Born on this day – Alan Arkin:

Alan Arkin

Actor

Director

Writer

March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023

Recommended reading - The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain (1934):

The Postman Always Rings Twice

by James M. Cain

Published by Vintage.

First published 1934.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0679723250

ISBN-13: 978-0679723257

Description:

“A good, swift, violent story.” – Dashiell Hammett.

“A poet of the tabloid murder.” – Edmund Wilson.

An amoral young tramp. A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband. A problem that has only one grisly solution — a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve.

First published in 1934, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir. It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America’s bleak underside and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger.

“I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called. I merely try to write as the character would write, and I never forget that the average man … has acquired a vividness of speech that goes beyond anything I could invent.” – James M. Cain.

On this day in movie history - Journal of a Crime (1934):

Journal of a Crime

directed by William Keighley,

written by F. Hugh Herbert and Charles Kenyon,

based on the play by Jacques Deval,

was released in the United States on March 10, 1934.
A remake of Une vie perdue (1933), directed by Raymond Rouleau.
Music by Leo F. Forbstein.

Cast:

Ruth Chatterton, Adolphe Menjou, Claire Dodd, George Barbier, Douglas Dumbrille, Noel Madison, Henry O'Neill, Phillip Reed, Henry Kolker, Walter Pidgeon, Clay Clement.

Born on this day – James B. Sikking:

James B. Sikking

Actor

March 5, 1934 – July 13, 2024

Credits:

12 O'Clock High (1966); 20 Years of Must See TV (2002); A Woman Called Moses (1978); Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1997); Adam-12 (1968); An Evening at the Improv (1981); Around the World in 80 Days (1989); Assignment: Underwater (1961); Banyon (1972); Batman Beyond (1999–2000); Battle of the Network Stars XVII (1984); Bay Cove (1987); Bonanza (1967–1968); Brooklyn South (1997–1998); Brother on the Run (1973); Brotherhood of the Rose (1989); Cade's County (1971); Calling Doctor Storm, M. D. (1977); Cannon (1972–1974); Capricorn One (1977); CBS Summer Playhouse (1988); Chandler (1971); Charlie's Angels (1977–1979); Charro! (1969); Coffee, Tea or Me? (1973); Columbo (1974); Combat! (1963); Cop Rock (1990); Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004); Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969); Dare to Love (1995); Dead Badge (1995); Desperado: Badlands Justice (1989); Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992); Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993); Dress Gray (1986); Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man (1996); Eight Is Enough (1977); Ellery Queen (1976); Encore with John Palmer (2006–2010); Entertainment Tonight Presents: Hill Street Blues - Behind the Badge (2000); Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971); Family Flight (1972); Fever Pitch (2005); Final Approach (1991); First Steps (1985); Five Guns West (1955); General Hospital (1963); Gidget Gets Married (1972); Gomer Pyle: USMC (1967); Hawaii Five-O (1978); Here Come the Brides (1969–1970); Hill Street Blues (1982–1987); Hogan's Heroes (1968–1970); Honey West (1965); Hunter (1989); Imps* / Segment: Lite Blood (1983); In Like Flint (1967); In Pursuit of Honor (1995); Inside O.U.T. (1971); Invasion America (1998); Ironside (1967); Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou (1995); Johnny Staccato (1977); Just an American (2012); Kill Me If You Can (1977); L.A. Law (1986); Little House on the Prairie (1977); Longstreet (1971); Love, American Style / Segment: Love and the Intruder (1970); Lucan (1978); M*A*S*H (1973); Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1984); Made of Honor (2008); Man from Atlantis (1977); Man on a String (1972); Mannix (1970–1973); Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour (1984); Mission: Impossible (1970–1972); Mod Squad (1970–1973); Morons from Outer Space (1985); Mutiny (1999); My Favorite Martian (1965); My Mother the Car (1965–1966); Narrow Margin (1990); Narrow Margin: Featurette (1990); Never Con a Killer (1977); Night Gallery / Segments: Death in the Family; The Nature of the Enemy (1970–1971); Nowhere to Land (2000); O.K. Crackerby! (1965); Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss (1988); On Guard - Bunco! (1974); One on One with John Tesh (1992); Operation Petticoat (1978); Ordinary People (1980); Outland (1981); Outrage (1973); Paris (1979); Password Plus (1981); Perry Mason (1961); Point Blank (1967); Point Blank the Documentary (2024); Police Story (1977); Police Story: The Freeway Killings (1987); Rafferty (1977); Rawhide (1963); Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II (1976); Rocket Power (2000); Room 222 (1972–1973); Run for Your Life (1966–1967); Sail to Glory (1967); Scorpio (1973); Search (1973); Seduced by Evil (1994); Soul Man (1986); Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984); Starsky and Hutch (1978); Stay Tuned (1992); Submerged (2001); Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Golden Land (1988); The 10th Annual People's Choice Awards (1984); The 16th Annual People's Choice Awards (1990); The 24th Annual People's Choice Awards (1998); The 36th Primetime Emmy Awards (1984); The 50 Greatest Television Dramas (2007); The 8th Annual People's Choice Awards (1982); The 9th Annual People's Choice Awards (1983); The Alpha Caper (1973); The Astronaut (1972); The Barn Theatre: Tomorrow's Stars Today (2017); The Bionic Woman (1978); The Bob Newhart Show (1972); The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1971); The Carpetbaggers (1964); The Closer (2012); The Competition (1980); The Doris Day Show (1970–1973); The Electric Horseman (1979); The F.B.I. (1965–1974); The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One (1974); The Feather and Father Gang (1976–1977); The Final Days (1989); The Fugitive (1964–1966); The Guardian (2001–2002); The History of Hill Street (2011); The Immortal (1971); The Incredible Hulk (1978); The Invaders (1967); The Jesse Owens Story (1984); The Last Hurrah (1977); The Loner (1965); The Long, Hot Summer (1965); The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972); The Making of 'Up the Creek' (1984); The Marsha Warfield Show (1990); The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979); The Name of the Game (1971); The New Centurions (1972); The Night God Screamed (1971); The Outer Limits (1963–1964); The Pelican Brief (1993); The President's Plane Is Missing (1973); The Ring (1996); The Rockford Files (1977–1978); The Rookies (1972–1973); The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping (1973); The Star Chamber (1983); The Strangler (1964); The Streets of San Francisco (1973); The Survivors (1969); The Terminal Man (1974); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1983); The Virginian (1965); The Young Lawyers (1970); Too Good to Be True (1988); Trouble in High Timber Country (1980); Turnabout (1979); Tyson (1995); Up the Creek (1984); Vicki! (1992); Von Ryan's Express (1965); Whisper of the Heart (1995); Who's the Boss? (1987); Wild About Harry (2009); World War II: Breadlines to Boomtimes (1994); Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (1977).

Born on this day – Gia Scala:

Gia Scala

Actress

March 3, 1934 – April 30, 1972

Credits:

It Takes a Thief (1969); The Name of the Game (1969); Operation Delilah (1967); Tarzan (1967); Jericho (1966); Run for Your Life (1965); 12 O'Clock High (1965); Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1965); Convoy (1965); The Rogues (1964–1965); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1964); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964); The Triumph of Robin Hood (1962); The Guns of Navarone (1961); Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960–1961); Hong Kong (1961); Two Girls on the Town (1961); Here's Hollywood (1961); The Islanders (1960); I Aim at the Stars (1960); Battle of the Coral Sea (1959); The Angry Hills (1959); Goodyear Theatre (1959); Ride a Crooked Trail (1958); The Two-Headed Spy (1958); The Tunnel of Love (1958); Don't Go Near the Water (1957); Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957); The Garment Jungle (1957); The Big Boodle (1957); Four Girls in Town (1957); The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1957); The Price of Fear (1956); Never Say Goodbye (1956); All That Heaven Allows (1955).

Born on this day – Joan Hackett:

Joan Hackett

Actress

March 1, 1934 – October 8, 1983

Credits:

Tales of the Unexpected (1985); Flicks / New Adventures of the Great Galaxy (1983); A Girl's Life (1983); Paper Dolls (1982); The Escape Artist (1982); The Long Summer of George Adams (1982); Only When I Laugh (1981); Mourning Becomes Electra (1981); One-Trick Pony (1980); The Long Days of Summer (1980); Trapper John, M.D. (1979); The Love Boat (1979); Taxi (1979); Sweepstakes (1979); The North Avenue Irregulars (1979); Pleasure Cove (1979); Another Day (1978); The Possessed (1977); Dead of Night (1977); Stonestreet: Who Killed the Centerfold Model? (1977); Treasure of Matecumbe (1976); The American Woman: Portraits of Courage (1976); Mackintosh and T.J. (1975); Reflections of Murder (1974); The Terminal Man (1974); The Last of Sheila (1973); Class of '63 (1973); Rivals (1972); Lights Out (1972); Bonanza (1965–1972); Five Desperate Women (1971); U.S.A. (1971); Alias Smith and Jones (1971); Dan August (1971); Love, American Style / Love and the Jury / Love and the Proposal (1970–1971); The Other Man (1970); How Awful About Allan (1970); The Young Country (1970); Daniel Boone (1969); Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969); The Name of the Game (1968); Assignment to Kill (1968); Judd for the Defense (1967); Will Penny (1967); Run for Your Life (1966); Court Martial (1966); The Group (1966); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1964–1965); Ben Casey (1961–1964); The Wednesday Play (1964); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964); Channing (1964); The Great Adventure (1963); Empire (1963); The Doctors and the Nurses (1963); Combat! (1963); The Defenders (1961–1963); Alcoa Premiere (1962); Theatre '62 (1962); Gunsmoke (1962); Dr. Kildare (1962); The Twilight Zone (1962); The New Breed (1962); Westinghouse Presents: Come Again to Carthage (1961); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1961); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1960); Diagnosis: Unknown (1960); The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1959); Young Dr. Malone (1958).

Born on this day – N. Scott Momaday:

N. Scott Momaday

Writer

February 27, 1934 – January 24, 2024

Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush in 2007.

Credits:

A First American Views His Land (1976); Again the Far Morning (2011); Ancestral Voice (1989); Ancient Child (1989); Angle of Geese and Other Poems (1974); Bringing on the Indians (1971); Circle of Wonder (1993); Colorado (1978); Conversations with N. Scott Momaday (1997); Discovering the Land of Light (1985); Dream Drawings (2022); Earth Keeper (2020); Four Arrows & Magpie (2006); House Made of Dawn (1968); In the Bear's House (1999); In the Presence of the Sun (1992); Meditations (2016); On Bavarian Byways (1986); Sacred Legacy (2000); Storyteller (1992); The American Indian in an Unhappy Hunting Ground (1969); The Best of the West (1991); The Colors of Night (1976); The Death of Sitting Bear (poems);  (2020); The Gourd Dancer (1976); The Journey of Tai-Me (1967); The Man Made of Words (1997); The Names (1976); The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969); The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Thirteenth Annual Collection (2000); Three Plays (2019).

Born on this day – Barry Humphries:

Barry Humphries

Comedian

Actor

Writer

Satirist

February 17, 1934 – April 22, 2023

Born on this day – Alan Bates:

Alan Bates

Actor

February 17, 1934 – December 27, 2003

Born on this day – George Segal:

George Segal

Actor

Comedian

Musician

February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021

Born on this day – James Franciscus:

James Franciscus

Actor

January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991

Born on this day – Bill Bixby:

Bill Bixby

Actor

Director

Producer

January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993

Born on this day – Ann Wedgeworth:

Ann Wedgeworth

Actress

January 21, 1934 – November 16, 2017

Credits:

The Hawk Is Dying (2006); The Hunter's Moon (1999); The Whole Wide World (1996); Fight for Justice: The Nancy Conn Story (1995); A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story (1994); Love and a .45 (1994); Evening Shade (1990–1994); Harlan & Merleen (1993); Cooperstown (1993); Hard Promises (1991); Green Card (1990); Roseanne (1989); Steel Magnolias (1989); Miss Firecracker (1989); Far North (1988); The Equalizer (1987); Made in Heaven (1987); A Tiger's Tale (1987); A Stranger Waits (1987); The Twilight Zone (1986); The Men's Club (1986); Sylvan in Paradise (1986); Sweet Dreams (1985); My Science Project (1985); Right to Kill? (1985); No Small Affair (1984); Filthy Rich (1982–1983); Trapper John, M.D. (1982); Killjoy (1981); Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. (1981); Elvis and the Beauty Queen (1981); When the Whistle Blows (1980); Bogie (1980); Three's Company (1979); The War Between the Tates (1977); Citizens Band (1977); Thieves (1977); Birch Interval (1976); Dragonfly (1976); Bronk (1975); Law and Disorder (1974); The Catamount Killing (1974); Bang the Drum Slowly (1973); Scarecrow (1973); Madigan (1972); Another World (1968–1970); Somerset (1970); One Life to Live (1968); Hawk (1966); Andy (1965); The Defenders (1964); Startime (1959); Kraft Theatre (1957); The Edge of Night (1956).

Born on this day – Raymond Briggs:

Raymond Briggs

Writer

Illustrator

January 18, 1934 – August 9, 2022

Credits:

Books:

A Bit More Bert (2002); Big Billy's Scrapbook (1999); Building the Snowman (1985); Christmas Little Library (2010); Dressing Up (1985); Ethel and Ernest (1998); Father Christmas (1973); Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (1975); Father Christmas Having a Wonderful Time (1993); Fee Fi Fo Fum (1964); First Up Everest (1969); Fungus the Bogeyman (1979); Fungus's Big Green Bogey Book (2003); Gentleman Jim (1980); Ivor (2001); Jim and the Beanstalk (1970); Midnight Adventure (1961); Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes (2011); Raymond Briggs' the Snowman: Walking in the Air (1985); Ring a Ring O' Roses (1962); Shackleton's Epic Voyage (1969); Sledges to the rescue (1963); Snowman and the Snowdog Finger Puppet Book (2014); The Adventures of Bert (2001); The Bear (1994); The Complete Father Christmas (1978); The Elephant and the Bad Baby (1969); The Fairy Tale Treasury (1980); The Man (1992); The Mother Goose Treasury (1966); The Party (1985); The Puddleman (2004); The Puffin Mother Goose Bedtime Rhymes (2012); The Snowman (1978); The Snowman and The Snowdog (2012); The Snowman and The Snowdog Activity Book (2014); The Snowman Book and Snowglobe (2015); The Snowman Pull-Out Pop-Up Book (2014); The Snowman Storybook and Magical Pop-up Snowglobe (2009); The Snowman: A Puppet Play Book (2013); The Strange House (1961); The Tin Pot Foreign General (1984); The White Land (1963); Time For Lights Out (2019); Tin Pot Foreign General and the Old Iron Woman (1984); Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age (2002); Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age and His Search for Soft Trousers (2001); Unlucky Wally (1987); Unlucky Wally Twenty Years on (1989); When the Wind Blows (1982); Notes From the Sofa (2014).

Movies, television and video:

Ethel & Ernest (2016); Fungus the Bogeyman (2015); The Snowman and the Snowdog (2012); The Snowman: The Live Stage Show (2010); Fungus the Bogeyman (2004); Ivor the Invisible (2001); The Bear (1998); Jackanory (1993–1994); Father Christmas (1991); When the Wind Blows (1986); The Snowman (1982); Wir warten auf's Christkind (1981).

Born on this day – Claude Borelli:

Claude Borelli

Actress

January 14, 1934 – November 15, 1960

Credits:

The Gangsters (1957); Gestatten, mein Name ist Cox (1955); Le fil à la patte (1954); The Scheming Women (1954); This Man Is Dangerous (1953); When You Read This Letter (1953); La plus belle fille du monde (1951); Orpheus (1950); L'école des resquilleurs (1934); Jeanne (1934); L'éternelle chanson (1932).

Born on this day – Mitchell Ryan:

Mitchell Ryan

Actor

January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022

Recommended reading – Two O’clock Courage (1934):

Two O’clock Courage

By Gelett Burgess.

Filmed as Two in the Dark (1936), directed by Benjamin Stoloff.

ASIN: B005D2SGQU

Published by Surinam Turtle Press.

Published 1934.

Hardcover.

Description:

This 1934 thriller is the third book under Richard A. Lupoff's Surinam Turtle imprint. A man wakes up in a park and can't remember who he is. But thanks to the help of a couple of intriguing women, he manages to remain free from arrest for a murder he MAY have committed. But he simply must figure out his identity before the cops -- or the murderer -- catch up with him. The story was made into a film called TWO IN THE DARK and the plot has been used in later films and books (notably Evan Hunter's BUDDWING and a British film called HYSTERIA) but no one has done it with the skill and style of Gelett Burgess.

Born on this day – Del Shannon:

Del Shannon

Musician

Singer

Songwriter

Actor

December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990

Born on this day – Ed Flanders:

Ed Flanders

Actor

December 29, 1934 – February 22, 1995

Born on this day – Herb Gardner:

Herb Gardner

Writer

Producer

Director

Artist

Cartoonist

December 28, 1934 – September 25, 2003