A KING AND A LADY

August 31 in history:

The King of England died in France on this date in 1422.  King Henry V was 35, and had been on the throne for nine years.  Henry died of dysentery while leading a military campaign in France.

The Princess of Wales died in France on this date in 1997. Princess Diana, formerly Lady Diana Spencer, was 36, and had been divorced from Prince Charles for just one year.  Diana and two others died after their car crashed into a pillar inside a Paris tunnel, as the car was trying to outrun photographers.  Despite conspiracy theories suggesting Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were murdered, official inquests concluded that the car’s driver was negligent and apparently drunk.

Alan Jay Lerner wrote the lyrics to popular musicals about a king (“Camelot”) and a “Lady” (“My Fair Lady”).  Lerner was born August 31st, 1918.

The Lady of the Lake is the leading female character in the musical “Spamalot,” based on the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”  Sara Ramirez won a Tony Award in 2005 for originating the role of the Lady on Broadway.  Ramirez, born August 31st, 1975, is known to television viewers as Dr. Callie Torres on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

THE ROAD TO EVEREST

May 29th in history:

A National World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. on May 29th, 2004, nearly 60 years after the end of the war.  The monument was built on the National Mall, between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Two famous Americans who have had U.S. Navy ships named after them were born on May 29th: President John F. Kennedy (1917), and comedian Bob Hope (1903).  It was during World War II when Kennedy commanded the boat PT-109 in the Pacific, and Hope began a long tradition of taking USO shows to American troops overseas.

Shortly after JFK’s assassination, his widow Jacqueline compared the Kennedy White House to King Arthur’s Camelot.  The musical “Camelot” was based on the “Once and Future King” series of books about Arthur by English author T.H. White, born on May 29th, 1906.

Bob Hope’s partner in the popular “Road” pictures, Bing Crosby, starred in a movie version of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” On this day in 1942, Crosby recorded his biggest hit, introduced in the movie “Holiday Inn.” His version of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” was recorded in just 18 minutes.

Edmund Hillary and his guide Tenzing Norgay reached the white, snow-covered summit of Mount Everest on May 29th, 1953. While there is speculation that other climbers reached the summit years before, Hillary claimed credit as the first one to come back from the summit alive.

GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS

January 30th in history:

The British monarchy came to a temporary end on January 30th, 1649, when King Charles the First was beheaded by opponents of royalty. Oliver Cromwell led England as Lord Protector for several years afterward. When the monarchy was restored, after Cromwell’s death, royalists dug up his body and beheaded him in retaliation on January 30th, 1661.

On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler was sworn in as the chancellor of Germany.  Hitler came to power on the 51st birthday of the newly-elected U.S. president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was sworn in weeks later.  FDR and Hitler would both die in the same month, April 1945, as the U.S. and its allies were about to defeat Nazi Germany in World War Two.

January 30th of 1933 also was the day that a new hero was introduced to radio listeners in America, when station WXYZ in Detroit broadcast the first episode of “The Lone Ranger.” Another famous masked hero celebrates a birthday on January 30th.: actor Christian Bale (1974), who played Batman in the “Dark Knight” series of films that started in 2005 with Batman Begins.  Bale shares a birthday with former Vice President Dick Cheney (born in 1941), who was portrayed by Bale in the movie “Vice.”

Born the same day in 1974 as fellow Oscar-winner Christian Bale: actress Olivia Colman, best known for playing Queen Anne of England in the movie “The Favourite” and Queen Elizabeth on the TV series “The Crown.”  It’s also the birthday of Academy Award winners Vanessa Redgrave (1937), who played Queen Guenevere in “Camelot,” and portrayer of fictional presidents Gene Hackman (1930).