Taylor Momsen b. 1993 (Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, Hansel & Gretel)
Elizabeth Gillies b. 1993 (Animal)
Miriam McDonald b. 1987 (Orphan Black, Lost Girl, The Sea Beast)
Georgina Sherrington b. 1985 (The Worst Witch)
Mageina Tovah b. 1979 (American Horror Story, Spider-Man 2 and 3, Buffy)
Eve Myles b. 1978 (Torchwood, Doctor Who, Merlin)
Ben Cotton b. 1975 (iZombie, Olympus, Defiance, The 100, Continuum, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Battlestar Galactica, The Tomorrow People, Arrow, Fringe, Seeds of Destruction, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Stan Helsing, Kyle XY, Stargate: Atlantis, The Day the Earth Stood Still [2008], Bionic Woman, Flash Gordon [2007], Supernatural, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, The 4400, The Chronicles of Riddick, Taken, Jeremiah, Dark Angel, Smallville, Strange Frequency, The Immortal)
Kate Beckinsale b. 1973 (Total Recall [2012], Underworld, Click, Alice Through the Looking Glass [TV])
Susse Budde b. 1973 (Cloverfield, Lost)
Spencer Wilding b. 1972 (Victor Frankenstein, Jupiter Ascending, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Legend of Hercules, Atlantis, Doctor Who, Wrath of the Titans, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Game of Thrones, The Golden Compass, Stardust, Eragon, Batman Begins, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)
Olivia Williams b. 1968 (The Last Days on Mars, Dollhouse, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Sixth Sense, Jason and the Argonauts [TV], The Postman)
Jason Statham b. 1967 (Death Race, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Ghosts of Mars)
Jeremy Piven b. 1965 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Edge of Tomorrow, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde)
Sandra Bullock b. 1964 (Gravity, Premonition, The Lake House, Practical Magic, Demolition Man, Love Potion #9, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman)
Danny Woodburn b. 1964 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lavalantula, Mirror Mirror, Watchmen, Passions, Charmed, Angel, Conan [TV], Early Edition, Lois & Clark)
Kevin Spacey b. 1959 (Moon, Superman Returns, K-PAX)
Nana Visitor b. 1957 (Ted 2, Grimm, Torchwood, Friday the 13th [2009], Battlestar Galactica, They Are Among Us, Dark Angel, Deep Space Nine, The Spirit, The Twilight Zone [1985], Knight Rider)
Danny Bilson b. 1956 (writer, The Rocketeer, The Flash, Zone Troopers, Trancers)
Susan George b. 1950 (Computercide, Tales of the Unexpected, Tintorera: Killer Shark, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)
Helen Mirren b. 1945 (Inkheart, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Faerie Tale Theatre, Twilight Zone [1985], 2010, Excalibur, A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
Suzanna Leigh b. 1945 (Lust for a Vampire, tom thumb)
Kiel Martin b. 1944 died 28 December 1990 (The Ray Bradbury Theatre)
Celeste Yarnall b. 1944 (The Velvet Vampire, Land of the Giants, Star Trek, Bewitched, Captain Nice)
Peter Hyams b. 1943 (director, Threshold, End of Days, The Relic, Timecop, Amazing Stories, 2010, Outland, Capricorn One)
Mick Jagger b. 1943 (Freejack, Faerie Tale Theatre)
Chino “Fats” Williams b. 1933 died 5 April 2000 (Weird Science, The Terminator, The Incredible Hulk)
Robert Colbert b. 1931 (Disaster in Time, Knight Rider, Land of the Giants, The Time Tunnel, My Favorite Martian, Have Rocket – Will Travel)
Stanley Kubrick b. 1928 died 7 March 1999 (writer/director, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey)
James Best b. 1926 died 7 April 2015 (The Green Hornet, The Twilight Zone, The Killer Shrews, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)
Jason Robards b. 1922 died 26 December 2000 (The Day After, Something Wicked This Way Comes, A Boy and His Dog)
Pat Walshe b. 1900 died 11 December 1991 (The Wizard of Oz)
Aldous Huxley b. 1894 died 22 November 1963 (author, Brave New World)
Notes from the birthday list.
1. The Picture Slot. It was random chance that I decided to go birthday only today and get this really amazing birthday list. We are loaded down with household names - Kate Beckinsale (previous Picture Slotter), Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Helen Mirren, Mick Jagger, Stanley Kubrick, Jason Robards and Aldous Huxley, and a bunch of lesser known folk to the general public who count as iconic in genre, most notably Olivia Williams from Dollhouse, the second previous Picture Slotter Nana Visitor from Deep Space Nine and Robert Colbert from The Time Tunnel. On a less stellar list, I might even put in Celeste Yarnell from her Star Trek role. But instead it's Helen Mirren from Excalibur, the first role where I really noticed her.
I chose Ms. Mirren because it reminds me of what a fool in love can do. I had seen her before the 1980s, most notably in a late 1960s version of A Midsummer's Night Dream. It was a British cast, which pretty much automatically makes it a good cast, but it is remarkable how many people in it became much more famous over time: Judi Dench, Ian Holm, Ian Richardson, David Warner, Ms. Mirren and the reason I made sure I watched it, Diana Rigg, who was no longer on The Avengers and went back to the Royal Shakespeare Company. I was so smitten with Diana Rigg I barely noticed Helen Mirren existed. As I said, a fool in love.
2. Spot the Canadians. Today I will make it an exercise for the reader. There are two and both their credit lists give big hints. Knock yourselves out.
3. MST3K. I know The Killer Shrews got the treatment, as I always enjoyed the movies I had seen without sass talking robots first.
4. Notable deaths. I keep track of exact same birthdays when I can, but for exact same death days, Aldous Huxley and John F. Kennedy are about as famous as it gets. Keil Martin from Hill Street Blues died young, but I wasn't surprised when I saw it. I knew he was gone.
5. And just in case anybody asks. No, I still don't count Dr. Strangelove as genre.
Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.
Movie released
The Wolverine released, 2013
Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
It's Monday and Robert A. Heinlein will start sharing the day with OMNI Future Almanac.
Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
That's some picture of Helen...
ReplyDeleteShe looks pretty tall in that photo...
DeleteI did have a "Who's the NEW girl?" reaction when I saw Excalibur, though she had been on screen for fifteen years by then. She's not tall in real life, only 5'4", but I've found that I don't mind.
Deletebetween her and Mary-Louise Parker, she made it easy to ignore Bruce Willis in the RED movies...
DeleteZRM wins the Internet. Though in fairness, (1) Willis is the example that isused in NYC acting classes about how you can develop a career without being the child of someone already in the business (Gwyneth Paltrow, Laura Linney,etc.), and (2) my wife worked on Die Hard III and speaks very well of how Willis treated the non-stars.
ReplyDeleteI understand not counting Dr. Strangelove as genre--well, I can rationalize it--but then I wonder why War Games gets counted.
Why WarGames and not Dr. Strangelove? As usual when my readers ask such a question, I am forced to admit my reasons are completely idiosyncratic. Let's include Colossus: The Forbin Project as well.
DeleteFor me, the big difference is the computer controlling the nuclear arsenals in the two movies I count is at least semi-sentient, while in Strangelove, the Doomsday Device follows a program that actually could have been written by programmers in the 1960s, so not so much genre.
I will also admit to I count Fail-Safe the book because it has dates, but not Fail-Safe the movie.
Simply put, consistency is not my strong suit.