May_29

May 29

1903 -- future film and television fixture Bob Hope is born
Leslie Townes Hope in London. He debuted on NBC
radio in 1935, his television show debuted in 1952, and
his final TV special aired in 1996 when he was 93. Bob
died July 27, 2003, at the age of 100. Thanks for the
memories, Bob.

  1921 -- Clifton James is born in 1921. The character
actor may be best-known for his role as 'Striker Bellman'
on the NBC soap 'Texas' and as the frustrated sheriff in
consecutive Bond films 'Live and Let Die' and 'The Man
with the Golden Gun.' Despite making a career out of
playing blustery oilmen, rugged cattlemen and red-faced
sheriffs, Clifton was born in New York City.

1942 -- Bing Crosby, whose own remarkable career
included the classic 'road' comedic films with Bob Hope
and Dorothy Lamour, records what remains the world's
biggest-selling record -- ''White Christmas.'' It's estimated
to have sold more than 30-million copies.

1949 -- 'Candid Camera' debuts on NBC.

1961 -- teen sensation and 'Ozzie and Harriet' son Ricky
Nelson has hit second #1 song, 'Travelin' Man.' 'Poor
Little Fool' reached Billboard's top spot in 1958.

1962 -- extraordinary film and television composer Henry
Mancini wins a Grammy for 'Moon River.' According to
allmusicguide.com, more than 1,000 recordings have
been made of the song.

1962 -- a 20-year-old Barbra Streisand appears on 'The
Garry Moore Show.'

1964 -- Lisa Whelchel is born in Fort Worth, Texas. A
devout Christian, Lisa is best-known for the role of
glamorous Blair on 'The Facts of Life.' The wife of a
pastor in California, you can keep up with Lisa at her
website. Interestingly, Lisa is also a trained ventriloquist
which, I assume, is why you never saw Blair and Trudy
speak at the same time . . .


1978 -- in one of the most well-known officially unsolved
murder mysteries, Bob Crane ('The Donna Reed Show,'
'Hogan's Heroes'), is beaten to death in his sleep in his
Scottsdale, Arizona, motel room, apparently while he
slept. Auto Focus, by Robert Graysmith (one of our
favorite authors), and the subsequent film (with Greg
Kinnear as Bob) detail his often-sordid off-screen
activities. Although officially a mystery, a friend of
Crane's was eventually tried, and acquitted, years later
for the crime. At his death, Bob was 49 years old.


1997 -- George Fenneman, best-known as the straight
man/announcer on Groucho Marx's 'You Bet Your Life'
and for his much more serious announcing on 'Dragnet'
('The story you are about to see is true . . .') dies at of
emphysema. Prior to his voice work, George made his
film debut in one of the most famous sci-fi movies of all
time, Howard Hawkes's 'The Thing from Another World.'
In fact, he 'kills' James Arness (the monster) as his
character, Dr. Redding, devices the electric-arc trap that
saves Planet Earth. George was 77 at the time of his
death.