Top 10 Birthdays

10. March 31, 1927: William Daniels.  When the creators of Get Smart wanted to do a superhero spoof, they cast Daniels as Carter Nash in  Captain Nice . It didn't work, partly because, at 40, he was already too old for the role. What did work was Daniels playing Mr. Braddock, Ben's father, in  The Graduate ; John Adams in the film version of the musical  1776  and  The Rebels , and John Quincy Adams in  The Adams Chronicles . He also played Dr. Mark Craig on  St. Elsewhere , and teacher George Feeny on  Boy Meets World . But his best-known role may be one where we never saw his face, only heard his voice: The supercar KITT on  Knight Rider . Honorable Mention: March 31, 1922: Richard Kiley. In 1965, he debuted the role of Don Quixote in the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha , and became the 1st  person to record "The Impossible Dream," one of the greatest pop-but-not-rock songs of the 1960s. Honorable Mention: March 31, 1934: Richa...

van Gogh painted several self-portraits. This is the only photograph I could find of him. 10. March 30, 1811: Robert Bunsen. The German chemist discovered the elements cesium and rubidium, and invented the Bunsen burner. 9. March 30, 1880:  Seán O'Casey . Ireland's struggle for independence inspired him to write about the man on the street in his native Dublin, and he became the Republic of Ireland's greatest playwright. He should not be confused with Cincinnati Reds star Sean Casey. 8. March 30, 1937: Warren Beatty. The jokes about his overactive love-life seemed to end with meeting Annette Bening on the set of Bugsy  (which he also produced). Before that, not only did he lead Cher to say, "Warren has probably been with everybody I know," but he'd starred in, among others, Splendor in the Grass, Bonnie and Clyde (also producing it), McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Shampoo (also co-writing it), Heaven Can Wait (also writing, producing and directing it), and Re...

Dishonorable Mention: March 29, 1790: John Tyler. Ordinarily, if a birthday is held by only one President of the United States, that President would be Number 1 on the list. But Tyler was not like other Presidents. He served Virginia in both houses of Congress, and as Governor in between. In 1840, despite having been a member of the Democratic Party, he was nominated for Vice President by the Whig Party, along with William Henry Harrison, known as "Old Tippecanoe" for his victory at that Indiana battle. It was the 1st of many rhyming slogans in American Presidential campaigns: "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." They won, but when Harrison died on April 4, 1841, Tyler became the 1st Vice President to become President, the 10th President of the United States. Having already upset the Democrats, he told the Cabinet that he, not they -- especially Secretary of State Daniel Webster, a longtime Senator who never tried to run for President -- would be running the country. This ...

Honorable Mention: March 28, 1897: Sepp Herberger.   He coached West Germany to win the 1954 World Cup. Honorable Mention: March 28, 1899: Buck Shaw.  A tackle on Knute Rockne's 1st National Championship team at Notre Dame, 1919, he became a successful coach at both the college and the pro level. He led Santa Clara University to win the 1937 and 1938 Sugar Bowls, and their stadium is now named for them. In 1946, he became the 1st head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and led them to the 1949 All-America Football Conference Championship Game, but lost. In 1960, he coached the Philadelphia Eagles to the NFL Championship, their last for 57 years. Honorable Mention: March 28, 1919: Vic Raschi.  From West Springfield, Massachusetts, the pitcher became known as the Springfield Rifle. He went 132-66, mostly for the New York Yankees, making 4 All-Star Games, pitching a complete game to win the 1949 American League Pennant clincher, leading the AL in strikeouts in 1951, and helpi...

10. March 10, 1886: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.  A leader in "modern" architecture, most praised for Midtown Manhattan's Seagram Building. 9. March 27, 1863: Henry Royce.  With Charles Rolls, he founded car company Rolls-Royce, and built it into a watchword for automotive luxury. 8. March 27, 1914: Budd Schulberg.  He wrote the novels  What Makes Sammy Run?  and  The Harder They Fall ; and the screenplays for  A Star Is Born, On the Waterfront , and  A Face in the Crowd . He later became the chief boxing correspondent for  Sports Illustrated  magazine, and was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his writing. 7. March 27, 1917: Cyrus Vance.  One of the negotiators attempting to bring a peace accord to the Vietnam War in 1968, President Jimmy Carter appointed him U.S. Secretary of State in 1977. But after Carter refused to listen to his recommendations against bringing the Shah of Iran to America and later the ill-fated...

10. March 26, 1948: Steven Tyler.  The lead singer of Aerosmith, the closest thing America has to a Rolling Stones. Honorable Mention: March 26, 1917: Rufus Thomas.  Not the first disc jockey to play rock and roll records and say, "I can do this as well as they can," But he was one of the most successful. His best-known song is the 1963 dance tune "Walking the Dog." His daughter Carla Thomas was one of the first female singers to go from rhythm & blues to soul. Honorable Mention: March 26, 1950: Teddy Pendergrass.  One of the smoothest soul singers of all time. Honorable Mention: March 26, 1968: Kenny Chesney.  One of the few country singers who can sell out stadiums. 9. March 26, 1960: Marcus Allen.   A Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Southern California, he made 6 Pro Bowls, won a Rookie of the Year and an MVP, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XVIII with the Los Angeles Raiders. With the Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs, he rushed for 12,243 yard...