Julia Alvarez, on writing and reading:

The elasticity of imagination and compassion is what writing and reading promote.

– Julia Alvarez.

Recommended reading - Somebody Up There Likes Me

Somebody Up There Likes Me

by Rocky Graziano with Rowland Barber.

Filmed as Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), directed by Robert Wise.

Published by Ecco Press.
Published 1954.

ISBN 13: 9780880013932
ISBN 10: 0880013931
ASIN: 0880013931
Paperback.

Description:
The blood-soaked autobiography of a fist-happy hoodlum…

Rocky’s right hand saw him through three stretches in reform school, four man-size prisons, the middle-weight championship of the world, and a career as a television comedian with Martha Raye.

We get a view of what it’s like to be on the lam from truant officers, probation officers, goons, cops, and creeps too stupid to be anything but legitimate. What it’s like to hit first or get hit! – Saturday Review.

Born on this day – Nathaniel Hawthorne:

 

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Writer

July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864

Credits:

Books, short stories and anthologies:

100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories (1993); 40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology (2000); 50 Great American Short Stories (1963); 50 Great Short Stories (1952); A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1851); Alaska Stories (1995); American Midnight (2019); Biographical Stories (1842); Bound for Evil: Curious Tales of Books Gone Bad (2008); Cape Cod Stories (2002); Chicago Stories (1993); Chiefly About War Matters (2019); Circe's Palace (2018); Damned Yankees (2017); David Swan (2014); Doctor Grimshawe's Secret; A Romance (1882); Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (1837); Dr. Heidegger's Experiment and Other Stories (1837); Earth's Holocaust (1844); Endicott and the Red Cross (1837); Fanshawe (1828); Florida Stories (1993); From the Snow Image (1864); Grandfather's Chair (2016); Great Stone Face (1970); Greek Myths (1851); Haunting Tales (1980); Hawthorne's American Travel Sketches (1990); Hawthorne's First Diary (2018); Hawthorne's Lost Notebook (1978); Hawthorne's Short Stories (1955); In Colonial Days (2010); Legends of the Province House (2017); Legends of the Province House and Other Twice-Told Tales (2009); Letters of Hawthorne to William D. Ticknor, 1851-1864 (1972); Life of Franklin Pierce (1852); Little Daffydowndilly and Other Stories (2018); Los Angeles Stories (1991); Love Letters Of Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1839 1863 (1972); Lust: Lascivious Love Stories and Passionate Poems (1994); Main-Street (2005); Mosses from an Old Manse (1846); My Kinsman Major Molineux (1831); Myths That Every Child Should Know (2011); New Orleans Stories (1992); On Suicide: Great Writers on the Ultimate Question (1992); Our Old Home (1863); Passages from the English notebooks of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1873); Puritan Passions (2011); Rappaccini's Daughter (1844); Rappaccini's Daughter, And Other Tales (1991); San Francisco Stories (1990); San Francisco Thrillers (1995); Selected Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1966); Selected Stories (1982); Selected Tales and Sketches (1959); Selected Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (2002); Septimius Felton (1978); Septimius Felton, or, The Elixir of Life (2019); Sights from a Steeple (2005); Simply Witchcraft's Best Short Stories Volume I (2013); Snowflakes (2005); Southwest Stories (1993); Sunday at Home (2009); Tales of the Occult (1989); Tales of the White Mountains (1846); Tales, Sketches, and Other Papers (2018); Tanglewood Tales (1851); Texas Stories (1995); The Ambitious Guest and Lady Eleanore's Mantle (1980); The American Notebooks (1932); The Ancestral Footstep (1882); The Antique Ring (2015); The Birthmark & Five Other Tales (2013); The Birthmark (1843); The Blithedale Romance (1851); The Celestial Railroad and Other Stories (1864); The Christmas Banquet (2005); The Complete Greek Stories (1963); The Complete Novels and Selected Tales of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1937); The Complete Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1959); The Devil in Manuscript (1835); The Dolliver Romance (1883); The Dover Anthology of Classic Christmas Stories (2023); The French and Italian Note-Books (2013); The Gentle Boy (2018); The Golden Touch (1851); The Gray Champion (2014); The Great Short Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1977); The House of the Seven Gables (1851); The House of the Seven Gables and Other Tales (2009); The Light and the Lure (2016); The Magic Pitcher (2005); The Marble Faun (1860); The Minister's Black Veil (1836); The New Adam and Eve (1846); The Old Apple-Dealer (2005); The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (1992); The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales (1993); The Paradise of Children (1967); The Pomegranate Seeds (2015); The Scarlet Letter (1850); The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings (1978); The Scarlet Letter and Selected Tales (1970); The Shaker Bridal (2014); The Short Story: 30 Masterpieces (1992); The Snow Image: and Other Twice-Told Tales (2019); The Three Golden Apples (1993); The Wayside (2014); The Wedding-Knell (2013); The Weird Fiction Collection #1 (2018); The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction (2010); Thrillers (1994); True Stories from History and Biography (2019); True Stories from New England History, 1620-1803 (2016); Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny by Papa (1851); Twice-Told Tales (1837); Twice-Told Tales and Other Short Stories (1964); Witchcraft Classics (2023); Young Goodman Brown (1835).

Movies and television:

Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1996); Amonina pomsta (1991); Brandon Flowers: Can't Deny My Love (2015); Camera Three (1961); Die Verwandlung (1920); Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (1969); El viaje a Mannheim (1976); Feathertop (1912 / 1916 / 1961); Ficciones (1972–1973); Footlights Theater (1953); General Electric Theater (1955); Goodman (2017); Grande Teatro Tupi (1957); Hora once (1970); House of the Seven Gables (2022); Il Fauno di marmo (1920 / 1977); Intolerance, or Best Places in the World Are Places Where Human Left No Traces (2014); Kraft Theatre (1954); Kraft Theatre / The Philco Television Playhouse (1949); La lettre écarlate (1977); La nuit de Tom Brown (1959); Las grandes novellas (1972); Lettre à Carla (1967); Lights Out (1950–1951); Loons (1991); Matinee Theatre (1956); athaniel Hawthorne's Catastrophe (2014); Novela (1972–1978); O epistimonas (1992); Party (1994); Puritan Passions (1923); Rappaccini (1966); Rappaccini's Daughter (1980 / 2013); Robert Montgomery Presents (1951); Scary Stories Around the Fire (2022); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1960); Studio One (1950); Swain (1950); Television Theater (1997–1998); Tense Moments from Great Plays (1922); The Birthmark (1987); The Ford Television Theatre (1952); The Ford Theatre Hour (1950); The Haunted Mind by Nathaniel Hawthorne (2022); The House of the Seven Gables (1910 / 1940 / 1967 / 2018); The New Adam and Eve (1915); The Scarecrow (1972 / 2000); The Scarlet Letter (1908 / 1910 / 1911 / 1913 / 1917 / 1922 / 1926 / 1934 / 1973 / 1979 / 1995); The Transgressor (1913); Twice-Told Tales (1963); Wakefield (2016); Young Goodman Brown (1972 / 1993); Your Favorite Story (1953–1954).

Born on this day – Gertrude Lawrence:

 

Gertrude Lawrence

Actress

Singer

Dancer

July 4, 1898 – September 6, 1952

Born on this day – Gloria Stuart:

 

Gloria Stuart

Actress

Artist

July 4, 1910 – September 26, 2010

Born on this day – Viviane Romance:

 

Viviane Romance

Actress

July 4, 1912 – September 25, 1991

Born on this day – Carol Andrews:

Carol Andrews

Actress

July 4, 1921 – February 27, 1956

Credits:

Blue Skies (1946); Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946); Ladies' Man (1947); Murder Is My Business (1946); Nob Hill (1945); Slightly Scandalous (1946); Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947); Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); The Bullfighters (1945); The Guilty (1947); The Lady Confesses (1945).

Born on this day – Mary Stuart:

 

Mary Stuart

Actress

Guitarist

Singer

Songwriter

July 4, 1926 – February 28, 2002

Credits:

Album:

Joanne Sings (1956), with Stuart and Percy Faith, music inspired by the TV show Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).

Movies and television:

50 Years of Soaps: An All-Star Celebration (1994); 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2003); Adventures of Don Juan (1948); After Hours: From Janice, John, Mary and Michael, with Love (1976); April Showers (1948); Bicentennial Minutes (1976); California Casanova (1991); Colt .45 (1950); Dark Delusion (1947); Dinah! (1975); Donahue (1985); Embraceable You (1948); Face of a Stranger (1991); Father Makes Good (1950); Good News (1947); Guiding Light (1996–2002); Help Wanted (1983); Henry, the Rainmaker (1949); Here We Go Again (1942); Highways by Night (1942); Hollywood Opening Night (1951); Hour Magazine (1981–1987); June Bride (1948); Ladies' Day (1943); Leave It to Henry (1949); Lights Out (1950); Living in a Big Way (1947); Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942); Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942); Mr. Lucky (1943); Musical Chairs (1975); NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration (1986); NY TV: By the People Who Made It - Part I & II (1998); Omnibus / Segment: The Bad Men (1952); One Life to Live (1968–2013); Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986); Seven Days' Leave (1942); Song of the Islands (1942); Springtime in the Rockies (1942); Stars Over Hollywood (1950); The 12th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1985); The 1st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1974); The 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2001); The 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2003); The Big Punch (1948); The Big Street (1942); The Bob Braun Show (1976–1982); The Canterbury Tales (1972); The Cariboo Trail (1950); The David Frost Show (1972); The David Letterman Show (1980); The Dick Cavett Show (1968); The Falcon Strikes Back (1943); The Girl from Jones Beach (1949); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime);  (1978); The Hucksters (1947); The Mike Douglas Show (1965–1979); The Regis Philbin Show (1982); The Unfinished Dance (1947); The Web (1950); This Land Is Mine (1943); This Time for Keeps (1947); Thunderhoof (1948); Today (1980); Tomorrow Coast to Coast (1976); Triple Threat (1948); Week-End in Havana (1941); When Angels Fly (1983).

Born on this day – Neil Simon:

Neil Simon

Writer

July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018

Born on this day – Gina Lollobrigida:

 

Gina Lollobrigida

Actress

Photographer

Artist

July 4, 1927 – January 16, 2023

Born on this day – Bruce French:

Bruce French

Actor

July 4, 1945 – February 7, 2025

Credits:

21 Jump Street (1988); A Case for Murder (1993); ABC Afterschool Specials (1983); ABC Weekend Specials (1988); Airplane II: The Sequel (1982); All-American Girl (1994); Ally McBeal (2001); Ants! (1977); Baby Talk (1992); Barbarians at the Gate (1993); Beautiful Boy (2010); Beginners (2010); Benson (1983); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997); Biography (1987); Black Eagle (1988); Bloodbrothers (1978); Bones (2006); Boston Legal (2008); Boston Public (2003); Caroline in the City (1999); CBS Summer Playhouse (1987); Cheers (1989); Christine (1983); City of Angels (2000); Coach (1996); Coming Home (1978); Crash (2009); Criminal Minds (2008); Crossing Jordan (2003); Curse of the Black Widow (1977); Dallas (1981–1982); Dark and Stormy Night (2009); Deadly Intentions (1985); Designing Women (1989); Dharma & Greg (1999); Dirty Sexy Money (2008); Eli Stone (2008); Enough (2002); Falcon Crest (1986–1988); Fame (1983); Family Ties (1982); First Family (1980); Fletch (1985); Gilmore Girls (2003); Grey's Anatomy (2009); Grounded for Life (2001); GUNS (1976); Hardball (1989); Hardcastle and McCormick (1983–1985); Hawthorne (2009); Head Cases (2005); Helter Skelter (1976); Herman's Head (1993); Highway to Heaven (1987); Hill Street Blues (1984); House (2006); Hudson Street (1996); In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing (1990); It's a Horrible Life (2010); Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993); JAG (2002); Jagged Edge (1985); Jake and the Fatman (1991); Jane Doe: Ties That Bind (2007); Jurassic Park III (2001); Justify the Means (2009); Kaz (1979); Knots Landing (1984); L.A. Law (1986); Leave 'em Laughing (1981); Leaving L.A. (1997); Legal Eagles (1986); Lottery! (1983); Love, Sidney (1982); Mad Men (2007); Magnum, P.I. (1983); Man on a Swing (1974); Martians Go Home (1989); Matlock (1987); Men Behaving Badly (1996); Mission: Impossible III (2006); Moonlighting (1988); Mr. Deeds (2002); Mr. Mom (1983); Mr. Smith (1983); Murder Ordained (1987); Murphy's Romance (1985); Mysterious Two (1982); NCIS (2006); Newhart (1986); Night Court (1989); Pacific Palisades (1997); Party of Five (1996); Passions (1999–2008); Picket Fences (1994); Pipe Dreams (1976); Providence (2000); Raising the Bar (2008); Rendezvous Hotel (1979); Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985); Rollercoaster (1977); Roots: The Next Generations (1979); Ruby and Oswald (1978); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1987); Sexual Life (2004); Silver Spoons (1985); Simon & Simon (1988); Snoops (1989); Soap (1979); Sorority Boys (2002); Special Bulletin (1983); Special Thanks to Roy London (2005); Star Trek: Enterprise (2001); Star Trek: Insurrection (1998); Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991); Star Trek: Voyager (1995); Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama (1981); Strong Medicine (2000); Surrender (1987); Sweetwater (1983); Team Knight Rider (1997); Terror Out of the Sky (1978); Thank You for Smoking (2005); The A-Team (1984); The Boys Are Back (1995); The Bronx Zoo (1988); The Chisholms (1980); The French Atlantic Affair (1979); The Guardian (2004); The Lyon's Den (2003–2004); The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1993); The Outer Limits (1995); The Pentagon Wars (1998); The Popcorn Kid (1987); The Powers of Matthew Star (1983); The Practice (1997–2003); The Riches (2007–2008); The Savage Bees (1976); The Visitor (1997); The Waltons (1978); The Wayans Bros. (1997); The West Wing (2002); The Wishing Well (2009); Thieves (2001); Up All Night (2012); Valerie (1990); Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story (1993); Waiting for Godot (1977); Walkout (2006); War and Remembrance (1989); When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978); Where Pigeons Go to Die (1990); Who Is Julia? (1986); Who's the Boss? (1991–1992); Wildcats (1986).

On this day in movie history - Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)

Somebody Up There Likes Me

directed by Robert Wise,

written by Ernest Lehman,

based on the autobiography by Rocky Graziano with Rowland Barber,

was released in the United States on July 4, 1956.

Music by Bronislau Kaper.

Cast:

Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Harold J. Stone, Joseph Buloff, Sal Mineo, Ray Stricklyn, Robert Loggia, Steve McQueen, Angela Cartwright, Jack Orrison, Frank Campanella, Dean Jones.

On this day in music history - American V: A Hundred Highways, by Johnny Cash (2006)

American V: A Hundred Highways

by Johnny Cash

was released on this day in 2006

Track list:

Help Me; God’s Gonna Cut You Down; Like The 309 (the last song Johnny Cash wrote and recorded); If You Could Read My Mind; Further On Up the Road; The Evening Train; I Came To Believe; Love’s Been Good To Me; A Legend In My Time; Rose Of My Heart; Four Strong Winds; I’m Free From The Chain Gang Now.