Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976)
(Last known authenticated photo of Howard Hughes alive in 1954)

Hughes, one of the richest men to emerge from the American
West during the 20th century, dies while flying from Acapulco
to Houston.

Born in Houston, Texas, in 1905, he inherited an estate of nearly
a million dollars when his father died in 1923. Hughes’ father
also left him the business that had created this fortune, the
Hughes Tool Company, which controlled the rights to a new
oil drill technology that was in high demand.        

The Hughes H-4 Hercules with Hughes at the controls.

Clocking in at three hours and 32 minutes, William Wyler’s
Technicolor epic Ben-Hur was the behemoth entry at the
32nd annual Academy Awards ceremony, held on this day
in 1960, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

Setting an Oscar record, the film sweeps 11 of the 12
categories in which it was nominated, including Best
Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Charlton Heston).

Wyler’s 1959 film was the latest dramatic adaptation of the
mega-bestselling novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ,
published in 1880 by Lew Wallace. Wallace, a former
general in the American Civil War, wrote his most
successful novel after experiencing a new awakening
of his Christian faith.

Barbara Rush, the Golden Globe-winning star of "It Came from
Outer Space" and "Peyton Place" has died.

1953

1969

1986

 
ROSS SIMPSON

    
    
 John Warnock Hinckley Jr. will be 69 in May.

Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024)

Gossett appeared in the popular 1977 miniseries Roots and
won Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a
Drama or Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards.

Gossett died at a rehabilitation center in Santa Monica,
California, on March 29. No cause of death has been given.  

In late December 2020, Gossett was hospitalized in Georgia
with COVID-19.

1985