If they were still alive....

....these folks would be having their birthday party today:

Adorable (though, viewed today, a bit uncomfortably stereotypical for some tastes) child actor Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas would be 80. He'll forever be remembered as "the colored kid" from the Our Gang comic short films from the 1930's.



Baritone matinee idol Gordon McRae would have turned 90 today.  He was the perfect "everyman" singing leading man for the 1950's.  His velvet-smooth singing transcends generations and a re-listen to some of his recordings of that era will easily confirm that he was a very fine singer, indeed.  Listening to the original soundtrack from the film Carousel (about 900 times!) was a big reason I became a professional singer....I wanted to be Gordon McRae!  Listen to this recording of the gorgeous Jerome Kern song, "All the Things You Are" (perennially rated near the very top of many "all-time greatest American songs" lists.  His version, I think, is one of the all-time greatest, too:



Author Jack Kerouac would be 89.  The uncrowned ruler of "The Beat Generation" in the 1950's-60's and author of the seminal book, On the Road, Kerouac died at the age of 47 of cirrhosis of the liver, his life having been a long, but fascinating river of booze.
(below, left, with his close friend and fellow 'Beat,' Neal Cassady)




Industrialist and fashion icon Gianni Agnelli would be 90.  Vanity Fair called him "the richest man in modern Italian history",
and he was the principal shareholder of Fiat Motors.  His unique and somewhat eccentric personal style is considered to be strongly influential on men's fashion today.  One of his most famous personal traits was wearing his (very expensive) wristwatches on the outside cuff of his shirts.
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And a very happy 65th birthday to the alive and well....



Liza Minnelli. Having survived multiple illnesses, traumas, career tumults, personal tragedies and marriage to David Gest, Liza is thriving, yet again...and it's good to see!  She's now lived 18 years longer than her legendary mother, Judy Garland, who died tragically young in 1969.  Say what you will about Liza...but she's an undeniably unique and dynamically talented performer.  At her peak, no one could approach her command of the stage.  Watch (or re-watch) her amazing one-woman television concert, Liza With a 'Z' from 1973 and be reminded of her brilliance: