Today CXLIX

Birthdays:

• Jacques Mauduit, composer of the late Renaissance, who combined voices and instruments in new ways, and imported some of the grand polychoral style of the Venetian School from Italy, September 16, 1557 – August 21, 1627


• Ludwig Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel, physician, received the 1910 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research in cell biology, September 16, 1853 – July 5, 1927


• James Cash [J. C.] Penney, businessman and entrepreneur, founded the J.C. Penney stores in 1902, September 16, 1875 - February 12, 1971


• Nadia Boulanger, composer, conductor, and music professor, studied with Gabriel Fauré; her students included: Aaron Copland, Walter Piston, Roy Harris, Virgil Thomson, Burt Bacharach, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, John Eliot Gardiner, Egberto Gismonti, Philip Glass, and Gian Carlo Menotti, September 16, 1887 – October 22, 1979


• Frans Eemil Sillanpää, writer, awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize in Literature, the asteroid 1446 Sillanpaa was named after him, September 16, 1888 – June 3, 1964


• Sándor László Kellne, aka Sir Alexander Korda, film director and producer, and the founder of London Films, September 16, 1893 - January 23, 1956


• Albert Szent-Györgyi, physiologist, awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; active in the Hungarian Resistance during World War II, September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986


• Allen Funt, producer-director and author, best known as the creator and host of Candid Camera from 1951 to 1954 and from 1960 to 1966, a show which he began on radio as Candid Microphone, September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999


• Betty Joan Perske, aka Lauren Bacall, film and stage actress, won Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in 1970 for Applause and in 1981 for Woman of the Year, 1972 and 1984 Sarah Siddons Award, 1997 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for The Mirror Has Two Faces, 1997 Kennedy Center Honors for Lifetime Achievement, and 2000 Stockholm Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, 1924


• Charles L. CHARLIE Byrd, jazz guitarist, the only jazz guitarist of his era whose primary instrument was the classical guitar, giving him his uniquely identifiable sound; studied with Andrés Segovia; well known as a collaborator with Stan Getz on the Jazz Samba album, which featured themes of samba and bossa nova, September 16, 1925 - November 30, 1999


• Riley B. King aka B. B. King, blues guitarist and songwriter; on radio, he was known as the Beale Street Blues Boy, which was shortened to just Blues Boy and, eventually, B.B.; in November, 1964, he recorded the Live at the Regal album at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois; his first success outside of the blues market was his recording of The Thrill Is Gone, which became a hit on both pop and R & B charts; he gained further rock visibility as an opening act on The Rolling Stones' 1969 American Tour; his mainstream success continued throughout the 1970's with songs like To Know You Is to Love You and I Like to Live the Love; from 1951 to 1985, he appeared on Billboard's R & B charts 74 times; the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's saw him recording less, while maintaining a highly visible and active career appearing on numerous television shows and major motion pictures, and performing 300 nights a year; in 2000, he teamed up with Eric Clapton to record Riding With the King; in 2003, he shared the stage with the rock band Phish in New Jersey, performing three of his classics and jamming with the band; in 2004, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D from the University of Mississippi, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music awarded him the Polar Music Prize, 1925


• Peter Michael Falk, actor, nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award twice; best known for the title role in the TV series Columbo, for which he won five Emmys; gave an excellent performance in the movie The In-Laws, 1927


• Jack Kelly, film and television actor, known for the role of Bart Maverick in the TV series Maverick, from 1957 to 1962, September 16, 1927 — November 7, 1992


• Anne Francis, actress, known for her role in Forbidden Planet in 1956, and as the star of the mid-60's detective series Honey West, 1930


• George Chakiris, dancer and actor, made his film debut in 1947; his biggest success was in 1961 in West Side Story, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; has also appeared on Broadway and television, 1934


• Winston Grennan, drummer, singer, songwriter, and pianist, September 16, 1944 - October 27, 2000


• Ronald RON Blair, musician, the original bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, from 1976 to 1981; in 2002 he returned to the band, 1948


• Kenneth Thomas KENNEY Jones, rock drummer, best known for his work in the Small Faces, the Faces, and The Who, and as a session drummer, 1948


• Edward James Begley, Jr., actor and environmentalist; since 2000, he has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1949


• Earl Klugh, smooth jazz/jazz fusion guitarist; he and Bob James received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1981 for their album One on One, 1954


• Janet Ellis, televison presenter and actress, appeared on BBC children's television during the 1980's; she is best remembered as a presenter on Blue Peter; in 1979, she played Teka in the Doctor Who story The Horns of Nimon, 1955


• Robin Rachel Yount, former MLB shortstop and, later, outfielder, spent his entire career, 1974 to 1994, with the Milwaukee Brewers; AL All-Star in 1980, 1982, and 1983; won a Gold Glove Award in 1982, winning his first MVP award that same year; in 1989, he won his second MVP award; collected his 3,000th career hit in 1992; elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, his first year of eligibility, 1955


• Philip Andre MICKEY Rourke, Jr., actor and professional boxer, 1956


• Orel Leonard Hershiser IV, nicknamed Bulldog, former MLB right-handed pitcher from 1983 to 2000, and Executive Director of the Texas Rangers; in his career, he had a 204–149 regular season record with 2,014 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.48; in retirement, he has served as a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers, and then a colour commentator for ESPN baseball; in early February 2006, a mere four months after he joined the front office of the Texas Rangers, he resigned from his Executive Director position, rejoining ESPN as a baseball analyst; NL All-Star in 1987, 1988, and 1989; 1988 NL Cy Young Award winner; 1988 World Series MVP; twice League Championship Series MVP, in 1988 (NL) and 1995 (AL); 1988 Babe Ruth Award winner, 1958


• Jennifer E. Chan, aka Jennifer Tilly, actress and voice actor, whose breakthrough film role was as a singing waitress in The Fabulous Baker Boys; she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Bullets Over Broadway; she has done voice-over work as killer doll Tiffany in the Chucky movies, and as Bonnie on Family Guy, 1958


• Timothy TIM Raines, nicknamed Rock, former MLB left fielder from 1979 to 2002, starting as a second baseman and switching to the outfield; one of only five players to steal more than 800 bases [808]; he is currently a coach for the Chicago White Sox; was an NL All-Star from 1981 to 1987; was the All-Star Game MVP in 1987; won the NL Batting Championship in 1986; won a Silver Slugger Award in 1986, 1959


• Daniel DANNY John-Jules, dancer and actor, best known for playing The Cat on Red Dwarf, 1960


• Kurt Busiek, comic book writer, whose career started in 1982; titles on which he worked include Green Lantern, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, Marvels, and Kurt Busiek's Astro City; in late December, 2005, he signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics, under which he has become the regular writer of Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and Superman; he has won several awards, including the 1998 and 1999 Comics' Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, and nominations in 1997, and every year from 2000 to 2004, and has received numerous Squiddy Awards, as favorite writer from 1995 to 1998, and as a member of the favorite creative team for 1996, 1999, and 2003, 1960


• Molly Claire Shannon, actress and writer; in February, 1995, she was hired as a featured player on Saturday Night Live, where she stayed until 2001; in 1999, she revisited the role of SNL character Mary Katherine Gallagher for the film Superstar, and had a supporting role in Never Been Kissed, 1964


• Marco Antonio Muñiz, aka Marc Anthony, singer-songwriter, 1969


• Amy Poehler, comedian and actress, currently starring on Saturday Night Live, 1971


• Kimberly ALEXIS Bledel, actress and former model, known for her role in the TV series Gilmore Girls, and for the films Tuck Everlasting, Sin City, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 1981

RIP:

• Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, physicist and engineer, after whom the Fahrenheit scale of temperature is named; the Fahrenheit scale was widely used in Europe until the switch to the Celsius scale, and is still used for everyday temperature measurements by the general population in the United States and Jamaica; he developed precise thermometers, filling his first thermometers with alcohol before using mercury, which gave better results; the coldest temperature attainable under laboratory conditions at that time, using a mixture of water, salt and ice, was defined by him as 0°F, and the body temperature of a healthy horse was defined as 100°F, May 24, 1686 - September 16, 1736


• Alexander Alexandrovich Friedman, cosmologist and mathematician, discovered the expanding-universe solution to general relativity field equations in 1922, which was proven by Edwin Hubble's 1929 observations, June 16, 1888 – September 16, 1925


• Sir Ronald Ross, physician, awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on malaria, May 13, 1857 – September 16, 1932


• George F. Gore MLB centre fielder, who played fourteen seasons from 1879 to 1892 in the National League and the Players League; won the NL Batting Title in 1880, May 3, 1857 - September 16, 1933


• John McCormack, tenor in the fields of opera and popular music, June 14, 1884 - September 16, 1945


• Pedro de Cordoba, classically-trained theatre and film actor, appeared in his first film, Carmen, in 1913, September 28, 1881 – September 16, 1950


• Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez, educator, theatre director, poet, folk singer/songwriter, and political activist, September 28, 1932 – September 15, 1973


• Mark Feld, aka Marc Bolan, singer and songwriter for Tyrannosaurus Rex [T. Rex], from 1967 until his death in a car crash, September 30, 1947 – September 16, 1977


• Maria Callas, operatic soprano, who combined an impeccable bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts, making her the most famous opera singer of her era, December 3, 1923 – September 16, 1977


• Jean Piaget, natural scientist and developmental psychologist, known for his work studying children and his theory of cognitive development, August 9, 1896 – September 16, 1980


• McGeorge MAC Bundy, Special Assistant for National Security Affairs to presidents Kennedy and Johnson from 1961 to 1966, and then headed the Ford Foundation from 1966 to 1979; a member of the well-connected Skull and Bones secret society at Yale University, March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996


• Samuel Zachary Arkoff, producer of B movies, co-founder of American International Pictures and founder of Arkoff International Pictures, June 12, 1918 – September 16, 2001


• James Gregory, character actor, played Senator Joseph Iselin in the 1962 The Manchurian Candidate, General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Inspector Luger in the Barney Miller TV series, and Dean Martin's spy boss MacDonald in the Matt Helm movie series, December 23, 1911 – September 16, 2002


• Shelby F. SHEB Wooley, character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 hit Purple People Eater; in 1946, he became a country and western musician; he appeared in dozens of films from the 1950's through 1970's, including High Noon, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Giant; co-starred as Pete in Rawhide on TV; was a regular on Hee Haw as Ben Colder, April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003