This Day in Humor with Mike Durrett


Born 1882: A.A. Milne, author, creator of Christopher Robin and his friends, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Roo, and Tigger, too. Died 1956.

Born 1892: Oliver Hardy, rotund comedian, who made approximately 275 movie appearances before his professional mating with another screen veteran, Stan Laurel, in 1926. Pure magic and perfectly silly, they became and remain the screen's most beloved comedy team, starring in 125 or so silent and sound short subjects and full-length features, usually as "themselves." At the Hal Roach studio, Stan and Ollie's golden period extended through 1940's "Saps at Sea." Along the way, numerous fine messes, including "The Music Box" (Oscar's Best Short Subject, 1932), "Sons of the Desert" (1933), and "Way Out West" (1937). Died 1957.

Born 1904: Cary Grant, quintessential movie star and the definition of handsome leading man, arguably unsurpassed as a light comic film actor. Grant's range is impressive, showing him at ease in debonair amusements or screwball comedies, such as "The Awful Truth" (1937), "Bringing Up Baby" (1938), "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944), "The Bishop's Wife" (1947), "Monkey Business" (1952), and "Father Goose" (1964). Retired 1966. Died 1986.

Born 1913: Danny Kaye, musical comedian, who became a major movie zany in the 1940s and '50s, often showing gentle qualities. "Up in Arms" (1944), "Wonder Man" (1945), "A Song Is Born" (1948), "The Inspector General" (1949), "On the Riviera" (1951), "The Court Jester" (1956), and dozens of others, followed by "The Danny Kaye Show" on TV (1963-67). Died 1987.

1964: Opening in theatres, Don Knotts starred as "The Incredible Mr. Limpet", a man who became a fish.

Born 1965: Dave Attell, stand-up comic, writer, and host of Comedy Central's "Insomniac."

1975: Moving on up, George and Weezy spun-off from "All in the Family" into their own series, "The Jeffersons."

Copyright ©2003 Mike Durrett. All rights reserved.