Today's Birthdays 11/8

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 11/8/03 at 10:34pm

Bram Stoker 11/8/1847 - 4/20/1912 Irish author; wrote "Dracula" - 1927 Dracula (Bela Lugosi); 1977 Dracula (Frank Langella)

Margaret Mitchell 11/8/1900 - 8/16/1949 pulitzer Prize-winning author: Gone with the Wind [1937]; film's Gone with the Wind

June Hovik 11/8/1913 Source Material, Writer, Director, Performer, Daughter of Rose Hovick; sister of Gypsy Rose Lee; wife of Bobby Reed (1929 - ?) divorced (the character of Tulsa in "Gypsy" was based on Mr. Reed); wife of Donald S. Gibbs (1935 - ?) divorced; wife of William Spier (1949 - ?); better known as June Havoc, even better known as namesake of Baby June, the character based on her in the musical Gypsy. The show pretty accurately sums up her childhood with a hard-driving mom in the dying years of vaudeville, and a sister who later becomes Gypsy Rose Lee. Havoc will have a busy Broadway career of her own, appearing in Pal Joey, Mexican Hayride, Affairs of State and her own play, Marathon '33. She also later takes over the role of Miss Hannigan on Broadway in Annie. She's present to advise the cast of the original 1959 Gypsy as well as the 2003 revival. film's Brewster’s Millions, Gentlemen’s Agreement, Sing Your Worries Away, Willy

Norman Lloyd 11/8/1914 - performer - 1950 King Lear; The Golden Apple (Kaye Ballard);tv's & film's St. Elsewhere, Journey of Honor, Jaws of Satan, Saboteur, The Southerner

Esther Rolle 11/8/1920 - Nov 17, 1998 performer - Don't Play Us Cheap!; Horowitz and Mrs. Washington (Sam Levene); tv's & film's Academy Award-winning actress: Summer of My German Soldier [10/30/78]; Good Times, Maude, Scarlett, Driving Miss Daisy, A Raisin in the Sun, The Mighty Quinn; died Nov 17, 1998

Gene Saks Nov 8, 1921 - Director, Performer, Husband of Bea Arthur (1950 - 197 divorced - All You Need Is One Good Break (Lee Grant); The Tenth Man; A Shot in the Dark; A Thousand Clowns; Half a Sixpence; orig Mame; Same Time, Next Year; California Suite; I Love My Wife; Brighton Beach Memoirs; Special Occasions (Suzanne Pleshette, Richard Mulligan); Biloxi Blues; Rags; Broadway Bound; Lost in Yonkers; Jake's Women; Barrymore (Christopher Plummer

Nicholas Kepros 11/08/1932 performer - Amadeus (Tim Curry, Ian McKellen, Jane Seymour); The Rehearsal (Roger Rees)

Chuck Cooper 11/08/1954 performer - Amen Corner (Ruth Brown); Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Stephen Rea); The Life (Sam Harris, Lillias White)

Parker Posey 11/08/1968 performer - Taller Than a Dwarf (Matthew Broderick)

SHOWS THAT OPENED ON THIS DATE:

1880 - Sarah Bernhardt made her American stage debut. Bernhardt appeared in Adrienne Lecouvreur in New York City.

1926 Opening night at the Imperial Theatre for the George and Ira Gershwin musical Oh, Kay!, about hijinks involving rumrunners at a Long Island estate. Gertrude Lawrence and Victor Moore are featured in the show, which runs 256 performances and introduces the standards "Someone To Watch Over Me." "Do Do Do" and "Clap Yo' Hands."

1932 Opening night for Jerome Kern's and Oscar Hammerstein II's operetta Music in the Air at the Alvin Theatre, beginning a run of 342 performances. The score includes "I've Told Ev'ry Little Star" and "The Song Is You." The cast includes Walter Slezak, Al Shean, Natalie Hall, and a pre-"I Love Lucy" Vivian Vance.

1939 Life With Father is the family comedy based on Clarence Day’s stories that was written by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, which opens tonight at the Empire Theatre. The cast includes Lindsay himself taking over a role that was turned down by Alfred Lunt. He appears on stage with his offstage wife, Dorothy Stickney. Mr. Lindsay had hoped that the play would run for at least six months. He got his wish; the play ran for over eight years, setting a new record for a nonmusical play, racking up 3,224 performances.

1950 John Gielgud and a young Richard Burton appear together in Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning at the Royale Theatre for 151 performances. Gielgud also directs the romantic comedy set in the 15th century.

1964 - Judy Garland and her daughter, Liza Minnelli, appeared together at the London Palladium. The program was shown on U.S. TV; and the LP, Live at the London Palladium became a classic on Capitol Records.

1973 Boom Boom Room by David Rabe opens tonight at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, marking the first time that Joseph Papp has a show at Lincoln Center. The show has Madeleine Kahn starring as a middle aged woman realizing that her adult life is, in reality, not that much better than her abusive childhood. Charles Durning and Robert Loggia co star in this show that won mixed reviews and a short run of only 37 performances.

ON THIS DAY IN:

1932 New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.

1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed.

(sources: IBDB, NYT's ON THIS DAY, 440.com’s Those Were The Days, Playbill.com)

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