Wednesday, April 15, 2015

15 April 2015

Birthdays
Maisie Williams b. 1997 (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who)
Madeleine Martin b. 1993 (Hemlock Grove)
Emma Watson b. 1990 (Harry Potter, This is the End)
Shannon Farrara b. 1984 (Piranha [1995])
Alice Braga b. 1983 (I Am Legend, Elysium, Predators, Repo Men, Blindness)
Seth Rogen b. 1982 (This is the End, Paul, The Green Hornet, Donnie Darko)
Luke Evans b. 1979 (The Hobbit, Dracula Untold, Immortals, Clash of the Titans [2010])
Kellee Stewart b. 1976 (Hot Tub Time Machine 1 & 2, Witches of East End)
Richard Whiteside b. 1968 (The Hobbit, Avatar)
Kamala Lopez b. 1964 (Star Trek: Voyager, Lois & Clark, Total Recall)
Marcus Nispel b. 1963 (director, Conan the Barbarian, [2011], Friday the 13th [2009], Frankenstein [2004 TV], The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [2003])
Michael R. Perry b. 1963 (writer, Paranormal Activity 2, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, FreakyLinks, Millennium, American Gothic, Eerie, Indiana)
Thomas F. Wilson b. 1959 (Back to the Future, Zoom, Lois & Clark, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
Emma Thompson b. 1959 (Men in Black 3, Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee, I am Legend)
Glenn Shadix b. 1952 died 7 September 2010 (Carnivale, Planet of the Apes [2001], Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Multiplicity, Demolition Man, Beetlejuice)
Sam McMurray b. 1952 (Lake Placid 2, The Tick, Addams Family Values, Hard Time on Planet Earth, C.H.U.D.)
Lois Chiles b. 1947 (Wish Upon a Star, Creepshow 2, Coma)
Robert Walker Jr. b. 1940 (The Six Million Dollar Man, Beware! The Blob, Death in Space, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Star Trek)
Elizabeth Montgomery b. 1933 died 18 May 1995 (Bewitched, Twilight Zone)
Jean Willes b. 1923 died 3 January 1989 (The Munsters, Twilight Zone, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Adventures of Superman, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars)
Harvey Lembeck b. 1923 died 5 January 1982 (Mork & Mindy, It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman, Batman, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, My Favorite Martian)
Michael Ansara b. 1922 died 31 July 2013 (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, I Dream of Jeannie, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel, Bewitched, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits)
Hans Conried b. 1917 died 5 January 1982 (The Cat from Outer Space, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Lost in Space, The Monster That Challenged the Word, The Twonky, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.)
John Williams b. 1903 died 5 May 1983 (Battlestar Galactica, Twilight Zone, Visit to a Small Planet)
Albert Sharpe b. 1885 died 13 February 1970 (Darby O’Gill and the Little People)

Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. A lot of excellent choices today. When I had a lot less people on the list in 2013, it was Emma Thompson, who is iconic in Nanny McPhee and Harry Potter. Last year, it was Maisie Williams as Arya Stark. Excluding them, I would say the best choices for iconic are Michael Ansara on Star Trek, Elizabeth Montgomery on Bewitched and to make a 21st Century choice, Emma Watson from Harry Potter.

2. A Canadian walks among us! The one Canadian born actor on the list is Seth Rogen, who usually does his work in Hollywood productions.

3. Nepotism... and not. Robert Walker Jr. is the son of Robert Walker Sr., so he certainly counts. Emma Thompson's parents both acted and she has worked many times with her mum Phyllida Law. Alice Braga is the niece of Sonia Braga. Sam McMurray is the son of Richard McMurray, who was a working actor. I don't know if there is any relation to Fred McMurray.

And then there's the stuff I don't count. Michael Ansara was married to Barbara Eden and he showed up on I Dream of Jeannie, but when they got married he was the better known actor, having played Cochise on Broken Arrow

4. Gone too soon. Glenn Shadix was 58 when he died, Elizabeth Montgomery was 62. Those ages seem very young to me, since I am somewhere in between.

5. The other John Williams. John Williams the actor was this tall, distinguished looking English chap. I'd guess his best known role might be as inspector Hubbard in Dial M for Murder. The composer John Williams is a) American, b) much younger and c) still alive.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
 
Predictor: George Sutherland from his 1901 book Twentieth Century Inventions

Prediction: The promise of the future is that, through the abundance of windows provided in the walls, roofs and porches of our dwelling-houses--but all supplemented with shutters and blinds of various kinds--there shall be a possibility of regulating, far more accurately than at present, the accessibility of light from outside according to the brightness or dullness of the day.

Reality: Sunlight good!  Who knew?

Actually, nearly everybody knew at one time, though we had a prediction from Isaac Asimov a couple years back where he thought access to sunlight was just a passing fad. Still, this one is worth full points for our sensible pal George.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt our weekly schedule for an event signalling an intergalactic invasion.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

3 comments:

  1. Actually, in 1901 the Victorian Architecture fad was in full swing, and buildings were heavy, windows were relatively small, and interior furnishings were dark and claustrophobic. Porches were deep and even when windows were tall, they were heavily shaded in and out. Sun actually was considered déclassé, if not harmful; certainly a tanned skin was considered a sign of lower class status, as it meant you probably had to labor outside.

    I would say that in good ol' George's time, sunlight was not generally considered an overall good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting that in this instance, Our Pal George is correct though against the grain, while Asimov was the opposite.

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    2. I'm liking George. I hope there are some pictures of his undoubtedly HEROIC facial hair somewhere....

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