Today XXXIII

Birthdays:

• Alexander Pope, poet, May 22, 1688 – May 30, 1744


• Wilhelm RICHARD Wagner, composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas, May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883


• Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL, author, best known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction, May 22, 1859 – July 7, 1930


• Edwin Branford EDDIE Edwards, jazz trombonist, best known his pioneer recordings with the Original Dixieland Jass Band, May 22, 1891 – April 9, 1963


• Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, Academy Award-winning actor and director, May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989


• Herman Poole SUNNY Blount, aka Sun Ra, jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, known as much for his "cosmic philosophy" as for his musical compositions and performances, May 22, 1914 - May 30, 1993


• Chahnour Varinag Aznavourian, aka Charles Aznavour, singer, songwriter, and actor, 1944


• Harvey Bernard Milk, politician and gay rights activist, assassinated in 1978, May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978


• Kenneth Daniel KENNY Ball, jazz trumpet player and bandleader, 1930


• Morgan Scott Peck, M.D., psychiatrist and author, May 22, 1936 – September 25, 2005


• Richard Benjamin, actor and film director, 1938


• Susan Elizabeth Strasberg, actress, May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999


• Michael Sarrazin, actor, 1940


• Paul Winfield, television and film actor; I remember him as Dathan, an alien captain who communicates in metaphor in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Darmok, and as The Mirror on the TV show The Charmings, May 22, 1941 – March 7, 2004


• Thomas Edward TOMMY John, Jr., former MLB left-handed pitcher, whose 288 career victories rank as the 5th highest total among lefthanders in major league history, notable for the revolutionary surgery, now named for him, which was, on September 25, 1974, performed on a damaged ligament in his pitching arm, 1943


• Grace Quek, aka Annabel Chong, actress, 1972

RIP:

• Victor-Marie Hugo, writer and poet, February 26, 1802 - May 22, 1885


• James Mercer LANGSTON Hughes, poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and newspaper columnist, best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance, February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967


• Dame Margaret Rutherford DBE, character actress, May 11, 1892 – May 22, 1972


• Thomas Rocco Barbella, aka Rocky Graziano, World Middleweight Boxing Champion and, after retirement, television comedian, January 1, 1922 – May 22, 1990


• Richard RICK Biggs, television and stage actor, who played the role of Dr. Stephen Franklin on Babylon 5, March 18, 1960 – May 22, 2004