The list of people born on October 18 is extraordinary. Check out this roster.
Actors and Musicians
Dawn Wells
In 1964, the former Miss Nevada beat out 300 other applicants (including Racquel Welch) to win the role of Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island. Surprisingly Dawn’s career stalled after “Gilligan’s Island”. She was briefly married in the sixties and never had children. In 2018, a Go Fund Me page was set up to help Wells to cover her medical expenses. The dementia patient died of Covid in 2020. Sad ending but Dawn still wins the men’s barroom question – “Ginger or Mary Ann?”
Chuck Berry
Rolling Stone Magazine ranks Chuck Berry as the fifth greatest rock artist of all-time. What can you say about the composer of “Johnny B. Goode “and “Roll Over Beethoven” except he’ll get his own blog soon.
Wynton Marsalis
Not only is Marsalis a master of the jazz trumpet but he is also a renowned symphonic musician. When he was 14, Wynton performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic. Three years later he began classical music studies at Juilliard in New York City. It was there that Wynton fell in love with jazz. He has produced many great jazz albums but be sure to check out his wonderful symphonic compilations.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
As a teenager. Brussels born Van Damme won the 1978 Belgium bodybuilding title and the 1979 European professional karate championship. He then moved to Hollywood to study acting. Van Damme’s films have grossed over $1B.
Victor Sen Yung
Victor portrayed Hop Sing on the iconic western series, “Bonanza”. Prior to that, he played Jimmy, the Number Two Son, in the 1940s Charlie Chan movies.
Melina Mercouri
Nicknamed the “Last Greek Goddess”, Mercouri was an iconic 1960s actress. An early women’s activist, she was elected to the Greek Parliament in 1977 and later became the first woman to hold a cabinet post in Greece.
George C. Scott
Scott received Oscar Nominations for “Anatomy of a Murder” and “The Hustler” before amusing audiences in “Dr. Strangelove”. In 1971 Scott became the first person to decline an Oscar (Patton) as he was philosophically opposed to acting awards. After his death in 1999, Scott was buried in an unmarked Los Angeles grave.
Peter Boyle
Prior to pursuing acting Boyle spent three years in a Christian Brothers seminary. After appearing in many successful movies including “Young Frankenstein”. Boyle capped his career with his supporting performance in “Everybody Loves Raymond”. Boyle received seven Emmy nominations for that role but never won. He died of heart disease at the age of 71 in 2006.
Pam Dawber
Pam dropped out of college in the early seventies and moved to NYC where she became a successful model. Despite Pam’s lack of acting experience she won a title role along with an unknown Robin Williams in the sitcom “Mork and Mindy”. Dawber married actor Mark Harmon in 1987 and they have two sons.
Athletes
Martina Navratilova
The tennis phenom won a record nine Wimbledon titles. She also won four U.S. Opens, three Australian Opens, and two French Opens.
In 2023, Navratilova was diagnosed with both throat and breast cancer. After months of radiation, she was declared cancer-free.
Thomas Hearns
Thomas “Hitman” Hearns’s is the only boxer in history to win titles in five weight divisions. Hearns’ tall, slender build and oversized arms allowed him to move up fifty pounds during his career.
Hearns waged epic fights against Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler and was the first man to ever knockout Roberto Duran. Unfortunately, Thomas has run into significant financial difficulties which stem from his overwhelming generosity.
Mike Ditka
Ditka excelled at football, baseball and basketball at the University of Pittsburgh. Oh, and somehow, he found time to win the university’s intramural wrestling championship.
Ditka was voted into the NFL Hall of Fame after being selected five-times to the Pro-Bowl as a tight end. He is also renowned as a successful coach, broadcaster, restauranter, and overall bad-ass.
Happy birthday to all of these accomplished people. Have a great weekend.
If you enjoyed this blog, you will love my recent book, “Get Smarter-Be Amazed”. Visit www.tedcurtinstoreis.com for more information and direct links to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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