Born on this day – Deanna Durbin:

Deanna Durbin

Actress

Singer

December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013

Born on this day – Andréa Parisy:

Andréa Parisy

Actress

December 4, 1935 – April 27, 2014

Born on this day – Tony Todd:

Tony Todd

Actor

Producer

Director

December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024

Credits:

21 Jump Street (1987); 24 (2004–2009); 24 in 24 (2009); 24: Redemption (2008); 84 Charing Cross Road (1987); A Night at the Silent Movie Theater (2012); Actors Entertainment (2015); Adam Green's Scary Sleepover (2016); Agoraphobia (2015); All Gone Wrong (2021); American Conjuring (2016); Andromeda (2002); Angel (2000); Are You Scared 2 (2009); Army of the Damned (2013); Artifact (2018); Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999); Back 4 Blood (2021); Bad Manners (2020); Badland (2019); Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2009); Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (2017); Be My Victim (2018); Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus (1996); Beg (2011); Behind the Monsters (2021); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1996); Beyond the Game (2016); Bird (1988); Bitch Ass (2022); Bizarre Transmissions from the Bermuda Triangle (2016); Black Fox (1995); Black Fox: Good Men and Bad (1995); Black Fox: The Price of Peace (1995); Bleeding Hearts (2015); Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation (2001); Boston Legal (2007); Boston Public (2000); Bravest Warriors (2014); Broken Cross (2016); Bryan Loves You (2008); Bulletproof 2 (2020); Burnzy's Last Call (1995); Butter (1998); Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012); Candy Corn (2019); Candyman (1992 / 2021); Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999); Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995); Catfish Christmas (2022); Caught Up (1998); Celebrity Chatter and Things that Matter with Elijah (2023); Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland: The Saga of Empire Pictures (2024); Central Bark (2020); Changing the Game (2012); Charmed (2002); Checking Out (2005); Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck (2007); Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments (2010); Chuck (2007–2011); Cold Case (2008); Colors (1988); Contamination: A Convention Story (2012); Control Factor (2003); Cop Rock (1990); Cowboy's Girl (2016); Criminal Justice (1990); Criminal Minds (2005); Crossing Jordan (2002); CSI: Miami (2002); Dark Assassin (2005); Dark Reel (2008); Dead in Love (2009); Dead Meat Horror Awards 2022 (2022); Dead of Summer (2016); Dead of the Nite (2013); Death House (2017); Destination Marfa (2021); Devilreaux (2023); Digging Up the Marrow (2014); Disciples (2014); Dixieland (2023); Dockweiler (2008); Dota 2 (2013); Dota Underlords (2020); Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021–2022); Double Toasted (2022); Dream in American (2011); Drive Me to Vegas and Mars (2018); Driven (1996 / 2015); Dust of War (2013); Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018); Enemy Territory (1987); Entertainment Tonight (2022); Excessive Force (1993); Falling Away (2012); Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery (1991); Fate Upside Down (2019); Film Pigs (2014); Final Destination (2000); Final Destination 2 (2003); Final Destination 3 (2006); Final Destination 5 (2011); First Look: Hatchet II (2011); Frankenstein (2015); FRO Thizzle Reviews (2022); From Jennifer (2017); Game Shop (2012); GeekRockTV (2019); Greatest Ever 80s Movies (2007); Greatest Ever Disaster Movies (2007); Greatest Ever Scary Movies (2006–2007); Groovey.TV's Celebration of Badassery Interview Series (2014); H.P. Lovecraft's Celephaïs (2023); Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007); Half-Life: Alyx (2020); Halloween Wars (2013); Hatchet (2006); Hatchet II (2010); Hatchet II: Behind the Screams (2011); Hatchet II: Meet the FX Team (2011); Hawaii Five-0 (2012); Heads Will Roll (2019); Heart of the Beholder (2005); Hell Fest (2018); Hellblazers (2022); Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1998); Holliston (2012); Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story (2022); Homicide: Life on the Street (1994); Horror Noire (2021); Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019); Horrors of the Zone (2009); House of Grimm (2005); HypaSpace (2005); I Am Fear (2020); I.O.U (2005); Immortal (2019); IMTK (2018); iMurders (2008); Inglorious Treksperts (2023); Insight (2021); Invisible Threads - From Wireless to War (2021); Ivory Hunters (1990); Jack the Reaper (2011); Jake and the Fatman (1990–1991); Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1995); Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020); Karma's a Bitch (2024); Kate & Allie (1989); Keeper of the City (1991); Kill Her, Not Me (2013); Law & Order (1994); Layers of Fear 2 (2019); Lean on Me (1989); Leap of Faith (2019); Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League (2015); Lego DC Super Heroes: Justice League - Attack of the Legion of Doom! (2015); Live Evil (2015); Love and Curses... And All That Jazz (1991); MacGyver (1989); Made in Hollywood (2018); Marvel Super Hero Squad Online (2011); Masters of Horror (2006); Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021); Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2024); Matlock (1990); Mercy Street (2006); Minotaur (2006); Murder, She Wrote (1996); Murder-Set-Pieces (2004); New York Undercover (1996); Night Court (1989); Night Night (2021); Night of the Living Dead (1990); Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015); Night Stalker (2005); Nite Tales: The Movie (2008); No me olvidaré de ti (2019); Norman's Corner (1988); NYPD Blue (1997); One for the Fire: The Legacy of 'Night of the Living Dead' (2008); Overdue Rentals (2022); Penance (2009); Peng! Du bist tot! (1987); Platoon (1986); Platoon: Brothers in Arms (2018); Prelude to Axanar (2014); Psych (2009); Radio Nowhere (2024); Realm of Shadows (2024); Red Carpet Report (2012); Reign of the Supermen (2019); Requiem (2018); Riverdale (2017); Room 104 (2017); Sabotage (1996); Sabotage: A Conversation with Tony Todd (2024); Sam Dew: Gone (2020); Scarecrow Slayer (2003); Scary Stories: Dark Web (2020); Scream at the Devil (2015); Scream Awards 2006 (2006); Scream Awards 2007 (2007); Scream Queen Stream (2016–2017); Scream: The TV Series (2019); Shadow Builder (1998); Shadow Puppets (2007); Shadow: Dead Riot (2006); Sidney J. Furie: Fire Up the Carousel! (2024); Silence (2002); Simon & Simon (1987); Sky Sharks (2020); Sleepwalk (1986); Smallville (2001); Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015); Só Visto (2009); Soldier of Fortune, Inc. (1997); Spider-Man 2 (2023); Splatter (2009); Standing in the Shadows of Shadow (2006); Star Trek Online (2010); Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995–1996); Star Trek: Elite Force II (2003); Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (1998); Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990–1991); Star Trek: Voyager (1995); Stargate SG-1 (2005–2006); Stir (1997); Stoker Hills (2020); Stream (2024); Sunset Heat (1992); Sushi Girl (2012); Sushi Girl: A Documentary (2013); Svengoolie (2006); Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos (2004); Sym-Bionic Titan (2010); Tales from the Hood 3 (2020); Ten Dead Men (2008); Terrordrome: Rise of the Boogeymen (2015); The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004); The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time (2022); The Absence of Light (2006); The Activated Man (2023); The Angry Geeks Show (2016); The Bride in Black (1990); The Bunker (2024); The Candyman Legacy with Tony Todd (2015); The Changed (2021); The Crow (1994); The Debt Collector (2018); The District (2002–2003); The Dogwalker (1999); The Eden Formula (2006); The Event (2010); The Eyes of Samir (2007); The Family (2011); The Final Wish (2018); The Flash (2015–2023); The Graves (2009); The Horrorhound (2007); The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 (2021); The Legend of Dragoon (1999); The Lockdown Hauntings (2021); The Man from Earth (2007); The Mannsfield 12 (2007); The Nana Project (2023); The Oath: Outbreak (2024); The Orange Box (2007); The Orville (2019); The Pandora Project (1998); The Prophecy: Forsaken (2005); The Quiet Ones (2010); The Reenactment (2021); The Rock (1996); The Secret (2000); The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2006); The Sun Devil and the Princess (2014); The Thirst: Blood War (2008); The X-Files (1994); The Young and the Restless (2013); Them (1996); Three Chris's (2010); Tom Cool (2009); Tournament of Dreams (2007); Transformers Prime (2012); Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009); Traveling Light (2021); True Women (1997); Turntable (2005); Two Faced (2017); UC: Undercover (2001); Underground Entertainment: The Movie (2011); Univers'l (1997); Vampire in Vegas (2009); VANish (2015); VH-1 Where Are They Now? (1999); Victor Crowley (2017); Voodoo Dawn (1990); Werewolf (1987); West of Hell (2018); Winnie Taylor's 4th & Inches (2024); Wishmaster (1997); Without a Trace (2007); Without Your Head (2020); Worth (2018); Xena: Warrior Princess (1997); Young Justice (2012–2013); Zombie Family (2012); Zombies (2016).

On this day in movie history - Armored (2009)

Armored

directed by Nimród Antal,

written by James V. Simpson,

was released in the United States on December 4, 2009.

Music by John Murphy.

Cast:

Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Amaury Nolasco, Fred Ward, Milo Ventimiglia, Skeet Ulrich, Columbus Short, Andre Jamal Kinney, Andrew Fiscella, Nick Jameson, Glenn Taranto, Lorna Raver, Garry Guerrier, Robert Harvey, Shawn Devorse, Gerry Carbajal, Mike Cochrane, Rebeca Cristian, Paul Grace, Elizabeth Rivera, Richie Varga.

On this day in television history - M Squad (1959)

M Squad
Season 3. Episode 11.

Episode entitled: Voice from the Grave.

Released December 4, 1959.

Directed by Francis D. Lyon.

Written by Stuart Jerome, Irwin Winehouse and A. Sanford Wolfe.

Music by Benny Carter.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Carole Mathews, Nan Leslie, Robert Karnes, Lyle Latell, Ed D. Cramer, Edward Kramer.

Born on this day – Joseph Conrad:

Joseph Conrad

Writer

December 3, 1857 – August 3, 1924

Credits:

The Lingard Trilogy: Almayer's Folly (1895), An Outcast of the Islands (1896), The Idiots (1896); An Outpost of Progress (1897); Tales of Unrest (1898); Typhoon (1902); Youth, a Narrative (1902); The Tale (1919); The Rescue (1920); The Shifting of the Fire (1892); Lord Jim (1900); Romance (1900); The Inheritors (1901); Heart of Darkness (1902); Nostromo (1904); One Day More (1905); The Mirror of the Sea (1906); The Secret Agent (1907); The Point of Honor (aka The Duel) (1908); A Set of Six (1908); The Brute (1908); The Nature of Crime (1909); The Secret Sharer (1910); The Smile of Fortune (1911); Under Western Eyes (1911); 'Twixt Land and Sea (1912); A Personal Record (1912); Some Reminiscences (1912); Chance (1913); The Inn of the Two Witches (1913); Victory (1915); Within the Tides (1915); The Shadow Line (1917); The Arrow of Gold (1919); The Black Mate (1922); The Rover (1923); Laughing Anne and One Day More (1924); Tales of Hearsay (1925); Suspense (1925); Last Essays (1926); Letters: Joseph Conrad to Richard Curle (1928); Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 1st Series (1928); The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and Mysteries (1936); The Tremolino (1942); And the Darkness Falls (1946); Heart of Darkness / The Secret Sharer (1950); Tales of Land and Sea (1953); Twentieth Century Short Stories (1959); The Portable Conrad (1961); Conrad's Manifesto (1966); Points of View (1966); The 4th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories (1969); Great British Short Stories (1974); Kurt Singer's Gothic Horror Book (1974); A Little Night Reading (1974); A Century of Short Stories (1977); Congo Diary and Other Uncollected Pieces (1978); Favourite Spy Stories (1981); The World's Library of Best Books Volume One (1988); The Return (2004); Youth / Heart of Darkness / End of the Tether (2010); The Heart of Darkness & Other Stories (2018); An Outpost of Progress and Other Stories (2019); The End of the Tether: and Other Tales (2022); The Lagoon (2023).

Movies and television:

Almayer's Folly (2011); An Outpost of Progress (1982 / 2016); Apocalypse Now (1979); Apocalypse Oz (2006); Art Carney Special (1960); Au bout du rouleau (1973 / 2002); BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950); Caracas (2024); Centre Play (1975); Cineficción Radio (2020); Con gli occhi dell'occidente (1979); Conrad (1994); Dangerous Paradise (1930); Dans une île perdue (1931); Der heimliche Teilhaber (1965); Devil's Paradise (1987); El corazón del bosque (1979); Face to Face (1952); Farornas paradis (1931); Film socialisme (2010); Folio (1957); Freya des sept îles (1973); Gabrielle (2005); Grossesse nerveuse (1993); Hadí plyn (2023); Heart of Darkness (1993 / 2019 / 2023 / 2024); Il Corsaro (1985); ITV Play of the Week (1959); ITV Television Playhouse (1960); Jej powrót (1975); Joseph Conrad's the Return (2014); La folie Almayer (1973); La ligne d'ombre (1973); La riva dei bruti (1931); L'agente segreto (1978); Laughing Anne (1953); Le roman du samedi (1981); Lone Wolf (2021); Lord Jim (1925 / 1965); Mashup at the Movies (2021); Nachricht aus Colebrook (1971); Naufragio (1978); Niebezpieczny raj (1931); Nostromo (1996–1997); Outcast of the Islands (1951); PaulWesNick (2019); Playhouse 90 (1958); Road Book (2021); Robert Montgomery Presents (1952–1956); Sabotage (1936); Schlitz Playhouse (1954); Secret Sharer (2014); Siesta Z (2017); Spec Ops: The Line (2012); Star Tonight (1955); Startime (1959); Sutra (1967); Swept from the Sea (1997); Tajný agent (2020); Teatr Polskiego Radia / Podcast Series (2004–2024); Teledrama (1957); Television Theater (1958–2017); The Duellists (1977); The DuPont Show of the Week (1962); The Ford Theatre Hour (1950–1951); The Golden Twenties (1950); The Lost Valley (2017); The Madhouse on Castle Street / BBC Sunday-Night Play (1963); The Rescue (1929); The Road to Romance (1927); The Rover (1967); The Secret Agent (1967 / 1975 / 1992 / 1996 / 2016); The Secret Sharer (1973); The Shadow Line (1976); The Silver Treasure (1926); The Young One (2016); Tropennächte (1931); Un reietto delle isole (1980); Under Western Eyes (1936 / 1962 / 1975); Victory (1919 / 1940 / 1945 / 1996); Windigo (1994).

Recommended reading: 

 

Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad.
 
Mass Market Paperback
First published 1899.
Published by Penguin Books.

ISBN 13: 9780140431681
ISBN 10: 0140431683
ASIN: B001KTM47C
 
Author Joseph Conrad based this novella on his own personal experiences, during a voyage up the Congo River in 1890.
 
This novella was the inspiration for the movie Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
 
Description:
 
Written in the last year of the nineteenth century, Heart of Darkness can be seen in many ways as the first twentieth-century novel.
 
Its climate of doubt and vagueness, its loss of moral confidence and its need for belief in the midst of spiritual wilderness, its exploration of the subconscious and its affirmation of individual freedom are all themes that were to have an influence on writers such as Orwell, Godling Céline, Borges and Eliot.
 
In Heart of Darkness Conrad unfolds the story of Marlow’s search for Mr Kurtz, the company agent whose ‘unlawful soul’ has been ‘beguiled beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations’ in his dealings with the natives of the Belgian Congo. Marlow’s adventure involves him in a crucial reappraisal of his own values. It is Kurtz, however, who attains to a vision of the inexpressible, terrifying reality of the heart in this extraordinary exploration of human savagery and despair.
 
Book cover image: The Steamer Stanley, by F. Hens.

Patricia A. McKillip, on books:

 

The odd thing about people who had many books was how they always wanted more.

– Patricia A. McKillip.