Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer was born Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer on December 13, 1929. He is a Canadian theater, television, and film actor. His daughter is also an actor. Plummer has won two Tony Awards and two Emmy Awards. His two Tony's were for his roles in Cyrano and Barrymore. His Emmy Awards were for his work in the children's television show Madeline and his role in The Moneychangers.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Plummer

King Lear

King Lear is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies. It's best known for the themes of kinship and human suffering. There are two versions of the play; The True Chronicle of the History of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters and The Tragedy of King Lear. Many actors have played the role of King Lear.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy was born June 2, 1840. He was an English novelist, short story writer and poet. Hardy first trained as an architect under John Hicks. Hardy moved to London in 1862 but returned 5 years later. Hardy started writing after his wifes death in 1912. He died January 11, 1928.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardy

Charles Manson

Charles Manson was born Charles Milles Manson on November 12, 1934. Charles Manson was convicted of commanding members of his "family" of committing the August, 1969, Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles. He is currently serving life imprisonment in Corcoran State Prison in California. He has been denied parole 10 times. He has been integrated as the image of evil. Manson is up for parole in 2007.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson

Spaghetti Western

A Spaghetti Western is a nickname for an old Western film. One of the best known Spaghetti Westerns is Sergio Leone's "Man With No Name" trilogy. Some other Spaghetti Westerns are A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_Western

Bette Davis

Bette Davis was born Ruth Elizabeth Davis on April 5, 1908. She was an American actress. She won 2 Academy Awards. Her Academy Awards were for her work in Dangerous and Jezebel. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Bette sold war bonds. She proved to be very talented when she sold 2 million dollars worth of bonds in 2 days. Bette died of old age on October 6, 1989.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Davis

Studio 54

Studio 54 was a legendary disco located in Manhattan, New York. The owner of Studio 54, Steve Rubell, was known for mixing celebrities with nobodies in the same building. From the crowds outside he would choose "nobodies" and celebrities and they would be in the same venue. Studio 54 will be known for the rise of disco and the creation of the nightclub scene.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_54

Cole Porter

Cole Porter was born Cole Albert Porter on June 9, 1891. Porter was an American composer and songwriter. His musical comedies include Kiss Me, Kate, Fifty Million Frenchmen, and Anything Goes. He also wrote the songs, "Night and Day," "I Get A Kick Out of You," and "I've Got You Under My Skin." Cole Porter died of kidney failure on October 15, 1964 at the age of 73.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole_Porter

Samuel Clemens

Samuel Langhorne Clemens is more commonly known as Mark Twain. He was above all a distinguished writer. The most notable of his works are Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Samuel died April 21, 1910.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a film about a young woman, Holly Golightly, who has relationship problems with her neighbor, Paul Varjak. Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard star in this film. The film won 2 Academy Awards.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_at_Tiffany%27s

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born Charles John Huffam Dickens on February 7, 1812. He was considered one of the best English writers. Among many some of Dickens' most known works are Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens

Jeanne d'Arc

Jeanne d'Arc also known as Joan of Arc was born in 1412. Joan was born in a small French town called Domremy. Joan headed the French army in the siege of Orleans. After her victory, she persuaded the king to have the French army co-commanded by Duke John II of Alencon. On the 16th of July, the Gates of Reims were opened and Charles VII was coronated. Joan loved the field of battle and when wounded in a battle, refused to give up. She was taken prisoner at a skirmish and was convicted of heresy and burned at the stake. She was only 19 when she died.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_d%27Arc

Clark Gable

Clark Gable was born William Clark Gable on February 1, 1901. He was an American Academy Award winning actor. He won his Academy Award for his performance in It Happened One Night. Clark also starred in the 1939 film, Gone with the Wind. Gable died November 16, 1960 as the result of a fourth heart attack.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gable

Mickey Rooney

Mickey Rooney was born Joseph Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920. He is a great American film actor who has many films to his name. Mickey started his performing career at the age of 17 months. Mickey has been in over 100 movies and is still acting to this day. He is currently in production of a movie entitled Horrorween. He most recently co-starred in the Shawn Levy production of Night at the Museum alongside Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, and Dick Van Dyke as well as many others.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rooney

Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper was born Frank James Cooper on May 7, 1901. He was an American film actor. He won two Academy Awards for his work in Sergeant York, and High Noon. After many love affairs with actresses he married Veronica Balfe who was a New York Roman Catholic. Gary Cooper died May 13, 1961, only 6 days after his 6th birthday.

The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music is a musical based on a book written by Maria Von Trapp. The book was made into a 1961 London Production, and a 1961 Australian Production. It was made into a 1990 New York City opera production as well. Recently it was made into a 2006 London revival starring Connie Fisher as Maria, and Alexander Hanson as Captain Von Trapp among many others. For a list of songs in the musical click here.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sound_Of_Music

Dick Van Dyke

Dick Van Dyke was born December 13, 1925. Of his many talents, he is best known for his work in Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Diagnosis: Murder. Dick after staring as a comedian in Atlanta and New Orleans, signed with CBS to host a show called The CBS Cartoon Theater. He left CBS to act on Broadway and won a Tony Award for his work in the musical Bye Bye Birdie. After winning the Tony Award, Carl Reiner casted him as the role of Rob Petrie on the Dick Van Dyke show.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Van_Dyke

Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell was born Norman Percevel Rockwell on February 3, 1894. Norman was a 20th Century painter. His best-known works are Rosie the Riveter and the Four Freedom series. His most distinguished work was that of the covers of four decades worth of The Saturday evening Post He died of emphysema on November 8, 1978.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. It is the story of a distraught family where the wife, Maggie, escapes poverty and marries into a rich family. The husband is an aged football hero, who ignores his wife and his brother's attempts to gain the family fortune. However, the husband, Brick, has cancer and will not live to see another birthday. His doctors and family keep this information from him and his wife. The play was revived on stage in 1974, 1990, 2003 and a production at the Kennedy Center in 2004.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_on_a_Hot_Tin_Roof

A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire is a popular play written by Tennessee Williams in 1945. It was such a big hit it was later made into a film in 1951, and a ballet in 1952. In the play, the main character, Blanche DuBois, travels to her sisters house, and lives with her sister, because her plantation has been lost. The ballet in 1952 was featured at Her Majesty's Theatre in Montreal.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Streetcar_Named_Desire_%28play%29

Calamity Jane

Martha Jane Canary-Burke, also known as, Calamity Jane was born on May 1, 1855. Her mother died when she was only 11 and her father died a year later. When she was 16, she took over her parents position as head of the household, and moved her family first to Fort Bridger, in Wyoming and then to Piedmont, Wyoming. It is not clear where she got her nickname, Calamity Jane, but there are stories that may detail that factor. Calamity Jane was famous for lying. It is suspected that many of her reported campaigns may have been falsified. In 1903 Jane died from complications of pneumonia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamity_Jane

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926. She was one of the most popular screen actors of the 1950's. Marilyn started her career spraying fire retardant on airplane parts and inspecting parachutes during World War II. A local photographer spotted her potential to be a model and signed with The Blue Book modeling agency. Marilyn's first big movie was "Don't Bother to Knock" in 1952. Her first big-budget movie was "Niagara" in 1953. She also appeared in the first edition of Playboy Magazine. Monroe's death is said by some to be a conspiracy theory. She was found by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, and her death was ruled an overdose on sleeping pills. Some still question the time line of her death and when her housekeeper found her dead.
One of her most famous photo's is posted to the left.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn was born Katharine Houghton Hepburn on May 12, 1907. She was a 4 time Academy Award winner, a four time Oscar winner, and an Emmy award winner. She acted in films like "A Bill of Divorcement," "Morning Glory," and her amazing acting in "Little Women." Katharine died of natural causes at the age of 96 on June 29, 2003.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Hepburn

James Dean

James Dean was born James Byron Dean on February 8, 1931. He was an American actor. His acting followed very similar to Marlon Brando. He won 2 Academy Awards after he died, for his acting in "East of Eden," and "Giant." James Dean died in a car crash.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dean