Born on this day – Kimberly Ann Hébert Gregory:

Kimberly Ann Hébert Gregory

Actress

December 7, 1972 – October 3, 2025

Credits:

All Rise (2019); Arizona (2018); Baby Daddy (2016); Barry (2023); Better Call Saul (2017); Blood Weed (2023); Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2017); Carol & The End of the World (2023); Cartoon Network: Every Time Our Shows Reference Each Other (2021); Celebrity Page (2017); Continuing Fred (2013); Craig Before the Creek (2023); Craig of the Creek (2018–2025); Creek Shorts (2019); Darksiders Genesis (2019); Devious Maids (2014); Do It Yourself (2014); Dollface (2019); Every Other Weekend (2018); Five Feet Apart (2019); Future Man (2020); Genius (2021); Gossip Girl (2007); Grey's Anatomy (2014); Hollywood Today Live (2016); I Didn't Do It (2014); I Think I Love My Wife (2007); Independent Lens (2013); Jessica's Big Little World (2023); John Henry (2020); Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (2017–2018); Law & Order (2010); Medical Police (2020); Miss Virginia (2019); Modern Love (2017); Mother's Milk (2021); New Amsterdam (2008); No Activity (2021); Private Practice (2013); Red Hook Summer (2012); Shameless (2014); Splitting Up Together (2019); Stanistan (2015); Stumptown (2019); The Act (2019); The Big Bang Theory (2014); The Black Donnellys (2007); The Chi (2019); The Guest Book (2017); The Soul Man (2015); Two and a Half Men (2013); Unit Zero (2017); Vice Principals (2016–2017); White Alligator (2012); Winnie Taylor's 4th & Inches (2024).

Born on this day – Lisa Spoonauer:

Lisa Spoonauer

Actress

December 6, 1972 – May 20, 2017

Credits:

Clerks (2001); Bartender (1997); Clerks (1994).

On this day in movie history - The Valachi Papers (movie & book):

The Valachi Papers

directed by Terence Young,

written by Stephen Geller, Massimo De Rita and Dino Maiuri,

based on the book by Peter Maas,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1972.
Music by Armando Trovajoli and Riz Ortolani.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, Angelo Infanti, Guido Leontini, María Baxa, Mario Pilar, Franco Borelli, Alessandro Sperli, Natasha Chevelev, Anthony Dawson, Fred Valleca, John Alarimo, Calogero Azzaretto, Joe Don Baker, Steve Belloise, Angelo Boscariol, Nestore Cavaricci, Massimo Ciprari, Giacomo De Michelis, Bruno Di Luia, Gianni Di Segni, Richard Dunne, Arny Freeman, Alfonso Giganti, Ron Gilbert, Frank Gio, Syl Lamont, Imelde Marani, Isabelle Marchall, Jason McCallum, Franco Ressel, Sabine Sun, Robert Trout, Steve Vignari.

Recommended reading:

The Valachi Papers

By Peter Maas.

Published by Harper Perennial.

First published 1968.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 006050742X

ISBN-13: 978-0060507428

Description:

“As fascinating as fiction, a bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members." – New York Times Book Review.

The First Inside Account of the Mafia.

The Valachi Papers is a biography written by Peter Maas, telling the true story of former mafia member Joe Valachi, a low-ranking member of the New York based Genovese crime family, was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself. His account of his criminal past revealed many previously unknown details of the Mafia. The book was made into a film (The Valachi Papers), released in 1972, starring Charles Bronson as Valachi. In October 1963, Valachi testified before Senator John L. McClellan's congressional committee on organized crime, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations. In the so-called Valachi hearings he gave the American public a firsthand account of Mafia activities in the United States.

In the 1960s a disgruntled soldier in New York's Genovese Crime Family decided to spill his guts. His name was Joseph Valachi. Daring to break the Mob's code of silence for the first time, Valachi detailed the organization of organized crime from the capos, or bosses, of every Family, to the hit men who "clipped" rivals and turncoats. With a phenomenal memory for names, dates, addresses, phone numbers – and where the bodies were buried – Joe Valachi provided the chilling facts that led to the arrest and conviction of America's major crime figures.

The rest is history.

Never again would the Mob be protected by secrecy. For the Mafia, Valachi's name would become synonymous with betrayal. But his stunning exposé broke the back of America's Cosa Nostra and stands today as the classic about America's Mob, a fascinating tale of power and terror, big money, crime. . . and murder.

The bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members.

“A highly readable narrative…. A story littered with bodies and unsolved crimes, betrayals and beatings, oaths, ritual, and revenge.” – Newsweek.

“A classic on crime.” – Life.

On this day in movie history - Un Flic (1972):

Un Flic

English translation: A Cop, aka Dirty Money,

directed and written by Jean-Pierre Melville,

was released in France on October 25, 1972.
Music by Michel Colombier.

Cast:

Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve, Riccardo Cucciolla, Michael Conrad, Paul Crauchet, Simone Valère, André Pousse, Jean Desailly, Valérie Wilson, Henri Marteau, Catherine Rethi, Louis Grandidier, Philippe Gasté, Dominique Zentar, Jako Mica, Jo Tafanelli, Stan Dylik, Georges Florian, Léon Minisini, Roger Fradet, Jacques Galland, Jean-Pierre Posier, Jacques Leroy, Michel Fretault, Gene Moyle, Nicole Témime, Pierre Vaudier.

Born on this day – Jan Schwieterman:

Jan Schwieterman

Actor

September 30, 1972 – February 28, 2025

Credits:

Along the Way (2007); American Intellectuals (1999); Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction / Segment: Rock & Roll Ears (1998); ER (1994); Fallen Arches (1998); Felicity (1998–1999); Forever (1996); Good Burger (1997); Good Burger 2: Good Burger 1 Movie Recap (2024); McKenna (1994); NightMan (1998); Undressed (1999); Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999); Wasted (1996).

On this day in television history - M*A*S*H (1972 – 1983):

M*A*S*H

developed by Larry Gelbart,

based on the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker,

was originally aired in the United States on CBS and ran for eleven seasons,

from September 17, 1972 – February 28, 1983.
Theme music by Johnny Mandel.

Cast:

Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Gary Burghoff, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, David Ogden Stiers, G. W. Bailey, Kellye Nakahara, Jeff Maxwell, Johnny Haymer, Allan Arbus, Edward Winter.

On this day in movie history - Hotel Monterey (1972):

Hotel Monterey

silent documentary directed and written by Chantal Akerman,

released at the Venice Biennale in Italy on September 4, 1975.
Filmed in 1972.

On this day in movie history - The New Centurions (1972):

The New Centurions

directed by Richard Fleischer,

written by Stirling Silliphant,

based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,

was released in the United States on August 3, 1972.
Music by Quincy Jones.

Cast:

George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Jane Alexander, Scott Wilson, Rosalind Cash, Erik Estrada, Clifton James, Richard E. Kalk, James Sikking, Beverly Hope Atkinson, Mittie Lawrence, Isabel Sanford, Carol Speed, Tracee Lyles, Burke Byrnes, William Atherton, Peter De Anda, Ed Lauter, Dolph Sweet, Stefan Gierasch, Debbie Fresh, Mike Lane, Roger E. Mosley, Charles H. Gray, Read Morgan, Michael DeLano, Adriana Shaw, Pepe Serna, Bea Thompkins, Hilly Hicks, Shaaron Claridge, Herbert Coley, Otis Day, Dick DeCoit, Lieux Dressler, Brent Dunsford, Raymond Guth, Kitten Natividad, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Anne Ramsey.

On this day in movie history - Fat City (1972):

Fat City

directed by John Huston,

written by Leonard Gardner,

based on the novel by Leonard Gardner,

was released in the United States on July 26, 1972.
Music by Kenneth Hall.

Cast:

Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark, Nicholas Colasanto, Art Aragon, Curtis Cokes, Sixto Rodriguez, Billy Walker, Wayne Mahan, Ruben Navarro, Álvaro López, Carl D. Parker, Bill Riddle, Al Silvani.

On this day in movie history - Prime Cut (1972):

Prime Cut

directed by Michael Ritchie,

written by Robert Dillon,

was released in the United States on June 28, 1972.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Angel Tompkins, Gregory Walcott, Sissy Spacek, Janit Baldwin, William Morey, Clint Ellison, Howard Platt, Les Lannom, Eddie Egan, Therese Reinsch, Bob Wilson, Gordon Signer, Gladys Watson, Wayne Savagne.