Born on this day – William P. McGivern:

William P. McGivern

Writer

December 6, 1918 – November 18, 1982

Credits:

But Death Runs Faster / The Whispering Corpse (1948); Heaven Ran Last (1949); Very Cold for May (1950); Shield for Murder (1951); Blondes Die Young (1952); The Crooked Frame (1952); The Big Heat (1953); Margin of Terror (1953); Rogue Cop (1954); The Darkest Hour / Waterfront Cop (1955); The Seven File / Chicago-7 (1956); Night Extra (1957); Odds Against Tomorrow (1957); Mention My Name in Mombasa (1958); Savage Streets (1959); Seven Lies South (1960); The Road to the Snail (1961); A Pride of Place (1962); A Choice of Assassins (1963); The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1966); Lie Down, I Want to Talk to You (1967); Caprifoil (1972); Reprisal (1973); Night of the Juggler (1975); Soldiers of '44 (1979); The Seeing (1980); Summit (1982); War Games (1984); A Matter of Honor (1984); Killer On the Turnpike (1961); The Science Fiction Collection 3 (2018); Convoy to Atlantis (1941); Send Along a Wreath (2019); The Judas Valley (2008); Police Special (1962); We, the Machine / Planet of Dread (2012); Black Cat Weekly #83 (2023).

Born on this day – Elissa Landi:

Elissa Landi

Actress

December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948

Born on this day – Kathryn McGuire:

Kathryn McGuire

Actress

Dancer

December 6, 1903 – October 10, 1978

Credits:

A Lady's Tailor (1919); A String of Diamonds (1926); Bucking the Line (1921); Bungalow Troubles (1921); By Golly! (1920); Children of the Ritz (1929); Compression (2017); Cutie (1928); Dabbling in Art (1921); Dashing Thru (1926); Down on the Farm (1920); Dragnet (1959); Drama Deluxe (1927); Easy Going Gordon (1925); Failure (1925); Fashion News (1930); Fresh from the City (1920); Gee Whiz (1920); Giddap! (1925); Great Scott! (1920); Hard Knocks and Love Taps (1921); He Did His Best (1929); Helpful Hogan (1923); Her Husky Hero (1927); His Last False Step (1919); Home Talent (1921); Howdy Duke (1927); It's a Boy (1920); Lilac Time (1928); Love a la Mode (1930); Love's Outcast (1921); Made in the Kitchen (1921); Married Life (1920); Midnight Faces (1926); Molly O' (1921); Movie Fans (1920); Movieland (1926); Mystery Pilot (1926); Naughty Boy (1927); Naughty But Nice (1927); On a Summer Day (1921); Phantom Justice (1924); Pioneer's Gold (1924); Playing with Fire (1921); Salome vs. Shenandoah (1919); She Sighed by the Seaside (1921); Sherlock Jr. (1924); Somebody's Mother (1926); Stacked Cards (1926); Sweetheart Days (1921); Synthetic Sin (1929); Tearing Through (1925); The Big Diamond Robbery (1929); The Border Wildcat (1929); The Crossroads of New York (1922); The Draw-Back (1927); The Flame of Life (1923); The Gingham Girl (1920); The Girl in the Pullman (1927); The Gold Hunters (1925); The Long, Long Trail (1929); The Lost Zeppelin (1929); The Love Pirate (1923); The Navigator (1924); The Printer's Devil (1923); The Quack Doctor (1920); The Shriek of Araby (1923); The Silent Call (1921); The Thin Man (1958); The Thrill Hunter (1926); The Unhappy Finish (1921); The WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1922 (1922); The Woman of Bronze (1923); There It Is (1918) (1928); Trying to Get Along (1919); Two-Fisted Jones (1925); Uncle Tom Without a Cabin (1919); Up in Alf's Place (1919); Wedding Bells Out of Tune (1921); Wedding Yells (1927); Weird (2022); Who's Afraid? (1927); Wild and Wicked (1923); With Buffalo Bill on the U. P. Trail (1926); With Davy Crockett at the Fall of the Alamo (1926).

Born on this day – Agnes Moorehead:

Agnes Moorehead

Actress

December 6, 1900 – April 30, 1974

Credits:

About Faces (1960); Adventures in Paradise (1960); Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951); AFI Life Achievement Award (1978); Alcoa Theatre (1959); Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966); All That Heaven Allows (1955); America at the Movies (1976); Bachelor in Paradise (1961); Backstory (2001); Barefoot in the Park (1970); Betty White's Pet Set - Behind the Scenes (2021); Bewitched (1964–1972); Bewitched (2005); Bewitched 60th: Anniversary Special (2024); Biography (1999); Burke's Law (1963–1965); Caged (1950); Camera Three (1962–1963); Captain Blackjack (1950); Century of Cinema (1995); Channing (1964); Charlotte's Web (1973); Chevrolet's Bewitching Bonanza (1964); Citizen Kane (1941); Citizen Kane Trailer (1940); Climax! / Segment: Child of the Wind (1956–1957); Custer (1967); Dark Passage (1947); Dateline: Hollywood (1967); Dear Dead Delilah (1972); Della (1969); Dragon Seed (1944); Fan des années 70 (2012); Fourteen Hours (1951); Frankenstein: The True Story (1973); Freedom Spectacular (1964); General Electric Theater (1959); George Jessel Show (1959); George Jessel's Here Come the Stars (1968–1969); Girl Talk (1963–1967); Government Girl (1943); Gypsy (1966–1968); Harrigan and Son (1960); Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945); Here's Hollywood (1960); Hollywood maudit (2021); Hollywood Remembers Lee Marvin (2000); Hollywood Talent Scouts (1966); How the West Was Won (1962); Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte: Wizard Work (1964); Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964); It Was a Very Good Year (1971); I've Got a Secret (1956); Jane Eyre (1943); Jeanne Eagels (1957); Jessica (1962); Joanne Carson's VIPs (1972); Johnny Belinda (1948); Journey Into Fear (1943); Keep Your Powder Dry (1945); ing of Kings (1961); La imagen de tu vida (2006); Lancer (1969); Life with Linkletter (1970); Love, American Style / Segment: Love and the Particular Girl (1971); Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014); Magnificent Obsession (1954); Main Street to Broadway (1953); Marcus Welby, M.D. (1972); Marriage: Year One (1971); Matinee Theatre (1956); Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956); Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare! (1967); Mr. Blackwell Presents (1966); Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007); Mrs. Parkington (1944); My Sister Eileen (1960); Night Gallery / Segments: Witches' Feast; Certain Shadows on the Wall (1970–1971); Night of Terror (1972); Night of the Quarter Moon (1959); Not One Shall Die (1957); Operation Raintree (1957); Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945); Pardners (1956); Password (1962–1967); Pat Boone in Hollywood (1967–1968); Pioneers of Television (2011); Playhouse 90 (1958); Pollyanna (1960); Raintree County (1957); Rawhide (1960); Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love / Segment: The Forunate Painter (1974); Rolling Man (1972); Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1971); Say Hey, Willie Mays! (2022); Scandal at Scourie (1953); Schlitz Playhouse (1957); Screen Snapshots: Salute to Hollywood (1958); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958–1960); Show Boat (1951); Since You Went Away (1944); Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership (1949); Startime (1960); Station West (1948); Studio 57 (1956); Suddenly Single (1971); Summer Holiday (1948); Suspicion (1958); Talking Pictures (1968); Tempest (1958); That's Entertainment! (1974); That's Entertainment, Part II (1976); That's Life (1969); The 22nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1965); The 37th Annual Academy Awards (1965); The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics (2008); The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969); The Bat (1959); The Best in Mystery (1954); The Big Street (1942); The Blazing Forest (1952); The Blue Veil (1951); The Bob Braun Show (1972); The Celebrity Game (1965); The Chevy Mystery Show (1960); The City of Gods (1968); The Colgate Comedy Hour (1955); The Comedy Spot (1962); The ComicWeb: Old Time Radio Programs (2014); The Conqueror (1956); The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout (2023); The Dating Game (1970); The Dick Cavett Show (1969–1973); The Don Rickles Show (1968); The DuPont Show of the Month (1958); The Ed Sullivan Show (1960); The Great Sinner (1949); The Greatest Show on Earth (1964); The Hollywood Palace (1966); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1966–1968); The Jerry Lester Show (1963); The Joey Bishop Show (1967); The John Gary Show (1967); The Jonathan Winters Show (1968); The Jonathan Winters Specials (1965); The Left Hand of God (1955); The Linkletter Show (1970); The Lone Ranger (1966–1968); The Lost Moment (1947); The Magic Pear Tree (1968); The Magical World of Disney (1963 / 1971); The Magnificent Ambersons (1942); The Merv Griffin Show (1967); The Mike Douglas Show (1967–1972); The Millionaire (1960); The Naked Archaeologist (2008–2010); The Opposite Sex (1956); The Pet Set (1971); The Rebel (1959); The Red Skelton Hour (1969); The Revlon Mirror Theater (1953); The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956); The Rifleman (1960); The Seventh Cross (1944); The Shari Lewis Show (1960); The Singing Nun (1966); The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967); The Story of Mankind (1957); The Story of Three Loves / Segment: The Jealous Lover (1953); The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove (1971); The Stratton Story (1949); The Swan (1956); The Tonight Show (1956); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1963–1970); The True Story of Jesse James (1957); The Twilight Zone (1961); The Virginian (1970); The Wild Wild West (1967); The Woman in White (1948); The Woody Woodbury Show (1967); The Youngest Profession (1943); Those Redheads from Seattle (1953); Tomorrow, the World! (1944); Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997); Twenty Plus Two (1961); Untamed (1955); Wagon Train (1957); Welcome to the Basement (2016); What's the Matter with Helen? (1971); Who's Minding the Store? (1963); Without Honor (1949); You Don't Say (1964).

Born on this day – Sam Newfield:

Sam Newfield

Director

Writer

Producer

December 6, 1899 – November 10, 1964

Credits:

The Long Rifle and the Tomahawk (1964); Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959); Flaming Frontier (1958); Wolf Dog (1958); The Pathfinder and the Mohican (1957); Along the Mohawk Trail (1957); The Adventures of Tugboat Annie (1957); Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (1957); Frontier Gambler (1956); The Three Outlaws (1956); The Wild Dakotas (1956); Last of the Desperados (1955); Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955); Thunder Over Sangoland (1955); Ramar of the Jungle (1953–1954); The Gambler and the Lady (1952); Scotland Yard Inspector (1952); Outlaw Women (1952); Sky High (1951); Leave It to the Marines (1951); Lost Continent (1951); Skipalong Rosenbloom (1951); Mask of the Dragon (1951); Fingerprints Don't Lie (1951); Three Desperate Men (1951); Hi-Jacked (1950); Motor Patrol (1950); Western Pacific Agent (1950); Radar Secret Service (1950); Wild Weed (1949); State Department: File 649 (1949); The Strange Mrs. Crane (1948); Miraculous Journey (1948); Lady at Midnight (1948); The Counterfeiters (1948); Money Madness (1948); The Sea Hound (1947); Adventure Island (1947); Jungle Flight (1947); Three on a Ticket (1947); Mantan Messes Up (1946); House-Rent Party (1946); Fight That Ghost (1946); Lady Chaser (1946); Gas House Kids (1946); Outlaws of the Plains (1946); Overland Riders (1946); Queen of Burlesque (1946); Prairie Badmen (1946); Blonde for a Day (1946); Ghost of Hidden Valley (1946); Larceny in Her Heart (1946); Terrors on Horseback (1946); Gentlemen with Guns (1946); Murder Is My Business (1946); The Flying Serpent (1946); Lightning Raiders (1946); Prairie Rustlers (1945); Fighting Bill Carson (1945); White Pongo (1945); Border Badmen (1945); Apology for Murder (1945); Stagecoach Outlaws (1945); Gangster's Den (1945); The Lady Confesses (1945); Shadows of Death (1945); The Kid Sister (1945); His Brother's Ghost (1945); Oath of Vengeance (1944); I Accuse My Parents (1944); Wild Horse Phantom (1944); Swing Hostess (1944); Rustlers' Hideout (1945); Fuzzy Settles Down (1944); The Drifter (1944); The Contender (1944); Valley of Vengeance (1944); The Monster Maker (1944); Thundering Gun Slingers (1944); Frontier Outlaws (1944); Nabonga (1944); Harvest Melody (1943); Devil Riders (1943); Raiders of Red Gap (1943); Tiger Fangs (1943); Blazing Frontier (1943); The Renegade (1943); Danger! Women at Work (1943); Cattle Stampede (1943); Wolves of the Range (1943); Western Cyclone (1943); The Black Raven (1943); Death Rides the Plains (1943); Fugitive of the Plains (1943); Wild Horse Rustlers (1943); Dead Men Walk (1943); The Kid Rides Again (1943); Outlaws of Boulder Pass (1942); Queen of Broadway (1942); The Mysterious Rider (1942); Overland Stagecoach (1942); Along the Sundown Trail (1942); Border Roundup (1942); Prairie Pals (1942); Sheriff of Sage Valley (1942); Law and Order (1942); Jungle Siren (1942); Tumbleweed Trail (1942); Texas Justice (1942); The Mad Monster (1942); Billy the Kid's Smoking Guns (1942); Rolling Down the Great Divide (1942); The Lone Rider in Cheyenne (1942); Billy the Kid Trapped (1942); Raiders of the West (1942); The Lone Rider and the Bandit (1942); Texas Man Hunt (1942); Billy the Kid's Round-Up (1941); The Lone Rider Fights Back (1941); Billy the Kid Wanted (1941); The Lone Rider Ambushed (1941); The Lone Rider in Frontier Fury (1941); The Texas Marshal (1941); Billy the Kid in Santa Fe (1941); The Lone Rider in Ghost Town (1941); Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals (1941); The Lone Rider Crosses the Rio (1941); Outlaws of the Rio Grande (1941); Billy the Kid's Range War (1941); The Lone Rider Rides On (1941); Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940); Riders of Black Mountain (1940); Marked Men (1940); Billy the Kid in Texas (1940); Arizona Gang Busters (1940); Gun Code (1940); Billy the Kid Outlawed (1940); Hold That Woman! (1940); Am I Guilty? (1940); Frontier Crusader (1940); I Take This Oath (1940); Secrets of a Model (1940); The Sagebrush Family Trails West (1940); Texas Renegades (1940); Death Rides the Range (1939); The Invisible Killer (1939); Fighting Mad (1939); Trigger Fingers (1939); Flaming Lead (1939); Hitler: Beast of Berlin (1939); The Fighting Renegade (1939); Straight Shooter (1939); Outlaws' Paradise (1939); Texas Wildcats (1939); Code of the Cactus (1939); Six-Gun Rhythm (1939); Trigger Pals (1939); The Terror of Tiny Town (1938); Six-Gun Trail (1938); Lightning Carson Rides Again (1938); Frontier Scout (1938); Durango Valley Raiders (1938); Desert Patrol (1938); Phantom Ranger (1938); Gunsmoke Trail (1938); The Feud Maker (1938); Code of the Rangers (1938); Songs and Bullets (1938); Knight of the Plains (1938); Thunder in the Desert (1938); The Rangers' Round-Up (1938); Paroled - To Die (1938); Harlem on the Prairie (1937); Colorado Kid (1937); The Fighting Deputy (1937); Moonlight on the Range (1937); Arizona Gunfighter (1937); Ridin' the Lone Trail (1937); Boothill Brigade (1937); Doomed at Sundown (1937); A Lawman Is Born (1937); Gun Lords of Stirrup Basin (1937); Guns in the Dark (1937); Bar-Z Bad Men (1937); Melody of the Plains (1937); Trail of Vengeance (1937); Lightnin' Crandall (1937); The Gambling Terror (1937); Stormy Trails (1936); Roarin' Lead (1936); The Traitor (1936); Ghost Patrol (1936); The Lion's Den (1936); Go-Get-'Em, Haines (1936); Aces and Eights (1936); Thoroughbred (1936); Crashing Through Danger (1936); Lightnin' Bill Carson (1936); Federal Agent (1936); Burning Gold (1936); Border Caballero (1936); Roarin' Guns (1936); Bulldog Courage (1935); You Can Be Had (1935); Timber War (1935); Racing Luck (1935); Trails of the Wild (1935); Branded a Coward (1935); Code of the Mounted (1935); Northern Frontier (1935); Undercover Men (1934); Beggar's Holiday (1934); Marrying Widows (1934); Under Secret Orders (1933); Big Time or Bust (1933); The Important Witness (1933); Reform Girl (1933); Sweet Patootie (1932); Wedding Belles (1931); She's a He (1930); Fellow Students (1930); Peek-A-Boo (1930); The Beauty Parade (1930); Sid's Long Count (1930); Her Bashful Beau (1930); All Wet (1930); French Leave (1930); Too Many Women (1929); Night Owls (1929); Stop Barking (1929); Buster's Spooks (1929); Buster's Choice (1929); Outdoor Sports (1929); Chaperons (1929); Delivering the Goods (1929); Magic (1929); This Way Please (1929); Tige's Girl Friend (1929); She's a Pippin (1929); Take Your Pick (1929); Have Patience (1929); Hold Your Horses (1929); Out at Home (1929); Watch the Birdie (1928); The Newlyweds' Visit (1928); Teacher's Pest (1928); Buster Trims Up (1928); Halfback Buster (1928); Busting Buster (1928); Good Scout Buster (1928); Buster Minds the Baby (1928); Sailor George (1928); She's My Girl (1928); Big Game George (1928); George's School Daze (1928); George Meets George (1928); When George Hops (1928); Watch, George! (1928); Man of Letters (1928); George's False Alarm (1928); High Flyin' George (1928); On Deck (1927); The Disordered Orderly (1927); Rushing Business (1927); On Furlough (1927); What an Excuse (1927); My Mistake (1927); Jane's Sleuth (1927); A Gym Dandy (1927); Auntie's Ante (1927); All Wet (1927); Ask Dad (1927); What's Your Hurry? (1927); Jane's Predicament (1926); Jane's Engagement Party (1926); Please Excuse Me (1926); Which Is Which? (1926).

Recommended reading - The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession (1998):

The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

By Susan Orlean.

Filmed as Adaptation (2002), directed by Spike Jonze.

First published 1998.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 044900371X

ISBN-13: 978-0449003718

Description:

A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower – the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii – a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean – and the reader – will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.

In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay.

Praise for The Orchid Thief:

“Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.” – The New York Times Book Review.

“Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.” – The Washington Post Book World.

“Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.” – Boston Sunday Globe.

“A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.” – The Wall Street Journal.

Jules Renard, on books and reading:

When I think of all the books still left for me to read,
I am certain of further happiness.

– Jules Renard.