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The Writer's Almanac from Sunday, February 25, 2001
Sonnet 65, by William Shakespeare.
On this day in 1950, "Your Show of Shows" debuted, one of the most successful variety shows television has ever seen. Starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, it featured ninety minutes of original comedy sketches performed live in front of a studio audience. Writers for the show included Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon. When asked recently why he was not still performing, Caesar replied that he'd looked a tape of himself and said, 'I'm never going to do it as well as I did when I was 25 and 30 and 35.' Rather than not do it well, I'd rather not do it."
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It's the birthday of novelist, Anthony Burgess, born in Manchester, England (1917). The author of more than fifty books and dozens of musical compositions, he's best known as the author of A Clockwork Orange (1962).
It's the birthday of journalist Will Yolen, born in Waterbury, Connecticut (1908). He worked as a journalist and in public relations, but his real passion was kite flying. He once kept 178 kites in the air at one time.
It's the birthday of publisher John C. Farrar, born in Burlington, Vermont (1896). He got into publishing in 1927 as an editor at Doubleday. Later he founded the firm of Farrar and Rinehart, which later became Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. He also founded the Breadloaf Writer's Conference at Middlebury College in Vermont.
It's the birthday of writer and playwright Marcel Paul Pagnol, born in Aubagne, France (1895). He's best known for his novels Jean de Florette, and Manon of the Spring, both adapted into films.
It's the birthday of tenor Enrico Caruso, born in Naples, Italy (1873). He sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York for eighteen years, and was the first major tenor to be recorded on gramophone records.
It's the birthday of painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, born in Limoges, France (1841). He and several of his fellow students and artists—including Monet, Cézanne, and Pissarro—began to break away from the traditions of nineteenth century painting. They got out of the studio and painted directly from nature, employing a style characterized by short brush strokes of bright colors to represent the effect of light on objects. The style came to be known as Impressionism.
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®
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