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Born 1466: Who was the soldier of fortune who became one of the most successful admirals of the Italian fleet?

Andrea Doria. Doria helped to drive the French out of Italy, although he worked with the French for a while. He spent much of his life trying to contain the Ottoman Empire. He was still active at age 84 fighting the Barbary pirates. He gave his name to several Italian warships and two United States' ships. A luxury liner, the Andrea Doria, sank after a collision near Nantucket in 1956, costing 46 lives.

Born 1810: Who manufactured and marketed the 'Gun That Won the West'?

Oliver Winchester. Oliver Winchester is given credit for manufacturing and marketing the automatic rifle that could be reloaded in a matter of seconds, although the invention is often attributed to Samuel Colt. He died in 1880. His daughter-in-law Sarah believed that the weaponry invented by her father-in-law brought evil into the world. She moved to San Jose, CA where she built a famous, strange and chaotic house.

Born 1835: Bobby Abel was one of the great English athletes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In what sport did he excel?

Cricket. Abel was the first man to 'carry his bat', meaning that he continued batting without an out from the start to the end of an innings. He was the first to score 2000 runs in consecutive years. In one year, 1901, he scored a remarkable 3309 runs.

Born 1912: This man broke the barrier that kept Black directors out of main-stream films with his film "The Learning Tree" (1969).

Gordon Parks. Renaissance man is a term used too freely. But Gordon Parks was a true Renaissance man. Parks was successful as photographer for Life Magazine, noted for his picture essays. He was a musician, a poet, a novelist, a journalist, an activist and a film-maker. "Learning Tree" was a semi-autobiographical film. After "Learning Tree" he directed "Shaft" (1971) and the sequel "Shaft's Big Score" (1972). These were greeted as 'blaxploitation' films but were a hit with the main-stream audience.

Born 1920: She was arguably one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen. She played the estranged wife of Dana Andrews in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), Danny Kaye's dream girl in "Up in Arms" (1944) and opposite James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949).

Virginia Mayo. The director, Raoul Walsh, called her the most natural talent that he knew. Many of the leading men of the time were cast opposite Mayo including Bob Hope, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Ronald Reagan, Kirk Douglas and Gregory Peck.

Born 1924: He made one of the most successful comic recordings of all time. He brought the catch phrase "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" into the language. Name him.

Allan Sherman. Sherman's rising star fell as quickly as it rose. He created the television program "I've Got a Secret". He issued a comedy album that reached number two on the Billboard survey. His Camp Granada with his "hello muddah, hello faddah" struck a cord with baby-boomers of the time. His career was promoted by both Harpo Marx and George Burns. However, heavy drinking, diabetes, weight gain and emphysema cut short his career at 48.

Born 1926: What actor created the role of Walter Denton on the classic early sitcom "Our Miss Brooks"?

Richard Crenna. Crenna was probably an under-rated actor as his early roles were in "Our Miss Brooks" as a clumsy crackly-voiced adolescent and Luke on "The Real McCoys". He pretty much escaped the sitcom characters and became a familiar face on television and films. Arguably, his best performance was as the Captain in "The Sand Pebbles" (1966), but many will remember him from the Rambo movies.

Born 1937: This director's films have garnered nine Academy awards, including "Gladiator" (2000), "Alien" (1979), and "Thelma and Louise" (1991).

Ridley Scott. Ridley Scott's "Hannibal"(2001) gathered 58 million dollars on opening weekend. "Blade Runner" (1982) is a cult classic. My personal favorite is "G.I.Jane" (1997) with Demi Moore. Most over-rated Ridley film: "Black Hawk Down" (2001).

Born 1948: What screenwriter and director produced "House of Games" (1986), "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992) and "The Spanish Prisoner" (1997)?

David Mamet. David Mamet is also a noted playwright. The dialogue he assigns to his characters is often very natural, such as people speak to each other day-to-day. Mamet also directs and produces.

Born 1971: He is regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of all time and an equally powerful hitter. He is known in the press as 'Pudge' or 'I-Rod'. Name him.

Ivan Rodriguez. I-Rod is a 16 time All-Star. He has been awarded 13 Golden Gloves. His career batting average hovers around .300 and he has hit over 300 home runs.