It was on this date, March 25, 1881, that Hungarian composer and pianist Béla Bartók was born Béla Viktor János Bartók in the small Banatian town of Nagyszentmiklós in the Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (since 1920 Sânnicolau Mare, or “Great St. Nicholas,” Romania). He got his first piano lessons from his mother, but from the […]

“Up to the present time, and with all my experiences,” wrote Houdini to Doyle, “I have never seen or heard anything that could really convert me.”

It was on this date, March 1, 1969, that Spanish actor Javier Bardem – the first Spanish actor to receive an Oscar nomination – was born Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands, Spain. He father having left his mother, Bardem was reared by his mother and churched in […]

It was on this date, February 14, 1970, that English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and director Simon Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, England. Simon was seven when his parents divorced and he took the surname of his stepfather, Pegg, after his mother re-married. Simon Pegg is known for having co-written […]

It was on this date, January 28, 1936, that American actor, director, screenwriter, and author Alan Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo to actor and singer Robert Alda and Joan Browne, a former showgirl and Miss New York pageant winner. His adopted stage and screen name, “Alda,” is a portmanteau of ALphonso and D’Abruzzo. A […]

It was on this date, January 20, 1956, that American stand-up comedian and author William “Bill” Maher, Jr. was born in New York City to a Jewish mother and Catholic father and reared in River Vale, N.J.. Maher attended Cornell University and started his stand-up comic career in 1979. In addition to his live stand-up […]

It was on this date, January 14, 1919, that Andrew Aitken Rooney, who grew up to be legendary CBS News commentator Andy Rooney, was born in Albany, New York. It seems Rooney was born to be a newsman. Rooney began writing for Stars and Stripes in London after he (a pacifist who opposed the war) […]

It was on this date, December 29, 1959, that American stand-up comedian and writer Paula Poundstone was born in Huntsville, Alabama, but grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where she dropped out of high school to pursue show business. Now known for her trademark suits and ties, Poundstone started doing stand-up in Boston in 1979, then […]

It was on this date, December 27, 1901, that German-American actress and singer Marlene Dietrich was born Marie Magdalene Dietrich in Schöneberg, now a district of Berlin, Germany. Nicknamed “Lena” by her family, around age 11 she contracted her two first names to become “Marlene.” Early on, she became a performer, working briefly as a […]

It was on this date, December 16, 1961, that American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician Bill Hicks was born in Valdosta, Georgia. The family settled in Houston, Texas, by the time Hicks was seven. Drawn to comedy early, he was influenced by Richard Pryor and began to emulate Woody Allen. Hicks also got […]