June 13: Comings and Goings

Birthdays are a wonderful daily occurrence in our lives. It is rare to weave through one's day without becoming privy to an announcement or celebration of a birthday or two, whether they belong to family, friends, or other eminent figures. Remembering those who have passed each day is, perhaps, just as noteworthy an endeavor, for if their memories are kept alive, one might argue, so too are their spirits.

Here is a sampling of June 13 honorees:

Birthdays

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen - They have to be celebrated as a team because, well, they are twins, and you can count on one hand the times you've seen one without the other. Born on this day in 1986 in Sherman Oaks, California, the Olsen twins became famous through their work on the family sitcom "Full House," starring Bob Saget. Incredibly, they were hired at the age of six months and began filming when they were just nine months old! Since then, they have become entrepreneurs, establishing a company called Dualstar in 1993. They stayed relatively active in entertainment in television and movies, and in 2007, Forbes ranked them, collectively, as the eleventh richest women in entertainment, with an estimated net worth of $100 million.

Tim Allen - Born on this day in 1953 in Denver, Colorado, Tim Allen's rise to fame was hardly meteoric. He started as a stand-up comic with an act centered on man's affinity for tools and the masculinity associated with them. But, in the early '80's, he spent more than two years in jail due to cocaine possession. He eventually parlayed his tool humor into an enormously successful sitcom, "Home Improvement." With his image firmly in place, he went on to star in multiple family movies such as Disney's "Toy Story" series (as Buzz Lightyear), "The Santa Clause,", and then recently in "Wild Hogs." Mr. Allen has been nominated for one Emmy Award and five Golden Globes, winning one in 1995.

Deaths

Tim Russert - He was the longest-serving moderator of NBC's long-tenured, historical "Meet the Press," and in the last year of his life, was honored by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Sadly, Tim Russert passed away suddenly on this date in 2008 from a heart attack. He had just returned from a family vacation in Rome celebrating his son's graduation from Boston College. Russert was beloved by colleagues, competitors, and the public alike. He served as a senior vice president at NBC News and was Washington bureau chief, as well as a frequent correspondent and guest on NBC's "The Today Show" and "Hardball." Russert also was widely lauded for his coverage of presidential elections.

Benny Goodman - In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America. His bands launched the careers of many major names in jazz, and during an era of segregation, he also led one of the first racially-integrated musical groups. His success story was told in the 1955 motion picture "The Benny Goodman Story" which succeeded 1954's critically acclaimed "The Glenn Miller Story." The "King of Swing" passed away on this day in 1986 at the age of 77.