August 09

"Angling may be said to be so like mathematics that it can never be fully learned."

Izaak Walton
(08/09/1593 – 12/15/1683)
English writer ("The Compleat Angler")

"Sexual intercourse began
in nineteen sixty-three
(Which was rather late for me)
between the end of the Chatterley ban
and the Beatles' first LP."

Philip Larkin
(08/09/1922 – 12/02/1985)
English writer ("The North Ship")

"No computer has ever been designed that is ever aware of what it's doing; but most of the time, we aren't either."

Marvin Minsky
(08/09/1927 – 01/24/2016)
US computer scientist ("The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind")

"He looks and talks like he just fell off Edgar Bergen's lap."

David Steinberg
(08/09/1942 – )
Canadian comic, actor ("Inside Comedy") , on Gerald Ford

"If they could cut off my head and put it onto another body that was, like, 20 years old, I would do that."

Melanie Griffith
(08/09/1957 – )
US actor ("Something Wild") , on cosmetic surgery options
(daughter of Tippi Hedren, mother of Dakota Johnson; was married to Don Johnson, Antonio Banderas)

"Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud."

Hermann Hesse
(07/02/1877 – 08/09/1962)
German writer ("Steppenwolf")

"I almost wish I could be more exciting, that I could match what is happening out there to me."

Whitney Houston
(08/09/1963 – 02/11/2012)
US singer ("I Will Always Love You")

"Are you joining the Army? Good, it'll make a woman of you."

Joe Orton
(01/01/1933 – 08/09/1967)
British playwright ("Loot")

"People generally treat me like I'm very intelligent and really, I'm much less intelligent than she is. Scully is insanely intelligent."

Gillian Anderson
(08/09/1968 – )
US actor ("The X-Files") , on her "X Files" character

"My whole life has been decided by fate."

Sharon Tate
(01/24/1943 – 08/09/1969)
US actor ("Valley of the Dolls")
(was married to Roman Polanski)

"My muse is a tiny, fairy-like creature from Gnardgnanesh: a country that only exists if you wish it to. He's about 4 inches tall, greenish, and resembles a little twig."

Thomas Lennon
(08/09/1970 – )
US actor ("Reno 911!")

"I wouldn't mind being in an American film for a laugh, but I certainly don't want to be in Thingy Blah Blah 3, if you know what I mean."

Audrey Tautou
(08/09/1976 – )
French actor ("Amélie")

"A cynic is just a man who found out when he was about ten that there wasn't any Santa Claus, and he's still upset."

James Gould Cozzens
(08/19/1903 – 08/09/1978)
US writer ("By Love Possessed")

"I'm shopping around for something to do that no one will like."

Jerry Garcia
(08/01/1942 – 08/09/1995
US guitarist, singer (Grateful Dead) ("Deal")

"I felt that I didn't want to be in show business anymore. I felt that I wanted to be a farmer. I was milking cows and shoveling terrible stuff and working all day. By the end of the day, all I wanted was my tap shoes—I thought, 'What am I doing? I better get back where I belong on the stage where we work at night and can sleep late!"

Gregory Hines
(02/14/1946 – 08/09/2003)
US dancer, actor ("Tap")

"Writers are the lunatic fringe of publishing."

Judith Rossner
(03/31/1935 – 08/09/2005)
US writer ("Looking for Mr. Goodbar")

"You've got guys in charge of shows who probably went to school for chemistry, and now they're executive producers."

Bernie Mac
(10/05/1957 – 08/09/2008)
US comic, actor ("The Original Kings of Comedy")

"Some men are so macho they'll get you pregnant just to kill a rabbit."

Maureen Murphy
(11/14/1952 – 08/09/2008)
US representative (IL)

"I'll have pie a la mode with ice cream."

Johnny Logan
(03/23/1926 – 08/09/2013)
US baseball (Braves) shortstop , ordering dessert

"Pro football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors."

Frank Gifford
(08/16/1930 – 08/09/2015)
US football player, announcer
(was married to Kathie Lee Gifford; died near his birthday)