Stanley Holloway (1890–1982) was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady. He was also renowned for his comic monologues and songs, which he performed and recorded throughout most of his 70-year career. He had his first major theatre success in Kissing Time in 1919. In 1921, he joined a concert party, The Co-Optimists, and his career began to flourish. Characters from his monologues such as Sam Small, invented by Holloway, and Albert Ramsbottom, created for him by Marriott Edgar, were absorbed into popular British culture, and Holloway developed a following for the recordings of his many monologues. At the outbreak of World War II, Holloway made short propaganda films on behalf of the British Film Institute and Pathé News and took character parts in a series of war films including Major Barbara, The Way Ahead, This Happy Breed and The Way to the Stars. In 1956 he was cast as the irresponsible Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady. The role brought him international fame. In his later years, Holloway appeared in television series in the US and the UK, toured in revues, and appeared in stage plays in Britain, Canada, Australia and the US.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Holloway
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
An unusually bright meteor procession blazed across the night sky over Great Britain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Meteor_of_August_18,_1783
1864:
American Civil War: At the Battle of Globe Tavern, Union forces attempted to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Globe_Tavern
1920:
The Nineteenth Amendment (authors Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony pictured) to the United States Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage in America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
1966:
Vietnam War: Members from D Company of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment were surrounded and attacked on all sides by a much larger Viet Cong unit at the Battle of Long Tan, but held them off for several hours until reinforcements arrived. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Battalion,_Royal_Australian_Regiment
1989:
Leading Colombian presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán was assassinated during a public demonstration in the town of Soacha, Cundinamarca. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Carlos_Gal%C3%A1n
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
social contract: (philosophy, politics) An implicit agreement or contract among members of a society that dictates things such as submission of individuals to rule of law and acceptable conduct. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/social_contract
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I can't help believing that these things that come from the subconscious mind have a sort of truth to them. It may not be a scientific truth, but it's psychological truth. --Brian Aldiss https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Aldiss