ON THIS DAY
APRIL 29, 2022
FROM THE ARCHIVE APRIL 29, 1992
DUBLIN-BORN artist Francis Bacon died aged 82 yesterday, of a heart attack in a Madrid hospital. Bacon’s work, which usually depicted sex and death, was shocking to some – but critic Robert Hughes once described him as ‘possibly the most popular [artist] since JMW Turner’. APRIL 29, 2008 IRISH-AMERICAN gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger has appeared on a business magazine’s first ‘rich list’ – of criminals on the run. Forbes says the mob boss is sitting on an estimated €32million. Bulger, wanted for 19 murders in his years as head of Boston’s notorious Winter Hill gang, fled the US on an Irish passport 13 years ago as the FBI were about to arrest him. At one stage he was thought to be hiding out in Ireland with girlfriend Catherine Greig.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, 65. The screen star, pictured, has won three Best Actor Oscars – for his performances in My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood and Lincoln. London-born, he also holds Irish citizenship, and has a house in Annamoe, Co. Wicklow. He’s famous for his dedication to method acting - director Jim Sheridan recently revealed that Day-Lewis kept speaking in the Northern Irish accent he adopted for In The Name Of The Father for six months after filming ended, purely because he knew the a scene for the movie was being reshot. JERRY SEINFELD, 68. The US comedian and actor co-created 1990s sitcom Seinfeld, and still earns a fortune from it – Netflix paid $500million to air the series for five years. Seinfeld, who says he hopes to do stand-up ‘into my 80s, and beyond’, says his gift comes from his father who collected jokes during his war service.
BORN ON THIS DAY
TAMMI TERRELL (1945-1970). The US singersongwriter was discovered by Motown Records boss Berry Gordy who paired her with Marvin Gaye. The duo’s hits included Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and You’re All I Need To Get By. In 1967, Terrell collapsed into Gaye’s arms as they performed on stage, and it was found she had a brain tumour. She died two-and-ahalf years later, aged just 24. TIMOTHY TREADWELL (1957-2003). The environmentalist, pictured, became well known as a result of Werner Herzog’s acclaimed documentary Grizzly Man, which told the story of how Treadwell lived amongst bears at the Katmai National Park in Alaska. Tragically, Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were mauled to death in a bear attack – though he left behind remarkable footage of his interactions with the animals, which featured in Herzog’s film.
ON APRIL 29…
IN 1945, the US army liberates Dachau, the Nazi’s first concentration camp. IN 1980, the legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock dies, aged 80. WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Caul (c14th century)
A) A close-fitting woman’s indoor cap or hair net; B) To thump; C) Cloth used to cover the face of a corpse. (Answer below) PHRASE EXPLAINED To have them rolling in the aisles: Meaning to make an audience laugh hard; it comes from the PG Wodehouse novel Quick Service: ‘I made the speech of a lifetime. I had them tearing up the seats and rolling in the aisles.’
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.
Brian Clough (1935-2004), soccer boss.
JOKE OF THE DAY
SOMEONE tore the fifth month out of my calendar… I’m completely dismayed. Guess The Definition answer: A.