Classic Birthdays of 20th Century Popular Culture Creators July August September

A Memory Care Book for Activity Directors and Caregivers

By: Daphne Simpkins

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

When Clark Kent stepped into the glass phone booth, we knew he was about to emerge as Superman. That transformation happened every time.

Then, he used his superpowers to rescue people in distress, leaping over tall buildings in a single bound and flying faster than a speeding bullet. That spinning around in the phone booth was mesmerizing. And, in a way, that blur of change that we recognized as transformation from one kind of person to a stronger kind of person is the kind of change I am writing about in this series of books about popular culture creators of the 20th century.

As popular culture does for every generation, it connected with and helped to build the emotional landscape of its people.
Those connections are tied to memories—particular kinds of memories. Those memories are called episodic memories, and they are more potent than the words nostalgia and sentiment imply. Episodic memories remind people of who they were once upon a time, and in the remembering, they get recharged—can feel more at home in their bodies and wherever they are living. The right memory can be like that phone booth where Clark Kent becomes Superman.

The prompts from the artifacts of popular culture are often the catalyst for remembering. And those prompts arrive through activities and programs designed for residents and people in the care of others, often half the age and of a generation that doesn’t know the culture of the 20th century. This four-set volume of classic birthdays is meant to help you know some of the people and stories and songs and movies your people probably know by simply putting them on a calendar for each month.

Most likely you have a calendar of birthdays already. Here are some more classic birthdays to highlight each month and the names of other movies and books and people your people might know and remember.
It isn’t comprehensive. These are story-driven snapshots of people your people probably know.
To keep the size of material manageable, the books are divided into three months each.
Here are the selected names of popular culture creators of the 20th century for book 3.
Leslie Caron July 1
Thomas A. Dorsey July 1
Eva Marie Saint July 4
Janet Leigh July 6
Oscar Hammerstein II July 12
Ginger Rogers July 16
Barbara Stanwyck July 16
Erle Stanley Gardner July 17
Natalie Wood July 20
John D. MacDonald July 24
Henry Ford July 30
France Nuyen July 31


Myrna Loy August 2
Louis Armstrong August 4
Robert Mitchum August 6
Lucille Ball August 6
Norma Shearer August 10
Alfred Hitchcock August 13
Mae West August 17
Gene Kelly August 23
Lloyd C. Douglas August 27
Ingrid Bergman August 29
Alan Jay Lerner August 31

Edgar Rice Burroughs September 1
Bob Newhart September 5
Maurice Chevalier September 12
Claudette Colbert September 13
Agatha Christie September 15
Lauren Bacall September 16
George Gershwin September 26
Catherine Marshall September 27
Ed Sullivan September 28
Greer Garson September 29
Gene Autry September 29
Johnny Mathis September 30
Deborah Kerr September 30

About Daphne Simpkins: Daphne has been writing about caregiving and daily life in the South for the past thirty years. Currently while she is best known for her series about church ladies of the South featuring Mildred Budge and friends, she has also written several books about caregiving. They are: The Long Good Night, What Al Left Behind, Blessed: Stories about Caregiving, Belle: A Mildred Budge Friendship Story, and 11 DIY Holidays Small Talks for Activity Directors and Caregivers.