August 17 Dateline

Birthdays

1878 - Oliver St. John Gogarty, Irish poet, author and physician (otolaryngologist), Athlete and Politician, and well-known Conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel Ulysses.

1879 - Samuel Goldwyn, also known as Samuel Goldfish, (birth sometimes given as c. July, 1879), Polish-American Film producer. He was most well known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios in Hollywood. His awards include the 1973 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1947, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1958.

1893 - Mae West (born Mary Jane West), American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades.

1920 - Maureen O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons), Irish-born actress and singer. She was a famous redhead who was known for playing passionate, but sensible heroines, often in westerns and adventure films.

1930 - Ted Hughes, OM OBE FRSL (born Edward James Hughes), English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation, and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers.

1943 - Robert De Niro (Robert Anthony De Niro Jr.), American actor, producer, and director who holds both American and Italian citizenship. He is particularly known for his collaborations with filmmaker Martin Scorsese.

1958 - Belinda Carlisle (born Belinda Go Carlisle), American singer, musician, and author. She gained worldwide fame as the lead singer of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands in history, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. 

1960 - Sean Penn (born Sean Justin Penn), American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama Mystic River and the biopic Milk. In addition to his film work, Penn has engaged in political and social activism

1963 - James Whitbourn, British composer and conductor, whose "Son of God Mass" has had many performances. In 2005, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, under Leonard Slatkin, premiered Annelies, his largest choral work, a setting of the Diary of Anne Frank, Cadogan Hall in London to wide acclaim. The work was later re-scored, premiered in The Netherlands on Anne Frank's 80th birthday by the British violinist Daniel Hope and the American soprano Arianna Zukerman. Annelies, Kyrie -- Sinfonia. YouTube, uploaded by violinist Daniel Kurganov. Various artists. Accessed August 17, 2018. This first major choral setting of The Diary of Anne Frank takes the teenager's remarkable and penetrating observations, written whilst hiding in an Amsterdam attic, as the basis of this libretto. His work has been described as 'woundingly beautiful' by the The Daily Telegraph.

1970 - Jim Courier (born James Spencer Courier), American former world No. 1 professional tennis player. He has been a commentator on the Australian Open for the host broadcaster, the Seven Network, and now the Nine Network. He is also an analyst for Tennis Channel. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He holds the record for being the youngest man to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, at the age of 22 years and 11 months. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles. Until Novak Djokovic in 2016, Courier was the last man to win both the Australian and French Open titles in the same calendar year.

Lefties:
None known 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 17 August - On This Day.

 

Historical Events

1876 - Richard Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) is first performed as part of the first complete performance of the Ring, at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, in Bayreuth, Germany. Götterdämmerung is the last in Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung, or The Ring for short).

1896 - Mrs. Bridget Driscoll (44 years old), becomes Britain's first pedestrian to be killed by a car. She froze in shock and suffered a fatal head injury as she fell.

August 16 Dateline

Birthdays

 

1619 - Barbara Strozzi (also called Barbara Valle; baptised 6 August 1619), Italian composer and singer of the Baroque Period. During her lifetime, Strozzi published eight volumes of her own music, and had more music in print than any other composer of the era. This was achieved without any support from the Church and with no consistent patronage from the nobility. Her life and career have been overshadowed by the claims of her being a courtesan, which cannot be completely confirmed as at the time female music making was often assumed to be an intellectual asset of a courtesan. (Barbara Strozzi, Che si puo Fare, Mariana Flores. YouTube, uploaded by Cappella Meditteranea. The aria “Che si può fare?”  translation to English, by Christ DiMatteo. Accessed July 1, 2021.)

 

1888 - Lawrence of Arabia (born Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence), British archaeologist, diplomat, linguist, writer, soldier, pilot and adviser to young Winston Churchill. At the age of 46, he dies in a motorcycle accident and buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.

1901 - Olav Kielland, Norwegian conductor and composer.

1923 - Shimon Peres (born Szymon Perski), Israeli politician, the ninth President of Israel (2007–2014), the prime minister of Israel (twice), and the interim prime minister, in the 1970s to the 1990s. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. He was a member of twelve cabinets and represented five political parties in a political career spanning 70 years. At the time of his retirement in 2014, he was the world's oldest head of state and was considered the last link to Israel's founding generation. 

1928 - Ann Blyth, American actress and singer (Some of her famous films include musicals:  Kismet, "And This is My Beloved", based on music by Alexander Borodin and Student Prince, "Come Boys, Let's All Be Gay, Boys" music by Sigmund Romberg.)

1929 - Bill Evans (born William John Evans), American jazz pianist and composer. He mostly played in trios. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.

1940 - Bruce Beresford, Australian film director. He has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career. Notable films he has directed include Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies, Crimes of the Heart and Driving Miss Daisy.

 
1946 - Lesley Ann Warren, American actress and singer. She received wide recognition for her role in the TV musical production of Cinderella. She later starred in the Disney musical films. Warren received a Golden Globe nomination for playing Dana Lambert in the CBS drama series Mission: Impossible (1970–71). In 1978, she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the NBC miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue. Warren was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Norma Cassidy in Victor/Victoria. She also received two additional Golden Globe nominations for Songwriter and Family of Spies.  

 

1954 - James (Frances) Cameron, Canadian filmmaker and environmentalist. He is best known for making science fiction and epic films. He gained recognition for directing The Terminator. His other big-budget productions include Titanic and Avatar, with the former earning him Academy Awards in Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. Avatar, filmed in 3D technology, also garnered him nominations in the same categories.

1958 - Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone), American singer-songwriter, actress, author, and record executive. Having been referred to as the "Queen of Pop" since the 1980s, she is regarded as one of the most impactful figures in popular culture. Madonna is noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation.

1960 - Timothy (Tarquin) Hutton, American actor and film director. American actor and director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People.

Leftie:

Film director James Cameron

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 16 August - On This Day.

Historical Events

1868 - An earthquake of density 8.5 occurs off the coast of Arica, Peru, creating a tsunami that kills up to 70,000 South Americans.

1876 - Richard Wagner's opera Siegfried is first staged  at Bayreuth, Germany. Hans Richter conducting.