It was on this date, December 3, 1960, that British-American actress Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in the Fort Bragg, North Carolina, army installation, the daughter of a military father who later became a military judge and a psychologist/social worker mother who had emigrated from Scotland. Because of her mother’s heritage, Moore claimed […]

It was on this date, December 1, 1970, that American comedienne, writer, and actress Sarah Silverman was born Sarah Kate Silverman into a Jewish family in Manchester, NH. Silverman says she was not “raised with any religion,” only considering herself ethnically Jewish. Her comic style addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, […]

It was on this date, November 27, 1940, that Chinese-American martial artist, actor and creator of Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee (李小龍) was born Lee Jun-fan (李振藩) in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the son of a Chinese opera star father and a half-Caucasian mother. Lee’s family returned to their home in Hong Kong after his birth, […]

It was on this date, November 22, 1921, the American comedian Rodney Dangerfield was born Jacob Rodney Cohen to Jewish parents. Quipped Rodney, “When I was born I was so ugly the doctor slapped my mother. … I was so ugly my mother used to feed me with a sling shot. … When I was […]

It was on this date, November 4, 1960, that American comedian and actress Kathy Griffin was born Kathleen Mary Griffin in Oak Park, Illinois. At about age 18, she moved to Los Angeles to study drama at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, becoming a member of The Groundlings improvisational comedy troupe like her […]

It was on this date, October 10, 1959, that American actress, comedian and author Julia Sweeney was born in Spokane, Washington. From her start with the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, Sweeney was discovered in 1989 by “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels and became a featured player on the TV show from 1990 to […]

It was on this date, August 24, 1957, that English actor and comedian Stephen Fry was born in Hampstead, London and reared in no religion. After being expelled from two schools and spending three months in prison for credit card fraud, he entered Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he studied English Literature and became involved in […]

It was on this date, August 12, 1866, that Spanish dramatist Jacinto Benavente y Martínez was born in Madrid. One of the most important Spanish dramatists of the 20th century, Benavente wrote over 170 plays, including La comida de las fieras (The Food of the Beasts, 1898), an attack on aristocrats, La Gobernadora (The Governor, […]

It was on this date, July 14, 1918, that Swedish film and theater director Ingmar Bergman was born Ernst Ingmar Bergman in Uppsala. Although the son of a Lutheran pastor, and reared in a devout Lutheran family, Bergman said he lost his faith at age eight but did not come to terms with his nonbelief […]

It was on this date, July 8, 1958, that American film and stage actor Kevin Bacon was born. Born Kevin Norwood Bacon and reared in in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 17 he left for New York City to become an actor. After some struggle, he landed a noteworthy role in Diner (1982), then two years later […]