When actress Mary Tamm joined the cast of the BBC’s time-travel adventure series “Doctor Who” in 1978, it had already been on the air for 15 years. But Tamm’s character Romana marked a key step forward in the saga of the long-running science fiction show: She was the first of the heroic Doctor’s many female companions who wasn’t a young human woman, but instead came from his own powerful alien race of cosmic Time Lords. Tamm was born March 22, 1950, in Bradford, England; in addition to her most widely celebrated role, she was also known for costarring in the popular soap opera "Brookside" and movies such as "The Odessa File." She died from cancer July 26, 2012, at the age of 62. Mere hours after her funeral, her grieving husband, Marcus Ringrose, abruptly died as well — seemingly of a broken heart.
Click to discover notable people who died this day in history including animation legend William Hanna.
1947: Tony Pope, U.S. voice actor who provided the voices of Furby and Goofy, is born in Cleveland, Ohio.
1943: Keith Relf, English musician who was the lead singer and harmonica player for the Yardbirds, is born in Richmond, England.
1928: Carrie Donovan, U.S. journalist who was a fashion editor of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and become well-known for her appearances in Old Navy commercials, is born in Lake Placid, New York.
1924: Al Neuharth, U.S. businessman who founded USA Today, is born in Eureka, South Dakota.
Neuharth changed the look of American newspapers by filling USA Today with breezy, easy-to-comprehend articles, attention-grabbing graphics and stories that often didn't require readers to jump to a different page. Sections were denoted by different colors. The entire back page of the news section had a colored-weather map of the entire United States. The news section contained a state-by-state roundup of headlines from across the nation. Its eye-catching logo of white lettering on a blue background made it recognizable from a distance. Read more
1923: Marcel Marceau, French mime known for his Bip the Clown persona, is born in Strasbourg, France.
His biggest inspiration was Charlie Chaplin. Marceau, in turn, inspired countless young performers — Michael Jackson borrowed his famous "moonwalk" from a Marceau sketch, "Walking Against the Wind." Marceau performed tirelessly around the world until late in life, never losing his agility, never going out of style. In one of his most poignant and philosophical acts, "Youth, Maturity, Old Age, Death," he wordlessly showed the passing of an entire life in just minutes. "Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words?" he once said. Read more
1912: Karl Malden, U.S. actor who won an Academy Award for his performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire," is born in Chicago, Illinois.
In "On the Waterfront," Malden played "waterfront priest" Father Barry, based on a real priest who worked among the dockworkers and tried to rid the waterfront of crime. Malden was nominated for an Oscar but didn't win it, despite giving one of the greatest speeches in movie history. Read more
1908: Louis L'Amour, U.S. author of Western novels including "Silver Canyon" and "Shalako," is born in Jamestown, North Dakota.
As a novelist, L'Amour was astonishingly prolific, writing more novels each year than his publishers cared to release. While the publishers typically topped out at one or two novels per author per year, L'Amour could produce as many as four in that time span. He ended his career with nearly 100 novels and more than 30 short story collections published, plus poetry and nonfiction. And over the years, dozens of his novels and stories have made it to screens both big and small. Read more
1903: Bill Holman, U.S cartoonist who drew "Smokey Stover" from 1935 to 1973, is born in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
1887: Chico Marx, U.S. actor who was one of the Marx Brothers, is born in New York, New York.
Chico and Harpo were often mistaken as twins when they were young. On the 1950s television game show "I've Got a Secret," Chico came onstage dressed in Harpo's wig and tried to convince the panel that he was really his younger brother. He fooled everyone – including Groucho Marx. Read more
Click to discover notable people who died this day in history including animation legend William Hanna.
