Michael Caine

Born Maurice Mickelwhite – not a lot of people know that – actually everyone knows that – in St Olaves Hospital in South London in 1933.  In 1986, the same building became Bob Hoskins’ production offices for the making of Mona Lisa, which starred Hoskins and Caine.  The son of a fish market porter, Maurice… Continue reading Michael Caine

Gabriel Byrne

Born in Dublin in May, 1950, Gabriel Byrne set out to become a priest but was somewhat put off by being molested by his Latin teacher while at an English seminary preparing for the cloth.  That was enough to send him on a number of different career paths from archaeologist and schoolteacher, short-order cook and… Continue reading Gabriel Byrne

Lee Marvin

Born February 19, 1924, in New York City, Lee Marvin quit high school to enter the Marine Corps and while serving in the South Pacific was wounded in the Battle of Saipan.  That sounds pretty heroic until you realise he was wounded in the buttocks.  He spent a year in recovery before returning to the… Continue reading Lee Marvin

Smith Wigglesworth

A world-famous Christian evangelist and one of the few men named Smith with the power to raise people from the dead.  Born in Yorkshire in 1859, Wigglesworth was picking crops for a living at the age of six and working 12 hours a day in a woollen mill by the age of seven.  His family… Continue reading Smith Wigglesworth

Joe Cocker

One of rock and roll’s enduring performers, Cocker has survived the sixties, a low period in the seventies, made a comeback in the eighties, and continues to be a solid and consistent performer in the nineties and on into the 21st century.  Known for his gutsy, gravelly, vocal style, Joe started out in Sheffield in… Continue reading Joe Cocker

G Gordon Liddy

The former FBI agent who helped plan the Watergate break-in has capitalized on his burglary legend and taken his political views to the airwaves.  George Gordon Liddy’s ultra-conservative radio talk show based in Fairfax, Virginia is broadcast on 232 stations nationwide.  Liddy was convicted for his role in the Watergate break-in, for conspiracy in the… Continue reading G Gordon Liddy

Simone DeCavalcante

AKA Sam DeCavalcante.  AKA Sam the Plumber.  He was the boss of the Mafia’s New Jersey based DeCavalcante Family from the 1960s until the mid 1970s.  In 1961, the FBI planted a listening device in DeCavalcante’s plumbing supply shop, and recorded him discussing criminal activities with other Mafia members and with politicians until they removed… Continue reading Simone DeCavalcante

Zinzan Brooke

Former New Zealand rugby captain Zinzan Brooke was a plumber before he turned to playing his sport full-time.  The number 8, reckoned by many experts to be one of the all-time greats, played 82 times for the All Blacks, scoring 190 points in the process and captained his country on many occasions. Zinzan was born… Continue reading Zinzan Brooke