Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury and Edith Head are robbed of Oscars, 1963

Probably more drama backstage than on-stage, the 35th Academy Awards were held April 8, 1963.

Bette Davis was up for Best Actress for her performance as Jane Hudson in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, but her feud with Joan Crawford led to Crawford campaigning against her receiving the award.  It would have been Davis's third Oscar win, which would have been made her the first actress to win three Oscars. But Crawford's smear campaign worked and Anne Bancroft won the Oscar for her performance in The Miracle Worker.  I like Anne Bancroft, but I think Bette Davis should have won.  To add insult to injury, Crawford had arranged ahead of time to accept the award for Bancroft who was unable to attend.  

Patty Duke won Best Supporting Actor for her work as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker.  However, I wonder if someone had initiated a campaign against Angela Lansbury, because she should have won the award for her performance as Eleanor Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate.  I really think something fishy was going on there.  Especially since The Manchurian Candidate was only nominated for two supporting acting awards, nothing else, not even Best Picture or Best Directing.  

The Music Man won Best Music (Scoring of Music-Adaption or Treatment) for Ray Heindorf. Was there any real competition?

Henry Mancini won for Best Music (Song) for Days of Wine and Roses for the movie of the same name.  Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics. I'm not familiar with the other nominees so I agree with this award. 

What Ever Happened to Baby? won for Best Costume Design (Black-and-White) for Norma Koch.  Iconic Edith Head was nominated for the two costume design categories but didn't win either.  Hmmm....

Lawrence of Arabia was the biggest winner of the night, winning seven out of ten nominations.  

5th Grammy Awards held 1963

May 15, 1963 was a busy day.  Not only was Gordon Cooper launched in Faith 7 on the Mercury-Atlas 9 mission, but the fifth annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held.

Tony Bennett won three awards.  Tony won Record of the Year, Best Solo Vocal Performance, Male, and Best Background Arrangement for his recording of I Left My Heart in San Francisco.

Henry Mancini won Best Instrumental Arrangement for Baby Elephant Walk, and Best Engineering Contribution - Other Than Novelty and Other Than Classical for engineer Al Schmitt for Hatari!, for which Mancini wrote the music.

Ella Fitzgerald won Best Solo Vocal Performance, Female for Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson.

Ray Charles won Best Rhythm & Blues Recording for I Can't Stop Loving You.

Alley Cat by Bent Fabric won Best Rock and Roll Recording.

Mercury-Atlas 9, final NASA solo mission, launched 1963

Mercury-Atlas 9 launched on May 15, 1963 from Cape Canaveral with astronaut Gordon Cooper in the Faith 7 spacecraft.  It was the final crewed mission of the Mercury program and the last time an American was launched alone on a solo mission. 

Gordon passed Wally Schirra's original record of seven orbits, completing twenty-two during the 34-hour mission. Gordon conducted radiation experiments, recorded status reports, took pictures, and dined on powdered roast beef mush and water.

On May 16, Faith 7 splashed down four miles from the recovery ship, USS Kearsarge, the most accurate landing to date.  The Mercury program had fulfilled all its mission objectives.

Luna 4 launched 1963

Luna 4, launched April 2, 1963, was the Soviet Union's first attempt at a soft landing on the moon.  Due to a malfunctioning navigation system, the spacecraft failed to perform a midcourse correction, which would have sent it toward the moon.  As a result, it missed the moon by over 5000 miles and is now in a heliocentric orbit between Earth and Mars. 

Happy birthday, Rick Allen!

Rick Allen, born November 1, 1963 in Derbyshire, England, is the drummer for one of my favorite bands Def Leppard.  He joined the band on his 15th birthday, replacing Tony Kenning.  He dropped out of school to concentrate on his music career.

In December 1984, he crashed his car and lost his left arm.  Doctors reattached the arm but it had to be amputated afterwards due to an infection.  He has continued playing drums on specially designed drum kits. 

The UK website Gigwise lists Allen as #7 on the Greatest Drummers of All Time list.

Watch his drum solo:

Happy birthday, Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque!

Pedro Duque, born March 14, 1963 in Madrid, Spain, is the first Spanish-born astronaut in space. 

Duque's first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-95) as mission specialist for the European Space Agency in October-November 1998.  He spent almost 10 days in space.

His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-3 to the International Space Station launched in October 2003 as Flight Engineer.  He remained on board for about 10 days and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-2.  

After retiring from the ESA, he became the Minister of Science for the Government of Spain.

Celebrating Black History Month: Charles Bush, first African-American graduate of US Air Force Academy

Charles Vernon Bush, born December 17, 1939, was one of the first three African-Americans to enter the US Air Force Academy in 1959.  Bush became the first African-American to graduate from the USAFA in 1963. 

In 1964, he completed schooling at Air Intelligence Officers School in Denver, Colorado in November. He volunteered for an assignment to a special intelligence unit during the Vietnam War in 1966.  He became fluent in Vietnamese, and was transferred to the 6499th Special Activities Group in Saigon.  He was awarded the Bronze Star by 7th Air Force and the Joint Services Commendation Medal by Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. The 6499th Special Activities Group was awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.

He received an Honorable Discharge in August 1970. He worked in business for several different companies until his retirement.

He passed away in November 2012 from colon cancer in Montana.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Stephanie Byers, first transgender Native American to be elected to office

Stephanie Byers, born February 5, 1963 in Norman, Oklahoma, is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and the first transgender Native American to be elected to office in the US.  She is also the first transgender person to serve in the Kansas Legislature.

She graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a Bachelor of Music Education, and then Kansas State University with  Master of Music in 2015. She was awarded National Educator of the Year by Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, an organization working to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in schools.

She retired from teaching at Wichita North High School in 2019 and the same year, announced she would seek the Democratic nomination for the Kansas House of Representatives for the 86th district.  Byers won the election, but did not seek re-election.

The Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll" airs 1963

The Twilight Zone episode Living Doll aired November 1, 1963 and is responsible for all the Chucky, Annabelle and the Conjuring movies. 

It starred Telly Savalas as an overbearing, abusive stepfather to his wife and her daughter.  When the wife (played by Annabelle(!) Streator) brings home Talky Tina for her daughter (Tracy Stratford, Lucy in a Charlie Brown Christmas), the doll wages war against Telly, protecting the little girl from her bully of a stepfather.

This episode is often cited as one of the best of the entire series.

Martin Luther King delivers his "I Have A Dream Speech" 1963

Civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  He started his speech saying that although the Emancipation Proclamation which freed the slaves, "one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.". 

One of the most quoted lines from his (or any) speech:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"

Happy birthday, British astronaut Dr Helen Sharman!

Helen Sharman, born May 30, 1963 in Yorkshire, England, is the first British cosmonaut and first woman to visit the Mir space station.  She launched aboard Soyuz TM-12 in May 1991.  She was part of Project Juno, a cooperative project sponsored by private enterprises in Britain and by the Soviet government.  Her experiments were mainly life sciences, since she had a PhD in chemistry.  After about 7 days, she returned to Earth May 26 aboard Soyuz TM-11.

Happy birthday, astronaut Tim Kopra!

Timothy Kopra, born April 9, 1963 in Austin, Texas, has traveled twice into space. 

His first flight into space was aboard space shuttle Endeavour (STS-127) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in July 2009.  He remained aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 20 and returned to Earth on Discovery (STS-128) in September 2009.

His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-19M om December 2015.  He participated in Expeditions 46 and 47, returning to Earth in June 2016.

He spent 244 days in space, and conducted 3 EVAs.

In 2006, he participated as an aquanaut in the Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 11 mission.

Happy birthday, French astronaut Philippe Perrin!

Philippe Perrin, born January 6, 1963 in Morocco, went into space on the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-111) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in June 2002.  He was an astronaut for the ESA and CNES and spent almost 14 days in space.  He performed 3 EVAs with fellow astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz. 

Roger Staubach is awarded the Heisman Trophy 1963

The greatest quarterback ever, Roger "Roger the Dodger" Staubach was awarded the Heisman Trophy on November 26, 1963. It was his junior year at Navy and after graduation, he did a four-year tour in Vietnam.  When he returned he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and became quarterback extraordinaire!

Happy birthday, astronaut Ricky Arnold!

Richard "Ricky" Arnold, born November 26, 1963 just down the road from here in Cheverly, Maryland, has been in space twice.  He attended Frostburg State University in Maryland, getting a degree in accounting and then completed teacher certification there.  He got a Master's Degree from the University of Maryland in 1992.

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-119) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in March 2009.  He conducted two EVAs during the mission with fellow astronauts Steven Swanson and Joe Acaba.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz MS-08, launched in March 2018 to the International Space Station as part of the crew of Expedition 55 with fellow astronauts Oleg Artemyev and Andrew Feustel.  They spent over 196 days in space, returning to Earth in October 2018.

Félicette, first cat in space, 1963

Felicette, the first cat in space, blasted off October 18, 1963 from France's launch pad in Algeria.  Her flight lasted 13 minutes and she experienced five minutes of weightlessness.  She was recovered safely, but two months later, Felicette was euthanized so scientists could examine her brain.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper!

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, born February 7, 1963 in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.  She obtained the rank of Captain in the US Navy.

Her first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-115) as mission specialist in September 2006.  She conducted two EVAs during the mission for a total of 12 hours and 8 minutes.

She then commanded the 12th expedition to NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO 12) in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in May 2007.

Her second and final flight was as mission specialist on Endeavour (STS-126) in November 2008.  She participated in three of four EVAs during the flight, which brought her total time in EVA to 33 hours and 42 minutes. 

"The Raven" released 1963

The Raven, a horror-comedy movie produced and directed by Roger Corman, was released January 25, 1963.  It was loosely based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe and starred horror icons Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff.  It also starred a young Jack Nicholson.

This production of The Raven had more comedy than horror and, in my opinion, made it much more enjoyable. 

Vostok 5 launched 1963

Vostok 5 cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky

Vostok 5, launched June 14, 1963, carried one cosmonaut and holds the record for the longest solo space flight.  The Soviets intended Valery Bykovsky to stay in orbit for eight days but circumstances caused them to shorten his flight to five days.

The sun was experiencing increased solar flare activity and scientists were concerned that the spacecraft's orbit might decay sooner than eight days.

Bykovsky returned to Earth June 19.

Twilight Zone episode "Passage on the Lady Anne" airs 1963

I probably would not have liked this episode so much if I didn't enjoy cruising,  but I kinda relate to the characters in Passage on the Lady Anne, a Twilight Zone episode which aired May 9, 1963. 

A young couple book a 13-day cruise on the Lady Anne from New York City to London.  The wife, Ellen Ransome, hopes the long voyage will help rekindle the romance in her marriage to Alan (married to his job).

Her plans don't work out and they agree to separate once they reach London, but the Lady Anne has other plans.  Ellen and Alan are first met with hostility since the older passengers can't understand how they were able to book passage.  And the Lady Anne hasn't had new passengers in years.  She is going to be retired once they reach London.

The old passengers are devoted to the ship, and speak as if she is a living being.  She might be considering some of the strange events that happen on board, which ultimately lead to Alan and Ellen finding romance once again.

Finally,  the captain Alfred Pennyworth...oops, I mean, the captain (played by Alfred Pennyworth) forces the Ramones off the ship at gunpoint, but promises they will be  picked up in a few hours.

The Ramones are rescued and they try to find news of the Lady Anne, but she and her passengers have disappeared without a trace.

I suppose I would be  like the old passengers on a beloved cruise ship, knowing that she would take care of us forever in the Twilight Zone.