What Day is This?‏

Celebrate Larry’s Birthday!
June 6th, 2013

A birthday is a day when a person celebrates the anniversary of his or her birth. Birthdays are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party, or rite of passage.

The celebration of a birthday usually is thought to mark how old a person is, traditionally stopping when death occurs and only stating that if still alive, they would have been (number of years) old.

Some contemporary writers ignore this aspect, however, and keep counting the years since the date of birth of famous people, such as proclaiming that it is Shakespeare’s “four hundredth birthday” (although he died at the age of fifty-two) instead of noting that it is the four hundredth anniversary of his birth.

In many portions of the world an individual’s birthday is celebrated by a party where a specially made cake, usually decorated with lettering and the person’s age, is presented. The cake is traditionally studded with the same number of lit candles as the age of the individual, or a number candle representing their age.

The celebrated individual usually will make a silent wish and attempt to blow out the candles in one breath; if successful, a tradition holds that the wish will be granted. In many cultures, the wish must be kept secret or it won’t “come true“. Presents are bestowed on the individual by the guests appropriate to her/his age. Other birthday activities may include entertainment (usually by a hired professional, i.e. a clown, magician, or musician), and a special toast or speech by the birthday celebrant.

The last stanza of Patty Hill’s and Mildred Hill’s famous song, “Good Morning to You” (unofficially titled “Happy Birthday to You“) is typically sung by the guests at some point in the proceedings. In some countries a piñata takes the place of a cake. An occasional activity is spanking the birthday individual, with one usually gentle “swat” for each year since birth. In North America, the celebration of a birthday is fundamentally about celebrating the role of friends and families in an individual’s life and recognizing their importance.

Many religions celebrate the birth of their founders with special holidays.

Today, we Celebrate the Birth of Larry James, founder of CelebrateLove.com. Larry James is a professional speaker, author, relationship coach and an award winning nondenominational Wedding Officiant. He performs the most “Romantic” wedding ceremony you will find anywhere.

Other famous (and some not-so-famous) people who share Larry’s birthday:

1755 – Nathan Hale (American patriot & Revolutionary War military officer: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”; arrested [Sep 20, 1776] by British troups while spying for General George Washington; executed Sep 22, 1776 at age 21 [by order of British General William Howe])

1891 – Ted Lewis (Theodore Leopold Friedman) (clarinettist, singer, bandleader: Ted Lewis & His Band: Somebody Stole My Gal, Alexander’s Ragtime Band; died Aug 25, 1971)

1907 – Bill (William Malcolm) Dickey (Baseball Hall of Famer: catcher: NY Yankees catcher [1928-1946: played in 38 World Series games: 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943/all-star: 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946/record: caught 100 or more games 13 years in a row]; died Nov 12, 1993)

1909 – Isaiah Berling (philosopher, historian; died Nov 5, 1997)

1926 – Tom Ryan (cartoonist: Tumbleweeds)

1932 – David R. Scott (NASA astronaut: flew on Gemini 8, Command Module pilot [Apollo 9], walked and drove first Lunar Rover on the moon as commander of Apollo 15)

1932 – Billie Whitelaw (actress: Frenzy, The Dressmaker, The Secret Garden, The Omen, Masterpiece Theatre productions)

1934 – Roy Innes (civil rights leader: National Chairman of Congress of Racial Equality [CORE])

1939 – Gary U.S. Bonds (Anderson) (singer: Quarter to Three, New Orleans, Rendezvous, Come on Let’s Go)

1943 – Joe Stampley (country singer: Soul Song, There’s Another Woman, Whiskey Chasin’, Back Slidin’, Double Shot of My Baby’s Love)

1944 – Peter Albin (musician: bass, guitar & vocals: group: Big Brother and The Holding Company: Piece of My Heart)

1944 – Monty Alexander (jazz musician: piano: So What?)

1949 – Robert Englund (actor: A Nightmare on Elm Street [1-5], Hustle, A Star is Born, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane)

1954 – Harvey Fierstein (Tony Award-winning actor: Torch Song Trilogy [1983]; Mrs. Doubtfire, Bullets Over Broadway; and playwright: Torch Song Trilogy [1983]; La Cage aux Folles, Tidy Endings; actor: Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day)

1955 – Sandra Bernhard (comedienne, actress: Roseanne, The Richard Pryor Show, Comedy Central: The A-List, The Late Shift, Hudson Hawk, King of Comedy)

1956 – Bjorn Borg (tennis champ: French Open [1974-1975, 1978-1981], Wimbledon [1976-1980])

Here are some of the worldwide events that happened on Larry’s birthday, June 6th:

1513 – Swiss papal forces defeated the French at the Battle of Novara in Italy during the War of the Holy League.

1523 – Regent Gustav Vasa was crowned King Gustav I of Sweden. During his reign, Gustav I laid the foundations of the Swedish national state. The church was turned into a national institution, its estates were confiscated, and the Protestant Reformation was introduced. His political strength grew with the “Stockholm blood bath” of 1520.

1660 – The Peace of Copenhagen was signed, ending the war between Sweden and Denmark.

1683 – The first public museum, The Ashmolean, was opened at Oxford, England.

1801 – The war between Spain and Portugal known as the War of the Oranges ended with the Treaty of Badajoz being signed.

1816 – Ten inches of wonderful wet, white snow fell this day in New England. It was one of the latest snowfalls ever (or maybe one of the earliest!) Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

1833 – The first U.S. President to ride in a railroad car was Andrew Jackson. President Jackson boarded a B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) passenger train in Baltimore, MD.

1844 – The first YMCA was officially founded in London by George Williams, a young draper’s assistant who had come to London to learn the drapery trade. At that time, wholesale drapery houses employed large numbers of young men, who were given room and board at their work places. They worked long hours and had poor living conditions. Williams sought permission to hold prayer meetings in his bedroom with other young men who, like himself, shared the Christian faith. Soon, the group expanded, drawing to it young men who were alone and lonely in the City of London.

1882 – The first electric flatiron, or what we call the electric iron, was patented by H.W. Seely of New York City. We bet he probably had the nicest pressed shirts in the neighborhood.

1890 – The United States Polo Association was formed in that hotbed of polo action: New York City.

1904 – The National Tuberculosis Association was formed in Atlantic City, NJ.

1932 – The first U.S. federal tax on gasoline was enacted. The rate was a penny per gallon. Ride a bike. Save some money.

1933 – The first U.S. drive-in to show movies opened in Camden, New Jersey on Crescent Boulevard. Those first drive-in moviegoers got to see “Wife Beware”, a flick not destined to be a classic. The screen measured a huge 40 feet by 50 feet and was easily seen by everyone in the first cars in the front to the 500th car in the back row. Everyone (including the whole town) could hear the sound, too… with a slight delay for the folks in the back row because the sound emanated from speakers mounted next to the screen. Admission was 25 cents per person plus 25 cents for the car, maximum $1.00.

1938 – “Stella Dallas” was presented for the first time on the NBC Red radio network. The serial was “the true to life story of mother love and sacrifice.” “Stella Dallas” continued to do this and so much more until 1955.

1942 – Adeline Gray made the first nylon-parachute jump in Hartford, CT. It proved, no doubt, better and much more comfortable than the first cinder block-parachute jump…

1944 – CBS radio saluted America’s war doctors with “The Doctor Fights”, presented for the first time this day.

1944 – This was D-Day, the day thousands of Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy, France. Their objective: to open a second major European front in the battle against the Nazis. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of these united forces (and, who later became President of the United States) said, “This landing is but the opening phase of the campaign in Western Europe. Great battles lie ahead. I call upon all who love freedom to stand with us.”

1946 – New York City was the site of the formation of the Basketball Association of America.

1956 – Gogi Grant (born Audrey Brown) reached the top spot on the “Billboard” singles chart for the first and only time in her career. Her hit, “The Wayward Wind”, stayed at the top of the top-tune tabulation for eight weeks and on the music charts for 22 weeks. It was her second record release. The first, in October, 1955, was “Suddenly There’s a Valley” which climbed to number nine.

1962 – The Beatles auditioned for producer George Martin of EMI Records. After listening to a playback of the audition tapes, Martin said, “They’re pretty awful.” He changed his mind after meeting the group, however. The rest, of course, is rock-music history.

1971 – For the last time, we saw Polish dancing bears, a little mouse named Topo Gigio, remembered The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, the comedy of Jackie Mason, John Byner, Rich Little, Richard Pryor and so many more, as “The Ed Sullivan Show” left CBS-TV. Gladys Knight and The Pips and singer Jerry Vale appeared on the final show. “The Ed Sullivan Show” had been a showcase for more than 20 years for artists who ranged from Ethel Merman to Ella Fitzgerald, from Steve and Eydie to the Beatles. “The Ed Sullivan Show” was the longest running variety show on TV — a “rillly big sheeeew.”

1973 – Barry White was awarded a gold record for “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby”. It was his first hit and his first of five number one million-sellers. White began recording in 1960. He formed the group, Love Unlimited, in 1969 and married one of the group’s singers, Glodean James. He also formed the 40-piece Love Unlimited Orchestra which had the number-one hit, “Love’s Theme” in 1973. I’m Casey Kasem. Now back to the count down…

1976 – J. Paul Getty oil magnate dies at 83 in London.

1978 – Proposition 13 passed in California. Voters joined Senator Howard Jarvis in cutting property taxes by 57 percent. This was seen as the birth of a taxpayer’s revolt against high taxes and excessive government spending.

1978 – The ABC-TV newsmagazine “20/20” debuted. Producer Bob Shanks, realizing that the first show was a disaster, fired the co-hosts, magazine editor Harold Hayes and Australian art critic Robert Hughes. The next week, Shanks tapped former “Today” and “Concentration” host Hugh Downs, formerly of NBC, to take over the show.

1987 – Steffi Graf beat Martina Navratilova and won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in Paris. She is the only player in tennis history to win each of the four Grand Slam titles at least four times [Wimbledon: 7, French Open: 6, U.S. Open: 5, Australian Open: 4].

1991 – Stan Getz jazz saxophonist (Girl from Impanima), dies at 64.

1994 – U.S. President Bill Clinton and other dignitaries from around the world visited Normandy, France. Many D-Day veterans joined them to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Operation Overlord and to pay respect to the thousands who died there in World War II.

1998 – “The Boy is Mine”, by Brandy and Monica, zoomed to number 1 on the “Billboard” pop chart. It ruled the Hot 100 roost for 13 weeks — putting it in the top ten of longest-running #1 singles in the modern rock era.

1999 – Bob Dylan and Paul Simon – two of the most influential and prolific songwriters of the last half century – hit the road together for the first time for a historic tour beginning on this date in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Performing some the of most memorable and cherished songs of our time, Dylan and Simon – supported by their respective bands – had never performed together in public.

Without revealing the year Larry was born, here are some of the prices for:

Bread: 8¢ a loaf
Milk: 49¢ a gallon
Eggs: 58¢ a dozen
Car: $600.00 to $750.00
Gas: 19¢ a gallon
House: $6,416 Average
Postage Stamp: 3¢ each
Income: $1,837 per year
Minimum Wage: 30¢ per hour
DOW Average: 150

Can you guess the year?

Here’s a few clues:

President: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Vice President: John N. Garner (No help, right?)
Best Movie: Gone With The Wind (Academy Award Winner)
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind (Academy Award Winner)
Best-Selling book: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Top Song: Over the Rainbow by Glen Miller (and Judy Garland)