What Happened in May 1952

Historical Events

Music Premiere

May 2 John Cage's "Water Music" - for a solo pianist, using a piano, a radio, whistles, water containers, and a deck of cards - premieres in New York City

May 3 "Call Me Madam" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 644 performances
May 3 1st landing by an airplane at geographic North Pole

May 5 "Lucy Does a TV Commercial" (also known as "Vitameatavegamin") episode of "I Love Lucy" premieres, garnering 68% of US television viewers
May 5 Pulitzer prize awarded to Herman Wouk for his novel "The Caine Mutiny"
May 7 The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer
May 8 5th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): "La Ronde" Best Film
May 8 Revival of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's musical "Shuffle Along" opens at Broadway Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances

Of Thee I Sing

May 8 Revival of George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind's musical political satire "Of Thee I Sing", directed by Kaufman, opens at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC; runs for 72 performances

5th Cannes Film Festival

May 10 5th Cannes Film Festival: "The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice" directed by Orson Welles and "Two Cents Worth of Hope" directed by Renato Castellani jointly awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film

May 10 Revival of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's musical "Shuffle Along" closes at Broadway Theater, NYC, after 4 performances
May 12 Charlton Playground named in Bronx
May 12 Gaj Singh is crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur

May 13 Ron Necciai of Pittsburgh Pirate's Bristol Twins Class D farm team, strikes out 27 in 9-innings, as he no-hits Welch Minors; 4 Minors do reach base
May 13 The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting
May 15 Detroit Tiger Virgil Trucks no-hits Washington Senators, 1-0

May 16 "New Faces of 1952" opens at Royale Theater, NYC; runs for 365 performances
May 17 77th Preakness: Conn McCreary aboard Blue Man wins in 1:57.4

Event of Interest

May 19 "Time" magazine features 'Theseus', an electrical learning machine built by American scientist Claude Shannon - the 1st example of AI [1]

May 21 Booklyn Dodgers score 15 runs in their 1st inning to beat Cincinnati Reds 19-1

May 27 European Defense Community forms
May 28 Memphis Kiddie Park opens in Brooklyn, Ohio; the park's Little Dipper roller coaster would become the oldest operating steel roller coaster in North America.
May 28 The women of Greece are given the right to vote.
May 29 2nd Round Conference between Dutch Antilles & Suriname ends
May 30 Charlie Grimm succeeds Tommy Holmes as manager of Boston Braves
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Troy Ruttman at 22 years 80 days sets record for youngest 500 winner in history; his Kuzma-Offenhauser is last dirt track car to win at Indy

Famous Birthdays

May 2 Christine Baranski, American Tony and Emmy Award-winning stage and screen (Rumors; The Good Wife; Cybill - "Maryann"; The Birdcage), born in Buffalo, New York
May 2 Isla St Clair [Isabella Dyce], Scottish traditional and folk music singer, and television presenter, born in Grangemouth, Scotland
May 2 Mari Natsuki, Japanese singer, dancer and actress, born in Tokyo, Japan
May 3 Allen Wells, Scottish athlete (Olympic 100m gold 1980), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
May 3 Caitlin Clarke, American actress (Dragonslayer), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2004)
May 3 Keiji Haino, Japanese rock guitarist, and singer-songwriter (Fushitsusha), born in Chiba, Japan
May 4 Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer, born in Bermondsey, London
May 5 Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2005)
May 5 Louis Cortelezzi, American rock and jazz saxophonist (Mink DeVille) and film composer (Pokemon), born in New Galilee, Pennsylvania
May 6 Chiaki Naito-Mukai, Tatebayashi Japan, astronaut (STS 65, sk:95)
May 6 Christian Clavier, French actor (Les Visiteurs (The Visitors)), and film maker, born in Paris France
May 6 Michael O'Hare, American actor
May 7 Amy Heckerling, American director (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless), born in The Bronx, New York
May 8 Beth Henley, American actress and playwright (Miss Firecracker), born in Jackson, Mississippi
May 8 Charles J. Camarda, American astronaut, born in New York City
May 8 Peter McNab, Canadian ice hockey center (Boston Bruins and 3 other teams) and broadcaster (New Jersey Devils, 1987-95; Colorado Avalanche, 1995-2022), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2022)

May 9 Patrick Ryecart, actor (Silas Mariner)
May 10 Bob Glaub, American session and touring bass player (Jackson Browne; Nicolette Larson, Warren Zevon; Linda Ronstadt; John Fogerty), born in Los Angeles, California
May 10 Kikki Danielsson, Swedish pop and country singer, yodeler, and accordion player, born in Osby, Sweden
May 10 Lee Brilleaux, British musician (Dr Feelgood), born in Durban, South Africa
May 10 Sly Dunbar, Jamaican reggae drummer (Sly & Robbie), born in Kingston, Jamaica
May 11 Darrow Igus, American comedian (Fridays, Roll Out), born in Newark, New Jersey
May 11 Frances Fisher, English-American actress (Titanic, Watchmen), born in Milford on Sea, England
May 11 Mike Lupica, American sports journalist (ESPN), newspaper columnist (New York Daily News), and novelist (Dead Air), born in Oneida, New York
May 11 Renaud [Séchan], French pop singer, composer, and actor, born in Paris, France
May 11 Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian actress
May 11 Warren Littlefield, American television executive
May 13 John Kasich, US politician (Governor of Ohio (R), 2011-19), born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
May 13 Manfred Langer, Austrian-Dutch disco builder
May 13 Sew Shivnarine, West Indian cricketer (3 Tests for WI 1978, later USA captain), born in Albion, Guyana
May 14 David Byrne, Scottish-American rock singer-songwriter (Talking Heads - "Burning Down the House"; "Psycho Killer"), born in Dumbarton Scotland

May 14 Donald R McMonagle, Mjr USAF/astronaut (STS 39, 54, 66), born in Flint, Michigan
May 14 Robert Zemeckis, American film director (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future), born in Chicago, Illinois
May 14 Scott Irwin, American professional wrestler (d. 1987)
May 15 Chazz Palminteri, American actor (The Usual Suspects, Bronx Tale), born in The Bronx, New York
May 15 David Brandon, American businessman (Toys "R" Us, Domino's Pizza), born in Dearborn, Michigan
May 15 Phil Seymour, American rock and power pop musician, singer, and songwriter (The Dwight Twilley Band), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 1993)
May 15 Rick Waits, baseball pitcher (Rangers, Indians, Twins)
May 16 James Herndon, American media psychologist
May 17 Howard Hampton, Canadian politician
May 17 Jody Pijper, Dutch pop singer, born in Ter Aar, Netherlands
May 17 Norv Turner, American football coach (Super Bowl 1992, 93 OC Dallas Cowboys; HC Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, SD Chargers), born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
May 18 Diane Duane, American sci-fi author (Door into Fire), born in New York City

May 18 Jeana Yeager, American aviator (1st non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world), born in Fort Worth, Texas
May 18 Martin Hoke, American politician (Rep-R-Ohio), born in Lakewood, Ohio
May 19 Barbara Joyce Lomas, American funk and disco vocalist (B.T. Express - "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)"), born in Brooklyn, NYC
May 19 Bert van Marwijk, Dutch football manager
May 20 Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
May 20 Warren Cann, Canadian rock drummer (Ultravox), born in Victoria, British Columbia

May 22 Jan Todd, American powerlifter (first woman to officially exceed 400 pounds in any powerlift - deadlift of 412 pounds 1976), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
May 22 Waldemar Victorino., Uruguayan soccer forward (33 caps; CA Cerro, Cagliari, Newell's Old Boys, Colón de Santa Fe, LDU Portoviejo), born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 2023)
May 23 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler, American boxer (undisputed World Middleweight champion 1980-87; second-longest unified C'ship reign in history), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2021)
May 23 Anne-Marie David, French pop singer (Eurovision, 1973), born in Casablanca, French Protectorate in Morocco
May 23 Deborah Adair, actress (Tracey-Dynasty, Kate-Day of Our Life)
May 23 James Mankey, American rock guitarist (Sparks, 1972-73; Concrete Blonde - "Joey"), born in Washington
May 23 Martin Parr, British photographer, born in Epsom, England
May 25 Al Sarrantonio, American writer (999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense), born in New York City
May 25 Gordon Smith, American politician (U.S. Senator from Oregon), born in Pendleton, Oregon
May 25 Jeffrey Bewkes, American media executive (CEO of Time Warner from 2008-18), born in Paterson, New Jersey
May 26 David Meece, American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, and piano player, born in Humble, Texas
May 28 Deborah Jo Billingsley, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and songwriter, born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 2010)
May 28 Russell J. Wintner, American film executive
May 29 Louise Cooper, British sci-fi author (Nemesis, Inferno, Infanta, Nocturne), (d. 2009)
May 30 Alexander Toradze, Soviet Georgian-American concert pianist and music professor (University of Indiana, 1991-2017), born in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR (d. 2022)
May 30 Zoltán Kocsis, Hungarian pianist, conductor and composer, born in Budapest (d. 2016)
May 31 Jim Vallance, Canadian songwriter, arranger and producer (Bryan Adams - "Cuts Like a Knife"; "Heaven"; "Summer of '69"), born in Chilliwack, British Columbia
May 31 Karl Bartos, German electronic percussionist, and composer (Kraftwerk, 1975-90; Electric Music), born in Berchtesgaden, West Germany
May 31 Neil Dorfsman, American Grammy Award-winning sound engineer and record producer (Dire Straits, Bruce Hornsby, Sting), born in New York City

Famous Divorces

Hank Williams

May 29 Country music legend Hank Williams and Audrey Sheppard granted divorce for the second and final time after seven years of marriage. Their first divorce was in 1948.

Famous Deaths

May 6 Alberto Savinio [Andrea Francesco Alberto de Chirico], Italian composer (Capitano Ulisse), dies at 60

May 8 William Fox [Wilhem Fuchs], Hungarian-American movie theater pioneer and film producer (Fox Film Corporation), dies at 73
May 9 Canada Lee [Leonard Canegata], African-American actor (Lost Boundaries), dies of a heart attack at 45
May 11 Giovanni Tebaldini, Italian composer, dies at 87
May 15 Albert Bassermann, German actor (Foreign Correspondent, Madame Curie), dies at 84
May 15 Italo Montemezzi, Italian composer (L'amore dei tre re), dies at 76
May 16 Alec Hearne, English cricket batsman (1 Test; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1894; Kent), dies at 88
May 16 Frances Benjamin Johnston, American pioneering female photographer
May 18 Rossetter Gleason Cole, American composer (Heroes of Freedom), dies at 86
May 21 John Garfield [Jacob Garfinkle], American actor (Four Daughters, Body and Soul), dies of coronary thrombosis at 39
May 23 Georg Alfred Schumann, German composer, dies at 85
May 26 Dámaso Alonso, Spanish linguist and poet (Hombrey Dios), dies at 55
May 28 Joseph Lauber, Swiss concert pianist and composer, dies at 87
May 31 Walter Schellenberg, German lawyer/headed spy (Venlo), dies

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