Born on this day – Mary Frann:

 

Mary Frann

Actress

February 27, 1943 – September 23, 1998

Credits:

American Horror Story (2011); An Evening at the Improv (1990); Apple's Way (1974); Battle of the Network Stars XVIII (1985); Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction / Segment: The Curse of Hampton Manor (1999); Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter (2024); Breakaway (1984); Burke's Law (1994); Cannon (1973); CBS All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade (1984 / 1985); CBS Comedy Bloopers (1990); CBS Tournament of Roses Parade (1985); Crook & Chase (1996); Dance 'Til Dawn (1988); Darkroom (1981); Days of Our Lives (1974–1979); Diagnosis Murder (1998); Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987); Entertainment Tonight (2024); Fantasy Island (1978); Fatal Charm (1990); Firehouse (1974); Get Smart (1968); Gidget's Summer Reunion (1985); Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood (1987); Hawaii Five-O (1972); History of the Sitcom (2021); Hotel (1984–1985); Hour Magazine (1984–1988); I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990); Into the Night (1991); King's Crossing (1982); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1964); Lancer (1969); Late Night with David Letterman (1986); Live with Kelly and Mark (1989–1990); Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1997); Lucky Chances (1990); Meet Marlon Brando (1966); Miss Universe Pageant (1986); Miss USA Pageant (1987); My Friend Tony (1969); Nashville Rebel (1966); Nero Wolfe (1981); Newhart (1982–1990); On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize (2002); Portrait of an Escort (1980); Quincy, M.E. (1977); Return to Peyton Place (1972-1974); Search (1972); Single Women Married Men (1989); Star Search (1985); Stone (1980); Super Bloopers and Practical Jokes (1985); That Girl (1968); The 13th Annual People's Choice Awards (1987); The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1985); The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999); The Arsenio Hall Show (1989); The F.B.I. (1974); The Fantastic Journey (1977); The Hitchhiker (1991); The Incredible Hulk (1978); The Infinite Power Workout (1998); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1972); The Merv Griffin Show (1984); The New Mike Hammer (1987); The Pat Sajak Show (1989); The Prom: It's a Pleasure! (1961); The Rockford Files (1975–1978); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1983); The TVTV Show (1977); The Wide World of Mystery (1975); The Wil Shriner Show (1987); The Wild Wild West (1968–1969); This Is Your Life (1993); TV's 50 Funniest Catch Phrases (2009); TV's Greatest Sidekicks (2004); Vicki! (1993); WKRP in Cincinnati (1981); Woman in the Rain (1976).

Born on this day – Roger Pratt:

Roger Pratt

Cinematographer

February 27, 1947 – December 31, 2024

Credits:

102 Dalmatians (2000); 12 Monkeys (1995); 4 Play (1989); Batman (1989); Bernard and the Genie (1991); Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990); Beyond Batman: Visualizing Gotham - The Production Design of Batman (2005); Black Angel (1980); Bleak Moments (1971); Brazil (1985); Build a Scene (2003); Chocolat (2000); Closing the Ring (2007); Concert for George (2003); Consuming Passions (1988); Dorian Gray (2009); Dutch Girls (1985); Frankenstein (1994); French Exchange (2017); Grey Owl (1999); Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005); High Hopes (1988); In Love and War (1996); In Too Deep: The Second Task (2006); Inkheart (2008); Iris (2001); Jabberwocky (1977); Jadoo (2013); Joséphine, ange gardien (2006); Keeping Rosy (2014); Meantime (1983); Mona Lisa (1986); Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975); Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979); Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life (1983); Mr. Bean (1991–1992); My Childhood (1972); Not I (2000); Paris by Night (1988); Performance (1998); Scoop (1987); Shadowlands (1993); Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight - The Legend Reborn (2005); Snow White and the Huntsman (2012); Swan National Office (1985); The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000); The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988); The Avengers (1998); The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983); The D.A. (1971); The Dollar Bottom (1981); The End of the Affair (1999); The Fisher King (1991); The Karate Kid (2010); The Line, the Cross & the Curve (1993); The Planets (1985); The Sender (1982); The Short & Curlies (1987); The Spirit of Cheshire (1980); The Storyteller: Greek Myths (1991); The Tractor Factor (1982); Troy (2004); V. (1987); Year of the Comet (1992).

On this day in movie history - Road Games (1981)

Road Games
a.k.a. Roadgames

directed by Richard Franklin,

written by Everett De Roche,

based on a story by Everett De Roche and Richard Franklin,

was released in the United States on February 27, 1981.

Music by Brian May.

Cast:

Stacy Keach, Jamie Lee Curtis, Marion Edward, Grant Page, Thaddeus Smith, Steve Millichamp, Alan Hopgood, John Murphy, Bill Stacey, Robert Thompson, Ed Turley, Angelica La Bozzetta, Colin Vancao, Paul Harris, Rochelle Harris, Tony Bishop, Abbe Holmes, Carole-Ann Aylett, Killer (the dog), Les James, Tom Ryan.

On this day in movie history - Number One with a Bullet (1987)

 

Number One with a Bullet

directed by Jack Smight,

written by Gail Morgan Hickman, Andrew Kurtzman, Rob Riley and James Belushi,

based on a story by Gail Morgan Hickman,

was released in the United States on February 27, 1987.

Music by Alf Clausen.

 

Cast:

Robert Carradine, Billy Dee Williams, Valerie Bertinelli, Peter Graves, Doris Roberts, Bobby Di Cicco, Ray Girardin, Barry Sattels, Mykelti Williamson, Jon Gries, Richard Minchenberg, Michael Goodwin, LaGena Hart, Alex Rebar, Artie Ripp, Daniel Demorest, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Valerie McIntosh, Eddie Frescas, John Durbin, Tony Pierce, Joyce Cunning, Larry Poindexter, Chris DeRose, Ken Gibbel, Jerome Chambers, Venice Kong, Stacey Binn, David Sargent, Gene LeBell, Nick Cinardo, Angela Elayne Gibbs, Bill Gazzarri, Manuel Márquez, José González, Jeff Jensen, David Efron, Spice Williams-Crosby, Jean Malahni, Casey Griffin, Timothy Noyes, Patricia L. Desmond, Ancel Cook, Shari Shattuck, John Hazelwood, Chris Brown, Willie H. Reaves, Yvette Cruise, Jason Scura, Daniel D. Halleck, Bill M. Ryusaki, Carl Ciarfalio, Manny Perry, Dyee Dysart, Virgil Wilson, Herb Tanney, Kim Marriner, Prince Hughes, Jim Wilkey, Bob Aprea, Michael Yama, Faith Minton, James M. Halty, Lorrie Marlow, Natalie Alexander, George Vasilios Choulos, Gerald Walsh, Ted Mehous, Claude A. Wyle, Kevin Seymour, Hope Kelley, Helen Kelly, Shawn McBurney.

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

M Squad
Season 2. Episode 22.

Episode entitled: The Take Over.

Released February 27, 1959.

Directed by Don Medford.

Written by B.X. Sanborn and Jack Laird.

Music by Benny Carter.

 

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Joan O’Brien, Murvyn Vye, Sylvia Stone, Kem Dibbs, John Sebastian, Tony Rock, Paul Baxley.

Victor Hugo, on books:

 

He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.
- Victor Hugo.

Recommended reading - The Best American Mystery Stories of the Nineteenth Century

 

The Best American Mystery Stories of the 19th Century

by Otto Penzler.

The Best American Series.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Published 2014.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0544302222
ISBN-13: 978-0544302228
 
Description:

An unparalleled treasury of crime, mystery, and murder from the genre’s founding century.

With stories by Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum, Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, and Jack London, The Best American Mystery Stories of the Nineteenth Century is an essential anthology of American letters. It’s a unique blend of beloved writers who contributed to the genre and forgotten names that pioneered the form, such as Anna Katharine Green, the godmother of mystery fiction, and the African-American writer Charles W. Chesnutt. Of course, Penzler includes “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” recognized as the first detective story, and with thirty-three stories spanning the years 1824–1899, nowhere else can readers find such a surprising, comprehensive take on the evolution of the American mystery story.