Today's Famous Birthdays

[IceWizard]

James Bowie
(c. 1796 – March 6, 1836)

was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a
prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the
Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him as a fighter and frontiersman, both real and fictitious,
have made him a legendary figure in Texas history and a folk hero of American culture.

Bowie was born in Kentucky. He spent most of his life in Louisiana, where he was raised and
where he later worked as a land speculator. His rise to fame began in 1827 on reports of
the Sandbar Fight near present-day Vidalia, Louisiana. What began as a duel between two
other men deteriorated into a mêlée in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed
the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess
with a knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife.










Shelby Fredrick "Sheb" Wooley
(April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003)

was an American singer, songwriter, actor and comedian. He recorded a series of novelty songs
including the 1958 hit rock and roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater" and under the
name Ben Colder the country hit "Almost Persuaded No. 2". As an actor, he portrayed
Cletus Summers, the principal of Hickory High School & assistant coach in the 1986 film
Hoosiers; Ben Miller, brother of Frank Miller in the film High Noon; Travis Cobb in
The Outlaw Josey Wales, and also had a co-starring role as scout Pete Nolan in the television
series Rawhide. Wooley is also credited as the voice actor who provided the Wilhelm scream
and all of the other stock sound effects for Thomas J. Valentino's Major Records during the 1940s.








Omar Sharif
(born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015)

was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars.
He began his career in his native country in the 1950s, but is best known for his appearances
in American, British, French, and Italian productions. His career encompassed over 100 films
spanning 50 years, and brought him many accolades including three Golden Globe Awards
and a César Award for Best Actor. Sharif played opposite Peter O'Toole as Sherif Ali in the
David Lean epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), which earned him an Academy Award nomination
for Best Supporting Actor, and portrayed the title role in Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965), earning
him the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He continued to play romantic leads,
in films like Funny Girl (1968) and The Tamarind Seed (1974), and historical figures like the
eponymous characters in Genghis Khan (1965) and Che! (1969). His acting career continued
well into old age, with a well-received turn as a Muslim Turkish immigrant in the French film
Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). He made his final film appearance in 2015, the year of his death.









Joseph "Dandy" Don Meredith
(April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010)

was an American football player, sports commentator, and actor.
(His nickname "Dandy" Don is not related in any way to "DandyDon" of Scubaboard.)
He played as a quarterback for all nine seasons of his professional career (1960–1968)
with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the
Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player. He subsequently became a color
analyst for NFL telecasts from 1970 to 1984. As an original member of the Monday Night
Football broadcast team, he famously played the role of Howard Cosell's comic foil.
Meredith was also an actor who appeared in a dozen films and seven major television
shows, some of which had him as the main starring actor. He is probably familiar to
television audiences as Bert Jameson, a recurring role he had in Police Story.
Meredith was born on April 10, 1938, in Mount Vernon, Texas,
located about 100 miles east of Dallas.










Melvin Cornell Blount
(born April 10, 1948)

is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the
Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A
five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Blount is considered one of the best cornerbacks to have ever played in the NFL.
His physical style of play made him one of the most feared defensive backs in the
game at a time when pass interference rules were less stringent.
He founded the Mel Blount Youth Home.









Brian Robert Setzer
(born April 10, 1959)

is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the
early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the
music scene in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra.
In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba.