If they were still alive today....

.....these notable folks would be celebrating a birthday:

Charlie Chaplin would be 122.  The most universally recognized man of the first half of the 20th century, his popularity as a silent film star was equaled by no one.  He was the greatest star to have his career impacted by the "red scare" of the 1940's/50's.  He wasn't a communist--but rather than stay and try to defend himself against nebulous charges by the slavering McCarthy inquisition, he abandoned his adopted country of America and fled to Switzerland, where he only worked periodically until his death in 1977.  He returned to Hollywood in 1971 to receive a lifetime achievement "honorary" Oscar--since he had never received an official Oscar during his career.  He was given an enormous welcome back, and perhaps the longest standing ovation in Academy Award history.  Here's my favorite scene from my favorite of his films, The Gold Rush, from 1925.  Turn down/off the volume to get rid of the very annoying commentator in the background!:





Dusty Springfield would be 72.  She was a very unique singer during the middle years of rock and roll's nascence.  The British belter's full-throated, somewhat hoarse voice was all-hers and was never mistaken for anyone else's.  Her all-out anthems are still powerful today and she still has a huge following, especially in the UK.





John Hodiak would be 97.  Sturdy, if somewhat stiff, all-purpose butch leading man of the WWII and post-WWII years, John Hodiak appeared to good effect in a few films, notably Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat in 1944, in which he parried with the inimitable Tallulah Bankhead.  He died suddenly, at the age of 40, of a heart attack.

Douglas McPhail, 1939

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With Judy Garland in Little Nellie Kelly

With wife and frequent co-star, Betty Jaynes

On the set of Sweethearts, with Jaynes and director, W.S. Van Dyke, 1938

With his voice teacher, Romano Romani, 1938

Also turning 97 today would be Douglas McPhail.  I remember seeing the original That's Entertainment as a child, when it first came out and being so impressed by the voice of the fellow who sang the title song in the 1939 MGM musical, Babes in Arms.  I tried to find out more information about him, but there was virtually nothing about him, anywhere.  But in this age of the internet, I've since found out that he had a meteoric rise, a brief, impressive career--and a shocking and tragic death at his own hand.  He was spotted by Jeanette MacDonald, the star of San Francisco, in which he appeared in the chorus.  She mentored him and he was groomed by MGM as sort of a "junior Nelson Eddy".  Unfortunately, this happened just about the time that film operettas were fading from favor, and there was less need for the real Nelson Eddy, let alone a junior version.  Still, he was given some large roles in major films, including Little Nellie Kelly, in which he played Judy Garland's love interest, in one of her first "adult" roles.  Apparently, his dwindling career was desperately frustrating to him and he developed a major problem with alcohol.  Finally, in 1944, he swallowed poison--ending his life at the age of 30.  Such a shame.  He had (as evidenced below) a most impressive voice and a commanding presence.






And poor Selena Quintanilla would have turned 40 today, had she not been assassinated by her psychotic assistant in 1995.  "The Queen of Tejano Music"...."The Mexican Madonna"....she was enormously popular in the Latin American market--in fact, she was the #1-selling Latin American artist of the 1990's, selling over 21 million albums. Such a shame...her murderess is, thankfully, rotting in a Texas prison, ostensibly for life, though she will be eligible for parole in 2025.