Born on this day – Richard Basehart:

Richard Basehart

Actor

August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984

Born on this day – Noel Francis:

Noel Francis

Actress

August 31, 1906 – October 30, 1959

Credits:

Bachelor Apartment (1931); Blonde Crazy (1931); Blood Money (1933); Bureau of Missing Persons (1933); Fifteen Wives (1934); Flames (1932); Frisco Jenny (1932); Good Dame (1934); Guilty as Hell (1932); Havana Widows (1933); Her Hired Husband (1930); Her Resale Value (1933); Hold Me Tight (1933); Husband's Holiday (1931); I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932); Imitation of Life (1934); Ladies of the Big House (1931); Left Handed Law (1937); Madison Square Garden (1932); Man About Town (1932); Manhattan Tower (1932); Mutiny Ahead (1935); My Pal, the King (1932); New Movietone Follies of 1930 (1930); Night Court (1932); Only Yesterday (1933); Reform Girl (1933); Resurrection (1931); Rough Romance (1930); Screen Snapshots (1932); Smart Money (1931); Smart Woman (1931); So Big! (1932); Son of a Sailor (1933); Stone of Silver Creek (1935); Stone of Silver Creek (1935); Strictly Dynamite (1934); Sudden Bill Dorn (1937); The Easiest Way (1931); The Expert (1932); The Fair Co-Ed (1927); The Important Witness (1933); The Line-Up (1934); The Loudspeaker (1934); The Man Who Reclaimed His Head (1934); The Mouthpiece (1932); The White Cockatoo (1935); The White Parade (1934); Turkey for Two (1929); Under-Cover Man (1932); Up the River (1930); What's Your Racket? (1934).

Born on this day – Hugh Harman:

Hugh Harman

Animator

August 31, 1903 – November 25, 1982

Credits:

A Great Big Bunch of You (1932); A Horse Tale (1928); A Message for Women (1945); A Rainy Day with the Bear Family (1940); Africa Before Dark (1928); Ain't Nature Grand! (1930); Aladdin's Vamp (1926); Alias St. Nick (1935); Alice and the Dog Catcher (1924); Alice and the Three Bears (1924); Alice at the Carnival (1927); Alice at the Rodeo (1927); Alice Cans the Cannibals (1925); Alice Charms the Fish (1926); Alice Chops the Suey (1925); Alice Cuts the Ice (1926); Alice Foils the Pirates (1927); Alice Gets in Dutch (1924); Alice Gets Stung (1925); Alice Helps the Romance (1926); Alice Hunting in Africa (1924); Alice in Slumberland (1926); Alice in the Alps (1927); Alice in the Big League (1927); Alice in the Jungle (1925); Alice in the Klondike (1927); Alice in the Wooly West (1926); Alice in Wonderland (1933); Alice Is Stage Struck (1925); Alice Loses Out (1925); Alice on the Farm (1926); Alice Picks the Champ (1925); Alice Plays Cupid (1925); Alice Rattled by Rats (1925); Alice Solves the Puzzle (1925); Alice the Collegiate (1927); Alice the Fire Fighter (1926); Alice the Golf Bug (1927); Alice the Lumberjack (1926); Alice the Peacemaker (1924); Alice the Piper (1924); Alice the Toreador (1925); Alice the Whaler (1927); Alice Wins the Derby (1925); Alice's Auto Race (1927); Alice's Balloon Race (1926); Alice's Brown Derby (1926); Alice's Channel Swim (1927); Alice's Circus Daze (1927); Alice's Day at Sea (1924); Alice's Egg Plant (1925); Alice's Fishy Story (1924); Alice's Knaughty Knight (1927); Alice's Little Parade (1926); Alice's Medicine Show (1927); Alice's Monkey Business (1926); Alice's Mysterious Mystery (1926); Alice's Picnic (1927); Alice's Spanish Guitar (1926); Alice's Spooky Adventure (1924); Alice's Three Bad Eggs (1927); Alice's Tin Pony (1925); Alice's Wild West Show (1924); Alice's Wonderland (1923); All Wet (1927); Art Gallery (1939); Barnyard Babies (1935); Behind the Tunes: Drawn to Life - The Art of Robert McKimson (2007); Behind the Tunes: Looney Tunes - A Cast of Thousands / Sing-a-Song of Looney Tunes (2006); Big Man from the North (1930); Bottles (1936); Box Car Blues (1930); Bright Lights (1928); Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988); Bull-Oney (1928); Bye, Bye Bluebeard (1949); Cartoon Alley (2005); Cinderella (1922); Circus Daze (1937); Cleaning Mess Gear (1945); Congo Jazz (1930); Convict Concerto (1954); Cubby's World Flight (1933); Down the Drain (1947); Drinking Water (1945); Easy Does It (1946); Empty Socks (1927); Farmyard Follies (1928); Fiery Fireman (1928); Friz on Film (2006); Goldie Locks and the Three Bears (1922); Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1939); Good Little Monkeys (1935); Good Wrinkles (1951); Goopy Geer (1932); Great Guns (1927); Harem Scarem (1928); Haunted Gold (1932); Hen Fruit (1929); Hey-Hey Fever (1935); High Up (1928); Hold Anything (1930); Hold 'Em Ozzie (1929); Homeless Homer (1929); Honeyland (1935); Hot Dogs (1928); Hungry Hoboes (1928); I Like Mountain Music (1933); I Love a Parade (1932); I Wish I Had Wings (1932); Ice Man's Luck (1929); Irreverent Imagination: The Golden Age of the Looney Tunes (2003); It's Got Me Again! (1932); Jack and the Beanstalk (1922); Jack the Giant Killer (1922); Johnny Learns His Manners (1946); Jungle Jingles (1929); Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (1931); Little Buck Cheeser (1937); Little Cheeser (1936); Little Red Riding Hood (1922); March of Progress (1945); Merbabies (1938); Mischievous Mice (1934); Mississippi Mud (1928); Moonlight for Two (1932); Native Food (1945); Neck 'n' Neck (1928); Nuts and Jolts (1929); Oh Teacher (1927); Oh What a Knight (1928); One More Time (1931); One Step Ahead of My Shadow (1933); Ozzie of the Mounted (1928); Pagan Moon (1932); Panicky Pancakes (1928); Papa Gets the Bird (1940); Peace on Earth (1939); Personal Cleanliness (1945); Pipe Dreams (1938); Plane Crazy (1928); Poor Little Me (1935); Poor Papa (1927); Private Snafu Presents Seaman Tarfu in the Navy (1946); Puss in Boots (1922); Red-Headed Baby (1931); Rickety Gin (1927); Ride 'Em Plowboy (1928); Rival Romeos (1928); Rocks and Socks (1928); Run Sheep, Run! (1935); Sagebrush Sadie (1928); Saucy Sausages (1929); Shuffle Off to Buffalo (1933); Sick Cylinders (1929); Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930); Sky Scrappers (1928); Sleigh Bells (1928); Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! (1931); Stage Stunts (1929); Stripes and Stars (1929); Swing Wedding (1937); Tale of the Vienna Woods (1934); Tall Timber (1928); Ted's Typewriter (1939); The Adventures of Sir Gee Whiz on the Other Side of the Moon (1960); The Alley Cat (1941); The Banker's Daughter (1927); The Blue Danube (1939); The Bookworm (1939); The Bookworm Turns (1940); The Booze Hangs High (1930); The Calico Dragon (1935); The Chinese Nightingale (1935); The Discontented Canary (1934); The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon (1933); The Dumb Patrol (1931); The Early Bird and the Worm (1936); The Field Mouse (1941); The Fishing Fool (1929); The Four Musicians of Bremen (1922); The Fox Chase (1928); The Gay Gaucho (1933); The Hot Stogie (1947); The Hound and the Rabbit (1937); The Hungry Wolf (1942); The Little Bantamweight (1938); The Little Mole (1941); The Littlest Angel (1950); The Lonesome Stranger (1940); The Lost Chick (1935); The Lumberjack (1929); The Mad Maestro (1939); The Mechanical Cow (1927); The Ocean Hop (1927); The Ol' Swimmin' Hole (1928); The Old House (1936); The Old Mill Pond (1936); The Old Pioneer (1934); The Old Plantation (1935); The Organ Grinder (1933); The Pups' Christmas (1936); The Pups' Picnic (1936); The Queen Was in the Parlor (1932); The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1933); The South Pole Flight (1928); The Tree's Knees (1931); The Wayward Pups (1937); The Wicked West (1929); To Spring (1936); Tom Thumb in King Arthur's Court (1963); Tom Turkey and His Harmonica Humdingers (1940); ToonHeads (1992–2003); Toyland Broadcast (1934); Trolley Troubles (1927); Two Little Pups (1936); Uncensored Cartoons (1982); Ups 'n Downs (1931); Use Your Head (1945); Wake Up the Gypsy in Me (1933); Weary Willies (1929); We're in the Money (1933); When the Cat's Away (1935); Winky the Watchman (1945); Yanky Clippers (1929); Yodeling Yokels (1931); You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (1931); Young and Healthy (1933).

Born on this day – Fredric March:

Fredric March

Actor

August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975

Credits:

A Christmas Carol (1954); A Star Is Born (1937); Albert Schweitzer (1957); Alexander the Great (1956); All of Me (1934); An Act of Murder (1948); Anna Karenina (1935); Another Part of the Forest (1948); Anthony Adverse (1936); Bedtime Story (1941); Christopher Columbus (1949); Death of a Salesman (1951); Death Takes a Holiday (1934); Design for Living (1933); Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931); Executive Suite (1954); Footlights and Fools (1929); Good Dame (1934); Hollywood on Parade (1932); Hollywood on Parade No. A-6 (1933); Hombre (1967); Honor Among Lovers (1931); I Married a Witch (1942); Inherit the Wind (1960); It's a Big Country: An American Anthology (1951); Jealousy (1929); Ladies Love Brutes (1930); Laughter (1930); Les Misérables (1935); Lux Video Theatre (1951–1952); Make Me a Star (1932); Man on a Tightrope (1953); Manslaughter (1930); Mary of Scotland (1936); Merrily We Go to Hell (1932); Middle of the Night (1959); My Sin (1931); Nash Airflyte Theatre (1950); Nothing Sacred (1937); Omnibus (1953); One Foot in Heaven (1941); Paramount on Parade (1930); Paris Bound (1929); Paying the Piper (1921); Producers' Showcase (1956); Sarah and Son (1930); Seven Days in May (1964); Shower of Stars (1954–1956); Smilin' Through (1932); So Ends Our Night (1941); Strangers in Love (1932); Susan and God (1940); The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944); The Affairs of Cellini (1934); The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934); The Best of Broadway (1954); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954); The Buccaneer (1938); The Condemned of Altona (1962); The Dark Angel (1935); The Desperate Hours (1955); The Devil (1921); The Dummy (1929); The DuPont Show of the Month (1958); The Eagle and the Hawk (1933); The Education of Elizabeth (1921); The Ford Theatre Hour (1949); The Great Adventure (1921); The Iceman Cometh (1973); The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956); The Marriage Playground (1929); The Night Angel (1931); The Presidency: A Splendid Misery (1964); The Road to Glory (1936); The Royal Family of Broadway (1930); The Sign of the Cross (1932); The Studio Murder Mystery (1929); The Wild Party (1929); The Young Doctors (1961); There Goes My Heart (1938); Tick, Tick, Tick (1970); Tomorrow, the World! (1944); Tonight Is Ours (1933); Trade Winds (1938); True to the Navy (1930); Victory (1940); We Live Again (1934); Welcome Home (1945).

Formula for a great day:

Drink good coffee,

read good books.

Recommended reading - American Short Story Masterpieces (1989):

American Short Story Masterpieces:
A Rich Selection of Recent Fiction from America's Best Modern Writers

Edited by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks.

Published by Dell.

Published 1989.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0440204232

ISBN-13: 978-0440204237

Description:

Powerful short fiction that bears witness to American lives … and dreams.

This highly acclaimed collection of short stories by American writers contains only the best literary art of the past four decades. With a bias towards realism, editors Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks have selected fiction that “tells a story” – and tells it with a masterful handling of language, situation, and insight.

But what is so special about this volume is that it mirrors our age, our concerns, and our lives. Whether it’s the end of a marriage, as in Bobbie Ann Manson’s “Shiloh,” or the struggle with self-esteem and weight in Andre Dubus’s “The Fat Girl,” the 36 works included here probe issues that give us that “shock of recognition” that is the hallmark of great art – wonderful, absorbing fiction that will be read and reread for decades to come.

“An essential collection of contemporary fiction. If you want to change your life (and if you don’t, why read at all?), this is one book you can’t afford to be without.” – David Jauss, The Short Story Review.

Virginia Hamilton, on writing:

I can’t explain how it is I keep having new ideas.

But one book inevitably follows another.

It is my way of exploring the known,

the remembered,

and the imagined,

the literary triad of which all stories are made.

- Virginia Hamilton.