June 1—Born today in 1926, he started as a hillbilly comedian with a routine called “What It Was, Was Football,” then he starred in the movie No Time for Sergeants, then he got his own TV show.
June 2—Born today in 1904, this Olympic swimmer later had a good buddy named Cheetah.
June 3—Born today in 1925, this actor, born as Bernard Schwartz, starred in Some Like It Hot with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, but in later life became a painter whose works sell for $25,000 and up.
June 4—Born today in 1924, he played Gunsmoke’s Chester on TV, and many years later he starred in another TV series as a cowboy cop in New York City.
June 5—Born today in 1895, this actor made a fortune by selling his old movies to the new medium of television, becoming TV’s first big cowboy star.
June 6—Born today in 1940, this nationally-renowned Chicago DJ was known as Superjock.
June 7—Born today in 1933, this Cleveland Indians pitcher had a promising career cut short when he was hit in the face by a line drive in a game against the Yankees in 1957.
June 8—Born today in 1917, his nickname was Whizzer, and he was a pro football star, a Rhodes Scholar, and a United States Supreme Court Justice.
June 9—Born today in 1900, this Pennsylvanian Big Band leader also gave his name to a popular kitchen appliance he promoted and financed.
June 10—Born today in 1922, she went from the Gumm Sisters to ruby slippers to Carnegie Hall.
June 11—Born today in 1913, this legendary Green Bay Packers football coach said things like, “If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?”
June 12—Born today in 1929, she wrote what may be the most-read diary of all time.
June 13—Born today in 1926, this gay comedian spent 14 years in the center square.
June 14—Born today in 1909, this Itty Bitty Tear folksinger who attended Eastern Illinois University narrated the perennial Christmas TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
June 15—Born today in 1917, this cowboy star used a bullwhip instead of a gun.
June 16—Born today in 1890, he was the skinny one, and he often said “Another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.”
June 17—Born today in 1910, he recorded the first million-selling gospel record, Peace in the Valley, his signature song was Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy, and his son-in-law was Pat Boone.
June 18—Born today in 1908, he was the radio voice of Superman, and later hosted TV quiz shows like Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth.
June 19—Born today in 1897, he was the leader of the Three Stooges.
June 20—Born today in 1924, this Congressional Medal of Honor winner became a movie star after the war.
June 21—Born today in 1903, this sophisticated cartoonist drew showbiz caricatures, and the number next to his signature told how many times his daughter’s name (Nina) was hidden in the drawing.
June 22—Born today in 1903, he was betrayed by the Lady in Red.
June 23—Born today in 1929, this country music star was a member of the Carter family and the wife of a country music legend.
June 24—Born today in 1895, this heavyweight boxing champion benefited from a “long count” in a match against Gene Tunney, but lost the match anyway.
June 25—Born today in 1903, this British author who was born in India wrote Animal Farm and 1984.
June 26—Born today in 1909, he wasn’t a real colonel, but this ruthless manager-publicist was the controlling factor behind the spectacular success of Elvis Presley.
June 27—Born today in 1929 as Richard Afflis, he played football at Purdue and later for the Green Bay Packers before he became a notorious superstar professional wrestler in the 1960’s.
June 28—Born today in 1902, this composer who worked with Lorenze Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II is the only person besides Marvin Hamlisch to win an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Pulitzer Prize.
June 29—Born today in 1919 as Louis Burton Lindley Jr, this actor and rodeo performer did mostly westerns, but is best remembered for riding a nuclear bomb in Dr. Strangelove.
June 30—Born today in 1917 as Edythe Marrenner, this actress was nominated for five Oscars and won Best Actress in 1958 for her role as a murderer in I Want to Live.
Dan Hughes and his wife Kathy own the Kaleidoscope Art Studio in Rantoul, which offers classes and self-directed workshops for both children and adults. Please visit their website at room200.com. Dan is a Parkland College retiree. He was the general manager of the college radio station and an instructor in broadcasting. He also wrote, produced, and hosted The Parkland Challenge, a popular local television quiz program for high school academic bowl teams. He has written books on metal detecting and adult softball, and he does weekly podcasts (internet radio shows that can be listened to anytime). Email Dan at danhughes@juno.com, and check out his website at danhughes.net.
Answers to this month’s birthday quiz:
1. Andy Griffith
2. Johnny Weismuller
3. Tony Curtis
4. Dennis Weaver
5. Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd)
6. Larry Lujack
7. Herb Score
8. Byron “Whizzer” White
9. Fred Waring (and the Waring blender)
10. Judy Garland (Frances Gumm)
11. Vince Lombardi
12. Anne Frank
13. Paul Lynde (Hollywood Squares)
14. Burl Ives
15. Lash La Rue
16. Stan Laurel
17. Red Foley
18. Bud Collyer
19. Moe Howard
20. Audie Murphy
21. Al Hirschfeld
22. John Dillinger
23. June Carter Cash
24. Jack Dempsey
25. George Orwell
26. Colonel Tom Parker
27. Dick the Bruiser
28. Richard Rodgers
29. Slim Pickens
30. Susan Hayward