Born on this day – Cornelius Ryan:

Cornelius Ryan

Writer

June 5, 1920 – November 23, 1974

Credits:

Books:

A Bridge Too Far (1974); A Private Battle (1979); MacArthur: Man of Action (1950); One Minute to Ditch! (1957); Star-Spangled Mikado (1946); The Last Battle (1966); The Longest Day: 6 June 1944 D-Day (1959).

Movies and television:

A Bridge Too Far (1977); A Private Battle (1980); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1956); Cavalcade of America (1956); Robert Montgomery Presents (1957); The Ed Sullivan Show (1960); The Longest Day (1962); Today (1974).

Born on this day – Marjorie Woodworth:

Marjorie Woodworth

Actress

June 5, 1919 – August 23, 2000

Credits:

It Should Happen to You (1954); A Double Life (1947); Devil Ship (1947); Decoy (1946); In Fast Company (1946); You Came Along (1945); Salty O'Rourke (1945); A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944); Yanks Ahoy (1943); Taxi, Mister (1943); Prairie Chickens (1943); The McGuerins from Brooklyn (1942); The Devil with Hitler (1942); Flying with Music (1942); Dudes Are Pretty People (1942); Brooklyn Orchid (1942); All-American Co-Ed (1941); Niagara Falls (1941); Broadway Limited (1941); Road Show (1941); Dance, Girl, Dance (1940); Balalaika (1939); Dancing Co-Ed (1939); Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938).

Born on this day – Lil McClintock:

Lil McClintock

Blues singer

Guitarist

June 5, 1883 – 1930s or 1940s

Exact date of death unknown

Music:

Don't Think I'm Santa Claus / By The Watermelon Vine, Lindy Lou (78 record) (1930); Atlanta Blues 1927 - 30: The Complete Recordings In Chronological Order Of Julius Daniels And Lil McClintock (Compilation album) (1986).

Recommended reading - The Big Book of Noir (1998):

The Big Book of Noir

Published 1998.

Edited by Ed Gorman, Lee Server, Martin H. Greenberg.

ISBN-10: 0786705744

ISBN-13: 978-0786705740

Description:

THE BIG BOOK OF NOIR

Noir is big. It was born in the hard-boiled detective story of Depression-era America. It flourished in the black-and-white B movies of the forties and fifties. And it’s been ingeniously reinvented in the film and fiction of the nineties.

Etched on our cultural memory by writers like Raymond Chandler, directors like Alfred Hitchcock, screen stars like Robert Mitchum and Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott and Gloria Graham, noir is big.

Noir is big, so The Big Book of Noir jam-packs its pages with articles, interviews, excerpts, opinion, and gossip that chronicle its history and explore noir in all its forms: movies, detective stories, television and radio shows, comic books, and graphic novels.

The Big Book of Noir pays homage to the big names in noir – John Huston, Fritz Lang, Mickey Spillane, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Donald E. Westlake – as well as less familiar figures like Phil Karlson, Peter Rabe, Charles Williams, Harry Whittington, and Gil Brewer. It also includes two rare pieces: Stephen King writing about Jim Thompson in one and in the other Dulcy Brainard writing about Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, and Wendi Lee.

The evidence is in. The Big Book of Noir amasses fascinating and informative exhibits that amply illustrate one of America’s most significant cultural contributions.

Because noir is big.

Stephen King, on reading:

Few things are as lovely as having an uninterrupted hour with a good book.

- Stephen King.

On this day in movie history - JCVD (2008):

JCVD

directed by Mabrouk el Mechri,

written by Frédéric Bénudis, Mabrouk el Mechri and Christophe Turpin,

was released in France on June 4, 2008.
Music by Gast Waltzing.

Cast:

Jean-Claude van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Saskia Flanders, Dean Gregory, Kim Hermans, Steve Preston, Paul Rockenbrod, Alan Rossett, Jesse Joe Walsh, Isabelle de Hertogh.

On this day in music history - Porcelain, by Helen Jane Long (2007):

Porcelain

Album by Helen Jane Long,
Released June 4, 2007.

Track list:

Porcelain; Release; Echo; Stars; Expression; Lost Wind; Doll; Out of It All; Rockerbye; Broken; Eclipse; Turn Away; Through the Dark.