Freddie Highmore b. 1992 (Astro Boy, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Golden Compass, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story)
Stephanie Leonidas b. 1984 (Defiance, Atlantis: End of the World, Birth of a Legend, Dracula [2006], MirrorMask)
Erica Leerhsen b. 1976 (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre [2003], Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2)
Mark Lutz b. 1970 (Angel, Mutant X, Earth: Final Conflict, Specimen)
Simon Pegg b. 1970 (The World’s End, Star Trek, Paul, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Land of the Dead, Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead)
Zach Galligan b. 1964 (Infested, Star Trek: Voyager, Gremlins)
Enrico Colantoni b. 1963 (Warehouse 13, Contagion, Stargate SG-1, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Galaxy Quest)
Anton Lesser b. 1952 (Game of Thrones, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Primeval, Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story)
Frank Collison b. 1950 (Stargate: Atlantis, Carnivale, The Village, K-PAX, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Lawnmower Man, Quantum Leap, Alien Nation, The Blob [1988])
Gregory Hines b. 1946 died 9 August 2003 (Eve of Destruction, Wolfen)
Andrew Robinson b. 1942 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X Files, M.A.N.T.I.S., The Puppet Masters, Child’s Play 3, The Twilight Zone [1986], Hellraiser)
Vic Morrow b. 1929 died 23 July 1982 (Twilight Zone: The Movie, 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Humanoids from the Deep, Message from Space)
Jonathan Adams b. 1931 died 13 June 2005 (Star Cops, 1990, The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
Edward Platt b. 1916 died 19 March 1974 (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)
Okay, let's start by stipulating that Simon Pegg got the Picture Slot last year and there are other worthy candidates. A lot of actors with iconic roles on the birthday list today, though guys like Edward Platt (Get Smart), Vic Morrow (Combat!), Gregory Hines (The Cotton Club) and Frank Collison (John Turturro's treacherous cousin in O Brother Where Art Thou?) have their best known roles in non-genre work. If I was younger, I might have had Freddie Highmore in the Picture Slot, since he's one of the premier child actors of this century. I might also have gone quirky and put Johnathan Adams as the wheelchair bound Dr. Scott from Rocky Horror. But instead we are looking at a picture of Andrew Robinson as Garak, the Cardassian tailor/spy from Deep Space Nine. Of all the Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine was the one full of creepy and a lot of the creepy was very well done.
Personal aside: Gregory Hines is one of those actors who I'm always surprised when I recall he's dead. I feel the same way about Raul Julia. The news of their deaths wasn't quite as big a story as other deaths like Phil Hartman or River Phoenix or James Gandolfini, and when I see a picture of Hines or Julia, I think "I haven't seen him in anything recently. Oh, wait... he died."
In any case, many happy returns to the living on the list, and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Movies released
Daredevil released, 2003
To my mind, this movie has a Valentine's Day subtext, since this is when Ben Affleck met his wife to be Jennifer Garner. Affleck was still seeing Jennifer Lopez at the time, and to my point of view he made a massive upgrade.
Prediction: Bioterror or bioerror will lead to 1 million casualties in a single event by 2020.
Reality: His 2003 book Our Final Hour (in the U.K. Our Final Century) is obviously glum, but it doesn't have a lot of specific dates for future catastrophes. This is the only thing I have from him that follows the guidelines for predictions on this blog. I obviously can't say if he's right or wrong yet, but we are 11 years into a 17 year bet and his money is still on the line. If we get to New Year's Day 2021 without such a huge event, I'm sure Sir Martin won't be that unhappy to be wrong.
Waite is best known for his role on The Waltons. As a trivia buff, he's one of a platoon of familiar faces that make Cool Hand Luke so much fun to watch. He's mentioned here for his roles on Carnivale (pictured here) and Timequest and Time Trax.
Best wishes to the family and friends of Ralph Waite. He is never to be forgotten.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
Our standard weekend schedule will be interrupted by predictions from TV shows.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
Personally, I consider "Person of Interest" to be a borderline science fiction show because of the nature of The Machine but it plays like a thriller so I'm not sure if you do or not. I mention this because of Enrico Colantoni's recurring role on it as Carl Elias.
ReplyDeleteFor next year's picture slot, I recommend Simon Pegg. He's all over SF these days, both here and in Britain and he'll either end up top level famous very soon or else be forever known as an "Oh, that guy" in years to come ... although Stephanie Leonidas is an attractive woman and a picture of her would no go amiss.
I should have brought it up directly and I apologize for not doing so. Simon Pegg got the Picture Slot last year.
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