History Brooklyn Boro

MILESTONES: June 11, birthdays for Hugh Laurie, Joe Montana, Jackie Stewart

Brooklyn Today

June 10, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Hugh Laurie celebrates his birthday today. Stock photo

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Greetings, Brooklyn. Today is the 161st day of the year.

Notable people born on this day include Hugh Laurie and Joe Montana, among others.

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle published an article on the front page titled “Gangs Rule Prospect Park.”

The article focused on the police’s struggle to curb rampant crime in the park.

“Since May 1, when the regular uniformed detail was increased and 12 detectives were also assigned to the park, a total of 63 official complaints have been made to police headquarters by victims of outrages ranging from theft of bicycles to mugging and attempted rape,” the Eagle reported.

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NOTABLE PEOPLE born on this day include actress ADRIENNE BARBEAU, who was born in 1945; actor PETER BERGMAN, who was born in 1953; actor PETER DINKLAGE, who was born in 1969; actor JOSHUA JACKSON, who was born in 1978; actor HUGH LAURIE, who was born in 1959; Hall of Fame football player JOE MONTANA, who was born in 1956; surgeon and TV personality DR. MEHMET OZ, who was born in 1960; and former auto racer JACKIE STEWART, who was born in 1939.

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“AMERICAN IDOL” PREMIERED ON THIS DAY IN 2002. FOX’s phenomenally successful talent show was based on a British program. Talented singers competed for a major label record deal while being judged by a panel of highly critical music experts: initially — and for many seasons — Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. The audience voted for favorites (online or by phone). Ryan Seacrest hosted. The first American Idol was Kelly Clarkson, who has gone on to chart-topping success and Grammys. After a few seasons of declining ratings, FOX announced in 2015, that the 2016 season was the final one.

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RICHARD GEORG STRAUSS WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1864. Some of the German romantic composer and conductor’s best-remembered operas are “Salome” (1905), “Elektra” (1909) and “Der Rosenkavalier” (1911), and his acclaimed symphonic, or tone, poems included “Don Juan” (1889) and “Don Quixote” (1898).

Strauss died in Germany in 1949.

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“SPACE ODDITY” WAS RELEASED ON THIS DAY IN 1969. The single recorded by David Bowie was released to coincide with Apollo 11’s trip to the moon, during which Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr., landed and walked on the surface of the moon.

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VINCE LOMBARDI WAS BORN ON THIS DAY IN 1913. The pro Football Hall of Fame coach played football for Fordham’s famed “Seven Blocks of Granite” line in the mid-1930s and became a teacher and began to coach high school football. He became offensive line coach at West Point in 1949 and moved to the New York Giants in 1954. Five years later, he was named head coach of the Green Bay Packers. His Packers won five NFL titles and two Super Bowls in nine years, and Lombardi was generally regarded as the greatest coach and the finest motivator in pro football history. He retired in 1968 but was lured back to coach the Washington Redskins a year later. He died in Washington, D.C. in 1970 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

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“There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.” — Hugh Laurie