On this day in 1688, the sculptor Ferdinand Brokoff was born. Inventor of the rotary press, Richard March Hoe was born in 1812. The inventor of the Gatling gun, Richard Jordan Gatling was born in 1818. And so was Romantic composer Theodor Kullak. Here is his Piano Concerto in C Minor:

The great H. L. Mencken was born in 1880. Maurice Chevalier was born in 1888. Here he is doing “Louise”:

Comedian Billy Gilbert was born in 1894. Artist Ben Shahn was born in 1898. And country music legend George Jones was born in 1931. Here he is doing his mega-hit “He Stopped Loving Her Today”:

The great actor Ian Holm is 82 today. (He looks really good!) He’s done so much great work, but I really can’t find a decent scene to show you. Native American activist Leonard Peltier is 69 today. I don’t think the government will ever let him out of prison alive. And certainly don’t depend upon coward Obama to pardon him.

Actor Joe Pantoliano is 62. He is so smart that he got in The Matrix without having to do any wire work. Gerry Beckley of the band America is 61. Film music composer Hans Zimmer is 56. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that he has written the score to every action film since 1990. And they all sound exactly the same. And he’s been hugely influential. Now most film scores suck. And comedian Louis C.K. is 46. I’m not that fond of him, but this bit on white privilege is great:

The day, however, belongs to one of my favorite musicians, Barry White who was born in 1944. He had a great voice, of course; but more than that, he was a great songwriter and producer. Here he is doing one of his lesser known hit songs, “What Am I Gonna Do With You”:

Happy birthday Barry White!