Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Famous People Born 1913 Part II: 2 Still Alive And The List

These posts looking back back to see who was born 100 years ago (1908  1909  1910  1911 skipped 1912)  have been fun to do, though they take a lot of time (that's why 1912 never got finished.)  This time I'm doing it in several parts, since each will offer lots to read.  Three things I've found particularly interesting:

  1. Seeing the people, born the same year,  in the same cohort, who would have been in the same class at school if they'd lived in the same place, and had the same world events shape their lives.  Yet they have different talents and different interests and they become known for different things.
  2. Contemplating mortality.  I order their bios in order of death.  Even though they were all born they same year, they lived from 46 years to, well, two are still alive.  The life lottery beguiles me.  Why do some people only get a short time on earth and others longer? (And, of course, a human lifetime is is just a moment in the history of the world.)
  3. Looking into their backgrounds, their family lives, their failures and triumphs.  It raises questions for me about what we think of as important and unimportant in the greater scheme of things.  Unfortunately, this year, it has been hard to find details of early upbringing and personal lives of many of the subjects. 
So, the first post gave a background on the year 1913, including a link to an interesting video with a panel talking about the cultural situation of 1913.  It was very much a time of change.  

This post has video of the two that appear to still be alive, both opera singers, Risë Stevens and Licia Albanese.   You can listen to them as you go through the table with the list in birth order.  When you think about it, as kids, six months age difference means a lot, so for the first 20 years or so, the age difference among them might have been significant. And then, it means nothing.  Especially as those who were older die and their age freezes in time and the younger ones go on living and getting older. 

Finally, I'll have two or three more posts with more information about each person. Looking at their lives, trying to find commonalities and seeing the differences, hopefully finding some insights.  As always, these lists tend to be heavy with white, Western, males, reflecting who has had power and fame - certainly during the lifetime of these folks - in the west. 

This list seems to have more unsavory characters than past lists. 


Two people on the list appear to still be alive:

Risë Stevens



And Licia Albanese






The Chart

People Born 1913 From Oldest to Youngest
Jan-June June-December






Jan 4 Rosa Parks Civil Rights June 14 Gerald Ford US President
Jan 6 Loretta Young Actor June 18 Sammy Cahn Songwriter
Jan 6 Mary Leaky Anthropologist June 18 Red Skelton Comic
Jan 9  Richard Nixon  US President July 22 Licia Albanese* Soprano
Jan 13 Mel Allen  Sportscaster Aug 16 Menachem Begin Israeli PM
Jan 14 Woody Hayes  Football Coach Aug 25 Walt Kelly Cartoonist
Jan 14 Jimmy Hoffa  Teamsters Boss Sep 3 Alan Ladd Actor
Jan 18 Danny Kaye Actor Sep 9 Bear Bryant Football Coach
Feb 25 Jim Backus Mr. Magoo Sep 12 Jesse Owens Track Star
Mar 13 William Casey CIA Head Sep 27 Albert Ellis Psychologist
Mar 22 Lew Wasserman Film Exec Sep 29 Stanley Kramer Film Director
Mar 26 Paul Erdos Nobel Prize Math Oct 10 Klaus Barbie Nazi War Criminal
Mar 30 Richard Helms CIA Head Nov 2 Burt Lancaster Actor
Apr 11 Oleg Cassini Fashion Designer Nov 5 Vivien Leigh Actor
May3 William Inge Playwright Nov 7 Albert Camus Novelist
May 16 Woody Herman Jazz Clarinet Nov 9 Hedy Lamarr Actor
May 20 William Hewlett Tech Exec Nov 22 Benjamin Britten Composer
June 11 Vince Lombardi Football Coach Dec 1 Mary Martin Actor
June 11 Risë Stevens Mezzo-Soprano Dec 12 Delmore Schwartz Poet
June 12 Willis Lamb Physicist Dec 18 Willy Brandt German PM
June 13 Maersk McKinny Møller Shipping Exec




Part 3:  The list, with bios and pics, starting with the youngest one to die - Albert Camus.

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