HOORAY FOR THE JOY-GIVERS! Last year in the first, joy-challenged months of the pandemic, the weekly “A ROUND OF APPLAUSE” series was launched to celebrate present-day joy-givers and remember joy-givers of the past.
Now, after months of social-distancing and daily gloom-and-doom news, we need a heapin’ helpin’ of joy more than just about any time in our country’s history. So, throughout 2021, each day of the year, we are celebrating the birthday of an American joy-giver born that day. (Note: On a few days, we couldn’t choose between two joy-givers, and there is one set of twins, so we included both and the full count for the year is 370.)
The 365 joy-givers reflect American diversity. There are humorists, singers, athletes, dancers, freedom fighters, cartoonists, motivators, musicians, artists, fashion designers, inventors, horticulturists, even a video game creator, a skateboarding star and a snowboarding Olympian. We honor joy-givers from the beginning of America in 1776 to 2021. There is even one great, joy-giving American horse.
No, we are not celebrating with one big birthday party. Instead, we are saluting the joy-giving honorees with a “virtual party” each week: 52 fun gatherings with quotable repartee, a suggested menu and recipes. You are invited to join in the celebration for a year filled with joy-giving, American heroes and heroines.
PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THESE JOY-GIVING AMERICANS we are celebrating throughout 2021:
January
1-PAUL REVERE, GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER, 2- ROGER MILLER, 3-VICTOR BORGE, 4-DON SHULA, 5-DIANE KEATON, 6-DANNY THOMAS, 7-ZORA NEAL HURSTON, 8-ELVIS PRESLEY, 9-EDGAR ALLAN POE, 10-GEORGE FOREMAN, 11-ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 12-JOHN SINGER SARGENT, 13-HORATIO ALGER, JR., 14-T-BONE BURNETT, 15-DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., 16-LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, 17-BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, MUHAMMAD ALI, 18-DANNY KAYE, 19-DOLLY PARTON, 20-GEORGE BURNS, 21-WOLFMAN JACK, 22-DANIEL WALLACE, 23-CHESLEY SULLENBERGER III, 24-MARIA TALLCHIEF, 25-ALICIA KEYS, 26-ELLEN DEGENERES, 27-MIKAIL BARYSHNIKOV, 28-JACKSON POLLACK, 29-OPRAH WINFREY, 30-BRETT BUTLER, 31-CAROL CHANNING
February
1-JASON ISBELL, 2-INA GARTEN, 3-NORMAN ROCKWELL, 4-CHARLES LINDBERGH, ROSA PARKS, 5-RED BUTTONS, 6-BABE RUTH, 7-CHRIS ROCK, 8-JOHN GRISHAM, 9-CAROLE KING, 10-JIMMY DURANTE, 11-THOMAS EDISON, 12-SID CAESAR, 13-GRANT WOOD, 14-JACK BENNY, RENEE FLEMING, 15-SUSAN B. ANTHONY, 16-LeVAR BURTON, 17-MICHAEL JORDAN, 18-LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY, 19-EDDIE ARCARO, 20-ANSEL ADAMS, 21-ERMA BOMBECK, 22-GEORGE WASHINGTON, 23-AZIZ ANSARI, 24-STEVE JOBS, 25-JACK HANDEY, 26-LEVI STRAUSS, 27-MARIAN ANDERSON, 28-FRANK GEHRY
March
1-DINAH SHORE, 2-DR. SEUSS, 3-ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, 4-KNUTE ROCKNE, 5-EVA MENDES, 6-BOB WILLS, 7-LUTHER BURBANK, 8-CYD CHARISSE, 9-BOBBY FISCHER, 10-CHUCK NORRIS, 11-LAWRENCE WELK, 12-JACK KEROUAC, 13-BILL CUNNINGHAM, 14-BILLY CRYSTAL, 15-SLY STONE, 16-JERRY LEWIS, 17-FRED ALLEN, 18-GEORGE PLIMPTON, 19-MOMS MABLEY, 20-FRED ROGERS, 21-SOLOMON BURKE, 22-STEPHEN SONDHEIM, 23-FANNIE FARMER, 24-HARRY HOUDINI, 25-ARETHA FRANKLIN, 26-DUNCAN HINES, 27-QUENTIN TARANTINO, 28-CHARLIE McCOY, 29-BROOKE ASTOR, 30-SECRETARIAT, 31-CESAR CHAVEZ
April
1-DEBBIE REYNOLDS, 2-MARVIN GAYE, 3-EDDIE MURPHY, 4-MUDDY WATERS, 5-BETTE DAVIS, 6-MERLE HAGGARD, 7-FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA, 8-BETTY FORD, 9-HUGH HEFNER, 10-MARK ROTH, 11-BILL IRWIN, 12-DAVID LETTERMAN, 13-AL GREEN, 14-LORETTA LYNN, 15-BESSIE SMITH, 16-HENRY MANCINI, 17-DON KIRSHNER, 18-SUPERMAN, 19-ALI WONG, 20-GEORGE TAKEI, 21-JOHN MUIR, 22-GLEN CAMPBELL, 23-SHIRLEY TEMPLE, 24-BARBRA STREISAND, 25-WALT WHITMAN, 26-CAROL BURNETT, 27-LIZZO, 28-JAY LENO, 29-WILLIE NELSON, 30-GEORGE BALANCHINE
May
1-KATE SMITH, 2-DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON, 3-BING CROSBY, 4-KEITH HARING, 5-JAMES BEARD, 6-RUDOLPH VALENTINO, 7-JOHNNY UNITAS, 8-DON RICKLES, 9-JO HARJO, 10-FRED ASTAIRE, 11-IRVING BERLIN, 12-GEORGE CARLIN, 13-STEVIE WONDER, 14-MARK ZUCKERBERG, 15-JASPER JOHNS, 16-LIBERACE, 17-SUGAR RAY LEONARD, 18-TINA FEY, 19-NORA EPHRON, 20-CHER, 21-FATS WALLER, 22-M. SCOTT PECK, 23-ROSEMARY CLOONEY, 24-BOB DYLAN, 25-BILL “BOJANGLES” ROBINSON, 26-JOHN WAYNE, 27-JAMES BUTLER “WILD BILL” HICKOK, 28-HUNTER “PATCH” ADAMS, 29-BOB HOPE, 30-BENNY GOODMAN, 31-JOE NAMATH
June
1-MARILYN MONROE, 2-WAYNE BRADY, 3-JOSEPHINE BAKER, 4-DR. RUTH, 5-PAT GARRETT (lawman), 6-HARVEY FIERSTEIN, 7-DEAN MARTIN, 8-JOAN RIVERS, 9-JACKIE MASON, 10-JUDY GARLAND, 11-PETER DINKLAGE, 12-JIM NABORS, 13-ASHLEY and MARY-KATE OLSEN, 14-BURL IVES, 15-SAUL STEINBERG, 16-TUPAC SHAKUR, 17-BARRY MANILOW, 18) WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST III, 19-MOE HOWARD, 20-BRIAN WILSON, 21-JUDY HOLLIDAY, 22-MERYL STREEP, 23-BOB FOSSE, 24-AMBROSE BIERCE, 25-ANTHONY BOURDAIN, 26-NICK OFFERMAN, 27-VERA WANG, 28-MEL BROOKS, 29-SLIM PICKENS, 30-DAVID ALAN GRIER
July
1-ESTEE LAUDER, 2-LARRY DAVID, 3-GEORGE M. COHAN, 4-NEIL SIMON, 5-P.T.BARNUM, 6-KEVIN HART, 7-SATCHEL PAIGE, 8-PHILIP JOHNSON, 9-TOM HANKS, 10-ARTHUR ASHE, 11-E.B. WHITE, 12-HENRY DAVID THOREAU, 13-HARRISON FORD, 14-WILLIAM HANNA, 15-CLEMENT MOORE, 16-WILL FERRELL, 17-PHYLLIS DILLER, 18-RED SKELTON, 19-HOWARD SCHULTZ, 20-CARLOS SANTANA, 21-ROBIN WILLIAMS, 22-FREDDIE PRINZE, 23-ALISON KRAUS, 24-JENNIFER LOPEZ, 25-MAXFIELD PARRISH, 26-SANDRA BULLOCK, GRACIE ALLEN, 27-BUGS BUNNY, 28-JIM DAVIS, “GARFIELD,” 29-KEN BURNS, 30-LISA KUDROW, 31-ANDY MacDONALD, skateboard champion
August
1-JERRY GARCIA, 2-JAMES BALDWIN, 3-TONY BENNETT, 4-JEFF GORDON, 5-NEIL ARMSTRONG, 6-LUCILLE BALL, 7-GARRISON KEILLOR, 8-ESTHER WILLIAMS, 9-BETTY BOOP, 10-JIMMY DEAN, 11-HULK HOGAN, 12-PETE SAMPRAS, 13-ANNIE OAKLEY, 14-STEVE MARTIN, 15-JULIA CHILD, 16-MADONNA, 17-MAE WEST, 18-PATRICK SWAYZE, 19-OGDEN NASH, 20-EERO SAARINEN, 21-WILKS CHAMBERLAIN, 22-DOROTHY PARKER, 23-GENE KELLY, 24-DAVE CHAPELLE, 25-LEONARD BERNSTEIN, 26-WILL SHORTZ, crossroad puzzle guru, 27-PAUL “PEE WEE HERMAN” REUBENS, 28-SCOTT HAMILTON, 29-MICHAEL JACKSON, 30-MOLLY IVINS, 31-BUDDY HACKETT
September
1-LILY TOMLIN, 2-ROMARE BEARDEN, 3-SHAUN WHITE, snowboarder, 4-BEYONCE’ GISELLE KNOWLES CARTER, 5-BOB NEWHART, 6-JEFF FOXWORTHY, 7-GRANDMA MOSES, 8-PATSY CLINE, 9-ADAM SANDLER, 10-ARNOLD PALMER, 11-JULIA REED, 12-JESSE OWENS, 13-DON HO, 14-JEREMY DUNHAM, video game designer, 15-ROBERT BENCHLEY, 16-DAVID COPPERFIELD, 17-HANK WILLIAMS, 18-LANCE ARMSTRONG, 19-ADAM “BATMAN” WEST, 20-DALE CHIHULY, 21-BILLY PORTER, 22-TED WILLIAMS, 23-RAY CHARLES, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, 24-F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, 25-WILL SMITH, 26-JACK LaLANNE, 27-GEORGE GERSHWIN, 28-AL CAPP, 29-JERRY LEE LEWIS, 30-TRUMAN CAPOTE
October
1-DONNY HATHAWAY, 2-GROUCHO MARX, 3-CHUBBY CHECKER, 4-BUSTER KEATON, 5-NEIL DeGRASSE TYSON, 6-CAROLE LOMBARD, 7-YO-YO-MA, 8-CECE WINANS, 9-JACKSON BROWNE, 10-HELEN HAYES, 11-SNL PREMIERES (1975), 12-DICK GREGORY, 13-LENNY BRUCE, 14-RALPH LAUREN, 15-I LOVE LUCY PREMIERES (1951), 16-ANDRE LEON TALLEY, 17-EVEL KNIEVEL, 18-CHUCK BERRY, 19-PETER MAX, 20-LEWIS GRIZZARD, 21-CARRIE FISHER, 22-JEFF GOLDBLUM, 23-JOHNNY CARSON, 24-MOSS HART, 25-KATY PERRY, 26-SETH McFARLANE, 27-FRAN LEBOWITZ, 28-JONAS SALK, 29-FANNY BRICE, 30-CHARLES ATLAS, 31-JULIETTE GORDON LOW
November
1-KINKY FRIEDMAN, 2-RICHARD SERRA, 3-ROSEANNE BARR, 4-WILL ROGERS, 5-ROY ROGERS, 6-JOHN PHILIP SOUSA, 7-BILLY GRAHAM, 8-BONNIE RAITT, 9-CARL SAGAN, 10-SINBAD, 11-JONATHAN WINTERS, 12-GRACE KELLY, 13-WHOOPI GOLDBERG, 14-P.J. O’ROURKE, 15-GEORGIA O’KEEFE, 16-GEORGE S. KAUFMAN, 17-RuPAUL, 18-MICKEY MOUSE, 19-CALVIN KLEIN, 20-DR. JOHN, 21-GOLDIE HAWN, 22-RODNEY DANGERFIELD, 23-BRUCE VILANCH, 24-DALE CARNEGIE, 25-JOE DiMAGGIO, 26-CHARLES SCHULTZ, 27-BRUCE LEE, 28-JON STEWART, 29-GARRY SHANDLING, 30-MARK TWAIN
December
1-RICHARD PRYOR, 2-GIANNI VERSACE, 3-ANDY WILLIAMS, 4-JAY-Z, 5-WALT DISNEY, 6-STEVEN WRIGHT, 7-LOUIS PRIMA, 8-JAMES THURBER, 9-EMMETT KELLY, 10-EMILY DICKINSON, 11-MARGE, cartoonist of “Little Lulu,” 12-FRANK SINATRA, 13-TAYLOR SWIFT, 14-SPIKE JONES and his CITY SLICKERS, 15-TIM CONROY, 16-BILL HICKS, 17-JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE, 18-STEVEN SPIELBERG, 19-CICELY TYSON, 20-ELSIE de WOLFE, 21-RAY ROMANO, 22-LADY BIRD JOHNSON, 23-MADAM C. J. WALKER, 24-HOWARD HUGHES, 25-HELENA RUBENSTEIN, 26-DAVID SEDARIS, 27-MARLENE DIETRICH, 28-MARY TYLER MOORE, 29-PAULA POUNDSTONE, 30-LeBRON JAMES, TIGER WOODS, 31-JOHN DENVER, DONNA SUMMER
Please give A ROUND OF APPLAUSE for these “365+ AMERICAN JOY-GIVERS of 2021.” And join us next week for our first “virtual, fantasy birthday celebration.”
HAPPY, JOY-FILLED, JOY-GIVING 2021!
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