"Rebecca" "Pinocchio" each win two Academy Awards 1941

Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca was nominated for eleven Academy Awards but took home only two at the annual celebration held February 27, 1941.  Rebecca won Best Picture, the award going to producer David O. Selznick.  It also won Best Cinematography (Black and White) for George Barnes.  It was the only Alfred Hitchcock movie to win Best Picture.  

Hitchcock was nominated for Best Directing. Laurence Olivier was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Maximilian de Winter.  Joan Fontaine was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal as Mrs.de Winter. Dame Judith Anderson was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as Mrs. Danvers.  She should have won.

Rebecca was nominated for Best Writing (Screenplay), Best Art Direction (Black-and-White), Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, and Best Music (Original Score).

Walt Disney's Pinocchio was nominated for two Academy Awards and won both: Best Music (Original Score) for Leigh Harline, Paul Smith, and Ned Washington; and Best Music (Song) for When You Wish Upon a Star, music by Leigh Harline, and lyrics Ned Washington.

Graham Chapman, Monty Python creator, born 1941

Graham Chapman, born January 8, 1941 in Leicester, England, is  a co-creator of the iconic Monty Python's Flying Circus, which he formed in1969 with John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam.  After the series ended, Chapman and the troop continued with making Monty Python movies.  

Chapman was openly gay and lived with his partner David Sherlock for 24 years, raising a son together.

Chapman passed away in October 1989 from complications from a stroke, after years of health problems.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Richie Valens, Chicano rock and roll pioneer

Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenquela May 13, 1941 in Los Angeles, California, was a pioneer in rock and roll and a forefather of Chicano rock.  He scored several hits over his short career including La Bamba, which he adapted from a Mexican folk song.  He died February 3, 1959, in a plane crash when he was just 17 years old.  It was the same crash that killed Buddy Holly, J. P. Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson.  

He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Duke Ellington records "Take the 'A' Train" 1941

Take the 'A' Train written by Billy Strayhorn in 1939 became the signature tune for Duke Ellington and his orchestra.  Strayhorn wrote lyrics, but the Delta Rhythm Boys composed the first lyrics to be recorded. Joya Sherrill wrote the lyrics that would be used to Ellington. 

The most famous recording of it by Ellington and his orchestra took place on February 15, 1941.  Ellington performed it in the 1943 movie Reveille with Beverly with Betty Roche singing.  

National Public Radio included Take the 'A' Train in the NPR 100, a list of the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century.

Dark Shadows actor Joel Crothers born 1941

Joel Crothers, born January 28, 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio with handsome, boy-next-door features, is probably best-known for his performances on Dark Shadows.  He played Joe Haskell and Nathan Forbes, appearing in 166 episodes. 

He went on to appear in another daytime drama, The Edge of Night until 1984.

Crothers passed away in November 1985 from AIDS-related lymphoma.

"Dumbo" released 1941

Walt Disney Studios released its fourth animated feature, Dumbo, across America October 31, 1941.  It became a major hit with audiences, and gave the studio its first success after the failures of Pinocchio and Fantasia.  It has come under fire for its racist stereotyping of African-Americans in recent years.

Despite that, Dumbo won an Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture.  The song Baby Mine was nominated for Best Original Song.  It also won Best Animation Design at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, Dumbo was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

"Alien" wins Academy Award for Best Visual Effects 1980

Alien, one of the best movies of all time, won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 52nd annual ceremony, April 14, 1980.  Awards were given to H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling.  Alien was also nominated for Best Art Direction.  Yes, that's Farrah Fawett posing with the winners.

For Best Visual Effects, it beat 1941 (an all-time favorite of mine), The Black Hole and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Frederick (Rick) Hauck!

Frederick "Rick" Hauck, born April 11, 1941 in Long Beach, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first flight was aboard Challenger (STS-7) as pilot in June 1983.  The mission carried Sally Ride, first American female astronaut, into space.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-A) as commander in November 1984.  Hauck was the first commander of a space shuttle mission not from the Apollo era.

His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-26) as commander in September-October 1988.  It was the Return to Flight mission, being the first flight after the Challenger disaster in January 1986.

Graham Chapman, Monty Python actor, born 1941

Graham Chapman, born January 8, 1941 in Leicetershire, England, was a member of the Monty Python comedy group.  He studied medicine at Cambridge University but began writing with John Cleese.  They began to write professionally for the BBC.  

In 1969, they joined Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam to form Monty Python's Flying Circus.  

Chapman was openly gay and met his long-term partner David Sherlock in 1966.  He appeared as the lead in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Yellowbeard. 

He passed away in October 1989 of cancer.

Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" reaches #1 1941

Glenn Miller and his orchestra's recording of Chattanooga Choo Choo reached #1 December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy, and remained there for 9 weeks.  It was the first song to receive a gold record for sales of 1.2 million copies.  

It was featured in the movie Sun Valley Serenade.  It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.  In 1996, Miller's recording of Chattanooga Choo Choo was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: William Fraker, 6-time Academy Award nominee

William Fraker, born September 29, 1923 in Los Angeles, California, is a six-time nominee for an Academy Award. His mother was a native Mexican who fled the revolution.  His parents died when he was a child and raised by his Mexican grandmother.  He served in the Coast Guard during WWII.

He was nominated for Best Cinematography for Murphy's Romance, WarGames, 1941 (for which he was also nominated for Best Visual Effects), Heaven Can Wait and Looking for Mr. Goodbar.  

He passed away in May 2010 from cancer.

Bruce Hyde, Star Trek actor Lt. Riley, born 1941

Bruce Hyde, born September 14, 1941 in Dallas, Texas, is well-known for his role as Lt. Kevin Riley on Star Trek: The Original Series.  He only appeared in two episodes, The Naked Now and The Conscience of the King.  He is one of the few actors, besides the regulars, to have a recurring role.  

He passed away in October 2015 from throat cancer.

Leonid Kizim, cosmonaut, born 1941

Leonid Kizim, born August 5, 1941 in present-day Ukraine, was a veteran of three space flights.

His first flight was aboard Soyuz T-3 to the Salyut 6 space station in November 1980.  He stayed in space for almost 13 days before returning to Earth.

His second flight was on Soyuz T-10 to the Salyut 7 space station in February 1984.  He and his fellow cosmonauts had to enter Salyut 7 with flashlights until they could reactivate the station.  He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz T-11 in October 1984

His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz T-15 to Salyut 7 and Mir space stations in March 1986.  It was the first time a spacecraft visited two space stations in the same mission.  He returned to Earth in July 1986.

He spent more than 374 days in space.

He passed away in June 2010.

Happy birthday, German astronaut Ulf Merbold!

Dr. Ulf Merbold, born June 20, 1941 in Germany, is a retired European Space Agency astronaut and went into space three times. 

His first mission was aboard Columbia (STS-9) as payload specialist in November-December 1983.  He is the first non-US citizen to reach orbit in a US spacecraft.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as payload specialist in January 1992.  The main goal of the mission was to study microgravity on different organisms.

His third and final mission was aboard Soyuz TM-20 as research cosmonaut to the space station Mir in October 1994.  He participated in a month-long expedition Euromir 94.  He returned to Earth in November 1994 on Soyuz TM-19.

"Alien" wins Academy Award 1980

Ridley Scott's horror classic Alien won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 52nd Academy Awards April 14, 1980.  It was up against more of my favorite movies, 1941, Star Trek - The Motion Picture, and The Black Hole.

Alien was also nominated for Best Art Direction.

1941 was nominated for three Oscars including Best Cinematography and Best Sound.

The Black Hole was also nominated for Best Sound.

Star Trek - The Motion Picture was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction.

Unfortunately, Alien's Best Visual Effects Oscar was the only one for this group.

Happy birthday, Polish cosmonaut Miroslaw Hermaszewski!

Miroslaw Hermaszewski, born September 15, 1941 in Poland (now Ukraine), is the only Polish citizen to go to space.  He traveled aboard Soyuz 30 to the space station Salyut 6 with fellow cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk as part of expedition EP-3 in June 1978.

He returned to Earth almost 8 days later.

Cosmonaut Yury Malyshev born 1941

Yury Malyshev, born August 27, 1941 in the former Soviet Union, went into space twice.  His first mission was aboard Soyuz T-2 as commander in June 1980 to Salyut 6.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz T-11 as commander in April 1984 to Salyut 7. He returned to Earth on Soyuz T-10 about a week later.

Malyshev passed away in November 1999.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Frederick Gregory!

Frederick Gregory, born January 7, 1941 in Washington, DC, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights and is the first African-American to pilot a space shuttle.  He was in NASA's astronaut selection class with Ronald McNair and Guy Bluford. 

His first flight was aboard Challenger (STS-51-B) as pilot April-May 1985.  It was the second flight for the European Space Agency's Spacelab. 

His second flight was on Discovery (STS-33) as commander in November 1989.  The mission was for the Department of Defense so we know very little of what the objectives were.

Gregory's third and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-44) as commander November-December 1991, which was also a DoD flight.

Vladimir Lyakhov, cosmonaut, born 1941

Vladimir Lyakhov, born July 20, 1941 in the former Soviet Union, spent almost a year in space on three different missions.

His first  mission was as commander on Soyuz 32 to Salyut 6, launched February 25, 1979.  He returned to Earth June 13.

His second mission was as commander on Soyuz T-9 to Salyut 7, launched June 27, 1983.  He returned  to Earth November 23.

His third and final mission was commander of Soyuz TM-6 to the space station Mir, launched August 29,  1988.  He commanded Mir EP-3, a week long (short term) mission after which he returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-5. 

He passed away April 19, 2018.

Anatoli Levchenko, Soyuz cosmonaut, born 1941

Anatoli Levchenko, born May 5, 1941, was a Russian cosmonaut who made one trip into space.  He had been selected and trained as backup commander for the first Buran space flight before the program was cancelled.

He flew to the space station Mir aboard Soyuz TM-4 in December 21, 1987 and returned a week later aboard Soyuz TM-3, December 29.

Levchenko passed away in August 1988 from brain tumor.