By Tatiana Ponil
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Tina Louise (nee Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the television situation comedy Gilligan’s Island. Louise is the last surviving cast member.
She began her career on stage in the mid-1950s before landing her breakthrough role in 1958 drama film God’s Little Acre for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
Louise had starring roles in The Trap, The Hangman, Day of the Outlaw, and For Those Who Think Young. Her other films include The Wrecking Crew, The Happy Ending, The Stepford Wives, and Johnny Suede. She also had a recurring role on the primetime soap opera Dallas.
Louise was born Tina Blacker on February 11, 1934, in New York City. An only child, she was raised by her mother, Sylvia (née Horn, later Myers), a fashion model. Her father, Joseph Blacker, was a candy store owner in Brooklyn, and later an accountant. Her parents divorced by the time she was four. Louise attended PS 6, Scarborough Day School and Miami University. She is Jewish.
The name “Louise” was added during her senior year in high school when she mentioned to her drama teacher that she was the only girl in the class without a middle name, and he suggested it.
Over time, she became unhappy with the role and was worried that it would typecast her. Although she continued to work in film and made guest appearances on television, she claimed repeatedly that playing Ginger had ruined her movie career. She did not appear in any of the subsequent Gilligan’s Island sequel movies: Rescue from Gilligan’s Island (1978), The Castaways on Gilligan’s Island (1979), or The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island (1981). Other actresses played the role of Ginger in the sequels. She maintained a steady acting career after the series ended, going on to appear in the Matt Helm spy spoof The Wrecking Crew (1969) with Dean Martin and in The Stepford Wives (1975). As of December 2020, she is the last surviving cast member of Gilligan’s Island.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
We have robins here in winter, and not just a couple. What gives?
Believe it or not, robins will overwinter as far north as southern Canada when the weather isn’t too severe and food supplies are abundant. A lot of city subdivisions have planted mountain ash trees, whose berries are a favorite of robins. This also contributes to their hanging around during the winter.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Thomas Alva Edison (inventor) –
- Rudolf Firkusny (pianist) –
- Sidney Sheldon (author & producer) –
- Leslie Nielsen (actor) –
- Tina Louise (actress) –
- Burt Reynolds (actor) –
- Abby Hoffman (Canadian track and field athlete) –
- Sheryl Crow (musician) –
- Jennifer Aniston (actress) –
- Kelly Slater (surfer) –
- Brandy (singer & actress) –
Died
- John Buchan (15th governor-general of Canada) –
- Sylvia Plath (poet) –
- William Conrad (actor) –
- Neil Bonnet (car racer) –
- Victor Posner (owned Arby’s and Royal Crown Cola) –
- Samuel Alderson (inventor of crash test dummies used to test the safety of cars) –
- Peter Benchley (author best known for making millions fear swimming with his novel Jaws”“) –
- Alexander McQueen (British fashion designer known for his unconventional designs and shock tactics) –
- Whitney Houston (singer & actress) –
- Alban Michael (last Nuchatlaht speaker) –
- Vic Damone (singer) –
Events
- Sir Francis Drake climbed tree and saw Pacific Ocean for first time, Isthmus of Panama –
- First use of anthracite coal as a household fuel –
- Mount Holyoke Seminary, the first U.S. college for women, chartered, in South Hadley, Massachusetts –
- The first La-Z-Boy reclining chair was designed –
- I Love Lucy won an Emmy for Best Situation Comedy –
- The Beatles had their first live performance in the U.S. at the Washington, D.C. Coliseum –
- Opening day of first Canada Winter Games, in Quebec City –
- Glowing oval object reported hovering in Milford, Ohio –
- Largest lobster on record at the time (44 lbs. 6 oz.) caught near Nova Scotia –
- Barbara Harris became the first female Episcopal bishop –
- Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa –
- First joint U.S.-Russian space shuttle mission completed –
- Landsat 8 satellite was launched –
Weather
- Fort Logan, Montana, had a record low of -61 degrees F –
- The temperature in Nebraska dipped to -47 degrees F –
- The “megalopolitan blockbuster snowstorm” dumped one to three feet of snow from Virginia to southern New England. New all-time 24-hour snowfall records were set in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Allentown, Pennsylvania. Allentown recorded five inches of snow in one hour. Glen Gary, West Virginia, reported 35 inches of snow. –
- Temperature at International Falls, Minnesota, dipped to -40 degrees F –
- 12.5 inches of snow landed on the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
