Gary Freedman's Blog – December 2009 Archive (18)

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rCwncilq0E

Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American theatre and film actor. He has won one Academy Award, two Tony Awards and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2009.



Kline was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Peggy and Robert Kline. Robert was a classical music lover and an amateur opera singer who owned and operated The Record Bar, a record store in St. Louis that opened in the early 40s, and also sold toys during the 60s and 70s. Kline's father was an agnostic of… Continue

Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus (born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian best known for her role as Elaine Benes on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, and her current role as the titular Christine Campbell on the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.



Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City, to Judith, a writer and special-needs tutor, and Gérard Louis-Dreyfus (also known as William Louis-Dreyfus), a French attorney and business executive. Her paternal… Continue

Today, December 16th, is Beethoven's birthday. The old guy would have been 237 years old today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7pQytF2nak

Happy Birthday, Ludwig!

Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer (born December 30, 1957)[2] is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York[3] and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond. He was also host of PM Magazine (or "Evening Magazine" 1980-1986) and worked for ESPN in the 1980s as a sideline reporter. In the early 1990s, Lauer hosted segments of HBO Entertainment News.



He was born in New… Continue

Courtney Michelle Love (born Courtney Michelle Harrison on July 9, 1964) is an American rock musician and actress. Love is known as lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band Hole and for her marriage to the late Nirvana singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain. Rolling Stone called Love “the most controversial woman in the history of rock”.



Love’s mother Linda Carroll was adopted by an Italian-American couple at birth, retaining no contact with her birth father or her birth mother,… Continue

Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and arranger whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads.



In addition to singing lead and backing vocals, Kravitz often plays all the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and percussion himself when recording. He is known for his elaborate stage performances and music videos. Kravitz has had… Continue

Oliver Stone describes himself as a practicing Buddhist. Specifically, he has said he follows the Tibetan branch of Buddhism. He was not born into Buddhism, but adopted the faith as an adult.



Oliver Stone's father was a Jewish American stock broker. His mother was a French Catholic. Neither of Stone's parents were particularly religious. In fact, they raised him in neither Judaism nor Catholicism. Stone was raised as an Episcopalian, and regularly attended Episcopalian church… Continue

Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work.



She is the former wife of another notable singer-songwriter, James Taylor, with whom she has two children: Sarah "Sally" Maria Taylor and Ben Taylor, who are also musicians.



Simon was inducted into… Continue

Albert Gutmacher was a student in my graduating class at The Central High School of Philadelphia. We graduated Central in June 1971; we were in the 230th class. We weren't friends. Not even acquaintances. It's interesting and revealing that I remember he once said he was half-Jewish. Apparently that's important to me.



His father was Jewish and his mother was Italian. We were in the same English class in 12th grade--Mr. Chester Plummer's class.



I hope Mr. Gutmacher is doing… Continue

Carrie Frances Fisher (born October 21, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and novelist. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy and her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge.



Fisher was born in Beverly Hills, California, the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. Her younger brother is Todd Fisher and her half-sisters are actresses Joely… Continue

Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. He is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His four-decade career also includes roles in several other Hollywood blockbusters, including Apocalypse Now, Presumed Innocent,… Continue

Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. Douglas's first television exposure was that of Karl Malden's young college-educated partner, Insp. Steve Keller, in the 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco, a role he played from 1972 to 1976. Douglas is an Emmy Award-, Golden Globe Award- and two-time Academy Award-winner, first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Best Actor in… Continue

Goldie Jean Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, film director and producer, whose career has spanned more than four decades. Hawn is perhaps best known for her roles in Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Wildcats, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and The Banger Sisters. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1969 film Cactus Flower. She is also the mother of actors Oliver Hudson and Kate Hudson. Hawn has… Continue

Jerome David "J. D." Salinger (born January 1, 1919) is an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. He has not published an original work since 1965 and has not been interviewed since 1980.



Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day… Continue

Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and subsequent acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). He is notable as the youngest actor ever to receive an Academy Award for Best Actor and the only American actor ever to win a César Award.



Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the son of Sylvia Plachy, a photojournalist, and Elliot Brody, a retired history professor and painter. Brody's father is of… Continue

Liev Schreiber (born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the Scream trilogy of horror films. Schreiber is also a respected stage actor, performing in several Broadway productions. In 2005, Schreiber won a Tony Award for his performance in the play Glengarry Glen Ross. That year, Schreiber also made his debut… Continue

Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, previously Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British music manager and promoter, television personality and presenter. She is the wife of singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne.



She came into public prominence after appearing in The Osbournes, a reality television show that followed her family's daily life. Osbourne later became a judge on the talent shows The X Factor and America's Got Talent. Her autobiography, Extreme, has sold in excess of two million… Continue