Today CCIV - RIP Jack Palance

Birthdays:

• Martin Luther, monk, priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer, whose teachings inspired the Reformation, and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions, November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546


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


• Granville Sharp, campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade, November 10, 1735 - July 6, 1813


• Oliver Goldsmith, writer and physician, known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield and his play She Stoops to Conquer, among other works, November 10, 1730 – April 4, 1774


• Arthur Goring Thomas, composer, November 10, 1850 - March 20, 1892


• Harry Richard CY Morgan, MLB pitcher; in 10 seasons, he had a win-loss record of 78-78 in 210 games, with 172 games started, 107 complete games, 15 shutouts, 3 saves, 667 strikeouts, 5,497 batters faced, and a 2.51 ERA, November 10, 1878 - June 28, 1962


• Claude Rains, theatre and film actor, whose first Hollywood role was the title character in The Invisible Man; probably his most famous role was as Captain Renault in Casablanca, November 10, 1889 - May 30, 1967


• James Joseph JIMMY Dykes, MLB third and second baseman, manager and coach, played from 1918 to 1939 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox, November 10, 1896 - June 15, 1976


• Jane Froman, actress and singer; in the early 1950's, she hosted The Jane Froman Show for three seasons; her life story was the subject of the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart, starring Susan Hayward, in which she supplied Hayward’s singing voice, November 10, 1907 — died April 22, 1980


• George Robert BIRDIE Tebbetts, MLB catcher, manager, scout, and front office executive, whose major league career encompassed 53 years as a catcher (14), manager (11), and scout (28); he was a career .270 hitter with 38 home runs and 469 RBI in 1162 games, and made four All-Star teams; as a manager, he compiled a 748-705 record; in 1956, he led the Cincinnati Redlegs to a 91-63 mark, winning The Associated Press NL Manager of the Year award; he served as executive vice president of the Braves from 1959 through September 1961; from 1968 to 1994, he scouted for the Mets, Yankees, Orioles and Marlins, November 10, 1912 - March 24, 1999


• Ernst Otto Fischer Ph.D., chemist, who shared the 1974 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Geoffrey Wilkinson for his work on organometallic compounds, 1918


• Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov, weapons designer; in 1947, he designed the AK-47 - an acronym for Avtomat Kalashnikova model, 1947 - his most famous invention, 1919


• George Watt Fenneman, radio and television announcer, whobegan his career as a radio announcer for commercials; his most famous role was as the announcer on the Groucho Marx quiz show You Bet Your Life, which he joined in 1950 it moved to television - he remained friends with Marx after the show ended in 1961 until the comedian died in 1977; he was one of two paired announcers on Dragnet, sharing narration duties with Hal Gibney on radio and the original Dragnet television series, and with John Dehner when Dragnet returned to TV in 1967, November 10, 1919 – May 29, 1997


• Russell David Johnson, television and film actor, known as The Professor on Gilligan's Island, 1924


• Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr., aka Richard Burton CBE, actor, nominated seven times for an Academy Award, but never won, November 10, 1925 – August 5, 1984


• Ennio Morricone, composer, especially noted for his film scores, having composed the scores of more than 500 films and TV series; although only 30 of these are for Western films, such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West, it is this work for which he is best known, 1928


• Marilyn Bergman, composer, songwriter, and author; with her husband, Alan Bergman, she wrote music and lyrics for numerous television shows, films, and stage musicals; in 1980, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; in 1995, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Berklee College of Music; she is the president and chairman of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), 1929


• Roy Richard Scheider, actor; in 1971, he appeared in Klute and The French Connection; in 1975, he starred in Jaws and, in 1979, in All That Jazz; in 1993, he was signed to star on the TV series SeaQuest DSV, which he left after the second season, 1932


• Captain Ronald Ellwin Evans, Jr., USN Ret., astronaut, one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966, November 10, 1933 – April 7, 1990


• Igor Dmitriyevich Novikov Ph.D., theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist; in the mid-1980s, he formulated the Novikov self-consistency principle, which asserts that if an event exists that would give rise to a paradox, then the probability of that event is zero, an important contribution to the theory of time travel, 1935


• Russell Means, activist for the rights of American Indians, 1939


• David Edward Sutch, aka Screaming Lord Sutch, musician, politician, and maverick; in the 1960's, he ran in various parliamentary elections, often as a representative of the National Teenage Party; he founded the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1983, and contested the Bermondsey by-election; in his career, he contested over 40 elections, rarely threatening the major party candidates, but often getting a respectable number of votes, November 10, 1940 – June 16, 1999


• Hisashi Oshima, aka Kyu Sakamoto, singer and actor, famous in the West for the song known here as Sukiyaki, November 10, 1941 - August 12, 1985


• Robert F. Engle Ph.D., economist, shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Economics with Clive Granger, 1942


• Sir Timothy Miles Bindon TIM Rice, lyricist for musical theatre, radio presenter, and author, best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Elton John, 1944


• Yvonne Vaughan, aka Donna Fargo, country music singer, 1945


• Gregory Stuart GREG Lake, bassist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer, a founding member of King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1947


• Glen Buxton, musician, guitarist, and songwriter for Alice Cooper, November 10, 1947 – October 19, 1997


• David Allen DAVE Loggins, songwriter, inducted into the Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1995, 1947


• Hugh Moffatt, country singer and songwriter, 1948


• Vincent Andrew Schiavelli, character actor and author, known for his work in film and television; often described as "the man with the sad eyes," he appeared in over fifty films; he had a recurring role on Taxi as the priest who marries Latka and Simka; he also authored a number of cookbooks and food articles for magazines and newspapers, and received a James Beard Foundation Journalism Award in 2001, November 10, 1948 – December 26, 2005


• Ann Reinking, actress and dancer, known for her association with choreographer Bob Fosse; she made her movie debut in 1979 in All That Jazz, in a role loosely based on herself and her relationship with Fosse; after fuilms, she focused on choreography for Broadway musicals, winning a Tony Award for Best Choreography, Drama Desk Award, and the Bob Fosse Award; her choreography includes the Broadway revival of Chicago, and numerous regional theater productions, ballets, and television shows, 1949


• Debra Hill, screenwriter and film producer, November 10, 1950 – March 7, 2005


• Mario Cipollina, musician, original bass player for Huey Lewis and The News, 1954


• Jack Anthony Clark, former MLB outfielder and, later, first baseman, a four-time All-Star, who won the Silver Slugger Award in 1985 and 1987; in an 18-season career, he was a .267 hitter with 340 home runs, 332 doubles, 77 stolen bases, and 1826 hits in 6847 at bats in 1994 games, 1955


• Roland Emmerich, film producer, director, and writer, directed Universal Soldier, Stargate, and Independence Day, 1995


• David Adkins, aka Sinbad, stand-up comedian and actor, 1956


• Brooks Williams, acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter, whose style combines roots, jazz, blues, classical, and folk, 1958


• Stephen R. Herek, film director, whose achieved fame in 1986 with Critters and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, 1958


• Linda Cohn, sportscaster and ESPN anchor, 1959


• Laura MACKENZIE Phillips, actress and singer, who played Julie Cooper on the sitcom One Day at a Time; she is the daughter of John Phillips, named after John's friend, musician Scott Mckenzie, 1959


• Neil Richard Gaiman, author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works and graphic novels, whose best-known work is the comics series The Sandman, chronicling the story of Morpheus, the personification of Dream; this guy can write! 1960


• Kenneth Scott KENNY Rogers, MLB left-handed pitcher, who became the fourteenth major leaguer to pitch a perfect game - on July 28, 1994; along with having one of the best pick-off moves, he has won five Gold Glove Awards - 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006; he was an All-Star in 1995, 2004, 2005, and 2006; his career 207 - 139 win-loss record gives him a winning percentage of .598; he has thrown 23 consecutive shutout innings in postseason baseball, 1964


• Vanessa Madeline Angel, model and actress, who played Lisa on the Weird Science TV series, 1966


• Ellen Pompeo, actress, known for playing Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, 1969


• Shawn David Green, MLB right fielder for the New York Mets; he was the Toronto Blue Jays' first round draft pick in 1991; he is a two-time All-Star, who has driven in 100 runs 4 times, scored 100 runs 4 times, and hit 40 or more home runs 3 times; he has won both a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award; he was the Blue Jays Player of the Year in 1999 and set the Dodgers single-season record in home runs with 49 in 2001;
  he hit 4 home runs in a game on May 23, 2002, and holds the record for total bases in a game, with 19 [May 23, 2002], 1972


• Brittany Bertolotti, aka Brittany Anne Murphy, actress, singer, and voice actor, the voice of Luanne Platter on King of the Hill, 1977


• Matthew William MATT Cepicky, outfielder, who currently plays for the Florida Marlins' minor league affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes, 1977


• Martina Jacová, aka Kyla Cole, model, 1978


• Tony Blanco, MLB left fielder for the Washington Nationals, 1981


• Jason L. Dunham, U.S. Marine Corporal, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour for action in Iraq, November 10, 1981 – April 22, 2004


• Heather Matarazzo, actress, whose breakthrough role was in the movie Welcome to the Dollhouse; I saw her on the 1999 TV series Now and Again, 1982

R.I.P.:

• Hokoleskwa or Cornstalk, leader of the Shawnee people in the timr of the American Revolution, c. 1720 – November 10, 1777


• Cyprien-Noé LOUIS Cyr, strongman, October 10, 1863 – November 10, 1912


• Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, aka Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, army officer and revolutionary statesman, the founder and the first President of the Republic of Turkey; he transformed Turkish society into defining itself as the citizens of a modern, democratic, and secular nation-state, 1881 – November 10, 1938


• James Wesley JIMMIE Dodd, entertainer and songwriter, best known as the MC of the 1950's TV show The Mickey Mouse Club; he was the writer of its theme song, The Mickey Mouse Club March, and that of the Zorro TV series, March 28, 1910 - November 10, 1964


• Ernest Michael McSorley, the last captain of the Laker-type freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, who died, along with the other 28 members of his crew, when the ship sank in Lake Superior, September 29, 1912 – November 10, 1975


• Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, ruler of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, January 1, 1907 – November 10, 1982


• Abel Gance, film director, producer, writer, actor, and editor, October 25, 1889 - November 10, 1981


• Francis Michael KING Clancy, NHL defenceman, who played 16 seasons, and was a fan favourite throughout his career as a hockey player, coach, referee, and team executive, February 25, 1903 - November 10, 1986


• Aurelio Faustino Monteagudo MONTY Cintra, MLB right-handed screwball pitcher, the son of former big-leaguer René Monteagudo; in seven seasons, he compiled a 3-7 record with 58 strikeouts, a 5.05 ERA, four saves, and 132 innings pitched in 72 games, 65 as a reliever; he played his final majors game on September 28, 1973, November 19, 1943 – November 10, 1990


• Mário Schenberg, electrical engineer, physicist, art critic, and writer, July 2, 1914 - November 10, 1990


• William Fritz Afflis, aka Dick the Bruiser, professional wrestler, June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991


• Kevin Joseph Aloysius CHUCK Connors, actor and professional basketball and baseball player, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs; as an actor, he was best known for his television work, appearing in a 1954 episode of the Adventures of Superman titled Flight to the North, in which he played a backwoodsman named Sylvester J. Superman; he starred in the TV series The Rifleman, Branded, and Cowboy in Africa, April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992


• Carmen McRae, jazz singer, April 8, 1920 - November 10, 1994


• Thomas J. TOMMY Tedesco, session musician and guitarist, one of the most-sought-after West Coast studio guitarists between the 1960's and 1980's; although primarily a guitar player, he was qualified on the mandolin, ukulele, and the sitar, as well as 28 other stringed instruments, playing all of them in guitar tuning; he was described by Guitar Player magazine as the most recorded guitarist in history, having played on thousands of recordings, July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997


• Ken Elton Kesey, author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001


• Michel Boisrond, film director, October 9, 1921 - November 10, 2002


• Gerald Levert, R&B singer, July 13, 1966 - November 10, 2006


• Volodymyr Palanyuk, aka Jack Walter Palance, boxer, actor, painter, and poet; in 1947, he made his Broadway debut, followed three years later by his screen debut in the movie Panic in the Streets (1950); recognized for his skill as a character actor, he received an Academy Award nomination for his third film role, as Lester Blaine in Sudden Fear; he earned his second Oscar nomination playing gunfighter Jack Wilson in Shane; several other Western roles followed, and he would also play such varied roles as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, and Attila the Hun; in 1957, he won an Emmy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Mountain McClintock in the Playhouse 90 production of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight; in 1992, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as cowboy Curly Washburn in the comedy City Slickers; he painted and sold landscape art, with a poem included on the back of each picture; he is the author of The Forest of Love, a book of poems published in 1996; his career spanned half a century of film and television appearances, February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006