April 1- Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and has served on the court since Jan. 31, 2006. Educated at Princeton University and Yale Law School, Alito served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit before joining the Supreme Court. He is the 110th justice, the second Italian American and the 11th Roman Catholic to serve on the court. Alito is considered “one of the most conservative justices on the Court,” but with a libertarian streak. At Princeton, Alito led a student conference in 1971 which, among other things, supported curbs on domestic intelligence gathering, called for the decriminalization of sodomy and urged an end to discrimination against gays in hiring by employers. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1975, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal, Alito clerked for a Third Circuit appeals judge in Newark in 1976 and 1977. Between 1977 and 1981, while serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for New Jersey, he prosecuted many cases that involved drug trafficking and organized crime. From 1981- 1985, Alito argued 12 cases before the Supreme Court for the federal government during his tenure as assistant to the Solicitor General. From 1985 to 1987, Alito was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel during the tenure of Edwin Meese. In 1990, Alito joined the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and he was adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark from 1999 to 2004. He has been a member of the Federalist Society, a group of conservatives and libertarian lawyers and legal students interested in conservative legal theory. In 2005, Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court. Although Alito’s voting record is conservative, he does not always join the most conservative Justices on the Court.
April 12- David Cassidy an actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist, is widely known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. One of pop culture’s celebrated teen idols, Cassidy enjoyed a successful pop career in the 1970s, and he still performs today. Growing up, both his father and stepmother, Shirley Jones, were singers and actors. Cassidy started on Broadway and then went to Los Angeles in 1969 and signed with Universal Studios, where he was featured in episodes of the TV series Ironside, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12 and Bonanza. In 1970, he took the part of Keith Partridge, son of Shirley Partridge, who was played by Cassidy’s real stepmother and series’ lead, Shirley Jones. Hired for his androgynous good looks, Cassidy convinced the show’s music producer that he could sing and he was promoted to lead singer for the show’s recordings. Once “I Think I Love You” became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums as well. Within the first year, he had produced his own single, “Cherish” (from the album of the same title), which reached No. 9 in the United States. He began tours that featured Partridge tunes and his own hits. Though he strove to become a respected rock musician along the lines of Mick Jagger or Alice Cooper, his channel to stardom launched him into the ranks of teen idol, a brand he loathed until much later in life when he managed to come to terms with his bubblegum pop beginnings. Ten albums by The Partridge Family and five solo albums were produced during the show with most selling more than a million copies each. Internationally, Cassidy’s solo career eclipsed the already phenomenal success of The Partridge Family. He became an instant draw with spectacular sellout concert successes in major arenas around the world. These concerts produced mass hysteria resulting in the media coining the term “Cassidymania.” A turning point in his live concerts was a gate stampede which killed a teenage girl. Cassidy stated at the time that this would haunt him until the day he died. He decided to quit both touring and acting in The Partridge Family, concentrating instead on recording and song-writing. International success continued, mostly in Great Britain, Germany and Japan. In the years since then, Cassidy has maintained a regular tour schedule with concert appearances across the U.S. and the U.K. Cassidy has been arrested for DUIs three times. In 2008, he publicly admitted he had an alcohol problem.
April 22 – Peter Frampton is an English-American rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. His international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!, which sold more than six million copies in the United States and spawned several hits. Since then he has released several major albums. He has also worked with David Bowie and both Matt Cameron and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, among others. Frampton is best known for such hits as “Breaking All The Rules,” “Show Me the Way,” “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Do You Feel Like We Do” and “I’m in You,” which remain staples on classic-rock radio. He has also appeared as himself in television shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. Frampton is known for his work as a guitar player and particularly with a “talk box” that has become one of his trademark guitar effects. Frampton was born in Bromley, U.K., and attended Bromley Technical School, where he became friends with David Bowie. He was a successful child singer, and in 1966 he became a member of The Herd. In early 1969, when Frampton was 18 years old, he joined with Steve Marriott of The Small Faces to form Humble Pie. After four studio albums and one live album with Humble Pie, Frampton left the band and went solo in 1971, just in time to see Rockin’ The Fillmore rise up the U.S. charts. His own debut was 1972’s Wind of Change, with guest artists Ringo Starr and Billy Preston, followed by three other albums, including in 1975, the Frampton album, which went to No. 32 in the U.S. charts and is certified Gold by the RIAA. His breakthrough best-selling live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, in 1976, produced the hit singles “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Show Me the Way” and an edited version of “Do You Feel Like We Do.” With sales of six million copies, it was the biggest selling live album at the time; it is now the fourth biggest. Frampton Comes Alive! has been certified as six times platinum. The success of the album put him on the cover of Rolling Stone in a famous shirtless photo. Frampton later said he regrets the photo because it changed his image as a credible artist into a teen idol. In 1978, Frampton suffered a near-fatal car accident in the Bahamas that marked the end of his prolific period. He continues to record and tour, including throughout North America and Europe, in 2013. His most recent album was Hummingbird in a Box in June 2014. Although he has lived both in London and various places in the U.S., he currently resides in Nashville.
April 28 – Jay Leno, a comedian, actor, writer, producer, voice actor and television host, is best known as host of NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which was canceled in January 2010 amid controversy. Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010. He made his first appearance on The Tonight Show on March 2, 1977, performing a comedy routine. During the 1970s, Leno appeared in minor roles in several television series and films, including an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane. After that, he played more prominent parts, including One Day at a Time, Americathon (1979) and Polyester (1981). Starting in 1987, Leno was a regular substitute host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. In 1992, he replaced Carson as host.Leno’s final show as the host of The Tonight Show was on Feb. 6, 2014, with guest Billy Crystal and musical guest Garth Brooks, along with a few surprise guests, including Jack Black, Kim Kardashian, Jim Parsons, Sheryl Crow, Chris Paul, Carol Burnett and Oprah Winfrey. That same year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Leno was replaced on The Tonight Show by Jimmy Fallon. Known for his prominent jaw, Leno also has a reputation for clean living. He does not drink, smoke or gamble. When he was host of The Tonight Show, he said that he didn’t spend a penny of his earnings from the show but lived off his money from his stand-up routines. In 2005, Leno reportedly earned $32 million. Apparently, he spends much of his money on the 286 vehicles (169 automobiles and 117 motorcycles) he owns. Among his collection are two Doble steam cars, a sedan and a roadster that were owned by Howard Hughes, and one of nine remaining 1963 Chrysler Turbine Cars.
March 13- William Macy may be best known for his lead role in Fargo (1996), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, Macy has described himself as “sort of a Middle American, WASPy, Lutheran kind of guy . . . Everyman.” He got his start in theater and had roles in more than 50 Off-Broadway and Broadway plays in New York. Later, he appeared in numerous films that David Mamet wrote and/or directed, including House of Games, Homicide and Spartan. Other Macy roles of the 1990s and 2000s included Boogie Nights, Pleasantville, Magnolia, Jurassic Park III and Seabiscut. Macy has also had a number of roles on television. In 2003, he won two Emmy Awards, one for starring in the lead role and one as co-writer of TNT’s Door to Door, based on the true story of a door-to-door salesman born with cerebral palsy. His work on ER and Sports Night has also been recognized with Emmy nominations. In 2007, Macy starred in Wild Hogs, a film about middle-aged men, which was a financial success. In 2010, Macy received high critical acclaim for his performance in Showtime’s Shameless, eventually getting an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014. Macy made his directorial debut with the independent drama Rudderless (2014) and serves as director-in-residence at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York. He and actress Felicity Huffman have been married since 1997.
March 20- William Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States (1980), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. He subsequently played a leading role, as a lawyer who succumbs to the temptations of Kathleen Turner, in the well-received neo-noir Body Heat (1981). The step-grandson of Henry Luce, founder of Time magazine and actress-writer Clare Boothe Luce, Hurt co-starred in The Big Chill. In 1985, Hurt garnered substantial critical acclaim and multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award (British Academy of Film and Television) for Best Actor, for portraying an effeminate gay man in Kiss of the Spider Woman. He received another two Academy Award nominations for his lead performances in Children of a Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987) and for Best Supporting Actor in A History Of Violence (2005). Throughout the 1980s, Hurt remained an active stage actor, appearing in Off-Broadway productions, including Henry V, Fifth of July, Richard II and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 1985, he received his first Tony Award nomination for the Broadway production of Hurlyburly.Hurt appeared in the cast of Vanya, an adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, at the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon. In 2006, he was in the TNT mini-series adaptation of Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes. In 2008, Hurt starred as General Thunderbolt Ross in The Incredible Hulk. He appeared as President Henry Ashton in the 2008 action-thriller Vantage Point. In 2009, Hurt became a series regular on the FX series Damages, playing a corporate whistleblower, for which Hurt earned a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award nomination in the “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series” category. In September 2010, Hurt played U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson in the HBO film Too Big to Fail and starred as Captain Ahab in the 2011 television adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick.
March 26 – Martin Short is best known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live. Originally intending to pursue a career in social work, in 1977 he came to public notice in Second City Television, or SCTV, which ran for several years in Canada, then the United States. At SCTV Short developed several characters before moving on to Saturday Night Live for the 1984–1985 season, including oddball man-child Ed Grimley. In addition to his work on SCTV and SNL, Short has starred in several television specials and series of his own, including The Martin Short Show (1994-2000), as TV interviewer Jiminy Glick on Comedy Central’s Primetime Glick (2001–03) and I, Martin Short, Goes Home (2011), which follows Short’s return to his native Hamilton, Ontario. Beginning in October 2014, Short has been starring in the Fox sitcom, Mulaney, playing the boss of the show’s central character.In film, Short appeared ¡Three Amigos!, (1989), the 1991 remake of Father of the Bride and Tim Burton’s sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! (1996); and wrote and starred in Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004). Short also provided the voices of several animated film characters, including in We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993) and in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012). In theater, Short played a lead role in the 1993 musical version of the Neil Simon film The Goodbye Girl, on Broadway, receiving a Tony Award nomination and an Outer Critics Circle Award. He had the lead role in the 1999 Broadway revival of the musical Little Me, for which he received a Tony Award and another Outer Critics Circle Award. In 2003, Short took to the stage once again in the critically acclaimed Los Angeles run of The Producers. Short performed in his satirical one-man show, with a cast of six, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, on Broadway and has continued to tour in his one-man show, which features many of his best-loved characters and sketches.
February 10- Mark Andrew Spitz set new world records in all seven swimming events in which he competed in 1972, a record that still stands. In the process, he won seven gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich, an achievement surpassed only by Michael Phelps in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Since the year 1900, no other swimmer has ever gained so great a percentage of all the medals awarded for Olympic events held in a single Games as Spitz did. Between 1968 and 1972, Spitz won nine Olympic golds plus a silver and a bronze, five Pan American golds, 31 Amateur Athletic Union titles, and eight National Collegiate Athletic Association titles. During those years, he set 33 official world records. In 1999 Spitz ranked No. 33 on ESPN SportsCentury 50 Greatest Athletes, the only aquatic athlete to make the list. In 1972, Spitz landed several lucrative corporate endorsement contracts and earned about $7 million in a two-year period. A poster featuring Spitz wearing his swimsuit and seven gold medals made him the hottest pin-up since Betty Grable. After his retirement from competitive swimming at age 22, he made a few TV appearances; appeared in several commercials, including for the California Milk Advisory Board; and went to work for ABC Sports in 1976. More recently Spitz has focused on his real estate company in Beverly Hills and other business ventures. As a swimmer, Spitz achieved some notoriety for his moustache in an era when other swimmers, male and female, were shaving body hair. When asked why he initially grew one, he stated, “I grew the moustache because a coach in college said I couldn’t grow one.” During the Olympics, he was quoted as saying, “I had some fun with a Russian coach who asked me if my moustache slowed me down. I said, ‘No, as a matter of fact, it deflects water away from my mouth, allows my rear end to rise and make me bullet-shaped in the water, and that’s what had allowed me to swim so great.’ He’s translating as fast as he can for the other coaches, and the following year every Russian male swimmer had a moustache.”
February 13- Peter Gabriel is an English singer-songwriter, musician and humanitarian activist who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. His 1986 album, So, is his most commercially successful and a certified triple platinum in the United Kingdom and five times platinum in the United States. The album’s biggest hit, “Sledgehammer,” won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards. “Sledgehammer” remains the most played music video in the history of MTV. Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. In 1982, he co-founded the WOMAD international arts festival and has continued to focus on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He has also pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2, one of the first online music download services. Gabriel has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including six Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards. AllMusic has described Gabriel as “one of rock’s most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political.” In 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis, followed by his induction as a solo artist in 2014. Gabriel has been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts and co-founded the WITNESS human rights organization in 1992. In collaboration with entrepreneur Richard Branson, Gabriel developed The Elders, which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007. In recognition of his many years of human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in 2006, and in 2008 TIME magazine named Gabriel one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
February 18 – Cybill Shepherd is known for her starring roles in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Taxi Driver (1976), Moonlighting (1985–1989), Cybill (1995–1998), The L Word (2007–2009) and Psych (2008–2013). A successful model, her picture on the cover of Glamour magazine in 1970 caught the eye of film director Peter Bogdanovich, who cast her as Jacy in The Last Picture Show. The film became a critical and box office hit, earning several Academy Awards and nominations. After a series of less-successful roles, including The Lady Vanishes, Shepherd moved back to her home town of Memphis to work in regional theatre.Back in Hollywood, Shepherd won the central role in the TV drama, The Yellow Rose (1983), opposite Sam Elliott. A year later she was cast as Maddie Hayes in ABC’s Moonlighting with Bruce Willis, which became the role that defined her career. A lighthearted combination of mystery and comedy, the series won Shepherd two Golden Globe awards. In 1990, she reprised her role as Jacy in Texasville, the sequel to The Last Picture Show. In 1997 she won her third Golden Globe award for CBS’s Cybill, a television sitcom in which the title character was loosely modeled on herself.In 2000 Shepherd’s bestselling autobiography was published, titled Cybill Disobedience: How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think. She has played Martha Stewart in two television films: Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart (2003) and Martha: Behind Bars (2005). In 2012 Shepherd became a regular on the TV series based on the film The Client List. In July 2012 she made her Broadway debut in the revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. Throughout her career, Shepherd has been an outspoken activist for issues such as gay rights and abortion rights. Although she previously described herself as “a goddess-worshipping Christian Pagan Buddhist,” in October 2014, as part of the publicity for Do You Believe?, a Christian-themed film, she revealed that she had returned to her Christian faith. “I was born a Christian, sang in the choir. Then I lost touch with my savior Jesus Christ. . . . Then I just started talking to Jesus and I started to feel really good, and I got the offer to do this film.”
February 22 – Julius Erving II, commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, helped launch a modern style of basketball that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim. His signature “slam” dunk has since been incorporated into the vernacular and basic skill set of the game. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and was the best-known player in that league when it merged with the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season.Erving won three championships, four Most Valuable Player Awards and three scoring titles with the ABA’s Virginia Squires and New York Nets (now the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets) and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. He is the fifth-highest scorer in ABA/NBA history with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined). He was well known for slam dunking from the free throw line in Slam Dunk Contests and was the only player voted Most Valuable Player in both the ABA and NBA. In 1993 Erving was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame and was also named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team. In 1994, Sports Illustrated named him one of the 40 most important athletes of all time. He was ranked by ESPN as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th Century. After his basketball career ended, he became a businessman, obtaining ownership of a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Philadelphia and doing work as a television analyst. In 1997, he joined the front office of the Orlando Magic. From 1998 to 2000, he co-fielded a NASCAR Busch Series team, becoming the first ever NASCAR racing team owned completely by minorities. Source: 
January 3- Victoria Principal is best known for her role as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime soap opera Dallas (1978–1987), which centered on a wealthy and feuding Texan family. She began her career in TV commercials at age five. In 1972, Principal won her first film role in Paul Newman’s The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, after which she appeared in The Naked Ape (1973) and posed in the nude in Playboy magazine to promote the film. In 1974, she was cast in the disaster film Earthquake. After she left Dallas in 1987, Principal starred in various made-for-television movies such as Mistress, Blind Witness, Naked Lie, Sparks: The Price of Passion, and Don’t Touch My Daughter, a few of which she co-produced. In 1987, she began her own production company, Victoria Principal Productions, producing mostly movies for television. In 1989 she created a self-named line of skin-care products, Principal Secret. In 1995, she was named “Entertainment Business Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Women Business Owners. In January 2011, Principal launched a line of jewelry called Keys & Hearts. She became a best-selling author, writing three books about beauty, skin care and health.
January 16- Debbie Allen is perhaps best known for her character on the 1982–1987 musical-drama television series Fame, where she portrayed dance teacher Lydia Grant and served as the series’ principal choreographer. For her role, Allen was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Actress four times during the show’s run. She first began receiving critical attention in 1980 for her role of Anita in the Broadway revival of West Side Story which earned her a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award, and in the title role of Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity, for which she received a second Tony Award nomination in 1986. In 2008 Allen directed the all-African-American Broadway production of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She currently teaches young dancers and taught choreography to former Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader-turned-choreographer-and-singer, Paula Abdul. Allen has released two solo albums, 1986’s Sweet Charity and 1989’s Special Look. The younger sister of actress/director/singer Phylicia Rashad, Allen is a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
January 23 – Richard Dean Anderson rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992). Angus MacGyver was an action hero who was notable for using a Swiss Army knife instead of a firearm as his weapon and tool of choice. Anderson later produced two follow-up movies to MacGyver, in 1994. After the cancellation of the TV version of MacGyver, he complained that “MacGyver was seven years of being in virtually every frame that was shot and having absolutely no life at all.” Anderson later appeared in films, including Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora’s Clock (1996) and Firehouse (1997). In 1997, he returned to television as the lead actor of the series Stargate SG-1, a spin-off of the 1994 film Stargate. Since 1997, the only film Anderson has starred in is Stargate: Continuum (2008).He has supported Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization trying to stop water pollution and is on the Board of Trustees for Challengers Boys and Girls Club, a youth organization. He also supports various Sclerosis Society nonprofit organizations and the Special Olympics. In recent years, he has helped several environmental organizations around the world.
January 29 – Ann Jillian is known for her role as Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom It’s a Living, which elevated Jillian to sex symbol status. After being canceled, the show become a surprise success in syndication. When Jillian was 35, she made headlines when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, after which she became a vocal advocate for cancer research and prevention. Her treatment, including a double mastectomy, was chronicled in the top-rated 1988 made-for-TV film, The Ann Jillian Story, in which Jillian portrayed herself. She started acting in 1960 in the Disney film Babes in Toyland, and in 1962, in the movie version of Gypsy. TV appearances in the 1960s and 1970s included a regular role on the 1960s sitcom Hazel (1965–66 season). In 1983, Jillian was recognized for her achievements within the entertainment industry as a child actress. In the late 1970s she toured in musical comedies including Sugar Babies on Broadway with Mickey Rooney. TV appearances include portraying Mae West in a 1982 made-for-TV film. She appeared in six of Bob Hope’s TV specials, including entertaining U.S. troops stationed in Beirut (1984) and Saudi Arabia (1991). She displayed her athletic abilities on three Battle of the Network Stars specials and a Circus of the Stars special and appeared in the charity extravaganza Night of 100 Stars. In 1985 the producers of It’s a Living made the relatively unheard-of decision to resume production of the series, by then a couple years off the air, for the USA cable network, and Jillian was contractually obligated to return to the series. Today, she mostly works as a motivational speaker and also performs as a singer in corporate and symphony “pops” circles.
December 4- Jeff Bridges began his acting career in 1958 as a child with his father, Lloyd Bridges, and brother, Beau, on television’s Sea Hunt. Bridges is one of the youngest actors ever to be nominated for an Academy Award (1972, age 22, Best Supporting Actor, The Last Picture Show), and one of the oldest ever to win (2010, age 60, Best Actor, Crazy Heart). Among his other best-known major motion films are: The Big Lebowski, Fearless, Iron Man, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Jagged Edge, Against All Odds, The Fisher King, Tucker, Seabiscuit, Arlington Road, Tron, Tron: Legacy and The Giver. Bridges is the son of showbiz parents, actor Lloyd Bridges and actress and writer Dorothy Bridges, and grew up in Los Angeles. After turning 18, Bridges joined the United States Coast Guard Reserve, where he served for seven years. His first major role was in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show, and he co-starred in the 1972 critically acclaimed neo-noir boxing film Fat City, directed by John Huston. He was nominated again for best supporting actor for his performance opposite Clint Eastwood in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. In 1976, he starred as the protagonist Jack Prescott in the first remake of King Kong, opposite Jessica Lange. One of his better-known roles was in the 1982 science fiction cult classic Tron, in which he played Kevin Flynn, a video game programmer (a role he reprised in late 2010 with the sequel Tron: Legacy). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1984, for playing the alien in Starman. His role in Fearless (1993) is thought by some critics to be one of his best performances. Film critic Pauline Kael wrote that he “may be the most natural and least self-conscious screen actor that has ever lived.” In 1998, he starred as what is arguably his most famous role, The Dude, in the Coen brothers’ cult-classic film The Big Lebowski. He has said that he relates to The Dude more than any of his other roles. He received Academy Award nominations for his roles in The Contender and True Grit, the latter a collaboration with the Coen brothers. Referring to his career as an actor and his passion for music, Bridges says, “I dug what an actor did, but it took me a while to feel it, to truly appreciate the craft and the preparation. Plus, I was still playing music a lot, and I guess I had a hard time choosing: was I an actor or a musician, or could I be both?” He released his debut album Be Here Soon in January 2000 and his second album, Jeff Bridges, in August 2011. In one of the longer-running marriages in Hollywood, Bridges has been with Susan Geston since 1977, and they have three daughters.
December 15- Don Johnson is best known for his role as James “Sonny” Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, for which he won a Golden Globe, and as the lead role in the 1990s cop series Nash Bridges. He is also a winner of the American Power Boat Association Offshore World Cup. He got his start in a high-school production of West Side Story in Wichita, Kan. His first major role was in the 1969 Los Angeles stage production of Fortune and Men’s Eyes, which led to several small film roles. From 1984 to 1989—after years of struggling to establish himself as a TV actor and a string of pilots, none of which became a TV series—Johnson landed a starring role as an undercover policeman. Miami Vice was noted for its revolutionary use of music, cinematography, imagery, and its glitzy take on the police drama genre. Between seasons, Johnson gained further renown through several TV miniseries, such as the 1985 TV remake of The Long, Hot Summer. In the 1996-2001 drama Nash Bridges Johnson played the title role of an inspector for the San Francisco Police Department. More recently, he appeared on the HBO series Eastbound & Down (October 2010) and reprised his role as Sonny Crockett for a Nike commercial with LeBron James. Johnson had a supporting role in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained. He also released two albums of pop music—one in 1986 and the other in 1989. His single, “Heartbeat,” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Johnson has had four wives in five marriages, including Melanie Griffith, who he remarried after they divorced. He is currently married to San Francisco socialite and Montessori nursery school teacher Kelley Phleger, and they have three children together.
December 25 – Sissy Spacek first came to international attention for her roles as Holly Sargis in Badlands (1973) and as Carrie White in Brian de Palma’s horror film Carrie (1976), based on Stephen King’s first published novel, for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as country star Loretta Lynn in the film Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) and received Oscar nominations for her roles in Missing (1982), The River (1984), Crimes of the Heart (1986) and In the Bedroom (2001). Born in Quitman, Texas, Spacek worked for a time as photographic model before getting small roles in films. After Carrie, Spacek cemented her reputation in independent cinema with her performance in Robert Altman’s classic 3 Women (1977). At the time, Altman stated: “She’s remarkable, one of the top actresses I’ve ever worked with. Her resources are like a deep well.” Brian de Palma added: “[Spacek is] a phantom. She has this mysterious way of slipping into a part, letting it take over her. She’s got a wider range than any young actress I know.” Of her work in In the Bedroom, New York Times film critic Stephen Holden said, “Ms. Spacek’s performance is as devastating as it is unflashy. . . . It is one of Ms. Spacek’s greatest performances.” In 2012, Spacek published a memoir, My Extraordinary Ordinary Life. She is married to production designer and art director Jack Fisk, who she met in 1974 on the set of Badlands. They have two daughters.
November 8- Bonnie Raitt a blues singer-songwriter and slide-guitar player, first became known in the 1970s, when she released a series of roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country. Born to Broadway musical star John Raitt and pianist Marjorie Haydock, Raitt began playing guitar at an early age. The 1977’s Sweet Forgiveness album gave Raitt her first commercial breakthrough when it yielded a hit single in her cover version of “Runaway.” Her previous albums, including Give It Up (1972) and Takin’ My Time (1973 ), had received critical acclaim but not commercial sales. In 1989 after several more years of praise from critics but little commercial success she had a major return to form with the release of her album Nick of Time. The following two albums Luck of the Draw (1991) and Longing in Their Hearts (1994) were also multimillion sellers generating several hit singles, including “Something to Talk About” and the ballad “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” In March 2000, Raitt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. In April 2012, Raitt released her first studio album since 2005 entitled Slipstream. Since the early 1970s, Raitt has been involved in both political and environmental causes. In addition to 10 Grammy Awards, Rolling Stone magazine listed her as number 50 of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 89 of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Australian Country Music Artist Graeme Connors has said, “Bonnie Raitt does something with a lyric no one else can do; she bends it and twists it right into your heart.”
November 17-John Boehner current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was elected to represent Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District for a 12th term in November 2012, serving since 1991. The Republican, known for his conservative views and ability to negotiate both sides of the aisle, previously served as the House Minority Leader from 2007 until 2011, and House Majority Leader from 2006 until 2007. As Speaker of the House, Boehner is second in line to the presidency of the United States. Born in Reading, Ohio, Boehner was the second of twelve children. During the Vietnam War, Boehner enlisted in the U.S. Navy but was honorably discharged after eight weeks because of a bad back. He earned his B.A. in business administration from Xavier University in 1977, becoming the first person in his family to attend college. Shortly after his graduation in 1977, Boehner went to work for a small sales business and eventually became president of the firm, resigning in 1990 when he was elected to Congress. He has been reelected 10 times with no substantial opposition, and even ran unopposed in 1994 and 2012.In 1994 Boehner was one of the engineers of the Contract with America that politically helped Republicans during the 1994 congressional elections during which they won the majority in Congress for the first time in four decades. He and Senator Ted Kennedy authored the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which he said was his “proudest achievement” in two decades of public service. When Boehner became Speaker of the House in 2011, he broke into tears when talking about “economic freedom, individual liberty and personal responsibility. . . . I hold these values dear because I’ve lived them. . . . I’ve spent my whole life chasing the American Dream.”
November 28 – Paul Shaffer a musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian and composer, has been David Letterman’s musical director, band leader and sidekick since 1982. Born and raised in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, Canada, Shaffer began his music career in 1972 when he became the musical director for the Toronto production of Godspell. From 1975 to 1980, he was a member of the house band on NBC’s popular Saturday Night Live (SNL) television program. Off the show, Shaffer occasionally teamed up with the Not Ready for Prime-Time Players, including work on Gilda Radner’s highly successful Broadway show and as the musical director for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd whenever they recorded or performed as The Blues Brothers. Since 1982, Shaffer has served as leader of “The World’s Most Dangerous Band” for Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993) on NBC, for which he also composed the theme song, and as leader of the CBS Orchestra for the Late Show with David Letterman (1993–present) on CBS. He has served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986 and filled the same role for the 1996 Olympic Games closing ceremony. Shaffer has released two solo albums, 1989’s Grammy-nominated Coast to Coast, and 1993’s The World’s Most Dangerous Party, and has recorded with a wide range of artists, including Donald Fagen, Grand Funk Railroad, Diana Ross, B.B. King, Asleep at the Wheel, Cyndi Lauper, Yoko Ono, Blues Traveler, Cher, Chicago and bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs.
November 29 – Gary Shandling comedian, actor and writer, is best known for his work in It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show. Born in Chicago and raised in Tucson, Ariz., he began his career writing for sitcoms such as Sanford and Son and Welcome Back, Kotter. He made a successful stand-up performance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1981 and became a frequent guest-host on the show. His persona was an anxiety-ridden, grimacing, guarded, confused man on the verge of losing control. In 1977, Shandling was involved in an auto accident in Beverly Hills that left him in critical condition for two days but he later turned the accident into part of his comedy act. In 1986 he created It’s Garry Shandling’s Show for the pay cable channel Showtime. It was nominated for four Emmy Awards (including one for Shandling) and lasted until 1990. He won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Male Performance in a Series, and won four CableACE awards, two for Best Comedy Series. The show also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy in the Television Critics Association Awards.His second show, The Larry Sanders Show, which began airing on HBO in 1992, was even more successful. Shandling was nominated for 18 Emmy Awards for the show and won in 1998, for writing the series finale. The show influenced other shows such as Entourage, 30 Rock, Extras and Curb Your Enthusiasm in which guest stars play themselves in episodes of the series. In 2002, TV Guide named The Larry Sanders Show as 38th Greatest Show of All Time. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly ranked the show the 28th Best Show of the past 25 years. It was also included on Time magazine’s 100 Greatest Shows of All Time.
