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Episode 56, 5-6-2021

A bunch of goofiness from yours truly. Some day of history and birthdays plus a general feeling after my 2nd shot.

1851 - Dr. John Gorrie of Apalachicola FL, patented the mechanical refrigerator.

1915 - Babe Ruth hit his first major-league home run. He was playing for the Boston Red Sox at the time. ‘The Sultan of Swat’ went on to smash 714 round-trippers before he retired, as a New York Yankee, in 1935.

1937 – A student of history, a broadcaster or anyone interested in news coverage, will remember this day and the words of NBC radio‘s Herbert Morrison. “Oh, the humanity!” Morrison‘s emotion-filled historic broadcast of the explosion of the dirigible, Hindenburg at Lakehurst, NJ, became the first recorded coast-to-coast broadcast as it was carried on both the NBC Red and NBC Blue networks from New York City.

1941 - Joseph Stalin became the premier of Russia And how did he become premier? He just grabbed the title for himself.

1946 – The New York Yankees announced that they were to be the first major-league baseball team to travel by airplane during the entire 1946 season.

1950 – Liz Taylor was married for the first time — to Conrad Hilton Jr. The marriage (the first of eight for Taylor) would last until Jan 29, 1951.

1952 – Italian physician and educationist Maria Montessori died. She was 81 years old. Montessori put into practice her theory that children have a natural ‘tendency towards elevation,’ and she created an environment for self-education and self-realization — with great success. She became internationally famous and schools all over the world use the ‘Montessori Method’.

1982 - Gaylord Perry of the Seattle Mariners became the 15th pitcher in the major leagues to win 300 career victories. Perry, known for his spitball as well as a variety of other pitches, led the Mariners past the New York Yankees 7-3.

1992 – Actress Marlene Dietrich died in Paris at age 90. Born Maria Magdalene Dietrich (on December 27, 1901, in in Shoeneburg, Germany), Dietrich became popular in her native country as a cabaret singer and then a film star. She was known as the toast of Berlin, but her 1929 film The Blue Angel was a scandalous international success, and she moved to Hollywood soon after. Her interpretation of the melancholy song Lili Marlene is one of the most remembered songs of World War II. Dietrich not only sang for the U.S. Army, but recorded songs containing coded messages for American spy teams.

1758 – Maximilian Robespierre
French revolutionary; executed [guillotine] July 28, 1794

1856 – Sigmund Freud
psychiatrist, originated psychoanalysis; died Sep 23, 1939

1895 - Rudolph Valentino (Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina)
actor; died Aug 23, 1926; see Valentino Day [above]

1907 – (Wilbur Charles) Weeb Ewbank
Pro Football Hall of Famer: head coach: Baltimore Colts [2-time world champions: 1958-1959], NY Jets [Super Bowl III]; coached 130 career wins; died Nov 17, 1998

1915 – (George) Orson Welles
actorWar of the WorldsCitizen KaneThe Mercury Radio Theatre of the AirThe Long Hot SummerA Man for All SeasonsMacBethMoby DickCasino RoyaleCatch-22died Oct 10, 1985

1920 – Marguerite Piazza (Luft)
soprano: regular on TV‘s Your Show of Shows; died Aug 2, 2012

1931 – Willie Mays
Baseball Hall of Famer: ‘The Say Hey Kid’: NY Giants [World Series: 1951, 1954/all-star: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957], SF Giants [World Series: 1962/all-star: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971], NY Mets [World Series: 1973/all-star: 1972, 1973]

1937 – Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter
boxer: welterweight/middleweight fighter [1961-1966]; convicted [1967, 1976] for the murder of three people at the Lafayette Grill in June 1966; released from prison in 1985 after a judge ruled that he had been wrongly convicted; autobiography: The 16th Round; subject of film: The Hurricane [1999]; died Apr 20, 2014

1945 – Bob Seger
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer: musician, singer: Night MovesTravelin‘ ManRamblin‘ Gamblin‘ ManAgainst the WindFire Lakemore

1954 – Kathleen Kennedy
film producerEmma‘s WarJurassic Park series, War of the Worlds [2005], MunichSeabiscuitSignsSnow Falling on CedarsThe Sixth Sense

1961 – George (Timothy) Clooney
Academy Award-winning actor: Syriana [2005]; The Facts of LifeReturn of the Killer Tomatoes!RoseanneSunset BeatRed SurfSistersBaby TalkBodies of EvidenceERFrom Dusk Till DawnBatman & RobinThe PeacemakerThe Thin Red LineO Brother, Where Art Thou?The Perfect StormSolarisOcean‘s ElevenOcean‘s TwelveGood Night, and Good Luck; son of broadcast journalist Nick Clooney; nephew of singer Rosemary Clooney

1972 - Martin Brodeur
hockey [goalie]: New Jersey Devils

1982 – Jason Witten
football [tight end]: Univ of Tennessee: NFL: Dallas Cowboys [2003-2017, 2019]; Las Vegas Raiders [2020]; records: 18 receptions in a game by a tight end, 110 receptions in a single season by a tight end; third all time in career receptions by a tight end

1983 – Adrianne Palicki
actressThe OrvilleFriday Night LightsLegionRed DawnG.I. Joe: RetaliationRobot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III

1983 – Gabourey Sidibe
actressPrecious: Based on the Novel Push by SapphireYelling to the SkyThe Big CSaturday Night LiveAmerican Horror StoryEmpire

1990 – José Altuve
baseball [2nd base]: Houston Astros [2011– ]: 2017 World Series champs

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