Today XXXVII

Birthdays:

• Dora Angela Duncan, aka Isadora Duncan, dancer, May 26, 1877 - September 14, 1927


• Asa Yoelson, aka Al Jolson, singer, May 26, 1885 or 1886 - October 23, 1950


• Marion Robert Morrison, aka John Wayne, aka "The Duke", actor, May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979


• Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, actor, May 26, 1908 - June 3, 1992


• Harold J. Smith, aka Jay Silverheels, actor, June 26, 1912 – March 5, 1980


• Peter Cushing, OBE, actor, known for roles such as Winston Smith in BBC's 1984, Doctor Who, Frankenstein and Van Helsing in Hammer Films, and Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, among many, many others, May 26, 1913 – August 11, 1994


• Norma Deloris Egstrom, aka Peggy Lee, jazz singer and songwriter, May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002


• James Aurness, aka James Arness, actor, famous as Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, which ran for 20 years, 1923


• Roy Dotrice, actor, 1923


• Miles Dewey Davis III, jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer, May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991


• Jack Kevorkian, M.D., pathologist, 1928


• Teresa Stratas, OC, operatic soprano, 1938


• Mark Lavon Helm, a.k.a. Levon Helm, rock musician, the drummer and singer for The Band, 1940


• Michael MICK Ronson, guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer, best known for his work with David Bowie, May 26, 1946 – April 29, 1993


• Stephanie Lynn STEVIE Nicks, singer and songwriter, 1948


• Howard G. WARD Cunningham, computer programmer, inventor of the first wiki, 1949


• Hank Williams, Jr., country singer, 1949


• Pamela Suzette PAM Grier, actress, 1949


• Sally Kristen Ride, Ph.D. former astronaut, 1951


• Margaret Colin, actress, 1957


• Helena Bonham Carter, actress, 1966


• Yoko Matsugane, gravure (or bikini) idol, 1982

RIP:

• Samuel Pepys, FRS, diarist, naval administrator, and Member of Parliament, February 23, 1633 – 26 May 26, 1703


• Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette, neurologist, after whom Tourette syndrome is named, October 30, 1857 — May 26, 1904


• Victor August Herbert, composer of light opera and cellist, February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924


• James Charles JIMMIE Rodgers, aka The Singing Brakeman and The Blue Yodeler, country singer, guitarist, and songwriter, September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933


• Charles Horace Mayo, medical practitioner and a co-founder of the Mayo Clinic, July 19, 1865 – May 26, 1939


• Lionel Pretoria Conacher, athlete, May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954


• William Edgar LITTLE WILLIE John, R 'n' B singer, posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968


• Martin Heidegger, philosopher, September 26, 1889 – May 26, 1976


• Isadore FRIZ Freleng, animator, cartoonist, director, and producer, best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons from Warner Bros., introducing and/or developing several of the studio's biggest stars, including Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the cat, Yosemite Sam, and Speedy Gonzales. He won four Academy Awards, August 21, 1906 – May 26, 1995


• Eddie Albert, actor, April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005


• Alfonso CHICO Carrasquel Colón, former MLB shortstop, the first Latin-American All-Star in major league history, January 23, 1928 – May 26, 2005