Today's Birthdays 4/8

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 4/8/04 at 5:56pm

Frank Keenan 04/08/1858 - Feb 24, 1929 performer, grandfather of Keenan Wynn - The Girl of the Golden West (James Kirkwood, Sr.); The Warrens of Virginia (Cecil B. De Mille, Mary Pickford [debut]); 1912 Julius Caesar (Tyrone Power, Sr.); 1928 Sherlock Holmes (Horace Braham)

Victor Schertzinger 04/08/1890 - Oct 26, 1941 another site lists 1880 as year of birth; the first ever composer to win a Best Score Oscar; began his career as a concert violinist, before distinguished himself as a symphony conductor, and eventually coming to Hollywood in 1916 when he was commissioned to compose the orchestral accompaniment for the Thomas Ince film "Civilization". Switching to directing, Schertzinger made over 50 silent films, and became one of the top directors of the early 1920s, before returning to composing when talkies arrived, and embarking on a dual career as composer & director - Perfectly Frank; Dream; film's "The Love Parade" (1929), "Paramount on Parade" (1930), and The Mikado (1939), and was the principal director of the successful Bing Crosby/Bob Hope 'Road' pictures; Academy Award for "One Night of Love" (1934)(Grace Moore. Nomination for "Something to Sing About" (1937).

Mary Pickford 04/08/1892 - May 29, 1979 wife of Douglas Fairbanks (1920 - 1936) divorced; Buddy Rogers (1937 - 1979) her death; Owen Moore (1911 - 1920) divorced; at age 6, toured with theatre companies as "Baby Gladys Smith". In 1907, David Belasco changed her name; performer - Warrens of Virginia; A Good Little Devil (Lillian Gish); Sadie Thompson; film's A Girl of Yesterday (Donald Crisp); Madame Butterfly; The Poor Little Rich Girl; Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm; Pollyanna; Little Lord Fauntleroy; Tess of the Storm Country; Little Annie Rooney; My Best Girl (Buddy Rogers); Coquette (Louise Beavers); The Taming of the Shrew (Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.); Kiki (Reginald Denny, Margaret Livingston); Secrets (Leslie Howard, C. Aubrey Smith, Ned Sparks)

Ilka Chase 04/08/1905 - 2/15/1978 Wife of Louis Calhern (1926 - 1926) divorced; William Murray (Howdy, Mr. Ice? - 1946) divorced; performer - origs: The Animal Kingdom; The Women; Barefoot in the Park [replacement]; autobio "Past Imperfect"; fim's Johnny Dark; Now, Voyager; The Big Knife (Jack Palance); 1 of my fav movies: The Animal Kingdom (Lesley Howard, Myrna Loy)

Sonja Henie 04/08/1912 - Oct 12, 1969 Norwegian figure skater who was the women's world champion for 10 years and a three-time gold medalist in the Olympics; died of leukemia on a plane en route to Oslo; Broadway producer; film performer - 1940 & 1941 It Happens on Ice; Stars on Ice; Icetime; Icetime of 1948; Howdy, Mr. Ice (Pat Harrington); film's Everything Happens At Night; Wintertime

John Gavin 04/08/1928 husband of Cecily Evans (divorced); Constance Towers (1974 - present); former US Ambassador to Mexico by President Ronald Reagan; performer; He signed on for the role of James Bond after George Lazenby, but did not play the part - Seesaw [replacement]; tv's & film's A Breath Of Scandal (Sofia Loren); 1961 Back Street (Susan Hayward); Imitation Of Life (1959); Midnight Lace (1960); Psycho (1960); Tammy Tell Me True; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Spartacus; He also starred in three TV series, "Destry" (1964), "Convoy" (1965) and "Doctors' Private Lives" (1979)

Fred Ebb 04/08/1933 Writer, Lyricist, Composer, Director - From A to Z; Flora, the Red Menace; Cabaret; The Happy Time; Zorba; 70, Girls, 70; Chicago; The Act; The Madwoman of Central Park West; Woman of the Year; The Rink; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Steel Pier

Michael Bennett 04/08/1943 - Jul 2, 1987 Producer, Writer, Choreographer, Director, Performer, Other, Production Crew; husband to Donna McKechnie (divorded) - Subways Are for Sleeping; Nowhere to Go But Up (Martin Balsam, Tom Bosley, Bert Convey, Frank Campanella, Dorothy Loudon, Mary Ann Mobley); Here's Love (Fred Gwynne, Janis Page, Craig Stevens, Laurence Naismith); Bajour; A Joyful Noise; Henry, Sweet Henry (Don Ameche, Louise Lasser, Priscilla Lopez, Pia Zadora); Promises, Promises; Coco; Company; Follies; Twigs; Seesaw; Bette Midler; A Chorus Line; Ballroom; Dreamgirls

Stephanie Pope 04/08/1964 performer - Big Deal; 1986 Sweet Charity [replacement]; The Will Rogers Follies [replacement]; Jelly's Last Jam; Kiss of the Spider Woman [replacement]; 1996 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; 1996 Chicago [replacement]; Fosse [replacement]

SHOWS THAT OPENED ON THIS DATE:

1907 Two of The Boys of Company "B" are John Barrymore, who joined the cast as a replacement, and Mack Sennett, father of film's Keystone Kops. Rida Johnson Young's comedy will run three months at New York's Lyceum Theatre.

1954 Shirley Booth leads the cast in By the Beautiful Sea at the Majestic Theatre. Herbert and Dorothy Fields provide the book. Dorothy Fields penned the lyrics to Arthur Schwartz's music.

1992 Clarke Peters' musical revue based on the music of Louis Jordan named Five Guys Named Moe opens at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The rhythm and blues show was directed and choreographed by Charles Augins and featured Jerry Dixon.

2001 Gary Sinise stars in a Broadway revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which opens tonight and goes on to win the Tony Award as Best Revival of a Play.

ON THIS DAY IN:

1513 Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain & for future U.S. retirees.

1958 Drama critic George Jean Nathan, 70, died today in New York City. He contributed to Newsweek and the Journal-American. He championed many playwrights including William Saroyan, Eugene O'Neill and Sean O'Casey. He wrote more than 30 books.

On April 8, 1973, artist Pablo Picasso died at his home near Mougins, France, at age 91

1990 Ryan White, the teen-age AIDS patient whose battle for acceptance gained national attention, died in Indianapolis at age 18.

2002 Suzan-Lori Parks' play Topdog/Underdog, wins the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, making Parks the first African-American woman to win the coveted award. The announcement comes mere hours after opening night of Topdog, April 7.

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

Milla