TODAY IS ... 02 NOVEMBER

TODAY IS ... 02 NOVEMBER

BIRTHDAYS: 1966 - David Schwimmer - American actor and director of television and film. He appeared in a number of television roles, including L.A. Law, The Wonder Years, NYPD Blue, and Monty in the early-1990s. Schwimmer later gained worldwide recognition for playing Ross Geller in the situation comedy Friends. Starred in his first feature film The Pallbearer (1996), which was followed by roles in Kissing a Fool (1998), Six Days Seven Nights (1998), Apt Pupil, and Picking Up the Pieces (2000). Schwimmer made his feature film directorial debut with the 2007 comedy Run Fatboy Run.

David Schwimmer

1961 - k. d. lang - Kathryn Dawn Lang, going by the stage name k. d. lang, began playing with her band, The Reclines, in the early 1980s. She left her native Canada and began recording in New York, releasing her first album in 1984. Throughout the '80s Lang showcased her voice (and payed tribute to Patsy Cline) in country music with a rock/pop flavor. In 1988 and 1989 she won Grammy awards for country vocals, but by 1992 she was a winner in the category of pop vocals 1942 - Stefanie Powers - Powers appeared in early 1960s in the thriller Experiment in Terror with Glenn Ford and Lee Remick, the comedy If a Man Answers with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin, and as the daughter of John Wayne in the lighthearted comedy-Western McLintock! (1963). She played a schoolgirl in Tammy Tell Me True (1961) She was also in the 1962 hospital melodrama The Interns and its sequel The New Interns in 1964. In 1965, Powers had a more substantial role playing opposite veteran actress Tallulah Bankhead in the Hammer horror film Die! Die! My Darling (originally released in England as Fanatic). Her early television work included Route 66 and Bonanza (both in 1963) 1913 - Burt Lancaster, an American film actor and star, noted for his athletic physique, distinct smile (which he called "The Grin") and, later, his willingness to play roles that went against his initial "tough guy" image. Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once, for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance, and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). OTHER EVENTS: 2006 – Flags of Our Fathers directed by Clint Eastwood commences screening in Australia. It stars Ryan Phillipe, Jesse Bradford and Jamie Bell. The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in WWII. 2006 – Surprising no one, Shakira is the big winner at the seventh annual Latin Grammy Awards, taking home four statues during the ceremony at Madison Square Garden. The Colombian pop star wins song and record of the year awards for “La Tortura,” a duet with Spaniard Alejandro Sanz. She also receives trophies for female pop vocal album and album of the year for her Spanish-language “Fijacion Oral, Vol. 1.” 2003 - Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs ran in the New York City Marathon. He finished in 4 hours, 14 minutes and 54 seconds. He raised $2 million dollars for children. 2000 – Launching the movie career of Jamie Bell is Billy Elliott which started screening in Australia on this day. A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family 2000 - An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts became the first permanent residents of the International Space Station 1992 - Magic Johnson retired from the NBA again, this time for good because of fear due to his HIV infection.

Magic Johnson

1988 – The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain significant mainstream media attention, is launched from MIT. 1986 - The 12-by-16-inch celluloid of a poison apple from Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"" was purchased for $30,800. 1973 – Ringo Starr releases his star-studded album Ringo. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison all perform on the record. 1971 – US No. 1 Chart Toppers Pop Hit: “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,” Cher. 1968 - Stevie Wonder's "For Once In My Life" is released. 1956 Responding to public demand, London Records finally release a Little Richard single - 'Rip It Up' - in UK 1955 - Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" first appears on the charts. It will become one of the biggest selling singles of its time. 1955 - The first pop song by Julie London appeared on the charts. London’s smoky and sultry rendition of "Cry Me a River" stayed on the pop chart for five months, reaching as high as #9. Julie was Mrs. Jack Webb (Dragnet) and Mrs. Bobby Troup (songwriter, trumpeter). 1947 - Howard Hughes flew his "Spruce Goose," a huge wooden airplane, for eight minutes in California. It was the plane's first and only flight. The "Spruce Goose," nicknamed because of the white-gray color of the spruce used to build it, never went into production. 1907 – Black and White silent screen version of Robbery Under Arms started screening in Australia.