MILESTONES: November 28, birthdays for Trey Songz, Bryshere Gray, Karen Gillan

November 28, 2018 Brooklyn Daily Eagle Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Trey Songz performs at the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, June 25, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include U.S. Sen. MICHAEL BENNET, who was born in 1964; director and screenwriter ALFONSO CUARON, who was born in 1961; record producer and songwriter BERRY GORDY JR., who was born in 1929; actor BRYSHERE Y. GRAY, who was born in 1993; actor ED HARRIS, who was born in 1950; former U.S. Sen. and former presidential candidate GARY HART, who was born in 1938; actor RYAN KWANTEN, who was born in 1976; actress S. EPATHA MERKERSON, who was born in 1952; actor JUDD NELSON, who was born in 1959; singer, songwriter and composer RANDY NEWMAN, who was born in 1943; bandleader PAUL SHAFFER, who was born in 1949; R&B star TREY SONGZ, who was born in 1984; writer and comedian JON STEWART, who was born in 1962; former baseball player MATT WILLIAMS, who was born in 1965; and actress MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD, who was born in 1984.

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ANNA NICOLE SMITH WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1967. Born Vickie Lynn Hogan, the model and actress earned a certain degree of fame for appearing in Playboy and marrying an 89-year-old billionaire. Her life was one of publicity, scandal and drug abuse, and her death from a lethal drug interaction in Hollywood, Florida, in 2007 sparked an unexpected media frenzy. The cause of her death, the paternity and custody of her infant daughter and the disposition of her estate were all subjects of intense interest by the tabloid and mainstream media.

WILLIAM BLAKE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1757. The Romantic visionary poet and artist is best known for his poem “The Tyger” and for his series of engravings for Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy.” He died in poverty in London in 1827.

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TRUMAN CAPOTE HOSTED HIS BLACK AND WHITE BALL ON THIS DAY IN 1966. The author, buoyed financially by the tremendous success of his book “In Cold Blood,” held a masquerade ball at the Plaza Hotel for 500 friends honoring friend and Washington Post head Katherine Graham. Celebrities from all over the world flocked to the ball to show off custom-made black or white gowns and masks, many created by the hottest designers of the day.

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CHARLES H. ALSTON WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1907. The African-American painter and sculptor experimented with styles ranging from realism to abstraction throughout his career. His realistic WPA murals at Harlem Hospital depict a narrative in the style of Diego Rivera. A number of his paintings also show the cultural influence of Italy and Egypt. “Walking” (1958), which depicts a silent crowd, almost prophesied the turmoil and social agitation of the civil rights movement. He died in New York in 1977.