Birthday Roll Call

Although better known as the uncle of the future Princess Grace of Monaco, George Kelly was a successful Broadway playwright, screenwriter, director, & actor. Kelly won the Pulitzer Prize in 1925 for his play Craig's Wife. The play served as the basis for the 1950 Joan Crawford film Harriet Craig.

Notable actors who appeared in works by Kelly include Judith Anderson, Josephine Hull, Tallulah Bankhead, Spring Byington, Joan Blondell, Ina Claire & Rosalind Russell. George enjoyed a 55 year relationship with William Weagley & they were together until his death. Weagley was seemingly passed off often as Kelly's valet. Although Weagley was not invited to the funeral, he managed to sneak inside & sat in a back pew, where he wept.


Today is also the birthday of the essayist, activist, novelist & intellectual Susan Sontag. Sontag is remembered for her critical essays on photography & on camp. She was also a champion for Gay rights in repressive countries like Cuba. Annie Liebowitz, her partner of many years, documented Sontag's courageous battle with cancer. She died in 2004.

"'Camp' is a vision of the world in terms of style - but a particular style. It is the love of the exaggerated."