Today XLIV

Birthdays:

• Donatien Alphonse François, le Marquis de Sade, writer of philosophy-laden and often violent pornography, as well as some strictly philosophical works, whose reputation for sexual cruelty led to the term sadism being named after him, June 2, 1740 - December 2, 1814


• Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, occultist and Freemason, June 2, 1743 – August 26, 1795


• Sir Edward Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO, composer, June 2, 1857 – February 23, 1934


• János Weißmüller, aka Johnny Weissmuller, Olympic gold medal swimmer, settting sixty-seven world records, and actor, playing Tarzan in twelve motion pictures, June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984


• Sally Claire Kellerman, actress and singer, 1936


• Walter Stacy Keach, Jr., actor and narrator, 1941


• Charles Robert 'Charlie' Watts, drummer for The Rolling Stones, jazz bandleader, and commercial artist, 1941


• William Guest, R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips, 1941


• Marvin Hamlisch, composer, 1944


• Jerry Mathers, actor, best known for his title role in Leave it to Beaver, 1948


• Dennis Dexter Haysbert, film and television actor [24 and The Unit], 1954


• Dana Thomas Carvey, actor and comedian, 1955


• Anthony T. Montgomery, actor, best known as Ensign Travis Mayweather on Star Trek: Enterprise, is the grandson of jazz musician Wes Montgomery, 1971


• Jewel Belair Staite, actress, modelling as a child and acting since age 6, best known as Kaylee Frye in 2002's Firefly and the 2005 film, Serenity, 1982

RIP:

• Henry Louis 'Lou' Gehrig, Major League first baseman who played his entire career for the New York Yankees. Between 1925 and 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games; he was known as the "Iron Horse" for his durability, June 19, 1903 — June 2, 1941


• George Simon Kaufman, playwright, director, producer, humorist, and drama critic, November 16, 1889 - June 2, 1961


• Leo Bernard Gorcey, stage and movie actor who became famous as the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys, June 3, 1917 – June 2, 1969


• William Millar, aka Stephen Boyd, actor, July 4, 1931 – June 2, 1977


• Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., aka Sammy Kaye, bandleader and songwriter, March 13, 1910 - June 2, 1987


• Maestro Andrés Segovia, Marques de Salobreña, classical guitarist, considered to be the father of the modern classical guitar movement, February 21, 1893 – June 3, 1987


• Sir Reginald Carey "Rex" Harrison, theatre and film actor, March 5, 1908 – June 2, 1990


• Philip Ives Dunne, screenwriter, film director, and producer, February 11, 1908 – June 2, 1992


• Johnny Mize, MLB first baseman, from 1936 through 1953; in 1981, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, January 7, 1913 - June 2, 1993


• Adolphus Anthony "Doc" Cheatham, jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader, June 13, 1905 - June 2, 1997


• Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite, one of the founders of, and the first lead singer of The Wailers, April 4, 1949 – June 2, 1999


• Imogene Fernandez de Coca, aka Imogene Coca, comic actress; in the early days of live television, she played opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows, and her own series, The Imogene Coca Show, November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001