Mel Colmcille Gerard Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York. He
moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, when he was 12
years old.

Mel Gibson directed and starred in the 1995 film Braveheart which won the
Academy Award for Best Picture. His best known roles as an actor include
Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon series (1980s – 1990’s) and the title role
in the Mad Max series beginning in 1979. He also starred in The Patriot
(2000) and directed the critically-acclaimed 2000 film Apocalypto and
Hacksaw Ridge (2016). He wrote and directed The Passion of the Christ
(2004), which became a cult classic amongst Christian viewers.

The song, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” was written by Don Raye and Hughie
Prince, and was recorded at Decca‘s Hollywood studios, nearly a year before
the United States entered World War II. The flip side was "Bounce Me, Brother,
With a Solid Four". The Andrews Sisters introduced both songs in the Abbott
and Costello film, Buck Privates which was in production when they made the
record. "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Song and was ranked No. 6 on Songs of the Century.

Robert Michael Nesmith was born in Houston, Texas.

Singer-guitarist Michael Nesmith of The Monkees (1966-1968) 
wrote the song "Different Drum" for Stone Poneys and was the
executive producer of the film Repo Man (1984). He joined the
Air Force before finishing high school and went on to work as
a songwriter. He won the first Video of the Year award at the
Grammy Awards for his show Elephant Parts.

Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight was born in Yonkers, New York.

John Voight is best known for his performance in the classic 1969 film
Midnight Cowboy and his Academy Award winning role in Coming Home
(1978). His daughter is actress Angelina Jolie.

John Voight in Midnight Cowboy.

Voight in Runaway Train (1985).

2001

ROSS SIMPSON

Steven Allan Spielberg is 70 years old today.

Spielberg charged friends and family to watch the 8mm adventure
films he made growing up. His 1968 short film Amblin’ inspired the
name of his future production company Amblin Entertainment. His
1977 science fiction feature Close Encounters of the Third Kind
was labeled "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"
by the U.S. Library of Congress and chosen for preservation
in the National Film Registry.