Remembering Harper Lee

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I first read To Kill a Mockingbird at fourteen, in school. It was one of those hardbacks made for classrooms, and I think it might have been orange. We would each read a few paragraphs aloud, and I would read on while waiting my turn. Whether my classmates loved Mockingbird as much as I did, I have no idea. Continue reading

Born On This Day: Kim Novak

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Marilyn Pauline Novak was born in Chicago on February 13, 1933. Her father was a history teacher who also worked as a railroad dispatcher, and her mother was employed in a factory. Both parents were of Czech descent, and had an elder daughter, Arlene. Continue reading

Born On This Day: Judith Anderson 1897-1992

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003-judith-anderson-theredlistFrances Margaret Anderson was born in the Australian city of Adelaide on February 10, 1897. From an early age she was drawn to the theatre. At seventeen, she made her stage debut at Sydney’s Theatre Royal. Continue reading

Born On This Day: Monta Bell 1891-1958

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Louis Monta Bell was born in Washington D.C. on February 5, 1891. He began his career as a reporter for the Washington Herald during President Taft’s administration. Bell also appeared on the stage, and in a Charlie Chaplin short, The Adventurer (1917.) In 1923, he played another bit part in The Pilgrim, and served as story editor on Chaplin’s first serious feature, A Woman of Paris. Continue reading

Born On This Day: Sam H. Harris 1872-1941

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Sam_Harris_(playwright)_001Samuel Henry Harris was born in New York City on February 3, 1872. His early jobs ranged from selling cough drops to keeping the Irish storyteller and vaudevillian, John W. Kelly, out of saloon bars during a troubled stint at Miner’s Bowery Theatre. He also worked as a boxing promoter, managing prize-fighter Terry McGovern. By the age of twenty-two, Harris owned six racehorses. Continue reading