Samuel Langhorne Clemens
(November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)

Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, was born in Florida, Missouri,
on November 30, 1835.

Clemens was apprenticed to a printer at age 13 and later worked
for his older brother, who established the Hannibal Journal. In
1857, the Keokuk Daily Post commissioned him to write a series
of comic travel letters, but after writing five he decided to become
a steamboat captain instead. He signed on as a pilot’s apprentice
in 1857 and received his pilot’s license in 1859, when he was 23.

Clemens piloted boats for two years, until the Civil War halted
steamboat traffic. During his time as a pilot, he picked up the
term “Mark Twain,” a boatman’s call noting that the river was
only two fathoms deep, the minimum depth for safe navigation.

When Clemens returned to writing in 1861, working for the Virginia
City Territorial Enterprise, he wrote a humorous travel letter signed
by “Mark Twain” and continued to use the pseudonym for nearly
50 years.

Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020)

Comedian, actor, director, screenwriter, and publisher Carl Reiner’s career
spanned seven decades. During the early years of television comedy from
1950 to 1957, he co-wrote and acted on Caesar’s Hour and Your Show of
Shows, starring Sid Caesar. In the 1960s, Reiner was best known as the
creator, producer, writer, and actor on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Dorothy Catherine Fontana (March 25, 1939 – December 2, 2019)

NEW YORK (AP) — D.C. Fontana, a writer and story editor for the original
“Star Trek” television series and later a contributor to “Star Trek: The
Next Generation" and other related projects, has died.

Fran Evans, a family friend, told The Associated Press that she died
Tuesday after a brief illness.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

TIM MAGUIRE

It was on this day in 1963.

On this day in 2005, President George W. Bush spoke to the nation
from New Orleans, promising the United States government will pay
most of the costs of rebuilding the Gulf Coast ravaged by Hurricane
Katrina. It would be one of the largest reconstruction projects the
world has ever seen.

Bush acknowledged his administration had failed to adequately
respond to Hurricane Katrina, which killed hundreds of people
across five states.

The Nuremberg Laws were enacted by Nazi Germany on this day in
1935. The act stripped all German Jews of their civil rights and the swastika was made the official symbol of Nazi Germany.

On this day in 1950, U.N. forces landed at Inchon, Korea in an
attempt to relieve South Korean forces and recapture Seoul.

British-Hessian troops under the command of General Howe march
through New York as they took over the city during the American
Revolution on this day in 1776. 

British troops landing at Kip’s Bay, Manhattan, New York.

William Oliver Stone is 71 years old today.

Oliver Stone is a screenwriter, film producer, and director of motion
pictures and documentaries. Stone won an Academy Award for Best
Adapted Screenplay as writer of Midnight Express(1978). He also
wrote the acclaimed gangster movie Scarface (1983). As a director,
Stone achieved prominence as director/writer of the war drama
Platoon (1986).  

2006

1963

(FoxNews) – Writer’s block is no fun for any author. But one writer has such a
severe mental blockage that he’s decided to step down from his job after three
decades in the business. 

For 30 years, Donald Lau has been the “Chief Fortune Writer” at Wonton
Foods, a manufacturer that touts itself to be one of the world’s largest
producers of fortune cookies. But now,Lau is leaving his position following
a long bout of writer’s block.

Lau recently stated, "I used to write 100 a year, but I’ve only written two
or three a month over the past year.”

Lau has been with the New York City-based company– which operates out
of Brooklyn and Queens boroughs, since the 1980s but a new push to
produce inspiring sayings that promote wellness and serenity has Lau
coming up blank.

Instead, James Wong, a nephew of the company’s founder, will now handle
the writing position. He’s already being trained by Lau.

Donald Lau, VP of Wonton Foods.