Featured people
Bernice Robinson A black beautician who became the first teacher of a literacy program on Johns Island, off the coast of South Carolina, talks about teaching adults to read and write in order to pass voter registration requirements during the mid-1950s and 1960s throughout the Southern states.
"I will never forget Anna Vastine. She couldn't read or write and it was the greatest reward when I had all the names up on the board one night, in jungle fashion, you know and I'd asked them could they pick their names out. Mrs. Vastine said, 'I see my name,' and she went down the list and she took the ruler from me and she said, 'That's Anna, that's my first name.' And then she went over on the other side up and down 'til she found Vastine and said, 'That's my name, V-A-S-T-I-N-E ,Vastine.' And goose pimples just came out all over me, because that woman couldn't read or write when she came in there. She was 65 years old."
Bernice Johnson Reagon A college student who participated in challenging the legality of segregated public facilities in her hometown of Albany, Georgia—a student protest that grew into one of the first city-wide mass Demonstrations of the Civil Rights Movement.
"Now I sit back and look at some of the things we did, and I say, 'What in the world came over us,' you know? But death had nothing to do with what we were doing. If somebody shot us we would be dead. And when people died, we cried. And we went to funerals. And we went and did the next thing the next day, because it was really beyond life and death. It was really like... Sometimes you know what you're supposed to be doing, and when you know what you're supposed to be doing, it's somebody else's job to kill you."
Bill Saunders A former worker in a mattress factory who now runs a community radio station in Charleston, South Carolina, and was involved in creating a hospital workers' organization at the Medical College Hospital in Charleston, which organized a 100-day-long hospital workers' strike in 1969.
"It was really an experience for me, because again, I was able to learn that there were whites tha were suffering the same way that blacks were as it relates to economics. Now, not having access to all of the restrooms, not getting into the lunchroom, they didn't have those problems. But, actually, they weren't making any money, and that's where the problem lies."
Rebecca Simpson Fought to get damage payments for the people in her community in Cranks Creek, Harlan County, Kentucky much of whose property was destroyed by a series of floods related to strip-mining abuses; succeeded in reclaiming much of the mountainous land around Cranks Creek.
"My education was just like a big black spot in my life. I couldn't go beyond that, I thought. I thought, probably if you try to do thing like I've done, you'd need, you know, like a college degree. But if you ain't got it, you have to go on without it. So I found out you don't have to be educated to do what you have to do."
Gail Story and MaryLee Rogers Two housewives from Bumpass Cove in East Tennessee helped organize community action to stop trucks from dumping hazardous chemicals in the garbage dump in their area.
"Oh mercy, five years ago, and now. Well we was jus ordinary housewives. We taught ourself to drive. We didn't go any place that we didn't take the kids, which was just to the grocery store and maybe to the Laundromat. We wasn't involved in anything, not even PTA. We didn't feel like we could donate anything. We didn't think there was anything we could do." — Gail
"First thing we should say: Our mothers taught us to be good mothers and wives— that's it. That was our role in life, you know. That's what was taught and that's what we did five year ago—watch soap operas. Now I don't even get to watch a soap opera. I never see a soap opera." — MaryLee
Myles Horton One of the founders of Highlander Folk School, a 50-year-old center for education and social action.
"I think the future is... well, as somebody said one time, 'it's out there.' It's not only out there, but it's ready to be changed. It's malleable, and there's nothing fixed that you can't unfix. But to unfix things that appear to be fixed, you have to not only be creative and imaginative, but courageously dedicated to the long haul."
Christopher Sean Lowe is an English musician, singer and songwriter, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Neil Tennant in 1981.
Arabella "Babe" Carey is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003, to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007, to October 31, 2008. Havins crossed over as character sporadically on One Life to Live from November 24, 2003 to February 2005. The character was killed off on the October 23, 2008 episode of the show, after suffering injuries during a series of tornadoes, although she reappeared briefly on June 2 and 29, 2009, as a ghost. In September 2011, Babe (Havins) briefly returned to Pine Valley as an apparition appearing to JR.
Mr. Happy Go Lucky is the 14th album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp. It was released on September 10, 1996. It was his first album released after his heart attack in 1994. Mellencamp's music on the album is said to reflect his brush with death. The album was recorded in Belmont, Indiana, in Mellencamp's Belmont Mall recording studio. The first single from the album, "Key West Intermezzo ," peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is his last Top 40 single in the United States to date. "Just Another Day" was the album's second single and stalled at No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Matthew Rose is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Joe Absolom from 26 August 1997 to 3 February 2000. He was introduced in 1997. In a deviation from typical casting protocol, the role of Matthew was constructed for Absolom after he auditioned for the production team; they were looking for new, raw talent and developed the character after they saw him perform. Matthew's most prominent storyline surrounded him being framed for murder and his wrongful imprisonment. The storyline captivated public interest with various newspapers starting nationwide campaigns for the character's release. Absolom decided to leave the soap, believing that the storyline could not be advanced further or bettered. He made his final appearance in February 2000 after taking revenge on his employer Steve Owen, the man who framed him for killing his old girlfriend Saskia Duncan on Valentine's Day 1999. Matthew was not killed off in the serial and producers at the time suggested that the door had been left open for a possible return.
Maggie Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister Frankie Stone. The character came to Pine Valley in 2002 after Frankie's death, and befriended Bianca Montgomery whilst investigating her sister's murder. The series portrayed Bianca as having fallen in love with Maggie, with Maggie initially maintaining that she is only interested in men. The series featured her dating several men, taking a few of them to bed, sometimes out of confusion and other times out of a clear attempt to dispel her growing romantic attraction to Bianca. The two eventually become girlfriends, though heartbreak follows.
Andrew Van de Kamp is a fictional character in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives played by Shawn Pyfrom, and is the son of one of the title characters, Bree Van de Kamp, and her first husband Rex Van de Kamp.
"Save You" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released in February 2003 as the second single from the band's seventh studio album, Riot Act (2002). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music primarily written by guitarist Mike McCready. The song peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror .
9 is the seventh studio album by Public Image Ltd, but their ninth full-length release including the live albums Paris au Printemps and Live in Tokyo. It was released in May 1989 on the Virgin Records label.
Buddy Buddy is a 1981 American comedy film based on Francis Veber's play Le contrat and Édouard Molinaro's film L'emmerdeur. It is the final film directed and written by Billy Wilder.
Kim Sullivan Hughes is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. The character was portrayed by Kathryn Hays continuously from 1972. Kim was created by soap opera legend Irna Phillips and was based on Irna's own personality. She soon became one of As the World Turns's most popular characters. First appearing in August 1972, the actress become the fourth longest serving cast member on the show after Helen Wagner, Don Hastings, and Eileen Fulton when the show finished on air on September 17, 2010.
Chloe Lane is a fictional character from the American NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, portrayed by actress and singer Nadia Bjorlin. She was first introduced in November 1999, created by then-head writer Tom Langan. Bjorlin played Chloe nearly continuously from 1999 through 2005, and from 2007 until 2011. In 2012, Bjorlin announced during an interview with TV Guide that she would return to Days of our Lives once again, making her return on January 7, 2013, but just remaining through April 16, 2013. Bjorlin returned to the role, in a two-episode stint in celebration of the soap's fiftieth anniversary celebration on August 3, 2015. She returned for another visit in January 2016, and returned full-term in June 2016, departing in August 2019. She returned in August 2020 for a brief stint before returning permanently later that same year. Bjorlin departed once again in October 2023.
...All the Marbles is a 1981 American comedy-drama film about the trials and travails of a female wrestling tag team and their manager. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and stars Peter Falk, Vicki Frederick and Laurene Landon. The Pittsburgh Steeler hall of famer "Mean" Joe Greene plays himself.
Patricia Morrow is a former actress, best known for her portrayal of waif-like Rita Jacks in the primetime soap opera Peyton Place from 1965 to 1969.
Téa Delgado is a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live. The role was portrayed by Florencia Lozano from January 27, 1997, to March 2, 2000, and briefly in 2002. Lozano returned to the role once again on December 5, 2008, and remained through the original television finale aired January 13, 2012. In April 2012, Lozano become the latest One Life to Live actress to join General Hospital with her alter ego. Scheduled to premiere in May, with Roger Howarth returning with her, she premiered on the series on May 9, 2012, last appearing December 3, 2012. Lozano reprised the role when daily episodes of One Life to Live debuted on Hulu, iTunes, and FX Canada via The Online Network April 29, 2013.
"Spark" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos, released by Atlantic and EastWest as the first single from Amos' fourth studio album, From the Choirgirl Hotel (1998).
In the run-up to the 2008 United States presidential election, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was interviewed multiple times by CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric. The interviews were broadcast on September 24 and 25, 2008. Couric received the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award and the Walter Cronkite Award for Journalism Excellence for the interview.
Sian Powers is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Sacha Parkinson. Sian was introduced as a love interest for Sophie Webster. Sian joined the cast of Coronation Street alongside Ben Richardson in January 2009 as Sophie's schoolmates. They soon form a new group of teenagers along with Ryan Connor. Sian and girlfriend Sophie are Coronation Street's first lesbian couple. It was announced on 29 May 2011 that Parkinson had quit her role, and she made her last on screen appearance on 30 December 2011.
Lucy Coe is a fictional character from the ABC Daytime soap operas General Hospital and Port Charles. Portrayed by Lynn Herring, she first appeared in April 1986 on General Hospital, introduced as an alibi in a murder plot. In 1997, she made her second departure from the show and joined its now defunct spin-off Port Charles. There, she was involved in storylines revolving around vampires, where it was revealed that Lucy was a vampire slayer. The character stayed on Port Charles until October 2003, when the series was cancelled, and she made a brief guest appearance on General Hospital in July 2004. In November 2012, after more than eight years off-screen, it was confirmed that Herring was to return to General Hospital. She returned that December for the revival of the infamous Nurses' Ball, which she founded in the 1990s, as well as a continuation of Port Charles' vampire story arc.
Mariah Copeland is a fictional character from the American soap opera, The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Camryn Grimes. Introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, the character made her first appearance on January 27, 2014. Grimes had previously played the role of Cassie Newman from 1997 to 2005, when the character was killed off.
The Armorer is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in the Disney+ television series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Dressed in red body armor and a gold helmet, she is the leader of a tribe of Mandalorian warriors, which includes the title character of The Mandalorian. A mysterious, patient, and intelligent character, the Armorer provides spiritual guidance for the clan, and forges and repairs their armor.
