October 18 Birthday Wishes

Victor Sen Yung [1915 - 1980]
Inger Stevens [1934 - 1970]

Howdy Manco!!

Victor Sen Yung made his film debut in an uncredited role in the 1937 film, The Good Earth. His next roles were in Thank You, .Mr Moto and as the #2 son of Charlie Chan in the Chinese detective series of films. Victor appeared in approx 100 films between 1937 through the 1950.s He most often appeared as house boys, peasants or as an evil oriental villain. During the 50's, Victor began to appear on several western t.v. series, like Shotgun Slade, The Rifleman, Yancy Derringer and had a recurring role on the series, Bachelor Father as Cousin Charlie. It was during the late 50's, that Victor found the role he would become most famous for, that of Hop Sing, the Cartwright family's cook on the hit series Bonanza. Victor died in 1980 of asphyxiation, while attempting to use a faulty cooking stove for heating purposes.

Inger Stevens was a Swedish born beauty that first appeared in 1954 and immediately began appearing on t.v.series, like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza. Conflict, and The Millionaire, which led to movie roles opposite some of Hollywood's leading men, like Bing Crosby in Man On Fire, Cry Terror with James Mason and The Buccaneer with Anthony Quinn. .Miss Stevens was obviously a young, impressionable woman, who from the getgo, started developing emotional attachments to her male co-stars and when the relationshps didn't work out, she would become very depressed. She attempted suicide in 1959 by swallowing sleeping pills and ammonia. During the filming of Cry Terror, while filming a scene, she and Rod Steiger were nearly asphyxiated in a tunnel by carbon monoxide fumes and .Miss Stevens refused medical treatment. Steiger later said that she told him she wanted to die. In 1963 she was pegged for the starring role in the 1963-1966 t.v. series,The Farmer's Daughter After the attempted suicide in 1959. she seemed to regroup and went on to star with Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart in Firecreek and Clint Eastwood in Hang'um High, A Guide For The Married Man with Walter Matthau and 5 Card Stud with Robert Mitchum and Dean Martin. She seemed to be well on her way to film stardom as a leading lady, when in April of 1970, at the age of 35, her body was found on the kitchen floor of her home, due to combining sleeping pills and alcohol. Another apparent suicide. After her death, a biography revealed that she had been secretly married to an African American named Ike Jones and had kept it a secret for fear of harming her career. The couple were separated at the time of her death.

Ed

Also today:

Miriam Hopkins (1902-1972) first gained fame opposite Fredric March in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Becky Sharp and a Golden Globe nomination for The Heiress, appeared in Virginia City with Errol Flynn, as Mrs. Shipton in Outcasts of Poker Flat, and as the mother of Robert Redford's character in The Chase. She died of a heart attack nine days before her 70th birthday.

Bobby Troup (1918-1999) was a jazz musician and songwriter, whose most memorable song was (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66. He also produced Julie London's biggest hit Cry Me a River in 1955, and five days later they got married (following her divorce from Jack Webb). He appeard in several TV shows in the '50s and '60s, including Rawhide, Perry Mason, The Big Valley, and Mannix. He made his big screen debut in the 1970 film MASH ("God damn Army!), and later played Dr. Joe Early for 5 seasons on Emergency. He died of a massive heart attack in 1999, and Julie London died the following year. Coincidentally, their remains are the same cemetery as Jack Webb's.

George C. Scott (1927-1999) has had a long, distinguished career, starting in television in the '50s and '60s and a few movies mixed in during that period. He appeared in episodes of The Virginian and The Road West, and starred in the series East Side/West Side. His first big break was in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove as the war mongering Gen. Turgidson. Later he would play another general, his Oscar winning role as Gen. George S. Patton. He refused to accept the Oscar, which now resides in the Virginia Military Institute, Patton's Alma Mater.He appeared in several films, and starred in the sitcom Mr. President in the 1980s, as well as TV film versions of 12 Angry Men and Inherit the Wind. He died from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, and is buried in an unmarked grave in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.