Today's Birthdays 4/12
Today's Birthdays 4/12
#1Today's Birthdays 4/12
Posted: 4/11/07 at 10:17pm
Lily Pons 4/12/1904 - 2/13/1976 1 of the all-time great colouratura soprano singers, performer; Her unique talent was first manifested during World War I, when she played piano and sang for convalescing soldiers at the Paris hospital. The response she received inspired her to pursue a singing career. She made her operatic debut in the role of Delibes' "Lakmé". She proved to be the first soprano in 50 years capable of reaching the high F that Delibes had written into a passage of the opera, known as the "Bell Song" - film's I Dream Too Much (Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball), That Girl from Paris
Anita Ellis 04/12/1920 performer, sister of Larry Kert; famous as a vocal double in film's as in "Put the Blame on Mame" (sung not by Hayworth, but by Anita Ellis) - Maggie (James E. McCracken, Odette Myrtil); orig Flower Drum Song; films & performers Anita dubbed for: Gilda (Columbia, 1946) for Rita Hayworth; Down to Earth (Columbia, 1947) for Rita Hayworth; The Gangster (Allied Artists, 1947) for Shelley Winters; The Lady From Shanghai (Columbia, 194 for Rita Hayworth; The Loves of Carmen (Columbia, 194 for Rita Hayworth; Three Little Words (MGM, 1950) for Vera-Ellen; The Petty Girl (Columbia, 1950) for Joan Caulfield; The Belle of New York (MGM, 1952) for Vera-Ellen; Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (Fox, 1955) for Jeanne Crain
Ann Miller 04/12/1923 - Jan 22, 2004 performer, wife of Reese Milner (1946 - ?) divorced, Bill Moss (1958 - 1961) divorced, Arthur Cameron (divorced) - George White's Scandals [1939]; Mame [replacement}; Sugar Babies (Mickey Rooney); film's Easter Parade, Sugar Babies, You Can’t Take It with You, Hit the Deck, Kiss Me Kate, On the Town, Room Service, Lovely to Look
Pat Stanley 04/12/1931 performer - Carnival in Flanders; Blue Denim; Goldilocks; Fiorello!; Sunday in New York (Robert Redford, Pat Harrington, Sr.)
Jack Gelber 04/12/1932 - May 9, 2003 writer, dir. - The Cuban Thing (Raul Julia, Rip Torn, Conrad Bain, Rose Gregorio)
Montserrat Caballe 4/12/1934 another great opera singer, I saw most of her performances at the Met & all her NYC concerts. At the end of her concerts, fans screamed out encore requests & she would more often than not oblige. I always requested "Depuis Le Jour". ah!! heaven!
Alan Ayckbourn 04/12/1939 Writer, Lyricist, Director; enjoyed attending an all-day seminar with him in which he talked about By Jeeves & 1 of my fav songs in the world is "Half a Moment". Anyone know how he's recovering from the stroke he suffered a yr or so ago. - How the Other Half Loves (Richard Mulligan, Sandy Dennis); Absurd Person Singular (Larry Blyden, Carole Shelley, Tony Roberts, Geraldine Page, Richard Kiley); The Norman Conquests I, II, III; Bedroom Farce; Taking Steps; A Small Family Business; By Jeeves
David Cassidy 04/12/1950 performer; half-brother of Patrick & Shaun Cassidy, son of Jack Cassidy, step-son of Shirley Jones - The Fig Leaves Are Falling (Dorothy Loudon, Barry Nelson, Alan Weeks); replacement in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat & Blood Brothers; tv's The Partridge Family
SHOWS THAT OPENED ON THIS DATE:
1944 In The Searching Wind, playwright Lillian Hellman ponders some of the causes of World War II. The cast includes Dudley Digges, Cornelia Otis Skinner and Montgomery Clift. This drama will run nearly ten months at the Fulton Theatre in New York.
1978 London's National Theatre has Plenty. David Hare's play comes to life with Kate Nelligan and Julie Covington in the cast.
1992 Tennessee Williams' immortal character Stanley Kowalski is reborn in the form of Alec Baldwin as a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Amy Madigan and Jessica Lange also star in the production, directed by Gregory Mosher.
The Regard of Flight 04/12/1987 - Bill Irwin
2001 Faith Prince stars as the charmingly meddlesome answering service operator Ella Peterson with Marc Kudisch in the first Broadway revival of Comden, Green & Styne's Bells Are Ringing, which opens tonight.
ON THIS DAY IN:
On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63. Vice President Harry S. Truman became president.
1955 - The polio vaccine of Dr. Jonas Salk was termed “safe, effective and potent” by the University of Michigan Polio Vaccine Evaluation Center.
1975 Performer Josephine Baker died today. Leaving America at a time when black perfomers rarely broke free from falsely stereotyped roles, she become a tremendous success in Paris with the Folies-Bergere. She was 68 years old.
1994 Edward Albee once again wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Three Tall Women. He won the award previously in for A Delicate Balance in 1967 and for Seascape in 1975. This win ties him with playwright Robert Sherwood, making them both one shy of the four-timer Eugene O'Neill.
(sources: IBDB, NYT's ON THIS DAY, 440.com’s Those Were The Days, Playbill.com, www.maurice-abravanel.com)
Milla
#3re: Today's Birthdays 4/12
Posted: 4/12/07 at 5:20pmAlso the b-day of our very own NYadgal! ADDY!
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