December 19 Dateline

Birthdays

1888 - Fritz Reiner, Hungarian-born and trained composer, opera coach, conductor. He was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. He emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to prominence as a conductor with several orchestras. He reached the pinnacle of his career while music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and early 1960s. (Fritz Reiner conducts Mozart (vaimusic.com). Accessed December 19, 2018. Sorry the video is improperly cut-off... great conducting by Reiner of Mozart's Symphony No. 39.  Fritz Reiner conducting Tchaikovsky's violin concerto with the great violinist Jascha Heifetz, soloist. YouTube, uploaded by vovcek. Accessed December 19, 2016.)

1894 - Paul Dessau - German composer, opera coach and conductor. He collaborated with German poet and playwright Bertold Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. (Deutsches Miserere - Paul Dessau / Bertolt Brecht (Kegel). Paul Dessau / Bertolt Brecht "Deutsches Miserere" (1947). Dagmar Schellenberger - Soprano. Christiane Röhr - Alto. Manfred Hopp - Tenor.  Bernd Grabowski - Bass.  Rundfunkchor Berlin Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin. Conductor/Dirigent: Herbert Kegel. Uploaded by hitzikon. Accessed December 19, 2007.) 

1902 - Sir Ralph Richardson,  English actor who, along with his contemporaries Peggy Ashcroft, John Gielgud, and Laurence Olivier, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century. He worked in films throughout most of his career and played more than sixty cinema roles. Richardson had no thought of a stage career until a production of Hamlet in Brighton inspired him to become an actor. He learned his craft with a touring company and later the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. In 1931 he joined the Old Vic, playing mostly Shakespearean roles. He led the company the following season, succeeding Gielgud, who had taught him much about stage technique. After he left the company, a series of leading roles took him to stardom in the West End and on Broadway. Sir Ralph Richardson as Sir Wilfred in Agatha Christie's famous play: Witness for the Prosecution, with Dame Diana Rigg and Deborah Kerr. Uploaded by FunFillums. Accessed December 19, 2019.)   

1906 - Leonid Ilyich Breshnev, Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union as General Secretary of the governing Communist Party (1964–1982) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1977–1982). His 18-year term as general secretary was second only to Joseph Stalin's in duration. While Brezhnev's rule was characterized by political stability and notable foreign policy successes, it was also marked by corruption, inefficiency, economic stagnation, and rapidly growing technological gaps with the West.

1910 - Jean Genet, French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later took to writing. His major works include the novels The Thief's Journal and Our Lady of the Flowers, and the plays The Balcony, The Maids and The Screens.

1915 - Edith Piaf, French singer, songwriter and actress  known as "The Little Sparrow." She became widely regarded as France's national chanteuse, as well as being one of France's greatest international stars. (E. Piaf - Greatest Hits, uploaded by Vintage Jukebox - Don't Stop the Music. Accessed Dec 19, 2018.  Except, I regret that her famous song, "Je ne regrette rien" ("I have no regrets" or "I regret nothing") has been excluded in the tracklist.)

1923 - Gordon Jackson, OBE , Scottish actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and as George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals. He also portrayed Flt. Lt. Andrew MacDonald, "Intelligence", in The Great Escape.

1924 -  Edmund Purdom, English actor, voice artist, and director. He worked first on stage in Britain, performing various works by Shakespeare, then later in America on Broadway, until making his way to Hollywood, and eventually spent the remainder of his life appearing in Italian cinema. He starred in 1954's historical epic The Egyptian. By taking over important roles exited by Mario Lanza and Marlon Brando, Purdom was known by the mid-1950s as "The Replacement Star".

Leftie:
Writer Jean Genet

 

More birthdays and historical events, December 19 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1932 - BBC begins shortwave transmission overseas with its Empire Service, which is the forerunner of its World Service.

1984 - Christoph Wolff, a Harvard Professor, announces his find of a collection of 33 unknown organ preludes, attributed to Baroque composer  J.S. Bach, discovered in a Yale University library. 

 
1989 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush orders U.S. troops into Panama to overthrow the regime of General Manuel Noriega.   

1998 - U.S. President Bill Clinton is impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice over the Monica Lewinsky affair, which is popularly called "monicagate."    

 

Video Credit:

 
Édith Piaf - If You Love Me ( Really Love Me ). Youtube, uploaded by Lucas Ferreira Seidle. Accessed December 19, 2017. 

Resources:

 
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)

2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org



(c) June 2007. Updated December 19, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.