Today CXLIV - September 11, 2006

Birthdays:

• William Boyce, composer, September 11, 1711 – February 7, 1779


• Friedrich Daniel Rudolf Kuhlau, composer, September 11, 1786 - March 12, 1832


• Carl Zeiss, optician and lens maker, commonly known for the company he founded, September 11, 1816 – December 3, 1888


• Eduard Hanslick, music critic, September 11, 1825 – August 6, 1904


• William Sydney Porter, aka O. Henry, author, September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910


• David Herbert Lawrence, writer of novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, paintings, translations, literary criticism, and personal letters; wrote Lady Chatterley's Lover, September 11, 1885 – March 2, 1930


• James Houston JIMMIE Davis, better known as Jimmie Davis, singer of both sacred and popular songs; wrote You Are My Sunshine; elected governor of Louisiana in 1944 and 1960, September 11, 1899 - November 5, 2000


• Walter Rosenberg, aka Rudolf RUDI Vrba, professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, specializing in neurology, who became known internationally for more than 50 research papers on the chemistry of the brain, and for his work on diabetes and cancer, the second of only five Jews to successfully escape from Auschwitz, September 11, 1924 – March 27, 2006


• Harry Somers, CC, composer, September 11, 1925 - March 9, 1999


• Edward Thomas EDDIE Miksis, MLB utility infielder in a 14-year career, September 11, 1926 - April 8, 2005


• Anthony Earl Numkena, aka Earl Holliman, film and television actor and animal-rights activist, 1928


• Oliver Jones, jazz pianist, composer, organist, arranger, and educator, won a Juno Award for his 1986 album Lights of Burgundy and the Félix Award for his 1989 album Just Friends; taught music at Laurentian University and at McGill University, 1934


• Arvo Pärt, composer, often identified with the school of "holy minimalism" or "sacred minimalism," of which he is considered a pioneer; he is best known for his choral works, 1935


• Gherman Stepanovich Titov, cosmonaut, the second person to orbit the Earth, September 11, 1935 – September 20, 2000


• Robert Laurel Crippen, Captain, USN, retired, former astronaut, a crew member of the space shuttle on four missions, including three as commander, 1937


• Brian De Palma, film director, directed Carrie in 1976, 1940


• Loletha Elaine LOLA Falana, singer, dancer, and actress, 1942


• Mickey Hart, percussionist, solo artist, and author, one of the two drummers for the Grateful Dead, whose travels and his interest in all things percussion-related led him to collect percussion instruments, and to collaborate with percussion masters the world over, 1943


• Iain David McGeachy, aka John Martyn, singer-songwriter, 1948


• Tommy Roland Shaw, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, known for his work with Styx and with Damn Yankees, 1953


• Roxann Maria Caballero, aka Roxann Dawson, actress and director, best known as B'Elanna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager, 1958


• Scott Patterson, actor, best known for his role as Luke on Gilmore Girls, 1958


• Virginia Madsen, actress, 1961


• Christina Ann KRISTY McNichol, actress, known for her role as Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence on Family, for which she earned Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series in 1977 and 1979, and as Barbara Weston on Empty Nest, 1962


• Ellis Rena Burks, former MLB outfielder and designated hitter for 18 seasons, a career .291 hitter with 352 home runs, 1206 RBI, 1253 runs, 2107 hits, 402 doubles, 63 triples, and 181 stolen bases in 2000 games; was a two-time All-Star, 1990 and 1996, winning Silver Slugger Awards in both years; won a Gold Glove Award in 1990, 1964


• Victor Lemonte Wooten, bass guitar player, first played with his four brothers in the The Wooten Brothers Band; later, began playing with his current band, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones; has also been a member of several fusion and progressive groups, including Bass Extremes, the Vital Tech Tones, and the Extraction, as well as on tour with many other bands, 1964


• David Roe, professional snooker player, 1965


• Harry Connick, Jr., singer, pianist, actor, and humanitarian; his music encompasses jazz, funk, and blues; is a prime organizer and captain of the Krewe of Orpheus, a music-based krewe, which parades in New Orleans on Lundi Gras, 1967


• Eduardo Atanasio Pérez, MLB first baseman for the Seattle Mariners, the son of baseball Hall of Famer Tony Perez, 1969


• Richard Paul Ashcroft, vocalist, lead singer of The Verve, 1971


• Matthew Stevens, professional snooker player, won the 2003 UK Championship, 1977


• Frank Francisco, MLB right-handed pitcher, currently playing for the Texas Rangers, 1979

RIP:

• François Couperin, Baroque composer, organist, and harpsichordist, November 10, 1668 – September 11, 1733


• Joseph Nicolas Nicollet, geographer and mathematician, known for mapping the Upper Mississippi River basin during the 1830's, July 24, 1786 – September 11, 1843


• Sylvester Graham, minister, an early advocate of dietary reform, and of the temperance movement, invented Graham bread and Graham crackers, July 5, 1794 - September 11, 1851


• Max Fleischer, pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon, brought such characters as Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Popeye, and Superman to the movie screen, responsible for follow the bouncing ball sing-along cartoons, produced the first sound animated cartoons in May 1924; Jack Kirby was an employee of Fleischer, July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972


• Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchyov [Khrushchev], the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin, April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971


• SALVADOR Isabelino del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús ALLENDE Gossens, President of Chile from November, 1970, until his removal from power and death on September 11th, 1973, the first democratically elected Marxist president in the world, July 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973


• William Alwyn, composer, conductor, flutist,and music teacher, November 7, 1905 – September 11, 1985


• Lorne Hyman Greene O.C., LL.D., actor, worked as the principal newsreader on the CBC National News, earning the nickname The Voice of Canada; narrated documentary films; in 1957, played the role of the prosecutor in the movie Peyton Place; famous for the role of Ben Cartwright on Bonanza from 1959 to 1973; also portrayed Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and television series Battlestar Galactica and in Galactica 1980; was the host and narrator of Lorne Greene's New Wilderness, February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987


• Winston Hubert McIntosh, aka Peter Tosh, pioneer reggae musician, and a trailblazer for the Rastafarian movement, a founding member of The Wailers, murdered at his home, October 9, 1944 – September 11, 1987


• Erich Leinsdorf, conductor, Music Director, Cleveland Orchestra from 1943 to 1946; Music Director, Boston Symphony Orchestra, from 1962 to 1969, February 4, 1912 - September 11, 1993


• Jessie Alice JESSICA Tandy, theatre, film, and TV actress, won an Emmy Award for Best Actress-Miniseries/Special in 1987 for Foxfire, an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1989 for Driving Miss Daisy, and four Tony Awards - Best Actress (Dramatic) in 1948 for A Streetcar Named Desire, Best Actress (Play) in 1978 for The Gin Game, Best Actress in 1982 for Foxfire, and, in 1994, a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement shared with her husband, Hume Cronyn, June 7, 1909 – September 11, 1994


• William J. Obanhein, aka Officer Obie, chief of police for Stockbridge, Massachusetts, made marginally famous by Arlo Guthrie's song Alice's Restaurant, and played himself in the 1969 movie of the same name, October 19, 1924 - September 11, 1994


• Bernard Zanville, aka Dane Clark, film actor, appeared in movies including Gunman in the Streets and Moonrise, February 26, 1912 - September 11, 1998


• Janet Cole, aka Kim Hunter, film and stage actress, performed in the original 1947 Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire, playing the role of Stella Kowalski; appeared in the 1951 film, for which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress; was blacklisted from film and television during the Hollywood communism paranoia created by McCarthyism; other major film roles include David Niven's fiancee in A Matter of Life and Death and Zira in the first three of the Planet of the Apes series, November 12, 1922 – September 11, 2002


• John Constantine Unitas, professional football player, the NFL's most valuable player in 1957, 1959, and 1964, May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002


• John Southworth Ritter, actor, son of Tex Ritter, best known for his role of Jack Tripper on Three's Company, after which he appeared in a number of movies,; in 2002 and 2003, he starred in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003


• Fred Ebb, musical theatre lyricist, who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander, April 8, 1933 - September 11, 2004


• David Mann, artist, famous for his paintings of motorcycles and biker culture, September 10, 1940 – September 11, 2004


• Chris Schenkel, sportscaster, August 21, 1923 - September 11, 2005



• The almost 3000 people who were killed on September 11, 2001