Category Archives: On This Day

“I only began to sing because I couldn’t get a job as an actress.” — Barbra Streisand

Posted on April 24, 2026 by sheila

You can’t understand Barbra Streisand if you don’t know the famous story of her audition for I Can Get It For You Wholesale, which ended up being her big break. She made a splash in her Broadway debut, which of … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, On This Day | Tagged | 7 Comments

“I would rather take a photograph than be one.” — Lee Miller

Posted on April 23, 2026 by sheila

Lee Miller, by David Scherman It’s the birthday of Lee Miller, fashion model, Surrealist artist, and … as if all that wasn’t enough … the only female combat photographer in Europe during the war, taking photos of concentration camps, firing … Continue reading →

Posted in Art/Photography, On This Day | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments

When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, / Hath put a spirit of youth in everything …

Posted on April 23, 2026 by sheila

“Play to the lines, through the lines, but never between the lines. There simply isn’t time for it.” – George Bernard Shaw to actress Ellen Terry on performing Shakespeare, 1896 Today is (supposedly, roughly) the birthday of William Shakespeare. April … Continue reading →

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

“We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.” — Louise Glück

Posted on April 22, 2026 by sheila

It’s her birthday today. Louise Glück’s poetry sometimes hurts, touching wounds or fears and dreads so deep you don’t want to acknowledge they even exist. It feels like these things might overwhelm you if you give them any space. Glück … Continue reading →

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“True success is figuring out your life and career so you never have to be around jerks.” — John Waters

Posted on April 22, 2026 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. To anyone who is old, like myself, and into subversive art, like myself … watching John Waters becoming an elder statesman of mainstream cinema has been not only hilarious but GOOD AND RIGHT, as my friend … Continue reading →

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“After all, when God created Adam and Eve, they were stark naked. And in the Garden of Eden, God was probably naked as a jaybird too!” — Bettie Page

Posted on April 22, 2026 by sheila

“I was not trying to be shocking, or to be a pioneer. I wasn’t trying to change society, or to be ahead of my time. I didn’t think of myself as liberated, and I don’t believe that I did anything … Continue reading →

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“There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.” — Charlotte Brontë

Posted on April 21, 2026 by sheila

“It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.” — Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë was born on this day, in 1816. … Continue reading →

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“Good acting is thinking in front of the camera. I just do that and apply a sense of humor to it. You have to trust the audience to get it.” — Charles Grodin

Posted on April 21, 2026 by sheila

It’s Charles Grodin’s birthday today. Here is a re-post of the piece I wrote when Charles Grodin died in 2021. Heartbreak Kid. Ishtar. Heaven Can Wait. Midnight Run. Muppet Caper. Rosemary’s Baby. Seems Like Old Times (not as well-known, but … Continue reading →

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“I do love Alice in Wonderland though. That’s something I think I could do very well.” — Edie Sedgwick

Posted on April 20, 2026 by sheila

It’s her birthday today. Her influence on me was massive and I came to her young. I discovered her in high school through the famous oral biography by Jean Stein and George Plimpton, which I inhaled, over and over again. … Continue reading →

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“The only cause I espouse is man’s right to find his own centre, stand firm, speak out, then be kind.” — Michael Davitt, “Dissenter”

Posted on April 20, 2026 by sheila

Save your breath, Poem maker Keep it under wraps In the tall tree of yourself — Michael Davitt Both quotes above are English translations of the original Irish language versions, just to be clear. Poet Michael Davitt, born (on this … Continue reading →

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