Category: Today’s Birthday

Despite having such large ears that some doubted he could become a romantic lead, Gable had a rugged masculinity and lighthearted charm that proved popular with audiences. The actor debuted on Broadway in 1928 and went to Hollywood in 1930. There he starred in Mutiny on the Bounty, Gone with the Wind, and It Happened One Night, for which he won an Academy Award. What tragedy prompted him to give up show business and become a bomber pilot during World War II? Discuss

Hazzard is an Australian novelist and short-story writer who has lived in the US since 1951. She and her husband, writer Francis Steegmuller, were both frequent contributors to The New Yorker magazine. Noted for her lyrical style, she achieved early success with her first story collection, Cliffs of Fall. Her 1980 novel, The Transit of Venus, brought her literary acclaim and a greatly expanded readership. Hazzard did not publish her next novel until 2003. What was it? Discuss

Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, theologian, and mystic. He studied almost every field of scientific investigation and wrote copiously, publishing Sweden’s first scientific journal and anticipating many discoveries and inventions. However, his writing gradually shifted toward philosophy and metaphysics. In 1744, he claimed to have had a divine vision. He spent the rest of his career interpreting the Bible and relating what he had seen in his visions, and he called himself a servant of whom? Discuss

Rubinstein was a Polish-American pianist whose enormous popularity spanned many decades. He debuted in 1900 and performed with moderate success until the 1930s, when he stopped performing for five years to improve his technique and reemerged as a giant of 20th-century music, active into his 80s. In the US, he was equally noted as soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire ranged from Bach to 20th-century Spanish composers, but he was particularly noted for his interpretation of what composer? Discuss

Reed was an American film and television actress. In 1946, she starred in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, playing Mary Bailey—the wife of James Stewart’s character, George Bailey. She went on to win the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in From Here to Eternity and later received a Golden Globe for Best Female TV Star for her performance as Donna Stone in The Donna Reed Show. Why did Reed once sue the producers of the TV show Dallas? Discuss

Newman was an American actor who captured the darker, less heroic aspects of his best-remembered roles, such as those in The Hustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Sting. After eight nominations, he finally won an Academy Award for The Color of Money in 1986. In 1982, he launched his “Newman’s Own” line of food products, donating the profits to various charitable causes. Why was Newman once placed on Richard Nixon’s enemies list? Discuss

A student of Rembrandt, Flinck was a Dutch painter who is remembered mainly for his numerous portraits, many of which are held in the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam. Among his most famous works is the Blessing of Jacob, one of his many religious subjects. However, Flinck was also known for painting scenes from history, such as the Peace of Münster, which illustrates the famous treaty with 19 life-size figures. Flinck even painted his own likeness in the canvas. Where is it? Discuss

Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician. He started out with the Second City comedy troop in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, in 1971, achieved national recognition in National Lampoon’s Lemmings in 1973, and joined Saturday Night Live as an original cast member in 1975. He also starred in several films, including Animal House and The Blues Brothers, before dying of a drug overdose in 1982. Who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for his death? Discuss

Kovacs was an American comedian. He turned to television after studying acting and writing, and he did much of the performing, writing, and producing for his three series—Time for Ernie, The Ernie Kovacs Show, and Kovacs Unlimited. He utilized the television format imaginatively, employing sight gags and zany improvisations, and showed off his wacky personality in 10 movies before dying prematurely in a car crash. Why did he once give a taxi driver the key to his apartment? Discuss

Strindberg was a master of the Swedish language and an innovator of dramatic and literary styles. He achieved renown with the novel The Red Room, in which he satirized hypocrisy in Swedish life. It helped initiate Swedish realism and revealed his remarkable style, which he developed in an impressive assortment of novels, plays, stories, histories, and poems. Which of Strindberg’s plays, now considered the first modern Swedish drama, was originally rejected by the national theater? Discuss