"Stormy Weather" released 1943

Stormy Weather, the comedy musical featuring Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, the Nicholas Brothers, Fats Waller, and Bill Robinson, was released into theaters July 21, 1943.  Lean Horne's iconic performance of the title song is performed about an hour into the film.  Fats Waller performs Ain't Misbehavin'. Cab Calloway and his orchestra performed Jumpin' Jive while the Nicholas Brothers danced. 

Stormy Weather was selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry in 2001.

Lena Horne sings Stormy Weather 

Remembering Valerie Perinne (1943-2026)

 

Valerie Perinne, voluptuous actress born September 3, 1943 in Galveston, Texas, passed away from Parkinson's disease in Los Angeles.  Her first film was Slaughterhouse-Five in 1972.  It was her performance in Lenny that gained her an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

She portrayed Lex Luthor's moll Miss Eve Tessmacher in Superman I and Superman II. She had the lead role in Can't Stop the Music with the Village People, which was a spectacular failure at the box office.

She continued acting until her retirement 2016, a year after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015.

Valerie Perrine in Cannonball Run

Celebrating Black History Month: James W. Mitchell, African-American chemist

James W. Mitchell, born November 16, 1943 in Durham, North Carolina, is a analytical chemist and materials engineer.  He has made significant contributions to trace element analysis.  He earned his BS in chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University in 1965. He received his PhD in analytical chemistry from Iowa State University in 1970.

He attained the position of Head of the Analytical Chemistry Research Department in 1975 at AT&T Bell Laboratories and became one of the founders for the Association of Black Laboratory Employees. He was the first black director and vice-president of research at AT&T.

Mitchell co-wrote a book Contamination Control in Trace Analysis and published over 60 scientific papers and patented several processes.  

He received the Percy L. Julian Research Award and the Pharmacia Industrial Analytical Chemistry Award. In 1993 he was named Black Engineer of the Year by US Black Engineer.  In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement in Industry Award from the National Society of Black Engineers. 

Happy birthday, Eric Idle!

Eric Idle, born March 29, 1943 in Tyne and Wear, England, is best known for his work in the comedy troop Monty Python.  He appeared in Monty Python's Flying Circus and the movie spin-offs. He appeared with Robbie Coltrane in one of my favorites, Nuns on the Run.  

I didn't realize this, that he has been nominated for six Grammys for Best Comedy Recording and Best Spoken Word Album for Children.  He won Best Musical Show Album for Monty Python's Spamalot in 1981.

Happy birthday, Dark Shadows actress Nancy Barrett!

Nancy Barrett, born October 5, 1943 in Shreveport, Louisiana, is best known for her work on the cult television series Dark Shadows.  She was married to fellow Dark Shadows actor David Ford, who played Sam Evans.  She was also a bridesmaid for fellow Dark Shadows actress Alexandra Moltke, who played Victoria Winters.  

Celebrating Black History Month: Arthur Ashe, first African-American tennis extraordinaire

Arthur Ashe, born July, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia, was the first African-American to be selected to the United States Davis Cup team in 1963.  He is the first (and only!) African-American man to win singles titles at Wimbledon, US Open, and the Australian Open.  

He was the first black male to play in the Maryland boys' championships in 1958.  He was the first black man to win the National Junior indoor tennis title.  In 1968, he won the United States Amateur Championships.

He passed away in February 1993 from AIDS-related pneumonia following a tainted blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery in 1983. 

Happy birthday, Dark Shadows actress Kathryn Leigh Scott!

Kathryn Leigh Scott, born January 26, 1943 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, is best known for her role as Maggie Evans on the cult classic Dark Shadows.  Since the series ended, she has appeared in Space:1999, Hawaii Five-O, The Incredible Hulk, and Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Who Watches the Watchers.

"Casablanca" released 1943

Casablanca, released January 23, 1943, is considered to be one of the best films of all time.  The black and white movie starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Peter Lorre.  It won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director for Michael Curtiz, and Best Writing, Screenplay.  It was nominated for five more: Best Actor for Bogart, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Claude Rains, Best Cinematography for Black and White, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score.

In 1989, the Library of Congress selected Casablanca for preservation in the National Film Registry.  

Happy birthday, Star Trek actors Beverly Washburn, Jeffrey Hunter, John Larroquette, and Ricardo Montalban

 

Four actors, all born on November 25, appeared in Star Trek episodes and movies.  

Beverly Washburn, born in 1943, appeared in the Star Trek episode The Deadly Years. She played Lt. Arlene Galway, who mysteriously ages rapidly, as several other members of the Enterprise crew including Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy.  But not Chekov.

Jeffrey Hunter, born in 1926, appeared in the Star Trek pilot episode The Cage as Captain Christopher Pike.  He is held prisoner by aliens with telepathic powers.  It was the first episode to the original series.

John Larroquette, born 1947, played the Klingon Maltz in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.  He was the lone Klingon left on the Bird-of-Prey when Kirk and his crew commandeer the Klingon's vessel.  

Ricardo Montalban, born 1920, appeared in the Star Trek episode Space Seed in 1967 as Khan, the leader of a group of genetically engineered humans in suspended animation.  He reprised the role in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in 1982.

Happy birthday, Captain Marvel!

Jackson Bostwick, born October 23, 1943 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is best known for his portrayal of Captain Marvel from DC Comics on the Saturday morning TV show Shazam!.  He played Captain Marvel for the first season and two episodes into the second season, when he was fired by the producers.  He was late for filming one day, due to getting treatment for injuries he obtained during the previous day's filming, but the producers thought he was holding out for more money and fired him.  

He also appeared in Tron.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John Creighton!

John Creighton, born April 28, 1943 in Orange, Texas, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) as pilot in June 1985.  The mission objective was to release three communication satellites, from Mexico, the Arab Satellite Communications Organization and AT&T.

His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-36) as commander in February 1990.  The mission carried a classified payload for the US Department of Defense.

His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-48) as commander in September 1991.  Its primary mission was to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.

In total, Creighton spent over 16 days, 20 hours in space.

Happy birthday, American cosmonaut Norman Thagard!

Norman Thagard, born July 3, 1943 in Marianna, Florida, is the first American to fly on a Russian spacecraft in March 1995, making him the first American cosmonaut.

His first trip into space was aboard Challenger (STS-7) as mission specialist in June 1983 with Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

His second trip was aboard Challenger (STS-51-B) as mission specialist in April-May 1985.

His third trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-30) as mission specialist in May 1989.

Thagard's fourth mission was aboard Discovery (STS-42) as mission specialist in January 1992.

His fifth and last trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-21 as a research cosmonaut to the Mir space station in March 1995.  He was part of the Mir EO-18 expedition and returned to Earth on Atlantis (STS-71) in July.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Daniel Brandenstein!

Daniel Brandenstein, born January 17, 1943 in Watertown, Wisconsin, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.  After college, he went in the US Navy and became a naval aviator.

His first flight was on Challenger (STS-8) as pilot in August-September 1983.  One of the mission's objective was to test the use of the Canadarm remote manipulator system to do some testing on the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, which had been launched previously.

He served as commander on his second flight, Discovery (STS-51-G) in June 1985.  It was also the first flight for Shannon Lucid and Sultan Salman Al Saud of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

His third flight was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as commander in January 1990.  This mission deployed and captured satellites during its time in space.

Brandenstein's fourth and last flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-49) as commander in May 1992.  It took three astronauts in EVA to retrieve a communications satellite.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Samuel Durrance!

Samuel Durrance, born September 17, 1943 in Tallahassee, Florida, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  He worked as a principal research scientists at the Johns Hopkins University over here in Baltimore.

His first flight was on Columbia (STS-35) as a payload specialist in December 1990.  The mission was shortened by one day because of impending bad weather at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

His second and final was aboard Endeavour (STS-67) in March 1995 as a payload specialist.  One of the objectives was to measure ultraviolet radiation from space since most UV radiation is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere and cannot be studied at the surface.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Michael McCulley!

Michael J. McCulley, born August 4, 1943, in San Diego, California, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34) in October 1989.  He enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school and served on a diesel-powered submarine and two nuclear-powered submarines.  He also received pilot training before being selected by NASA in May 1984.

He retired from NASA in 1990.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Roy Bridges!

Roy Bridges, born July 19, 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia, went into space on the shuttle Challenger (STS-51-F) July-August 1985.  He was pilot and it was his only mission into space, as it was with fellow astronauts Karl Henize, Anthony England, Loren Acton and John-David Bartoe. 

He became Director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center for over 6 years.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut John Casper!

John Casper, born July 9, 1943 in Greenville, South Carolina, is a veteran of 4 space shuttle flights.  After getting a Maser of Science degree in Astronautics from Purdue University in 1967, he attended U.S. Air Force to become a fighter pilot. He flew 229 combat missions in the Vietnam War. 

He served as pilot on his first space flight on Atlantis (STS-36) February-March 1990.  It was a Department of Defense flight so its payload was confidential.

His second flight was as commander on Endeavour (STS-54) January 1993, during which the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite was deployed.

Casper was assigned as commander aboard Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994.  The landing of the mission was chronicled by the Discovery Channel for a special featuring the Space Shuttle program.

His fourth and final mission was as commander aboard Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996.  A Coca-Cola fountain dispense with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke was taken aboard. 

Happy birthday, astronaut Jon McBride!

Jon Andrew McBride, born August 14, 1943, in Charleston, West Virginia, made his only spaceflight onboard the Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-G), which launched October 5, 1984.  This early in the space program, the mission had several milestones.  One of which it was the only flight for Jon McBride and fellow astronaut Paul D. Scully-Power, the first Aussie-born astronatu and the first pilot to travel with a beard.

It was also the first mission to have two women at the same time: Sally Ride and Kathryn Sullivan.  Kathryn would perform the first EVA by a woman.  And the first Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau was aboard.

After the mission, McBride was assigned as Commander of mission STS-61-E in March 1986, but the Challenger explosion postponed many flights after that.  Then he was scheulded to command mission STS-35 in March 1990, but chose to retire from NASA instead.

Actress Wendy Richard born 1943

Wendy Richard, born July 20, 1943, was one of the longest-running actresses on the British series Eastenders, but she will also be remembered as the sweet, ditzy Miss Brahms on Are You Being Served?

She remained close friends with her Are You Being Served? castmates.  She died in 2009 from cancer just months before Mollie Sugden passed away.

Happy birthday, Shannon Lucid!

Shannon Lucid, born January 14, 1943 in Shanghai, China, set a record for length of time in space and the longest time for an American woman (the only American woman) serving on the space station Mir.

Her record for longest stay in space held until 2007 when it was broken by another American woman, Sunita Williams.