Today's Famous Birthdays

[IceWizard]

William Holden
(born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981)

was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the
Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for the television miniseries
The Blue Knight (1973). Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically
acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Picnic (1955),
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Network (1976). He was named
one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (1954–1958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the
American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema.









Harry Reasoner
(April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991)

was an American journalist for CBS and ABC News, known for his adroit use of language as a
television commentator and as one of the original hosts of the news magazine 60 Minutes
(1968–1970, 1978–1991). Over the course of his career, Reasoner won three Emmy Awards
and a George Foster Peabody Award in 1967.









Roderick George Toombs
(April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015),

better known as ”Rowdy” Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler,
and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work
with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
between 1984 and 2000. Although he was Canadian, because of his Scottish heritage he was
billed as coming from Glasgow and was known for his signature kilt and bagpipe entrance music.
Piper earned the nicknames "Rowdy" and "Hot Rod" by displaying his trademark "Scottish"
short temper, spontaneity, and quick wit. According to The Daily Telegraph, he is "considered by
many to be the greatest 'heel' (or villain) wrestler ever".









John Pierpont Morgan Sr.
(April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913)

was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street
throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known as
J.P. Morgan and Co., he was the driving force behind the wave of industrial consolidation in the
United States spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Over the course of his career on
Wall Street, J.P. Morgan spearheaded the formation of several prominent multinational corporations
including U.S. Steel, International Harvester and General Electric which subsequently fell under
his supervision. He and his partners also held controlling interests in numerous other American
businesses including Aetna, Western Union, Pullman Car Company and 21 railroads. Due to the
extent of his dominance over U.S. finance, Morgan exercised enormous influence over the nation's
policies and the market forces underlying its economy. During the Panic of 1907, he organized a
coalition of financiers that saved the American monetary system from collapse.