MILESTONES: May 9, birthdays for Billy Joel, Rosario Dawson, Candice Bergen

May 9, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle

Billy Joel. Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress Candice Bergen, who was born in 1946; Oscar Award-winning director, producer and screenwriter James L. Brooks, who was born in Brooklyn in 1940; actress Rosario Dawson, who was born in 1979; Oscar Award-winning actress Glenda Jackson, who was born in 1936; singer and composer Billy Joel, who was born in 1949; former U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic, who was born in 1938; and hockey executive and Hall of Fame player Steve Yzerman, who was born in 1965.

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MIKE WALLACE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1918. With a career of more than 60 years as a journalist and broadcaster, he was known for his tireless work ethic and strident interviewing style, firing probing questions at his subjects in a relentless quest for the real story. Wallace got his start as a radio announcer, game show host and pitchman, but by 1960 had developed his hard-hitting style. ABC even promoted him as “the Terrible Torquemada of the TV Inquisition.” He brought that tenacity to “60 Minutes” when it debuted in 1968, helping to shape the style and substance of the long-running CBS newsmagazine, and in the process became a star in his own right. Wallace was arrested at the 1968 Democratic Convention, conducted legendary interviews with the Ayatollah Khomeini, Jack Kevorkian and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, won 21 Emmys and stayed active on “60 Minutes” until 2008. He died in 2012 in Connecticut.

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JOHN BROWN WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1800. The abolitionist leader spearheaded the attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859, which was intended to give impetus to the movement for escape and freedom for slaves. His aim was frustrated and resulted in increased polarization and sectional animosity. He was hanged in 1859 in Virginia.

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HANK SNOW WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1914. The Country Hall of Fame singer’s career spanned six decades. His first hit among many was 1950’s “I’m Moving On”— it stayed on top of the charts for 21 weeks. Snow, a regular at the Grand Ole Opry, was instrumental in getting Elvis Presley on the bill there. Snow died in 1999 in Tennessee.

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JAMES M. BARRIE WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1860. The playwright and author is best known for his play “Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up,” which was first performed in 1904 and published in 1928. Barrie died in 1937 in England.

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

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“The highest levels of consciousness are wordless.”— poet Charles Simic, who was born on this day in 1938