Emma Stone b. 1988 (Birdman, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, Zombieland)
Katie Leclerc b. 1986 (The Big Bang Theory)
Patina Miller b. 1984 (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay)
Luke-Allen-Gale b. 1984 (Dominion, Captain America: The First Avenger, Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire)
Vera Filatova b. 1982 (Vampire Killers)
Taryn Marring b. 1978 (Zombie Apocalypse, The Speed of Thought)
Casey Nelson b. 1978 (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
Hero Fiennes-Tiffin b. 1977 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Zoe McLellan b. 1974 (The Invisible Man, Dungeons & Dragons, Star Trek: Voyager, Sliders)
Susan Levin Downey (producer, Iron Man 2, The Book of Eli, Gothika)
Rebecca Romijn b. 1972 (X-Men, Eastwick, S1m0ne, Rollerball)
Thandie Newton b. 1972 (Westworld, 2012, The Chronicles of Riddick, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles)
George Hertzberg b. 1972 (Buffy, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Ethan Hawke b. 1970 (Predestination, The Purge, Total Recall [2012], Daybreakers, Gattaca, Explorers)
Kelly Rutherford b. 1968 (Eastwick, Kindred: The Embraced)
Vidal Peterson b. 1968 (Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wizards of the Lost Kingdom, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Mork & Mindy)
Rebecca Schaeffer b. 1967 died 18 July 1989 (Out of Time, Amazing Stories)
Kerry Conran b. 1964 (director, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow)
Arkie Whiteley b. 1964 died 19 December 2001 (Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Brad Grunberg b. 1964 (Spider-Man, Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Future Shock)
Lance Kerwin b. 1960 (Outbreak, Enemy Mine, Faerie Tale Theatre, Salem’s Lot, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Escape to Witch Mountain, Shazam!)
Trace Beaulieu b. 1958 (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
Lori Singer b. 1957 (VR.5, Warlock)
Catherine Asaro b. 1955 (won the 2002 Nebula for The Quantum Rose)
Ron Underwood b. 1953 (director, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Resurrection, Once Upon a Time, Witches of East End, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Heroes, Reaper, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Mighty Joe Young, Tremors)
Teresa Tilly b. 1953 (Oz the Great and Powerful, The Evil Dead)
Nigel Havers b. 1949 (The Sarah Jane Chronicles)
Brad Davis b. 1949 died 8 September 1991 (Deadly Nightmares, Twilight Zone [1986])
Carolyn Seymour b. 1947 (Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager, Congo, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, The Flash [1991], Tales from the Darkside, The Twilight Zone. Otherworld, The Greatest American Hero, Space:1999)
Sally Field b. 1946 (The Amazing Spider-Man, From the Earth to the Moon, The Girl with Something Extra, Moon Pilot)
Harlan Warde b. 1917 died 13 March 1980 (Isis, The Invaders, The Monster That Challenged the World)
Jonathan Harris b. 1914 died 3 November 2002 (Space Academy, Ark II, The Monster Squad, Bewitched, Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, The Twilight Zone)
Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Geezer that I am, I often think the oldest person on the list did something iconic, and Jonathan Harris in Lost in Space certainly counts and will likely get the slot in 2015. It's rarer when I think the youngest person on the list has an iconic role, but Emma Stone in the reboot of Spider-Man counts as well. Last year, I had a picture of Trace Beaulieu, because that's how I roll.
2. Wait... they're dead? I had forgotten about the deaths of Brad Davis, best known for Midnight Express and died of AIDS, and Rebecca Schaeffer, a TV sitcom actress killed by a mentally ill stalker. There's also the late Arkie Whitely, an Australian actress whose career I didn't know that well.
3. A missing generation. If it weren't for the people who died young, Sally Field would be the Gal at the Door and she's not 70 yet. It jumps from her to the character actor Harlan Wilde, born 1917. What we are missing is the folks who would have played adults in 1950s monster movies or 1960s sci-fi TV. Just one of those days.
4. Taking a day off, eh? No Canadians to spot either today.
Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.
Prediction:. Electronic appliances will do your cooking, dishwashing and disposal of waste. High-frequency sound waves will clean the dishes. An electronic oven will cook meat in two or three minutes. All appliances can be turned off from miles away by dialing code numbers on your pocket-size radiophone and, thanks to an electronic housekeeping ""center,"" you'll enjoy such luxuries as having breakfast ready the moment you get up.
Reality: Let's note what he gets right first. Cooking meat in two or three minutes is possible in a microwave. Pocket-sized radiophones? Yes. Used to turn off appliances? Not so much. Also on the strikeout list, cleaning dishes with sound waves. If you want breakfast the moment you get up, that was possible in Dr. de Forest's day. It was called "cold cereal" or "fresh fruit" or "last night's pizza".
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
A familiar name makes a comeback in the prediction business, as we read excerpts from H.G. Wells' 1902 book Anticipations.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
What's with the double quotation marks on the word center? Dat man be crazy!
ReplyDeleteActually, Dr. de Forest is eligible for partial credit on appliances. Internet appliances (especially refrigerators that warn about your dangerously-low supply of pop) have been around for at least a couple of years, and new coffee makers like this one can be programmed on and off via smartphone apps. Siemens has rolled out similar technologies for dishwashers and laundry machines, which should be available outside Germany next year.
ReplyDeleteInternet ovens, on the other hand, don't exist -- and I'm not sure those are a very good idea.