October 1 Dateline

Birthdays

1881 - William Edward Boeing, American Aviator, aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company in 1916.

1903 - Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz, Russian-born American Classical pianist and composer, who lived most of his life in the United States. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. He was acclaimed for his virtuoso technique, his tone color, and the excitement engendered by his playing. (Horowitz Rachmaninoff 3rd Concerto Mehta NYPO 1978. YouTube, uploaded by Pedro Taam. Horowitz Live in Vienna (1987). YouTube, uploaded by migtysmeagol. Accessed October 1, 2020.) 

1920 - Walter Matthau (born Walter John Matthow), American actor. He is most popularly known for his film roles opposite Jack Lemmon, playing Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, and its sequel, The Odd Couple II. Matthau also appeared opposite Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Billy Wilder film The Fortune Cookie. Aside from the Oscar, he won BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony awards. His performances in Hopscotch (1980) and First Monday in October (1981) earned him nominations for the Golden Globe Best Actor—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy two years in a row. On Broadway, Matthau originated the role of Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple play by playwright Neil Simon in 1965.

1921 - James Whitmore (James Allen Whitmore Jr.), American film, theatre, and television actor. During his career, Whitmore won three of the four EGOT honors: an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. Whitmore also won a Golden Globe and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

 
1924 - Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter Jr.), 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He's a politician, philanthropist, and former farmer. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a Georgia State Senator from 1963 to 1967 and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. Since leaving the presidency, Carter has remained engaged in political and social projects as a private citizen. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding the Carter Center.

1930 - Sir Richard John Harris, Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, appearing as Frank Machin in This Sporting Life, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and King Arthur in the 1967 film Camelot, as well as the 1981 revival of the stage musical. (Camelot (1967). He played an aristocrat captured by Native Americans in A Man Called Horse (1970), a gunfighter in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992), Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) as Abbé Faria, and Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films. Harris had a number-one singing hit in Australia, Jamaica and Canada, and a top-ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and United States with his 1968 recording of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park." In 2020, he was listed at number 3 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.  "I wonder what the King is doing tonight". Sung by Richard Harris, as King Arthur. Accessed October 1, 2018.)

1935 - Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells), English actress, singer and author. She appeared in the West End in 1948 and made her Broadway debut in The Boy Friend. She is famous for her roles as Maria in The Sound of Music and as Mary Poppins in the title role. She rose to prominence starring in Broadway musicals such as My Fair Lady (1956) playing Eliza Doolittle, and Camelot (1960) playing Queen Guinevere. In 1957, Andrews starred in the premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein's written-for-television musical Cinderella, a live, network broadcast seen by over 100 million viewers. Andrews has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA, five Golden Globes, three Grammys, two Emmys, the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honors Award, and the Disney Legends Award. She is also an author of children's books and has published an autobiography, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years (2008). (Julie Andrews Sings Her Favourite Songs. Uploaded by TheMissingReels. Accessed October 1, 2017. Julie Andrews Accepts the 48th AFI Life Achievement Award. YouTube, uploaded by AFI. Accessed June 30, 2022.)

Lefties:
Actor James Whitmore

 

 

More birthdays and historical events, October 1 - On This Day 

 

Featuring:

Celebrating the birthday of incomparable Dame Julie Andrews. Below is a video: Talking Pictures: Julie Andrews, with interviews from archive and classic clips of her life and career. Uploaded by Simon Ingram. Accessed October 1, 2020.

Historical Events

1869 - Dr. Emanuel Herrmann, Austrian economics professor, sends the world's first postcard. It is "no longer than an envelope, sent open via the mails."

1964 - Bullet Trains, or Shinkansen, begin service in Japan.

September 30 Dateline

Birthdays

1921 - Deborah Kerr, CBE, (born Deborah Jane Trimmer), Scottish actress of film, theatre and television. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anna Leonowens in the musical film The King and I (1956) and a Sarah Siddons Award for her performance as Laura Reynolds in the play Tea and Sympathy (a role she originated on Broadway). She was also a three-time winner of the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and holds the record for an actress nominated in the lead actress category without winning. In 1994, however, having already received honorary awards from the Cannes Film Festival and BAFTA, Kerr received an Academy Honorary Award with a citation recognising her as "an artist of impeccable grace and beauty, a dedicated actress whose motion picture career has always stood for perfection, discipline and elegance". (Videos from YouTube: Biography and one capturing her in pure emotions from some of her famous films. D. Kerr Documentary, uploaded by Marmar. Accessed April 30, 2018. Deborah Kerr - Top 10 Best Performances. YouTube, uploaded by The Classic Film Lover's Guide. Accessed September 30, 2022.)

1924 - Truman Capote (born Truman Garcia Capote), American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood, which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." His childhood best friend was Harper Lee, widely known for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee and Truman were neighbors in Monroeville and met when they were only about five years old.  At first glance, Harper Lee’s friendship with Truman Capote looks unlikely. Lee shied away from publicity while Capote courted it. Lee sought out a quiet life with her sister at home in Alabama, while Capote lived a hard partying, jet-setting existence among celebrities. Capote wrote prolifically, publishing novels, short stories, magazines articles and TV scrips. Lee published one novel in 1960, the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, and only released her second, Go Set a Watchman, July 14, 2015. Yet these opposites were childhood companions whose bond helped them become two of the most revered American writers of all time.(Truman Capote Reads from his Breakfast at Tiffany's. Uploaded by 92nd Street Y. Accessed September 30, 2019.)

1928 - Elie Wiesel, Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. (Remembering Nobel Laureate and Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel. PBS NewsHour. Accessed September 30, 2015.)

1931 - Angie Dickinson (Angeline Dickinson née Brown), American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before landing her breakthrough role in Gun the Man Down (1956) with James Arness and the Western film Rio Bravo (1959), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. She starred in several TV movies and miniseries, also playing supporting roles in films.

1950 - Victoria Tennant - English film and TV actress. She is known for her roles in the TV miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, in which she appeared as actor Robert Mitchum's on-screen love interest, Pamela Tudsbury. After a number of roles in British and other European films, she emigrated to the United States. Aside from TV mini-series, she appeared in films such as The Handmaid's Tale and Best Seller. She starred in two films with Steve Martin, her future husband: All of Me and L.A. Story. In 2014, she published a memoir about her mother titled Irina Baronova and The Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo.

1952 - Jack Wild, English actor and singer, best known for his debut role as the Artful Dodger in the film Oliver!, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. His performance in Oliver was brilliant and this along with his other work as a child outshone his adult career. (Oliver! - 'What you starin' at?' with Oliver (Mark Lester) and Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and  Oliver! - "Reviewing the Situation 2" with Fagin (Ron Moody). Accessed September 30, 2015.)

1957 - Fran Drescher (Born Francine Joy Drescher), American actress, comedian, writer, and activist. She is best known for her role as Fran Fine in the hit TV series The Nanny (1993–99), and for her nasal voice and thick New York accent.

1975 - Marion Cotillard, French actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, a European Film Award, a Lumières Award and two César Awards. She became a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 2010, and was promoted to Officer in 2016. She has served as a spokeswoman for Greenpeace since 2001. In particular, for her portrayal of French singer Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007), Cotillard won her second César Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Lumières Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first and (as of 2023) only actor to win an Academy Award for a French-language performance, and also the second actress to have won this award for a non-English language performance. Cotillard was also the face of the Lady Dior handbag for nine years. Since 2020, she is the face of Chanel's fragrance Chanel No. 5.
 

1980 - Martina Hingis (born Martina Hingisová), Swiss former professional tennis player. She spent a total of 209 weeks as the singles world No. 1 and 90 weeks as doubles world No. 1, holding both No. 1 rankings simultaneously for 29 weeks. She won 5 Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar-year doubles Grand Slam in 1998, and 7 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; for a combined total of 25 major titles. She also won the season-ending WTA Finals two times in singles and three times in doubles, an Olympic silver medal, and a record 17 Tier I singles titles.


Lefties:
None known 

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 30 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1791 - Austrian wunderkind composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart premieres his opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), in Vienna. It is just two months before his death. He doesn't live to see its immense success.

1846 - The use of ether as an anesthetic is recorded for the first time by Boston dentist William Morton, who painlessly removes a tooth.

September 29 Dateline

Birthdays

1547 - Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer, best known for his novel Don Quixote. He was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. His novel Don Quixote, is often cited as both the first modern novel and one of the pinnacles of world literature. His first significant novel, titled La Galatea, was published in 1585, but he continued to work as a purchasing agent, and later as government tax collector. His other works include the 12 Novelas ejemplares (Exemplary Novels); a long poem, the Viaje del Parnaso (Journey to Parnassus); and Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses (Eight Plays and Eight Interludes). Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (The Travails of Persiles and Sigismunda), was published posthumously in 1616.

1703 - Francois Boucher, French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories, and pastoral scenes. He was one of the most celebrated painter and decorative artist of the 18th century.

1758 - Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB, also known simply as Admiral Nelson, a British Flag Officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories, particularly during the apoleonic Wars. Aged 35, he was wounded in combat, losing sight in one eye in Corsica, and most of one arm in the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Santa Cruz de Tenerife when he was 40. He was fatally shot during his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. His death at Trafalgar secured his position as one of Britain's most heroic figures. The significance of the victory and his death during the battle led to his signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty", being regularly quoted and referenced up to the modern day. Numerous monuments, including Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, and the Nelson Monument in Edinburgh, have been created in his memory, and his legacy remains highly influential.

1810 -  Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, English Victorian novelist, biographer, and short story writer. The best-known of her remaining novels are Mary Barton (1848), Cranford (1853), North and South (1854), and Wives and Daughters (1865). She became popular for her writing, especially her ghost stories, aided by Charles Dickens, who published her work in his magazine Household Words. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of Victorian society, including the very poor, and are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.

1901 - Enrico Fermi, Italian and naturalised-American physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" and the "architect of the atomic bomb". Fermi was one of very few physicists to excel in both theoretical physics and experimental physics. He held several patents related to the use of nuclear power, and was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity by neutron bombardment and for the discovery of transuranium elements. He made significant contributions to the development of statistical mechanics, quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics. (The World of Enrico Fermi. This documentary is part of the collection: Academic Film Archive of North America. Accessed September 29, 2017.)

1903 - Diana Vreeland, French-American columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, being the editor-in-chief of the latter, and as a special consultant at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was named on the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1964.

1904 - Greer Garson, CBE (born Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson), British-American actress and singer. She was a major star at MGM during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homefront. She was also listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top-ten box office draws from 1942 to 1946. Garson received seven Academy Award nominations, including a record-tying five consecutive nominations (1941–45) in the Best Actress category, winning the award for her performance in the title role of the 1942 film Mrs. Miniver.

1931 - Anita Ekberg (born Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg), Swedish actress both in American and European films. She is best known for her role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita (1960).  Ekberg worked primarily in Italy, where she became a permanent resident in 1964.


Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 29 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1829 - The Metropolitan Police in London becomes the first official police department in the world. It is founded by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel, later the Prime Minister.  

1902 - In Paris, Émile Zola dies of carbon monoxide poisoning resulting from a faulty chimney.

September 28 Dateline

Famous Birthdays

1573 - Caravaggio, (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio), Italian Painter active from the early 1590s to 1610. His paintings combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting. He is famous for the intense and unsettling realism of his large-scale religious works. Caravaggio employed close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro. He made the technique a dominant stylistic element, darkening shadows and transfixing subjects in bright shafts of light. Caravaggio vividly expressed crucial moments and scenes, often featuring violent struggles, torture and death. His influence on the new Baroque style that emerged from Mannerism was profound... seen directly or indirectly in the work of Peter Paul Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and Rembrandt, and artists in the following generation heavily under his influence were called the "Caravaggisti" or "Caravagesques", as well as tenebrists or tenebrosi ("shadowists"). (Caravaggio: His life and style in three paintings / National Gallery. Accessed September 28, 2018)

1916 - Peter Finch, English-Australian actor, best remembered for his role as crazed television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a Best Actor award from the Golden Globes.

1924 - Marcello Mastroiani (born Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni), Italian Film Actor, regarded as his country's biggest film star of all time. His films include: La Dolce Vita; 8½; La Notte; Divorce Italian Style; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; Marriage Italian Style; The 10th Victim; A Special Day; City of Women; Henry IV; Dark Eyes and Everybody's Fine. His honours included BAFTAs, Best Actor awards at the Venice and Cannes film festivals, two Golden Globes and three Oscar nominations.

 
1934 - Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot, often referred to by her initials B.B., French Former Actress and Singer, and Animal Rights Activist. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated personae with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the best known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s. Although she withdrew from the entertainment industry in 1973, she remains a major popular culture icon.

1968 - Naomi Ellen Watts, British Actress and Film Producer. She made her film debut in the Australian drama For Love Alone and then appeared in the Australian television series Hey Dad..!, Brides of Christ, Home and Away, and the film Flirting. After moving to the United States, Watts struggled as an actress for years, with appearances in small-scale films. Watts rose to international prominence for playing an aspiring actress in David Lynch's psychological thriller Mulholland Drive and a tormented journalist in the horror remake The Ring. 1972 - Gwyneth Kate Paltrow, American actress, Businesswoman and Author. She has received accolades for her work, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She garnered wider critical acclaim for her performance as Viola de Lesseps in the historical romance film Shakespeare in Love which won her several awards. After becoming a mother, Paltrow reduced her film workload, making occasional appearances in films. In 2009, she received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for the children's audiobook Brown Bear and Friends and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her guest role as Holly Holliday on the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee in 2011. Paltrow has been the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume and Coach fashion brand, owner of Goop, a lifestyle company, and author of several cookbooks.

1987 - Hilary Duff, American Actress, Singer, Businesswoman, Songwriter, Producer, and Writer. She began her acting career at a young age and became labeled a teen idol as the title character of the television series Lizzie McGuire and in the theatrical film based on the series, The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). She appeared in numerous films She later began appearing in independent films such as War, Inc., According to Greta, and The Haunting of Sharon Tate while serving as executive producer for the latter two. Since 2015, she has starred as Kelsey Peters on the TV Land comedy-drama series Younger, for which she has received nominations for People's Choice Awards in 2016 and 2017. Duff has also been hailed as an inspiration by some subsequent Walt Disney teen stars, and has sold an estimated 15 million records since her debut in 2002.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 28 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1066 - William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invades England to fight King Harold, who believes has stolen the crown from him. He is crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.

1745 - Around this date, the national anthem 'God Save the King' is sung for the first time in London theatres. The relevant king is George II.

September 27 Dateline

Birthdays

Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, Italian banker and politician who established the Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and he was a patron of arts, learning and architecture. Despite his influence, his power was not absolute; Florence's legislative councils at times resisted his proposals throughout his life, and he was viewed as first among equals, rather than an autocrat.

 

1601 - King Louis XIII of France. (Sometimes called the Just), King of France from 1610 to 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.  Shortly before his ninth birthday, Louis became king of France and Navarre after his father Henry IV was assassinated. His mother, Marie de' Medici, acted as regent during his minority. Mismanagement of the kingdom and ceaseless political intrigues by Marie and her Italian favourites led the young king to take power in 1617 by exiling his mother and executing her followers, including Concino Concini, the most influential Italian at the French court. He relied heavily on his chief ministers, first Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes and then Cardinal Richelieu. By the end of the 1620s, Richelieu had established "the royal monopoly of force" as the ruling doctrine. His reign was also marked by the struggles against the Huguenots and Habsburg Spain.

 
1879 - Cyril Meir Scott, English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrote around 20 pamphlets & books on occult topics and natural health. (Cyril Scott - Piano Concerto featuring cellist Paul Watkins. Accessed September 27, 2013. Lotus Land (original recording), uploaded by OrchestraOne. Accessed September 27, 2012.) 

1917 - Louis Stanton Auchincloss, American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist. He is best known as a novelist who parlayed his experiences into books exploring the experiences and psychology of American polite society and old money. Famous for The Romantic Egoists and The Winthrop Covenant.

1947 - Barbara Ruth Dickson OBE, Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well", "Answer Me" and "January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums in the UK Albums Chart and had a number of hit singles, including four which reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. She is also a twice Olivier Award-winning actress, with roles including Viv Nicholson in the musical Spend Spend Spend, and was the original Mrs. Johnstone in Willy Russell's long-running musical Blood Brothers. On TV she starred as Anita Braithwaite in Band of Gold. (Barbara Dickson - Her Greatest Hits: January, February - Answer Me - Caravans - I Know Him So Well. YouTube. Accessed September 27, 2020.)

 

1958 - Shaun Paul Cassidy, American singer, actor, writer and producer. He starred in the television series The Hardy Boys Mysteries and Breaking Away. In the 1980s and 90s, Cassidy worked almost exclusively as an actor in the theater, performing on Broadway and in the West End of London. Since the mid-1990s, he has been a writer and producer in television, creating and producing a number of television series, including American Gothic, Roar and Invasion. Cassidy is the eldest son of Academy Award-winning actress Shirley Jones and Tony Award-winning actor Jack Cassidy. David Cassidy was his older half-brother.

 
1961 - Irvine Welsh, Scottish Novelist, Playwright and Short Story Writer. His novel Trainspotting was made into a film of the same name. His work is characterised by a raw Scots dialect and brutal depiction of Edinburgh life. He has written plays and screenplays, and directed several short films.

Lefties:
None known

 

 
More birthdays and historical events, September 27 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1066 - William the Conqueror crosses the channel in his ship, the Mora, and lands a fleet at Pevensey spending the night in an ancient Roman fort.

1822 - Jean-Francois Champollion, a French linguist, deciphers the Rosetta stone, a slab of granite found in Egypt that has a text in three scripts inscribed on it.

September 26 Dateline

Birthdays

1888 - T.S. Eliot (Thomas Stearns Eliot) OM, American-born British writer and Nobel Laureate, one of the twentieth century's major poets", was also a highly distinguished essayist, publisher, playwright, editor and literary and social critic. He was a leader of the Modernist movement in poetry in such works as "The Waste Land" and "Four Quartets". T.S. Eliot is considered one of the 20th century's major poets, who attracted widespread attention for his poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", which was seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement. It was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language, including "The Waste Land", "The Hollow Men", "Ash Wednesday", and Four Quartets. He was also known for his seven plays, particularly Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948, "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry". (T.S. Eliot - A short biography. jrellim96. Accessed September 26, 2018. T.S. Eliot reads: The Waste Land. Uploaded by tim24frames. Accessed September 26, 2018.)

1898 - George Gershwin, (born Jacob Bruskin Gershowitz), American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned both popular and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, the songs Swanee and Fascinating Rhythm, the jazz standard I Got Rhythm, and the opera Porgy and Bess which spawned the hit Summertime. Gershwin began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva. The original Broadway production of the musical Of Thee I Sing (music by George Gershwin and lyrics by brother Ira Gershwin), directed by Kaufman, opened in 1931 and ran for 441 performances, gaining critical and box office success. It has been revived twice on Broadway and in concert stagings in the U.S. and in London. In 1932, Of Thee I Sing was the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In Paris, he composed An American in Paris, returned to New York City and wrote Porgy and Bess with Ira and DuBose Heyward. Initially a commercial failure, it came to be considered one of the most important American operas of the twentieth century and an American cultural classic. Gershwin moved to Hollywood and composed numerous film scores. His compositions have been adapted for use in film and television, with several becoming jazz standards recorded.

1930 - Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich, German Lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident when he was only 35. (Fritz Wunderlich Sings "Un' aura amorosa," ("Der Odem der Liebe") From Wolfgang A. Mozart's Così Fan Tutte. Uploaded by Edmund StAustell. Accessed September 26, 2018.)
 
1948 - Dame Olivia Newton-John, British-Australian singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, entrepreneur and activist. She is a four-time Grammy Award winner who has amassed five number-one and ten other top-ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, and two number-one Billboard 200 albums. She has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. She starred in the 1978 musical film Grease, whose soundtrack remains one of the most successful in history and features two major hit duets with co-star John Travolta: "You're the One That I Want" – which ranks as one of the best-selling singles of all time – and "Summer Nights". Her signature solo recordings include "I Honestly Love You" and "Physical", plus "Let Me Be There", "Have You Never Been Mellow", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (also from Grease), "A Little More Love" and, from the 1980 film Xanadu, "Magic" and "Xanadu" (with Electric Light Orchestra).

1968 - James Patrick Caviezel, American actor. He portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004) and starred as John Reese on the CBS science-fiction crime drama series Person of Interest (2011-2016). Caviezel's other notable roles include Private Witt in The Thin Red Line, Detective John Sullivan in Frequency, and Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo.

1981 - Serena Jameka Williams, Tennis champion. American professional tennis player and former world No. 1 in women's single tennis. She has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time behind Margaret Court. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranked her world No. 1 in singles on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017. She reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time on July 8, 2002. In total, she has been No. 1 for 319 weeks, which ranks third in the Open Era among female players behind Graf and Martina Navratilova.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 26 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1580 - Sir Frances Drake circumnavigates the globe in the Golden Hind, commissioned by Queen Elizabeth. He is the first captain to do so, given that Magellan didn't complete his voyage 60 years earlier.

1847 - Shakespeare's birthplace on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon is purchased by a body of trustees to be preserved for UK.

September 25 Dateline

Birthdays

1683 - Jean Philippe Rameau, French composer and organist, one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François Couperin. Enjoy some of his orchestral suites - here.

 

1889 -  C.K. Scott Moncrieff, MC (born Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff), Scottish writer and translator, most famous for his English translation of most of Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu, which he published under the Shakespearean title Remembrance of Things Past. His family name is the double-barrelled name "Scott Moncrieff". (Lost in Translation: Proust and Scott Moncrieff by William C. Carter. The Public Domain Review. Accessed September 29, 2020)

1906 - Dmitry Shostakovich, Russian composer and pianist, regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is characterised by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality. He achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Soviet chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Despite it, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death). A polystylist, he developed a hybrid voice, combining a variety of different musical techniques into his works. He was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky; and in symphonies, by the late Romanticism of Gustav Mahler.

1929 - Ronnie Barker, OBE, (born Ronald William George Barker), English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as Porridge, The Two Ronnies, and Open All Hours. Barker began acting in repertory theatre and decided he was best suited to comic roles.

1931 - Barbara Jill Walters, American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. Respected for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as the host of numerous television programs, including Today, The View, 20/20, and the ABC Evening News. Since retiring as a full-time host and contributor, she continued to occasionally report for ABC News through 2015. In 1996, Walters was ranked #34 on the TV Guide "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" list, and in 2000 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

1944 - Michael Kirk Douglas, American actor and producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award. Apart from his acting career, Douglas has received notice for his humanitarian and political activism, as well as media attention for his marriage to Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. He's the eldest son of Kirk Douglas, a leading box-office star in his time.

 
1946 - Felicity Kendall,  CBE, English actress in television and theatre over more than 50-year career, but the role that brought attention to her career was that of Barbara Good in the 1975 television series The Good Life, and later in 2003, as Rosemary Boxer in Rosemary & Thyme.

1951 - Mark Richard Hamill, American actor, voice actor, and writer. He is best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series. His other notable film appearances include Corvette Summer and The Big Red One. He also appeared on stage in several theater productions, primarily during the 1980s. Hamill is a prolific voice actor who has portrayed characters in many animated television series, films, and video games.

1952 - Christopher D'Olier Reeve, American actor, writer, and director, best known for playing the DC Comics character Superman, beginning with the acclaimed Superman (1978), for which he won a BAFTA Award. He appeared in other critically acclaimed films such as The Bostonians, Street Smart, and The Remains of the Day. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in the television remake of Rear Window. On May 27, 1995, Reeve was left quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research, founding the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founding the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.

 
1952 - Colin Friels, Scottish-born Australian actor. He believes that social and political awareness comes with acting, and is known for his engagement in policy debates, including industrial issues such as workplace relations and free trade. His engagement with social issues has been evident in his acting work, with two prominent examples being his lead role in Ground Zero, in which he played a cameraman investigating British nuclear testing in South Australia, and his appearance in the ABC television drama Bastard Boys, in which he played union official John Coombs.

1961 - Heather Deen Locklear, American actress, best known for her role as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place (1993–99), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She is also known for her role as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty from 1981 to 1989, her first major television role, which began a longtime collaboration with producer Aaron Spelling. Other notable television roles include Officer Stacy Sheridan on T. J. Hooker, and Caitlin Moore on Spin City, for which she earned two more Golden Globe nominations, this time for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy.

1969 - Catherine Zeta-Jones, CBE, Welsh actress. She went on to greater success in the British television series The Darling Buds of May, before establishing herself in Hollywood with roles that highlighted her sex appeal. She was acclaimed for her performances as a vengeful pregnant woman in Traffic and a murderous singer in the musical Chicago; for the latter she won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actress. For much of the decade, she starred in high-profile films, then parts in smaller-scale features were followed by a decrease in workload, during which she returned to the stage and played an aging actress in A Little Night Music, winning a Tony Award. Zeta-Jones continued to work intermittently in the 2010s, as well as the television miniseries Feud, in which she portrayed Olivia de Havilland.  Zeta-Jones' other accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her film and humanitarian endeavours. 

 

 Leftie:
Actor Mark Hamill

Death:

British actor & musician David McCallum, Jr. He gained wide recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. In recent years, McCallum has gained renewed international recognition and popularity for his role as medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, in the American television series NCIS.
 

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 25 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1066 - The Battle of Stamford Bridge in York marks the end of the Viking era when  the Saxons, fighting under English King Harold, win a decisive victory over the invading Norwegians, under King Harald Hardraka of Norway.      

1857 - The relief of the first Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny by Sir Henry Havelock takes place. Havelock and his men also relieved the more famous siege of Cawnpore. His statue stands at the southeast corner of Trafalgar Square, London, one of the surrounding Nelson's Column. 

September 24 Dateline

Birthdays

1717 - Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, south-west London, reviving the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors.

1724 - Sir Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer and the founder of the Guinness brewery business. He was also an entrepreneur and philanthropist. At 27, Guinness's godfather Arthur Price, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Cashel, bequeathed him £100 in his will. Guinness invested the money and in 1755 had a brewery at Leixlip, just 17 km from Dublin. In 1759, Guinness went to the city and set up his own business. He took a 9,000-year lease on the 4-acre (16,000 m²) brewery at St. James's Gate from the descendants of Sir Mark Rainsford for an annual rent of £45. 

1899 - Sir William "Bill" Dobell, OBE, Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named in his honour.

1914 - Sir Andrzej Panufnik, Polish-English composer and conductor. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II. After his increasing frustration with the extra-musical demands made on him by the country's regime, he defected to the United Kingdom in 1954, and took up British citizenship. In 1957, he became chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a post he relinquished after two years to devote all his time to composition.(A. Panufnik - Old Polish Suite, uploaded by Ivancho Rz. Accessed September 24, 2018.)

1945 - John Milford Rutter CBE, English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Rutter founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which he has made many recordings of sacred choral repertoire (including his own works), under his own label Collegium Records. He collaborated with Sir David Willcocks on five volumes of the extraordinarily successful Carols for Choirs anthology series. He was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. My favourite quote from John Rutter: "Choral Music is not one of life's frills. It's something that goes to the very heart of our humanity, our sense of community and our souls.You express, when you sing, your soul in song. And when you get together with a group of other singers, it becomes more than the sum of the parts." (For the Beauty of the Earth - John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, City of London Sinfonia. Accessed September 24, 2019.)

 

1949 - Pedro Almodóvar Caballero, Spanish filmmaker, director, screenwriter, producer, and former actor. His films are marked by his employment of certain actors and creative personnel, complex narratives, melodrama, pop culture, popular songs, irreverent humour, strong colours, and glossy décor. Desire, passion, family, and identity are among Almodóvar's most prevalent themes. He achieved international recognition for his black comedy-drama film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and went on to more success with the dark romantic comedy film Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, the melodrama High Heels and the romantic drama thriller Live Flesh. Multi-awarded, Almodóvar and his films have gained worldwide interest and developed a cult following. He is one of the most internationally successful Spanish filmmakers.

1966 - Michael J. Varhola, American author, publisher, and lecturer. He has written numerous books, games, and articles, and founded game development company and manufacturer Skirmisher Publishing LLC. He also served as the assistant editor of The Hilltop Reporter, a weekly newspaper located in Texas Hill Country. In 2003, he changed his middle name from James to Odysseus, but did not start using it publicly until 2011.

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 24 - On This Day

Historical Events

1948 - The Honda Motor Company is founded in Tokyo, Japan.

1975 - Dougal Haston and Doug Scott climb to the top of Mt. Everest, the first Britons to do so.

September 23 Dateline

Birthdays

63 B.C.E. - Augustus Caesar, Roman Emperor also known as Octavian, he was the first Roman emperor, reigning from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. His status as the founder of the Roman Principate (the first phase of the Roman Empire) has consolidated a legacy as one of the most effective leaders in human history. His reign initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana. The Roman world was largely free from large-scale conflict for more than two centuries, despite continuous wars of imperial expansion on the Empire's frontiers and the year-long civil war known as the "Year of the Four Emperors" over the imperial succession.

1920 - Mickey Rooney, (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.), American actor, vaudevillian, comedian, producer and radio personality. In a career spanning nine decades and continuing until shortly before his death, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the silent-film era. He was the top box-office attraction from 1939 to 1941, and one of the best-paid actors of that era. Rooney performed the role of Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films in the 1930s and 1940s that epitomized mainstream America's self-image.

 
1930 - Ray Charles Robinson, American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Charles was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma. Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. Charles' 1960 hit "Georgia On My Mind" was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music became his first album to top the Billboard 200.

 
1938 - Romy Schneider (born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach),  German-French film and voice actress. She started her career in the German Heimatfilm genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central character of Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the Austrian Sissi trilogy, and later reprised the role in a more mature version in Visconti's Ludwig. The trilogy was also made into a film "Forever My Love" with Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm. Schneider moved to France, where she made successful and critically acclaimed films with some of the most notable film directors of that era.  (Romy Schneider: Transformation from 1 to 43 years old. Uploaded by Top Famous Tube. Accessed April 19, 2020.  Romy Schneider’s Personal Life Was a Disaster? 10 Facts About the Sissi Actress:Romy Schneider. Uploaded by Mo10ta. Accessed April 19, 2020. Sissi - Forever my Love (English version, part 1, part 2. YouTube, uploaded by LuckyStarAt. Accessed September 23, 2018.) 

 
1943 - Julio Iglesias (born Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva), Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful continental European singer in the world and one of the top record sellers in music history, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide in 14 languages. It is estimated that during his career he has performed in more than 5000 concerts, for over 60 million people in five continents. In April 2013, Iglesias was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Latin Composers.

 
1959 - Jason Alexander, (born Jay Scott Greenspan), American actor, comedian, singer, and director. Alexander is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series Seinfeld, for which he was nominated for seven consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. On stage, he appeared in several Broadway musicals, including Jerome Robbins' Broadway in 1989, for which he won the Tony Award as Best Leading Actor in a Musical and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He appeared in the Los Angeles production of The Producers. He was the artistic director of "Reprise! Broadway's Best in Los Angeles", where he has directed several musicals.

 

 1961 - William Cameron "Willie" McCool, Cmdr, USN, American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, Aeronautical Engineer, and NASA Astronaut, the pilot of Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into the atmosphere. He was the youngest male member of the crew.  McCool was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

 
Leftie:
Actor Jason Alexander 

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 23 - On This Day

Historical Events

1846 - Neptune, thee 8th planet from the sun, is discovered by Urbain Le Verrier, a French astronomer, and John Couch Adams, a British astronomer. It is named after the Roman god of the sea because of its blue methane clouds.

1848 - John Curtis in Maine, U.S., invents the chewing gum. In his home, he boils the resin obtained from spruce trees on a stove, then pours it in a tub of ice water and strains it. He sells it as sticks wrapped in tissue paper.

September 22 Dateline

Birthdays

1694 - Lord Chesterfield (Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield), English statesman and man of letters, mainly remembered for his letters to his natural son Philip.

1791 - Michael Faraday, English scientist (master of chemistry and physics), regarded the "Father of Electricity", he contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis ~ known for: Faraday's law of induction, electrochemistry, Faraday effect, Faraday cage, Faraday constant, Faraday's laws of electrolysis, Faraday paradox, Faraday rotator, Faraday-efficiency effect, Faraday wave, Faraday wheel, Faraday lines of force. 

 

1880 - Dame Christabel Pankhurst, DBE (Christabel Harriette Pankhurst), British suffragette, a co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exile in France from 1912 to 1913. In 1914 she supported the war against Germany. After the war she moved to the United States, where she worked as an evangelist for the Second Adventist movement.

1895 - Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund), Austro-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor. He was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in the Yiddish theater. During the 1930s, he was considered one of the most prestigious actors at the Warner Bros. studio, and was given the rare privilege of choosing which parts he wanted. He made 22 films and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1936 film The Story of Louis Pasteur. He also starred in numerous Broadway plays and won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the 1955 production of Inherit the Wind. (As a lover of Chopin's piano music, I'll remember Paul Muni best as Prof. Joseph Elsner in 'A Song to Remember' from a 1945 American biographical film which tells a fictionalised life story of Polish pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin. /Tel)
 

1931 - Fay Weldon,  CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw), English author, essayist and playwright. Weldon's most celebrated work is her 1983 novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, which she wrote at the age of 52. Her novel The Hearts and Lives of Men was written and published in serial form, appearing in the British magazine Woman between 1 February and 15 November 1986. Weldon serves together with Daniel Pipes as the most notable foreign members of the board of the Danish Press Freedom Society

1945 - Pete Atkin, British singer-songwriter and radio producer notable for his 1970s musical collaborations with Clive James and for producing the BBC Radio 4 series This Sceptred Isle. Atkin's musical settings drew most of their inspiration from Tin Pan Alley, although in the "Carnations on the Roof" he set a sombre description of a working class life to themes characteristic of Tamla Motown. Often Atkin turned James' intentions upside down, as with "The Last Hill That Shows You All The Valley", which James wrote as a dirge but which Atkin set to a thumping, angry rock beat. The combination worked as James' mournful cataloguing of man's inhumanity to man became a cry of protest.(The Colours of the Night: Pete Atkin and Clive James. September 22, 2018.)

1958 - Andrea Bocelli, OMRI OMDSM, Italian opera singer, songwriter, tenor and record producer.  He was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma at 5 months old, and became completely blind at age 12. After performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests, Bocelli signed his first recording contract with the Sugar Music label. He rose to fame in 1994, winning the preliminary round of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing "Miserere", with the highest marks ever recorded in the newcomers section.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 22 - On This Day

Historical Events

1869 - Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold is first produced, in Munich, with Franz Wuellner conducting.

1980 - Iraq invades Iran, bombing several air and military supply bases, and war breaks out between the neighbouring countries. The fighting ends only when the UN organizes a ceasefire in august 1988.

September 21 Dateline

Birthdays

1784 - Karl Thomas Mozart, the second son, and the elder of the two surviving sons, of Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart. He became a gifted pianist, but before he finished his schooling, however, he left for Livorno in 1797 to begin his apprenticeship with a trading firm.

1866 - H.G. Wells, English writer, famous for producing classics of science fiction, with extraordinary insights into the future. His famous works include The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, The Shape of Things to Come and The Island of Dr Moreau.

1874 - Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst), English composer, famous for his orchestral suite "The Planets", and whose daughter, Imogen Holst, his biographer, is also a composer. He composed across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style.

 
1931 - Larry Martin Hagman, American actor, film director and producer, famous for TV series Dallas, playing ruthless oil baron J.R. Ewing and the befuddled astronaut Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the  sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. His television appearances also included guest roles on dozens of shows spanning from the late 1950s until his death and a reprise of his signature role on the 2012 revival of Dallas.

1934 - Leonard Cohen, CC GOQ (born Leonard Norman Cohen), Canadian singer, songwriter, poet, and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, sexuality, and romantic relationships. Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  (Dance me to the End of Love and Hallelujah, uploaded by LeonardCohen. Accessed September 21, 2018.)

1947 - Stephen Edwin King, American author. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 61 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written numerous 200 short stories published in book collections. King is multi-awarded. Some of his awards include: the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, awards for his contribution to literature for his entire bibliography, such as the 2004 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, and the 2007 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He was awarded with a National Medal of Arts from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts for his contributions to literature. 

1950 - Bill Murray (born William James Murray), American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and writer. Known for his deadpan delivery, he first rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, a series of performances that earned him his first Emmy Award, and later starred in comedy films. He also co-directed Quick Change. Murray later starred in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, which earned him a Golden Globe and a British Academy Film Award, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Ghostbusters, Rushmore, Hyde Park on Hudson, St. Vincent, and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge, for which he later won his second Primetime Emmy Award. Murray received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 21 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1880 - The International Mozart Foundation is established in Salzburg.

1937 - J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit is published. Its first print run is a 1,500 copies, but this acclaimed fantasy novel has now been published in more than 38 languages and sold more than 50 million copies.

September 20 Dateline

Birthdays

1842 - Sir James Dewar FRS FRSE, Scottish Chemist and Physicist. He is best known for his invention of the vacuum flask, which he used in conjunction with research into the liquefaction of gases. He also studied atomic and molecular spectroscopy, working in these fields for more than 25 years.

1934 - Sophia Loren, (born Sofia Villani Scicolone), Dame of the Grand Cross OMRI, Italian Film actress and singer. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema at this time (2021). During the 1960s she starred in films as a sexually emancipated character and was one of the best known sex symbols. She was named by the American Film Institute as the 21st greatest female star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.  Loren's performance as Cesira in the movie Two Women directed by Vittorio De Sica earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first actor or actress to win an Oscar for a foreign-language performance. She holds the record for having earned seven David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress: Two Women; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; Marriage Italian Style, for which she was nominated for a second Oscar); Sunflower; The Voyage; A Special Day and The Life Ahead. She has won five special Golden Globes (including the Cecil B. DeMille Award), a BAFTA Award, a Laurel Award, a Grammy Award, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1991, she received the Academy Honorary Award for lifetime achievements.

1956 - Gary Cole, American actor and voice actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. On television, he has had starring roles in the TV series Midnight Caller, American Gothic, The West Wing, Crusade, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Veep, Chicago Fire, and Mixed-ish. In film, he has appeared in The Brady Bunch Movie, One Hour Photo, Office Space, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. He is also known for voicing the title character on the Adult Swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and James Timothy Possible on Kim Possible.

Lefties:

None known

 

 
More birthdays and historical events, September 20 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1327 - Edward II is murdered in Berkeley Castle, after attempts to starve and poison him fail. The final method involves a red-hot poker being inserted where it doesn't show.

1377 - Cardinal Robert of Geneva is elected Avignon Pope Clement VII.

September 19 Dateline

Birthdays

1911 - Sir William Golding, CBE, British novelist, playwright, and poet. Nobel Laureate for Literature, best known for his novels Lord of the Flies and Rites of Passage. He would go on to write over a dozen novels in his lifetime. (William Golding Author Biography. Uploaded by Course Hero. Accessed September 19, 2018.  Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by Nobel Prize–winning British author William Golding. The book focuses on a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves. Lord of the Flies - An Introduction. Uploaded by ELAwolfe. Accessed September 19, 2017.)

1933 - David Keith McCallum, Jr.  British-American actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with Robert Vaughn. In recent years, McCallum has gained renewed international recognition and popularity for his role as medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, in the American television series NCIS. 

1934 - Brian Samuel Epstein, English music entrepreneur who managed The Beatles Group from 1962 until his death. He was referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" due to his role in the group's business affairs, image and rise to global fame.

1941 - "Mama" Cass Elliot, (born Ellen Naomi Cohen), American singer and actress who is best known for having been a member of the Mamas and the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas and the Papas.

 
1948 - Jeremy Irons, English actor and activist. Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre productions. In 1984, he made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and received a Tony Award for Best Actor. Irons has also made many appearances in television dramas. His break-out role in the ITV series Brideshead Revisited earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2005, he appeared in the historical miniseries Elizabeth I, for which he received a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is one of the few actors who have achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US, winning an Academy Award for film, an Emmy Award for television and a Tony Award for theatre. In October 2011, he was nominated the Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

1949 - Twiggy, Dame Lesley Lawson DBE (née Hornby), English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenage model during the swinging sixties in London. After modelling, Twiggy enjoyed a successful career as a screen, stage, and television actress. Her role in The Boy Friend brought her two Golden Globe Awards. In 1983 she made her Broadway debut in the musical My One and Only, for which she earned a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She later hosted her own series, Twiggy's People, in which she interviewed celebrities; she also appeared as a judge on the reality show America's Next Top Model. Her 1998 autobiography Twiggy in Black and White entered the best-seller lists.

Lefties:
None known

 

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

 

Historical Events

1893 - In New Zealand, the Governor signs the Electoral Act, giving all women the right to vote. New Zealand is the first country to grant that right.

1908 - Gustav Mahler conducts the premiere of his Symphony No. 7, in Prague.

September 18 Dateline

Birthdays

1587 - Francesca Caccini, Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was known by the nickname "La Cecchina", given to her by the Florentines. Listen to her Ciaccona. Luigi Cozzolino, violino; Andrea Benucci, chitarra; Alfonso Fedi, clavicembalo; Francesco Tomei, viola da gamba.  YouTube, uploaded by Massimo Carota. Accessed September 18, 2018)

1709 - Dr. Samuel Johnson, English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. He was a devout Anglican and a generous philanthropist.

1905 - Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson), Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses of all time, Garbo was known for her melancholy, somber persona due to her many portrayals of tragic characters and for her subtle performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, Torrent. Her performance in Flesh and the Devil, made her an international star. For her performances, she received her first of the three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1932, her success allowed her to dictate the terms of her contract, and she became increasingly selective about her roles. She continued in films such as Mata Hari, Inspiration, Grand Hotel, Queen Christina, and Anna Karenina. Many critics and film historians consider her performance as the doomed courtesan Marguerite Gautier in Camille (1936) to be her finest.

1939 - Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone), American actor, singer, and former teen idol. Avalon had 31 charted U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including the number one hits "Venus" and "Why" in 1959. Avalon's first film was a short appearance in Jamboree, playing a trumpet and singing "Teacher's Pet". In the late 1950s, teen idols were often given roles in films, supporting older male stars in order to attract a younger audience. Alan Ladd's daughter was a Frankie Avalon fan, who recommended that he co-star with her father in the Western Guns of the Timberland.  Avalon sings two songs, "The Faithful Kind" and "Gee Whiz Whillikins Golly Gee"; both were released as singles.

Lefties:
None known

 

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 18 -  On This Day

Historical Events

1809 - London's Royal Opera House opens with a performance of Shakespeare's  Macbeth. The foundation stone was laid by the Prince of Wales, and was incorporated into its present structure after a fire demolished it in 1856.

1919 - The Netherlands gives women the right to vote.

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.

September 16 Dateline

Birthdays

1836 -  Henry V, also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against France made England one of the strongest military powers in Europe. He is known and celebrated as one of the greatest warrior kings of medieval England, and is immortalised in Shakespearae's "Henriad" plays.

1887 - Nadia Boulanger, French composer, conductor, and teacher. Many of her students became prominent composers in their time. (Sharing a favourite work of her: Faintaisie pour piano et orchestre, uploaded in YouTube by JCHBONNET. Accessed September 16, 2018)

1924 - Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske), American actress known for her distinctive voice and sultry looks. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009 "in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures".  Bacall began her career as a model before making her film debut as a leading lady in To Have and Have Not (1944). She continued in the film noir genre. She also worked on Broadway in musicals, earning Tony Awards for Applause (1970) and Woman of the Year (1981). She won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

1925 - Charlie Lee Byrd, American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album Jazz Samba, a recording which brought bossa nova into the mainstream of North American music. Byrd played fingerstyle on a classical guitar.

1956 - David Copperfield (born David Seth Kotkin), American magician, illusionist, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. His TV specials have won 21 Emmy Awards and 38 nominations. Copperfield's career has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a knighthood by the French government, and he has been named a Living Legend by the US Library of Congress. As of 2006, Copperfield has sold 33 million tickets and grossed over US$4 billion, more than any other solo entertainer in history. When not performing, he manages his chain of eleven resort islands in the Bahamas, which he calls "Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay".

1956 - Mickey Rourke (born Philip Andre Rourke Jr.), American actor, screenwriter, and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. In 2005, Rourke made his comeback in mainstream Hollywood circles with a lead role in the neo-noir action thriller Sin City, for which he won awards from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Irish Film and Television Awards, and the Online Film Critics Society. In the 2008 film The Wrestler, Rourke portrayed a past-his-prime professional wrestler; for his work in the film, Rourke received a 2009 Golden Globe award, a BAFTA award, and an Academy Award nomination. Rourke has appeared in successful films, including the Iron Man 2, The Expendables, and the Immortals.

1979 - Iestyn Davies, MBE, British Classical countertenor and chorister. From the age of eight he sang as a boy treble in the choir of St John's College, Cambridge. He began singing countertenor in his teens, at Wells Cathedral School. He returned to St John's as a choral scholar, graduating in archaeology and anthropology. He gained his DipRAM from, and was later appointed ARAM by the Royal Academy of Music. In 2004 he won the Audience Prize at the London Handel Singing Competition and in 2010 was named "Young Artist of the Year" by the Royal Philharmonic Society. Here's Album 'IF' (Michael Nyman, Henry Purcell) with Iestyn Davies and Fretwork. Accessed September 16, 2019.

Lefties: None known

 

More birthdays and historical events, September 16 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1908 - General Motors is founded in Flint, Michigan, and later becoming the first U.S. corporation to make $1 billion in a year. It is now based in Detroit.

1920 - A bomb in a horse-drawn wagon explodes on Wall Street, New York City. Thirty-nine people are killed and 400 more are injured.