On this date in 1899, Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone—part of Essex at the time of his birth, now part of London. The youngest of three children of greengrocer William Hitchco ...
Happy Birthday, Elliott Lewis!(Post)“Elliott Lewis was the greatest actor of them all,” declared veteran radio scribe E. Jack Neuman in an interview with Leonard Maltin. “He could break your heart with a word; his timing was impecca ...
Happy Birthday, Jeanette Nolan!(Post)Actress Jeanette Nolan—born in Los Angeles on this date in 1911—met future husband John McIntire while working on a West Coast radio program in the 1930s. John was the announcer for a show on whi ...
Happy Birthday, Vincent Price!(Post)If actor Vincent Price—born Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. on this date in St. Louis, Missouri in 1911—had decided to ignore the call of the footlights and pursue honest work, it’s safe to say his fut ...
Happy Birthday, Mae West!(Post)It’s a textbook example of how a mediocre movie can be redeemed by the appearance of a personality whose mere presence dominates the motion picture screen. In an otherwise dreary 1932 film entitl ...
Happy Birthday, Alice Frost!(Post)At the turn of the twentieth century, a career as an actor or actress was frowned upon in “proper” society.” Aspirations to trod amongst the footlights were held in low regard, particularly among ...
Happy Birthday, Ted de Corsia!(Post)If you’ve seen this popular character actor’s mug in any movie on Turner Classic Movies I guarantee you it’s a most familiar one. He’s the sneering, Brylcreemed thug from a countless number of fil ...
Happy Birthday, Paul McGrath!(Post)On May 29, 1945, radio’s popular Inner Sanctum Mysteries welcomed inside “the creaking door” a new host to replace the departing Raymond Edward Johnson. The new master of ceremonies who welcomed ...
Happy Birthday, Lou Krugman!(Post)It seems odd that an actor who claimed to have emoted on over 10,000 radio broadcasts and provided voiceovers for 700 commercials doesn’t even rate an entry at Wikipedia…it’s a crime against the a ...
Happy Birthday, Lurene Tuttle!(Post)“The First Lady of Radio.” That’s the fitting appellation given to actress Lurene Tuttle, born Lurene Susie Tuttle in Pleasant Lake, Indiana on this date in 1907. Lurene was, without question, a ...
Happy Birthday, Joan Crawford!(Post)“Joan Crawford has passed into myth as a demented martinet whose greatest need or belief concerned padded clothes hangers,” observes author-historian David Thomson in his book The New Biographical ...
Happy Birthday, William Spier!(Post)The man who brought listeners “radio’s outstanding theatre of thrills” (Suspense!) and “the greatest private detective of them all” (The Adventures of Sam Spade) was born in New York City on this ...