Remember a couple weeks ago when Gregory of Tours died? Well today he was born! In the real world though, this preceded that. Just to be clear. He was, if you'll recall, a bishop and a historian of the Church in France. And this birthday was in 539.
Andrea Doria missed the daily double by a mere five days! He was born on this date in 1466 in Genoa. He was a mercenary for some years, and then a ground commander. After some successes, he went down to the sea in a ship, and spent a lot of years there. He seems to have been involved in every naval disaster of his time, which is either bad luck or a sign of where his talents really rate. But in the end, things worked out, so I guess it doesn't matter.
Also born today was Jonathon Swift, who could have laid claim to the title "Posthumous" as a few others we've met have done. I'll assume he isn't known by that name because his father wasn't a king. Bummer.
It's a great day for American letters today- possibly the greatest day ever! The incredibly amazingly stupendous Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born today in Missouri. His books are still among the best you'll find in a library or bookstore. Sadly, because he uses a term which is terribly impolite in ordinary conversation, these books- giants of the American fiction scene- are sometimes edited, lest someone be offended by a term used in a fictional story which took place- or would have taken place were they real- a hundred and fifty years ago. And yes, the terms were used in the real world, but it's still too terrible to contemplate how much a person, even one as progressive as Clemens seemed to be, could have used such a word. Why, it's almost like it was generally accepted then! And that would offend people who weren't alive then, and who are not referred to by that word (at least not openly), so it must be censored! Or at least it might offend them. Better pre-emptively censor. At any rate, Clemens/Twain is probably still the best writer in the history of the US, and one of the greatest ever.
Speaking of great men, happy birthday to Sir Winston Churchill. This is the real one, and not the other Winston Churchill who we met a couple weeks ago. If you need me to explain this one to you, then you desperately need a history lesson. He too was a great writer of English prose. Somebody once said of him that he wasn't the smartest man in Britain, but that the men who were smarter knew he was the one they needed to lead them in wartime. Which he did extremely well. I've always thought one of his most interesting moves was when he wrote a memo for the military on how to choose code-names for operations. As an example of What Not To Do, he wrote that he didn't want any mother to have to tell people she lost her son in "Operation Bunny Hug". Words to live by, my friends. Words to live by.
Allan Sherman joins us again, and as such becomes yet another member of the "almost a daily double" club. He missed it by ten days. He was quite funny, as we earlier discussed. So happy birthday to Allan.
Robert Guillame was also born today, in 1927. He was a vital role in three solid TV shows. First off, he was "Benson" in the show "Soap", which you should watch if you appreciate solid humor from a terrific ensemble cast, in the best soap opera parody this side of "Soapdish". Then he was spun off into "Benson" (rumor has it the title took weeks to come up with), which was a nice little family comedy. Much more conventional than Soap, but still pretty cool. Finally, he was Isaac Jaffe in "Sports Night", one of the best shows you've never seen. If you haven't caught it, then you're doing yourself an injustice. Let's just say that, at last count, not only do I have the complete three years on dvd, but two of my sisters also bought it on their own. It's really THAT GOOD!!!! Anyhow, he's a good actor, and played some terrific roles. BTW, he is also the only Black actor to ever appear onstage as the Phantom in "The Phantom of the Opera". Sadly, he had a stroke in 1999, during the Sports Night run. It was written into the script for his character, leading to several great scenes over the course of a few episodes, including a lovely scene upon his return. He's still going, which is great news.
A mere two years later, came Dick Clark. Again, if you don't know who he is, shame on you. He also had a stroke, but he hasn't recovered as well as Guillame. But he did give us "Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve", which is kind of a cultural icon. Boring as hell nowadays, but most cultural icons are.
Another American Legend was born in 1931: Bill Walsh, football coach extraordinaire. He is considered the father of the "West Coast Offense", even though he followed in the footsteps of other great coaches. He led the San Francisco 49ers to a bunch of Super Bowl wins, thanks to a couple of quarterbacks he drafted- one names Montana, and the other named Young. They're all in the Hall of Fame of course, and deservedly so. One of the coolest things he ever did, IMHO was when he watched a film clip of a college running back making a single play. He drafted the kid based on that one play, with the argument that it showed the kid has the physical skills to make the play, so he just needed to be taught to do it consistently. Wish I could remember exactly who it was, but I believe it was Roger Craig.
"Ello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!" One of the greatest lines in history, and one most people still never get tired of. Well, celebrate it today then. It's the birthday of Mandy Patinkin, who brought it to life. No snark for him!
Love improv comedy? Love the BBC version of "Who's line is it anyway?" Then give some love to Colin Mochrie! He might could use it. He's pretty darned good at it, though not quite as good as his pal Ryan Stiles- but really, who is? Apparently, he didn't like doing the "Hoedown" segment, since he can't carry a tune in a dump truck. If you've ever seen him doing this segment, then you know I'm using the term "apparently" quite literally, as he obviously doesn't enjoy it very much.
Bo knows his birthday. And now, so do you! It's today, if you hadn't already guessed that. And it's Bo Jackson, and not Bo Derek, Bo Diddley, Bo Schembechler, or Beau Geste.
It's also a big day for Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. He's a future baseball hall of famer. He played for Detroit, so he's cool. He's not doing that well, but if he makes it through the next year or two, then he'll join the 3000 hit club, which will make what everyone already knows, a mere formality- he's gonna be a shoo-in for the HoF.
And finally, I have to mention the uber-hot Kaley Cuoco. Yum. Happy birthday, m'dear.
Whew! That was exhausting! And could be considered incomplete. Should have lots of people for next year, just from the ones I skipped today.
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