Born on this day – Elizabeth Peña:

Elizabeth Peña

Actress

Writer

Musician

September 23, 1959 – October 14, 2014

Credits:

15 Minutes (1987); 2002 ALMA Awards (2002); A Piece of the Action: Behind the Scenes of 'Rush Hour' (1999); A Single Woman (2008); Across the Moon (1994); Adio Kerida (2002); Adrift in Manhattan (2007); Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within (1998); American Dad! (2007); Ana Maria in Novela Land (2015); *batteries not included (1987); Becoming Eduardo (2009); Blaze You Out (2013); Blue Steel (1990); Border Line (1999); Boston Public (2002–2003); Building 'Jacob's Ladder' (1990); Cagney & Lacey (1985); Charlie's Angels (2011); Common Law (2012); Contagious (1997); Crossover Dreams (1985); CSI: Miami (2003); Dead Funny (1994); Dead Man's Gun (1997); Dellaventura (1997); Dennis Miller (2004); Disney Infinity (2013); Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986); Down for Life (2009); Down in the Valley (2005); Dragon Wars: D-War (2007); Dream On (1993); Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990); El Super (1979); Entertainment Tonight (1991); Entertainment Tonight (2014); Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995); Fugitive Among Us (1992); Funny or Die Presents... / Segment: United States Police Department (2011); Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville (1987); Ghost Whisperer (2009); Girl on the Edge (2015); Goal II: Living the Dream (2007); Grandma (2015); Gridlock'd (1997); Hill Street Blues (1986); Hollywood Mom's Mystery (2004); How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005); I Married Dora (1987–1988); Impostor (2001); In the Dark (2013); It Came from Outer Space II (1996); Jacob's Ladder (1990); Justice League (2004); Justice League Unlimited (2005); Keep Your Distance (2005); Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure (2012); King John (2013); L.A. Law (1993–1994); La Bamba (1987); La noche desesperada (2007); Lone Star (1996); Love Comes Lately (2007); Major Crimes (2013); Matador (2014); Maya & Miguel (2004–2009); Minoriteam (2006); Modern Family (2013); Mother and Child (2009); NCIS (2004); Nothing Like the Holidays (2008); Numb3rs (2005); Off the Map (2011); Old Love (2001); On the Borderline (2001); Outlaw (2010); Plush (2013); Prime Suspect (2012); Prototype (2009); Racing for Time (2008); Recon (1996); Resurrection Blvd. (2000–2002); Roommates (1994); Rush Hour (1998); Seven Girlfriends (1999); Shannon's Deal (1989–1991); Special Collector's Edition (2014); Speechless (2008); Strangeland (1998); Suburban Madness (2004); Sueño (2005); T.J. Hooker (1985); Ten Tiny Love Stories (2002); The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004); The 15th Annual IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2000); The 1995 NCLR Bravo Awards (1995); The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003); The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2015); The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards (2015); The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema (2001); The Brothers Garcia (2003); The Eddie Files (1998); The Incredibles (2004); The Incredibles: The Video Game (2004); The Incredibles: When Danger Calls (2004); The Insider (2004); The Invaders (1995); The Lost City (2005); The Oscars (2015); The Outer Limits (1995); The Pass (1998); The Perfect Family (2011); The Second Civil War (1997); The Song of Sway Lake (2018); The Waterdance (1992); They All Laughed (1981); Things Behind the Sun (2001); Times Square (1980); Tortilla Soup (2001); Tough Cookies (1986); Transamerica (2005); Two (1996–1997); Up Close with Carrie Keagan (2008); Vibes (1988); Without a Trace (2005); Ylse (2010); Zig Zag (2002).

On this day in television history - Johnny Staccato (1959 - 1960):

Johnny Staccato

aka Staccato,

was released in the United States on September 10, 1959,

and ran for two seasons until March 17, 1960.
Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

John Cassavetes, Warren Berlinger, Geraldine Brooks, Walter Burke, Elisha Cook, Jr., Lloyd Corrigan, Frank DeKova, Norman Fell, Marianne Gaba, Ingrid Goude, Harry Guardino, Arline Hunter, Martin Landau, Michael Landon, Cloris Leachman, Ruta Lee, Sylvia Lewis, Charles McGraw, John Marley, Elizabeth Montgomery, Mary Tyler Moore, Susan Oliver, J. Pat O'Malley, Gena Rowlands, Vito Scotti, Dean Stockwell, Nita Talbot, Jack Weston.

On this day in movie history - The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959):

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery

aka The St. Louis Bank Robbery,

directed by Charles Guggenheim and John Stix,

written by Richard Heffron,

was released in the United States on September 10, 1959.
Music by Bernardo Segáll.

Cast:

Steve McQueen, Crahan Denton, David Clarke, James Dukas, Molly McCarthy, Martha Gable, Larry Gerst, Boyd Williams, Frank Novotny, Nell Roberts, Bob Holt, May Kohn, Jay Elliot, Robert Klauss, Barney Barnett, Nancy Lyon.

Recommended reading - The Galton Case (1959):

The Galton Case (1959).

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Vintage Crime / Black Lizard

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0679768645

ISBN-13: 978-0679768647

Description:

Almost twenty years have passed since Anthony Galton disappeared, along with a suspiciously streetwise bride and several thousand dollars of his family's fortune. Now Anthony's mother wants him back and has hired Lew Archer to find him. What turns up is a headless skeleton, a boy who claims to be Galton's son, and a con game whose stakes are so high that someone is still willing to kill for them. Devious and poetic, tersely poetic, The Galton Case displays MacDonald at the pinnacle of his form.

If any writer can be said to have inherited the mantle of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, it was Ross Macdonald. Between the late 1940s and his death in 1983, he gave the American crime novel a psychological depth and moral complexity that his predecessors had only hinted at. And in the character of Lew Archer, Macdonald redefined the private eye as a roving conscience who walks the treacherous frontier between criminal guilt and human sin.

Ross Macdonald’s Lew Archer mysteries rewrote the conventions of the detective novel with their credible, humane hero, and with Macdonald’s insight and moral complexity won new literary respectability for the hardboiled genre previously pioneered by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.

“Exciting and beautifully plotted.” – The New York Times Book Review.

“A model of intelligently engineered excitement.” – The New Yorker.

“One of his best … The Macdonald depth of understanding and dispassionate charity come out well, and the story … is richly plotted.” – San Francisco Chronicle.

August in music history - I’m John Lee Hooker, by John Lee Hooker (1959):

The album I’m John Lee Hooker,

by John Lee Hooker,

was released in August 1959.
Exact release date unknown.

On this day in movie history - Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959):

Plan 9 from Outer Space,

directed and written by Ed Wood,

was released in the United States on July 22, 1959.
Narrated by Criswell.
Music compiled by Gordon Zahler.

Cast:
Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Duke Moore, Tom Keene, Carl Anthony, Paul Marco, Tor Johnson, Dudley Manlove, Joanna Lee, John Breckinridge, Lyle Talbot, David De Mering, Norma McCarty, Bill Ash, Lynn Lemon, Ben Frommer, Gloria Dea, Conrad Brooks, Maila Nurmi / Vampira, Bela Lugosi, Criswell, Donald A. Davis, Johnny Duncan, Karl Johnson, Tom Mason, J. Edward Reynolds, Pauline Reynolds, Clay Stone, Hugh Thomas Jr., Edward D. Wood Jr.

On this day in movie history - Anatomy of a Murder (1959):

Anatomy of a Murder,

directed by Otto Preminger,

written by Wendell Mayes,

based on the novel by Robert Traver,

was released in the United States on June 29, 1959.
Music by Duke Ellington.

Cast:
James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden, Kathryn Grant, George C. Scott, Orson Bean, Russ Brown, Murray Hamilton, Brooks West, Ken Lynch, John Qualen, Howard McNear, Alexander Campbell, Ned Wever, Jimmy Conlin, Royal Beal, Joseph Kearns, Don Ross, Lloyd Le Vasseur, James Waters, Joseph N. Welch, Danny the Dog, Duke Ellington, Irv Kupcinet, Lawrence K. Paquin, Chuck Ramsay, Mrs. Joseph Welch.

June in music history - B.B. King Wails, by B.B. King And His Orchestra (1959):

The album B.B. King Wails,

by B.B. King And His Orchestra,

was released in June 1959.
Exact release date unknown.

Born on this day – Robyn Bernard:

Robyn Bernard

Actress

Musician

Singer

Pianist

May 26, 1959 – March 12, 2024

Credits:

Betty Blue (1986); Diva (1981); General Hospital (1984–1990); Hour Magazine (1986); Kings for a Day (1997); Maigret (1992); Roselyne and the Lions (1989); Simon & Simon (1983); The Facts of Life (1984); The New Hollywood Squares (1987); Tour of Duty (1988); Voices from the High School (2002); Whiz Kids (1983); Win, Lose or Draw (1988).

Born on this day – Irene Cara:

Irene Cara

Singer

Writer

Actress

March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022

Credits:

20 to 1 (2010); 20th NAACP Image Awards (1988); 9am with David & Kim (2006); A Celebration of Life: A Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. (1984); Aaron Loves Angela (1975); All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989); Ally McBeal (2002); American Bandstand (1980–1983); American Idol (2003–2012); American Playhouse (1983); Any Given Sunday (2006); Apple Pie (1975); Atomic Kitten: Kitten Diaries (2002); Bagets (1984); Beauty and the Beast (1992); Beyond Awareness to Action: Ending Abuse of Women (1995); Black Music in America: From Then Till Now (1971); Bob's Burgers (2013); Body Electric (2002–2006); Bring Back... Fame (2008); Britain's Got Talent (2011–2012); Busted Up (1986); Bustin' Loose (1988); Caged in Paradiso (1989); Cannonball (2017); Celebrity Splash! Australia (2013); Certain Fury (1985); Champs-Elysées (1983); Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003); China Cry: A True Story (1990); City Heat (1984); D.C. Cab (1983); Dancing Stars (2013); Dancing with the Stars (2009); Deutschland sucht den Superstar (2003–2008); Die Hit-Giganten (2005); Die ultimative Chartshow (2005); DJ Bobo & Irene Cara: What a Feeling (2001); Domino Day (2007); Downtown: A Street Tale (2004); E! True Hollywood Story (2000); Edle dråper (2002); Eight (2020); Elämäni Biisi (2022); Elephant Shoes (2005); Emu's World (1984); Entertainment Tonight (2007); Eufòria (2022); F.C. De Kampioenen (1990–1991); Fama ¡a bailar! (2008); Fame (1980–1984); Flashdance (1983); Gabriel's Fire (1991); Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion (2004); Ghostbusters (1984); Girls (2013); Glee (2012); Going Bananas (1984); Gone Country (2008); Granada Reports (2018); Greatest Ever 80s Movies (2007); Grey's Anatomy (2009); Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980); Happily Ever After (1989); Hasta luego cocodrilo (1992); Hearts Are Wild (1992); Hermanos: Cantaré, cantarás (1985); Hit Me, Baby, One More Time (2005); Hungry Hearts (2014); I Love 1980's (2001); Idol - Jakten på en superstjerne (2005); Idol (2003); Idol (2005); Idol winner 2005 (2005); Idols (2003); Idols (2006); Idols (2007); Idool 2004 (2004); Irene (1981); Irene Cara: Anyone Can See (1982); Irene Cara: Breakdance (1984); Irene Cara: Downtown (2006); Irene Cara: Fame (1982); Irene Cara: Fame (Movie Version) (1980); Irene Cara: Fame (Show Version) (1982); Irene Cara: Flashdance... What a Feeling (1983); Irene Cara: Girlfriends (1987); Irene Cara: I Can Fly (1988); Irene Cara: My Baby (He's Something Else) (1982); Irene Cara: No One But You (1990); Irene Cara: Out Here on My Own (1980); Irene Cara: Out Here on My Own (Show Version) (1982); Irene Cara: Reach Out I'll Be There (1982); Irene Cara: The Dream (Hold on to Your Dream) (1984); Irene Cara: Why Me? (1983); It Takes Two (2007); Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (1983); Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon (1980); Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 (2004); Killing 'em Softly (1982); King of the Hill (2002); KISS and Randi Reisfeld in Kids Are People, Too (1981–1982); Kojak (1976); Kommissar Rex (1995); La máquina de bailar (2006); La télé de Sébastien (2006); Les 30 ans du TOP 50 (2015); Les 50 ans du Disco - les stars chantent pour le Sidaction (2023); Les enfants de la télé (2017–2019); Lip Sync Battle (2015); Lip Sync Battle Philippines (2018); Lorraine (2016); Love of Life (1970-1971); Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1984); Masked Singer Suomi (2020); Miss Tacuarembó (2010); Mitch Miller's Singalong Sampler (1981); Motormouth (1991); MTV 80s - Top 50 at the Movies! (2020); MTV 80s - Top 50 Greatest Voices of the 80s! (2020); Music Box (2021); Musical Chairs (1975); My Music: Movie Songs (2007); Na sowas! (1983); Nacidas para sufrir (2009); Nip/Tuck (2008); Nöjesmaskinen (1983); On Location with: FAME (1980); One Hit Wonderland (2014); Operación triunfo (2002); PBS News Weekend (2022); Performance (1981); Peter Rabbit (2018); Popular (2000); Professor Hope's Thanksgiving Campus Comedy Capers (1983); Rapmania: The Roots of Rap (1990); Ray Parker Jr.: Girls Are More Fun (1985); Razzle Dazzle (2007); Roots: The Next Generations (1979); Rovers (2016); Salute! (1983); Saturday Night Live (2001–2015); SHIMMER Volume 36 (2010); Show-Express (1980); Sister, Sister (1982); Six Feet Under (2002); Slovensko hladá SuperStar (2004); So You Think You Can Dance (2006); So You Think You Can Dance Canada (2010); Solid Gold (1980–1984); Soul Train (1980); Sparkle (1976); Starmania (2002); Strictly Come Dancing (2016); Sunburst II (1984); Super Idol (2004); Teen Spirit (2018); That's Dancing! (1985); The 19th Annual Nosotros Golden Eagle Awards (1989); The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards (1980); The 23rd Annual Grammy Awards (1981); The 26th Annual Grammy Awards (1984); The 28th Annual American Music Awards (1984); The 31st Annual Grammy Awards (1989); The 38th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1981); The 41st Annual Golden Globe Awards (1984); The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981); The 56th Annual Academy Awards (1984); The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2005); The 58th Annual Academy Awards (1986); The Annual American Image Awards (1984); The Boys (2019); The Brothers Johnson: Kick It to the Curb (1988); The David Letterman Show (1980); The Disco Ball (2003); The Dorsey Robinson Show (1984); The Electric Company (1971–1972); The Full Monty (1997); The Gavin & Lott Show (1983); The Hughes Corporation: What A Feeling (2006); The Internship (2013); The John Davidson Show (1980); The Jungle King (1994); The Longshot (1986); The Magic Voyage (1992); The Masked Singer (2022); The Merv Griffin Show (1980–1985); The Middle (2013); The Midnight Special (1980); The Pop 'N' Rocker Game (1983); The Simpsons (2016); The Switch Drag Race (2015); The Toni Tennille Show (1980); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1971–1981); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2011); The Voice Israel (2013); The Wendy Williams Show (2011); The X Factor UK (2007–2016); Top of the Pops (1982); Top of the Pops (1982); Trust Us with Your Life (2012); Tu cara me suena - Argentina (2014); Tu cara me suena (2014); UK Championship Snooker (2015); Un paso adelante (2002); Vegas (2008); Verstehen Sie Spaß? (2001); VH1 Goes Inside (2003); VH-1 Where Are They Now? (2000); Wetten, dass..? (2001); What's Happening!! (1977); Who's Doing the Dishes? (2016); Zeg 'ns Aaa (1984).

On this day in movie history – The Purple Gang (1959):

The Purple Gang (1959),

directed by Frank McDonald,

written by Jack DeWitt,

was released in the United States on January 5, 1960.
Music by Paul Dunlap.

Cast:
Barry Sullivan, Robert Blake, Elaine Edwards, Marc Cavell, Jody Lawrance, Suzanne Ridgway, Joe Turkel, Victor Creatore, Paul Dubov, Ray Boyle, Kathleen Lockhart, Nestor Paiva, Lou Krugman, Robert Anderson, Mauritz Hugo, James Roosevelt.

Born on this day – Tracy Wright:

Tracy Wright

Actress

December 7, 1959 – June 22, 2010

December in movie history - Gangster Story (1959):

Gangster Story,

directed by Walter Matthau,

written by Paul Purcell,

based on a story by Richard Grey and V.J. Rheims,

was released in the United States in December, 1959.
Exact release date unknown.
Music by Alex Compinsky.

Cast:
Walter Matthau, Carol Grace, Bruce MacFarlane, Garry Walberg, Raikin Ben-Ari, David Leonard, John Albright, Clegg Hoyt, Leonard Bremen, Vic Tayback.

Born on this day – Dominique Dunne:

Dominique Dunne

Actress

November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982

Born on this day – Norm Macdonald:

Norm Macdonald

Comedian

Actor

Writer

October 17, 1959 – September 14, 2021

On this day in television history - The Untouchables (1959 - 1963):

The Untouchables,

based on the book by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley,

was released in the United States on October 15, 1959,

and ran for four seasons until May 21, 1963.
The pilot episode was released on January 22, 1959.
Narrated by Walter Winchell.
Music by Bill Loose, Jack Cookerly and Nelson Riddle.

Cast:
Robert Stack, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni, Abel Fernandez, Steve London, Jerry Paris, Chuck Hicks, Anthony George, Keenan Wynn, Eddie Firestone, Robert Osterloh, Frank Wilcox, Robert Bice, Jason Wingreen, Raymond Bailey, Barbara Nichols, Dane Clark, John Gabriel, Barbara Stanwyck, Ed Asner, Virginia Capers, Bruce Gordon, Oscar Beregi, Jr., Lawrence Dobkin, Robert J. Wilke, Warren J. Kemmerling, Bern Hoffman, Nehemiah Persoff, Lloyd Nolan, Robert J. Wilke, Harry Morgan, Gene Roth, Robert Carricart, Joseph Ruskin, Robert Carricart, Carl Milletaire, Grant Richards, Neville Brand, Frank de Kova, John Beradino, Henry Silva, Joe De Santis, George N. Neise, John Kellogg, H. M. Wynant, Wally Cassell, Richard Benedict, Herman Rudin, Les Lampson, Walter Winchell, Paul Picerni, Nicholas Georgiade.