Sunday, July 9, 2006

 

Spotlight: Happy birthday to actor Tom Hanks, who turns 50 today. Currently appearing on the big screen as Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code, Hanks first became known to TV viewers as one of the stars of Bosom Buddies (1984). A hit from his comedy roles in Splash (1984), Big (1988), Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and You've Got Mail (1998), Hanks won back-to-back Oscars for his dramatic roles in Philadelphia (1993) and Forrest Gump (1994). He was nominated again for his turns in Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Cast Away (which brought him the 2000 Golden Globe Award).

Quote: "If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great." – Tom Hanks, as Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own

Word of the day: sleeper hit: a film, book or show that gains unexpected popularity; Tom Hanks' Splash was a sleeper hit of 1984. (© )

Today's News:

• Poland: President Lech Kaczynski's identical twin, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is tapped to become the country's new prime minister (story)
• fertility: 62-year-old becomes the oldest British woman to give birth; mom and baby boy are reportedly doing well (story)
• Penny Lane: Liverpool street made famous by a Beatles song won't undergo name change, despite its connection to an 18th-century slave ship owner (story)
• NYC: pamphlet publicizes two centuries' worth of complaints written to the mayor (story)

Today's History:

• King Henry VIII: annulled 6-month marriage to Anne of Cleves (1540)
• Argentina: declared independence from Spain (1816)
• Mike Tyson: boxer was banned from ring and fined $3 million for biting Evander Holyfield's ear (1997)

Today's Birthdays:

• Donald Rumsfeld: US secretary of defense (74)
• Dean Koontz: bestselling thriller writer (61)
• Fred Savage: actor, The Wonder Years (30)