Brooklyn Today for Sept. 13, 2012

September 13, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Good morning. Today is the 257th day of the year. It’s not often that the entire front page of a newspaper is devoted to one story, but page one of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for Sept. 13, 1901, was totally devoted to President William McKinley’s condition in the aftermath of his being shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. The Eagle admitted that “his life hangs by a thread,” but was heartened by the fact that the president’s condition improved slightly during the previous night. A day later, McKinley died and New Yorker Theodore Roosevelt became president.

Well-known people who were born today include singer Fiona Apple, singer Peter Cetera, artist Robert Indiana, fashion designer Stella McCartney and former baseball player Bernie Williams.

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‘Blade Runner’ man speaks on Court St.

Tonight at 7, the original screen writer who created ‘Blade Runner’ will speak about his latest book, a collection of short stories that is being released today. Hampton Fancher, a devoted Brooklynite, will speak at BookCourt, 163 Court Street, and presumably sign autographs. No matter how his new book, The Shape of the Final Dog is received, he will always be a hero to the millions of fans of ‘Blade Runner’, the 1982 “cyberpunk vision of the future” starring Harrison Ford, and set in 2019 Los Angeles. Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie was nominated for a number of Academy Awards. The movie was based on Philip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep which was adapted first by Fancher into the original screenplay for “Blade Runner.” Fancher, who was born in 1938 and at one time worked as a flamenco dancer, was married to Sue Lyon, the actress who made the original Lolita.

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Tomorrow afternoon the historic Fort Hamilton, which has been watchdog and guardian of the New York harbor for centuries, will host a special ceremony to honor America’s past Prisoners of War and veterans MIA – Missing in Action.

Ceremonies will take place at 3 p.m. at the flagpole behind the Fort Hamilton Community Club. On Tuesday morning, the fort presented ceremonial Taps to remember all of those who died in the 9/11 attacks.