John Saxon, born August 5, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, had a long, prolific career, appearing in some of the most popular and iconic movies. He first appeared in two uncredited roles in 1954. In 1958, he appeared with Angela Lansbury in The Reluctant Debutante. The same year, he won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer for his work in This Happy Feeling. He appeared in Enter the Dragon in 1973 and the next year, he starred in the cult classic Black Christmas, which help start the slasher genre.
Saxon worked on numerous movie and television projects until 1984, when he appeared in another slasher classic, Nightmare on Elm Street, which has become a lasting franchise. He appeared in the second sequel Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. He continued acting until 2017.
Alexander Briley, born April 12, 1947 in Harlem, New York, was the original G.I. in the Village People. He appeared as a sailor when they recorded In The Navy in 1979. He retired from the group at 70 after forty years with the Village People.
Ely Samuel Parker, born in Indian Falls, New York in 1828, was bilingual being fluent in English and Seneca. He worked for a legal firm in Ellicottville, New York, and applied to take the bar examine. Unfortunately, Native Americans were not considered US citizens, and he was not permitted to take it.
After a chance meeting with Lewis Henry Morgan, Parker helped Morgan with information on the Seneca for Morgan's book on the Iroquois. With Morgan's help, Parker earned an engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
He worked as a civil engineer until the start of the Civil War. President Grant appointed Parker to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, become the first Native American to hold that position. Parker tried to raise a regiment of Iroquois volunteers to fight for the Union, but was turned down. He tried to enlist in the Army but was turned down since he was Native American.
Grant got Parker a commission to captain in May 1863. Later, Parker was appointed as military secretary to Grant with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He helped draft the surrender documents for Robert E. Lee's surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865.
Parker was promoted to brigadier general of the US Army March 2, 1867, becoming the first Seneca to achieve that rank.
Frank Kameny, born May 21, 1925 in New York City, was an early gay advocate and one of the most significant figures in the history of the American gay rights movement. He enlisted in the US Army in May 1943 and, after finishing basic training, sent to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to study mechanical engineering. Kameny was withdrawn from the program to prepare for an invasion of France. He was sent to the frontlines where he served as an infantry private.
After the war, he enrolled at Harvard University and graduated with a Master's degree in 1949 and a doctorate in 1956 in astronomy. In August 1956, he was "detained" in San Francisco after being accused of "lewd and indecent acts".
A year later, Kameny was hired by the US Army Map Service, but when they heard of his arrest in San Francisco he was fired. He appealed his firing through the courts and even the US Supreme Court, but never won a case. He devoted himself to activism.
Kameny's pushback against the government's policy on gay employees was the first of its kind, arguing that discrimination on the basis of sexuality is no different from discrimination based on race or religion.
In 1961, he co-founded the Washington DC branch of the Mattachine Society. He campaigned to overturn DC sodomy laws in 1963, and was finally successful in 1993. He also worked to remove the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder from the American Psychiatric Association.
He represented and defended government employees who had their security revoked or suspended due to allegations of "perversion" or immoral acts".
Kameny ran for US Congress in 1971 in DC's first election for a non-voting Congressional delegate, the first gay to run for Congress, but lost unfortunately. After his defeat, he created the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Washington, DC, which still lobbies the government and pushes for equal rights.
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.
Yvonne Cagle, born April 24, 1959 in West Point, New York, is a NASA astronaut and a retired US Air Force Colonel. She is one of six African-American female astronauts.
She graduated from Novato High School in California and received her BS in biochemistry from San Francisco State University. She completed her doctor of medicine degree from University of Washington in 1985.
While in the Air Force, she served as Air Force Medical Liaison Officer for the STS-30 mission. NASA selected her for astronaut training in 1996. In 2013, she served as part of the reserve crew for Hawai'i Space Exploration and Analog Simulation, part of a study to determine the best way to keep astronauts well nourished during extended missions to Mars or the moon.
She never flew on a mission but still employed at NASA but is not eligible for spaceflights. In 2017, she wheeled Katherine Johnson onto the stage during the 89th Academy Awards, where Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, stars of Hidden Figures.
Thomas Elkins, born in 1818, was a dentist, surgeon, pharmacist and inventor. He received an education in pharmacy and ran a small drugstore until economic difficulties forced him to close. He focused on dentistry and minor surgery. He studied dentistry under Dr. Charles Payne, and surgery under Dr. Marsh.
He participated in the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to Canada. The house where he and his wife operated the "best-run" Underground Railroad station in New York is now owned by the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.
During the Civil War, Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts appointed him to be the medical examiner in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantries. He improved the refrigerating apparatus, which prevented the decay of human corpses and food.
He patented an chamber-commode, a predecessor to the toilet.
One of the sexiest and talented actors in Hollywood, Denzel Washington, was born December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He has won numerous awards for his acting, including two Oscars, the first African-American actor to win twice. He is the second African-American to win an Oscar for Best Leading Actor.
I enjoyed his work in Philadelphia and Unstoppable but my favorite movie of his is The Book of Eli. I just found out he did all of his own stunts in the fight scenes. The one in the video clip below shows how bad-ass he is!
Robert "Hoot" Gibson, born October 30, 1946 in Cooperstown, New York, is a veteran of five space shuttle missions.
His first mission was as pilot on Challenger (STS-41-B) in February 1984. It was the first flight to involve an untethered spacewalk. He spent almost 8 days in space and completed 128 orbits.
His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-61-C) as commander in January 1986, the last shuttle mission before the Challenger disaster. He spent over 6 days in space and completed 98 orbits.
Gibson's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-27) as commander in December 1988. It was a classified payload for the US Department of Defense. He spent over four days in space and completed 68 orbits.
His fourth flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as commander in September 1992. He carried the first Japanese astronaut, Mamoru Mohri, and the first African-American woman, Mae Jemison into space. He spent almost 8 days in space and completed 126 orbits.
His fifth and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) in June-July 1995 to the Russian space station Mir. It was the first space shuttle docking with Mir. He spent almost 10 days in space and completed 153 orbits.
He married fellow astronaut Rhea Seddon in May 1981. He retired from NASA in November 1996 and became a pilot for Southwest Airlines.
Dr. Roger Tsien, born February 1, 1952 in New York City, New York, was awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry in 2008. A Chinese-American, Tsien suffered from asthma growing up and spent much time indoors, conducting chemistry experiments in his family's basement.
He won the Westinghouse Talent Search at 16. He received his PhD in physiology in 1977 from Churchill College in Cambridge, England.
He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura and Martin Chalfie in 2008 for their wok for "the green fluorescent protein; discovery, expression and development".
William Gregory, born May 14, 1957 in Lockport, New York, went into space aboard Endeavour (STS-67) as pilot. With Commander Stephen Oswald, Gregory used the Middeck Active Control Experience (MACE) to test 200 different motion disturbance situations, lasting over 45 hours, to design better control systems.
Nicole Stott, born November 19, 1962 in Albany, New York, has been in space two times.
Her first trip was aboard Discovery (STS-128) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in August 2009. She performed an EVA with fellow astronaut John Olivas for 6 hours and 35 minutes.
Stott remained on board the ISS as part of Expeditions 20 and 21. She returned Earth aboard Atlantis (STS-129) in November 2009.
Her second and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-133) as mission specialist to the ISS in February-March 2011. She has stayed more than 103 days in space.
Actor, bodybuilder and all-around inspiration, Lou Ferrigno was born November 9, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York. He won his first major title IFBB Mr. America in 1969, and then IFBB Mr. Universe in 1973. He trained with Arnold Schwarzenegger and came in second in his first Mr. Olympia competition in 1974.
His other titles include Pro Mr. America-WBBG, Teen 1st, and IFBB Mr. International in 1974.
He appeared as the Incredible Hulk in the television series with Bill Bixby from 1978-1982. Most recently he has appeared in Star Trek Continues.
Ronald Garan, Jr., born October 30, 1961 in Yonkers, New York, is a veteran of two space flights.
His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-124) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 2008. He conducted three EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut Michael Fossum.
His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-21 as Flight Engineer to the ISS in April 2011. He participated in Expeditions 27 and 28. He conducted an EVA with Fossum in July 2011. He returned to Earth in September 2011.
Curly Howard, born October 22, 1903 in Brooklyn, New York, is best known for his performances with the Three Stooges. His brother Shemp was one of the original three, with brother Moe and Larry Fine. Curly replaced Shemp in 1932 and made over 100 appearances with the team before he suffered a massive stroke, during filming Half-Wits Holiday. It was his last appearance as a Stooge. He made a brief, uncredited cameo in the short Hold That Lion! in 1947.
He passed away in January 1952 from a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
Douglas Hurley, born October 21, 1966 in Endicott, New York, has been in space three times.
His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-127) as pilot to the International Space Station in July 2009. When they docked at the ISS, they set a record for the most humans in space at the same time, at thirteen.
His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-135) as pilot to the ISS in July 2011. It was the final flight of the Space Shuttle program.
His latest flight was aboard SpaceX's Endeavour, the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, to the ISS in May 2020. He and fellow astronaut Bob Behnken participated in Expedition 63. They returned to Earth on August 2, 2020.
Handsome actor Jerry Doyle, born July 16, 1956 in Brooklyn, New York, is best known for his role as Michael Garibaldi on Babylon 5. He was married to co-star Andrea Thompson for two years and they have a son together.
Jay Buckey, Jr., born June 6, 1956 in New York City, New York, went into space once aboard Columbia (STS-90) as payload specialist in April-May 1998. He conducted experiments with Neurolab, a Spacelab module focusing on the effects of microgravity on the human nervous sytem.
Douglas Wheelock, born May 5, 1960 in Binghamton, New York, has been in space twice.
His first trip was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October-November 2007. During the mission, he conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut Scott Parazynski. They returned to Earth after about 15 days.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-19 as flight engineer in June 2010 to the International Space Station. He participated in Expeditions 24 and 25. He remained in space about 150 days.
In June 2004, he participated in expedition NEEMO 6 in NASA's Aquarius Underwater Laboratory.
Jeanette Epps, born November 3, 1970 in Syracuse, New York, was qualified to become an astronaut by NASA in 2011. She served as an aquanaut in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in the NEEMO 18 expedition in July 2014.
She was selected to become the first African-American space crew member to visit the International Space Station but was replaced by her backup Serena Aunon-Chancellor.
She is still active as an astronaut so look for her in the future!
