GINGER ROGERS AND FRED ASTAIRE

Ginger Rogers (Virginia Katherine McMath)
(July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995)

On this day in history, July 16, 1911, American star Ginger
Rogers was born in Independence, Missouri.

Ginger Rogers was an American actress and dancer who
was best known for work with the legendary Fred Astaire
during that time period and much of the 20th century. 

Rogers won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her
starring role in Kitty Foyle (1940).

On July 15, 1988, Die Hard, an action film starring Bruce
Willis as wisecracking New York City cop John McClane,
opened in theaters across the country. A huge box-office
hit, the film established Willis as a movie star and spawned
three sequels. Die Hard also became Hollywood shorthand
for describing the plot of other actions films, as in “Speed
is Die Hard on a bus.”

DeLorean died at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, from
a stroke, on March 19, 2005, at the age of 80. His ashes are
interred at the White Chapel Cemetery, in Troy, Michigan.

The film Back to the Future was released in 1985, featuring
DeLorean’s namesake car, and DeLorean wrote to writer and
producer Bob Gale thanking him for immortalizing the car.

1988

Tom (Thomas Jeffrey) Hanks is one of the most
popular and recognizable film stars worldwide,
and is regarded as an American cultural icon.

Hanks’ films have grossed more than $4.9 billion
in North America and more than $9.96 billion
worldwide, making him the fourth-highest-grossing
actor in North America. He has received numerous
honors including the AFI Life Achievement Award
in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French
Legion of Honor both in 2016, as well as the Golden
Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2020.

2022

On this day in history, July 3, 1962, Tom Cruise — who would
go on to become one of Hollywood’s most iconic leading men
— was born.

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV was born in Syracuse, New York,
and his acting career emerged in the 1980s.