Today's Birthdays 7/30 - Wm. Atherton, Delta Burke, Laurence Fishburne

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 7/30/03 at 12:17pm

Emily Bronte 07/30/1818 author, source material: 1939 WUTHERING HEIGHTS (Edith Barret [Vincent Price’s ex], Francis Compton, Peggy Converse, Sherling Oliver)

Richard Johnson 07/30/1927 writer, performer – THE GOLDEN AGE (Douglas Campbell, prod’d & press rep’d by Arthur Cantor)

Ben Piazza 07/30/1934 performer – orig. ON THE TOWN; replacement WHO’S AFRAID OF VA. WOOLF; SONG OF THE GRASSHOPPER (Alfred Drake, Diana Davila, Michael Enserro); KRAPPS LAST TAPE/ZOO STORY

Peter Bogdanovich 07/30/1939 director, writer – some of my fav film’s WHAT’S UP DOC? PAPER MOON; LAST PICTURE SHOW

Michael Dantuono 07/30/1942 performer – 1981 CAN CAN, 1983 ZORBA (Anthony Quinn, Rob Marshall, Lila Kedrova, Debbie Shapiro) ; 2001 42ND ST.

William Atherton 07/30/1947 performer – THE AMERICAN CLOCK (Joan Copeland, John Randolph [Met him yrs. ago, great guy, anyone know how he is. Survived McCarthy!); 1983 CAINE MUTINY COURT MARTAL (Michael Moriarty, John Rubinstein)

Glynis Bell 07/30/1947 performer 1975 EDWARD II (Patti LuPone, Kevin Kline [Pls. someone, get these 2 back together again ON STAGE!], Peter Dvorsky [are Peter & George related?])

Ilene Kristen 07/30/1952 performer – origs. GREASE; MAYOR (Lenny Wolpe, Nancy Giles)

Ken Olin 07/30/1954 performer – TAXI TALES

Delta Burke 07/30/1956 performer, Miss Florida – DESIGNING WOMEN

Daniel McDonald 07/30/1960 performer – origs. STEEL PIER; HIGH SOCIETY

Laurence Fishburne 07/30/1961 Tony Award-winning performer– 2 TRAINS RUNNING (Roscoe Lee Brown); 1999 LION IN WINTER; film’s APOCALYPSE NOW, BAD COMPANY

1729 The city of Baltimore was founded.

On this day in 1952, the popular radio soap opera, The Guiding Light, was seen for the first time on CBS television.

1956 - Singer Brenda Lee recorded her first hit for Decca Records. Jambalaya and Bigelow 6-200 started a new career for the petite 11-year-old from Lithonia, GA (near Atlanta). Brenda Mae Tarpley (Brenda Lee) had been singing professionally since age six. She recorded 29 hit songs in the 1960s and became a successful country singer in 1971. Brenda Lee had a pair of number one tunes with I’m Sorry and I Want to be Wanted. Wonder how she would have been (if she can act) in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN in her prime?

1983 Broadway lyricist Howard Dietz dies today at age 87. With composer Howard Schwartz, Dietz wrote the score for The Band Wagon. Other songs by the duo include "Dancing in the Dark," "You and the Night and the Music" and "That's Entertainment!".

1996 Actress Claudette Colbert died at age 92. She starred in some of my fav film’s: the brilliant Preston Sturgis’ PALM BEACH STORY; IT HAPPENED 1 NIGHT; TOVARCH; MIDNIGHT; SINCE YOU WENT AWAY. Pls see link below for some of the very best quips in all film history by IMHO “The Queen of Screwball Comedy”:

2002 Director & writer Phillip Oesterman dies today of a heart attack at age 64. He had a long collaboration with Tommy Tune on projects including The Will Rogers Follies, My One and Only, The Grand Hotel and Tommy Tune Tonite! At the time of his death, Oesterman was serving as co-librettist and director of the Broadway-bound musical, Urban Cowboy. Lonny Price would later take over as director.

NOTE: I’m curious about THE GOLDEN AGE & SONG OF THE GRASSHOPPER. Anyone see these or know anything about them?

(sources: IBDB, NYT On This Day, & 440.com’s Those Were The Days, Playbill.com, reelclassics.com)

Milla
Claudette Colbert Updated On: 7/30/03 at 12:17 PM