WWI and Still Kicking
The last known survivor of American forces in World War One visited the White House his week. Dude is 107.
Biographies
Wicked Man is 60
Stephen Schwartz, composer of Godspell and Wicked, turns 60 today.
Swayze Has Cancer, Not Dying in Five Weeks
Actor Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer but is “responding well to treatment,” according to Reuters.Swayze’s publicist refuted claims by The National Enquirer that Swayze had been given five weeks to live.
Patsy Cline x 1.5
It’s been 45 years, amazingly, since the death of country singer Patsy Cline. That’s 1.5 times her own lifespan of 30 years.And it’s 26 years ago today for John Belushi. He was 33 when he died in 1982. (Side note: Ayn Rand died the very next day.)
It’s Hard Out Here for a Publicist
(The first in a series of excerpts from the biographies of popular musicians.)Today: R&B singers Pretty Ricky.”Miami heat is nothing compared to Pretty Ricky’s scorching musical inferno. Not since the days of music legends like The Beatles, the Jackson 5 or more recently NSync has there been such a fevered pitch, creating hysteria and chaos when crowds glimpse brothers Spectacular, Pleasure, Slick Em and Baby Blue.”(From their official site.)
McCain is the Nominee
John McCain is the Republican nominee for president in 2008.
Mick Jagger Answers Your Questions
In the recent flap over Mick Jagger and the Hell’s Angels, we discovered this Q&A he did with BBC News readers last October. A sampler:Q: “I’d like to know if the Mick Jagger one sees on stage is the real persona or a caricature developed over time and influenced by what you think the public expect.”
Texas and Ohio
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battle it out today in Texas and Ohio. The winner takes a big step towards the Democratic nomination.On the Republican side, John McCain has things pretty much sewn up.For good local coverage, try these elections pages of the Dallas Morning News and the Columbus Dispatch.
Mick vs. the Hell’s Angels
It seems a storm saved Mick Jagger from being assassinated by the Hell’s Angels in 1969.The Angels “were offended by Jagger’s effeminate dancing,” says Reuters.
The Forgotten Oscar Champ
Quick question: What actor is tied with Jack Nicholson for the most male acting Oscars in film history?(And the envelope goes to…)We mentioned Walter Brennan in an earlier post about Harrison Ford’s movie career and women (and hair). But we didn’t talk much about the man himself.