People (Births)

• 1926 – Aldo Ray, American actor (d. 1991).
• 1951 – Mark Hamill, American actor, singer, and producer.
• 1957 – Michael Madsen, American actor and producer.

Lewis Milestone

• 1980 – Lewis Milestone, Russian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1895).

Aldo Ray

Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; 25 September 1926 to 27 March 1991) was an American actor of film and television.

He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in The Marrying Kind, Pat and Mike (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination), Let’s Do It Again, and Battle Cry (1955). His athletic build and gruff, raspy voice saw him frequently typecast in “tough guy” roles throughout his career, which lasted well into the late 1980s. Though the latter part of his career was marked by appearances in low-budget B-movies and exploitation films, he still starred occasionally in higher-profile features, including The Secret of NIMH (1982) and The Sicilian (1987).

Since his passing, Ray’s body of work and screen persona have undergone a reappraisal, and have been cited by contemporary filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino as an inspiration for their own characters.

• Miss Sadie Thompson (1953).
• Battle Cry (1955).
• Three Stripes in the Sun (1955).
• Men in War (1957).
• The Naked and the Dead (1958).
• What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966).
• The Green Berets (1968).
• Suicide Commandos (1968).
• A Torn Page of Glory (1968).
• Inside Out (1975).
• Biohazard (1985).
• Shooters (1989).

Mark Hamill

Mark Richard Hamill (born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards for his performances in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), and The Last Jedi (2017). His other film appearances include Corvette Summer (1978) and The Big Red One (1980). Hamill has also appeared on stage in several theatre productions, primarily during the 1980s.

He is a prolific voice actor who has portrayed characters in numerous animated television series, films and video games. Hamill is known for his long-standing role as the Joker in various DC Comics projects, commencing with Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1994). He has also voiced the Hobgoblin in Spider-Man (1994-1998), Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008), and Skips in Regular Show (2010-2017).

Michael Madsen

Michael Søren Madsen (born 25 September 1957) is an American actor. Known for playing “charming, careless, terrifying bastards”, he has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter’s debut film Reservoir Dogs (1992).

• WarGames (1983).
• Species (1995).
• Species 02 (1998).
• The Last Drop (2006).

Lewis Milestone

Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); 30 September 1895 to 25 September 1980) was a Russian-American film director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights (1927) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director. He also directed The Front Page (1931 – nomination), The General Died at Dawn (1936), Of Mice and Men (1939), Ocean’s 11 (1960), and received the directing credit for Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), though Marlon Brando largely appropriated his responsibilities during its production.