October 17th

October 17 is the 291st day of the year.  There are 75 days remaining until the end of the year.

1814 London Beer Flood occurs in London, killing nine who couldn’t drink as fast.

1855 Bessemer steelmaking process is patented. Oh, how far we have come in 150 years!

1931 Al Capone is convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years

1933 Albert Einstein arrives in U.S. as a refugee from Nazi Germany by way of Holland and England [Hi, CCM!]

1967 "Hair" takes off on Broadway

1972 Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-ling" is #1, and a handsome ding-a-ling it is, too!

1997 Remains of Che Guevara are laid to rest in Santa Clara, Cuba, site of his victory in the decisive battle of the Cuban Revolution.

2003 Eunuchs in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh float the political party Jiti Jitayi. Can’t touch that.

2006 United States population reaches 300 million people, but no one gets a free Big Mac or anything.

1886 Spring Byington, gay US actress. While she was married, she also had a long term affair with Marjorie "Ma Kettle" Main 

1900 Jean Arthur, extremely private, gay US actress. She spent many years living with her close friend (and carertaker) Ellen Mastroianni 

1920 Montgomery Clift, gay US actor/icon 

1933 Soeur Sourire aka The Singing Nun [Jeanine Deckers], gay Belgian lapsed nun/singer 

1950 Howard Rollins, gay US actor/In the Heat of the Night TV 

1955 Sam Bottoms, US actor 

1957 Vincent Van Patten, US actor/director 

1957 Lawrence Bender, maybe gay US film/tv producer 

1959 Richard Roeper, maybe gay US film critic/Siskel's replacement 

1960 Rob Marshall, gay US director/choreographer 

1963 Norm Macdonald, Canadian comedian 

1964 Alex Leon, gay US pornographic actor 

1972 Eminem (Marshall Mathers), US rapper/got a faceful of Sacha Baron Cohen’s ass 

1981 Kris Slater [Andrew James Keefer], US softcore and hardcore pornographic actor 

1987 Felipe Carson, gay Colombian pornographic actor 

1910 Julia Ward Howe, composer (Battle Hymn of Republic), sees the glory of the coming of the Lord

2008 Levi Stubbs, American baritone singer (Four Tops), can’t help himself

2009 Vic Mizzy, American composer (themes to Green Acres and The Addams Family), is creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky and all together ooky.