If they were still alive today...

....the following notables would be celebrating their birthday today.  Three great American writers were born on this day:

Prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Steinbeck would be 109.  Among his many classic works are The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and Of Mice and Men.  Here is Henry Fonda, with the wonderful Jane Darwell, delivering the famous speech from Grapes of Wrath:

Novelist and screenwriter Irwin Shaw would be 98.  His most notable works include The Young Lions and Rich Man, Poor Man.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would be 204.  He would likely be considered to be the most famous American poet of the 19th Century, having penned Song of Hiawatha, Paul Revere's Ride and Evangeline.

British actress Ellen Terry would be 163.  The colorized photo above was taken of her in 1863, at age 16, while playing Juliet.  She was considered to be the great Shakespearean actress of her day, roughly during the late 19th-early 20th centuries. 





William Demarest, "Uncle Charlie" of My Three Sons fame, would be 119.





Dashing leading man of 1930's-40's films, Franchot Tone would be 106.  He was the second of Joan Crawford's four husbands.

























African-American contralto Marian Anderson would be 114.  She attained legendary status in 1939, when  the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow her to perform in their auditiorium in Washington D.C., due to her race.  First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt immediately resigned from the organization and arranged to have her sing from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  She went on to become the first black person to sing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in 1955 (unbelievable that it took that long, isn't it?!).


Glamour-girl actress Joan Bennett would have been 101 years old today.  She's perhaps best-remembered today for having played Elizabeth Taylor's mother in Father of the Bride in 1950.  And speaking of which.....

....a very happy 79th birthday today to Dame Elizabeth Taylor/  She's been critically ill of late and we certainly hope that she can rally once again...as she has done over and over again through the years.