Top 10 January 20 Birthdays

Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 20, 1956: Bill Maher. Although his criticisms of conservatives have been humiliating, his criticisms of liberals have actually been damaging. More than anything else, he now seems like a libertarian: He just wants to smoke pot in peace, hit on whatever women who are willing to get close to him, and tell jokes mocking all religions.

He's one of these atheists who treats his refusal of religion as if it is, itself, a religion: He wants you to know that his way is the only way. The kind of person who made Larry King say, "I'm not an atheist, because that's a religion."

Dishonorable Mention: January 20, 1953: Jeffrey Epstein. He was a superstar in finance before he was first arrested as a sex offender. We may never know what he knew. But he knew that Donald Trump was his kind of guy.

Dishonorable Mention: January 20, 1967: Kellyanne Conway. Under her maiden name of Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, she was part of the "Blonde Squad" of young female Republican lawyers who rose to fame denouncing the "crimes" of President Bill Clinton, figuring that, if she got on TV often enough, all the men would be too attracted to her to accept that she couldn't prove any of her allegations. Later, she became Trump's White House Press Secretary.

Dishonorable Mention: January 20, 1972: Nikki Haley. Born to Indian immigrants, she proved that, in South Carolina Republican circles, if you are right enough, you are "white" enough. She was halfway through her 2nd term as Governor when Trump named her U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She has gone back and forth from criticizing Trump to being a hardcore loyalist. Like any other Republican, always bet on her doing what she thinks will most help herself.

10. January 20, 1989: Nick Foles. Only 3 human beings who have ever lived have quarterbacked the Philadelphia Eagles to an NFL Championship. Two of them are dead: Tommy Thompson (1948 and 1949) and Norm Van Brocklin (1960). Nick Foles is the other (2017-18).

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1874: Steve Bloomer. A star forward in English soccer at the turn of the 20th Century, a statue of him overlooks the field at his former club, Derby County, in line with their theme song: "Steve Bloomer's Watching."

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1937: Bailey Howell. The 1st star for the Detroit Pistons after their move from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he was a 6-time All-Star, and an NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics in 1968 and 1969. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1938: Derek Dougan. The forward from Northern Ireland starred for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1960s and '70s. "Doog" also played in America, helping the Kansas City Spurs win the 1969 North American Soccer League title.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1940: Carol Heiss. At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, she won the Silver Medal in ladies' figure skating, behind fellow American Tenley Albright. In 1960, at the Games held in what was then named Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe), California, she won the Gold Medal.

She married Hayes Jenkins, who won the gentlemen's figure skating Gold in 1956. They are still together. His brother, David Jenkins, won the Gold in 1960.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1964: Ron Harper. The guard made a name for himself playing for the hard-luck Cleveland Cavaliers, then helped the Chicago Bulls win the 1996, 1997 and 1998 NBA Championships. His son, Ron Harper Jr., now plays for Rutgers.

Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 20, 1964: Ozzie Guillén. He was a slick-fielding shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, and seemed to be mentally stable. Later, he was named their manager, and seemed less stable. But he did manage them to win the 2005 World Series, making himself the 1st Hispanic manager to win it.

9. January 20, 1956: John Naber. The American swimmer won 4 Gold Medals at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, proving that Mark Spitz's 7-Gold haul from 1972 wasn't as tough an act to follow as fans thought.

8. January 20, 1926: Patricia Neal. She won a Tony Award the 1st time they were given out, in 1947, for Another Part of the Forest. The was the female lead in The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Face in the Crowd and Hud, winning an Oscar for the last of these. After suffering a stroke while pregnant in 1965, she recovered to deliver a healthy daughter (her husband at the time was author Roald Dahl), return to acting, and be nominated for an Oscar for The Subject Was Roses.

She was actually born Patsy Neal. Another actress named Patricia Neal was nicknamed Patsy, but because the name was already taken, she became Fannie Flagg.

7. January 20, 1888: Huddie Ledbetter. Known as "Lead Belly" (he always wrote it as 2 words), he was one of the top blues singers of the early 20th Century.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1922: Ray Anthony. The trumpeter is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, having played on such Big Band classics as "In the Mood" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

In the 1950s, leading his own orchestra, he recorded the biggest hit version (so far) of "At Last," the definitive versions of "The Bunny Hop" and "The Hokey Pokey," and the theme songs for the TV shows Dragnet and Peter Gunn. On January 20, 2022, he celebrated his 100th birthday.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1923: Ottis "Slim" Whitman. A big country singer of the late 1940s through the mid-1950s. Colonel Tom Parker managed him before he managed Elvis Presley.

Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 20, 1952: Paul Stanley. The lead guitarist and "Starman" of KISS, a band I could never stand even when they were at their peak, yet my teenage nieces like them. He sang lead on their hits "Detroit Rock City," "Love Gun" and "I Was Made for Lovin' You."

6. January 20, 1920: Federico Fellini. His films La Strada, La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 marked him as one of the masters of Italian cinema.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1900: Colin Clive. He's only known for one role, but it's a big one: Dr. Henry Frankenstein in Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). (In nearly every other version of the story, including Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein, the doctor's name is Victor.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1929: Arte Johnson. Part of the ensemble of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In for its entire 1968-73 run, he was always "Verrrry intereshting," but never "Shtupid."

Somewhat Honorable Mention: January 20, 1946: David Lynch. Not my kind of director, but he's directed Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, the 1984 version of Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, Mulholland Drive, and the TV series Twin Peaks, which he also created.

Honorable Mention: January 20, 1958: Lorenzo Lamas. He followed his parents Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl, starring in the TV series Falcon Crest and Renegade.

5. January 20, 1920: DeForest Kelley. He wasn't a doctor, but he played one on TV. Before that, he was best known for appearing in Westerns, to the point that, counting a forced simulation on the Star Trek episode "Spectre of the Gun," he re-enacted the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral 3 times, once as an Earp, and twice as a member of the Clanton gang.

4. January 20, 1934: Tom Baker. He starred on Doctor Who longer than anyone so far, appearing as the Fourth Doctor from 1974 to 1981.

3. January 20, 1896: George Burns. Starred in vaudeville and films, on radio and TV in a comedy act with his wife, Gracie Allen. After her death, he carried on, eventually becoming what Betty White eventually became: The celebrity best known for being old: "I never tell a joke that's older than I am. There aren't any." Unlike Betty, he did make it to his 100th birthday, barely. Unlike Betty, he was in ill health for a while before that.

2. January 20, 1930: Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. The native of Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey was the 2nd man to walk on the Moon.

1. January 20, 1732: Richard Henry Lee. From one of Virginia's most distinguished allies, this Lee was more loyal to America than was Robert E. A member of the Continental Congress, his Lee Resolution calling for independence from Britain was presented on June 7, and officially voted on on July 2. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration was approved on July 4. Richard Henry signed the Declaration, and later served as President of the Continental Congress and a U.S. Senator.

Still alive as of this writing: Maher, Conway, Haley, Foles, Howell, Heiss, Harper, Guillén, Naber, Anthony, Stanley, Lynch, Lamas, Baker, Aldrin.