Today's Birthdays 9/12

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 11:24pm

H.L. (Henry Louis) Mencken 9/12/1880- 1/29/1956 newspaper journalist, critic: Baltimore Sun; author: The Smart Set, American Mercury, The American Language

Maurice Chevalier 09/12/1888 - Jan 1, 1972 performer, lyricist - multiples of MAURICE CHEVALIER ON BROADWAY; film's Gigi, Fanny, Can-Can, In Search of the Castaways, One Hour With You, The Merry Widow (1934); Love Me Tonight

Eleanor Woodruff 09/12/1891 - Oct 7, 1980 performer - orig SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR

Billy Daniels 09/12/1915 - Oct 7, 1988 performer - orig GOLDEN BOY (Sammy Davis, Jr., Paula Wayne, Louis Gossett, Lola Falana); 1975 HELLO DOLLY! (Pearl Bailey)

Edward Binns 09/12/1916 - Dec 4, 1990 performer - SUNDOWN BEACH (Martin Balsam, Joan Copeland (debut), Julie Harris, Cloris Leachman, Steven Hill); DETECTIVE STORY (Ralph Bellamy, Lee Grant, Patrick McVey, Les Tremayne); PEER GYNT (John Garfield, Karl Malden); 1982 GHOSTS (Liv Ullman, Kevin Spacey)

Irene Dailey 09/12/1920 - performer; sister of Dan Dailey - THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES (Jack Albertson, Martin Sheen); tv's & film's No Way To Treat A Lady; ANOTHER WORLD; 5 Easy Pieces; The Amityville Horror

Dickie (John) Moore 9/12/1925 performer; always to be remembered for bestowing on a 14-year-old Shirley Temple her first screen kiss - in 'Miss Annie Rooney' (1942); In 1957 he accepted the newly designed post of public relations director of Actors Equity. In 1964 he left to form his own public relations firm in NYC, Dick Moore Associates - Saint Joan - tv's & film's Miss Annie Rooney, Our Gang series; 1933 Oliver Twist; Blonde Venus; Sergeant York; The Man Behind the Badge; The Web

Ian Holm 09/12/1931 knighted in 1998 performer; Husband of Penelope Wilton (1991 - present) - THE HOMECOMING (Vivien Merchant); tv's & film's The Day After Tomorrow; The Aviator; The Lord of the Rings: I & II; 1998 tv King Lear w/the wonderful Finbar Lynch [fr the fabulous NOT ABOUT NIGHTENGALES];

Phil Hartman 9/12/1948 performer, shot to death by his wife Brynn May 28, 1998 - tv's & film's Saturday Night Live, NewsRadio, The Pee-wee Herman Show, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Dennis the Menace, Stuart Saves His Family

Peter Scolari 09/12/1954 performer, Cathy Trien's hubby - 2004 Sly Fox; In the Wings; tv's BOB NEWHART SHOW; BOSOM BUDDIES

Rachel Ward 9/12/1957 performer, married to Bryan Browne - tv's & film's The Thorn Birds, Sharky’s Machine, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, Against All Odds; Wide Sargasso Sea

Gregg Edelman 09/12/1958 Carolee Carmello's hubby, performer - 1984 OLIVER (Patty LuPone, Ron Moody); 1987 CABARET (Regina Resnik, Werner Klemperer, Nora Mae Lyng, Joel Grey); CITY OF ANGELS (loved this show! James Naughton, Carolee Carmello); ANNA KARENINA (Ann Crumb, Gabriel Barre, Jo Ann Cunningham, Melissa Errico, Audrey Lavine); PASSION (Loved this show! Jere Shea, Donna Murphy, Marin Mazzie, George Dvorsky, Francis Ruivivar [did a show w/George & Francis, 2 great guys. Francis died way too young]) 2003 Wonderful Town

Simone 09/12/1962 (aka Lisa Celeste Stroud [Birthname]) performer Nina Simone's daughter - RENT; Aida [replacement]

Josh Hopkins 09/12/1970 performer - 1994 PICNIC (Ashely Judd, Debra Monk); tv's & film's Vanished; Cold Case

SHOWS THAT OPENED ON THIS DATE:

1866 The first Broadway show to ever run for more than a year opens on this date. The Black Crook opened at Niblo's Garden. It was a musical extravaganza with scantily-dressed chorus girls. Tickets ranged from $.05 to $1.50. A musical starring Zizi Jeanmaire called The Girl in Pink Tights opened in 1954 and was based on this show.

1887 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Richard Mansfield

1899 Becky Sharp with Maurice Barrymore, Tyrone Power, Sr.

1975 Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Count Basie

1979 On Golden Pond - Tom Aldredge, Frances Sternhagen

2000 Britain's Improbable Theatre bring their spontaneous theatrical performance piece, Lifegame, to Off-Broadway at the Jane Street Theatre. The improvisational work, in which a civilian is interviewed on stage about his or her life and then is witness to an instant interpretation of their milestone events by an acting troupe, was a hit in England and southern California before reaching New York stage. The event was created by improvisational theatre artist Keith Johnstone and offered a new character and a fresh life story eight times a week. Though the OB run was brief, it did inspire a TV series of the same name on the TNN cable network the following year.

2002 The Ragtime team of Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Ahrens and Terrence McNally reteam for the musical A Man of No Importance at New York's Lincoln Center. It will run through the end of the year.

ON THIS DAY IN:

1953 - The opening scene of Camelot was staged. 24-year-old Jacqueline Lee Bouvier wed the 36-year-old U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, future U.S. President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

1954 - Lassie was seen on CBS-TV for the first time. Despite being called “girl” by Jeff Miller, who starred as Tommy, and Jan Clayton, who starred as Jeff's mom, Ellen, Lassie was, in reality, a male dog. In fact, there were more than a half-dozen Lassie dogs doing stunts. Lassie ran on CBS for exactly 17 years. The last show aired on September 12, 1971.

1966 “Hey, hey we’re the Monkees -- and we don’t monkey around...” The theme song from the NBC-TV show, The Monkees, kicked off a fun-filled weekly series on this day in 1966. Davy Jones, a former English horse racing jockey; Michael Nesmith, a session guitarist; Peter Tork of the Phoenix Singers; and Micky Dolenz, who had appeared in the TV series Circus Boy were picked to be America’s answer to The Beatles.

1992 Legend of the stage and screen Anthony Perkins dies of AIDS on this date. He is best remembered for his performance in the Hitchcock classic, Psycho, but he also had quite a run on Broadway as an actor and director. He starred in the musical Greenwillow in 1960, Equusin 1975 and directed Steambath in 1970.

2001 All Broadway and Off-Broadway shows remain dark today, the day after terrorist attacks destroy the World Trade Center and travel into and around Manhattan is disrupted.

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

Milla

[BwayLover]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 11:49am

Yay! Happy Birthday Mr. Edelman, one of my favorites.