Category Archives: On This Day

“Life was bitter and I was not. All around me was poverty and sordidness but I refused to see it that way. By turning it into jokes, I made it bearable.” — Max Shulman

Posted on March 14, 2026 by sheila

It’s Max Shulman’s birthday. Who the hell is Max Shulman, some of you may ask? He was one of the most popular humorists of his day, who reached his peak of popularity in the 1950s. He’s the guy who created … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, On This Day, writers | Tagged , | 10 Comments

“I couldn’t keep a dog and a James Joyce and a bookshop.” — Sylvia Beach

Posted on March 14, 2026 by sheila

It’s her birthday today. Sylvia Beach is one of my heroes due to her influential bookshop in Paris (Shakespeare & Co.), and her nurturing of the writers of that time. You know, minor writers like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, James Joyce, On This Day | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

“Make the most of what you have and enjoy being female; enjoy being you.” — Bunny Yeager

Posted on March 13, 2026 by sheila

“I want to show off how beautiful my subjects are, whether its a cheetah or a live girl or two of them together.” — Bunny Yeager It’s the birthday of model and pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager. She is most famous … Continue reading →

Posted in Art/Photography, On This Day | Tagged , | 7 Comments

“My mother gave me my drive but my father gave me my dreams.” — Liza Minnelli

Posted on March 12, 2026 by sheila

It’s her birthday today. Years ago, my friend Alex, her friend Shannon and I drove through the desert from Los Angeles, blasting Liza Minnelli the whole way. We were headed to see Liza Minnelli live in Las Vegas. Alex was … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day, Theatre | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.” — Jack Kerouac

Posted on March 12, 2026 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. In Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe paints a pretty brutal picture of Jack Kerouac, at a party in New York, when the Hippie Bus rolled into town. (Robert Stone was also at that party. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, On This Day, writers | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“I am not descended from flesh. I am God.”: It’s Vaslav Nijinsky’s Birthday

Posted on March 12, 2026 by sheila

From Tennessee Williams’ semi-autobiographical last play, Something Cloudy, Something Clear: CLARE. [to Kip] I’m about to deliver a lecture to him on making concessions in art. KIP. For or against? CLARE. I think any kind of artist — a painter … Continue reading →

Posted in On This Day | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

“A good director must be able to inspire whoever he was coaching so that the actor would live the scene. Make-believe must become reality.” — Raoul Walsh

Posted on March 11, 2026 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. Raoul Wash directed a number of great films (in a career as vast as his, the names stick out), but one also thinks of the great PERFORMANCES in these great films, often from actors who were … Continue reading →

Posted in Directors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“I’ve never thought of my characters as being sad. On the contrary, they are full of life. They didn’t choose tragedy. Tragedy chose them.” — Juliette Binoche

Posted on March 9, 2026 by sheila

Blue, d. Krzysztof Kieslowski (1993) It’s her birthday today. I first saw her in Unbearable Lightness of Being, so so many years ago, a frighteningly long time ago. There’s the scene where she and Daniel Day-Lewis have sex for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Happy Birthday, “Mr. Personality” Lloyd Price

Posted on March 9, 2026 by sheila

It’s the birthday of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lloyd Price (born in 1933- he died in 2021 at the age of 88!) He moved into a rarified level of cultural status with his 1959 mega-hit “Personality” – which … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, On This Day | 8 Comments

“Have you ever noticed how a cat stretches after a nap? We can learn from watching animals.” — Cyd Charisse

Posted on March 8, 2026 by sheila

Legs for weeks, not days. While there are so many classic and unforgettable dance numbers to choose from, the “Girl Hunt” number from Band Wagon is my favorite. Please read this wonderful tribute to Charisse by my friend, Dan Callahan. … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, Movies, On This Day | Tagged , , | 17 Comments