Born on this day – Bud Cort:

Bud Cort

Actor

Writer

Director

March 29, 1948 – February 11, 2026 

Credits:

Affections (2016); AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000); Altman on His Own Terms (2000); An Evening at the Improv (1989); And the Band Played On (1993); Arrested Development (2006); Bates Motel (1987); Batman: The Animated Series (1992); Behind the Scenes: 'But I'm a Cheerleader' (2001); Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976); Bob (1992); Brain Dead (1990); Brave New World (1980); Brewster McCloud (1970); But I'm a Cheerleader (1999); C.C.P.D. (1992); Camp Midnite (1989); Carol Leifer: Gaudy, Bawdy & Blue (1992); Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins (2022); Coyote Ugly (2000); Criminal Minds (2010); Die Laughing (1980); Dogma (1999); Dream Corp LLC (2014); Dream On (1992); Eagleheart (2012); Electric Dreams (1984); Faerie Tale Theatre (1982–1983); Funny or Die Presents... (2010); Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970); Girl in the Cadillac (1995); Going Under (1991); Gun (1997); Hal (2018); Harold and Maude (1971); Heat (1995); Hotels - Geschichte und Geschichten (1989–1990); Hysterical (1982); I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998); Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004); Insight (1982); Interview-Director Keith Gordon Discusses 'the Chocolate War' (2007); Invaders from Mars (1986); Iron and Beyond (2002); Isle of Dogs (2018); Jack's Place (1993); Jeff Lynne: Video (1984); Jitters (1997); Justice League Unlimited (2006); Love at Stake (1987); Love Letters (1983); M*A*S*H (1970); Made (2001); Making It in Hollywood (1976); Maria's Lovers (1984); Martini Ranch: Reach (1988); Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal (2005); Midnight Caller (1989); Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1969); Night of 100 Stars (1982); Night of 100 Stars II (1985); Out of the Dark (1988); Paid in Puke (2023); Pollock (2000); Pumping Iron (1977); Raw Iron: The Making of 'Pumping Iron' (2002); Room 222 (1969); SBS World News (2024); Screen Two (1995); She Dances Alone (1981); Shootout (2007); Siskel & Ebert (2000); Sledge Hammer! (1987); Son of Hitler (1979); South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000); Static Shock (2003); Sunday Night Live (1984); Superman: The Animated Series (1996–1998); Sweet Charity (1969); Sweet Jane (1998); Tales from the Darkside (1985); Tales of the Unexpected (1985); Ted & Venus (1991); Telephone (1986); The Annual American Cinematheque Award Honors Bette Midler (1987); The Big Empty (2003); The Chocolate War (1988); The Doctors (1968); The Governor & J.J. (1969); The Hallucinating Trip (1975); The Hitchhiker (1987); The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004); The Little Prince (2015); The Mask (1996–1997); The Million Dollar Hotel (2000); The Movies (2019); The Number 23 (2007); The One Dollar Diary (2002); The Pink Popcast (2023); The Roseanne Show (2000); The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984); The Strawberry Statement (1970); The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (1998); The Traveling Executioner (1970); The Twilight Zone (1988); Theodore Rex (1995); This Is an Adventure (2005); This Is Your Life (1971); Tom & Jerry Kids Show (1992); Ugly Betty (2007); Up the Down Staircase (1967); Why Shoot the Teacher (1977).

On this day in movie and book history - The Set-Up (1949 and 1928)

The Set-Up

directed by Robert Wise,

written by Art Cohn,

based on the book-length narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March,

was released in the United States on March 29, 1949.

Music by C. Bakaleinikof and Roy Webb.

Cast:

Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias, Alan Baxter, Wallace Ford, Percy Helton, Hal Fieberling, Darryl Hickman, Kenny O'Morrison, James Edwards, David Clarke, Phillip Pine, Arthur 'Weegee' Fellig.

Recommended reading:

 

The Set-Up

by Joseph Moncure March.
 
Filmed as The Set-Up (1949), directed by Robert Wise.
 
The Lost Classic by the Author of The Wild Party.
Illustrated by Erik Kriek.

Book-length narrative poem.
Published by Korero Press.
First published 1928.
Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 1912740087
ISBN-13: 978-1912740086

Description:
 

"A ringside seat at a heavyweight bout is what is offered by Mr. March in this astonishing narrative… episodes that make the blood boil, and the hair rise…tragic pathos so deep as almost to defeat any faith in man." – New York Times Book Review, upon original 1928 publication.

 

"It’s a cross between a graphic novel and a heavily illustrated epic poem. It has the feel of a lost treasure one would find on a back shelf of some forgotten bookstore. And yet, somehow it seems crisp and new. . . . If you can imagine there was a month-long collaboration where Eric Powell, Charles Burns and Will Eisner were all locked in a studio together, you will be able to envision exactly what this art looks like. Kriek’s illustrations employ black and grey tones with a moody effect. And he’s not handcuffed into any formal page layout or size. Some illustrations are full pagers, some are spot illustrations in weird shapes, and some overflow to two pages. There are no word balloons, and as this is a poem, there’s great flexibility and freshness to each and every page layout." – Pop Culture Squad.

 

"So prolifically illustrated it reads like a graphic novel. Striking artwork." – Bud's Art Books.
 

"The tale is told in relentless rhyme and pitiless beats presaging modern Hip Hop culture. This is dawn-era storytelling with classical themes delivered as primordial Rap in its purest, most primal form." – Comics Review.

 

Written in 1928, The Set-Up is a long narrative poem about the boxing underworld - a hard-boiled tragedy told in syncopated rhyming couplets. When the work was first published it made the bestseller list, and in 1949 it was turned into an award-winning film featuring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. This reprinting of the original, unchanged 1928 poem features dynamic, specially commissioned artwork by Erik Kriek that vividly conveys the story of Pansy, an up-and-coming black prize fighter who takes on all comers. When he was in the ring, "It was over before you knew it. He'd carve you up like a leg of mutton. And drop you flat with a sock on the button." Pansy's complicated love life leads to a spell in prison and his career subsequently takes a nosedive; but he continues to box until the fateful night his fight managers and opponent triple-cross him and he meets a grisly end at the hands of a vengeful gang.

Born on this day – Mary Johnson:

Mary Johnson

Blues singer

Accordionist

Songwriter

March 29, 1898 – July 20, 1983

Credits:

Album shown above:

Mary Johnson: Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order 1929-1936.

Track list: Muddy Creek Blues; Room Rent Blues; Black Men Blues; Western Union Blues; Dream Daddy Blues; Barrel House Flat Blues; Key To The Mountain Blues; Three Months Ago Blues; Dawn Of Day Blues; Friendless Gal Blues; Death Cell Blues; Morning Sun Blues; No Good Town Blues; Rattlesnake Blues; Mary Johnson Blues; Those Black Man Blues; Peepin’ At The Risin’ Sun; Deceitful Woman Blues; Black Gal Blues; Delmar Avenue; I Just Can’t Take It.

Born on this day – Mary Mayberry:

Mary Mayberry

Actress

March 29, 1907 – May 4, 1972

 

Credits:

A Blonde's Revenge (1926); A Dozen Socks (1927); A Small Town Princess (1927); Broke in China (1927); By Golly! (1920); Captain Careless (1928); Catalina, Here I Come (1927); Crazy to Act (1927); Dabbling in Art (1921); Daddy Boy (1927); Dog Law (1928); Gold Digger of Weepah (1927); Headin' Westward (1929); Home Talent (1921); Lightning Speed (1928); Midnight Daddies (1930); Restless Youth (1928); Smith's Army Life (1928); Smith's Holiday (1928); Smith's Modiste Shop (1927); Smith's Picnic (1926); Smith's Pony (1927); Smith's Restaurant (1928); Texas Tommy (1928); The Bargain Hunt (1928); The Beach Club (1928); The Best Man (1928); The Bull Fighter (1927); The College Kiddo (1927); The Godless Girl (1928); The Golf Nut (1927); The Jolly Jilter (1927); The Law of the Mounted (1928); The Law's Lash (1928); The Manhattan Cowboy (1928).

Born on this day – Eileen Heckart:

 

Eileen Heckart

Actress

March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001

Credits:

8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2002); A Doll's House (1959); Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1961); Alice (1976); All the Way Home (1971); Annie McGuire (1988–1989); Backstairs at the White House (1979); Banyon (1972); Barnaby Jones (1974); Ben Casey (1963); Breathing Lessons (1994); Broadway Legends (2002); Burnt Offerings (1976); Bus Stop (1956); Butterflies Are Free (1972); Campbell Summer Soundstage (1954); CBS Playhouse (1968); Corwin (1969); Cybill (1996–1998); Danger (1952); Dr. Kildare (1962); Ellen (1997); F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980); Flying High (1978); Games Mother Never Taught You (1982); Girl Talk (1967); Gloria (1983); Goodyear Playhouse (1953–1955); Gunsmoke (1965–1969); Hawaii Five-O (1975); Headliners & Legends (1998–2008); Heartbreak Ridge (1986); Heller in Pink Tights (1960); Highway to Heaven (1985); Home Improvement (1997); Hot Spell (1958); Josh, the Logan Legend (1986); Justice (1954); Kraft Theatre (1949–1957); Kraft Theatre / The Philco Television Playhouse (1949–1955); Lily (1974); Little House on the Prairie (1979); Lou Grant (1980); Love & War (1993–1994); Love Story (1973); Lux Video Theatre (1950–1951); Miracle in the Rain (1956); Morning Maggie (1987); Murder One (1996); My Six Loves (1963); Naked City (1962–1963); Nash Airflyte Theatre (1951); New York Television Theatre (1966); Nine to Five (1987); No Way to Treat a Lady (1968); One Life to Live (1986–1992); Out of the Blue (1979); Out There (1951); Partners in Crime (1984); Play of the Week (1960–1961); Playhouse 90 (1959); Ponds Theater (1954); Rhoda (1976); Robert Montgomery Presents (1950); Seize the Day (1986); Short Short Dramas (1952); Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956); Stephen King's Golden Tales / Segment: Do Not Open This Box (1985); Stuck with Each Other (1989); Studio One (1950–1957); Suddenly, Love (1978); Sunshine Christmas (1977); Suspense (1949–1952); Switch (1976); Table Settings (1982); Tales from the Darkside (1988); The 24th Annual Tony Awards (1970); The 31st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1979); The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973); The 46th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1994); The 5 Mrs. Buchanans (1994–1995); The 5:48 (1979); The 54th Annual Tony Awards (2000); The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002); The Alcoa Hour (1957); The Bad Seed (1956); The Big Black Pill (1981); The Big Story (1951); The Cosby Show (1987); The Defenders (1964); The Doctors and the Nurses (1965); The Ed Sullivan Show (1953); The Eleventh Hour (1963); The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986); The F.B.I. (1965); The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One (1974); The Felony Squad (1966); The First Wives Club (1996); The Ford Theatre Hour (1950); The Fugitive (1964–1967); The Hiding Place (1975); The Honeymooners (1977 / 1978); The Little Foxes (1956); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1975–1976); The Merv Griffin Show (1967); The Mike Douglas Show (1971–1977); The New Breed (1961); The Recovery Room (1985); The Streets of San Francisco (1972); The Suzanne Somers Show (1994); The Tree (1969); The Trip to Bountiful (1953); The Victim (1972); The Web (1951); To Tell the Truth (1968); Trapper John, M.D. (1981–1984); Trauma Center (1983); Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew Story (1993); Ultimate Betrayal (1994); Up the Down Staircase (1967); Wedding Band (1974); White Mama (1980); Windows (1955); Zandy's Bride (1974).

Born on this day – Bob Haymes:

 

Bob Haymes

Actor

Singer

Songwriter

March 29, 1923 – January 27, 1989

Credits:

Albums:

The Complete Capitol Collection (2006); That's All: Bob Haymes Sings & Plays Bob Haymes (1984).

Songs:

Ebb Tide; No Other Love; Now At Last; Road Show; That's All; The Next Time Around; With These Hands.

Movies and television:

American Idol (2006); Around the Town (1950); Bandstand (1966); BBC Show of the Week (1967); BBC Swingin' Christmas (2010); Beautiful But Broke (1944); Beyond the Sea (2004); Blonde from Brooklyn (1945); Blondie's Lucky Day (1946); Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945); Campus Hoopla (1946); Celebrity Time (1952); Days of Our Lives (2003); Everwood (2004); Fargo (2014); Ford Star Revue (1951); Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (1944); Gilmore Girls (2004); Great Performances (2005); Gulliver's Space Travels: Beyond the Moon (1965); Hey, Rookie (1944); Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999); Is Everybody Happy? (1943); It's a Business (1952); It's a Living (1988); It's Great to Be Young (1946); Mark Bautista: That's All (2013); Monkey Shines (1988); Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944); Sailor's Holiday (1944); Sex and the City (1999); Sing While You Dance (1946); So Dear to My Heart (1948); So You Think You Can Dance (2013); Sois jeune et tais-toi (2003); Songs for Sale (1951); Swing Out the Blues (1943); Television Screen Magazine (1946–1949); The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1963); The Gentleman Misbehaves (1946); The Impatient Years (1944); The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1960); The Money Jungle (1967); The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956–1958); The Wedding Singer (1998); Tootsie (1982); Tubby Hayes: A Man in a Hurry (2015); Two Señoritas from Chicago (1943); Variety Views, #116 (1943); Village Barn (1948–1949); We, the People (1949).

 

Born on this day – Derry Power:

 

Derry Power

Actor

March 29, 1935 – September 5, 2025

Credits:

2nd House (1973); A Celebration of Sean O'Casey (1980); A Man of Few Words (2000); Armchair Theatre (1971); Ballykissangel (1998–1999); BBC Play of the Month (1972); BBC Sunday-Night Play (1963); Bulman (1985–1987); Cribb (1981); Disco Pigs (2001); Educating Rita (1983); Escape (1967); Falling for a Dancer (1998); Far and Away (1992); Fergus's Wedding (2002); Festival (1963–1964); Frankie Starlight (1995); Full House (1972); Hide & Seek (2006); Home Is the Hero (1959); Intermission (2003); Into the West (1992); ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1971–1973); Keep It in the Family (1971); Kidnapped (1995); Le frère Irlandais (1999); Lock Up Your Daughters! (1969); Love Story (1964); Maigret (1963); Mission Top Secret (1995); Murphy's Stroke (1980); My Left Foot (1989); Never Put It in Writing (1964); People in Glass Houses (1975); Play for Today (1979); Rawhead Rex (1986); Remington Steele (1987); Rough Diamond (2007); Saltwater (2000); Screen Two (1986–1994); September (1996); Super Gran (1985); Tales from the Lazy Acre (1972); The Age of De Valera (1983); The Disappearance of Finbar (1996); The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1977–1979); The Fantasist (1986); The Government Inspector (1969); The Heart's a Wonder (1978); The Irish R.M. (1984); The Larkins (1963–1964); The Life of Reilly (1995); The Lodgers (1972); The Quare Fellow (1962); The Seventh Nocturne (1997); The Sinners (1970); The Tiger's Tail (2006); The XYY Man (1977); This Other Eden (1959); Three Wishes for Jamie (1987); Ulysses (1967); Underground (1970); Vikings (2014); Village Hall (1974); Warlords of the Deep (1978); Young Cassidy (1965); Z Cars (1964–1965).