July 4 birthdays

I knew that Gloria Stuart is turning 100 today. She unfortunately appeared in the dreadful James Cameron version of Titanic, and that's what she'll probably be remembered for when she dies and all the media outlets run their prepared obituaries. Of course, if you want to see an interesting version of Titanic, it ought to be the Nazi version. She made a lot of movies back in the 1930s, however, and earlier this year I recommended Island in the Sky.

IMDb's front page didn't have Stuart as the featured birthday person, which surprised me slightly. Instead, that honor went to Gina Lollobrigida, who turns 83 today. She'll be showing on on TCM later this week in Trapeze. (I believe it's 8:00 PM ET Wednesday, but check your listings.) Another person who turns 83 today is prolific playwright Neil Simon. I just recommended his Plaza Suite last week.

Stephen Boyd would be 79 if he hadn't died young. Boy do I wish The Oscar were available on DVD.



Finally, and for an excuse to post a photo I've used before, I note that today is the 86th birthday of Eva Marie Saint, who won an Oscar for playing Marlon Brando's girlfriend in On the Waterfront. The picture here is from the beginning of the movie, when her brother has just been killed, and priest Karl Malden is providing the last rites for the deceased.