Today In History Basic Datebook-May 17th

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People on May 17th: birthdates

Dave Abbruzzese: 1968 (is 44 in 2012, 45 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Drummer, of Pearl Jam
Sasha Alexander: 1975 (is 37 in 2012, 38 in 2013)
Actress, Dawson's Creek's Gretchen Witter, Navy NCIS's Agent Caitlin Todd
Rochelle Aytes: 1976 (is 36 in 2012, 37 in 2013)
Actress
Alice Backes: 1923 (is 89 in 2012, 90 in 2013)
TV Actress, Bachelor Father's Vickie
Cameron Bancroft: 1967 (is 45 in 2012, 46 in 2013)
TV Actor, 90210's Joe Bradley 95-96
Samantha Browne-Walters: 1991 (is 21 in 2012, 22 in 2013)
Actress, Life With Bonnie's Samantha Molloy
Bill Bruford: 1949 (is 63 in 2012, 64 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Drummer, Composer, English, of Yes, King Crimson, Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe
Tracy Bryn: 1962 (is 50 in 2012, 51 in 2013)
Modern Rock Musician, of Voice Of The Beehive
Kandi Burruss: 1976 (is 36 in 2012, 37 in 2013)
Rhythm and Blues Singer, of Xscape
Andrea Corr: 1974 (is 38 in 2012, 39 in 2013)
Singer, of The Corrs
Audie Desbrow: 1957 (is 55 in 2012, 56 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Drummer, of Great White
David Eigenberg: 1964 (is 48 in 2012, 49 in 2013)
Actor, Sex and the City's Steve Brady
Enya: 1961 (is 51 in 2012, 52 in 2013)
New Age Singer, Pianist, Songwriter, Irish, RN:Eithne Ni Bhraonain PRON:Enya Nee VREE-nine; Whimsical Will's raving fave; There should be fadas (accents to us) over the "i" in "N" and the second "a" in "Bhraonin", but my computer can't handle international characters because those are control characters.
Craig Ferguson: 1962 (is 50 in 2012, 51 in 2013)
Actor, Drew Carey Show's Nigel Wick, Late Late Show host
Kat Foster: 1978 (is 34 in 2012, 35 in 2013)
Actress, of Til Death
Jay Anthony Franke: yr unknown
TV Actor, California Dreams' Jake Sommers
Peter Gerety: 1940 (is 72 in 2012, 73 in 2013)
Actor, Homicide's Detective Stuart Gharty
Jay Harik: 1960 (is 52 in 2012, 53 in 2013)
Soap Actor, Young & The Restless' Abhijit Nair
Hill Harper: 1966 (is 46 in 2012, 47 in 2013)
TV/Soap Actor, Live Shot's Tommy Greer, CSI NY's Dr. Sheldon Hawkes
R. J Helton: 1981 (is 31 in 2012, 32 in 2013)
Singer, American Idol Finalist #5 (2002)
Aisha Henderson: yr unknown
Soap Actress, As The World Turns' Zoe Crane
Josh Homme: 1973 (is 39 in 2012, 40 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Musician, Singer, of Kyuss
Joshua Homme: 1973 (is 39 in 2012, 40 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Performer, of Queens of the Stone Age
Fiona Hutchison: 1960 (is 52 in 2012, 53 in 2013)
Soap Actress, Ballet Dancer, One Life to Live's Gabrielle Medina Holden Holden, Guiding Light's Jenna Bradshaw Cooper, As the World Turns' Celia
George Johnson: 1953 (is 59 in 2012, 60 in 2013)
Rhythm and Blues Singer, Guitarist, of The Brothers Johnson
Jordan Knight: 1970 (is 42 in 2012, 43 in 2013)
Pop Singer, NN:N; RFN:Nathaniel Marcel; of The New Kids on the Block then NKOTB; some say 1971
Justin Martin: 1994 (is 18 in 2012, 19 in 2013)
Actor
Page McConnell: 1963 (is 49 in 2012, 50 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Performer, Singer/Musician
Tahj Mowry: 1987 (is 25 in 2012, 26 in 2013)
Actor, of Smart Guy
Alfred Nevarez: 1973 (is 39 in 2012, 40 in 2013)
Singer, of All 4 One; some say May 18
O'Dell: 1965 (is 47 in 2012, 48 in 2013)
Rhythm and Blues Performer, of Mint Condition
Homer R. O'Dell: yr unknown
Rhythm and Blues Singer, NN:Odell; of Mint Condition
Bill Paxton: 1955 (is 57 in 2012, 58 in 2013)
Actor, Fish Heads video, True Lies, Apollo 13, Twister, Titanic, Mighty Joe Young, A Simple Plan, U-571, Thunderbirds To The Rescue
Sendhil Ramamurthy: 1974 (is 38 in 2012, 39 in 2013)
Actor, Heroes' Mohinder Suresh
Leven Rambin: 1990 (is 22 in 2012, 23 in 2013)
Actress, All My Children's Ava
Leven Ramblin: 1990 (is 22 in 2012, 23 in 2013)
Actress
Levin Ramblin: 1990 (is 22 in 2012, 23 in 2013)
Soap Actress, All My Children's Lily Montgomery and Ava
Nikki Reed: 1988 (is 24 in 2012, 25 in 2013)
Actress
Trent Reznor: 1965 (is 47 in 2012, 48 in 2013)
Rock & Roll Singer, Keyboardist, of Nine Inch Nails
Bob Saget: 1956 (is 56 in 2012, 57 in 2013)
TV Actor, Variety Show Host, Comedian, b. in Philadelphia; Full House's Danny Tanner, America's Funniest Home Videos, How I Met Your Mother's Older Ted Mosby, 1 vs 100 host
Yoko Shimada: 1953 (is 59 in 2012, 60 in 2013)
Author, Japanese, Shogun
Kathleen Sullivan: 1953 (is 59 in 2012, 60 in 2013)
Newscaster, Journalist, b. in Pasadena, CA; of CNN, ABC, & CBS News
Taj Mahal: 1942 (is 70 in 2012, 71 in 2013)
Singer, Songwriter, Multi-instrumentalist, Multi-instrumentalist; Blues, Ragtime, Jazz, R&B, Reggae, Calypso, African, & Bahamian styles
Paige Turco: 1965 (is 47 in 2012, 48 in 2013)
TV/Movie Actress, Soap Actress, Dancer, All My Children's Melanie Courtlandt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' April O'Neil, American Gothic's Gail Emory, Party of Five's Annie Mott, NYPD Blue's Officer Abby Sullivan
Darnell Van Rensalier: 1970 (is 42 in 2012, 43 in 2013)
Rhythm and Blues Singer, of Shai
Jesse Winchester: 1944 (is 68 in 2012, 69 in 2013)
Pop Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter

People on May 17th: birth anniversaries

Stewart Alsop: 1914=d.May 26, 1974 (was 60)
Journalist, Editor, Saturday Evening Post
Howard Ashman: 1951=d.Mar 14, 1991 (was 39)
Lyricist, Dramatist/Playwright, Director, Gay, Little Shop of Horrors, Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast
Jason Bernard: 1938=d.Oct 18, 1996 (was 58)
TV/Movie Actor, Cagney and Lacey's Deputy Inspector Marquette, Herman's Head's Mr. Bracken, While You Were Sleeping, All of Me
Archibald Cox: 1912=d.May 29, 2004 (was 92)
Attorney/Lawyer, ex-Watergate special prosecutor
Horace Dodge: 1868=d.Dec 10, 1920 (was 52)
Manufacturer, Designer, created the Dodge automobile
Ruth Donnelly: 1896=d.Nov 17, 1982 (was 86)
Movie Actress
Jean Gabin: 1904=d.Nov 15, 1976
Movie Actor, French, RN:Jean-Alexis Moncourge
John Gill: 1732=d.Aug 25, 1785 (was 53)
Publisher, Patient, a leading advocate of American colonial independence from Britain.
Martin Hale: 1941=d.1968
Singer/Guitarist, of Spanky and Our Gang
Dennis Hopper: 1936=d.May 29, 2010 (was 74)
TV/Movie Actor, Movie Director, b. in Dodge City, KS; Rebel Without a Cause, True Grit, Black Widow, Blue Velvet, Hoosiers, Easy Rider, Speed, EDtv; Michelle Gilliam (Phillip)'s hubby 8days, Knockaround Guys
Pervis Jackson: 1938=d.Aug 18, 2008 (was 70)
Rhythm and Blues Singer, of The Spinners
Edward Jenner: 1749=d.Jan 26, 1823 (was 73)
Physician, English, smallpox vaccination discoverer
Ayatollah Khomeini: 1903=d.Jun 4, 1989 (was 86)
Head of State, Iran leader, FN:Ruhollah, June 4 date of decease is Iran time, some say b. 1901 or 1902 or Sep 23 1902, another news source said b. 1900
King Alfonso XIII Of Spain: 1886=d.Feb 28, 1941 (was 54)
King, Spanish, ruled 1886-1931
Mary Lawrence: 1918=d.Sep 24, 1991 (was 73)
TV/Movie Actress, Author, Love That Bob's Ruth Helm
Joseph Norman Lockyer: 1836=d.Aug 16, 1920 (was 84)
Astronomer, British, discovered Helium in the sun/founded Nature magazine
Jackie McLean: 1932=d.Mar 31, 2006 (was 73)
Jazz Performer, Alto-sax
Horace McMahon: 1907=d.Aug 17, 1971 (was 64)
Actor, Martin Kane's Capt. Willis, Danny Thomas Show's Horace, Naked City's Lt. Mike Parker, Jackie Gleason Show reg; RLN:MacMahon
Bob Merrill: 1921=d.Feb 17, 1998 (was 76)
Lyricist, Songwriter, wrote "How Much is That Doggie in the Window", scores to the musicals "Funny Girl" and "Carnival"; d. suicide
Zinka Milanov: 1906=d.May 30, 1989 (was 83)
Opera Soprano, Yugoslav; leading at the Metropolitan Opera for nearly 30 yrs.
Brigit Nilsson: 1918=d.Jan 1, 2006 (was 87)
Opera Soprano, Swedish, b. in West Karup; some say b. 1923
Maureen O'Sullivan: 1911=d.Jun 22, 1998 (was 87)
Movie Actress, Irish, b. in Boyle; Mia Farrow's mom, John Farrow's wife; Tarzan's movie Jane
John Patrick: 1905=d.Nov 7, 1995 (was 90)
Dramatist/Playwright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Teahouse of the August Moon" and many screenplays
John Penn: 1741 N.S.=d.Sep 14, 1788
Attorney/Lawyer, Revolutionary, Declaration of Independence signer; other style says b. May 6, 1741 O.S.
Dennis Potter: 1935=d.Jun 7, 1994 (was 59)
Author, Screen/Scriptwriter, British, Pennies From Heaven, screenwriter for the acclaimed British TV series "The Singing Detective."
Alfonso Reyes: 1889=d.Dec 27, 1959 (was 70)
Essayist, Poet, Critic, Historian, Diplomat, Mexican
Erik Alfred Leslie Satie: 1866=d.Jul 1, 1925 (was 59)
Composer, French
Magda Schneider: 1909=d.Jul 30, 1996 (was 87)
Actress
Robert Smith Surtees: 1803=d.Mar 16, 1864 (was 60)
Novelist, English, Novelist of the chase and the creator of Mr. Jorrocks, one of the great comic characters of English literature, a Cockney grocer who is as blunt as John Bull and entirely given over to fox hunting.
Grant Turner: 1912=d.Oct 19, 1991 (was 79)
HALL OF FAMER, Announcer, Commentator, Radio Disc Jock, Grand Ole Opry anncr for half-a-century
Harriet Van Horne: 1920=d.Jan 15, 1998 (was 77)
Columnist, Panelist, TV Critic, Leave It to The Girls
Schuyler S. Wheeler: 1860=d.????
Inventor, electric fan

People on May 17th: death anniversaries

William Jefferson III Blythe: 1946 (was 28)/b.Feb 27, 1918
Celebrity Relative, Bill's father; so are many of his half-siblings
Sandro Botticelli: 1510/b.1444
Painter, RN:Alessandro di Mariano del Filipepi; probably in his mid 60s when he died
John Cabell Breckinridge: 1875 (was 54)/b.Jan 21, 1821
Vice President, Statesman, Attorney/Lawyer, 14th U.S. Vice President
Abe Burrows: 1985 (was 74)/b.Dec 18, 1910
Director, Composer, Dramatist/Playwright, Panelist, The Bald Headed Baritone from Brooklyn; quiz shows, Guys and Dolls
John Deere: 1886 (was 82)/b.Feb 7, 1804
Inventor, Manufacturer, The Steel Plow; pioneer manufacturer of agricultural implements.
Paul Abraham Dukas: 1935 (was 69)/b.Oct 1, 1865
Composer, French, The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Bruce Fairbairn: 1999 (was 52)/b.Feb 19, 1947
Actor, Producer
Cy Feuer: 2006 (was 95)/b.Jan 15, 1911
Stage Producer/Director, A Chorus Line
Frank Gorshin: 2005 (was 71)/b.Apr 5, 1934
Impressionist, Actor, Comedian, b. in Pittsburgh; Batman's The Riddler, Bold and the Beautiful's George
John Jay: 1829 (was 83)/b.Dec 12, 1745
Statesman, SuprmeCt ChiefJustice, Diplomat, Author, a founding father of the United States who served the new nation in both law and diplomacy. He established important judicial precedents as first chief justice of the Supreme Court (1789-95).
Henry Jones: 1999 (was 86)/b.Aug 1, 1912
TV/Movie/Stage Actor, Girl with Something Extra, Phyllis' Judge Jonathan Dexter, Falcon Crest's R. Riley Wicker, Kate Loves a Mystery, Alfred Hitchcock, Kraft Theatre, Bonanza, Gunsmoke
Lilli Lehmann: 1929 (was 80)/b.Nov 4, 1848
Opera Soprano, German
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard: 1981 (was 86)/b.Jan 5, 1895
Aviator, Balloon Pilot; one of the first American women to qualify as a free balloon pilot in 1934
Tony Randall: 2004 (was 84)/b.Feb 26, 1920
TV/Movie/Stage Actor, Singer, Jewish, b. in Tulsa, Okla.; One Man's Family's Mac, Mr. Peepers' Harvey Weskit, The Odd Couple's Felix Unger, Tony Randall Show's Judge Walter Franklin, Love-Sydney's Sidney Shorr; RN:Leonard Rosenberg; Opera commentator; Eagle snack pitchman; Florence's hubby
Frank Slaughter: 2001 (was 93)/b.Feb 25, 1908
Writer, Doctor, Surgeon, Novelist
June Whitley Taylor: 2004 (was 86)/b.Aug 26, 1917
Choreographer
Lionel Van Deerlin: 2008 (was 93)/b.Jul 25, 1914
Congressperson
Johnny "Guitar" Watson: 1996 (was 61)/b.Feb 3, 1935
Blues Guitarist, Pianist, Rhythm and Blues Singer, Songwriter, influenced musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa
Robert Webber: 1989 (was 64)/b.Oct 14, 1924
TV/Movie Actor, Moonlighting's Alex, 79 Park Avenue; some say '28
Lawrence Welk: 1992 (was 89)/b.Mar 11, 1903
Conductor, Bandleader, Music Producer, Accordionist, b. in Strassburg, MD; Polka; Lawrence Welk Show host 1955-82 & King of Champagne Music

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