Day Tripping: November 6
Solid Career
Mikhail Igor Peschkowsky was born in 1931 in Berlin, Germany. When he was seven, Mikhail’s physician father escaped to New York. Mikhail was sent with his brother Robert to the United States to escape the Nazi death camps.
Dr. Peschkowsky changed his name to Paul Nichols and his son became Michael. After attending New York University briefly, Mike Nichols moved to Chicago to study medicine.
“I never had a friend from the time I came to this country until I got to the University of Chicago.”
In 1953, he took a position at a local radio station where he created a regular folk music show. Performers were invited to play live in the studio. But then, Mike left Chicago to study method acting with Lee Strasberg back in New York.
After a successful directing debut on Broadway with Barefoot In the Park starring Robert Redford, Nichols got his first film job with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. For his second feature, and from his previous folk music experiences, Mike chose Simon and Garfunkle’s hit Mrs. Robindon for The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman.
Mike Nichols won the Oscar for Best Director, and the film is listed as number 15 on AFI’s top 100 American films. He made 17 more features with the last being Charlie Wilson’s War with Tom Hanks.
Today is:
National Nachos Day — Load ’em up and pass them over.
Saxophone Day — celebrated to commemorate the birthday of the instrument’s inventor, Adolphe Sax.
International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict — has been recognized since 2001, but unfortunately, not widely enough.
Musical Ride
Paul Simon began his British tour in 1979 at the Hammersmith Odeon Theatre in London. The night cost him $2000 because he offered to buy the house a drink.
Interesting Notes
The longest-running television show in history, Meet The Press debuted in 1947.
Notable Births
1946 — Sally Field: “You have to give up the life you planned to find the life that’s waiting for you.”
1948 — Glenn Frey: “Somebody asked my friend, Bob Seger, Why do you think the Eagles broke up? He said, Hotel California.”
1988 — Emma Stone: “You know how sports teach kids teamwork and how to be strong and brave and confident? Improv was my sport. I learned how to not waffle and how to hold a conversation, how to take risks and actually be excited to fail.”
K. Barrett Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr. Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Terry Trueman Dr. Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca Holly Kellums Michael Burg, MD Lucy Dan Dave Logan
All previous Day Tripping entries are available at the following links:
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
A comprehensive directory for Day Tripping