Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr. is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. He released five gold records before 1955 and had 35 nationally charted hits. Domino has a music style based on traditional rhythm and blues ensembles of bass, piano, electric guitar, drums and saxophone. He was an important influence on the music of the 1960s and 1970s and was acknowledged as such by top artists, including John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Of French Creole background, Domino was born in New Orleans on February 26, 1928 and lives there to this day. He even tried to stay at home during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which heavily flooded his neighborhood.
Carson Ellis – No. 838
Carson Ellis is an artist and illustrator of children’s books. Born in Canada on October 5, 1975, her illustration work includes bestsellers The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket and The Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy (her husband). Ellis recently finished work on Home, a whimsical picture book she wrote. Her editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times and The New Yorker, and her fine art is exhibited at Nationale in Portland, Oregon. Ellis is also the illustrator-in-residence for the band The Decemberists. She lives on a farm in Portland with Meloy and their two sons.
P.S. Home is due out on February 24, 2015. That is today. Check it out. Also, here’s a playable Portland family feud: Carson Ellis vs. Colin Meloy.
Yoko Ono – No. 837
Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer and peace activist. She is the widow and second wife of John Lennon and is also known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo, and studied at Gakushuin University while her family moved to the U.S. to escape the war. They reunited in 1953, and she became involved in New York City’s downtown artists scene, including the Fluxus group. Ono first met Lennon in 1966 at her own art exhibition in London, and they became a couple in 1968. She achieved commercial and critical acclaim in 1980 with the chart-topping album Double Fantasy, released with Lennon three weeks before his death. Since 2003, 11 of her songs, mostly remixes of her older work, have hit No. 1 on the U.S. dance chart. Ono was born on February 18, 1933.
Jim Brown – No. 836
Jim Brown is a retired National Football League (NFL) player and actor. He is best known for his record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the Cleveland Browns (1957-1965). In 2002, Sporting News named him the greatest professional football player ever. Brown is widely considered one of the greatest professional athletes in the history of the United States. Since 1964, he has appeared in over 40 films, including The Dirty Dozen (1967). In 1969, Brown starred in 100 Rifles with Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch; it was one of the first films to feature an interracial love scene. Brown was born on February 17, 1936.
Pinocchio – No. 835
Pinocchio is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883), by the Italian writer Carlo Collodi. Carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, Pinocchio was created as a wooden puppet, but dreamed of becoming a real boy. He has also been used as a character who is prone to telling lies and fabricating stories. Pinocchio has been called an icon of modern culture, and is one of the most reimagined characters in the pantheon of children’s literature. A well-known adaptation is the Walt Disney film Pinocchio (1940).
Carmen Miranda – No. 834
Carmen Miranda was a Portuguese Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s. In 1940, she made her first Hollywood film, Down Argentine Way, with Don Ameche and Betty Grable. In the same year, Miranda was invited to sing and dance for President Franklin Roosevelt. Nicknamed “The Brazilian Bombshell,” she was noted for her Latin accent, exotic clothing and signature fruit hat outfit she wore in her American films, particularly in The Gang’s All Here (1943). By 1945, she was the highest paid woman in the U.S. Miranda made a total of 14 Hollywood films. She was the first Latin American star to be invited to imprint her hands and feet in the courtyard of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, in 1941. Miranda was also the first South American to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was born on February 9, 1909.
P.S. The United Fruit Company took advantage of the Carmen Miranda craze by creating the cartoon mascot Chiquita Banana. Speaking of which, consider this matchup: Carmen Miranda vs. Chiquita Banana. Fight!
Klay Thompson – No. 833
Klay Thompson is an American professional basketball shooting guard for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. He played college basketball for three seasons at Washington State University before being selected by Golden State with the 11th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. In 2014, Thompson and teammate Stephen Curry set an NBA record with 484 combined three-pointers in a season as the pair were given the nickname the “Splash Brothers.” Thompson was named to the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, just days after a 52-point performance in which he scored an NBA-record 37 points in one quarter (he made all 13 of his shots, including nine from three-point range). Born on February 8, 1990, Thompson is the son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson.
Charles Dickens – No. 832
Charles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world’s most well-known fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Although he had little formal education, over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas and hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles. He also lectured and performed extensively, and campaigned vigorously for children’s rights, education and other social reforms. Dickens sprang to fame with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best known work of historical fiction. Other notable works include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations. Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 and died on June 9, 1870.
The Toast King (On the Moon) – No. 831
The Toast King is a large, anthropomorphic slice of toast who rules over the Moon, following his principle that “heat induces royalty.” He wears a crown bearing the initials “TK,” and is often depicted holding a golden pitchfork with a speared knob of butter. The Toast King’s friends include Insanity Prawn Boy and Moon Keith Moon, and he claims to rule over Moon Hitler’s Nazi Moon Base. British animator Jonathan “Jonti” Picking, also known as Weebl, created the On the Moon cartoon series and the rest of Weebl’s Stuff. Some of Weebl’s most famous creations include Cat Face, Weebl & Bob and 2003’s “Badgers” (plus a slew of other repetitive, overstimulating cartoons set to dance music). Since the release of the first On the Moon Flash cartoon in November 2005, 24 episodes have been produced. The most recent episode was released in August 2013.
P.S. Happy Groundhog Day! Perhaps you’d like to celebrate Bill Murray-style with some infinitely looping, insanity-inducing Weebl’s Stuff cartoons? Or maybe you’d enjoy a good old-fashioned toast fight: Spoilsbury Toast Boy vs. The Toast King (On the Moon).