Today is December 17, 2009 and the 351st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 14 days left in the year 2009. Tonight is the seventh day of Hanukkah. According the Mayan calendar, there are 1099 days till the end of the current cycle. Today, in 1773, Pope Paul III excommunicated Henry VIII. Here are five people that share a birthday on this day:
William Safire (1929-2009)
American journalist, author and presidential speech writer, Safire was born in New York City. Best known as a political columnist for the New York Times, he was also a regular contributor to New York Magazine in “On Language” – a popular column on etymology, new and unusual phrases, and other language related topics. Safire was a speech writer for Richard M. Nixon during his 1960 and 1968 campaigns and is responsible for writing Spiro Agnew’s famous comment “nattering nabobs of negativism”. In 1978, Safire won a Pulitzer prize for his commentary on Bert Lance’s alleged budgetary irregularities. Safire died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at the age of 79.
Bob Guccione (Born 1930)
Born Robert Charles Joseph Sabatini Guccione in Brooklyn, New York, he is the founder of the adult magazine, Penthouse. Guccione started out as a cartoonist for a greeting card company. He started Penthouse in Britain in 1965 as an attempt to compete with Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine. Penthouse offered more sensationalistic stories than its competitor and was aimed at the middle class citizen. At first, Guccione was responsible for all writing and photography, but as the magazine grew, he passed these duties onto others. The magazine eventually became more and more explicit and Guccione became one of the richest men in North America. Poor financial planning and some bad investments (including a failed nuclear power plant) caused the magazine to crumble and in 2003, the media company went bankrupt.
Eugene Levy (Born 1946)
Eugene Levy is a comedian, actor, director, musician, writer, and producer born in Hamilton, Ontario. He is probably most famous for his work in the American comedy series “American Pie” playing Jim’s Dad. As an alumnus of the Second City comedy troop and SCTV, Levy has been known for playing nerdy types. While not a leading man, Levy has co-starred in literally dozens of comedies.
Paul Rodgers (Born 1949)
Born Paul Bernard Rodgers in Middlesbrough, England, he is best known as the lead singer for such rock bands as Free, Bad Company, The Firm and Queen. His nickname is “the Voice”. He was voted as #55 on Rolling Stones “100 Greatest Singers of All-Time”. Today, Rodgers is seeking a solo career while still singing with Queen. He’s famous for some songs like, “Bad Company”, “Straight Shooter”, “Heartbreaker”, and “Fire and Water”.
Richard Jewell (1962-2007)
Jewell was an American security guard who became connected with the Centennial Olympic bombing in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996. He found a pipe bomb at the Olympics and alerted police before the bomb went off. Initially, he was lauded as a hero by the media, but the police quickly turned him into a suspect for the crime. Although never being charged with the crime, he was considered guilty by the media which led to complications in his personal and professional life. He was eventually exonerated of all charges when Eric Robert Rudolph was found to have set the bomb, yet his life was never the same. Jewell sued for libel with NBC, the New York Post, CNN, and Cox Enterprises and won each case or settled out of court. In 2006, he was apologized to by the Governor of Georgia. He died in 2007 from heart disease and diabetes.
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