. While still at Willys-Overland, Chrysler was recruited to salvage the foundering Maxwell-Chalmers Company. After taking control of Maxwell’s assets and liabilities in June 1925, Chrysler became president of the company that bore his name, as did the automobiles manufactured by it. He remained as president until 1935, and served as chairman until his death in 1940.

Walter P. Chrysler Museum

In 1928 Chrysler was Time’s second-ever Person of the Year, following Lindbergh.

. . . of Debbie Reynolds, 75.

. . . of Ali MacGraw, 69.

. . . of David Eisenhower, 60.

And to think they were once all heartthrobs for millions.

. . . of actor John Astin. Patty Duke’s one-time husband, TV’s Gomez Addams is 77.

. . . of Peter Marshall. You know, The Hollywood Squares guy. He’s 77.

. . . of actor Warren Beatty. He turns 70 today.

. . . of basketball hall-of-famer Jerry Lucas. He’s 67.

. . . of Eric Clapton, 62 today. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times — as a member of the Yardbirds, a member of Cream and as a solo artist. (And he recorded one of his trademark songs — “Layla” — as a member of Derek and the Dominos.)

. . . of actor-comedian Paul Reiser, 50. Is it Reiser that’s annoying or just the characters he plays?

. . . of rapper MC Hammer. He’s 44.

. . . of Tracy Chapman. Talking ’bout a revolution at 43.

. . . of Celine Dion, 39.

And it’s the birthday of singer Norah Jones, now a nearly ancient 28.

Singer Frankie Laine was born on this date in 1913. He died earlier this year. Laine had his share of hits in the late 40s and 50s, many with a western theme like “Do Not Forsake Me,” the theme from High Noon.

President Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton on this date in 1981.

. . . of Eric Idle. He’s 64.

. . . of Walt Frazier. Clyde is 62.

. . . of Lucy Lawless. Xena is 39.

. . . of Jennifer Capriati, 31.

One of the original five in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cy Young was born on this date in 1867.

One of the most consistent and durable pitchers the game has ever known, Denton True “Cy” Young won 511 games – almost 100 more than any other pitcher in history. He won 30 games five times and topped 20 wins an astounding 15 times. In 1901 Young had his best season and became the fledgling American League’s first superstar, leading the junior circuit in wins, strikeouts and ERA. In 1903, he won two games in the first modern World Series to help Boston to the championship.

National Baseball Hall of Fame

Sam Walton was born on this date in 1918, as was singer Pearl Bailey.

. . . of Russell Banks, 67.

. . . born in Newton, Massachusetts (1940), who wrote Continental Drift (1985), The Sweet Hereafter (1992), and Cloudsplitter (1998).

He once said, “[If I] hadn’t become a writer … I would have been stabbed to death in the parking lot outside a bar in Florida at 24, or something like that. I really believe that, actually. I think writing saved my life.”

The Writer’s Almanac

. . . of two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest. She’s 59. Ms. Wiest won supporting actress Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway. She was nominated for the same award for Parenthood.

. . . of Reba McEntire, 52.

McEntire was the single most successful female country vocalist of the ’80s and ’90s, scoring a consistent stream of Top Ten singles and a grand total of 18 number one singles. (allmusic)

. . . of Vince Vaughn. He’s 37.

Bandleader Paul Whiteman was born on this date in 1890.

. . . There he soon became the best-known American bandleader, particularly with his recording of Whispering and Japanese Sandman (1920), which sold more than a million copies. By the early 1920s his lush orchestral style was widely copied on countless bandstands at home and abroad.
. . .

Whiteman was a key figure in American popular music. While jazz purists accused him of diluting the character of early jazz for commercial purposes, less biased observers applauded the high polish and versatility of his orchestras, which had to be as comfortable in the concert hall as at a college dance. He employed a number of talented musicians: in the original arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue three of his reed players were required to play a total of 17 instruments. Although his dance music tended to be sedate, there were occasional jazz solos from musicians such as Bix Beiderbecke, Frankie Trumbauer, Eddie Lang, Bunny Berigan, and Jack Teagarden.

JAZZ A Film By Ken Burns

And, of course, it’s the birthday of Jason, official youngest child of NewMexiKen. Happy Birthday Jason!

… of Sandra Day O’Connor. She’s 77.

… of Leonard Nimoy. Mr. Spock is 76.

… of Oscar-winner Alan Arkin. He’s 73. Arkin was twice nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role — for The Russians are Coming, the Russians Are Coming and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. He recently won the supporting actor Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine.

… of James Caan and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. They’re 67 today.

… of Erica Jong, 65.

… of former journalist Bob Woodward, 64.

… of Diana Ross, once Supreme. She’s 63.

… of Johnny Crawford. He was the kid on The Rifleman and he’s now 61.

… of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, 59.

Aerosmith were America’s feisty retort to hard-rocking British groups like the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Who, Cream, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Almost alone among American bands, Aerosmith matched those British legends in power, intensity, and notoriety. Moreover, they’ve long since surpassed many of their influences in terms of longevity and popularity. In the words of vocalist Steven Tyler, “We weren’t too ambitious when we started out. We just wanted to be the biggest thing that ever walked the planet, the greatest rock band that ever was.”

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

… of Marcus Allen and the person who used to look like Jennifer Grey. They’re 47.

… of Michael Imperioli. Christopher is 41.

… of best actress Oscar-nominee Keira Knightley, 22.

Condé Montrose Nast was born on this date in 1873. His earliest magazines were Vogue, Vanity Fair and House and Garden. Nast died in 1942, but the company that bears his name now publishes more than two dozen magazines.

Robert Frost, long thought of as the New England poet, was born in San Francisco on this date in 1874.

Tennessee Williams was born on this date in 1911.

He was brilliant and prolific, breathing life and passion into such memorable characters as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski in his critically acclaimed A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. And like them, he was troubled and self-destructive, an abuser of alcohol and drugs. He was awarded four Drama Critic Circle Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was derided by critics and blacklisted by Roman Catholic Cardinal Spellman, who condemned one of his scripts as “revolting, deplorable, morally repellent, offensive to Christian standards of decency.” He was Tennessee Williams, one of the greatest playwrights in American history.

American Masters