June Birthdays

It's June! Time to say Happy Birthday!

Noriyuki "Pat" Morita

-Birth Name: Noriyuki Morita

-DOB: 6/28/1932

-Where: Isleton, California

-DOD: 11/24/2005

-Where: Las Vegas, Nevada

-He was known for playing slightly odd or unusual characters

Nicholas Latifi

-Birth Name: Nicholas Daniel Latifi

-DOB: 6/29/1995

-Where: Montreal, Canada

-His father is an Iranian-Canadian businessman named Michael Latifi

Ronnie Wood

-Birth Name: Ronald David Wood

-DOB: 6/1/1941

-Where: Hillingdon, United Kingdom

-He and singer Rod Stewart were part of The Faces, a band consisting of former members of The Small Faces

Charlie Watts

-Birth Name: Charles Robert Watts

-DOB: 6/2/1941

-Where: London, England

-DOD: 8/24/2021

-Where: London, England

-He originally trained as a graphic artist prior to becoming a musician

Nicko McBrain

-Birth Name: Michael Henry McBrain

-DOB: 6/5/1952

-Where: London, England

-He recently had a stroke, which affected his playing

Ian Paice

-Birth Name: Ian Anderson Paice

-Where: 6/29/1948

-He is the only original member of Deep Purple who has served in every lineup since the band's formation in 1968

Johnny Depp

-Birth Name: John Christopher Depp II

-DOB: 6/9/1963

-Where: Owensboro, Kentucky

-He has suffered with near sightedness since birth and is nearly blind in his left eye. He states it cannot be corrected with surgery

Noah Wyle

-Birth Name: Noah Strausser Speer Wyle

-DOB: 6/4/1971

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-He stated his least favorite scene on ER was when he had to do mouth to mouth resuscitation on a dog

Linda Cardellini

-Birth Name: Linda Edna Cardellini

-DOB: 6/25/1973

-Where: Redwood City, California

-She appeared on an episode of the TV game show The Price is Right in 1994, winning a fireplace

May Birthdays

It's May! Time to say Happy Birthday!

Blaze Bayley

-Birth Name: Bayley Alexander Cooke

-DOB: 5/29/1963

-Where: Birmingham, England

-He has the dates of birth and death of his wife Deborah tattooed on his arm

Yuki Tsunoda

-DOB: 5/11/2000

-Where: Samigahara, Kanagawa, Japan

-He was a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing

Tim McGraw

-Birth Name: Samuel Timothy McGraw

-DOB: 5/1/1967

-Where: Delhi, Louisiana

-"Live Like You Were Dying" was written about his father, baseball player Tug McGraw, who passed away on Jan. 5, 2004

Zhou Guanyu

-DOB: 5/30/1999

-Where: Shanghai, China

-He is considered to be the only Chinese driver competing in Formula 1

Chow Yun-fat

-DOB: 5/18/1955

-Where: Lamma Island, Hong Kong, China

-The role that was considered his "breakout" was in the 1986 film A Better Tomorrow because director John Woo said he didn't look like an action star

Mike Myers

-Birth Name: Michael John Myers

-DOB: 5/25/1963

-Where: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

-The day he graduated from high school was the same day he was hired for the Second City comedy club. He had his last exam at 9am, his audition at noon and was hired at 3pm

Cher

-Birth Name: Cheryl Sarkisian

-DOB: 5/20/1946

-Where: El Centro, California

-Her role as Loretta in the 1987 film Moonstruck was offered to actress Sally Field originally, but she turned it down

Eric Singer

-Birth Name: Eric Doyle Mensinger

-DOB: 5/12/1958

-Where: Cleveland, Ohio

-He has played drums for many musicians, including Black Sabbath, Lita Ford and Alice Cooper

Phil Campbell

-Birth Name: Philip Anthony Campbell

-DOB: 5/7/1961

-Where: Pontypridd, Wales, United Kingdom

-DOD: 3/13/2026

-Where: Pontypridd, Wales, United Kingdom

-He played guitar with Motorhead from 1984 until 2015, when bassist / vocalist Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister passed away

Mike Dirnt

-Birth Name: Michael Ryan Pritchard

-DOB: 5/4/1972

-Where: Berkeley, California

-He's the co-founder, bassist, backing / occasional lead vocalist of punk rock band Green Day

Pierce Brosnan

-Birth Name: Pierce Brendan Brosnan

-DOB: 5/16/1953

-Where: Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland

-He has a scar on the right side of his face, above his top lip. He got it from getting hit by a stunt man on the set of 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies

Adele

-Birth Name: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

-DOB: 5/5/1988

-Where: Tottenham, London, England

-Her song "Skyfall" was sung in a deeper voice because of her being pregnant at the time. Her hormones made her voice deeper

Billy Joel

-Birth Name: William Martin Joel

-DOB: 5/9/1949

-Where: The Bronx, New York

-His nickname is "The Piano Man"

Rami Malek

-Birth Name: Rami Said Malek

-DOB: 5/12/1981

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-He is the only the second American-born actor to play a villain in a James Bond film after Robert Davi, who starred in the 1989 film License to Kill

Clint Eastwood

-Birth Name: Clinton Eastwood Jr

-DOB: 5/31/1930

-Where: San Francisco, California

-He was offered the role of James Bond for the 1973 film Live and Let Die. He was flattered by it, but felt that the role should go to an English actor. It did. It went to Roger Moore

George Clooney

-Birth Name: George Timothy Clooney

-DOB: 5/6/1961

-Where: Lexington, Kentucky

-His mother Nina was a beauty pageant queen while his father Nick was a news anchorman and television host, also brother of legendary singer Rosemary Clooney

Jamie Lynn Sigler

-DOB: 5/15/1981

-Where: Jericho, Long Island, New York

-She suffered from an eating disorder while filming The Sopranos

Pete Townshend

-Birth Name: Peter Dennis Blanford Townshend

-DOB: 5/19/1945

-Where: Chiswick, London, England

-He suffers from partial deafness

Drew Carey

-DOB: 5/23/1958

-Where: Cleveland, Ohio

-Prior to becoming a comedian, he worked as a bank teller and a waiter

Paul Bettany

-DOB: 5/27/1971

-Where: Harlesdon, London, England

-For his role in The Da Vinci Code, he had to wear a wig because when his natural hair was bleached, it left bleeding holes in his head

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)

This is the sequel to the highly successful film

Summary

-Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) learns more about her mother's past while in the process of opening the Hotel Bella Donna

Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Andy Garcia: Fernando Cienfuegos

-Celie Imrie: Vice Chancellor

-Lily James: Young Donna

-Alexa Davies: Young Rosie

-Jessica Keenan Wynn: Young Tanya

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Omid Djalili: Greek Official

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Stellan Skarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Cher: Ruby Sheridan

Did You Know?

-Cher chose Andy Garcia to play the role of Fernando over other selected actors

-During filming in November 2017, Dame Julie Walters was given a day off to attend Buckingham Palace for an investiture ceremony, where she would receive her Commander of the Order of the British Empire honor from Queen Elizabeth II. The cast and crew gathered together to welcome her back by singing "There is Nothing Like a Dame" from the musical South Pacific

-On the day she came home from the hospital, after giving birth to her daughter, Amanda Seyfried's agent informed her that this movie was successfully greenlit and would begin production. She thought it was a practical joke

-After appearing in this film, Cher released an entire album of ABBA covers called Dancing Queen

-Despite them playing mother and daughter, Cher is only three years older than Meryl Streep

-This is the film debut of Nina Sadoski, who is Amanda Seyfried's daughter

-Early in the film, when Sophie is addressing invitations to people for a party she is planning, one is to c/o Epstein Martin. This is a reference to The Beatles, specifically of the surnames of Beatles manager Brian Epstein and their record producer George Martin

-The movie does not state whether Sophie and Sky ever got married between the 2008 film Mamma Mia! and this film or whether they are partners for life. Since they are both not wearing wedding rings, it implies they are not husband and wife

-Out of all of the cast members, Cher is the oldest one, having been born on May 20, 1946. She is three years older than Meryl Streep, born June 22, 1949, who plays her daughter, and ten years older than Andy Garcia, who was born April 12, 1956, who plays a long lost love

-Sophie names the hotel Bella Donna. This term has two meanings. In Italian, it means "Beautiful Woman". It's also the name, in Latin, for deadly nightshade, one of the most dangerous plants in the Eastern Hemisphere that contains atropine and scopolamine

Mamma Mia (2008)

This popular film uses the music of Swedish band ABBA

Summary

-Donna is a hotel owner preparing for her daughter's wedding with help from two old friends. While bride to be Sophie invites three men from her mother's past to her wedding to determine which one is her biological father

Cast

-Amanda Seyfried: Sophie

-Stellan Skaarsgard: Bill Anderson

-Pierce Brosnan: Sam Carmichael

-Colin Firth: Harry Bright

-Meryl Streep: Donna

-Julie Walters: Rosie

-Christine Baranski: Tanya

-Ricardo Montez: Stavros

-Norma Atallah: Irini

-Dominic Cooper: Sky

Did You Know?

-Stellan Skarsgard said about this movie "It was absurd to ask me to be in a musical. I can't sing, I can't dance. And I saw it was also Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, and they can't sing and dance either, so I felt a little safer there."

-Meryl Streep saw the musical in October 2001 with her daugter Louisa. She wrote letters to the producers, praising them for bringing a bit of happiness and light into New York City after the recent 9/11 terrorist attacks

-On an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, Colin Firth was asked the question "If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates?" He responded with "I personally thought you were very good in Mamma Mia"

-All of the cast members did their own singing

-Stellan Skarsgard explained why he flashed his bare backside. "We decided that I should be cooking on the boat. I thought I should have an apron on. The director (Phyllida Llody) did not know that I would be naked under there, and have those butt tattoos. So when the camera rolled, I turned around right in front of it. The cameraman jumped and screamed, while Phyllida keeled over laughing."

-The boat Bill Anderson captains features the flag of Sweden, the native country of both Stellan Skarsgard and ABBA

-Three of the members of ABBA are from Sweden, just like actor Stellan Skarsgard, who plays Bill Anderson. The other member of ABBA is Anni-Frida Lyngstad, who is Norwegian

-Initially Cher was offered a role in this film, to play Tanya Wilkinson. Because of commitments to concerts, she couldn't do it. She did appear in the 2018 sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, playing Ruby Sheridan

-Colin Firth poked fun at the James Bond series by saying "I'm Bright, Harry Bright" when he was standing next to Pierce Brosnan. Pierce had played the role of James Bond in at least four films of the series. Meanwhile Firth starred in his own series of spy films, Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014 and Kingsman: The Golden Circle in 2017

-In the original musical on stage, Bill Austin was an Australian character. This was a tribute to ABBA's popularity in Australia. For this movie, Bill's last name was changed to Anderson, to make it Swedish, like Stellan Skarsgard, who plays that character and like the group ABBA

-Actor Bill Nighy was considered for one of the roles of the fathers

-Colin Firth (Harry Bright) actually used to play guitar in a band

-This was the first movie shot on the new 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios after a fire that happened when the 2006 film Casino Royale finished up. The stage was used for the song and dance numbers that could not be filmed in sunny Greece

-The song at the wedding scene, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was considered inappropriate for a wedding because it's about divorce. "Knowing me, knowing you, there is nothing we can do. Knowing me, knowing you, we just have to face it this time we're through. Breaking up is never easy, I know but I have to go."

-In the film, using the real ages of the actors, when Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) was born, Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep) was 36, Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard) was 34, Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan) was 32 and Harry Bright (Colin Firth) was 25

-Donny Osmond was considered for the role of Sam Carmichael. This role went to Pierce Brosnan

-This film surpassed the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire as Pierce Brosnan's highest-grossing film in the world. But, domestically, Mrs. Doubtfire is still highly successful

April Birthdays

It's April! Time to say Happy Birthday!

Jet Li

-Birth Name: Li Lian Jie

-DOB: 4/26/1963

-Where: Beijing, China

-While filming 2000's Romeo Must Die, he sustained bruised ribs during the fight scenes with Anthony Anderson

Ritchie Blackmore

-Birth Name: Richard Hugh Blackmore

-DOB: 4/14/1945

-Where: Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England

-He has a younger brother named Paul

Jeremy Clarkson

-Birth Name: Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson

-DOB: 4/11/1960

-Where: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England

-He is well known for his strongly reactionary, outspoken opinions

Eddie Murphy

-Birth Name: Edward Regan Murphy

-DOB: 4/3/1961

-Where: Brooklyn, New York

-He paid for the funeral for comedian Redd Foxx

Roddy Piper

-Birth Name: Roderick George Toombs

-DOB: 4/17/1954

-Where: Saskatoon, Canada

-DOD: 7/31/2015

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-He firmly believed that swearing was an ignorant man's weapon while smart men talked

Sebastian Bach

-DOB: 4/3/1968

-Where: Freeport, The Bahamas

-He stated in his biography that he was the only Caucasian child in a class of 40 black children

Federico Castellucio

-DOB: 4/29/1964

-Where: Naples, Campania, Italy

-Because of his role on The Sopranos, with his convincing Italian accent, people thought he was an Italian-born actor who spoke broken English. He had to meet with people in Hollywood to convince them he could do other accents, including his normal speaking voice speaking English

Al Pacino

-Birth Name: Alfredo James Pacino

-DOB: 4/25/1940

-Where: Manhattan, New York

-During the filming of 1972's The Godfather, Pacino was in constant fear of being fired

Frank Vincent

-Birth Name: Frank Vincent Gattuso

-DOB: 4/15/1937

-Where: North Adams, Massachusetts

-DOD: 9/13/2017

-Where: Nutley, New Jersey

-His father was an ironworker who worked atop the skyscrapers of New York

Queen Elizabeth II

-DOB: 4/21/1926

-Where: London, England

-DOD: 9/8/2022

-Where: Balmoral Castle, Aberdeen, Scotland

-She was known for doing great things for others and her inspirational, heartwarming holiday speeches

Carol Burnett

-Birth Name: Carol Creighton Burnett

-DOB: 4/26/1933

-Where: San Antonio, Texas

-She initially fired Harvey Korman from The Carol Burnett Show for being rude to the guests. After speaking with him, she hired him back and he was with the show until the end