Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 20, birthdays for John Goodman, Danny Aiello Jr, Brian Wilson

Brooklyn Today

June 20, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Actor John Goodman celebrates his birthday today. Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Share this:

Greetings, Brooklyn.  Today is the 170th day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Cyndi Lauper and Brian Wilson, among others.

For more of Brooklyn Today, please turn to page 3.

****

ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published a front-page article titled “Muggers Kill, Strip Victim of Suit.”

The article focused on two young thugs who killed a 60-year-old man and robbed him of his suit and shoes.

“The mugging took place at 1 a.m. at the corner of Herkimer Street and New York Avenue, according to police of the Grand Avenue Precinct. The victim, who was dead when police arrived, remained unidentified up to a late hour today. His body was removed to the Kings County morgue,” the Eagle reported.

****

NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actor DANNY AIELLO JR., who was born in 1933; Oscar Award-winning actress and theatrical director OLYMPIA DUKAKIS, who was born in 1931; actor JOHN GOODMAN, who was born in 1952; Oscar Award-winning actress NICOLE KIDMAN, who was born in 1967; soccer player FRANK LAMPARD, who was born in 1978; Oscar Award-winning actor MARTIN LANDAU, who was born in Brooklyn in 1931; actor MICHAEL LANDON JR., who was born in 1964; singer and Tony Award-winning composer CYNDI LAUPER, who was born in Brooklyn in 1953; Tony Award-winning actor JOHN MAHONEY, who was born in 1940; former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs ROBERT McDONALD, who was born in 1953; singer ANNE MURRAY, who was born in 1945; singer and songwriter LIONEL RICHIE, who was born in 1949; director and screenwriter ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, who was born in 1968; actor JAMES TOLKAN, who was born in 1931; handyman and TV personality BOB VILA, who was born in 1946; soccer player ABBY WAMBACH, who was born in 1980; pianist ANDRE WATTS, who was born in 1946; and singer BRIAN WILSON, who was born in 1942.

****

LILLIAN HELLMAN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1905. One of the 20th century’s important playwrights, she authored such works as “The Children’s Hour,” “The Little Foxes” and “Toys in the Attic.” Hellman was one of many artists blacklisted by Hollywood in the 1950s. She died in Massachusetts in 1984.

****

TODAY IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST BALLOON HONEYMOON. In 1909, Roger Burnham and Eleanor Waring embarked on the first balloon honeymoon. They began their trip in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and landed in an orchard in Holbrook.

****

AUDIE MURPHY WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1924. Murphy was the most decorated soldier in World War II and later became an actor in western and war movies. He died in 1971 in a plane crash near Roanoke, Virginia.

****

TODAY IS THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIZZIE BORDEN VERDICT. Spectators at her 1893 trial cheered when the “not guilty” verdict was read by the jury foreman in the murder trial of Lizzie Borden. She had been accused of and tried for the hacking deaths of her father and stepmother in their Fall River, Massachusetts home in 1892.

****

“JAWS” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 1975. With its tagline “Don’t go in the water” and its ominous cello music, the Steven Spielberg-directed thriller shocked audiences. Adapted from a Peter Benchley bestseller, “Jaws” showed a great white shark preying on the beachgoers of a New England town. It won Oscars for best editing, best sound and best original score and was a blockbuster success.

****

THE FIRST DOCTOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE WAS EARNED BY A WOMAN ON THIS DAY IN 1895. Caroline Willard Baldwin became the first woman to earn a doctor of science degree. She received it from Cornell University.

****

Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

****

“It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.” — playwright Lillian Hellman, who was born on this day in 1905

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment