The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the
pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames upon touching its
mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers
and crew-members, on May 6, 1937.
The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the
pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames upon touching its
mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 passengers
and crew-members, on May 6, 1937.
Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944)
General James Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces
(USAAF), hero of the daring “Doolittle Raid” on mainland Japan
and later the unified commander of Allied air forces in Europe
in World War II, offered the following high praise to one of his
staff officers in 1944: “Next to a letter from home, Captain Miller,
your organization is the greatest morale builder in the European
Theater of Operations.”
The Captain Miller in question was the trombonist and bandleader
Glenn Miller, the biggest star on the American pop-music scene
in the years immediately preceding World War II and a man who
set aside his brilliant career right at its peak in 1942 to serve his
country as leader of the USAAF dance band.
It was in that capacity that Captain Glenn Miller boarded a single-
engine aircraft (like below) at an airfield outside of London on
December 15, 1944—an aircraft that would go missing over the
English Channel en route to France for a congratulatory
performance for American troops that had recently helped to
liberate Paris.
Sofia Loren is 88 years young today.
As of 2022, Loren is one of the last surviving major
stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema and
is the only remaining living person on AFI ‘s list.
Encouraged to enroll in acting lessons after entering
a beauty pageant, Loren began her film career at age
sixteen in 1950.
Loren’s performance as Cesira in the film Two Women
(1961) directed by Vittorio De Sica won her the Academy
Award for Best Actress, making her the first actor to win
an Oscar for a non-English-language performance.
She holds the record for having earned seven David
di Donatello Awards for Best Actress. She has won
five special Golden Globes (including the Cecil B.
DeMille Award), a BAFTA Award, a Laurel Award, a
Grammy Award, the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the
Venice Film Festival and the Best Actress Award at the
Cannes Film Festival. In 1991, she received the Academy
Honorary Award for lifetime achievements.