Today CLI

Birthdays:

• Francesca Caccini, composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era; her opera, La liberazione di Ruggiero, was the first by a woman composer, September 18, 1587 – c. 1640


• Johann Gottfried Walther, music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era, cousin and musical contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, September 18, 1684 – March 23, 1748


• Adrien-Marie Legendre, mathematician, who made important contributions to statistics, number theory, abstract algebra and mathematical analysis; most of his work was brought to perfection by others: in number theory, he conjectured the quadratic reciprocity law, subsequently proved by Gauss; his 1796 conjecture of the Prime number theorem was rigorously proved by Hadamard and de la Vallée-Poussin in 1898, September 18, 1752 – January 10, 1833


• Jean Bernard Léon Foucault, physicist, best known for the invention of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation; he also made an early measurement of the speed of light, invented the gyroscope, and discovered eddy currents; Foucault crater on the Moon is named after him, September 18, 1819 – February 11, 1868


• Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners, aka Gerald Tyrwhitt, classical composer, novelist, and painter, September 18, 1883 – April 19, 1950


• Arthur Leslie Benjamin, composer and educator, wrote many operas, orchestral works, songs, and film scores, September 18, 1893, Sydney – April 10, 1960


• John George Diefenbaker, CH, PC, QC, BA, MA, LL.B, LL.D, DCL, FRSC, FRSA, D.Litt, DSL, the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, from 1957 to 1963, September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979


• Harold Edgar Clurman, theatre director and drama critic, most famous for being one of the original founders of New York City's Group Theatre; drama critic for The New Republic from 1948 to 1952, and The Nation from 1953 to 1980, September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980


• Eddie ROCHESTER Anderson, comic actor, famous for playing Rochester, Jack Benny's valet on the long-running radio and television series The Jack Benny Program; he began his show business career at age 14 in a song-and-dance act with his brother Cornelius and another performer, billed as the Three Black Aces; at a young age, he permanently damaged his vocal cords, leading to his trademark raspy voice, September 18, 1905 - February 28, 1977


• Agnes George de Mille, dancer and choreographer, niece of Cecil B. DeMille, created the original choreography for such musicals as Oklahoma! and Carousel; she revolutionized musical theatre by creating choreography which both conveyed the emotional dimensions of the characters, and enhanced the plot, September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993


• Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, aka Greta Garbo, actress, September 18, 1905 – April 15, 1990


• Edwin Mattison McMillan, physicist, the first to produce a transuranium element; in 1940, he created neptunium, a decay product of uranium-239, using the cyclotron at Berkeley; in World War II, he was involved in research on radar, sonar, and nuclear weapons; in 1945, he developed ideas for the improvement of the cyclotron, leading to the development of the synchrotron; shared the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Glenn T. Seaborg for the creation of the first transuranium elements, September 18, 1907 – September 7, 1991


• Rossano Brazzi, singer and actor, with an extensive filmography, much of it in Italian and French films; his most famous role was as Emile de Becque in South Pacific, September 18, 1916 – December 24, 1994


• June Foray, voice actress, whose voice was first broadcast in a local radio drama when she was 12 years old; by age of 15, she was doing regular radio voice work; in the 1940's, she began film work, mostly doing voice overs for animated cartoons; for Walt Disney, she played Lucifer the Cat in Cinderella; for Warner Bros. Cartoons, she was Granny, owner of Tweety and Sylvester; her most recognizable work was for Jay Ward, playing almost every female on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, including Natasha and Nell Fenwick, and voicing Rocky as well; she remains active to this day, with roles in recent animated films, such as Mulan (as Grandmother Fa) and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, 1917


• John H. Lebzelter, aka Jack Warden, character actor, worked as a nightclub bouncer, tugboat deckhand, and lifeguard, and fought as a professional boxer under the name Johnny Costello before joining the Navy in 1938; his first credited film role was in The Man with My Face in 1951; in 1952, he began a three-year role in the TV series Mr. Peepers; after a role in From Here to Eternity, his breakthrough film role was in 12 Angry Men; he received a supporting actor Emmy Award for his performance in Brian's Song; he was nominated for Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actor for Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait; he had roles in such films as All the President's Men, ... And Justice for All, Being There, The Verdict, and While You Were Sleeping; he appeared in over one hundred movies, September 18, 1920 – July 19, 2006


• Ray Steadman-Allen, composer, 1922


• Harvey Haddix, Jr., MLB left-handed pitcher from 1952 to 1965; in 1953, pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, he went 20-9, with 163 strikeouts, a 3.06 ERA, 19 complete games/ and six shutouts; he will be remembered for taking a perfect game into the 13th inning of a game against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959, retiring 36 consecutive batters in 12 innings; he was a three-time All-Star from 1953 to 1955, and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner from 1958 to 1960, September 18, 1925 - January 8, 1994


• Bud Greenspan, eight-time Emmy Award-winning film director, writer, and producer, specializing in films related to the Olympic Games, including 16 Days of Glory, Lillehammer, and Triumph and Tragedy, 1926


• Phyllis Kirkegaard, aka Phyllis Kirk, film and TV actress, and publicist; she became a Hollywood contract player for MGM and Warner Brothers; she played Nora Charles to Peter Lawford's Nick in the TV series The Thin Man, from 1957 to 1959, 1929


• Nikolai Nikolayevich Rukavishnikov, cosmonaut, who flew three of the space missions of the Soyuz programme, September 18, 1932, Tomsk – October 19, 2002


• Robert Blake, actor, famous for starring in the television series Baretta, 1933


• James Frederick JIMMIE Rodgers, pop singer, known for Honeycomb, a hit in 1957, and other songs, such as the 1958 top ten hits Kisses Sweeter than Wine and Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again, 1933


• Francis Thomas Avallone, aka Frankie Avalon, actor and teen idol in the 1950's and early 1960's, 1939


• Fred Willard, comedian and character actor, known for his improvisational skills, 1939


• Charles Lacy Veach, astronaut, September 18, 1944 - October 3, 1995


• Kenneth Alven KEMER Brett, MLB pitcher, in a 14-year career, the oldest of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the youngest pitcher ever to play in the World Series; he was the winning pitcher of the 1974 All-Star Game; he had a career record of 83-85, with an ERA of 3.93 in 349 games, with 184 starts and 51 complete games; he was an outstanding hitting pitcher - in 347 career at bats, he recorded 91 hits (29 for extra bases), yielding a .262 batting average, and slugged 406, hitting 18 doubles, 1 triple, and 10 home runs, with 44 RBI, September 18, 1948 - November 18, 2003


• Kerry Livgren, musician, singer, and songwriter, one of the founding members and primary writers for Kansas, 1949


• Darryl Glen Sittler, former NHL ice hockey player, 1950


• Douglas Glenn Colvin, aka Dee Dee Ramone, songwriter and bassist, a founding member of The Ramones, September 18, 1952 - June 5, 2002


• Takao Doi, astronaut, 1954


• Robert DeWayne Papenbrook, voice actor, September 18, 1955 - March 17, 2006


• Ryne Dee Sandberg, former MLB second baseman, who spent nearly most of his career with the Chicago Cubs; in 1990, he led the National League in home runs with 40; he, Brady Anderson, and Barry Bonds are the only players to have both a 40-homer and 50-steal season; he played a major league-record 123 straight games at second base without an error; All-Star from 1984 to 1993; Gold Glove Award winner from 1983 to 1991; 1984 National League MVP; 1984 The Sporting News Player of the Year; Silver Slugger Award winner in 1984, 1985, and 1988 to 1992; elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, 1959


• Holly Robinson-Peete, actress, 1964


• Anna Netrebko, operatic soprano, 1971


• Jada Koren Pinkett Smith, actress and singer, 1971


• James Paul JIMMY Marsden, actor, played Scott "Cyclops" Summers in all three X-Men films, and Richard White in Superman Returns, 1973

RIP:

• Leonhard Euler, mathematician and physicist, developed important concepts and established mathematical theorems in fields as diverse as calculus, number theory, and topology, introducing the fundamental notion of a mathematical function, and creating much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, the asteroid 2002 Euler is named in his honor, April 15, 1707 - September 18, 1783


• Francis Phillip Wuppermann, aka Frank Morgan, character actor, best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz, June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949


• Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld, diplomat, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, posthumously received the 1961 Nobel Peace Prize, July 29, 1905 – September 18, 1961


• John Cassidy, aka Seán O'Casey, dramatist, committed nationalist and socialist, the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes, March 30, 1880 – September 18, 1964


• Sir John Douglas Cockcroft, physicist, awarded the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power, May 27, 1897 - September 18, 1967


• James Marshall JIMI Hendrix, musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, innovator, and cultural icon; a self-taught musician, the left-handed Hendrix played a right-handed Fender Stratocaster guitar turned upside down and re-strung; he exploited the sonic tools of feedback and distortion; he was inducted into the U.S. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005; in 2006, Are You Experienced was inducted into the United States National Recording Preservation Board's National Recording Registry; Listen to his music!, November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970


• Paul Bernays, mathematician, who played a major role in the development of mathematical logic in the 20th century, assistant and close collaborator of David Hilbert, October 17, 1888 – September 18, 1977


• Callie Russell Porter, aka Katherine Ann Porter, journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political actitivist, won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for The Collected Stories; was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, May 15, 1890 - September 18, 1980


• Ernest "Ernie" Coombs, CM, children's entertainer, best known as Mr. Dressup, November 26, 1927–September 18, 2001


• Emil Ludwig Fackenheim, Ph.D, philosopher and rabbi, arrested by the Nazis on the night of November 9, 1938 [Kristallnacht]; escaped from Sachsenhausen concentration camp; received his Ph.D from the University of Toronto, and became Professor of Philosophy there from 1948 to 1984; I took a Philosophy of Religion course that he taught, June 22, 1916 – September 18, 2003


• Russell Albion RUSS Meyer, film director and photographer; he made a number of amateur films at the age of 15, and worked during World War II as a U.S. Army combat cameraman; upon returning to civilian life, he became a glamour photographer, and worked for Hugh Hefner's newly launched Playboy magazine; afterwards, he became a director of "nudie" films, which can be considered more ribaldry than erotica or pornography, March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004