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August 4th Today in History
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Famous People & Celebrities Born on August 4th:
- Elizabeth, Queen Mother
(1900) - The British press, aware that the Queen Mum was about to pass on at any minute, was prepared for the inevitable. Funeral marches leading from Buckingham Palace were rehearsed on a regular basis and the Daily Telegraph had a 24-page color supplement ready to role when the Queen Mum finally popped off. Royal experts pre-recorded their final farewell tributes for immediate television broadcast and a Tokyo TV channel had reserved a prime camera spot on The Mall for 27 years to the tune of $2000 a year. She died on March 30, 2002.
- Clara Peller
(1901) - She's the senior citizen who made the catchphrase "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" famous. Clara worked as a beautician for 35 years when she was spotted by an advertising agency executive in 1970. In 1984 she made the famous "Where's the beef?" commercials and sales of Wendy's hamburgers shot up 31 percent. Clara herself made about $500,000 for her work. She died in 1987 at the age of 86.
- Helen Thomas
(1920) - The "grand dame" of White House journalism covered every U.S. president since the Kennedy administration. She resigned from her position with UPI on May 16, 2000. She now works for the Houston Chronicle as a columnist. There's a widely believed myth that Helen always asked the first question at every White House news conference. The truth is, the first question is rotated between the three wire major services: Associated Press, Reuters and UPI. She was, however, the only reporter to regularly dismiss presidential news conferences with the words, "Thank you, Mr. President."
- Richard Belzer
(1944) - Actor and comedian. Formerly of NBC's Homicide. Now on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Belzer sued wrestler Hulk Hogan for $5 million after Hogan demonstrated how to perform a choke hold on a TV talk show. Belzer banged his head on the floor during the demonstration and required 8 stitches. Hogan settled out of court in 1990.
- Billy Bob Thornton
(1955) - Thornton is married to actress Angelina Jolie, but the couple is currently seperated. Jolie claims she wore a necklace containing blood belonging to Billy Bob and that she'd like to drink his blood. In 1998 the actual lawn mower blade used by Thornton to knock off Dwight Yoakam's character in Sling Blade was auctioned off for nearly $4500. Thornton has a nagging fear of old clothing. He admits that if he even steps into a used clothing store, he has to take a shower the minute he gets home because he doesn't "...like anything musty." Flicks: Chrystal (2004), The Alamo (2003), Bad Santa (2003), Love Actually (2003), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Levity (2003), Waking Up in Reno (2002), Monster's Ball (2002), Behind the Sun (2001), Bandits (2001), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Daddy and Them (2001).
- Mary Decker Slaney
(1958) - Olympic track athlete. During the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles she failed to complete a race after she got tangled up with competing runner Zola Budd, who accidentally tripped her.
- Lauren Tom
(1961) - Voices of Amy Wong on Futurama, Min and Kahn, Jr., on King of the Hill. Tom flicks: When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), The Joy Luck Club (1993).
- Roger Clemens
(1962) - New York Yankees pitcher. Formerly with Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox. Nicknamed "The Rocket." Winner of the Cy Young Trophy in 1986, 1987 and 1991.
- Biz Markie
(1964) - Rapper. Tiny Tim of "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" fame once said his dream was to perform a duet with Markie.
- Michael Deluise
(1969) - Actor. Son of Dom DeLuise. TV series: Phil Roussakoff on Brooklyn South, Andy Sipowicz, Jr. on NYPD Blue,.
- Marques Houston
(1981) - Played Roger Evans on Sister, Sister.
- Cole Sprouse
(1992) - Cole plays Ben Geller, the son of Ross Geller on Friends. Cole and his twin brother, Dylan, played the same character in Diary of a Sex Addict (2001) and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (2001).
- Dylan Sprouse
(1992) - Dylan and his twin brother, Cole, played the same character in Diary of a Sex Addict (2001) and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (2001).
Famous and Noteworthy Events on August 4th:
(1693) - The process of making champagne supposedly was discovered by Dom Perignon.
(1790) - The United States Coast Guard was founded. It initially was known as the Revenue Cutter Service.
(1892) - A grisly multiple ax murder took place in Fall River, Massachusetts. Andrew and Abby Borden were the victims and their daughter, Lizzie Borden, was the suspect. Lizzie was acquitted, but a mystery remains over whether she really committed the crimes.
(1960) - Scientists in the United States talked over the first telephone link-up to be bounced off the moon.
(1922) - During a funeral service for Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, 13 million telephones around the world went silent for 60 seconds to pay tribute to Bell.
(1944) - Nazi police kicked down the door of a hidden room in Amsterdam and captured 15-year-old Anne Frank and seven other Jews. They had been hiding from the Nazis for 728 days. All eight were carried off to a concentration camp and put to death, except for Anne's father, Otto. At the end of the war, he returned to the Amsterdam house and found Anne's now famous diary which has been translated into more than 30 languages. Her diary entry for July 15, 1944: In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.
(1972) - The movie Superfly was released.
MORE HISTORIC BIRTHS & EVENTS IN AUGUST :
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