Oct. 12, 1997 the day that singer John Denver was killed in a plane crash in Monterey Bay California was also my 40th Birthday. What makes it even more significant is that my girlfriend and I had traveled from L.A. to San Jose to celebrate with my family and were at the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk when the crash happened. Santa Cruz is just east of Monterey Bay and we were probably within 25 miles from the crash site. We didn't even know about the crash until it was reported on the News the next day. Always enjoyed John Denver's music and his film debut in OH GOD! It was quite sad to hear about and a 40th Birthday that I will always remember. I was not aware of his drunk driving charges. Wow, I'm getting flashes of the Anne Heche tragedy.
Please share if you like, any Events that had a personal connection or significance in your life.
I was driving to work on April 26, 1989 when I heard on the radio that Lucille Ball had died. April 26 is my birthday. Now every 26th of April I think of that radio announcement. I learned in later years she (in addition to her other countless achievements) was instrumental in the creation of Star Trek.
I share a birthday with a US president and an actress who rose to fame in the 80's. A US President and a film composer died on my birth day. (Same day but not the same months)
No event but one day almost 20 years ago I happened to see over at actor Richard "Jaws" Kiel`s own website that he had announced a personal appearance at a convention in Stockholm, Sweden later that year. It was this personal appearance announcement that led me to go to these Sci-Fi conventions here in Sweden. And there at these conventions I later on met several people who like me also went to these conventions and these people became my best friends. I would not have met them if I had not went to these conventions and I would certainly have not met them if I had not seen Kiel`s announcement at his website.
I share a birthday (which is also Bastille Day) with Ingmar Bergman, though I have yet to really get into his films.
Getting into more important historical events, my uncle died on 9/11. He was a firefighter and was helping people out of one of the towers when they collapsed (I was seven years old at the time).
British journalist Brian Walden was born 39 years to the day before me in the same ward of the same hospital. His 70s current affairs show, Weekend World, featured a theme tune (Nantucket Sleighride) by hard rock band (Mountain) which I believe was instrumental (hur hur) in the formation of my lifelong love of distorted electric guitar and rock/metal music.
