Martin was a singer, actor and comedian. One of the most
popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, he was
nicknamed "The King of Cool."

Martin retired from public life in early 1995 and died of acute
respiratory failure resulting from emphysema at his Beverly
Hills home on Christmas Day, 1995, at the age of 78.

Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. (1961)

Richard (Dick) Wayne Van Dyke is 99 today.      
     
     
 

On December 13, 1925, Dick Van Dyke, the quintessential
“nice guy” actor who would become known for his work
in such movie classics as Mary Poppins (1964) and Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang (1968), as well as the popular 1960s CBS - 
TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 – 1966), was born
in West Plains, Missouri.

Van Dyke, who was raised in Danville, Illinois, served in the
Army Air Force Special Services during World War II and in
the 1950s took various acting jobs and hosted a series of
TV game shows. In 1960, he starred on Broadway in Bye
Bye Birdie, a role which earned him a Tony Award.    
    
    
 Van Dyke was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in
1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, and has been
honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement
Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2020, and
was recognized as a Disney Legend in 1998. 

(1993 – 2001)

    
    
    
   
Comedic actor Adam Sandler’s best known films include Billy
Madison, The Waterboy, Mr. Deeds, The Wedding Singer, Happy
Gilmore and Big Daddy. He also voiced the character Dracula
in the Hotel Transylvania movies. 

Sandler was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series
Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995.

2006

“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” an irreverent
comedy based in the outlandish (fictionalized) world of
American stock car racing, premiered in movie theaters
around the United States on August 4, 2006.

American Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) stands up to his Gallic
rival Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen).

TIM MAGUIRE

Melvin James Brooks (Kaminsky) is a actor, comedian, filmmaker, songwriter, and playwright. He’s 98 today.

1974