On This Day
Births
1946 – Mark Metcalf
Mark Howes Metcalf is an American television and film actor. In the 1997–2003 television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel, Metcalf played the ancient vampire supervillain, identified in the “BuffyVerse” as “The Master”. Coincidentally, he also played a character called “the Maestro”, whose real name was Robert “Bob” Cobb, on two episodes of Seinfeld.
Age 72
1952 – Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, scriptwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist. Adams is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a “trilogy” of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime and generated a television series, several stage plays, comics, a computer game, and in 2005 a feature film. Adams’s contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy’s Hall of Fame.
Died: 11 May 2001
Age 49
1963 – Alex Kingston
Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston is an English actress whose credits include the recurring role of River Song in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (2008–2015), Mrs. Bennet in the ITV1 period-drama fantasy Lost in Austen (2008) and Dinah Drake Lance in The CW’s Superhero fiction drama series Arrow (2013–2016).
Age 55
1981 – David Anders
David Anders Holt, known professionally as David Anders, is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on Alias, as Cyrus Vanch on Arrow, as Adam Monroe on Heroes, as John Gilbert in the TV series The Vampire Diaries, as Victor Frankenstein / Dr. Whale on ABC’s Once Upon a Time, and as Blaine “DeBeers” McDonough on iZombie. Although Anders is American, a few of his roles have required him to use a British Home counties accent.
Age 37
1982 – Thora Birch
Thora Birch is an American actress. She made her film debut in Purple People Eater (1988), for which she won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Under Nine Years of Age, and rose to early prominence as a child star with her performances in films such as All I Want for Christmas (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Monkey Trouble (1994), Now and Then (1995) and Alaska (1996).
Age 36