This Day in Humor with Mike Durrett


Born 1880: Mack Sennett, studio chief, director, writer, actor, established the Keystone company in 1912 and for a time was the undisputed expert on Hollywood comedy. Specializing in knockabout shorts, he attracted some of the greatest humorous talent to his studio during the silent and early sound eras, including Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Harry Langdon, Mabel Normand, Carole Lombard, Ben Turpin, Max Swain, W.C. Fields, and Charley Chase. He created the nutty Keystone Kops, but his biggest discovery was Charlie Chaplin. Sennett was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 1937 "for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen." Died 1960.

Born 1922: Betty White, gifted, lovably impish comedian and game show panelist. A sampling of her TV series: "Life With Elizabeth" (1953-55), "The Betty White Show" (1954, 1958, 1977), "Date With the Angels" (1957-58), "Password" (1961-75), "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1973-77), "Mama's Family" (1983-85), "The Golden Girls" (1985-92).

1929: Popeye the Sailor strolled into the comic strip "Thimble Theatre" for the first time, 10 years after its creation.

Born 1933: Shari Lewis, ventriloquist and children's show host, best friend to Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy, and Charlie Horse. Died 1998.

Born 1949: Andy Kaufman, offbeat, off-putting comedian and performance artist, unpredictable and original. Best remembered as Latka Gravis on "Taxi" (1978-83). He died of lung cancer in 1984, but because of his history of pranks, many observers think he's faking.

• Andy Kaufman Links

Born 1962: Jim Carrey, rubbery physical comedian, versatile actor, stand-up comic. At the top of Hollywood's pecking order, his stardom derives from the one-two-three-four punch of TV's "In Living Color" (1990-94) and, at the movies, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" (1994), "The Mask" (1994), and "Dumb and Dumber" (1994). Ironically, Carrey shares his birthday with Andy Kaufman, who he portrayed in the biographical film, "Man in the Moon" (1999).

1985: "Murphy's Romance," romantic comedy starring Sally Field and James Garner, opened in the U.S. Subsequently, Garner was nominated for an Oscar.

Copyright ©2003 Mike Durrett. All rights reserved.