September 17 Dateline

Birthdays

1711 - Ignaz Holzbauer, Austrian composer and conductor (Listen to Holzbauer's magnificent Missa in C major. Chorus: St. Thomas Chorschule Wettenhausen Orchestra: Johann Christian Bach Akademie Köln Conductor: Jürgen Rettenmaier. YouTube, uploaded by KuhlauDilfeng3, accessed September 17, 2018.)

1883 - William Carlos Williams, American poet, writer and physician, closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pediatrics and general medicine. He was affiliated with Passaic General Hospital, where he served as the hospital's chief of pediatrics from 1924 until his death. The hospital, which is now known as St. Mary's General Hospital, paid tribute to Williams with a memorial plaque that states, "We walk the wards that Williams walked".

1928 - Andy McDowall (born Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall), English-born American actor, film director and photographer. He is best known for portraying Cornelius and Caesar in the original Planet of the Apes film series, as well as Galen in the spin-off television series. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in How Green Was My Valley, My Friend Flicka and Lassie Come Home. As an adult, McDowall appeared most requently as a character actor on radio, stage, film, and television. For portraying Augustus in the historical drama Cleopatra (1963), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He also served in various positions on the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Selection Committee for the Kennedy Center Honors, further contributing to various charities related to the film industry and film preservation. He was a founding Member of the National Film Preservation Board in 1989, and represented the Screen Actors Guild on this Board until his death.

1931 - Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano), American actress, director, screenwriter and singer. She was the recipient of an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. She is one of only 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. Associated with the method acting technique, having studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Bancroft made her film debut in the noir thriller Don't Bother to Knock. Bancroft made her Broadway debut with the play Two for the Seesaw, winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. The following year she portrayed Anne Sullivan in the original Broadway production of The Miracle Worker, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Her film career was revived when she was cast in the acclaimed film adaptation of The Miracle Worker, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her film career further progressed with Oscar nominated performances in The Pumpkin Eater, The Graduate, The Turning Point, and Agnes of God.

1962 - Baz Luhrmann ((born Mark Anthony Luhrmann), Australian director, writer, and producer with projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music, and recording industries. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, with four of his films in the top ten highest worldwide grossing Australian films of all time. On the screen he is best known for his "Red Curtain Trilogy", consisting of his romantic comedy film Strictly Ballroom, the romantic tragedy William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge!. Following the trilogy, projects included Australia, The Great Gatsby, and his television period drama The Get Down for Netflix. Additional projects include stage productions of Giacomo Puccini's La bohème for both the Australian Opera and Broadway and Strictly Ballroom the Musical.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 17 -  On This Day

 

Historical Events

1787 - The U.S. Constitution is adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It creates a federal union of sovereign states and a federal government to operate the union. Having won the War of Independence against the British, America is launched into the world. The two hundredth anniversary (American Bicentenary) is celebrated in 1976, taking the original date from the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

1961 - In Trafalgar Square, some 15,000 people protest in said to be London's largest ever "ban the bomb" gathering, which ends with 850 arrests including actress Vanessa Redgrave, jazz musician George Melly, and philosopher Bertrand Russell.

1976 - The first NASA space shuttle, the Enterprise, is unveiled after more than two years of construction. Originally called Constitution, a campaign letter has it renamed after the famous television show Star Trek's starship Enterprise.

1983 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first African American Miss America. She spent 10 months performing her duties, but in the summer of 1984 Penthouse magazine announced it would print graphic nude photos of her taken long before she entered the contest. She was forced to resign as Miss America organisers prided themselves on crowning "not models but role models." On July 23, 1984, she stood down, and runner-up Suzette Charles, the second African American to wear the crown, held the title for 54 days.    




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 September 17, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.