James Monroe would be 253. He was the 5th president of the United States (1817-1825). Other than our first president, he is (to date) the only candidate for presidency who ran, unopposed, for his second term in office. He was also the third of the "founding father" presidents to die on the Fourth of July (John Adams, Thomas Jefferson were the others; he in 1831, the others in 1826).
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| Lionel Barrymore (L), as "Old Man Potter" in the immortal It's a Wonderful Life. |
The three Barrymore siblings in 1904: John, Ethel and Lionel.
Lionel Barrymore would be 133. The oldest of the three Barrymore siblings (with John and Ethel) of the famed acting dynasty, Lionel had a long and illustrious career, on the Broadway stage, but mostly in films, from the early silents through the 1950's. He delivered many fine and skillful performances (Dinner at Eight, On Borrowed Time); and truth-be-told, some real hambone, over-the-top stuff, too (Rasputin and the Empress, and yes, Grand Hotel). But all is forgiven and forgotten when watching his unforgettable portrayal of the ultimate cinema "bad guy," the reptilian 'Mr. Potter' in Frank Capra's classic, It's a Wonderful Life. He pulled every acting trick out of his sizable bag in this career crowning achievement, and he clearly relished playing the part. In "real life," Barrymore was, by all accounts, an enormously kind, multiply- talented man (he was a skilled composer and painter, too). He was stricken with crippling arthritis in his fifties, and gradually, performed all his roles from a wheelchair. He died in 1954 and was eulogized as one of the greatest--and most beloved--artists in Hollywood history.
Blossom Dearie would be 87. She was truly "one-of-a-kind". After just a few bars of one of her songs, you know you are listening to her and no one else. Her girlish, ersatz-coy renditions still remain fresh and rethought when enjoyed today. I had the pleasure of seeing/hearing her perform several times, when she was a regular performer at a joint called Danny's on West 46th Street in Manhattan in the early 2000's. A very intimate place, it was something of a master class, to be able to view such a great singer/pianist up-close. Though her sound was very sweet, she was one tough cookie. I saw her throw some hapless kid, about 16 years old, out of the room once. He had clearly been dragged there by his parents and wasn't having any of it. As he sprawled back in his chair with his arms crossed, she stopped in the middle of a number and said, "Donald (the manager), give this kid his money his back and get him out of here....he obviously doesn't want to be here any more than I want to have him here". The audience applauded uproariously as the kid slunk out. And then, as if nothing had happened, she just continued right on, "....chicks and ducks and geese better scurry...". What an original! Her passing in 2009 left a large hole in the New York nightlife scene, where she'd been a staple since the 1940's.
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And a happy 85th birthday to the very much alive Miss Harper Lee, the author of but one novel. It's an amazing thing that this, her one and only novel, is proclaimed as one of "The" great American novels of all time: To Kill a Mockingbird. Straight out of the gate, with only a few magazine articles under her belt, she was able to craft a nearly-perfect tale of childhood and racism in Depression-era Alabama. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, and just about every other literary award there was. It remains a best-selling novel, with over 30 million copies of the book in print, in nearly every language. She's been offered the sun and the moon to follow up Mockingbird with another novel--offers which she has politely, but firmly, refused.
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