Mortimer Adler, on books:

 

In the case of good books,

the point is not how many of them you can get through,

but rather how many can get through to you.

- Mortimer Adler.

Born on this day – Niccolò Paganini:

Niccolò Paganini

Violinist

Composer

October 27, 1782 – May 27, 1840

Compositions:

24 Caprices for Solo Violin; Cantabile e Valtz; Caprice No. 13; Caprice No. 16; Caprice No. 24; Caprice No. 5; Carnival of Venice; Grande sonate de Paganini; Mosè-fantasia; Sonata per la Grand Viola; Violin Concerto No. 1; Violin Concerto No. 2; Violin Concerto No. 3; Violin Concerto No. 4; Violin Concerto No. 5.

Movies and television:

A Previous Engagement (2008); Always in My Heart (1942); American Horror Story (2011); Attention, Papa Arrives! (1991); Balestra (2024); Big-headed solitude (2021); Birth of the Blues (1941); Birthmarked (2018); Bleeding Hearts (2015); Canone Inverso (2000); Capriccio No. 24 (1989); Chez Léon Coiffure (2009); Colossal Youth (2018); Concert Magic (1951); Corpo d'amore (1973); Damages (2010); Dorian Gray (2009); Elementary (2013); Erbe Österreich (2020); Evening Urgant (2018); Face of the Trinity (2022); Gallipoli (1981); Grâce à la musique (1981); Great Performances (1998); Hacks (2025); Ikoku no oka (1949); Il caso dell'infedele Klara (2009); La course aux étoiles (1956); La garde-barrière (2011); Ladies in Lavender (2004); Lady Magdalene's (2008); Lady Vengeance (2005); Les grands interprètes (1967); Long Way Home (2018); Louisiana Music: Musical Clips (2019); Lux in Tenebris (2017); Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001); Metal Evolution (2011); Mientras el cuerpo aguante (1982); Monk (2002); Moto perpetuo (1972); Mozart in the Jungle (2015); My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014); Niccolò (2025); Nicolo Paganini (1982); Nyugalom (2008); Once Upon a Time (2016); Only Lovers Left Alive (2013); Ouija (2003); Paganini (1989); Paganini Guitar Fest - Opening Concert (2021); Paganini's Daemon (1997); Pra onde levam as ondas (2021); Rear Window (1954); Rhapsody in Black (2025); Robert és Robert (1985); Robinson Crusoe: The Great Blitzkrieg (2008); Saints Row (2006); Shine (1996); So You Think You Can Dance (2009); Song Without End (1960); Sparky's Magic Piano (1987); Spettacolo (2017); St. Ives (1998); Station Eleven (2021); Stay Tuned (1992); Stranger Strings (2021); Taz-Mania (1993); The American (2023); The Anxiousness of Paget over a Caprice by Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) No.1 in E Major, Op.1 (2014); The Art of the Calendar (2024); The Audition (2019); The Cat, Kafka and Myself (2007); The Cello (2008); The Days of No Return (1978); The Devil's Violinist (2013); The Five Pennies (1959); The Fly (2005); The Good Heart (2009); The Green Glove Gang (2022); The Magic Bow (1946); The Making of a Dream (2017); The Mantle of Love (1978); The Munsters (1966); The Shunned House (2003); The Song of Names (2019); The South Bank Show (1978); The Temptation Game (2015); The Truth (1960); The Uncertainty Principle (2002); The Velvet Underground (2021); Tom-ic Energy (1965); Uvolnete se, prosím (2005); Violin Masters: Two Gentlemen of Cremona (2010); Vitus (2006); Watching (1988); What? Where? When? (1986); Your Lie in April (2016).

Born on this day – Jane Murfin:

Jane Murfin

Writer

Director

October 27, 1884 – August 10, 1955

Credits:

The Women (2008); Ponds Theater (1953); Broadway Television Theatre (1953); Dragon Seed (1944); Cry 'Havoc' (1943); Flight for Freedom (1943); Smilin' Through (1941); Andy Hardy's Private Secretary (1941); Pride and Prejudice (1940); Northwest Passage (1940); The Women (1939); Stand Up and Fight (1939); The Shining Hour (1938); I'll Take Romance (1937); That Girl from Paris (1936); Come and Get It (1936); Alice Adams (1935); Roberta (1935); The Little Minister (1934); Romance in Manhattan (1934); The Fountain (1934); The Life of Vergie Winters (1934); This Man Is Mine (1934); The Crime Doctor (1934); Spitfire (1934); Little Women (1933); After Tonight (1933); Ann Vickers (1933); Double Harness (1933); The Silver Cord (1933); Our Betters (1933); Rockabye (1932); Smilin' Through (1932); What Price Hollywood? (1932); Young Bride (1932); Way Back Home (1931); Friends and Lovers (1931); Caught Plastered (1931); Too Many Cooks (1931); White Shoulders (1931); The Pay-Off (1930); Lawful Larceny (1930); The Runaway Bride (1930); Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929); Dance Hall (1929); Half Marriage (1929); Side Street (1929); Street Girl (1929); Lilac Time (1928); The Prince of Headwaiters (1927); The Notorious Lady (1927); Meet the Prince (1926); The Savage (1926); A Slave of Fashion (1925); White Fang (1925); The Love Master (1924); Flapper Wives / play entitled: The Flaming Sign (1924); Brawn of the North (1922); Smilin' Through/ play entitled: Smiling Through (1922); Flapper Wives (1924); The Silent Call (1921); Playthings of Destiny (1921); The Amateur Wife (1920); The Right to Lie (1919); A Temperamental Wife / play entitled: Information Please (1919); Marie, Ltd. (1919); Daybreak (1918).

Born on this day – Lee Krasner:

Lee Krasner

Painter

October 27, 1908 – June 19, 1984

Movies and television:

American Modern Art: The Secret Weapon of the Cold War (2019); Close Up (1999); Hans Hofmann: Artist / Teacher, Teacher / Artist (2003); Jackson Pollock (1987); Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (2020); The New York School (1972).

Born on this day – Henry Townsend:

Henry Townsend

Blues singer

Guitarist

Pianist

October 27, 1909 – September 24, 2006

Credits:

Albums:

Blues Piano and Guitar (2019); Cairo Blues (1973); Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas (2007); More Devil's Music (2006); Mule / Expanded Edition (1980); Mule's Blues (2015); My Story (2001); St. Louis Blues Ace (1996); The 88 Blues (1998); The Blues in St. Louis, Vol. 3: Henry Townsend (1984); The Real St. Louis Blues (2001) 

Movies and television:

10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads (2007); Blues Like Showers of Rain (1970); Blues Like Showers of Rain / Legends of Country Blues Guitar (1994); Blues Story (2003); Thats the Way I Do It (1986); The Devil's Music (1979).

Born on this day – John Carson:

John Carson

Actor

October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963

Born on this day – Dylan Thomas:

Dylan Thomas

Writer

October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953

Credits:

Poems:

A Child's Christmas In Wales; A Grief Ago; A Letter To My Aunt; A Process In The Weather Of The Heart; A Refusal To Mourn The Death, By Fire, Of A Child In London; A Saint About To Fall; A Winter's Tale; After The Funeral (In Memory Of Ann Jones); All All And All; All All And All The Dry Worlds Lever; All That I Owe The Fellows Of The Grave; Altarwise By Owl-Light; Among Those Killed In The Dawn Raid Was A Man Aged A Hundred; And Death Shall Have No Dominion; Ballad Of The Long-Legged Bait; Because The Pleasure-Bird Whistles; Before I Knocked; Being But Men; Ceremony After A Fire Raid; Clown In The Moon; Deaths And Entrances; Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night; Do You Not Father Me; Dylan Thomas - Holy Spring; Ears In The Turrets Hear; Elegy; Especially When The October Wind; Fern Hill; Find Meat On Bones; From Love's First Fever To Her Plague; Grief Thief Of Time; Here In This spring; Hold Hard The Ancient Minutes; Hold Hard, These Ancient Minutes In The Cuckoo's Month; Holy Spring; How Shall My Animal; How Soon The Servant Sun; I Dreamed My Genesis; I Fellowed Sleep; I Have Longed To Move Away; I Make This In A Warring Absence; I See The Boys Of Summer; I, In My Intricate Image; If I Were Tickled By the Rub of Love; 'If my head hurt a hair's foot'; In Country Sleep; In My Craft Or Sullen Art; In The Beginning; In The White Giant's Thigh; Incarnate Devil; Into Her Lying Down Head; It Is The Sinners' Dust-Tongued Bell; January 1939; Lament; Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed; Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines; Limerick; Love In The Asylum; My Hero Bares His Nerves; My World Is Pyramid; Not From This Anger; Notes On The Art Of Poetry; O Make Me A Mask; On A Wedding Anniversary; On No Work Of Words; On The Marriage Of A Virgin; Once Below A Time; Once It Was The Colour Of Saying; Our Eunuch Dreams; Out Of The Sighs; Over Sir John's Hill; Poem In October; Poem On His Birthday; Prologue; Shall gods be said to thump the clouds; Should Lanterns Shine; Sometimes The Sky's Too Bright; The Conversation; The Conversation Of Prayer; The Force That Through The Green Fuse Drives The Flower; The Hand That Signed The Paper; The Hunchback In The Park; The Seed-At-Zero; The Tombstone Told When She Died; Then Was My Neophyte; There Was A Saviour; This Bread I Break; This Side Of The Truth; To Others Than You; To-Day, This Insect; Twenty Four Years; Unluckily For A Death; Was There A Time; We Lying By Seasand; When All My Five And Country Senses See; When I Woke; When Once The Twilight Locks No Longer; When, Like A Running Grave; Why East Wind Chills.

Movies and television

2nd House (1973); A Burning Hot Summer (2011); A Child's Christmas in Wales (1966 / 1987); A City Reborn (1945); A Dylan Thomas Memoir (1973); A Soldier Comes Home (1945); About Religion (1964); Alan Melville Takes You from A-Z (1959); Balloon Site 568 (1942); C.E.M.A. (1942); Camera Three (1961); Chaindance (1991); Chelsea Walls (2001); De schaduwlopers (1995); Doktor a besi (1966); Dylan Thomas: Return Journey (1990); Fern Hill (2005); Festival (1966); Folio (1959); Fuel for Battle (1944); Great Poets: In Their Own Words (2014); Interstellar (2014); Le beau samedi (1974); Miralls (1999); N'entre pas sans violence dans cette bonne nuit (2005); New Towns for Old (1942); No Room at the Inn (1948); Omnibus / Segment: Dylan Thomas Memorial (1953); On David's Day (1959); Onder het Melkwoud (1958); Our Country (1944); Paul Kelly: And Death Shall Have No Dominion (2018); Puerto Rico (1961); Rebecca's Daughters (1992); Rijanon (1984); Speaking Personally (1951–1959); Stone (1974); Stone Forever (1999); Tenth Edinburgh International Festival: An extract from Under Milk Wood (1956); The Battle for Freedom (1942); The Doctor and the Devils (1985); The Dying of the light (2020); The Hunchback in the Park (2014); The Mouse and the Woman (1980); The Outing (2019); The Poet Writes His Wife (2002); The Respectful Prostitute / Festival (1964); The Sunday Programme (2003); The Three Weird Sisters (1948); These Are the Men (1943); This Is Colour (1942); Titus (2001); Un siècle d'écrivains (1999); Under Milk Wood (1957 / 1971 / 1992 / 2014 / 2015 / 2021); Unter dem Milchwald (1960); Wales: Green Mountain, Black Mountain (1942); We Who Are Young Are Old (2010); Welsh Greats (2014).

Born on this day – Teresa Wright:

Teresa Wright

Actress

October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005

Credits:

Adventures in Paradise (1959); Betty Crocker Star Matinee (1952); Bill: On His Own (1983); Bonanza (1964); California Conquest (1952); Casanova Brown (1944); CBS Playhouse (1969); Celebrity Playhouse (1956); Climax! (1954); Count the Hours! (1953); Crawlspace (1972); Dolphin Cove (1989); Enchantment (1948); Escapade in Japan (1957); Festival (1965); Flood (1976); Four Star Playhouse (1955); General Electric Theater (1955); Grandpa Goes to Washington (1978); Guiding Light (1986); Hail, Hero! (1969); Hawkins (1974); Hollywood Opening Night (1952); Kraft Mystery Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1954); Lancer (1969); Lethal Innocence (1991); Lux Video Theatre (1951); Morning's at Seven (1982); Morningstar / Eveningstar (1986); Mrs. Miniver (1942); Murder, She Wrote (1988); NBC Special Treat (1979); No Room for Opal (1993); Our American Heritage (1960); Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1973); Perry Mason: The Case of the Desperate Deception (1990); Picket Fences (1996); Playhouse 90 (1957); Pursued (1947); Robert Montgomery Presents (1952); Roseland (1977); Schlitz Playhouse (1952); Screen Directors Playhouse (1956); Shadow of a Doubt (1943); Something to Live For (1952); Somewhere in Time (1980); Star Stage (1956); Studio 57 (1956); Sunday Showcase (1960); The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955); The Actress (1953); The Alcoa Hour (1955); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1964); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); The Capture (1950); The Christophers (1957); The Defenders (1964); The Desperate Hours (1967); The Devil's Disciple (1955); The DuPont Show of the Week (1962); The Elevator (1974); The Elgin Hour (1955); The Exorcist III (1990); The Fig Tree (1987); The Ford Television Theatre (1953); The Golden Honeymoon (1980); The Good Mother (1988); The Happy Ending (1969); The Imperfect Lady (1946); The Little Foxes (1941); The Loretta Young Show (1955); The Love Boat (1982); The Men (1950); The Pride of the Yankees (1942); The Rainmaker (1997); The Red Coat (1993); The Restless Years (1958); The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956); The Star and the Story (1955); The Steel Trap (1952); The Trouble with Women (1947); The Web (1957); The Wide World of Mystery (1976); Theatre '62 (1961); Track of the Cat (1954); Undercurrent (1957); Your Play Time (1955).

Born on this day – Nanette Fabray:

Nanette Fabray

Actress

Singer

Dancer

October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018

Credits:

A Child Is Born (1939); Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966); Aloha Paradise (1981); Amy (1981); Animal Catchers (1927); Baby Be Good (1925); Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1965); Burke's Law (1964); But I Don't Want to Get Married! (1970); Coach (1990); Fame Is the Name of the Game (1966); Fat and the Canary (1927); Fowl Play (1928); George M! (1970); Happy Anniversary and Goodbye (1974); Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978); Heebee Jeebees (1927); Here to Stay (1986); Hotel (1983); Howdy (1970); Laramie (1959); Love, American Style (1970); Magic Carpet (1972); Maude (1977); Murder, She Wrote (1991); NBC Experiment in Television (1967); Omnibus (1953); One Day at a Time (1979); Personal Exemptions (1989); Playhouse 90 (1956); Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968); Saturday Spectacular: High Button Shoes (1956); Startime (1960); Teresa's Tattoo (1994); The Alcoa Hour (1957); The Band Wagon (1953); The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949); The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County (1970); The Couple Takes a Wife (1972); The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967); The Golden Palace (1993); The Happy Ending (1969); The Jerry Lewis Show (1967); The Kaiser Aluminum Hour (1957); The Love Boat (1978); The Man in the Santa Claus Suit (1979); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1972); The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952); The Monroe Doctrine (1939); The Munsters Today (1989); The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939); The Subterraneans (1960); Westinghouse Playhouse (1961).

Born on this day – Ruby Dee:

Ruby Dee

Actress

Writer

October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014

Credits:
 
Books:
 

My One Good Nerve: Rhythms, Rhymes, Reasons (1986); Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears / Audio (1984); With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together (1998).

 

Movies and television:
 

14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008); 1982 (2013); 2003 Trumpet Awards (2003); 22nd NAACP Image Awards (1990); 39th NAACP Image Awards (2008); 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2001); A Certain Magical Pimpdex: Extended Edition (2019); A Colored Life: The Herb Jeffries Story (2008); A Place Out of Time: The Bordentown School (2009); A Raisin in the Sun (1961); A Simple Wish (1997); A Storm in Summer (2000); A Thousand Words (2012); A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner (1998); A Walk Through the 20th Century with Bill Moyers (1984); A Wealth of Wisdom (2004); Actor's Choice (1970); After Goodbye: An AIDS Story (1993); Alcoa Premiere (1963); All About Us (2007); All God's Children (1980); America (2009); America at the Movies (1976); American Experience (1990); American Gangster (2007); American Masters (1995 / 1999); American Playhouse (1985–1990); American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs (2013); An Ecstatic Experience (2015); An Evening at the Academy Awards (2008); An Evening of Stars: A Celebration of Educational Excellence (1998); An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Stevie Wonder (2006); An Evening with Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee (2002); And When I Die, I Won't Stay Dead (2015); Anyone for Tennyson? The Master Poets Collection (1976); Armchair Theatre (1966); Baby Geniuses (1999); Baby of the Family (2002); Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (2003); Betty and Coretta (2013); Betty Hughes and Friends (1970); Between the Lions (2001); Bicentennial Minutes (1975); Biography (2005); Black Girl (1972); Black Girls Rock (2010); Book TV (2004); Broadway Legends (2002); Buck and the Preacher (1972); Camera Three (1960–1965); Captive Heart: The James Mink Story (1996); Cat People (1982); CBC Show of the Week (1964); Character Studies (2005); Charlie Rose (1997–1998); Chelsea D.H.O. (1973); China Beach (1990); Christianity: The First Two Thousand Years (2001); Color Adjustment (1992); Cool Red (1976); Cop & ½ (1993); Cosby (1999); Crossing Over: How Roots Captivated an Entire Nation (2007); Crown Dick (1987); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2007); Dateline NBC: American Gangster: First Look (2007); Decoration Day (1990); Def Poetry (2004); Discovering William Greaves (2006); Do the Right Thing (1989); Domestic Differences (1997); Dooley's Not Dooby (2018); Dream Street (2010); East Side/West Side (1963); Easy to Get (1947); Ebony/Jet Showcase (1988); Edge of the City (1957); Entertainment Tonight (2008 / 2014); Evening Shade (1993); Fatherhood (2004); Finding Buck McHenry (2000); For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots (2010); Frankenpimp's Revenge: The Romeo and Juliet Massacre (2020); Freedom Never Dies: The Legacy of Harry T. Moore (2001); Freedom Spectacular (1964); Frontiers of Faith (1961); Go Man Go (1954); Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985); God's Gonna Trouble the Water (1998); Gone Are the Days! (1963); Great Performances (1982–1998); Great Performances / Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2021); Guiding Light (1952–2009); Hands Upon the Heart (1991); Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (2000); Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999); HBO First Look (2007); He Said, She Said (1970); History of the Negro People (1965); Homeward Bound (1994); Hughes' Dream Harlem (2002); I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979); Iconoclasts (2007); In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema (2007); Inside TV Land (2002); Intimate Portrait (2001); It's Good to Be Alive (1974); I've Got a Secret (1963); Jazztime Tale (1991); Jungle Fever (1991); Just Cause (1995); King of Stage: The Woodie King Jr. Story (2018); King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1969); La noche de los Oscar (2008); Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday (1990); Legends Ball (2006); Let Freedom Sing: How Music Inspired the Civil Rights Movement (2009); Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee (2014); Lincoln (1988); Little Bill (1999–2004); Little Bill Thinks Big! (2003); Little Bill: Big Little Bill (2001); Lockdown, USA (2006); Long Day's Journey Into Night (1982); Look Up and Live (1968); Lorraine Hansberry: The Black Experience in the Creation of Drama (1975); Love at Large (1990); Love in Syncopation (1946); Making Do the Right Thing (1989); Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story (2023); Meet Mary Pleasant (2008); Middle Ages (1992); Minty Comedic Arts (2019); Miss Smith of Georgia (1962); Mississippi, America (1996); Mr. and Mrs. Loving (1996); Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary (2012); Naming Number Two (2006); Nick Jr. Favorites Holiday (2006); No Way Out (1950); NY TV: By the People Who Made It - Part I & II (1998); On the Set of No. 2 (2007); Ossie and Ruby! (1980); Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson (2007); Our Virgin Island (1958); P.O.V. (2014); Passing Glory (1999); Password (1962); Peyton Place (1968–1969); Play of the Week (1960–1961); Police Woman (1975); Politics of Love (2011); Promised Land (1998); Reading Rainbow (1984–2001); Red & Blue Marbles (2011); Roots: The Next Generations (1979); Seven Times Monday (1962); Shelly Fisher (1999); Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart (2017); Sing Your Song (2011); Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood (1998); Soul! (1970–1972); Special Collector's Edition (2014); Spenser: For Hire (1987); Sports on the Silver Screen (1997); St. Louis Blues (1958); Steam (2007); Stories from the Edge / Segment: Tuesday Morning Ride (1996); Street Gear (1995); Take a Giant Step (1959); Taking Back Our Town (2001); Tavis Smiley (2008); Tenafly (1973); That Man of Mine (1946); The 15th Annual Women in Film Crystal Awards (1991); The 16th Annual Diversity Awards (2008); The 16th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1964); The 16th Annual Tony Awards (1962); The 2006 Black Movie Awards (2006); The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2015); The 31st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1979); The 43rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1991); The 48th Annual Tony Awards (1994); The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards (2014); The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008); The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery (1994); The Atlanta Child Murders (1985); The Balcony (1963); The Black Movie Awards (2005); The Bold Ones: The Protectors (1969); The Business of Hunger (1984); The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People (1974); The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990); The Defenders (1965); The Dick Cavett Show (1970 / 1990); The Directors (2000); The Doctors and the Nurses (1963); The DuPont Show of the Week (1962); The Ernest Green Story (1993); The Feast of All Saints (2001); The Fight Never Ends (1948); The First Year (1946); The Fugitive (1963); The Golden Girls (1990); The Great Adventure (1963); The Great American Pastime (1956); The History Makers (2005); The Incident (1967); The Insider (2004); The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (2000); The Jackie Robinson Story (1950); The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (2004); The Landlord (2009); The Making of American Gangster (2008); The Making of Stephen King's the Stand (1994); The Merv Griffin Show (1967–1968); The Mike Douglas Show (1965–1971); The Mo'Nique Show (2010); The New Neighbors (2009); The Oprah Winfrey Show (2008); The Oscars (2015); The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll (2009); The Poetry Hall of Fame (1993); The Roseanne Show (1998); The Sheriff (1971); The Sig Sakowicz Show (1972); The Stand (1994); The Tall Target (1951); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1963); The Torture of Mothers (1980); The Tyra Banks Show (2009); The Unfinished Journey (1999); The Wall / Segment: The Badge (1998); The Way Back Home (2006); The Wendy Williams Show (2011); Theater Talk (2014); Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005); To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (1972); To Tell the Truth (1963); Today (1989); Tony Brown's Journal (1978); Touched by an Angel (1999); Tuesday Morning Ride (1995); Turner Classic Movies Remembers 2014 (2014); TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004); Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives (2003); Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis (2005); Uptight (1968); Video Girl (2011); Watch Your Mouth (1978); Wattstax (1973); Wedding Band (1974); What a Guy (1948); What's My Line? (1972); Whitewash (1994); Windmills of the Gods (1988); Zur Nacht (1970).

Born on this day – Sylvia Plath:

Sylvia Plath

Writer

October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963

Credits:

The Colossus (1960); Ariel (1965); The Collected Poems (2008); Crossing the Water (2008); Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams (2008); Poems Selected by Ted Hughes (2009); Poems Chosen by Carol Ann Duffy (2019); American Poetry Now (1961); Mary Ventura & the Ninth Kingdom (2019); The Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume II (2018); The Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume I (2019); American Gothic Tales (1996); Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams (short story) (1968).

Movies and television:

Above Ground (2007); Biography (2004); Book Programme (1976); Daddy (2016); Great Poets: In Their Own Words (2014); Hunter (1988); In the Pink (1982); La veu latent (2022); Lady Lazarus (1991); Review (1971); Röda rummet (2003); Sylvia Plath: Inside the Bell Jar (2018); Ted Hughes: Stronger Than Death (2015); The Bell Jar (1979); The Colossus (2010); The Missing Me (2010); Three Women UK Radio Drama Festival 2023 (2023).

Born on this day – Steve Sandor:

Steve Sandor

Actor

October 27, 1937 – April 5, 2017

Credits:

Alamo: The Price of Freedom (1988); Alias Smith and Jones (1971); Amy Prentiss (1974); Baretta (1977); Barnaby Jones (1974); Bonnie's Kids (1972); Bronk (1975); Calendar Girl, Cop, Killer? The Bambi Bembenek Story (1992); Cannon (1972); Centennial (1978); Charlie's Angels (1976); CHiPs (1981); Civil Wars (1993); Death Valley Days (1967); Fantasy Island (1981); Fire and Ice (1983); Gunsmoke (1968); Hardcastle and McCormick (1985); Hell Town (1985); Hell's Angels '69 (1969); Hunter (1985); If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968); Ironside (1972); Jessie (1984); Knight Rider (1985); Lady Blue (1986); Livin' Fast (2015); Mad Bull (1977); Matt Helm (1975); Nakia (1974); One More Train to Rob (1971); Petrocelli (1975); Rough Night in Jericho (1967); Star Trek (1968); Starsky and Hutch (1975); Strike Force (1981); Stryker (1983); perman: The Animated Series (1998); T.J. Hooker (1982); Tales of the Unexpected (1977); The A-Team (1984); The Blue Knight (1976); The Bridge at Remagen (1969); The Dukes of Hazzard (1981); The F.B.I. (1971); The Fall Guy (1982); The Manhunter (1975); The Movie Murderer (1970); The Name of the Game (1969); The Ninth Configuration (1980); The No Mercy Man (1973); The Only Way Home (1972); The Platinum Triangle (1990); The Rookies (1974); The Six Million Dollar Man (1977); The Streets of San Francisco (1973); The Virginian (1970); The Yellow Rose (1983); The Young Country (1970); Three's Company (1980); Vega$ (1980).

Born on this day – Lara Parker:

 

Lara Parker

Actress

Writer

Teacher

October 27, 1938 – October 12, 2023

Credits:

The Job Interview (2016); Theatre Fantastique (2014); Doctor Mabuse: Etiopomar (2014); Doctor Mabuse (2013); Dark Shadows (2012); P.S.I. Luv U (1991); People Like Us (1990); The China Lake Murders (1990); The Highwayman (1988); Highway to Heaven (1987); One Life to Live (1985); Remington Steele (1983); Manimal (1983); Foxfire Light (1983); A New Day in Eden (1982); Rooster (1982); Capitol (1985-1986); Jessica Novak (1981); The Fall Guy (1981); This Is the Life (1980); Desperate Voyage (1980); Galactica 1980 (1980); Hagen (1980); Mrs. Columbo (1980); Hawaii Five-O (1978–1980); Once Upon a Family (1980); Barnaby Jones (1980); The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979); The Solitary Man (1979); The Lazarus Syndrome (1979); Sword of Justice (1979); The Lazarus Syndrome (1978); Quincy M.E. (1977–1978); Baretta (1978); Switch (1976–1977); The Incredible Hulk (1977); Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977); Alice (1976); Kojak (1973–1976); Stranded (1976); City of Angels (1976); Jigsaw John (1976); The Six Million Dollar Man (1974–1976); Doctors' Hospital (1976); Emergency! (1975); Mobile One (1975); Race with the Devil (1975); S.W.A.T. (1975); Adventures of the Queen (1975); Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1975); The Rockford Files (1975); Police Woman (1975); Lucas Tanner (1975); Airport 1975 (1974); The Chadwick Family (1974); Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1974); My Darling Daughters' Anniversary (1973); Medical Center (1973); Insight (1973); Save the Tiger (1973); The F.B.I. (1972); Kung Fu (1972); Night of Dark Shadows (1971); Dark Shadows (1967–1971); April in the Wind (1970); Hi, Mom! (1970); N.Y.P.D. (1968).

Books:

Dark Shadows novel series: Angelique's Descent (1998); The Salem Branch (2006); Wolf Moon Rising (2012); Heiress of Collinwood (2016).

Born on this day – Carrie Snodgress:

Carrie Snodgrass

Actress

October 27, 1945 – April 1, 2004

Credits:

8 Seconds (1994); A Night in Heaven (1983); A Reason to Live (1985); A Stranger in the Kingdom (1999); ABC Afterschool Specials (1983); Across the Tracks (1990); All She Ever Wanted (1996);Bartleby (2001); Blue Sky (1994); Blueberry Hill (1988); Chicago Hope (1995); Chill Factor (1989); Civil Wars (1992); Crossbow (1988); Death Benefit (1996); Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970); Easy Rider (1969); Ed Gein (2000); Eddie Dodd (1991); Equal Justice (1991); ER (1998); Fast Friends (1979); Friday the 13th: The Series (1988); Highway to Heaven (1984); Homework (1982); In the Heat of the Night (1989); Iron Jawed Angels (2004); Judd for the Defense (1969); Judging Amy (2002); Love's Dark Ride (1978); Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969); Medical Center (1970); Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis (1991); Murder, She Wrote (1986); Murphy's Law (1986); Nadia (1984); Pale Rider (1985); Phantom 2040 (1994); Quincy, M.E. (1982); Rabbit, Run (1970); Rainy Day Friends (1985); Reasonable Doubts (1992); Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story (1994); Shades of LA (1990); Silent Night, Lonely Night (1969); Sisters (1995); The Attic (1980); The Ballad of Little Jo (1993); The Forsaken (2001); The Fury (1978); The Impatient Heart (1971); The Outsider (1969); The Rose and the Jackal (1990); The Solitary Man (1979); The Virginian (1969); The West Wing (2003); The Whole World Is Watching (1969); The X-Files (1993); Touched by an Angel (1998); Trick or Treats (1982); Up Above the World (1997); White Man's Burden (1995); Wild Things (1998); Woman with a Past (1992).

Born on this day – Angus MacInnes:

Angus MacInnes

Actor

October 27, 1947 – December 23, 2024

Credits:

Don't (2025); Bobster's Podblast (2021); Tour de Force: Angus MacInnes on 'Force 10 from Navarone' (2020); Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016); Elstree 1976 (2015); Captain Phillips (2013); Vikings (2013); I Am the Architect (2012); Talking Piranhas (2010); I'll Be Right Here (2010); High Plains Invaders (2009); Dach (2007); Flight of Fury (2007); USS Constellation: Battling for Freedom (2007); Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006); The Big Forever (2006); The Black Dahlia (2006); Living the Quake (2006); The Jacket (2005); Fooling Hitler (2004); Hellboy (2004); Seven Wonders of the Industrial World (2003); Soraya (2003); Amen. (2002); Formula 51 (2001); Enigma (2001); Too Much Sun (2000); Yesterday's Children (2000); Rhythm & Blues (2000); Operation Delta Force 4: Deep Fault (1999); Eyes Wide Shut (1999); Space Island One (1998); McLibel! (1997); Over Here (1996); Emmerdale Farm (1996); Judge Dredd (1995); Paris (1994); Roughnecks (1994); Clue (1994); Between the Lines (1993); Lovejoy (1993); Sleepers (1991); Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1990); Spies Inc. (1992); The Play on One (1990); The Krays (1990); Screen Two (1990); Howards' Way (1989); Gross Anatomy (1989); Tailspin: Behind the Korean Airliner Tragedy (1989); Honor Bound (1988); Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988); A Father's Revenge (1988); The New Statesman (1987); Half Moon Street (1986); Loose Ends (1986); Evergreen (1985); John and Yoko: A Love Story (1985); Witness (1985); Bedroom Eyes (1984); Best Revenge (1984); The Edison Twins (1984); Louisiane (1984); ABC Weekend Specials (1984); Spasms (1983); Strange Brew (1983); Will There Really Be a Morning? (1983); The Sender (1982); Murder by Phone (1982); If You Could See What I Hear (1982); The Littlest Hobo (1980–1981); Outland (1981); The Great Detective (1981); Superman II (1980); Dirty Tricks (1980); Atlantic City (1980); Nothing Personal (1980); Force 10 from Navarone (1978); The English Programme (1978); Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977); Space: 1999 (1977); BBC Play of the Month (1977); Wodehouse Playhouse (1976); Play for Today (1975); Rollerball (1975).

Born on this day – Bernard Wrightson:

Bernard Wrightson

Artist

October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017

Credits:
 
Comic books:
 

Alter Ego vol. 3, #41 (2004); Aquaman Annual #4 (1998); Astonishing Tales #31 (cover inks) (1975); Back Issue! #6 (2004); Badtime Stories (1972); Batman #265, 400 (interiors) #241, 320, Annual #22 (covers) (1972–1998); Batman/Aliens miniseries #1–2 (1997); Batman: Hidden Treasures #1 (2010); Batman: Nevermore #1–5 (2003); Batman: The Cult #1–4 (1988); Berni Wrightson: A Look Back (1991); Berni Wrightson: Back for More (1978); Berni Wrightson: Master of the Macabre #1–4 (1983–1984); Berni Wrightson: Master of the Macabre #5 (1984); Bernie Wrightson: MASTER OF THE MACABRE (1993, Trading Card Series); Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein (1983); Captain Marvel #41–42 (interiors) #43 (1975–1976); Captain Sternn: Running Out of Time #1–5 (1993); Chamber of Darkness #7 (interior) #8 (1970); City of Others #1–4 (2007); Clive Barker's Hellraiser #1 (1989); Collected Purple Pictography #1 (1991); Comic Book Artist #4 (1999); Comic Book Marketplace #105 (2003); Comic Book Profiles #2 (1998); Conan the Barbarian #12 (1971); Creatures on the Loose (King Kull) #10 (1971); Creepshow by Stephen King (1982); Creepy #62–63, 77, 87, 95 (1974–1978); Cycle of the Werewolf, by Stephen King (1985); Dead, She Said #1–3 (with Steve Niles) (2008); Detective Comics #425 (1972); Doctor Strange Special Edition #1 (1983); Dreadstar #6–7 (1983); Eerie #58, 60, 62, 68, 72 (w/ Chaykin) (1974–1976); Epic Illustrated #8, 10, 22, 25, 30, 34 (interiors) #30 (1981–1986); Flinch #14 (2000); Frankenstein Alive, Alive! #1–3 (2012–2014); Frankenstein Mobster #7 (2004); Gargoyle #1 (1985); Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History by Daniel Wallace (2015); Giant-Size Chillers #3 (1975); Green Lantern Annual #7 (1998); Heavy Metal Special Editions vol. 10, #1 (1996); Heroes Against Hunger (1986); Heroes for Hope starring the X-Men #1 (three pages only) (1985); House of Mystery (1969–1978); House of Mystery vol. 2 #9; (cover) #1 (2009); House of Secrets #92; (covers) #93–94, 96, 100, 103, 106–107, 135, 139 (1971–1976); JLA Annual #2 (1998); Jonah Hex #9 (1978); Kong the Untamed #1–2 (covers) (1975); Marvel Graphic Novel #22 (Spider-Man: "Hooky") #29 (The Hulk and the Thing: "The Big Change") (1986–1987); MORE MACABRE (1994, Second Trading Card Series); National Lampoon's Very Large Book Of Comical Funnies (1975); Night Terrors #1 (2000); Nightmare #9–10 (1972); Nightmare Theater #1–4 (1997); Plop! #1, 5 (1973–1974); Punisher P.O.V. #1–4 (1991); Punisher: Purgatory #1–4 (1998–1999); Savage Tales (King Kull) #2 (1973); Secrets of Haunted House #5, 44 (covers) (1975–1982); Shadows & Light #1 (1998); Showcase (Nightmaster) #83–84 (1969); So Dark the Rose #1 (1995); Spectre #9 (1969); Spectre vol. 3 #58 (1997); Stuff Out'a My Head, by Joseph M. Monks (2002); Sub-Mariner #36 (inker) (1971); Superman/Batman Annual #3 (2009); Swamp Thing #1–10 (1972–1974); Tales of the Unexpected #4 (2007); Tarzan Le Monstre #11–12 (1998); The Art of Wrightson: A Pop-Up Portfolio (1996); The Berni Wrightson Treasury (1975); The Conan Grimoire, by L. Sprague de Camp (1972); The Conan Reader, by L. Sprague de Camp (1968); The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla, by Stephen King (2006); The House of Mystery by Jack Oleck (1973); The Incredible Hulk #197 (1976); The Lost Frankenstein Pages (1993); The Monsters Color the Creature Book (1974); The Mutants (1980); The National Lampoon Encyclopedia of Humor (1973); The Reaper of Love and Other Stories #1 (1988); The Reaper of Love and Other Stories (1988); The Shadow Vol. 2 #3, (1974); The Stand-Complete and Uncut by Stephen King (1990); The Studio (1979); The Tomb of Dracula #43 (1976); The Unexpected #116, 119, 128 (1970–1971); The Weird #1–4 (1988); Toe Tags Featuring George Romero #1–6 (2004–2005); Tower of Shadows #8–9 (covers) (1971); Treehouse of Horror #11 (2005); Twisted Tales #2 (1983); Web of Horror #1–3 (1969–1970); Weird Mystery Tales #1 (interiors) #21 (1972–1975); Welcome Back to the House of Mystery #1 (1998); Werewolf by Night #35 (1976); Witching Hour #3, 5 (1969); Wonder Woman Annual #7 (1998); Zombie Jam, by David J. Schow (2005).

 

Music album artwork:
 
Meat Loaf: Dead Ringer (1981); Obituary: Back from the Dead (1997).
 
Movies and television:
 

Batman and Harley Quinn (2017); Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones (2012); Biker Mice from Mars (2006); Bird of Steel!; COMIX: Beyond the Comic Book Pages (2016); Creepshow (1982); Creepy (2012); Dark Country (2009); Dark Dreamers (2011); Dita in Distress (1999); Fantastic Forum (2010); Frankenstein (2025); Frazetta: Painting with Fire (2003); Galaxy Quest (1999); Ghostbusters (1984); Heavy Metal (1981); Jennifer (2004); Just Desserts: The Making of 'Creepshow' (2007); Justice League Action (2016–2017); Justice League Action Shorts (2017); Justice League Dark (2017); Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020); Land of the Dead (2005); Miracles and Mystery: Creating 'the Green Mile' (2006); Monsters Among Us: The Creature FX of 'The Mist' (2008); Reign of Fire (2002); Riding the Bullet (2004); Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics (2010); Slimer Mode (2009); Space Truckers (1996); Spider-Man (2002); Superpowered: The DC Story (2023); Swamp Thing (1990–1993); Swamp Thing (2019); Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television (2004); Teen Titans GO! To the Movies (2018); The Faculty (1998); The Horror of It All: The Visual FX of 'The Mist' (2008); The Masters of Comic Book Art (1987); The Mist (2007); The Pit and the Pendulum (1991); The Return of Swamp Thing (1989); The Walking Dead (2017); The Wednesday Club (2017); Thir13en Ghosts (2001); Titans (2023); Untold Legends of Comic Books (2024); Walking the Mile (2000); When Darkness Came: The Making of 'The Mist' (2008); When Zombies Attack!! (2001).

On this day in movie history - Black Widow (movie & novel):

Black Widow

directed by Nunnally Johnson,

written by Nunnally Johnson, Hugh Wheeler, Richard W. Webb / Patrick Quentin,

based on the novel Black Widow a.k.a Fatal Woman by Patrick Quentin,

released in the United States on October 27, 1954.

Music by Leigh Harline.

Cast:

Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft, Peggy Ann Garner, Reginald Gardiner, Virginia Leith, Otto Kruger, Cathleen Nesbitt, Skip Homeier, Hilda Simms, Mabel Albertson, Edward Astran, Bea Benaderet, Mary Benoit, Nesdon Booth, Paul Bradley, Harry Carter, Paul Cristo, Oliver Cross, Frances Curry, Richard H. Cutting, Anthony De Mario, Franklyn Farnum, Dick Gordon, Robert Haines, Kenner G. Kemp, Paul Kruger, Robert Locke Lorraine, Virginia Maples, Harold Miller, Forbes Murray, Monty O'Grady, Leoda Richards, Loretta Russell, Cosmo Sardo, Jeffrey Sayre, Aaron Spelling, Bert Stevens, James Stone, Arthur Tovey, Michael Vallon, Geraldine Wall, Pat White, Frank Wilcox, Wilson Wood.

Recommended reading:

Black Widow

a.k.a Fatal Woman

by Patrick Quentin.

ASIN: B00231R78W

Published by Simon & Schuster.

Published 1952.

Description:

Duluth, a Broadway producer and amateur detective, is baffled when his wife, Iris, discovers the body of Nanny Ordway, an aspiring writer he had recently befriended. 

On this day in movie history - Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Rebel Without a Cause

directed by Nicholas Ray,

written by Stewart Stern and Irving Shulman,

based on a story by Nicholas Ray,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1955.

Music by Leonard Rosenman.

Cast:

James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Dennis Hopper, Edward Platt, Steffi Sidney, Marietta Canty, Virginia Brissac, Beverly Long, Ian Wolfe, Frank Mazzola, Robert Foulk, Jack Simmons, Tom Bernard, Nick Adams, Jack Grinnage, Clifford Morris, Dorothy Abbott, David Alpert, Jimmy Baird, Paul Birch, Harold Bostwick, Paul Bryar, John Close, Chuck Hamilton, Chuck Hicks, Skipper Huerta, Louise Lane, Nelson Leigh, David McMahon, Edward McNally, Peter Miller, Ralph Moratz, Bruce Noonan, House Peters Jr., Stephanie Pond-Smith, Charles Postal, Nicholas Ray, Gus Schilling, Almira Sessions, Joel Smith, Bert Stevens, Dick Wessel, Robert B. Williams.

On this day in movie and book history - The Valachi Papers (1972 and 1968)

The Valachi Papers

directed by Terence Young,

written by Stephen Geller, Massimo De Rita and Dino Maiuri,

based on the book by Peter Maas,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1972.

Music by Armando Trovajoli and Riz Ortolani.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, Angelo Infanti, Guido Leontini, María Baxa, Mario Pilar, Franco Borelli, Alessandro Sperli, Natasha Chevelev, Anthony Dawson, Fred Valleca, John Alarimo, Calogero Azzaretto, Joe Don Baker, Steve Belloise, Angelo Boscariol, Nestore Cavaricci, Massimo Ciprari, Giacomo De Michelis, Bruno Di Luia, Gianni Di Segni, Richard Dunne, Arny Freeman, Alfonso Giganti, Ron Gilbert, Frank Gio, Syl Lamont, Imelde Marani, Isabelle Marchall, Jason McCallum, Franco Ressel, Sabine Sun, Robert Trout, Steve Vignari.

Recommended reading:

The Valachi Papers

by Peter Maas.
 
Published by Harper Perennial.
First published 1968.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 006050742X
ISBN-13: 978-0060507428
 
Description:
 
“As fascinating as fiction, a bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members." – New York Times Book Review.
 
The First Inside Account of the Mafia.
 

The Valachi Papers is a biography written by Peter Maas, telling the true story of former mafia member Joe Valachi, a low-ranking member of the New York based Genovese crime family, was the first ever government witness coming from the American Mafia itself. His account of his criminal past revealed many previously unknown details of the Mafia. The book was made into a film (The Valachi Papers), released in 1972, starring Charles Bronson as Valachi. In October 1963, Valachi testified before Senator John L. McClellan's congressional committee on organized crime, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations. In the so-called Valachi hearings he gave the American public a firsthand account of Mafia activities in the United States.

 

In the 1960s a disgruntled soldier in New York's Genovese Crime Family decided to spill his guts. His name was Joseph Valachi. Daring to break the Mob's code of silence for the first time, Valachi detailed the organization of organized crime from the capos, or bosses, of every Family, to the hit men who "clipped" rivals and turncoats. With a phenomenal memory for names, dates, addresses, phone numbers – and where the bodies were buried – Joe Valachi provided the chilling facts that led to the arrest and conviction of America's major crime figures.

 

The rest is history.
 

Never again would the Mob be protected by secrecy. For the Mafia, Valachi's name would become synonymous with betrayal. But his stunning exposé broke the back of America's Cosa Nostra and stands today as the classic about America's Mob, a fascinating tale of power and terror, big money, crime. . . and murder.

 

The bloody history of the Mafia as lived by one of its members.
 
“A highly readable narrative…. A story littered with bodies and unsolved crimes, betrayals and beatings, oaths, ritual, and revenge.” – Newsweek.
 
“A classic on crime.” – Life.