Today's Birthdays 6/1
Today's Birthdays 6/1
#0Today's Birthdays 6/1
Posted: 5/31/06 at 9:24pm
Mikhail Glinka 6/1/1804 - 2/15/1857 composer generally credited as the father of Russian nationalist music - Ruslan and Ludmilla; The Life for the Czar
Lew M. Fields 06/01/1867 - Jul 20, 1941 Producer, Writer, Director, Performer (as in Weber & Fields), Theatre Owner/Operator; father of Dorothy, Herbert & Joseph Fields - originals: Whirl-i-gig (Lillian Russell); Whoop-Dee-Doo; All Aboard (Carter & Flora Parker DeHaven [Gloria's parents]); Poor Little Ritz Girl; The Girl Friend; Hit the Deck; A Connecticut Yankee; Radio City Music Hall Inaugural Program
Frank Morgan 06/01/1890 - Sep 18, 1949 performer, brother of Ralph Morgan, uncle of Claudia Morgan - The Firebrand (Edward G. Robinson, Joseph Schildkraut); Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; Rosalie; The Band Wagon (Fred & Adele Astaire, Helen Broderick); film's The Wizard of Oz, The Stratton Story, The Three Musketeers, Tortilla Flat, The White Cliffs of Dover, Naughty Marietta, The Great Ziegfeld, Key to the City
Edgar Fairchild 06/01/1898 - Feb 20, 1975 composer, performer, musician - The New Yorkers; Cross My Heart; Babes in Arms
Molly Picon 06/01/1898 - 4/5/1992 performer, star of the Yiddish stage - Morning Star (Martin Blaine, Sidney Lumet); Milk & Honey (Robert Weede, Tommy Rall, Mimi Benzell, Lanna Saunders); Paris Is Out! (Sam Levene, Zina Jasper [wonderful acting teacher!]); Something Old, Something New (Hans Conried, Dick Patterson); film's Fiddler on the Roof, Come Blow Your Horn, For Pete’s Sake, Murder on Flight 502, Cannonball Run
Harold Hecht 06/01/1907 - May 25, 1985 producer w/Burt Lancaster, performer - Separate Tables; Grand Street Follies [1928] (James Cagney)
John Randolph 06/01/1915 - 2/24/04 Husband of Sarah Cunningham (? - 1986) her death; John was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He and wife founded Ensemble Studio Theatre (in NY and LA). Sweet man, wonderful humanbeing. I never get tired of discovering him in new roles. - origs Hold on to Your Hats (Al Jolson, Martha Raye); Come Back, Little Sheba; Paint Your Wagon; The Visit; The Sound of Music; Mother Courage and Her Children
Andy Griffith 06/01/1920 (another source says 1926) performer - No Time for Sergeants; Destry Rides Again (Dolores Gray); tv's & film's The Andy Griffith Show, Matlock, A Face in the Crowd, No Time for Sergeants, From Here to Eternity; comedian: comedy record: Make Yourself Comfortable
Nelson Riddle 6/1/1921 - 10/6/1985 Grammy Award-winning orchestra leader: Cross Country Suite; Lisbon Antigua; arranger: for Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney and Nat King Cole
Joan Caulfield 6/1/1922 - 6/18/1991 performer - film's Pony Express Rider, Daring Dobermans, Welcome Stranger, Blue Skies (Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire), The Lady Says No
Joan Copeland 06/01/1922 performer, Sister of Arthur Miller - Detective Story; Tovarich (Vivienne Leigh); Coco; Two By Two; 45 Seconds From Broadway [Was replaced in previews]
Marilyn Monroe 6/1/1926 - 8/5/1962 performer, She would have been 80 today! - film's my favs: Some Like It Hot; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; 7 Yr. Itch; Misfits; Bus Stop; How To Marry a Millionaire; River of No Return; Niagra
Edward Woodward 06/01/1930 performer, Father of Sarah Woodward - Rattle of a Simple Man; High Spirits (Bea Lillie); The Best Laid Plans; tv's & film's The Equalizer, Code Name Kyril, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Champions, The Final Option, The Appointment, Wicker Man & the brilliant Breaker Morant
Peter Masterson 06/01/1934 Writer, Director, Performer, father of Peter Masterson, II & Mary Stuart Masterson, husband of Carlin Glynn - Marathon '33 (Julie Harris); The Great White Hope; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public; film's The Exorcist; director: Arctic Blue, Night Game, Full Moon in Blue Water, Blood Red, The Trip to Bountiful
Morgan Freeman 06/01/1937 performer, director - The Dozens; The Mighty Gents (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.); film's The Shawshank Redemption; Million Dollar Baby, Driving Miss Daisy, Glory, Unforgiven, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Queen, Another World, Outbreak, Amistad, Deep Impact; Lucky Number Slevin; director: Bopha. As of today's date, imdb list 11 projects that are either in pre-, post or announced projects for Mr. Freeman. One very busy actor!
Colleen McCullough 6/1/1937 - writer; neurophysicist; In addition to writing novels, Col embarked on yet another career, as the Words side of the Words and Music partnership. This started with a collaboration between her and the American composer, Michael Colicchio, aimed at adapting her novel Tim into a musical. Though the work was completed, the collaboration was not a success and the project lapsed. Col wouldn't consent to the composer's lyrics, the composer wouldn't consent to Col's lyrics. But she did learn the difficult art of writing song lyrics during her time with Colicchio, as well as how to create a musical play for the stage. When Bruni arrived on the scene four years ago, Col was confident enough of her Words ability to agree to collaborate with Bruni on a musical version of The Thorn Birds. An operatic diva with two Doctorates from Munich University, one in medicine and one in music, Bruni approached Col with the project. They finished it very recently and are talking to an Austrian entrepreneur about producing it, perhaps in Vienna or at the EXPO 2000 in Hanover. In the meantime, Col started another collaboration, with the Australian composer and musical director, Max Lambert. They are currently working on an original idea of Col's, a very Australian-flavoured opus entitled Mrs Delvecchio Schwartz. It is very different from the musical of TTB and permitted her to write a different kind of lyric. - The Thorn Birds; Tim; Mary & Tim; An Indecent Obsession; Masters of Rome series of books [my fav is] The First Man of Rome; tv's & film's The Thorn Birds; Tim; Mary & Tim; An Indecent Obsession
Cleavon Little 06/01/1939 - 10/22/1992 performer - Tony Award-winning actor: Purlie [1970]; tv's & film's Emmy Award: Dear John [1988-1989]; Blazing Saddles, Vanishing Point, Fletch Lives, Perfect Harmony, Separate But Equal, Murder by Numbers
René Auberjonois 06/01/1940 performer - Sly Fox; tv's & film's Tony Award-winning actor: Coco [1970]; The Ballad of Little Jo, Gore Vidal’s Billy the Kid, Police Academy 5, Pete ’n’ Tillie, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Brewster McCloud, Petulia, Benson, M*A*S*H, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Boston Legal, Benson
Frederica von Stade 6/1/1945 beautiful lyric/col mezzo-sop Opera singer, my fav roles: both Massenet's & Rossini's Cinderella, & Cherubino (Le Nozze de Figaro)
Brian Cox 6/1/1946 performer - Strange Interlude (Glenda Jackson); Art [replacement]; tv's & film's Troy; The Ring; Inspector Morse; Rob Roy, Braveheart; Adaptation; Prime Suspect I; Manhunter; X Men 2
Jonathan Pryce 6/1/1947 Tony Award-winning actor: Miss Saigon [1991]& Comedians [1977]; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels [replacement]; tv's & film's Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Carrington, Barbarians at the Gate, The Age of Innocence, Glengarry Glen Ross, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Brazil, Breaking Glass
Powers Boothe 6/1/1949 performer - Lone Star & Pvt. Wars; tv's & film's Emmy Award-winning actor: Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones [1980]; Skag, Sudden Death, Nixon, Extreme Prejudice, The Emerald Forest, Cruising, Deadwood,Philip Marlowe, Private Eye, Skag (Karl Malden, Piper Laurie, Peter Gallagher, Shirley Stoler, Frank Campanella)
Diana Canova [Diana Rivero] 06/01/1953 performer - 1995 Company (Danny Burstein, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Kate Burton, Boyd Gaines, Debra Monk); They're Playing Our Song [replacement]; tv's & film's The First Nudie Musical; Love Boat II; Soap; Throb (The show's theme song was performed by star Diana Canova and The Nylons.)
Lisa Hartman 6/1/1956 performer; Daughter of Country singer Howard Hartman and Hollywood PR agent Jonni Hartman. Step-father is Ray Rogers; Took leading parts in theater plays as "Cinderella" and "South Pacific"; married to Clint Black (20 October 1991 - present) 1 child - tv's & film's Tabitha; The Love Boat; Knots Landing; Dazzle; Deadly Blessing
SHOWS THAT OPENED ON THIS DATE:
1921 It's Gold that obsesses a sea captain in this four-act Eugene O'Neill tragedy. Willard Mack stars in what will be six performances at the Frazee Theatre in New York.
1925 Charley's Aunt
1931 The Third Little Show - Edward Arnold, Bea Lillie
1971 You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
1978 Tribute - Bernard Slade's Tribute, about a Hollywood publicity man who is dying of cancer and trying to make amends with the son he never got to know with Jack Lemmon & Catherine Hicks
1998 A.R. Gurney's new play, Labor Day, opens at Off-Broadway's Manhattan Theatre Club. John, the semi-autobiographical protagonist in Gurney's earlier The Cocktail Hour, reappears in the new work. The production is directed by Jack O'Brien.
2003 "MASTER HAROLD"...and the boys. - Danny Glover
ON THIS DAY IN:
1953 - The Mask of Medusa, on ABC-TV’s Twilight Theater, featured the network-TV acting debut of Raymond Burr. He later became the star of Perry Mason and Ironside.
On June 1, 1968, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who earned a college degree despite being blind and deaf most of her life, died in Westport, Conn.
(sources: IBDB, IMDB, NYT's ON THIS DAY, 440.com’s Those Were The Days, Playbill.com, ninemsn.com.au)
Milla
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