the Lone Ranger, Bugs Bunny, Sadie Hawkins, and
NASA be?
FEBRUARY 29 BIRTHDAYS:
JIMMY DORSEY, swing bandleader and musician, 1904
DENNIS FARINA, character actor/star of "Crime Story," born in
1944
PHYLLIS FRELICH, Tony-winning actress ("Children of a Lesser
God"), 1944
ANN LEE, founder of Shakerism, 1736
JACK LOUSMA, astronaut, 1936
GIOACCHINO ANTONIO ROSSINI, opera composer ("The Barber of
Seville," "William Tell Overture"), 1792
WILLI SMITH, fashion designer, 1948
SUPERMAN, comic, TV, and movie star and superhero, year unknown
LEAP DAYS IN HISTORY:
46 BC: Leap year is invented, under the auspices of Julius Caesar
1288: St. Bridget persuades St. Patrick to declare Bachelor Day -- on
this 24 hours, every four years, women may propose to men
1690 (or thereabouts): Courts rule that the suspiciously regarded Leap
Day is indeed a legitimate business day, ending years of idle days
1940: Oscars night in Hollywood, "Gone with the Wind" cleans up with eight awards
1960: Hugh Hefner opens the first swingin' sixties Playboy Club in
Chicago
1984: Peter Morris, a Canadian marketing director, tries to launch
International Underlings Day, a holiday for workers not honored on
