By Marisol Nicholson
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is considered one of the most eminent character actors of his generation, having appeared in over 200 films and television roles. He is the recipient of various Supporting Actor accolades for his performance as the music instructor Terence Fletcher in Damien Chazelle‘s Whiplash (2014), including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Simmons is known for his role as J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He reprised his role as Jameson in various Marvel media unrelated to the Raimi trilogy, including multiple animated titles and the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. He has appeared in numerous supporting roles in films such as The Cider House Rules (1999), Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Burn After Reading (2008), Up in the Air (2009), Jennifer’s Body (2009), La La Land (2016), Justice League (2017), and Palm Springs (2020). He portrayed William Frawley in Being the Ricardos (2021), for which he received another nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
On television he is known for playing white supremacist prisoner Vernon Schillinger on the HBO series Oz (1997–2003), the recurring role of Dr. Emil Skoda on the NBC series Law & Order (1997–2010), Assistant Police Chief Will Pope on the TNT series The Closer (2005–2012), and Howard Silk in the Starz series Counterpart (2017–2019). He also appeared in commercials for Farmers Insurance.
On the Broadway stage Simmons played Captain Hook in the 1991 revival of Peter Pan and Benny Southstreet in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls.
As a voice actor he is known for portraying the Yellow M&M in commercials since 1996, Cave Johnson in the video game Portal 2 (2011), White Knight in Generator Rex (2010-2013), Tenzin in The Legend of Korra (2012–2014), Stanford “Ford” Pines in Gravity Falls (2015–2016), Kai in Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Mayor Leodore Lionheart in Zootopia (2016), the titular character in Klaus (2019), Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man in Invincible (2021–present), and General Ketheric Thorm in the video game Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023).
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue“. Initially, Gayle’s management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sister, Loretta Lynn. Not finding success with the arrangement after several years, and with Lynn’s encouragement, Gayle decided to try a different approach. She signed a new record contract and began recording with Nashville producer Allen Reynolds. Gayle’s new sound was sometimes referred to as middle-of-the-road (MOR) or country pop, and was part of a bigger musical trend by many country artists of the 1970s to appeal to a wider audience. Subsequently, Gayle became one of the most successful crossover artists of the 1970s and 80s. She is known for her floor-length hair.
Gayle was said to have begun her career in the 1960s performing as a background singer in Lynn’s band (although Gayle says this actually never happened). Lynn helped her sign a recording contract with Decca Records in 1970. Having minor success, she was encouraged to develop her own musical identity. Under the direction of producer Reynolds at United Artists Records, Gayle shifted towards a country pop style that was more successful. In 1975, “Wrong Road Again” became Gayle’s first major hit. However, it was in 1977 when Gayle achieved her biggest success with “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”. The single topped the Billboard country chart, crossed over to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and became a major international hit.
Gayle continued having success from the late 1970s and through late 1980s. Her biggest hits included “Ready for the Times to Get Better” (1977), “Talking in Your Sleep” (1978), “Half the Way” (1979) and “You and I” (1982). In the 1990s, Gayle shifted artistic directions by recording various genres of music. This included an album of inspirational music titled Someday (1995) and an album of standards called Crystal Gayle Sings the Heart and Soul of Hoagy Carmichael (1999). During the decade she also owned and operated a fine arts shop called Crystal’s Fine Gifts and Jewelry. Her most recent studio release was in 2019 and Gayle has since continued to tour throughout the world.
Gayle has won one Grammy Award and has been nominated for several others since the 1970s. She has also won five Academy of Country Music awards; those awards include receiving the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award in 2016. In addition, she has won two Country Music Association awards and three American Music Awards. Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 greatest country artists of all time and CMT ranked her within their list of the 40 greatest women of country music. Gayle has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2017.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
A buck dance, or buckdance, generally refers to a dance done solo. For instance, the buck-and-wing is a solo tap dance that originated in the South. The term also may have come from a ceremonial dance performed by a Native American wearing the costume of a male animal such as a deer or antelope, known as a buck. “Buckdancer’s choice,” then, would seem to refer to a solo dancer’s own style or choice of dance to be performed.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
You may travel abroad in a carriage whose name read backward or forward is always the same.
Gig (a light, two-wheeled sprung cart pulled by a single horse)
Died
- William Carter (printer, hanged for printing lewd pamphlets) –
- Tom Longboat (runner) –
Born
- Catharine Parr Traill (writer) –
- John Knowles Paine (composer) –
- Gracie Fields (comedienne) –
- Simone de Beauvoir (novelist) –
- Richard Nixon (37th U.S. president) –
- Fernando Lamas (actor) –
- Judith Krantz (author) –
- Bart Starr (football player) –
- Joan Baez (singer) –
- Jimmy Page (guitarist) –
- Sir Alec Jeffreys (geneticist) –
- Crystal Gayle (singer) –
- J. K. Simmons (actor) –
- Joely Richardson (actress) –
- Dave Matthews (musician) –
- Catherine Middleton (Duchess of Cambridge) –
Events
- Ivan the Terrible of Russia, suspecting a revolt in the city of Novgorod, captured the city and executed many of its inhabitants–
- Connecticut became the fifth state to join the U.S.–
- First successful U.S. balloon flight was completed in Philadelphia, PA, by Jean Pierre Blanchard–
- Mississippi seceded from the Union (U.S. Civil War)–
- U.S. Forces invaded Luzon, Philippines (WW II)–
- U.N. headquarters opened in New York City–
- U.S. and Japan concluded a formal agreement for the final settlement of U.S. postwar economic assitance to Japan–
- U.S. spacecraft Surveyor VII made a successful landing on the moon–
- The Queen Elizabeth, luxury ocean liner, was gutted by fire in Hong Kong harbor–
- 5.9 earthquake shook eastern Canada and New England–
- 5.7 earthquake struck Miramichi, New Brunswick–
- NBA’s Toronto Raptors became the first team to miss all free throw attempts in a game–
- Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone–
- A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the shore of Eureka in Northern California–
- A venomous yellow-bellied sea snake was found on shore in Newport Beach, California. This was the fifth recorded sighting of the snake species in California history, and the first outside of an El Niño year. Scientists believe that rising ocean temperatures may have been a factor. The snake typically lives in tropical water, spending its whole life at sea; it does not go on shore unless it is ill.–
Weather
- 28.5” snow, Olympia, Washington–
- Columbia River froze at Portland, Oregon, until January 26th–
- Citrus freeze in S. California–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
