"Robot Monster" released 1953

Best known for being notoriously bad, Robot Monster was released in theaters across the US June 25, 1953. Produced on a miniscule budget, the movie follows a monster in a gorilla suit and a TV set with antenna, who has eliminated everybody on Earth, except for one family. It seems the Robot Monster had feelings for the family's teenaged daughter.

It has been included on many of the 'worst movie' lists, but has gained a cult following.  

Happy birthday, astronaut Brian Duffy!

Brian Duffy, born June 20, 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts, has been in space four times. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1975 and was selected by NASA to become an astronaut in June 1985.

His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-45) as pilot in March-April 1992.  He spent almost 9 days in space before returning to Earth. 

His second mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as pilot in June-July 1993. He spent 10 days in space before returning to Earth. 

Duffy's third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as commander January 11-20, 1996. He spent almost 9 days in space before returning to Earth.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as commander to the International Space Station October 11-24, 2000. He spent 13 days in space before returning to Earth.

Duffy was inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame May 14, 2016.

Happy birthday, Cyndi Lauper!

Singer/actress/songwriter/activist Cyndi Lauper, born June 22, 1953 in Queens, New York, has won a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy!  Just one more to go, Cyndi!

Cyndi released her first album She's So Unusual in October 1983.It debuted on the charts in December 1983 and peaked at No. 4 in June 1984. It was the one of the best-selling albums of 1984.  She won a Grammy for Best New Artist and She's So Unusual won the Grammy Award for Best Album Package.  

She had an uncredited cameo in The Goonies, but then had a starring role in the movie Vibes with Jeff Goldblum in 1988. Cyndi had a reoccurring role on Mad About You, for which she received two Primetime Emmy nominations and won one in 1995 for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 2013, she won the Tony Award for Best Original Score for the composing the music for Kinky Boots.  It was the first time a woman had won the award by herself.

She has become an outspoken advocate for gay rights and women's rights.

5th Emmy Awards 1953

 

The fifth annual ceremony of the Emmy Awards (before it was changed to the Primetime Emmy Awards) was held February 5, 1953 at the Hotel Statler in Los Angeles, I Love Lucy won Best Situation Comedy and Lucille Ball won Best Comedienne. Jimmy Durante won Best Comedian. Dragnet won Best Mystery, Action or Adventure Program and What's My Line? won Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program. Helen Hayes won Best Actress.

It's interesting to see how some things have changed, but others seem to haven't changed.  I recognize very few of the shows nominated or the actors and actresses.  Also, the presentations have changed.  Helen Hayes won Best Actress, but appeared in only one movie in 1953: My Son John.  Her movie is not mentioned in the Emmy program and imdb.com doesn't list her Emmy as a win for it.  Weird.  

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Aleksandr Poleshchuk!

Aleksandr Poleshchuk, born October 30, 1953 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz TM-16, launched in January 1993 to the space station Mir. He was flight engineer and spent over 179 days in space with fellow cosmonaut Gennadi Manakov.  He returned to Earth in July 1993.

Happy birthday, astronaut Michael Baker!

Astronaut Michael Baker, born October 27, 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee, has been to space four times.  

His first trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-43) as pilot in August 1991.  He spent almost 9 days in space, making 142 orbits.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as pilot in October-November 1992.  He celebrated his 39th birthday during the mission.  He spent almost 10 days in space and made 159 orbits.

His third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as commander in September-October 1994. He spent over 11 days in space and made 182 orbits.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as commander to the Mir space station in January 1997.  It was the second flight to Mir to involve an exchange of US astronauts. He spent over 10 days in space and made 160 orbits.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov!

Pavel Vinogradov, born August 31, 1953 in Magadan in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of three space flights.

His first flight was aboard Soyuz TM-26 as flight engineer to the space station Mir in August 1997.  He remained on board for almost 198 days before returning to Earth in February 1998.

His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-8 as commander to the International Space Station in March 2006.  He participated in Expedition 13 and conducted 2 EVAs.  He returned to Earth in September after almost 181 days.

His third flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-08M as commander to the ISS in March 2013.  He participated in Expeditions 35 and 36.  He stayed aboard for over 166 days before returning to Earth in September 2013.

Bolaji Badejo, "Alien" actor, born 1953

Bolaji Badejo, born August 23, 1953 in Lagos, Nigeria, starred in only one movie, Alien, when he played the terrifying xenomorph.  At least he made that one role count!  Although he had no experience as an actor, his 6'10" body made him ideal for the part.

He passed away in December 1992 from sickle cell anemia.

Happy birthday, Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk!

Robert Thirsk, born August 17, 1953 in British Columbia, Canada, has been in space twice.  He holds the Canadian record for most time spent in space - 204 days, 18 hours.

His first trip was aboard Columbia (STS-78) as payload specialist in June 1996.  The mission was in preparation for the International Space Station.  He stayed in space for almost 17 days.

His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-15 to the International Space Station in May 2009.  He participated in Expeditions 20 and 21.  He returned to Earth in December 2009.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin!

Nikolai Budarin, born April 29, 1953 in Russia, is a veteran of three trips to space. 

His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist in June 1995 to the space station Mir.  He remained on board for over 75 days and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-21 in September 1995.  He was part of expedition Mir EO-19.

His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-27 in January 1998 to Mir.  He participated in expedition Mir EO-25 and returned to Earth in August 1998.

His third and final trip into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2002.  He took part in Expedition 6 and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-1 in May 2003.

During his career he has performed eight EVAs for a total of 44 hours.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Daniel Barry!

Daniel Barry, born December 30, 1953 in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. 

His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-72) as mission specialist in January 1996.  He conducted a spacewalk with fellow astronaut Leroy Chiao.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-96) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 1999.  He conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Tamara Jernigan.

HIs third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as mission specialist to the International Space Station.  He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Patrick Forrester. 

Happy birthday, German astronaut Gerhard Thiele!

Gerhard Thiele, born September 2, 1953 in Germany, went aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-99) as a mission specialist in February 2000.  He retired from the European Space Agency in October 2005.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Jan Davis!

Jan Davis, born November 1, 1953 in Cocoa Beach, Florida, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.

Her first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as mission specialist in September 1992.  She had secretly married fellow astronaut Mark Lee just a few weeks before.  By the time NASA found out about it, it was too late to change their rule about "husband and wife" teams not flying on the same mission.

Her second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-60) as mission specialist in February 1994.  It was the first Space Shuttle/Mir mission and the first time a Russian cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, flew on a space shuttle.

Her third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-85) in August 1997.  She operated the shuttle's robotic arm for the entire trip.

"The War of the Worlds" released 1953

H. G. Wells' science-fiction classic novel (with some creative liberties), War of the Worlds, premiered on the big screen August 26, 1953.  It starred Gene Barry as Dr. Clayton Forrester (sound familiar?).

It was released within a generation of Orson Welles' iconic and panic-inducing radio broadcast in 1939.  It was the biggest science-fiction movie of the year.

It won an Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects and has been selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in its National Film Registry.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 named its main antagonist Dr. Clayton Forrester as an homage to the film.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Aleksandr Balandin!

Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin, born July 30, 1953 is a Russian cosmonaut who made one trip into space.  It was aboard Soyuz TM-9  as a flight engineer to space station Mir.  It launched February 11, 1990 and returned to Earth August 9, after 179 days in space. 

Celebrating Pride Month - ONE magazine, first gay men's publication in the U.S.

 

ONE Inc., one of the first gay rights organizations, began publishing ONE magazine in January 1953, the first gay publication in the U.S. It sold in Los Angeles openly for a quarter, but in 1954 the US Post Office refused to continue delivering it because it was deemed to be 'obscene'.

ONE Inc. sued in federal court and won in 1958.

The magazine ceased publication in 1969.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Valery Korzun!

Valery Korzun, born March 5, 1953 in the former Soviet Union, has been to space twice but spent over a year total in space.

His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-24 in August 1996 as part of Mir EO-22.  He returned to Earth in March 1997 having spent almost 197 days on Mir.

His next trip into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-111) in June 2002 to the International Space Station.  He joined Expedition 5 as commander.  He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-113) December 7, 2002 after almost 185 days.

He performed 2 spacewalks during each mission.

Happy birthday, Pat Benatar!

Patricia Mae Andrzejewski, born January 10, 1953 in Brooklyn, is better known as Pat Benatar, goddess of rock.  She has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, three gold albums and fifteen Top 40 singles and four Top 10 singles.

She has won four consecutive Grammys for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1980-1983. 

Her album Get Nervous is my favorite album and True Love is my second favorite.

June Pointer, Goddess of Music, born 1953

June Antoinette Pointer, born November 30, 1953 in Oakland, California, was a founding member of the Pointer Sisters.  She and Bonnie first started as a duo in 1969, then Anita joined them.  Ruth made the group a quartet in 1972 and the rest is history.

She sang lead on some of their biggest hits, such as Jump (For My Love), He's So Shy, Baby Come and Get it and Should I Do It?

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and passed away April 11 of that year.  But her music and voice will live forever!

Happy birthday, Alexander O'Neal!

Alexander O'Neal, born November 15, 1953 in Natchez, Mississippi, is an R&B singer who had some awesome hits in the 80's such as Fake.  The single was released from his album Hearsay and it went to #1 on the R&B charts.  Its follow-up single Criticize reached No. 4.

I love his Christmas album My Gift to You released in 1988, but Fake is still my favorite overall!