April 1: Today's Notable Birthdays

Is April 1st your birthday? Was someone special to you born on April 1^st, April Fool's Day? With whom will you choose to celebrate this excellent occasion?

If today is your April Fool's Day birthday, then you are in excellent company.

(If someone you love is celebrating another year today, why not forward this list to the birthday boy or girl? Click SHARE at the bottom of this page to email the entire article with your "Happy Birthday" message.)

April 1st was the birth date of several notable (or even notorious) individuals. Here they are, the April Fool's Day birthday celebrants:

April 1st Birthdays: Famous Artists

Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter (Quest of the Holy Grail), was born on April 1, 1852.

American fraternal twin brothers and film director Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes (From Hell and Menace II Society) were born on April 1, 1972.

William Mulready, Irish painter (The Butt - Shooting a Cherry, Choosing the Wedding Gown, First Love, Giving a Bite, Hampstead Heath, Snow Scene, The Sonnet, The Toy Seller, Wolf and the Lamb, and Young Brother), was born on April 1, 1786.

Russian pianist, conductor and composer (The Bells,The Isle of the Dead,Prelude in C Sharp Minor and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) Sergei Rachmaninoff was born on April 1, 1873.

Barry Sonnenfeld, American film director (Addam's Family Values, Big, Blood Simple, Enchanted, For Love or Money, Get Shorty, Men in Black, Miller's Crossing, Misery, Pushing Daisies, Raising Arizona, RV, Space Chimps, Throw Mama from the Train and Wild Wild West), was born on April 1, 1953.

April 1st Birthdays: Famous Athletes

Anton Innauer, Austrian ski jumper and Olympic gold medalist (1980), was born on April 1, 1958.

Sigve Lie, Norwegian yachtsman and Olympic gold medalist (1948 and 1952), was born on April 1, 1906.

Philip Henry (Phil) Niekro, American professional baseball player, was born on April 1, 1939. Phil Niekro played for the Atlanta Braevs, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Braves, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

Puerto Rican professional baseball player Guillermo Naranjo (Willie) Montanez was born on April 1, 1948. Willie Montanez played for the Atlanta Braves, California Angels, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.

Ronald Peter (Ron) Perranoski, American professional baseball player and coach, was born on April 1, 1936. Ron Perranoski played for the California Angels, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins and served as pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

American dog musher Libby Riddles was born on April 1, 1956. In 1985, Libby Riddles became the first female ever to win first place in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Daniel Joseph (Rusty) Staub, American professional baseball player, was born on April 1, 1944. Rusty Staub played for the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Houston Colt .45s, Montreal Expos, New York Mets and Texas Rangers.

American professional football player Doug Sutherland (Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks) was born on April 1, 1948.

Guy Trottier, Canadian professional hockey player, was born on April 1, 1941. Guy Trottier played for the Baltimore Blades, Michigan Stags, New York Rangers, Ottawa Nationals, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Toros.

American professional basketball player Norman Allen (Norm) Van Lier, III, was born on April 1, 1947. Norm Van Lier played for the Chicago Bulls, Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks.

April 1st Birthdays: Famous Authors and Journalists

Jay Vivian Whittaker Chambers, American journalist and writer (Can You Hear Their Voices, Cold Frida and Witness), was born on April 1, 1901. Whittaker chambers testified in the perjury and espionage trial of Alger Hiss in 1948.

Colombian Romantic poet and author Jorge Isaacs Ferrer (Maria) was born on April 1, 1837.

Solomon Gesner, Swiss painter, poet, and author (The Death of Abel), was born on April 1, 1730.

Czechslovakian author Milan Kundera (The Art of the Novel, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, The Curtain, Identity, Ignorance, Immortality, The Joke, Life Is Elsewhere, Slowness, Testaments Betrayed and The Unbearable Lightness of Being) was born on April 1, 1929.

William Raymond Manchester, American historian and author (American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur, The City of Anger, The Death of a President, Disturber of the Peace; the Life of H.L. Mencken, The Glory and the Dream, Goodbye Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, The Long Gainer, Magellan, Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy, A Rockefeller Family Portrait, Shadow of the Monsoon and A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance Portrait of an Age), was born on April 1, 1922.

American science fiction author Anne McCaffrey (Dragondrums and Dragonflight) was born on April 1, 1926.

Edmond Rostand, French poet, playwright and author (Chantecleer, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Princess Faraway, The Romancers and The Woman of Samaria), was born on April 1, 1868.

British dramatist and author Edgar Wallace (Terror) was born on April 1, 1875.

April 1st Birthdays: Famous Performers

John Barbata, American rock drummer (Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, The Sentinels and The Turtles), was born on April 1, 1945. John Barbata has played with Eric Clapton, Joel Scott Hill, Dave Mason, Bob Mosley, Leon Russell, Grace Slick and other artists.

American actor and Academy Award winner (1931) Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was born on April 1, 1885. Wallace Beery appeared in Alias a Gentleman, The Champ, China Seas, Dinner at 8, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Grand Hotel, The Last of the Mohicans, Treasure Island and We're in the Navy Now.

Alan Blakely, British rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer (Brian Poole and the Tremeloes), was born on April 1, 1942.

American country music singer James Edward (Jim Ed) Brown was born on April 1, 1934. Jim Ed Brown sang with The Browns.

Suzanne Lorraine (Jane Powell) Burce, American singer ("True Love") and actress (Athena, A Date with Judy, Deep in My Heart, The Girl Most Likely, Hit the Deck, Holiday in Mexico, Nancy Goes to Rio, Rich Young and Pretty, Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Small Town Girl), was born on April 1, 1929. Jane Powell was married to actor Dickie Moore.

James (Jimmy Cliff) Chambers, Jamaican ska and reggae musician ("I Can See Clearly Now," "Many Rivers to Cross," "Sittin' in Limbo," "Wild World" and "You Can Get It If You Really Want") and actor (The Harder They Come), was born on April 1, 1948.

American silent film actor Leonidas Alonzo (Lon) Chaney was born on April 1, 1883. Known as The Man with 1,000 Faces, Lon Chaney appeared in The Bushwackers, He Who Gets Slapped, The Horror of It All, High Noon, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Oliver Twist, The Phantom of the Opera, The Unholy Three and West of Zanzibar.

Billy Currie, British new wave rock violinist and keyboardist (Ultravox), was born on April 1, 1950.

American actor George Grizzard (Advise and Consent, Attica, Bachelor Party, False Witness, Scarlett, The Stranger Within and Wrong Is Right) was born on April 1, 1928.

Don Hastings, American actor (As the World Turns and Captain Video), was born on April 1, 1934.

American actor Sam Huntington (Detroit Rock City, Fanboys, Harvest of Fire, Home of Phobia, In Enemy Hands, Jungle 2 Jungle, Not Another Teen Movie, River's End, Rolling Kansas and Superman Returns) was born on April 1, 1982.

Rudolph Isley, American Gospel and R&B singer (The Isley Brothers), was born on April 1, 1939. Rudolph Isley's brothers included O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronnie Isley and Vernon Isley.

American actor Gordon Jump (Bitter Vengeance, Dirkham Detective Agency, Growing Pains, Making the Grade, Ransom Money, Sister Kate and WKRP in Cincinnati) was born on April 1, 1932.

British rock bassist Ronnie Lane (Small Faces) was born on April 1, 1946.

Woody Lee, American country music singer and songwriter ("Get Over It" and "I See It Now"), was born on April 1, 1968. Woody Lee has written songs for Tracy Lawrence, Shenandoah and other country music artists.

American singer ("Mamselle") and actor (Black Caesar, Bucktown, Donnybrook, The Last American Hero and The Most Happy Fella) Art Lund was born on April 1, 1915.

Alice (Ali) MacGraw, American actress (The Getaway, Goodbye Columbus, Love Story and The Winds of War), was born on April 1, 1938. Ali MacGraw married film producer Robert Evans and actor Steve McQueen.

American rock singer Phil Margo (Cross Country and The Tokens) was born on April 1, 1942.

Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (1941, The Bad Sleep Well, Drunken Angel, Midway, Paper Tiger, Rashomon, Red Sun, Samurai, Shadow of the Wolf, Shogun, Stray Dog, Throne of Blood and Winter Kills), was born on April 1, 1920.

American actress Nita Naldi (Blood and Sand) was born on April 1, 1898.

Annette O'Toole, American actress (48 Hrs., Broken Vows, Cat People, Love Matters, Smile, Superman III, Imaginary Crimes and White Lie), was born on April 1, 1952.

Irish pop bassist Peter O'Toole (Hothouse Flowers) was born on April 1, 1956.

David Oyelowo, Nigerian-British actor (As You Like It, Born Equal, Chess, Five Days, The Last King of Scotland, MI-5 - Spooks, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, The Passion, Shoot the Messenger and A Sound of Thunder), was born on April 1, 1976. David Oyelowo is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo.

American model, singer and actress (Bully, Havoc, Hostel: Park II and Tart) Bijou Phillips was born on April 1, 1980. Bijou Phillips is the daughter of rock singer John Phillips and model-actress Genevieve Waite.

Mary Frances (Debbie) Reynolds, American singer ("Tammy" and "A Very Special Love") and actress (The Debbie Reynolds Show, Goodbye Charlie, The Many Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Singin' in the Rain, Tammy and the Bachelor, The Tender Trap, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Will and Grace), was born on April 1, 1932. Debbie Reynolds was married to singer Eddie Fisher. Actress Carrie Fisher is Debbie Reynolds' daughter.

American country music singer Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum) was born on April 1, 1985.

Gil Scott-Heron, American jazz keyboardist and singer ("Whities on the Moon"), was born on April 1, 1949.

American rap and hip hop artist Clifford (Method Man) Smith was born on April 1, 1971. Method Man performs with the Wu-Tang Clan.

British pop singer Hannah Spearitt (S Club 7) was born on April 1, 1981.

Mark Anthony White, British pop guitarist, singer and songwriter (ABC), was born on April 1, 1961.

American actress Grace Lee Whitney (Star Trek) was born on April 1, 1930.

Josh Zuckerman, American actor (Austin Powers in Goldmember, Feast, I Was a Teenage Faust, Kyle XY, Pretty Persuasion, Return to the Secret Garden, Sex Drive, Surviving Christmas and 'Twas the Night), was born on April 1, 1985.

April 1st Birthdays: Famous Scientists

William Harvey, British physician, circulatory system research pioneer and author (On the Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals), was born on April 1, 1578.

American humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow was born on April 1, 1908.

Richard Zsigmondy, German chemist and Nobel Prize winner (1925), was born on April 1, 1865.

April 1st Birthdays: Famous World (and Other) Leaders

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., American jurist and 110^th U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was born on April 1, 1950.

Belgian Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens was born on April 1, 1905.

Ludwig IV, Bavarian Emperor, was born on April 1, 1283.

German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck was born on April 1, 1815.

Do you know any others who are celebrating April Fool's Day birthdays on April 1st?

If you know additional notable people (including yourself) who may be celebrating a birthday on April 1st, please indicate so in a comment below. Thank you!

Happy Birthday, April 1st.

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