Thursday, February 12, 2026

Born on this day – Joe Don Baker:


Joe Don Baker


Actor

February 12, 1936 – May 7, 2025

Credits:

Adam at Six A.M. (1970); Best Ever Bond (2002); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Bonanza (1968); Bracken's World (1970); Cape Fear (1991); Charley Varrick (1973); Checkered Flag or Crash (1977); Citizen Cohn (1992); Complex of Fear (1993); Congo (1995); Cool Hand Luke (1967); Countdown to Tomorrow Never Dies (1997); Cowboys from Hell (2025); Criminal Law (1988); Doc Elliot (1973); Edge of Darkness (1985); Eischied (1979–1980); Felony (1995); Final Justice (1985); Fletch (1985); Framed (1975); George Wallace (1997); Getting Even (1986); Golden Needles (1974); GoldenEye (1995); GoldenEye: Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director Martin Campbell (2006); Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969); Gunsmoke (1966–1969); Honey West (1965); In Search of James Bond with Jonathan Ross (1995); In the Heat of the Night (1989); Inside 'the Living Daylights' (2000); Iron Horse (1966); Ironside (1972); James Bond Special Edition DVD Sampler (2002); James Bond: Licence to Thrill (1987); Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1995); Joe Dirt (2001); Joysticks (1983); Judd for the Defense (1967); Junior Bonner (1972); Lancer (1968–1970); Leonard Part 6 (1987); Mars Attacks! (1996); Mission: Impossible (1971); Mitchell (1975); Mod Squad (1969); Mongo's Back in Town (1971); Mud (2012); Panther (1995); Poodle Springs (1998); Power (1980); Reality Bites (1994); Ring of Steel (1994); Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade (2004); Screen Two (1989); Speedtrap (1977); Strange Wilderness (2008); That Certain Summer (1972); The 50 Greatest Television Dramas (2007); The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (2004); The Abduction of Kari Swenson (1987); The Big Valley (1969); The Children (1990); The Cleaner (2009); The Commission (2003); The Distinguished Gentleman (1992); The Dukes of Hazzard (2005); The F.B.I. (1970); The Felony Squad (1967); The Grass Harp (1995); The High Chaparral (1971); The Killing Time (1987); The Living Daylights (1987); The Making of 'GoldenEye 007' (2021); The Most Deadly Game (1970); The Natural (1984); The Outfit (1973); The Outsider (1968); The Pack (1977); The Shadow of Chikara (1977); The Siege at Ruby Ridge (1996); The Streets of San Francisco (1973); The Underneath (1995); The Valachi Papers (1972); The Wild West (1993); Timeshift (2015); To Dance with Olivia (1997); To Kill a Cop (1978); Tomorrow Never Dies (1997); Tomorrow Never Dies: Storyboard Presentations (2002); Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (1999); Traps (1994); Vegas, City of Dreams (2001); Wacko (1982); Walking Tall (1973); Welcome Home Soldier Boys (1971); Wild Rovers (1971).

Born on this day – Paul Shenar:


Paul Shenar


Actor

Director

February 12, 1936 − October 11, 1989

Credits:

The Very Best of the Football Follies (1988); The Big Blue (1988); Best Seller (1987); Man on Fire (1987); Time Out for Dad (1987); The Bedroom Window (1987); Rage of Angels: The Story Continues (1986); Dark Mansions (1986); Raw Deal (1986); Dream Lover (1986); Streets of Justice (1985); Spenser: For Hire (1985); Dynasty (1983–1985); Brass (1985); Paper Dolls (1984); Scarface (1983); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983); Deadly Force (1983); The Secret of NIMH (1982); Richard II (1982); Today's F.B.I. (1982); The End of August (1981); Beulah Land (1980); Hart to Hart (1980); Family (1979); Suddenly, Love (1978); Lulu (1978); The Courage and the Passion (1978); Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women (1978); The Mask of Alexander Cross (1977); Logan's Run (1977); Young Dan'l Boone (1977); The Hostage Heart (1977); Hawaii Five-O (1976–1977); Roots (1977); Camera Three (1976); Wonder Woman (1976); The Bionic Woman (1976); Gemini Man (1976); The Keegans (1976); The Night That Panicked America (1975); Ellery Queen (1975); The Invisible Man (1975); Petrocelli (1975); Kojak (1975); The Execution of Private Slovik (1974); Great Performances (1974); Mannix (1974); Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1974); Columbo (1974); The ABC Afternoon Playbreak (1973).

Born on this day – Ann Gillis:


Ann Gillis


Actress

February 12, 1927 – January 31, 2018

Credits:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); The Saint (1963–1965); Espionage (1964); Man of the World (1963); The Madhouse on Castle Street (1963); Studio One (1951); Out There (1951); Big Town After Dark (1947); Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946); The Time of Their Lives (1946); Janie Gets Married (1946); Gay Blades (1946); The Cheaters (1945); A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944); In Society (1944); Janie (1944); Since You Went Away (1944); Man from Music Mountain (1943); Stage Door Canteen (1943); Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 6 (1942); 'Neath Brooklyn Bridge (1942); Bambi (1942); Tough As They Come (1942); Meet the Stewarts (1942); Glamour Boy (1941); Mr. Dynamite (1941); Nice Girl? (1941); Little Men (1940); My Love Came Back (1940); All This, and Heaven Too (1940); Edison, the Man (1940); The Under-Pup (1939); Beau Geste (1939); Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938); Little Orphan Annie (1938); The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938); The Californian (1937); You Can't Buy Luck (1937); Off to the Races (1937); King of Hockey (1936); Under Your Spell (1936); The Man I Marry (1936); Postal Inspector (1936); The Singing Cowboy (1936); The Great Ziegfeld (1936); Men in White (1934).

Born on this day – John Boland:


John Boland


Writer

Director

February 12, 1913 – November 9, 1976

Credits:


The League of Gentlemen
By John Boland.
ASIN: B000WH36FM
Published by Beacon Envoy.
Published 1958.
Mass Market Paperback.
Description:
Ten ex-army officers. All of them cashiered. Their plan and outrageous and daring - the prize of one million pounds. The basis of the movie The League of Gentlemen (1960), directed by Basil Dearden.

Books:

Bitter Fortune (1959); Breakdown (1968); Counterpol (1963); Counterpol in Paris (1964); Elementary My Dear (1975); Fatal Error (1962); The Golden Fleece (1961); Holocaust (1974); Inside Job (1961); Kidnap (1970); The League of Gentlemen (1960); Murder in Company (1973); Mysterious Way (1972); Negative Value (1960); No Refuge (1956); Painted Lady (1967); Queer Fish (1958); Shakespeare Curse (1969); Short Story Technique (1973); Short-Story Writing (1960); The Big Job (1950); The Catch (1964); The Disposal Unit (1966); The Fourth Grave (1969); The Gentlemen At Large (1962); The Gentlemen Reform (1961); The Good Citizens (1965); The Gusher (1967); The Midas Touch (1960); Trade of Kings (1972); Vendetta (1961); White August (1955); Who Says Murder? (1975).

Movies and television:

No Hiding Place (1963); Piernas de seda (1935); Sospecha (1970); Te quiero con locura (1935); The League of Gentlemen (1960); Wells Fargo (1937).

Born on this day – Georges Simenon:


Georges Simenon


Writer

February 12, 1903 – September 4, 1989

Credits:

A Crime in Holland aka Maigret in Holland (1931); A Man's Head aka A Battle of Nerves / Maigret's War of Nerves (1931); Death Threats: And Other Stories (2021); Felicie aka Maigret and the Toy Village (1944); Inspector Cadaver aka Maigret's Rival (1944); Liberty Bar aka Maigret on the Riviera (1932); Lock No. 1 aka The Lock at Charenton (1933); Madame Maigret's Friend aka The Friend of Madame Maigret / Madame Maigret's Own Case (1950); Maigret aka Maigret Returns (1934); Maigret and Monsieur Charles (1973); Maigret and the Dead Girl aka Maigret and the Young Girl (1954); Maigret and the Ghost aka Maigret and the Apparition (1964); Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse aka Maigret and the Black Sheep (1962); Maigret and the Headless Corpse (1955); Maigret and the Hotel Majestic aka The Cellars of the Majestic (1942); Maigret and the Informer aka Maigret and the Flea (1972); Maigret and the Killer (1969); Maigret and the Lazy Burglar aka Maigret and the Idle Burglar (1961); Maigret and the Loner (1971); Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard aka Maigret and the Man on the Bench (1953); Maigret and the Minister aka Maigret and the Calame Report (1955); Maigret and the Nahour Case (1966); Maigret and the Old Lady (1950); Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses (1959); Maigret and the Saturday Caller (1962); Maigret and the Spinster aka Cecile Is Dead (1942); Maigret and the Tall Woman aka Maigret and the Burglar's Wife (1951); Maigret and the Tramp aka Maigret and the Dosser / Maigret and the Bum (1963); Maigret and the Wine Merchant (1970); Maigret at Picratt's aka Maigret and the Strangled Stripper / Maigret in Montmartre (1951); Maigret at the Coroner's aka Maigret and the Coroner (1949); Maigret Defends Himself aka Maigret Holds His Own / Maigret on the Defensive (1964); Maigret Enjoys Himself aka None of Maigret's Business / Maigret's Little Joke (1957); Maigret Gets Angry aka Maigret in Retirement (1947); Maigret Goes to School (1954); Maigret Hesitates (1968); Maigret in Court (1960); Maigret in Exile aka The Judge's House (1942); Maigret in New York aka Maigret in New York's Underworld (1947); Maigret in Society aka Maigret and the Old People (1960); Maigret in Vichy aka Maigret Takes the Waters (1968); Maigret Is Afraid aka Maigret Afraid (1953); Maigret Sets a Trap (1955); Maigret Takes a Room aka Maigret Rents a Room (1951); Maigret Travels aka Maigret and the Millionaires (1958); Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters aka Inspector Maigret and the Killers / Maigret and the Gangsters (1952); Maigret's Anger aka Maigret Loses His Temper / Maigret's Fury (1963); Maigret's Childhood Friend aka Maigret's Boyhood Friend (1968); Maigret's Dead Man aka Maigret's Special Murder (1948); Maigret's Doubts aka Maigret Has Scruples (1958); Maigret's Failure (1956); Maigret's First Case (1949); Maigret's Holiday aka A Summer Holiday / No Vacation for Maigret (1948); Maigret's Madwoman aka Maigret and the Madwoman (1970); Maigret's Memoirs (1951); Maigret's Mistake (1953); Maigret's Patience aka The Patience of Maigret / Maigret Bides His Time (1965); Maigret's Pickpocket aka Maigret and the Pickpocket (1967); Maigret's Revolver (1952); Maigret's Secret aka Maigret Has Doubts (1959); My Friend Maigret aka The Methods of Maigret (1949); Pietr the Latvian aka The Strange Case of Peter the Lett / Maigret and the Enigmatic Lett (1931); Signed, Picpus aka To Any Lengths / Maigret and the Fortune Teller (1944); The Carter of 'La Providence' aka Maigret Meets a Milord / Lock 14 / The Crime at Lock 14 (1931); The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin aka At the Gai-Moulin / Maigret At the Gai-Moulin (1931); The Flemish House aka The Flemish Shop / Maigret and the Flemish Shop (1932); The Grand Banks Cafe aka The Sailor's Rendezvous / Maigret Answers a Plea (1931); The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien aka Maigret and the Hundred Gibbets / The Crime of Inspector Maigret (1931); The Late Monsieur Gallet aka Maigret Stonewalled / The Death of Monsieur Gallet (1931); The Madman of Bergerac (1932); The Misty Harbour aka Maigret and the Death of a Harbor-Master / Maigret and Monsieur Labbe (1932); The New Investigations of Inspector Maigret (2022); The Night at the Crossroads aka The Crossroads Murders / Maigret at the Crossroads (1931); The Saint-Fiacre Affair aka Maigret Goes Home / Maigret on Home Ground / Maigret and the Countess (1932); The Shadow Puppet aka Maigret Mystified / The Shadow in the Courtyard (1932); The Two-Penny Bar aka The Bar on the Seine / Maigret and the Tavern by the Seine (1931); The Yellow Dog aka A Face for a Clue / Maigret and the Concarneau Murders (1931).

Born on this day – Pink Anderson:


Pink Anderson


Blues singer

Guitarist

February 12, 1900 – October 12, 1974

Credits:

Albums:

American Street Songs (1956); Baby I'm Going Away (2019); Ballad & Folk Singer, Vol. 3 (1963); Blues Legend (2011); Carolina Blues Man (1961); Essential Blues Masters (2010); Gospel, Blues And Street Songs (1987); Greasy Greens and a Mess of Blues (2012); Happy Hours (2015); In the Jailhouse Now (2021); Leisure Time (2014); Medicine Show Man (1962); Medicine Show Man, Volume 2 (1962); Pink Anderson: Carolina Medicine Show Hokum and Blues with Baby Tate (1984); The Blues of Pink Anderson: Ballad & Folksinger (1961); Vol..2 - Medicine Show Man (2018); Weeping Willow Blues (2021).

Songs:

Ain't Nobody Home but Me; Baby Please Don't Go; Baby Tate - See What You Done Done; Betty and Dupree; Big House Blues; Bo Weevil; Boweevil; C.C. & O Blues; C.C. And O. Blues; Chicken; Every Day In The Week Blues; Gonna Tip Out Tonight; Greasy Greens; He's in the Jailhouse Now; I Got a Woman 'cross Town; I Got a Woman 'Way Cross Town; I Got Mine; I Will Fly Away; I'm Going to Walk Through the Streets of the City; In the Evening; In the Jailhouse Now; I've Got Mine; John Henry; Meet Me in the Bottom; See That My Grave Is Kept; That's No Way to Do; The Boys of Your Uncle Sam; The Kaiser; The Titanic; Tippin’ Out; Travelin' Man; You Don't Know My Mind.

Television:

The Blues / documentary (1962).

Jane Austen, on novels:


It is only a novel ...
or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed,
in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature,
the happiest delineation of its varieties,
the liveliest effusions of wit and humor,
are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.

- Jane Austen.