Category: Today’s Birthday

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

Adams was an Irish-born British physician suspected of having been a serial killer. Between 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients, many of them elderly, died under suspicious circumstances—most leaving him money or items in their wills. He was tried for the murder of one patient but was acquitted. He was later convicted of other crimes, but never murder. A 2000 article in the British Medical Journal suggests that Adams may have been the role model for what other serial-killer doctor? Discuss

After collaborating on screenplays with Roberto Rossellini in the 1940s, Italian Federico Fellini turned from writing to directing films. His movies earned international acclaim, and a number of them won Academy Awards, including La Strada, 8 ½, and Amarcord. Filmed in color starting in 1965, his movies became a celebration of life, with its beauties and grotesqueries, as well as an exploration of Fellini’s dream life. His wife starred in several of his films. Who was she? Discuss

A largely self-taught Scottish engineer and inventor, Watt greatly impacted the Industrial Revolution with his development of the Watt engine. Asked to repair a model of Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine, he instead made improvements to it that resulted in a new type of engine. One such design enhancement, the separate condenser, radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. The watt, a unit of power, is named for him. What other unit of power did he develop? Discuss

Grant performed with an acrobatic comedy troupe in England before he found parts in stage musicals. After he made his film debut in 1932, his debonair charm, good looks, and distinctive voice made him a popular star in sophisticated comedies such as Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, and The Philadelphia Story. He also starred in many Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, including North by Northwest. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1970. What was his last film? Discuss

Sennett was an American movie director, considered the father of slapstick comedy in film. After directing comedies under the tutelage of D.W. Griffith, he left to form his own Keystone Company and produced the first American feature-length comedy, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, in 1914. He made more than 1,000 comedy shorts, often featuring the wild antics of the Keystone Kops, and received a special Academy Award in 1937. As an actor, Sennett played what iconic character in several films? Discuss

Liddell was a Scottish athlete and missionary. Because of his Christian convictions, Liddell refused to run track events on Sundays, a decision that forced him to withdraw from his best event, the 100-meter sprint, during the 1924 Paris Olympics. Instead, he ran the 400 meters, winning the gold medal and breaking the existing world record. His story is depicted in the Academy Award-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Why is he listed in some literature as China’s first Olympic champion? Discuss