Today XXVII

Birthdays:

• Henry Jaynes Fonda, actor, May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982


• Louis "Studs" Terkel, author, historian and broadcaster, 1912


• Woodrow Charles 'Woody' Herman, jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and bandleader, May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987


• Wladziu Valentino Liberace, aka Liberace, aka Lee, pianist, actor, and entertainer, May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987


• Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, former Major League Baseball player and manager, May 16, 1928 - December 25, 1989


• Lillie Mae Jones, aka Betty Carter, jazz singer, May 16, 1930 – September 26, 1998


• Billy Cobham, drummers best known for his jazz fusion in the 1970s, with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he pioneered a powerful style of drumming with jazz, rock and funk influences. He is the first drummer to unseat Buddy Rich in the Down Beat music polls, 1944


• Robert Fripp, guitarist and composer, and a founding member of King Crimson, 1946


• Pierce Brendan Brosnan, film actor and producer, 1951


• Olga Valentinovna Korbut, gymnast, 1955


• John Scott 'Jack' Morris, former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. On April 7, 1984, he threw a no-hitter, 1955


• Maria Debra Winger, actress, 1955. Her first acting role was as Princess Diana's younger sister Drusilla (Wonder Girl) in the Wonder Woman television series


• Gabriela Sabatini, former professional tennis player, 1970


• David Patrick Boreanaz, film and television actor [Angel], 1969


• Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling, actress, 1973

RIP:

• Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt, jazz guitarist, January 23, 1910 – May 16, 1953


• Eliot Ness, Treasury agent, famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago as the leader of a legendary team nicknamed The Untouchables, April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957


• Andrew Geoffrey 'Andy' Kaufman, entertainer and absurdist, January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984


• Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff, aka Irwin Shaw, playwright, screenwriter and author, February 27, 1913 - May 16, 1984


• Margaret Hamilton, actress, who played the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985


• Sammy Davis, Jr., entertainer: dancer, singer, multi-instrumentalist ( vibes, trumpet, and drums), impressionist, comedian, and actor, December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990


• James Maury 'Jim' Henson, puppeteer and creator of The Muppets, September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990