Honorable Mention: April 4, 2012: Grumpy Cat. Real name Tardar Sauce, she lived in
the Phoenix suburbs with her master, Tabatha Bundesen. Her brother Bryan posted a picture of the cat online, and she became the subject of Internet
memes, known as “Grumpy Cat,” for her birth-defect-caused facial expression. She only lived to be 7 years old.
10. April 4, 1792: Thaddeus Stevens. The Congressman from Pennsylvania was one of the leading abolitionists before the American Civil War. During it, he was Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and helped to finance the Union effort. After it, he was one of the leaders of Reconstruction.
Somewhat Honorable Mention: April 4, 1945: Daniel Cohn-Bendit. Known as Dany le Rouge (Danny the Red) for both is hair and his politics, he was a leader of the student protests in Paris in 1968. He later served in the European Parliament with the Green Party, as a European federalist and an environmental activist. The "Somewhat" refers less to his leftism and more toward his private life.
Dishonorable Mention: April 4, 1884: Isoroku Yamamoto. The Admiral launched the attack on Pearl Harbor, then regretted it, saying, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant." Less than 2 years later, his fear was confirmed, as an American pilot shit his plane down.
9. April 4, 1802: Dorothea Dix. One of America's earliest advocates for the mentally ill, she was Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1906: John Cameron Swayze. He was NBC's 1st TV nightly news host, from 1948 to 1956, on The Camel News Caravan (sponsored by Camel cigarettes). He was parodied by Dickie Goodman on his "cut-in records": "This is John Cameron Cameron, downtown." But he may be better known for his commercials for Timex watches: "Timex: It takes a licking, and keeps on ticking." He was a distant cousin of acting brothers Patrick and Don Swayze.
8. April 4, 1938: A. Bartlett Giamatti. He rose from a professor of English literature at Yale University to the school's Presidency, during which he wrote "The Green Fields of the Mind," an essay about how baseball is designed to break your heart.
In 1986, this fan of the American League's Boston Red Sox was elected President of the National League, and then had to watch the NL's Mets come from behind to beat his beloved Sox in the World Series. Surely, he saw something classical in that. Maybe Biblical, maybe Greek, maybe Shakespearean.
In 1989, he was elected Commissioner of Baseball. He immediately had to begin the process of prosecuting Pete Rose for betting on baseball. Just 1 week after announcing a lifetime ban from the sport for Rose, he died of a heart attack. Who knows what he could have done: With even 5 more years, he could have prevented the devastating Strike of '94.
Actor Paul Giamatti is his son.
7. April 4, 1932: Anthony Perkins. In 1957, he was cast as Jimmy Piersall
in the film based on Piersall’s memoir of trying to play baseball through
mental illness, Fear Strikes Out. Unfortunately, this left Perkins typecast, as
the film he is best known for was named Psycho, and he played the title role.
He died in 1992.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1923: Gene Reynolds. He co-created the Western series Tales of Wells Fargo, and directed episodes of Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, My Three Sons, F Troop and Hogan's Heroes. He was an executive producer for Room 222, M*A*S*H and Lou Grant.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1944: Craig T. Nelson. He played the titular Hayden Fox on the sitcom Coach.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1950: Christine Lahti. She's won an Emmy Award for playing Kate Austin in Chicago Hope, and an Oscar for director of the Best Live Action Short Film for Lieberman in Love.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1952: Cherie Lunghi. She played Queen Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1956: David E. Kelley. Not on this list because he's been married to Michelle Pfeiffer for 29 years, but because he's created hit shows for the 4 biggest U.S. TV networks. He created the medical shows Doogie Howser, M.D. and Chicago Hope, the legal drama Picket Fences, and the school drama Boston Public. But he's best known for his Boston-based legal dramas: The Practice, Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1960: Hugo Weaving. He seems to specialize in roles in which he's disguised or disfigured: Drag queen Mitzi Del Bra in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; the sunglasses-wearing Agent Smith in the Matrix films; the half-Elven, therefore pointed-eared, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings movies; the voice of the villainous Megatron in the Transformers films; the Nazi leader Red Skull in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; and, most distinctively, the titular anti-hero in V for Vendetta.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1965: Robert Downey Jr. Drugs nearly destroyed him. Sobriety and playing Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saved him. He also played a version of Sherlock Holmes, as did Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Dr. Stephen Strange in the MCU. I kept waiting for one of them to say to the other -- or perhaps someone else to say to both of them at the same time -- "No shit, Sherlock!"
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1966: Nancy McKeon. She played Jo Polniaczek on The Facts of Life.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1970: Barry Pepper. He played Roger Maris in Billy Crystal's tribute to the 1961 Yankees, 61*.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1979: Heath Ledger. The people who call him the definitive Joker don't wish they knew how to quit him.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1979: Natasha Lyonne. After playing Jessica in the American Pie films, she co-created the Netflix series Russian Doll, which she also writes, produces and directs, and in which she stars as Nadia Vulvokov.
6. April 4, 1922: Elmer Bernstein. He composed the music for The Man with the
Golden Arm, The Ten Commandments, Sweet Smell of Success, The Magnificent
Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Escape, Hud, Thoroughly Modern
Millie (winning an Oscar) and True Grit. He died in 2004.
He was a friend, but not a relative, of Leonard
Bernstein. Because Leonard mainly worked in New York, he was nicknamed "Bernstein
East"; and because Elmer worked mainly in Hollywood, he was "Bernstein West."
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1913: Frances Langford. "The G.I. Nightingale" was the leading female troops-entertainer of World War II.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1939: Hugh Masekela. The trumpeter helped popularize jazz all around the world, and was a major activist against apartheid in his native South Africa.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1940: Sharon Sheeley. Just 18 years old, but the same age as Ricky Nelson, she wrote his Number 1 hit "Poor Little Fool." She became Eddie Cochran's girlfriend, and toured with him and Gene Vincent in Britain, and was in the car crash that badly injured her and Gene, and killed Eddie.
Upon recovery, she wrote Brenda Lee's "Dum Dum" and Irma Thomas' "Breakaway." (Not the later Kelly Clarkson song.) She married Los Angeles disc jockey Jimmy O'Neill, and they created the ABC music show Shindig! The marriage ended when the show did.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1948: Berry Oakley. The bass guitarist for The Allman Brothers Band, he was killed in a motorcycle accident, at almost the exact same spot that lead guitarist Duane Allman was a year earlier, although not, as is often believed, on the same motorcycle.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1972: Jill Scott. She calls her singing style "neo-soul," and is also a renowned actress.
5. April 4, 1932: Clive Davis. From 1967 to 1973, as President of Columbia Records, he signed Tony Orlando, Donovan, Sly & the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Laura Nyro, Blood Sweat & Tears, Santana, Pink Floyd, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. That, alone, would be enough to get him an Honorable Mention.
In 1974, he founded Arista Records, which led to Aerosmith, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Ace of Base and Alicia Keys. The man is a giant. Not a saint, but a giant.
4. April 4, 1888: Tris Speaker. "The Grey Eagle" won the World Series playing for the Boston Red Sox in 1912 and 1915, and as player-manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1920. He had a lifetime batting average of .345, 3,514 hits including an all-time record of 792 doubles, and 436 stolen bases, and was regarded as the best defensive outfielder ever until Joe DiMaggio came along. In 1937, he was part of the 2nd set of electees to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1924: Gil Hodges. He won the 1st 3 National League Gold Gloves at 1st base, and while his 370 career home runs don't look like a Hall of Fame total now, it was 10th all-time when he retired. He played in 8 All-Star Games and 7 World Series, winning with the Dodgers in Brooklyn in 1955 and Los Angeles in 1959.
Unlike most of the Dodgers, he kept his residence in Brooklyn after the move, and was an original New York Met in 1962. In 1969, he managed the Mets to their "Miracle" World Championship. He died of a heart attack at the end of Spring Training, just before his 48th birthday. After decades of advocacy by his fans, he has finally been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1942: Jim Fregosi. A 6-time All-Star, he was one of the top shortstops of the 1960s. But an injury derailed his career, and the California Angels traded him to the New York Mets for Nolan Ryan after the 1971 season. Ryan replaced Fregosi as the greatest player in Angels history.
In 1979, Fregosi managed the Angels to the 1979 American League Western Division title, their 1st Playoff berth. In 1993, he managed the Philadelphia Phillies to the National League Pennant.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1951: John Hannah. Shortly before the start of the 1981 NFL season, Sports Illustrated put him on their cover, calling him "THE BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF ALL TIME." Remembering "The Dreaded SI Cover Jinx," he said, "Lord help me, this is going to be a long year." He was right: The New England Patriots went 2-14.
But the former star guard from the University of Alabama made 9 Pro Bowls, and closed his career by helping the Patriots win their 1st AFC Championship, in the 1985 season. He was named to the NFL's 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, and was the 1st player inducted into the Patriots' team Hall of Fame. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him 20th on their list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. In 2010, the NFL Network ranked him 24th on their list of the 100 Greatest Players. In each case, he was the highest-ranking guard.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1952: Pat Burns. He coached the Montreal Canadiens into the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, and won the Cup with the 2003 New Jersey Devils.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1953: Dale Hawerchuk. A center, he scored 518 goals and had 891 assists. He made 5 NHL All-Star Games, and helped Canada win the Canada Cup (hockey's version of the World Cup) in 1987 and 1991. After years of starring with the Winnipeg Jets and the Buffalo Sabres, he finally reached the Stanley Cup Finals in his final season, 1997, with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Honorable Mention: April 4, 1975: Scott Rolen. A 7-time All-Star and an 8-time Gold Glove, the 3rd baseman was the NL Rookie of the Year with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997. But he never really fit in there, and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he helped them reach the World Series in 2004 and win it in 2006. He also reached the postseason with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 and 2012.
He hit 316 home runs, and people who believe defense should be taken more seriously than it is have suggested that he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (He is eligible.)
3. April 4, 1896: Robert E. Sherwood. A giant of American letters, and not just because he was 6-foot-8. He was a member of the Algonquin Round Table, but, pardon the choice of words far outgrew them. He wrote about what he called "the futility of war" in plays-turned-movies like The Road to Rome, Idiot's Delight and There Shall Be No Night.
He then served as a speechwriter for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, giving him the phrase "arsenal of democracy." He won Pulitzer Prizes for both Drama and Biography (of FDR). And he won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, for the film he wrote about returning veterans of World War II, The Best Years of Our Lives.
2. April 4, 1913: Muddy Waters. Maybe the most influential bluesman of them all, The M... I say A, child... N born McKinley Morganfield was a huge influence on rock and roll, especially with middle-class British rockers who "culturally appropriated" the poor rural Southern blacks like him and Howlin' Wolf.
1. April 4, 1928: Maya Angelou. She did a little bit of everything, from cooking to sex work to nightclub performing. But she is best known for her novels and her poetry, including reading "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Bill Clinton's 1993 Inauguration.
Still alive as of this writing: Nelson, Lahti, Lunghi, Kelley, Weaving, Downey, McKeon, Pepper, Lyonne, Scott, Davis, Hannah, Rolen.
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