Born on this day – Alexander Hall:

Alexander Hall

Director

Editor

Actor

January 11, 1894 – July 30, 1968

Credits:

Forever, Darling (1956); Let's Do It Again (1953); Because You're Mine (1952); Up Front (1951); Louisa (1950); Love That Brute (1950); The Great Lover (1949); Down to Earth (1947); She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945); Once Upon a Time (1944); The Heavenly Body (1944); My Sister Eileen (1942); They All Kissed the Bride (1942); Bedtime Story (1941); Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941); This Thing Called Love (1940); He Stayed for Breakfast (1940); The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940); The Amazing Mr. Williams (1939); Good Girls Go to Paris (1939); The Lady's from Kentucky (1939); There's That Woman Again (1938); I Am the Law (1938); There's Always a Woman (1938); The Toast of New York (1937); Exclusive (1937); Yours for the Asking (1936); Give Us This Night (1936); Annapolis Farewell (1935); Goin' to Town (1935); Limehouse Blues (1934); The Pursuit of Happiness (1934); Little Miss Marker (1934); Miss Fane's Baby Is Stolen (1934); Torch Singer (1933); Midnight Club (1933); The Girl in 419 (1933); Madame Racketeer (1932); Sinners in the Sun (1932); The Spirit of Evil (1922); The Last Call (1922); A Game of Graft (1922); Unseen Foes (1922); The Great Opium Case (1921); The Crimson Clue (1921); $100,000 Kiss (1921); Missing Millions (1921); The Diamond Trail (1921); The Blackmailer's Bluff (1921); Who's Guilty? (1921); Dodging the Law (1921); Sealed Orders (1921); The Spendthrift (1921); Nick Carter Down East (1921); Birds of Prey (1921); Among the Counterfeiters (1921); The Mysterious Bond Case (1921); A Cry at Midnight (1921.

Recommended reading - Rum Punch (1992):

Rum Punch

By Elmore Leonard.

Published by Delacorte Press.

First published 1992.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 038530143X

ISBN-13: 978-0385301435

Description:

Pretty working-girl Jackie Burke is in a tight spot.  She's just been picked up at Palm Beach International with fifty grand and some blow stashed in her flight bag.  Lucky for her, the Feds want something Jackie's got:  the inside track to Ordell Robbie, the notoriusly slick arms dealer.  And they're ready to deal – Ordell in exchange for her freedom.  But Jackie's got another ace up her sleeve. . .Enter Max Cherry, bail bondsman.  Big, tough, basically decent Max is on the verge of divorce and tired of the same old grind.  That's where Jackie comes in.  The fifty big ones are peanuts compared to what Ordell's got locked away in Freeport.  But when a blowsy blond blowhead and a none-too-bright ex con try to muscle in on the action, it's time to pull and old bait and switch – where the good guys are played off against the bad guys – and where Jackie and Max hope to walk off into the Florida sunset with a hot half million in cold cash.

"Unputdownable! Benath it's fast moving surface, Rum Punch is a novel about growing old, about the way that time changes us, about the old dream of starting over agian and its cost." – The Washington Post Book World.

"Expertly blended. . .potent Dutch." – Chicago Sun-Times.

"Rum Punch is Leonard's best work! He brilliantly reaffirms his right to the title of America's finest crime-fiction writer." – People.

Stan Lee, on writing and reading:

The only advice anybody can give is, if you wanna be a writer, keep writing.

And read all you can, read everything.

- Stan Lee.

Born on this day – Jean Adamson:

Jean Adamson

Writer

Illustrator

February 29, 1928 – December 15, 2024

Credits:

Books:

ABC: A Picture Alphabet (1962); Animal bounce (1969); Busy Builders (1997); Chestnut Tree (1974); Family Tree (1968); Hop Like Me (1972); Neighbours in the Park (1962); People who Help Us Stories (1999); Red Boots, Yellow Boots (1997); Surprises for Topsy & Tim (1971); Topsy & Tim Have Their Hair Cut (1989); Topsy & Tim's Safety Book (1973); Topsy + Tim Meet the Ambulance Crew (1996); Topsy and Tim and the Bully (1994); Topsy and Tim and the New Puppy (1992); Topsy and Tim at Granny and Grandpa's (1996); Topsy and Tim at School (1968); Topsy and Tim at the Bank (1985); Topsy and Tim at the Farm (1970); Topsy and Tim at the Seaside (1965); Topsy and Tim at the Supermarket (1996); Topsy and Tim Can Play Party Games (1981); Topsy and Tim Go for Gold (1977); Topsy and Tim Go Shopping (1977); Topsy And Tim Go Swimming (1973); Topsy and Tim Go to London (2014); Topsy and Tim go to the Hospital (1971); Topsy and Tim go to the zoo (1968); Topsy and Tim move house (1979); Topsy and Tim Stay with a Friend (1987); Topsy and Tim Visit the Tower of London (1976); Topsy and Tim: First Sleepover (2016); Topsy and Tim: Go Camping (1977); Topsy and Tim: Go on a Train (1990); Topsy and Tim: Go on an Aeroplane (1979); Topsy and Tim: Go to the Doctor (1982); Topsy and Tim: Halloween Party; Topsy and Tim: Have a Birthday Party (1971 / 2010); Topsy and Tim: Have Itchy Heads (1996); Topsy and Tim: Have Their Eyes Tested (1982); Topsy and Tim: Help a Friend (2005); Topsy and Tim: Learn to Swim (1973); Topsy and Tim: Meet Father Christmas (2013); Topsy and Tim: Meet the Firefighters (1989); Topsy and Tim: Meet the Police (1989); Topsy and Tim: Our Day Clock Book; Topsy and Tim: Play Football (1991); Topsy and Tim: Start School (2003); Topsy and Tim: the Complete Audio Collection (2017); Topsy and Tim: Visit London (2012); Topsy and Tim's ABC (1982); Topsy and Tim's Big Fun Book; Topsy and Tim's Friday Book (1961); Village Green (1972).

Television:

Topsy and Tim / 64-episode TV series (2013–2015).

On this day in music history - The album American II: Unchained, by Johnny Cash (1996):

American II: Unchained

Album by Johnny Cash,

released on November 5, 1996.

Track list:

Rowboat; Sea of Heartbreak; Rusty Cage; The One Rose (That’s Left in My Heart); Country Boy; Memories Are Made of This; Spiritual; The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea; Southern Accents; Mean Eyed Cat; Meet Me in Heaven; I Never Picked Cotton; Unchained; I’ve Been Everywhere.

Recommended reading: The Ninth Configuration (1999):

The Ninth Configuration

By William Peter Blatty.

Commentary by Mark Kermode.

Published by Screenpress Books.

Published in 1999.

Paperback.

Screenplay.

ISBN-10: 1901680207

ISBN-13: 978-1901680201

Description:

“The finest large scale American surrealist film ever made” – People Magazine.

Towards the end of the war in Vietnam, an unusually high percentage of American servicemen suddenly manifested symptoms of psychosis. To investigate this mystery, the US government established a network of covert study centers.

They send the crazies to Center Eighteen. Men who think they can walk through walls. Men who want to stage the complete works of Shakespeare using dogs. Hudson Kane is plagued by nightmares and memories not his own. Only Hudson Kane is not an inmate. Hudson Kane is in charge…

William Peter Blatty – the creator of The Exorcist – directed this self penned script that quickly became a cult classic for its brave philosophic tone, remarkable visuals and endlessly quotable dialogue.

This is the first time that Blatty’s originally screenplay has been published. Fully annotated by acclaimed writer and critic Mark Kermode and illustrated with many previously unpublished stills.

This is the definitive edition of the script that its creator believes to be the true sequel to The Exorcist.

Winner – Best Screenplay Golden Globe Awards.

Recommended reading: The Ninth Configuration (1966):

The Ninth Configuration

aka Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane.

By William Peter Blatty.

Paperback.

Published in 1966.

ISBN-10: 0765337304

ISBN-13: 978-0765337306

Description:

Hidden away in a brooding Gothic manor in the deep woods is Center Eighteen, a secret military "rest camp" currently housing twenty-seven inmates, all officers who have succumbed to a sudden outbreak of mental illness. Have the men truly lost their minds, are they only pretending to be insane to avoid combat, or is some more sinister conspiracy at work?

Desperate for answers, the Pentagon has placed a brilliant Marine psychiatrist in charge of the base and its deranged occupants. A man of deep faith and compassion, Colonel Kane hopes to uncover the root of the men's bizarre obsessions. But as Center Eighteen descends into chaos, Kane finds the greatest challenge may be his own buried demons. . .