Sunday, August 23, 2026

Born on this day – Nelson DeMille:

 

Nelson DeMille


Writer

August 23, 1943 – September 17, 2024
Credits:
 
Books:
 
A Poison That Leaves No Trace: With Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle (2002); An Acceptable Sacrifice (2012); Blood Lines (2023); Book Club (2014); By the Rivers of Babylon (1978); Cannibal (1975); Cathedral (1981); Citadel (2016); Condor in the Stacks (2015); Dead Dames Don't Sing (2016); Death Benefits (2012); Death Leaves a Bookmark (2012); Every Seven Years (2015); From the Queen (2015); From the Queen (2015); Getaway (2017); Hoodoo Harry (2017); In the Shadow of the Master (2003); It's in the Book (2014); MatchUp (2017); Mayday (1979); Mystery, Inc. (2015); Night Fall (2004); Plum Island (1997); Pronghorns of the Third Reich (2012); Radiant Angel / A Quiet End (2015); Reconciliation Day (2016); Remaindered (2014); Rendezvous (2012); Rides a Stranger (2013); Seven Years (2018); Spencerville (1994); Tales of Terror (1986); The Agent of Death / The Death Squad (1975); The Best American Mystery Stories 2004 (2004); The Book Case (2012); The Book of Ghosts (2013); The Book of the Lion (2015); The Book of Virtue (2012); The Book Thing (2012); The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository (2018); The Charm School (1988); The Compendium of Srem (2014); The Cuban Affair (2017); The Dark Door (2022); The Deserter (2019); The Final Testament (2013); The Gate House (2008); The General's Daughter (1992); The Girl Who Did Say No (2020); The Gold Coast (1990); The Gospel of Sheba (2014); The Hammer of God (1974); The Haze (2016); The Hemingway Valise (2018); The Honeymoon Trap (2022); The Last Honest Horse Thief (2018); The Lion (2010); The Lion's Game (2000); The Little Men (2015); The Long Sonata of the Dead (2013); The Maze (2022); The Nature of My Inheritance (2014); The Night of the Phoenix (1975); The Panther (2012); The Plot Thickens (1997); The Pretty Little Box (2018); The Quest (1975); The Rich and the Dead (2011); The Scroll (2014); The Sequel (2014); The Smack Man (1975); The Sniper (1974); The Talbot Odyssey (1984); The Terrorists (1974); The Traitor (2022); The Travelling Companion (2016); Up Country (2002); What's in a Name? (2014); Wild Fire (2006); Word of Honor (1985).
 
Movies and television:
 
History of Air Combat: Fight for the Sky: Air War Over Germany (1997); ITW ThrillerFest Banquet Awards (2015); Life or Breath (2004); Mayday (2005); Megyn Kelly Today (2018); Silent Madness (1984); The 2nd Annual Quill Awards (2006); The Charm School (2024); The General's Daughter (1999); The General's Daughter: Behind the Secrets (1999); Word of Honor (2003).

Born on this day – River Phoenix:

River Phoenix


Actor

Musician

August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993

Credits:
Stand by Me: Deleted and Alternate Scenes (2019); Dark Blood (2012); The Thing Called Love (1993); Silent Tongue (1993); Sneakers (1992); Red Hot Chili Peppers: Breaking the Girl (1992); Dogfight (1991); My Own Private Idaho (1991); I Love You to Death (1990); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Running on Empty (1988); Little Nikita (1988); A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988); Ben E. King: Stand by Me (1986); The Mosquito Coast (1986); Circle of Violence: A Family Drama (1986); Stand by Me (1986); Family Ties (1985); Explorers (1985); Surviving (1985); Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985); Hotel (1984); It's Your Move (1984); ABC Afterschool Specials (1984); Celebrity (1984); Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982–1983).

On this day in movie and book history - The Big Sleep (1946)


The Big Sleep


directed by Howard Hawks,

written by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and Jules Furthman,

based on the novel by Raymond Chandler,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1946.

Music by Max Steiner.


Cast:
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers, Sonia Darrin, Dorothy Malone, Regis Toomey, Peggy Knudsen, Charles Waldron, Charles D. Brown, Bob Steele, Elisha Cook, Jr., Louis Jean Heydt, Trevor Bardette, Tommy Rafferty, Ben Welden, Tom Fadden, Theodore von Eltz.

Recommended reading:

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler.

Published by Penguin.

First published 1939.

ISBN-10: 0241970776

ISBN-13: 978-0241970775

Description:

The Big Sleep is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective, Philip Marlowe.

A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.

In 1999, the book was voted 96th of Le Monde's "100 Books of the Century".






On this day in movie history - The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)


The Pit and the Pendulum


directed by Roger Corman,

written by Richard Matheson,

based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1961.

Music by Les Baxter.


Cast:
Vincent Price, John Kerr, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies, Charles Victor, Randee Lynne Jensen.

On this day in movie history - Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)


Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB


directed by George Lucas,

written by George Lucas, Matthew Robbins,

released in the United States on August 23, 1967.


Cast: Dan Nachtsheim, Joy Carmichael, David Munson, Marvin Bennett, Ralph Stell.

Remade as THX 1138 (1970), directed by George Lucas.


On this day in movie history - Dead Again (1991)

Dead Again


directed by Kenneth Branagh,

written by Scott Frank,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1991.

Music by Patrick Doyle.

Cast:
Kenneth Branagh, Andy Garcia, Emma Thompson, Lois Hall, Richard Easton, Jo Anderson, Patrick Montes, Raymond Cruz, Robin Williams, Wayne Knight, Patrick Doyle, Erik Kilpatrick, Gordana Rashovich, Derek Jacobi, Obba Babatundé, Christine Ebersole, Vasek Simek, Hanna Schygulla, Gregor Hesse, John Gould Rubin, Campbell Scott, Steven Culp, Yvette Freeman, Miriam Margolyes, Ralph G. Morse, Peter Riga, Tina Rucker, Anthony Welch.

On this day in movie history - Down, Out & Dangerous (1995)


Down, Out & Dangerous


directed by Noel Nosseck,

written by Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes,

was released in the United States on August 23, 1995.

Music by Mark Snow.


Cast:
Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, Cynthia Ettinger, Steve Hytner, Christine Cavanaugh, Melinda Culea, Stuart Pankin, Jason Bernard, George DiCenzo, Sarah MacDonnell, Virginia Hawkins, Lyla Graham, Joe Nesnow, Richard Narita, David J. Partington, Michael Bard Bayer, Leonard Kelly-Young, Carole Wyand, Rusty Schwimmer, David Jean Thomas.