May_27

May 27

1911 -- Vincent Price is born this date in St. Louis. He
starred as 'The Saint on radio (George Sanders
portrayed Simon Templar in film, Roger Moore on
television). Although in the 80's he hosted 'Mystery' and
his movies drove many a youngster under the covers on
local 'Monster Theater' type shows on weekends, we
include him here for his overall body of work. Our
favorite films are 'The Tingler' and 'The Abominable Dr.
Phibes.' on PBS. A guest on many variety shows, he
was also an avid cook and art collector. Fittingly, though,
his last appearance on screen was in 1990's 'Edward
Scissorhands.' Beset by emphysema and Parkinson's
Disease for a number of years, died of lung cancer
October 26, 1993, at age 82.

1919 -- Kam Fong, who was Steve McGarrett's
right-hand man Chin Ho until his character was killed off
in the show's 10th season, was born Kam Tong Chun in
Honolulu on this date. (In Chinese, his birth name
translates as 'golden temple.') According to imdb.com,
Kam Fong had only five film bit parts to his credit prior to
his being cast in the long-running Five-O. Although active
in local theater and radio, his talent mixed with a life of
both tragedy and service to lend to his low-key credibility
as Chin. A boilermaker at Pearl Harbor when the
Japanese attacked, he worked for three straight days.
Then, during the war, two B-24 Liberators collided in
mid-air. The falling wreckage fell on Kam Fong's home,
killing his wife and their two children. After World War II,
he joined the Honolulu Police Department and stayed on
the force until 1962. He died of lung cancer Oct 18,
2002, at age 83.

1922 -- Towering actor and frequent Dracula portrayer
Christopher Frank Carandini Lee is born this date in
London. Still incredibly active with five film roles
scheduled for release in 2009, Christopher Lee also
portrayed James Bond's namesis 'The Man With the
Golden Gun.' Lee, at 6'5," loomed over his henchman,
actor Herve' Villachaize, by two and a half feet. (Please
note: considering Vincent Price's birth on this date 11
years earlier, if your is child born on a future May 27th,
it's likely that he or she will be the creepiest child on the
block. It's not me. I'm just sayin' . . . )

1936 -- Miss America 1955, Lee Ann Meriwether, is born
in Los Angeles. She also went to co-starring as a
scientist in 'The Time Tunnel,' the third Catwoman in
'Batman' and as Buddy Ebsen's widowed daughter-in-law
on 'Barnaby Jones.'

1949 -- cartoonist and oddities collector Robert L. Ripley
dies at age 55 in New York City. Approximately 40 % of
Americans refused to believe it . . .

1950 -- Francis Albert Sinatra made his television debut
as he joined Bob Hope NBC's 'Star-Spangled Review.'

1958 -- Ainslie Pryor, who, as reporter Joel Smith,
accompanied Wally Cox around the world in 'The
Adventures of Hiram Holliday,' died of cancer. He was
only 37 years old.

1961 -- The Man in Black turns actor as Johnny Cash
appears as 'Bo Braddock' in 'The Deathly Quiet' episode
of Henry Fonda's series 'The Deputy.' This was actually
Johnny's fourth acting gig; he earlier appeared on
'Wagon Train,' 'Shotgun Slade' and 'The Rebel,' for
which he sang the theme song, 'Johnny Yuma.'

In 1967, two major record companies, Columbia and
RCA Victor announced that they would raise the list price
of mono albums by a dollar on June 1. It was the first
increase since 1953.

1969 -- Jeffrey Hunter, the Hollywood actor with the
Hollywood good looks, dies following brain surgery. His
once healthy film career, with starring roles in 'The
Searchers' and 'King of Kings,' had deteriorated to the
point of spaghetti westerns. In 1969 Jeffrey (whose birth
name was Henry Herman McKinnies, Jr.) suffered a
stroke, took a bad fall and underwent emergency
surgery, but died from complications of the fall and the
surgery. Following his short-lived Western, 'Temple
Houston,' Jeffrey filmed a science fiction pilot in which
he played captain of a starship. NBC wavered and
requested a second pilot but Jeffrey opted to focus on
his film career again and refused to shoot a second pilot.
Producers later incorporated the pilot into a two-part
episode called 'The Cage.' The series, of course, was
'Star Trek.' At his death, Jeffrey Hunter was just 43 years
old. (Super trivia question: since Hunter didn't shoot any
footage of the crippled, speechless 'present day' Capt.
Christopher Pike, who was it in the wheelchair-like
device? The answer is Sean David Kenney.)

1976 -- brilliant comic actress Ruth McDevitt dies of
natural causes at the age of 80. Her notable television
roles included Wally Cox's mom in 'Mr. Peepers,' as
Grandma Effie on 'Pistols 'n' Petticoats' and, just two
years before her death, as advice columnist Miss Emily
on Darren McGavin's 'The Night Stalker.' Ruth was
active to the end, as two made-for-tv films aired in 1976,
one of which ('The Cheerleaders') aired posthumously.

1982 -- the burning question 'What's a nice Orkian like
you doing on Planet Earth?' becomes moot as 'Mork and
Mindy' comes to an end. That same night, ABC also airs
the final episode of the Tom Hanks/Peter Scolari sitcom
'Bosom Buddies.'

1985 -- Kay Campbell, who played Gran Martin for 15
years on 'All My Children,' dies in an auto accident. She
was 80 years old.

1994 -- 'The Arsenio Hall Show' ends its five-year run.