Today's Famous Birthdays

[IceWizard]

Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.,
who also spelled his surname as Gaye
(April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984),

was an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in
the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes,
earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".

On April 1, 1984, the eve of his 45th birthday, Gaye was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr.,
at their house in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, after an argument. Gay Sr. later pleaded no contest to
voluntary manslaughter, and received a six-year suspended sentence and five years of probation.









Leon Russell
(born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016)

was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during
his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and roll, country, gospel, bluegrass,
rhythm and blues, southern rock, blues rock, folk, surf and the Tulsa Sound.

He collaborated with many notable artists and recorded at least 31 albums and 430 songs. He wrote
"Delta Lady", recorded by Joe Cocker, and organized and performed with Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen
tour in 1970. His "A Song for You", which was named to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018, has been
recorded by more than 200 artists, and his song "This Masquerade" by more than 75.









Leon Russell Wilkeson
(April 2, 1952 – July 27, 2001)

was the bassist of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2001.










Debralee Scott
(April 2, 1953 – April 5, 2005)

was an American comedic actress best known for her roles on the sitcoms Welcome Back, Kotter;
Angie; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; and Forever Fernwood. Scott was a fixture on the game-show
circuit in the late 1970s and early 1980s, frequently serving as a celebrity guest on shows including
Match Game, The $20,000 Pyramid, Riddlers, and Password Plus.

Scott also appeared on Celebrity Family Feud on November 4, 1979 with the cast of Angie. The cast
of Angie took on the cast of The Ropers. In the Fast Money round, she got 176 points out of the 200
needed to win. Partner Robert Hays only needed 24 points as they won $10,000 for their charity.
In the final Fast Money round of the special event, she scored 234 points all by herself, getting 4 of
the 5 most popular answers and winning before Hays ever got a chance to play. Host Richard Dawson
noted that she was the first celebrity player and the fourth player in the show's history to win a
Fast Money round single-handedly.

Scott's fiancé John Dennis Levi, a police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2005, Scott moved to Florida to live with her sister. Shortly
after her arrival, Scott fell into a coma and was hospitalized. She recovered and was released from the
hospital on her birthday. Three days later, on April 5, 2005, she took a nap and died in her sleep.
Her body was cremated.









Ronald Gabriel Palillo
(April 2, 1949 – August 14, 2012)

was an American actor and teacher. He was best known for his role as the endearingly dim-witted
character Arnold Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979).









Rodney Glen King
(April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012)

was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was
beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for
driving while intoxicated on the I-210. An uninvolved individual, George Holliday, filmed the
incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage to local news station KTLA. The footage
showed an unarmed King on the ground being beaten after initially evading arrest. The incident
was covered by news media around the world and caused a public furor.