Five People Born on April 27
Today is April 27, 2010 and the 117th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 248 days left in the year 2010. According the Mayan calendar, there are 969 days till the end of the current cycle. On this date, in 1667, blind and impoverished John Milton sells the copyright to Paradise Lost for £10 (about $15.00). Here are five people born on this day.
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)
Ohio-born general and President of the United States. In 1839, his father secured for Ulysses an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and pressured him to attend. Although he had no interest in military life, Ulysses accepted the appointment, realizing that the alternative was no further education. A mistyped application added the middle initial of "S" to his name and it stuck, which gave him the nickname of "Sam" by his classmates - for Uncle Sam Grant. Grant ranked 21st in a class of 39 when he graduated from West Point in 1843, but he had distinguished himself in horsemanship and showed such considerable ability in mathematics that he imagined himself as a teacher of the subject at the academy. Bored by the military curriculum, he took great interest in the required art courses and spent much leisure time reading classic novels. In the late 1840s, he fought in the Mexican War under Zachary Taylor. He then tried to be a farmer, but was very unsuccessful at it. When the Civil War broke out, he was in Missouri and helped by training and equipping Federal troops. He was responsible for winning the first Union victory of the war in Cumberland, Tennessee and soon found himself as being the leader of the entire Union Army. He accepted the surrender of the Confederate Army at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. His popularity as being the general of the winning side got Grant the ability to run for President. He served two terms in office (1868-1876). His time as leader was marred by economic turmoil and multiple scandals. His low standards in Cabinet and federal appointments; lack of accountability; generated corruption and bribery in seven government departments. In 1876, his reputation was severely damaged by the graft trials of the Whiskey Ring - where friends of his in office were doing underhanded dealings. Grant left the Presidency on a low note. In 1880 he made an unsuccessful bid for a third presidential term. In 1884, broke and dying of cancer, he wrote his enormously successful memoirs. While historians have placed his presidency low due to the corruption, many give him extra points for his views on Civil Rights. Grant died at the age of 63 from cancer in New York.
Jack Klugman (Born 1922)
A Philly-born actor who is probably best known for his starring television roles of the 1970s and 1980s, Jack Klugman is also an accomplished film and stage actor. He grew up poor in Philadelphia, the son of a house painter and a hat maker. After studying drama at Carnegie Mellon University, Klugman went to New York City to pursue an acting career. Klugman made his Broadway debut in Clifford Odets' Golden Boy in 1952. He also found work on such television shows as Actor's Studio and The Philco Television Playhouse. On the big screen, he appeared in Grubstake (1952), Time Table (1956) and 12 Angry Men (1957) alongside Henry Fonda, E. G. Marshall, and Ed Begley. Directed by Sidney Lumet, 12 Angry Men provided an inside look at the members of a jury during a murder trial. It earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture. Klugman co-starred with Tony Randall as Felix in The Odd Couple, which debuted in 1970. The show was a big hit with audiences tuning in to see the humorous friendship and frequent conflicts that erupted between the two opposing personalities as they tried to share the same apartment. While their characters may have had their differences, the two actors had a strong friendship. Both Klugman and Randall were nominated five times for Emmy Awards for their work on the show. Klugman won in 1971 and 1973 and Randall took home the prize in 1975. Without nearly skipping a beat, Klugman moved on to another hit show—this time a drama. He starred as a medical examiner in the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office on Quincy, M.E. Seen by some as a precursor to such popular forensic science shows as CSI, the show explored many seemingly natural deaths that turned out to be murder. Quincy served as both detective and pathologist, leaving the lab to seek out the truth and solve the case. Most recently, Klugman has become an author, writing about one of the most pivotal relationships of his career. In Tony and Me (2007), he explored the details of their friendship, which spanned five decades.
Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-1972)
Does the name sound familiar? That's because this Irish poet and playwright is the father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis. He was the British Poet Laureate from 1968 until the time of his death. Day-Lewis regarded himself as an "Anglo-Irish" even though he was officially a British citizen. In his youth, he was a member of the communist party from 1935-1938 and much of his early poetry reflects these ideals. During WW2 he was the publications editor for the Ministry of Information and became an editor and lecturer for Cambridge University. He would later teach poetry at Oxford and was a professor at Harvard University. He died of pancreatic cancer in 1972.
Casey Kasem (Born 1932)
This birthday greeting is going out to Casey Kasem. Born Kamel Amin "Casey" Kasem, this American disc-jockey and voice-over actor is probably best known for his portrayal of Shaggy Rogers from the 1970s hit Saturday-morning cartoon series, Scooby-Doo. He has also been the host of American Top 40 since 1970. He also hosted American Top 20 and American Top 10. Kasem retired from AT20 and AT10 on July 4, 2009 and both shows ended on that day. In addition to his radio shows, Kasem has provided the voice of many commercials, has done many voices for Sesame Street, was the voice of NBC, and provided the cartoon voice of Robin on The Super Friends, Shaggy on Scooby Doo, Mark on Battle of the Planets, and a number of the characters on the Transformers. After 40 years, Casey retired from his role of voicing Shaggy from Scooby Doo in 2009. In honor of his birthday,"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."
Kate Pierson (Born 1948)
The adorable red-head from the B-52's is a vocalist and musician born in New Jersey. While she still performs with her band; singing, playing keyboards and guitar, she is also the owner of a bed and breakfast called Kate's Lazy Meadow Motel in Mount Tremper, New York, near Woodstock in the Catskills. She operates the motel with her business partner and girlfriend, Monica Coleman. In addition to the B-52's, Pierson has also worked with R.E.M., the Ramones, Iggy Pop, and David Byrne from the Talking Heads.
