Tag: turning 65

Look who’s Turning 65! (You might be surprised!)

Look Who’s Turning 65

April 6—Bert Blyleven

Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/35602564@N00/5513027855/ ES

Born in the Netherlands, Blyleven is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992 and was best known for his curveball. In 2011, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Blyleven was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in 1969, and at age 19 in 1970, was called up to the Majors after only 21 minor league starts. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to 10 victories, and he was named American League (AL) Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1973, he pitched the most shutouts of any AL pitcher, with 9.

In 1976, Blyleven was traded to the Texas Rangers, and his 2.74 career earned run average (ERA) with the Rangers remains the best in team history. After he gave the finger to a television camera, Blyleven was traded in 1977 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, with which he led the team in ERA, strikeouts and complete games in 1978 and helped them to a World Series victory in 1979. In 1980, Blyleven was traded to the Cleveland Indians but sat out most of the 1982 and 1983 seasons. He came back in 1984 with one of his best seasons: a 19–7 record with a 2.87 ERA. In 1985, he again led the AL in shutouts with 5 and pitched 293 ⅔ innings and completed 24 games, a feat never repeated. However, Blyleven forced a trade back to the Twins, where he passed the 3,000-strikeout mark and helped the Twins to a 1987 World Series victory.

Blyleven’s first two full seasons back with the Twins also produced major league records for home runs allowed in a single season (50) and in back-to-back seasons (96). He never surrendered more than 24 home runs in any year before and after the 1986–87 campaigns, averaging 21 allowed per season over the course of his career. In 1989, Blyleven went to the California Angels and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 17–5 record in his first season, and led the league for his third and final time in shutouts (5). He retired following the 1992 season with a career 287–250 record, with 3,701 strikeouts (only 16 other pitchers have at least 3,000 career strikeouts) and a 3.31 ERA. In 1996, Blyleven became a color commentator for the Twins.


April 7—Janis Ian

source https://www.flickr.com/photos/dubpics/71293417/in/photostream/

An American singer-songwriter who was mostly active in the 1960s and 1970s, Ian’s most successful songs were “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen.” At the age of 13, she wrote and sang her first hit single, “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking),” about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl’s mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers. After it became a national hit in the summer of 1967, some radio stations banned it from their playlists, and Ian received hate mail and death threats. In 2001, “Society’s Child” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. “At Seventeen,” a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, was released in 1975 and was a major hit, receiving acclaim from critics and record buyers alike, and winning the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female. The album, Between the Lines, was also a smash, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Album chart and was quickly certified Gold and later earned a Platinum certification for over one million copies sold in the U.S.

In 1979, “Fly Too High” earned Ian a Grammy nomination and became a hit single in many countries, including South Africa, Belgium, Australia, Israel and the Netherlands. Ian’s album Aftertones topped Oricon’s album chart in October 1976. After “At Seventeen,” she reached the pop charts only once more with “Under the Covers” at No. 71 in 1981. However, Ian continued to write songs from 1982 to 1992, which have been covered by, among others, Amy Grant, Bette Midler and Marti Jones. She released Breaking Silence in 1993, about coming out as a lesbian, and Folk Is the New Black, in 2006, her first album in more than two decades.

Ian’s short stories have been published in science fiction anthologies. In 2008, she released her autobiography Society’s Child to critical acclaim. An accompanying double CD, The Autobiography Collection, has been released with many of Ian’s best loved songs. In December 2015, Ian appeared in the series finale of HBO comedy series Getting On, playing a patient who refused to stop singing.


April 10—Steven Seagal

Author=Gage Skidmore

A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, actor Seagal began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked as a martial arts instructor on the movie Never Say Never Again, accidentally breaking actor Sean Connery’s wrist during production. In 1988, Seagal made his acting debut in Above the Law, which was followed by four successful films. He achieved further fame in 1992, when he played Navy SEALs counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback in Under Siege. During the latter half of the 1990s, Seagal starred in three more theatrical films and the direct-to-video film The Patriot.

Since that time, his career has shifted almost entirely to direct-to-video productions (released to the public on video instead of to movie theaters)—a total of 27 from 1998 to 2014. At the age of 58, he starred in his first widely released film since 2002, the 2010 film Machete. Between 2009 and 2013, he filmed three seasons of his reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman, which depicted him as a reserve deputy sheriff in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (season 1–2) and Maricopa County, Arizona (season 3). He also created and starred in two seasons of the undercover police drama series True Justice between 2011 and 2012.

As an accomplished guitarist, Seagal released two studio albums (Songs from the Crystal Cave and Mojo Priest) and performed on numerous film scores. As a businessman, Seagal is estimated to be worth anywhere from $5 million to $16 million (as of 2015). Steven Seagal Enterprises markets his own energy drink, Lightning Bolt, and represents the Russian firearms manufacturer ORSIS. He is a supporter of both the 14th Dalai Lama and Vladimir Putin, calling Putin “one of the great living world leaders.”


April 21—Tony Danza

Author=Larry D. Moore

Born Antonio Salvatore Iadanza, the Italian-American actor is best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who’s the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards. A professional boxer, Danza got his start on Taxi after a producer discovered him at a boxing gymnasium in New York. On Taxi, he played a cab driver and part-time boxer on the award-winning comedy that aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. From 1984 to 1992, he starred in ABC’s popular comedy Who’s the Boss?, in which he portrayed retired baseball player, housekeeper and single father Tony Micelli.

Danza also starred in the short-lived sitcoms Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), for which he won the 1998 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest-starring role in the 1998 TV series The Practice. He made his movie debut in the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), which was followed by Going Ape! (1981). Danza received critical acclaim for his performance in the 1999 Broadway revival of the Eugene O’Neill play The Iceman Cometh.

Danza hosted his own TV talk show, The Tony Danza Show, which ended in May 2006. He starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in The Producers in 2006-2007. In 2010, he had his own reality show Teach: Tony Danza (on A&E), in which he co-instructed a 10th grade English class in Philadelphia. The book I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High, was released in 2012 and was based on his year of teaching.


April 27—Ace Frehley

source: http://flickr.com/photo/43547797@N00/257190364 using Flickr upload bot

Best known as the former lead guitarist and founding member of the rock band Kiss, Frehley adopted the persona of the “Spaceman” or “Space Ace” and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour. His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was originally purported to be the band’s Farewell Tour. His most recent solo album, Space Invader, was released in 2014.

Guitar World magazine ranked him as the 14th greatest metal guitarist of all time. His solos often incorporate the minor pentatonic scale and the usage of vibratos. Outside of Kiss, Frehley has continued to be commercially successful, with his first solo album going platinum. He is also known for the use of many “whimsical” guitars, including a Gibson Les Paul guitar that emits smoke from the neck humbucker pickup and produces spinning pyrotechnics, and a custom Les Paul that emits light based on song tempo.


Source: Wikipedia

 

Happy birthday to these celeb favorites!

Look Who’s Turning 65…

Crystal Gayle   January 9 — Crystal Gayle, an award-winning country music singer, is best known for her 1977 country-pop crossover hit song, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” During the 1970s and 1980s she accumulated 20 No. 1 country hits with six albums certified gold. Gayle became the first female artist in country music history to reach platinum sales with her 1977 album We Must Believe in Magic. Also famous for her nearly floor-length hair, she was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world by People Magazine in 1983. She is the younger sister of singer Loretta Lynn, who once told her, “You record what I couldn’t record—you do MOR,” middle of the road, “and that was the best advice I could get. I don’t think I ever would have made it if I went down the road and did the music my sister did. I would only have been compared to her.”

Gayle had her greatest success from 1977 to 1989 when she did music considered crossover. Her hits included “When I Dream,” “Talking in Your Sleep,” “Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For,” “Half the Way,” “It’s Like We Never Said Goodbye,” “You and I” (a duet with Eddie Rabbitt), “The Sound of Goodbye,” “Turning Away,” “Makin’ Up For Lost Time,” “Cry” and “Another World.” Gayle continues to perform and tour.

KirstieAlleyJanuary 12 — Kirstie Alley, an American actress and comedian, is best known for her role in the TV series Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987 to 1993, winning an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1991. She is also known for her role in the thriller Shoot to Kill and the Look Who’s Talking film series as Mollie Ubriacco. More recently, Alley has appeared in reality shows revolving around her life.

Alley made her movie debut in 1982 in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, playing the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik. In 1987, she joined the cast of Cheers, replacing Shelley Long and remaining on the show until its eleventh and final season. In 1989, Alley starred with John Travolta in Look Who’s Talking, which grossed over $295,000,000 worldwide. They went on to make two other films centered on the same theme, Look Who’s Talking Too and Look Who’s Talking Now! In recent years, Alley’s weight gain and loss has received much public attention. In September 2012, she appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, where she said she spent her whole life eating obsessively. She has been a member of the Church of Scientology since 1979.

Eric HolderJanuary 21 – Eric Holder, Jr. was the 82nd attorney general of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, Holder is the first African American to hold the position of U.S. attorney general. Previously, he served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, after being appointed in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed him United States attorney for the District of Columbia, the first black American in that office, and in 1997, nominated him the deputy attorney general under Janet Reno. While U.S. attorney, Holder prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski (DIllinois) for corruption charges related to his role in the congressional post office scandal.

During Obama’s presidential campaign Holder was his senior legal adviser and one of three members of Obama’s vice-presidential selection committee. During the Fast and Furious investigation (involving guns and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives), he became the only cabinet member in U.S. history to be held in contempt of Congress. From 2001 until he became attorney general, Holder worked as an attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., representing clients such as Merck and the National Football League. After he resigned as attorney general in 2014, he returned to Covington & Burling. The law firm’s clients have included many of the large banks Holder declined to prosecute for their alleged role in the financial crisis.

Phil CollinsJanuary 30 — Phil Collins is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, actor and author. He gained fame as both the drummer and lead singer for the rock band Genesis, as well as worldwide success as a solo artist. Collins sang the lead vocals on dozens of hit albums and singles in the U.K. and the U.S. between 1976 and 2010, either solo or with Genesis. He is among the best-selling music artists of all time, with 33.5 million albums sold in the U.S. and an estimated 150 million worldwide. He is one of three recording artists (along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) who has sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as solo artists and (separately) as principal members of a band. AllMusic describes Collins as “one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the ’80s and beyond.”

Collins joined Genesis in 1970 as the group’s drummer and became its lead singer in 1975 following Peter Gabriel’s departure. In 1981, Collins launched a solo career. His best-selling singles include “In the Air Tonight,” “Against All Odds,” “Sussudio” and “Another Day in Paradise.” His music has earned him seven Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards, an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and a Disney Legend Award. Totaling his work with Genesis, other artists and his solo career, Collins had more U.S. Top 40 singles than any other artist during the 1980s. In 2008, Collins was ranked the 22nd most successful artist on the “Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists.”

Source: Wikipedia

Aetna increasing household discount!

seniormark favicon
logofinal black bagrMedicare Supplement Household Discount Increasing to 7% in OH

Aetna will increase the household discount from 5% to 7% on Medicare Supplement plans issued in Ohio effective June 15, 2015.

No action needed to get the higher discount

Eligible applicants and existing policyholders will receive the increased household discount.

  • For new business, the 7% household discount will apply to new applications written on or after June 15, 2015. All pending applications that qualify for the discount will be issued at the new 7% discounted rate.
  • For existing policies issued with an effective date of July 1, 2015 or later (with premiums already paid AND where eligibility for the household discount was provided on the application), AHLIC will issue a new policy, which will include the higher household discount.
  • All other policyholders who previously received the 5% household discount will automatically receive the 7% household discount on their future premium that have a premium due date of June 15, 2015 or later.

Excess premiums, if any, will be applied to the policyholder’s future premiums.

Is your Medicare Supplement currently with Aetna?  They are offering great rates in addition to this additional discount.  Call our office today (937-492-8800) to see if you might be able to save money with Aetna and Seniormark. 

Heartthrobs turn 65!

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.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.

David CassidyApril 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.

Peter FramptonApril 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.

Jay LenoApril 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.

Cyber Seniors

Have you seen this movie?  It came out in 2014, but here is a preview of it:

It looks hilarious!!!

Could this describe anyone YOU know?  🙂  Enjoy!

Which Saturday Night Live cast member turns 65 in March? Find out here!


William Macy 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.

William HurtMarch 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.

Martin ShortMarch 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.

Medicare Supplement Policyholder Alert!

postcard33Have you received this postcard in the mail?  Is it coming from Medicare?  Is it important information?  It does say, “REGISTERED DOCUMENT – DO NOT DESTROY.”  The truth is this is just a solicitation for insurance, and if you mail in the return postcard you are sure to get a call from an insurance agent, or worse yet a knock on your front door.  The unfortunate truth is we now live in a world of information overload and everyone is vying for your attention…yes, even me.  And in the world of Medicare, some lead companies resort to making the older population believe their mailing is more than it is.

If you look closely at the small print at the bottom you will read, “This information is not affiliated or endorsed by government agencies or the federal Medicare program.  You may be contacted by an insurance licensed representative.”  This disclaimer language is a sure sign that the mailing is a solicitation as it is required by Medicare.  I am not judging those who use these postcards to drum up business, in fact these cards are completely compliant with current regulations.  I just believe there is a better way…honesty!

Why can’t we replace the words, “REGISTERED DOCUMENT – DO NOT DESTROY” with, “THIS IS NOT A REGISTERED DOCUMENT – DESTROY IF YOU WANT…BUT IF YOU DO, OUR AGENCY WON’T BE ABLE TO HELP YOU!”  Why can’t we just get back to letting people know we are here to help when they need it.

Here is a great example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrmYLo3tMA8

Dr J is 65? For real?

Sometimes, I wish this list would come out earlier in the month so we could celebrate these celebrities’ birthdays on the actual day.  But they don’t, so we get to “look back” each month.  Holy cow — look who turned 65 in February!  It’s almost hard to believe!
Mark Andrew Spitz 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.”

Peter GabrielFebruary 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.

Cybill ShepherdFebruary 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.”

Julius Erving IIFebruary 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: www.wikipedia.com

Next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” Workshop

Announcing our next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” Workshop!  Monday, March 16 at 5:30 pm in our Troy office at 1385 Stonycreek Road in Troy.

Are you, or someone you know, feeling overwhelmed about signing up for a Medicare Supplement? Is your mailbox overflowing with flyers and invitations? Are you more confused now than you were a couple of months ago? What do all of the letters of the alphabet have to do with healthcare? Well, look no further. Sign up today so you can be in the know!

Call our office at 937-492-8800 to reserve a seat (or two!), or simply complete the form below:

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Oooh La La! Look who is turning 65 in January! Happy birthday!


Victoria Principal
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.

Debbie AllenJanuary 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.

Richard Dean AndersonJanuary 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.

Ann JillianJanuary 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.