Happy June 12 birthday to Roy “I Hate the White Man” Harper

While outside in the whitewash
Where the guns are always, always right
A shooting star has summoned
Death’s dark angel from his night

Happy Birthday to the late, great Pete Postlethwaite

One of the finest actors of his generation, Pete Postlethwaite,  (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) appeared in several favorite films of The Hobbledehoy, including Brassed Off (1996), and Terence Davies’ brilliant Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988).

His international reputation peaked when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his moving portrayal Giuseppe Conlon In the Name of the Father (1993).

Happy birthday up in heaven, Pete.

Happy January 18 birthday to the great Danny Kaye!

By Michael Stevenson

Happy birthday to the great singer, dancer, actor and comedian Danny Kaye (January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987)

Even though the peak of his popularity was during the 1940s and ’50s, I feel he was as much a part of my childhood growing up in the 1960s as Captain Kangaroo. His movie songs were memorable: the lovely “Inchworm,” from Hans Christian Anderson; “Lullaby in Ragtime” (later covered by Harry Nilsson) and “Everything is Tickety-Boo” (which my dad would sing while shaving.)

Kaye’s acting roles were also terrific, performing with Bing Crosby in “White Christmas” and his classic “Saints” duet with Louis Armstrong in “Five Pennies.”

Danny Kaye was a life-long Democrat (campaigned for Adlai Stevenson for president in 1952.) He loved baseball (Dodgers fan) and did charity work for UNICEF for decades.

Bless his memory.