Nicholas Elia b. 1997 (Eureka, Supernatural, Speed Racer, White Noise)
Josh Hutcherson b. 1992 (The Hunger Games, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Bridge to Terabithia, Zathura: A Space Adventure)
Eleanor Columbus b. 1989 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
Tyler Blackburn b. 1986 (Brave New World)
Marcus T. Paulk b. 1986 (The Nightmare Room, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Dion Johnstone b. 1975 (Defiance, The X Files: I Want to Believe, The Core, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show)
Kate Beahan b. 1974 (The Matrix Revolutions, Farscape, Strange Planet)
Kirk Cameron b. 1970 (Left Behind, Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land, Beyond Witch Mountain)
Hugh Jackman b. 1968 (Pan, X-Men, The Prestige, Van Helsing, Real Steel)
Mark Donovan b. 1968 (The World’s End, Shaun of the Dead, Cyberon)
Jonathan Crombie b. 1966 (Earth : Final Conflict, Deadly Nightmares)
Dave Legeno b. 1963 died 6 July 2014 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Snow White and the Huntsman, Batman Begins)
JoAnn Willette b. 1963 (Tales from the Darkside, Amazing Stories, Twilight Zone [1986], A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Real Genius)
Deborah Foreman b. 1962 (Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Lobster Man from Mars, Destroyer, Waxwork)
Carlos Bernard b. 1962 (Ghost Storm, Alien Raiders, 10.5: Apocalypse, Babylon 5: A Call to Arms, NightMan)
Richard Genelle b. 1961 died 30 December 2008 (Power Rangers)
Hiroyki Sanada b. 1960 (Extant, Helix, The Wolverine. Lost, Ringu, Super Electric Bioman, Message from Outer Space)
Julie Bell b. 1958 (illustrator)
Michael Bofshever b. 1953 (Roswell, Star Trek: Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, True Blood)
Susan Anton b. 1950 (Out of This World, Quantum Leap, Making Mr. Right)
Randy Stuart b.1924 died 20 July 1996 (The Incredible Shrinking Man)
Lock Martin b. 1916 died 19 January 1959 (Invaders from Mars, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
Aleister Crowley b. 1875 died 1 December 1947 (author, Atlantis, the Lost Continent)
Notes on the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. Last year it was Hugh Jackman, the one A-List movie star with a birthday today and this year it's Lock Martin, the big guy who was in the Gort suit in the original The Day the Earth Stood Still. Listed at over seven and a half feet tall, Martin had a lot of the health problems often associated with being very tall, including problems with the joints. Moving around in the suit was very difficult for him and carrying another human was out of the question. When Gort carries Patricia Neal in one scene and Michael Rennie in another, the weight of those actors was supported by wires. It should be noted that two of the most famous tall actors, Ted Cassidy and Richard Kiel, were "only" an inch or two over seven foot and not as frail, capable at their peak of doing at least some of their own stunts, like the knife fight in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Kiel's fight scenes in the James Bond films.
As for next year, if I decide not to go back to Hugh Jackman, the most iconic roles left are young Josh Hutcherson in The Hunger Games and the lovely Randy Stuart in The Incredible Shrinking Man.
2. Spot the Canadians! There are three today, one with a lot of roles and rather obvious, the others with less but still with tell-tale resumes.
3. The guy I just don't like. Kirk Cameron, way too proud of being an ignoramus. While I don't accept any religion's definition of God, I'm not keen on the people known as "the new atheists", notably Sam Harris, Bill Maher and Richard Dawkins. (Stephen Fry is an atheist as well, but somehow he is nicer about it.) On the other hand, the anti-atheists like Kirk Cameron and Kevin Sorbo are just embarrassingly dumb and vicious.
Many happy returns to all the living on the list (with one exception) and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Prediction: As part of the futuristic frame-story of this complex novel about an Indian photographer it is mentioned in passing that in 2012 a terrorist nuclear bomb destroyed South Bombay, prompting a rogue Indian missile to retaliate with a bomb against Karachi. Both sides have been forced into nuclear disarmament by international pressures, but continue their conflict by conventional means.
Reality: Yet again, thanks to Professor Paul Brians for his exhaustive compendium of nuclear war fiction.
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
As usual, this blog welcomes you to the working week with a selection from the 1980s classic The OMNI Future Almanac.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
Our three Canadian friends today: Nicholas Elia, Dion Johnstone and Jonathan Crombie.
ReplyDeleteMany happy returns, eh?
Spot on with the comments on religion, couldn't agree more, though Dawkins has been so misquoted it is hard to determine specifics on most topics, he is certainly the most logical of the bunch that you refer to. Sorbo and Cameron are classic examples of what is wrong with present day religion. I have a bumper sticker in my collection that states "Please God, protect me from your followers!"...that is pretty much my take on these folks.
ReplyDeleteI fear that if I had the kind of media megaphone those atheists do, I would probably say far more alarming or objectionable things. It's kind of a zombie thing, admittedly....
ReplyDeleteCalling "Left Behind" science fiction is stretching the definition rather too far, if you ask me. (No science--not to mention that the single premise is not consistently applied.)
ReplyDeleteCameron still qualifies, of course, but that role shouldn't.
Fantasy counts as genre as well. I'm a little picky about fantasy involving ghosts and the standard Christian view of the supernatural, but the Rapture is pure bullshit so it gets the thumbs up.
DeleteThanks for keeping me honest, but here I have an actual reason.