Steve Reeves, Mr. America/actor, born 1926

Handsome, muscular Steve Reeves, born January 21, 1926 in Glasgow, Montana, weas a professional bodybuilder and actor, being the number one box office draw in 25 countries in 1960.

He moved with his mother to California when he was ten after his father died in a farming accident.  He discovered an interest in bodybuilding and began training in Oakland, California.  He served in the Philippines during WWII.

After the war, he began competing in bodybuilding and won the titles of Mr. America 1947, Mr. World 1948, and Mr. Universe 1950.  Then he was contacted by an agent about going into acting.  

Reeves mainly appeared in roles that showed off his physique, such as Hercules, gladiators, and a Tarzan-ish role in Kimbar of the Jungle. A shoulder injury during the filming of The Last Days of Pompeii in 1959 ultimately led to his retirement from filmmaking.

Reeves passed away in May 2000 from a blood clot while be treated for lymphoma.

He apparently had some comedic talent as well, as he appeared in the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show:

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Minnie Spotted Wolf, first Native American woman to enlist in US Marine Corps

Minnie Spotted-Wolf, born in 1923 in Heart Butte, Montana of the Blackfoot tribe, was the first Native American woman to enlist in the US Marine Corps.  She enlisted in the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in July 1943.  During her service, she served on bases in California and Hawai'i, working as a heavy equipment operator and a driver for general officers.  She left the Corps in 1947 and spent 29 years as a teacher.  She passed away in 1988.

A section of US Highway 89 in Montana was dedicated to her in 2019.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Loren Acton!

Loren Acton, born March 7, 1936 in Lewistown, Montana, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-51-F) as payload specialist in July-August 1985.  It experienced multiple sensor failures in its engines during launch, and they had to perform an "Abort to Orbit", an emergency procedure, the only crew to have had to do this.  Because of this, the mission was carried out at a slightly lower altitude than planned.

Maybe that is why of the seven astronauts on the flight, five of them did not return to space.

Remembering Charley Pride (1934-2020)

Country music legend, singer, baseball player and groundbreaker Charley Pride passed away today at 86 from COVID-19.  He was born in Sledge, Mississippi March 18, 1934, the fourth of eleven children born to poor sharecroppers.

He got his first guitar at 14 and taught himself to play.  In 1952, he pitched for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, and then signed with the Boise Yankees, the farm team of the New York Yankees. An injury caused him to be traded (with another player) to the Birmingham Black Barons.

He was pitching for a semipro team in Helena, Montana when his singing ability became known. He released his first single The Snakes Crawl at Night in 1966.  It did not chart and neither did the second single.  But his third Just Between You and Me reached #9 on the US Country Chart. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for it the next year.

He won four Grammys over his career including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

He is one of only three African-Americans to become a member of the Grand Ol' Opry and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.  He's had 30 #1 country hits.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month - PFC Richard Trujillo, WWII Hero

PFC Richard Trujillo was serving aboard the USS Nevada in Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked.  Her gunners managed to open fire and she was the only ship to get moving despite the battle going on.  She was hit by one torpedo and at least six bombs, forcing the crew to beach her.  One hundred and nine men were wounded and fifty men killed, among them PFC Richard Ignatius Trujillo, who became the first Hispanic casualty of WWII.

I could not find much information on PFC Trujillo except that he was from Montana.  Perhaps he appears in this archival video of the USS Nevada.