Category: Birthdays

… of U.S. Senator Robert Byrd. The West Virginian is 89.

… of best supporting actress Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons. She won the award for “Bonnie and Clyde” and was nominated again the following year for “Rachel, Rachel.” She’s 79.

… of comedian Dick Smothers. The straight man of the duo is 68.

… of U.S. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. He’s 64.

… of Veronica Hamel of Hill Street Blues. She’s 63.

… of Joe Walsh of The Eagles. He’s 59. Life’s been good to him so far.

… of Bo Derek. She’s five 10s now. She’s 50.

… of Sean Young. Ms. Young won the Razzie for worst actress AND worst supporting actress for “A Kiss Before Dying” (she played twins). She’s been nominated for the award five other times. She’s 47.

… of hottie Nadine Velazquez of “My Name Is Earl.” She’s 28.

Robert F. Kennedy might have been 81 today. He was assassinated at age 42.

… of Larry King. He’s 73. Before CNN, King was one of the first stars of national talk radio. He left his keys on the table of a fast food restaurant in Crystal City, Virginia, near where I was staying during a business trip in 1983. I noticed the keys and called after him. Only when he thanked me did I hear his voice and know who he was.

… of Dick Cavett. He’s 70. Time for the University of Nebraska to get someone else to narrate its football in-game television promotion.

… of Ted Turner. He’s 68. Turner is America’s largest individual private landowner. Turner owns about 1.8 million acres in 10 states, more than one million of it in New Mexico (though he is not New Mexico’s largest private individual landowner). According to Forbes (in 2003):

Despite his reputation as a die-hard conservationist, the cable pioneer makes plenty of money off his land. He sells bison meat to restaurants (including his own). He opened some of his New Mexico holdings to gas and coal exploration. Timber is harvested and sold. Hunting and fishing fees generate $5 million a year. “I’m doing things as natural as I can and trying to make some money at the same time,” he says. “I have the same credo with my land as I had with my business: He who profits most serves the best.”

… of Calvin Klein. He’s 64.

… of Ahmad Rashad. He was born Bobby Moore 57 years ago. Rashad proposed to Cosby TV mom Phylicia Ayers-Allen on national TV during halftime of a Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game. O.J. Simpson was his best man. Rashad and Allen were divorced in 2001.

… of Ann Curry. She’s 50. Daughter of an American father and Japanese mother, Curry was born on Guam and raised in Oregon.

… of Allison Janney. She’s 46. Six Emmy nominations for “West Wing,” four wins.

… of Meg Ryan. She’s 45. Ryan has been nominated for best acting Golden Globes, but no Oscars.

… of Jodie Foster. She’s 44. Nominated for the best actress Oscar three times and best supporting actress once, Foster won for “The Accused” and “Silence of the Lambs.”

… of Senator James Inhofe (R-OK). Inhofe is the senator who has said, “man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” He’s 72, his age having finally matched his IQ.

… of Gordon Lightfoot. The singer is 68.

I can see her lyin’ back in her satin dress
In a room where you do what you don’t confess
Sundown, you better take care
If I find you bin creepin’ round my back stairs
Sundown, you better take care
If I find you bin creepin’ round my back stairs

… of Martin Scorsese. The director is 64. Six Oscar nominations; will “The Departed” win one for him?

… of Danny DeVito. The actor/director/producer is 62. Very early in his career DeVito played Martini in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

… of Lorne Michaels. The producer of Saturday Night Live is 62.

… of Tom Seaver. Tom Terrific, the baseball hall-of-famer is 62.

… of Elvin Hayes. The basketball hall-of-famer is 61.

… of Howard Dean. The politician is 58.

… of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. The actress is 44. Mastrantonio was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for “The Color of Money.”

… of Daisy Fuentes. The hottie is 40.

Rock Hudson was born on this date in 1925; he died in 1985. Hudson got a best actor Oscar nomination for “Giant.”

Soichiro Honda was born on this date in 1906; he died in 1991. Honda started as an auto mechanic at age 15.

… of Maggie Gyllenhaal (29), Lisa Bonet (39), and Diana Krall (42).

Figure skater Oksana Baiul is 29 today also.

… of Buckwheat Zydeco. He’s 59.

Contemporary zydeco’s most popular performer, accordionist Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural was the natural successor to the throne vacated by the death of his mentor Clifton Chenier; infusing his propulsive party music with strains of rock and R&B, his urbanized sound — complete with touches of synthesizer and trumpet — married traditional and contemporary zydeco with uncommon flair, in the process reaching a wider mainstream audience than any artist before him. (allmusic)

… of Prince Charles. He’s 58. I thought it was “ladies-in-waiting,” not princes-in-waiting.

… of Condoleezza Rice. She’s 52.

… of Laura San Giacomo. She’s 45.

First Lady Mamie Eisenhower was born on this date in 1896. She died in 1979.

Joseph McCarthy was born on this date in 1908. Fortunately he died in 1957.

… of Wallace Shawn. The actor-playwright is 63. Inconceivable!

… of Brian Hyland. The Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini singer is 63.

… of Booker T. Jones. The organist is 62. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Between 1963 and 1968, Booker T. and the MGs appeared on more than 600 Stax/Volt recordings, including classics by such artists as Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and William Bell. As a result of Stax’s affiliation with Atlantic Records, the group also worked with Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, and Albert King. Moreover, Booker T. and the MGs were a successful recording group in their own right, cutting ten albums and fourteen instrumental hits, including “Green Onions,” “Hang ‘Em High,” “Time Is Tight” and “Soul-Limbo.”

… of Neil Young. He’s 61. Again, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Neil Young is one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers. In a career that extends back to his mid-Sixties roots as a coffeehouse folkie in his native Canada, this principled and unpredictable maverick has pursued an often winding course across the rock and roll landscape. He’s been a cult hero, a chart-topping rock star, and all things in-between, remaining true to his restless muse all the while. At various times, Young has delved into folk, country, garage-rock and grunge. His biggest album, Harvest (1972) , apotheosized the laid-back singer/songwriter genre he helped invent. By contrast, Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Young’s second-best seller, was a loud, brawling masterpiece whose title track, an homage to Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, contained the oft-quoted line “Better to burn out than it is to rust.”

… of Megan Mullally. She’s 48.

… of Nadia Comaneci. The perfect 10 is 45.

… of Anne Hathaway, all of 24.

… of Ellen Pompeo. Dr. Grey’s anatomy is 37 today.

… of Mackenzie Phillips. The Mama and Papa’s little girl is 47. Famous, of course, as the older Cooper sister in “One Day At a Time,” the young Phillips, I thought, was best as Carol in “American Graffiti.”

… of Roy Scheider. Police Chief Martin Brody is 74 today. Scheider was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for “The French Connection,” and the best actor Oscar for “All That Jazz.”

Richard Burton was born on this date in 1925. Burton was nominated for the best actor Oscar six times and best supporting actor Oscar once. He never won. Burton died at age 58.

… of Billy Graham. He’s 88 today.

… of Mary Travers. Mary of Peter, Paul & Mary is 69.

… of Johnny Rivers. He’s 64.

… of Roberta Joan Anderson. Joni Mitchell is 63.

… of Christopher Knight. Peter Brady is 49.

… of Mike Nichols. He’s 75. Nichols has been nominated for four best director Oscars, winning for “The Graduate.”

… of Sally Field. She’s 60. Field has won two best actress Oscars (because the Academy really likes her); one for “Norma Rae” and the other for “Places in the Heart.”

… of Glenn Frey of The Eagles. He’s 58.

… of California’s first lady, Maria Shriver. She’s 51.

… of Ethan Hawke. He’s 36. Hawke has been nominated for two Oscars, one for supporting actor, “Training Day,” and one for co-writing, “Before Sunset.”

Abraham Lincoln was elected president on this date in 1860.

… of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ike Turner, 75 today. [Tina will be 67 later this month.] A Fool in Love / Proud Mary

… of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Art Garfunkel, 65. Bridge Over Troubled Water

… of Sam Shepard. He’s 63. An inductee as a playwright into the Theatre Hall of Fame, Shepard was also nominated for the best actor Oscar for playing Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff.

… of Peter Noone (Herman of Herman’s Hermits). He’s 59. No, Peter isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter

… of Bill Walton, 54. He’s in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

… of football hall-of-famer Kellen Winslow. He’s 49.

… of Tatum O’Neal, 43. Miss O’Neal won the best supporting actress Oscar at age 10 for Paper Moon.

Vivien Leigh (who died at age 53) was born on this date in 1913. Miss Leigh was voted best actress twice — for Katie Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind (opposite Clark Gable) and for Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (opposite Marlon Brando).

And Leonard Franklin Slye was born in Cincinnati on this date in 1911. As Roy Rogers he’s an inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the only person to be elected twice — as the King of the Cowboys and as a founder of the Sons of the Pioneers (“Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Cool Water“). Rogers died in 1998.

… of a bunch of characters. Character-actors, that is.

Doris Roberts is 76. She was Raymond’s mom.

Loretta Swit is 69. She was Major Houlihan.

Art Carney was born on this date in 1918. He’s most famous for playing Ed Norton opposite Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden but he won the Oscar for best actor for Harry and Tonto. Carney died in 2003.

Martin Balsam was born on this date in 1914. Balsam was also a character actor. NewMexiKen’s favorite Balsam roles: Juror #1 in 12 Angry Men, Henry Mendez in Hombre, Mr. Green in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and his Oscar-winning Arnold Burns (best supporting actor) in A Thousand Clowns. Balsam died in 1996.

It’s also the birthday of Ralph Macchio. The Karate Kid is 45 today.

And Matthew McConaughey is 37.

The First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, is 60 today.

And Walter Cronkite is 90.

… of not very many noteworthy people, but Roseanne Barr is 54 and Dennis Miller is 53 today.

… of actress Stefanie Powers. She’s 64.

… of singer k.d. lang. She’s 45.

… of actor David Schwimmer. “Ross” is 40.

Burt Lancaster was born on November 2nd in 1913. Lancaster had four best actor Oscar nominations, winning for Elmer Gantry. Among his last performances was as Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham in Field of Dreams. Lancaster died in 1994.

James Knox Polk, 11th president of the United States, was born on this date in 1795.

Warren Gamaliel Harding, 29th president of the United States, was born on this date in 1865.

Polk is generally rated among the “near great” presidents. Harding who died while president, is generally considered a “failure.” See this NewMexiKen entry.

North and South Dakota entered the Union as the 39th and 40th states on this date in 1889.

… of Dan Rather. His frequency is 75.

… of Jane Pauley. She’s 56.

… of David Ogden Stiers. Major Winchester is 64.

It’s also the birthday of Michael (Bonanza/Little House on the Prairie) Landon, who was born in 1936 and died in 1991, and John Candy, born in 1950. Candy died in 1994.

The great jazz and blues singer and film actress Ethel Waters was born on this date in 1896.

Later, in the 1930s, Waters found the mainstream of popular music, including jazz and congenial, and brought to it a combination of tragedy (in Harold Arlen’s Stormy Weather, 1933) and comedy (in H. I. Marshall’s You Can’t Stop Me From Loving You, 1931) which, in its range, was unsurpassed by any other popular singer. …

Waters was the first black entertainer to move successfully from the vaudeville and nightclub circuits to what blacks called “the white time” (the West Indian Bert Williams had done this earlier in the Ziegfield Follies — but in blackface). Her vocal resources were adequate though unexceptional, but this shortcoming was mitigated by an innate theatrical flair that enabled her to project the character and situation of every song she performed. (PBS – JAZZ A Film By Ken Burns)

Ms. Waters was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar in 1949 for her part in “Pinky.” Such was the segregation in film and television at that time that Waters next played the title role in “Beulah” an early fifties situation comedy. Beulah was a domestic for a white family. Waters was succeeded in the role by Oscar-winner Hattie McDaniel, then Louise Beavers, and finally Amanda Randolph.

Ethel Waters died in 1977.

Ehrich Weiss, better known to us as Harry Houdini, died on this date — Halloween — in 1926.

But during a stay in Montreal in October, Houdini was assaulted by a young man in his dressing room. The stomach blows — which he had invited as a test of his legendary strength — aggravated a case of appendicitis, and he soon became seriously ill. In a final display of stamina and willpower, Houdini performed the next day and again in Detroit. His appendix was removed on October 25th, but the delay had allowed an infection to set in, and he died in Detroit on Halloween.

Source: The American Experience, which has a brief biography.

Nevada became the 36th state on this date in 1864, just in time to cast two electoral votes for Abraham Lincoln.

… of Charlie Daniels. The devil in Georgia is 70.

… of Bill Gates. The former resident of Albuquerque is 51 today.

… of Julia Roberts. The Oscar-winning (Erin Brockovich) actress is 39. Ms. Roberts was also nominated for best actress for Pretty Woman and best supporting actress for Steel Magnolias.

… of Joaquin Phoenix. He’s already been nominated for a best supporting actor (“Gladiator”) and a leading actor (“Walk the Line”) Oscar and he’s just 32.

It’s also the birthday of Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine. He was born in 1914 and died in 1995. The following is from The Writer’s Almanac in 2004:

In the 1950s, Salk turned his attention to the polio virus. The disease affected children and many of those infected became paralyzed or died. There had been larger and larger outbreaks of polio in the United States since the late 19th century. By 1952, more than 58,000 cases were reported and more than 3,000 children had died of the disease.

It was the height of the baby boom, there were more children in the United States than ever before, and parents were terrified. The outbreaks occurred in the summer, and parents kept their children home from swimming pools out of fear they would be infected.

Salk’s groundbreaking discovery was that a vaccine could be developed from a dead virus. Scientists were skeptical at the time, but Salk believed so strongly that it would work that he first tested the vaccine on himself, his family and the staff of his laboratory to prove it was safe.

When the vaccine was finally released to the public in 1955, polio infection rates were reduced to less than 100 cases a year, and Salk was declared a national hero.

… of Ruby Dee. The actress and Kennedy Center Honor recipient is 82.

… of John Cleese. He’s 67, which means he doesn’t have too many more years to undermine his reputation from the Monty Python days with a continuing string of asinine TV commercials.

Theodore Roosevelt was born on this date in 1858. Roosevelt is still the youngest President ever. He was 42 when he succeeded McKinley in 1901.

The Welsh poet Dylan Thomas was born on this date in 1914. (He died in 1953.)

My birthday began with the water –
Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name
Above the farms and the white horses
And I rose
In rainy autumn
And walked abroad in a shower of all my days

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sylvia Plath was born on this date in 1932. She died, from suicide, at age 30 in early 1963.

… of Pat Conroy. The author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini is 61 today.

… of Pat Sajak. His wheel has spun for 60 years today.

… of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Senator Clinton is 59 today.

And it’s the birthday of Mahalia Jackson, born on this date in 1911 (she died in 1972). As The New York Times noted in Ms. Jackson’s obituary:

“I been ‘buked and I been scorned/ I’m gonna tell my Lord/ When I get home/ Just how long you’ve been treating me wrong,” she sang in a full, rich contralto to the throng of 200,000 people as a preface to Dr. King’s “I’ve got a dream” speech.

The song, which Dr. King had requested, came as much from Miss Jackson’s heart as from her vocal cords. The granddaughter of a slave, she had struggled for years for fulfillment and for unprejudiced recognition of her talent.

Indeed, when she sang, Mahalia Jackson had the whole world in her hands.

… of basketball coach Bobby Knight. He’s 66.

… of singer Helen Reddy. “I am woman, hear me roar” is a roaring 65.

… of author Anne Tyler (not to be confused with Ann Taylor). The Pulitzer winner (for Breathing Lessons) is 65.

… of basketball hall-of-famer Dave Cowens. The tenacious Celtic is 58.

… of Nancy Cartwright. The voice of Bart Simpson is 49.