Harlan Ellison, on writing:

 

People on the outside think there's something magical about writing,
that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn't like that.

You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that's all there is to it.

- Harlan Ellison.

Recommended reading - The Harder They Fall

The Harder They Fall

by Budd Schulberg.

First published 1947.
Published by Ivan R. Dee.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1566631076
ISBN-13: 978-1566631075

Description:

Brilliant, witty, and amusing...the best book on fighting that I have read. – Gene Tunney.

The book will stand not only as the novel about boxing but also as a book that indirectly tells more about civilization than do most books about civilization itself. – Arthur Miller.

The quintessential novel of boxing and corruption. – USA Today.

Budd Schulberg's celebrated novel of the prize ring has lost none of its power since its first publication almost fifty years ago. Crowded with unforgettable characters, it is a relentless expose of the fight racket. A modern Samson in the form of a simple Argentine peasant is ballyhooed by an unscrupulous fight promoter and his press agent - and then betrayed and destroyed by connivers. Mr. Schulberg creates a wonderfully authentic atmosphere for this book that many critics hailed as even better than What Makes Sammy Run? The wrongs of the boxing business that the book illuminates are still with us.

Born on this day – Johann Sebastian Bach:

Johann Sebastian Bach

Composer

March 31, 1685 – July 28, 1750

Johann Sebastian Bach portrait

by Elias Gottlob Haussmann (1748).

Born on this day – Joseph Haydn:

Joseph Haydn

Composer

March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809

Joseph Haydn portrait by Thomas Hardy (1791).

Born on this day – Etta Baker:

Etta Baker

Blues singer

Guitarist

Banjoist

March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006

Albums:

Banjo (2009); Carolina Breakdown (2005); Etta Baker with Taj Mahal (2004); Instrumental Music from the Southern Appalachians (1956); Knoxville Rag, with Kenny Wayne Shepherd (2006); One-Dime Blues (1991); Railroad Bill (1999); Railroad Bill (2015); The North Carolina Banjo Collection (1998).

Born on this day – Patrick Magee:

 

Patrick Magee

Actor

March 31, 1922 – August 14, 1982

Credits:

Play for Today (1979–1982); Horace (1982); The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981); The Black Cat (1981); The Monster Club / Humgoo Story (1981); Chariots of Fire (1981); Hawk the Slayer (1980); The Sleep of Death (1980); Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980); The Greeks: A Journey in Space and Time (1980); Rough Cut (1980); Churchill and the Generals (1979); The Brontë Sisters (1979); Oresteia (1979); Kidnapped (1978); Telefon (1977); Who Pays the Ferryman? (1977); BBC Play of the Month (1965–1977); Beasts (1976); Barry Lyndon (1975); Quiller (1975); Thriller (1974–1975); Galileo (1975); King Lear (1974); The Adventures of Black Beauty (1974); Simona (1974); Luther (1974); Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973); The Final Programme (1973); She Stoops to Conquer (1973); Lady Ice (1973); And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973); The Protectors (1973); Thirty-Minute Theatre (1968–1972); Demons of the Mind (1972); Pope Joan (1972); Young Winston (1972); Asylum / Framing story (1972); Beware My Brethren (1972); Tales from the Crypt / Blind Alleys (1972); A Clockwork Orange (1971); The Trojan Women (1971); King Lear (1970); You Can't Win 'Em All (1970); Cromwell (1970); Canterbury Tales (1969); Destiny of a Spy (1969); Hard Contract (1969); The Birthday Party (1968); ITV Playhouse (1968); The Champions (1968); The Wednesday Play (1967–1968); Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher (1968); Portrait in Terror (1968); Anzio (1968); Jonathan Swift (1967); Marat / Sade (1967); Conflict (1967); Die, Monster, Die! (1965); The Skull (1965); Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1965); Theatre 625 (1964); The Masque of the Red Death (1964); Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964); Dixon of Dock Green (1964); Zulu (1964); The Plane Makers (1963–1964); The Avengers (1963); The Sentimental Agent (1963); Compact (1963); The Servant (1963); Zero One (1963); Dementia 13 (1963); Operacija Ticijan (1963); Moonstrike (1963); The Very Edge (1963); ITV Television Playhouse (1957–1963); Ricochet (1963); The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1961–1963); The Young Racers (1963); Antigone (1962); A Prize of Arms (1962); The Boys (1962); ITV Play of the Week (1959–1962); A Great Ship (1962); Z Cars (1962); Never Back Losers (1961); Armchair Theatre (1961); About Religion (1961); No Hiding Place (1961); Young, Willing and Eager (1961); The Concrete Jungle (1960); The Madhouse on Castle Street (1960); Here Lies Miss Sabry (1960); Deadline Midnight (1960); BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1955–1959); Dial 999 (1958); The Green Man (1956).

Born on this day – Richard Chamberlain:

 

Richard Chamberlain

Actor

Singer

Producer

March 31, 1934 – March 29, 2025

Credits:
 
Book:

Shattered Love: A Memoir (2003).
 
Music:
 

All I Have to Do Is Dream (1963); Blue Guitar / They Long to Be Close to You (1963); Bride-Finding Ball (1976); Haleakala: How Maui Snared The Sun (Tone Poem) (1991); He Danced With Me / She Danced With Me (1976); Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo (1963); I Will Love You (1963); Joy in the Morning (1964); Love Me Tender (1962); Rome Will Never Leave You (1964); Secret Kingdom (1976); Theme from Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) (1962); True Love (1963); What a Comforting Thing to Know (1976); Why Can't I Be Two People? (1976).

Movies and television:
 

10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004); 20th Century Fox Presents... A Tribute to Darryl F. Zanuck (1974); 39th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1982); A Man and a River (1973); A Thunder of Drums (1961); ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2003); Actors Entertainment (2010); Actors Reporter Interviews (2010); AFI Life Achievement Award (1984–1986); After They Were Famous (2005); Aftermath: A Test of Love (1991); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959 / 1986); All the Winters That Have Been (1997); Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986); Arthur Freed's Hollywood Melody (1962); At This Very Moment (1962); Autumn Ball (2007); Awakening World (2012); Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991); Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023); Bicentennial Minutes (1974); Biography (1995–1997); Bird of Prey (1995); Blackbeard (2006); Bourbon Street Beat (1960); Brothers & Sisters (2010–2011); Buffalo Soldiers (2001); Caiga quien caiga (1997); Casanova (1987); Centennial (1978–1979); Champs-Elysées (1988); Chuck (2010); Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole (1983); Coucou c'est nous! (1994); Dateline (1961–1977); Dee Time (1968); Desperate Housewives (2007); Die größten TV-Hits aller Zeiten - Die größten Kultserien (2004); Die Peter Alexander Show (1994); Dinah! (1975–1976); Dinah's Place (1972); Dr. Kildare (1961–1966); Dream West (1986); Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014); Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (2020); Endangered Hawaii (2000); Entertainment Tonight (1981–2007); F. Scott Fitzgerald and 'the Last of the Belles' (1974); Film '78 (1978); Film Night (1969–1973); Finding Julia (2019); Finite Water (2019); Gottschalks Haus-Party (1996); Great Performances (1978); Greed and Wildlife: Poaching in America (1989); Ground Zero (1999); Gunsmoke (1960); Gylne tider (2006–2007); Hawaii: Paradise in Peril (1993); Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey (2014); Hold On: It's the Dave Clark Five (1968); Hollywood Insider (2021); Hustle (2006); I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007); Inside 'the Swarm' (1978); Island Son (1989–1990); ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1970); Ja niin joulu joutui... (1992); Jeanne Wolf with... (1974–1979); John & Leeza from Hollywood (1993); Joy in the Morning (1965); Julius Caesar (1970); Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015); King Solomon's Mines (1985); Krueger: Tales from Elm Street (2011 / 2017); La tele de tu vida (2007); Lachen mit Peter Alexander (2021); Lady Caroline Lamb (1972); L'antre du Mea (2023); Larry King Live (2003); Les Chroniques du Mea (2021); Leverage (2010–2012); March of Dimes Presents: Once Upon a Dime (1963); Matin Bonheur (1995); McLean and Company (1970); MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992); Miss World 1967 (1967); Mondo Hollywood: Hollywood Laid Bare! (1967); Mr. Lucky (1960); Murder by Phone (1982); Musical Comedy Tonight (1979); Na sowas! (1986); Night of 100 Stars (1982); Night of the Hunter (1991); Nightmare Cinema / Segment: Mirari (2018); Nip/Tuck (2006); Ordeal in the Arctic (1993); Perry Como's Christmas in the Holy Land (1980); Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (1965); Petulia (1968); Petulia: The Uncommon Movie (1968); Pioneers of Television (2013–2014); Rebildfest 1990 (1990); Rescue 8 (1960); Retrosexual: The 80's (2004); River Made to Drown In (1997); River Song: A Natural History of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon (1987); Riverboat (1960); Sacrée soirée (1990–1994); Scoundrels, Scallywags, and Scurvy Knaves (2006); Shogun (1980); So Graham Norton (2000); Spirit of Evolution (2025); Strength and Honour (2007); The 10th Annual People's Choice Awards (1984); The 15th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1963); The 1975 Annual Entertainment Hall of Fame Awards (1975); The 20th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1963); The 23rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1966); The 2nd Commitment to Life AIDS Project Benefit (1986); The 30th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1973); The 32nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1975); The 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1981); The 34th Annual Academy Awards (1962); The 35th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1983); The 35th Annual Tony Awards (1981); The 37th Annual Academy Awards (1965); The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1980); The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1985); The 41st Annual Golden Globe Awards (1984); The 41st Annual Tony Awards (1987); The 42nd Annual Tony Awards (1988); The 43rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 1986 (1986); The 44th Annual Academy Awards (1972); The 4th Annual TV Land Awards (2006); The 50th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1993); The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (1981); The Andy Williams Show (1965); The Arsenio Hall Show (1989); The Astronomers (1991); The Black Ghiandola (2017); The Bob Hope Show (1963–1964); The Bob Hope Thanksgiving Special (1964); The Bourne Identity (1988); The Carol Burnett Show (1967); The Christmas Messenger (1975); The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975); The David Frost Show (1970–1971); The Deputy (1961); The Dick Cavett Show (1970–1971); The Drew Carey Show (2002); The Eamonn Andrews Show (1967–1969); The Eleventh Hour (1963); The Factor (2008); The Festival Game (1970); The Film Society Of Lincoln Center Annual Gala Tribute to Laurence Olivier (1983); The Films of Robert Bolt (1972); The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974); The Good Doctor (1978); The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (2010); The Joey Bishop Show (1969); The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1981); The Lady's Not for Burning (1974); The Last Wave (1977); The Last Wave: Richard Chamberlain in Conversation with Paul Harris (2020); The Late Late Show (2006); The Little Mermaid (1974); The Lost Daughter (1997); The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969); The Man in the Iron Mask (1977); The Merv Griffin Show (1967–1981); The Mike Douglas Show (1970–1975); The Miracle (1985); The Music Lovers (1971); The Pavilion (2000); The Perfect Family (2011); The Portrait of a Lady (1968); The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (2014); The Red Skelton Hour (1967); The Return of the Musketeers (1989); The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show (1966); The Secret of the Purple Reef (1960); The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (1976); The Swarm (1978); The Thorn Birds (1983); The Thorn Birds: Old Friends New Stories (2003); The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996); The Three Musketeers (1973); The Toni Tennille Show (1980); The Tonight Show (1962); The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1962); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1963–1990); The Towering Inferno (1974); The Towering Inferno: Inside the Tower - We Remember (2006); The Towering Inferno: Irwin Allen, the Great Producer (2006); The Towering Inferno: Running on Fire (2006); The Uncommon Making of Petulia (2006); The View (2003); The Woman I Love (1972); Three Days of Hamlet (2012); Thriller (1960); ThunderCats (2011); Today (1964–2007); Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (1999); Touched by an Angel (2000); TV Guide Close Up: From Comedy Club to Primetime (2004); Twilight of Honor (1963); Twin Peaks (2017); Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (1985); We Are the Hartmans (2011); Wetten, dass..? (1995); What's My Line? (1962 / 1973); Whispering Smith (1961); Will & Grace (2005); You Don't Say (1964).

Born on this day – Arthur B. Rubinstein:

Arthur B. Rubinstein

Composer

March 31, 1938 – April 23, 2018

Credits:

60 Minutes / Rubinstein (1975); ABC Weekend Specials (1978); Addie and the King of Hearts (1976); All the Way Home (1971); Amazing Stories (1985); Another Stakeout (1993); Aunt Mary (1979); Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991); Baywatch: Panic at Malibu Pier (1989); Beat the Clock (1979); Biography (1987); Blue Thunder (1983); Bring 'Em Back Alive (1983); Bulba (1981); Caught in the Act (1993); Chinese Puzzle (2013); Crazy from the Heart (1991); Crazy Like a Fox (1984); Dead Man's Island (1996); Deal of the Century (1983); Defense Play (1988); Demolition (2015); Doing Life (1986); Double Jeopardy (1996); Doubletake (1985); Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' (1992); Eastwood on Eastwood (1997); Face Value (2001); Fake-Out (1982); Fame (1978); Fatal Friendship (1991); Floating Away (1998); Flying High (1978–1979); Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend (1989); reat Performances (1974–1975); Gridlock (1980); Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North (1989); Harper Valley P.T.A. (1981–1982); Hart to Hart Returns (1993); Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart (1994); Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (1994); Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die (1994); Hart to Hart: Secrets of the Hart (1995); Harvey (1972); Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star (1986); Impromptu (2013); Incident at Crestridge (1981); Indiscreet (1988); Inherit the Wind (1988); Internal Affairs (1988); It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (1984); ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1971); Janek: The Silent Betrayal (1994); Johnny Staccato (1989); Las noches de Tefía (2023); Late Night with Seth Meyers (2016); Le gendarme de Abobo (2019); Les audacieux (1993); Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story (1991); Look Homeward, Angel (1972); Lost in America (1985); Love Among Thieves (1987); Murder Among Friends (1985); Murder in Black and White (1990); Murder in Space (1985); Murder Times Seven (1990); Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home to (1990); Nick of Time (1995); Nightmare at Bittercreek (1988); Not Just Another Affair (1982); On the Right Track (1981); Once Upon a Texas Train (1988); Portrait of a Rebel: The Remarkable Mrs. Sanger (1980); Portrait of a Stripper (1979); Pride (2014); Radio Days (1987); Return Engagement (1978); Ride with the Angels: Making 'Blue Thunder' (2006); Rivkin: Bounty Hunter (1981); Roses Are for the Rich (1987); Sawyer and Finn (1983); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1986); Secrets (1992); Sherlock Holmes (1981); Shirley (1979); Shooting War: World War II Combat Cameramen (2000); Sins of the Past (1984); Skeezer (1982); Sledge Hammer! (1986); Small World (1958); Stakeout (1987); Superintelligence (2020); Taxi!! (1978); The Best of Times (1986); The Betty Ford Story (1987); The Cartier Affair (1984); The David Frost Show (1970); The Death of Maranzano (2013); The Easter Promise (1975); The Great Bank Hoax (1977); The Great Ships (1996–1999); The Hard Way (1991); The Heist (1989); The Hollywood Detective (1989); The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972); The Last Debate (2000); The Love Boat (1977–1978); The Man in the Brown Suit (1989); The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks (1973); The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor (1973); The Men Who Made the Movies: Raoul Walsh (1973); The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller (2002); The Parade (1984); The Phoenix (1981–1982); The Plucky Duck Show (1992); The Price (1971); The Prince of Central Park (1977); The Princess Stallion (1997); The Red Hand Gang (1977); The Ruby Ring (1997); The Simpsons (1990); The Spanish Apartment (2002); The Special: Building Blue Thunder (2006); The Starlost (1974); The Streets of Beverly Hills (1992); The Thanksgiving Treasure (1973); The Wizard (1986–1987); Tiny Toon Adventures (1990); Unconquered (1989); WarGames (1983); When No One Would Listen (1992); Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? (1988); Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981); You Can't Take It with You (1979).

On this day in television history - Gang Busters (1942)

Gang Busters

serial directed by Noel Smith, Ray Taylor,

Written by Al Martin, George H. Plympton, Morgan Cox, Phillips H. Lord, Victor McLeod,

Based on the 1936–1957 radio series,
was released in the United States on March 31, 1942.

Music by Bernhard Kaun, Charles Henderson, Charles Previn, Clifford Vaughan, Frank Skinner, Franz Waxman, Hans J. Salter, Heinz Roemheld, Ralph Freed, Richard Hageman.

 

Chapter titles: The League of Murdered Men; The Death Plunge; Murder Blockade; Hangman's Noose; Man Undercover; Under Crumbling Walls; The Water Trap; Murder by Proxy; Gang Bait; Mob Vengeance; Wanted at Headquarters; The Long Chance; Law and Order.

 

Cast:

Kent Taylor, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan, Robert Armstrong, Richard Davies, Joseph Crehan, George Watts, Ralf Harolde, John Gallaudet, William Haade, Victor Zimmerman, George J. Lewis, John Berkes, Pat O'Malley, Hugh Beaumont, Robert Barron, Chet Brandenburg, Kernan Cripps, Grace Cunard, Eddie Dean, William Desmond, George Eldredge, Edward Emerson, Eddie Fetherston, Eddie Foster, Art Fowler, Jack Gardner, Alan Gregg, Karl Hackett, Riley Hill, Jerry Jerome, Milton Kibbee, Ethan Laidlaw, Frank Marlowe, Charles McAvoy, Charles McMurphy, Paul McVey, Chuck Morrison, Jack Mulhall, Gene O'Donnell, Frank Penny, Jack Perrin, Stanley Price, Bob Reeves, Beatrice Roberts, Jeffrey Sayre, Charles Sherlock, Mickey Simpson, Jack C. Smith, Tom Steele, Phil Warren, Chalky Williams, Carleton Young.

On this day in television history - Justified (2015)

 

Justified
Season 6. Episode 11.

Episode entitled: Fugitive Number One.

Released March 31, 2015.

Directed by Jon Avnet.

Written by Graham Yost, Taylor Elmore, Keith Schreier, Keith Schreier.

Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.

Music by Steve Porcaro.
 
Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Jere Burns, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Walton Goggins, Mary Steenburgen, Kaitlyn Dever, Jeff Fahey, Rick Gomez, Justin Welborn, Jonathan Tucker, Louis Herthum, Jonathan Kowalsky, Ryan Dorsey, Mel Fair, Chad Todhunter, Sam Elliott, Josh Clark, Otto Krause, Robert Allen Mukes, Robert Neary, David Wells, Russell Bertolino.

On this day in movie history - The Harder They Fall (1956)

The Harder They Fall

directed by Mark Robson,

written by Philip Yordan,

based on the novel by Budd Schulberg,

was released in the United States on March 31, 1956.

Music by Hugo Friedhofer.

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer, Jersey Joe Walcott, Edward Andrews, Harold J. Stone, Carlos Montalbán, Luís Agrandi, Nehemiah Persoff, Felice Orlandi, Herbie Faye, Rusty Lane, Jack Albertson.

On this day in movie history - Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960)

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

directed by Charles Walters,

written by Isobel Lennart,

based on the novel by Jean Kerr,

was released in the United States on March 31, 1960.

Music by David Rose.

Cast:

Doris Day, David Niven, Janis Paige, Spring Byington, Richard Haydn, Patsy Kelly, Jack Weston, John Harding, Margaret Lindsay, Carmen Phillips, Mary Patton, Charles Herbert, Stanley Livingston, Flip Mark, Baby Gellert.