In the year 1956, Finnish troops re-occupy Porkkala after Soviet troops vacate its military base (Jan 25), Elvis Presley enters the United States music charts for the first time, with Heartbreak Hotel (Feb 22), videotape is first demonstrated at a convention in Chicago by Ampex (Apr 14), Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco (Apr 19), the submarine Transatlantic telephone cable opens (Sep 25), Red Army troops invade Hungary (Oct 26), the first hard disk drive (5MB) is born at IBM (Oct 29) - and all these fine people were born:
1956-0101 Koji Yakusho* 役所 広司 actor - Nagasaki, Japan
1956-0103 Wendy Bergen* Emmy award-winning television journalist - Greenwich, CT USA (2017/61)
1956-0103 Mel Gibson* actor/ director/ to Australia at age 12 - Peekskill, NY USA
1956-0104 Ann Magnuson* performance artist/actress - Charleston, WV USA
1956-0105 Ulla-Maria Andersson* author - Stockholm, Sweden
1956-0107 David Caruso* actor - Forest Hills, NY USA
1956-0107 Jutta Krellmann* economist/politician - Johannisberg, West Germany
1956-0108 Archie Roach* Aboriginal musician/songwriter/activist - Mooroopna, VIC Australia (2022/66)
1956-0109 Imelda Staunton* actress - Archway, London, England
1956-0110 Maija Toppila* journalist/editor - Oulu, Finland
1956-0113 Janet Hubert* actress - Chicago, IL USA
1956-0114 Ronan Bennett* Irish novelist/screenwriter - Belfast, Northern Ireland
1956-0115
1956-0117 Carl Kjellgren* actor/director - Borås, Sweden
1956-0117 Antero Mertaranta* sports commentator - Hyvinkää, Finland
1956-0117 Paul Young* singer - Luton, Bedfordshire, England
1956-0118 Jack Sherman* guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Miami, FL USA (2020/64)
1956-0119 Carman* (Carmelo Licciardello) contemporary Christian music singer/television host/evangelist - Trenton, NJ USA (2021/65)
1956-0120 Bill Maher* comedian/commentator/ television host - New York, NY USA
1956-0121 Geena Davis* actress - Wareham, MA USA
1956-0121 Jeb Stuart* screenwriter/ film director/producer - Little Rock, AR USA
1956-0122 Michael Kopsa* actor/ voice actor - Toronto, ON Canada
1956-0123 Patrick Kerr* actor - Wilmington, DE USA
1956-0125 Bill Turnbull* journalist/television and radio presenter - Guilford, Surrey, England (2022/66)
1956-0126
1956-0127 Kevyn Major Howard* actor/ photographer - Montreal, QC Canada (2025/69)
1956-0127 Mimi Rogers* actress - Coral Gables, FL USA
1956-0130 Ann Dowd* actress - Holyoke, MA USA
1956-0201 Martin MacNeill* physician/convicted killer - USA (2017/61)
1956-0202 Philip Franks* actor (Heartbeat)/theater director - London, England
1956-0203 Nathan Lane* actor/ voice actor - Jersey City, NJ USA
1956-0207 Eva Ayllón* Afro-Peruvian singer/composer - Lima, Peru
1956-0210
1956-0212 Arsenio Hall* comedian/talk show host/producer - Cleveland, OH USA
1956-0212 Vincent Viola* billionaire businessman/owner of the Florida Panthers - Brooklyn, NY USA
1956-0215 Desmond Haynes* cricketer/coach - Saint James, Barbados
1956-0216
1956-0218 Thomas Gradin* hockey player/hockey scout - Sollefteå, Sweden
1956-0218 Ted Gärdestad* singer-songwriter/musician - Sollentuna, Sweden (1997/41)
1956-0218 Horst Ludwig Meyer* electronic engneer/RAF terrorist - Schwenningen, Baden-Württemberg (1999/44)
1956-0218 Bruce Rauner* entrepreneur/ politician/Governor of Illinois - Chicago, IL USA
1956-0218 Elina V.** linguist/ translator - Helsinki, Finland
1956-0219 Kathleen Beller* actress - Westchester, NY USA
1956-0219 Roderick MacKinnon* biophysicist/ neuroscientist/N/ businessman - Burlington, MA USA
1956-0220
1956-0222 Dzifa Attivor* businesswoman/politician - Ghana (2021/65)
1956-0224 Howard Bragman* public relations practitioner/writer/lecturer - Flint, MI USA (2023/66)
1956-0224 Paula Zahn* journalist/newscaster - Omaha, NE USA
1956-0229 Aileen Wuornos* (b Pittman) serial killer/w Finnish grandparents - Rochester, MI USA (2002/46)
1956-0301 Mark Todd* equestrian - Cambridge, New Zealand
1956-0304 Les Shapiro* sports media figure/anchor for CBS Sports/host of the ESPN radio talk program - Chicago, IL USA (2022/65)
1956-0307 Bryan Cranston* actor/ producer/director - Hollywood, CA USA
1956-0307 Andrea Levy* - London, England (2019/62)
1956-0310
1956-0312 Steve Harris* musician/ founder of Iron Maiden - Leytonstone, Essex, England
1956-0312 Lesley Manville* actress - Brighton, East Sussex, England
1956-0313
1956-0314 Alexey Pajitnov* video game designer/computer engineer/ developer of Tetris - Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
1956-0314 Tessa Sanderson* athlete (javelin/OG)/television personality/to England at age 5 - St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
1956-0315 Masood Minhas** - Karachi, Pakistan
1956-0327 Michael Harney* actor - The Bronx, NY USA
1956-0327 Thomas Wassberg* cross-country skier/OG - Lennartsfors, Värmland, Sweden
1956-0329 Kurt Thomas* gymnast/OG - Miami, FL USA (2020/64)
1956-0330 Paul Reiser* stand-up comedian/actor/writer - New York, NY USA
1956-0403 Eliot A. Cohen* political scientist - Boston, MA USA
1956-0412 Andy Garcia* actor - Havana, Cuba
1956-0418 Eric Roberts* actor - Biloxi, MS USA
1956-0419 Randy Carlyle* hockey player/coach - Sudbury, ON Canada
1956-0420 Georgie Glen* actress (Heartbeat) - Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
1956-0422 Jukka-Pekka Saraste* conductor/violinist - Heinola, Finland
1956-0430 Lars von Trier* film director - Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
1956-0501
1956-0509 Frank Andersson* wrestler/WC - Trollhättan, Sweden (2018/62)
1956-0510
1956-0517 Bob Saget* comedian/ actor/television host (America’s Funniest Home Videos) - Philadelphia, PA USA (2022/65)
1956-0520 Dean Butler* actor/producer - Prince George, BC Canada
1956-0524 Vesa Vierikko* actor - Lappeenranta, Finland
1956-0526 Lisa Niemi* (b Haapaniemi) actress/ dancer/widow of Patrick Swayze/of Finnish descent - Houston, TX USA
1956-0529 La Toya Jackson* singer/actress/ businesswoman - Gary, IN USA
1956-0531
1956-0601
1956-0604 Keith David* actor - Harlem, New York, NY USA
1956-0604 John Hockenberry* journalist/author - Dayton, OH USA
1956-0605 Nelson Abadía* football manager - Cali, Colombia
1956-0605 Roger Michell* theatre, television and film director - Pretoria, Transvaal, Union of South Africa (2021/65)
1956-0606 Björn Borg* tennis player/entrepreneur - Södertälje, Sweden
1956-0609 Patricia Cornwell* crime fiction writer - Miami, FL USA
1956-0610
1956-0611 Richard Bean* playwright/ screenwriter - Hull, England
1956-0611 Nathaniel Philbrick* author of history - Boston, MA USA
1956-0615 Linda Haglund* athlete/sprinter - Enskede, Stockholm, Sweden
1956-0618 Marsha Garces Williams* film producer/philanthropist/widow of Robin Williams/w Finnish mother - Milwaukee, WI USA
1956-0620
1956-0624 Joe Penny* actor - Uxbridge, London, England
1956-0625 Anthony Bourdain* chef/television personality - New York, NY USA (2018/61)
1956-0625 Bob West* voice actor (Barney)/graphic designer - Finleyville, PA USA
1956-0628 Amira Hass* journalist/author - Jerusalem, Israel
1956-0630
1956-0701 Gregg L. Semenza* medical scientist/N - Flushing, NY USA
1956-0704 Pepe Ahlqvist* musician/singer - Nastola, Finland
1956-0704 Bárbara Bruno* actress/film director/ producer - Niterói, Brazil
1956-0704 John R. Leonetti* cinematographer/film director - CA USA
1956-0709 Tom Hanks* actor/film director - Concord, CA USA
1956-0712 Mel Harris* actress - Bethlehem, PA USA
1956-0712 Markku Peltola* actor - Helsinki, Finland (2007/51)
1956-0713 Michael Spinks* boxer - St.Louis, MO USA
1956-0717 Bryan Trottier* hockey player (NHL 100)/coach - Val Marie, SK Canada
1956-0721 Michael Connelly* crime fiction writer - Philadelphia, PA USA
1956-0721 Lea K.** cook - Helsinki, Finland (2006/50)
1956-0724 Charlie Crist* attorney/ politician/Governor of Florida - Altoona, PA USA
1956-0724 Pat Finn* television presenter/game show host - Wilkes-Barre, PA USA
1956-0724 Lisa Sanders* physician/NYT medical columnist (Diagnosis) - SC USA
1956-0725 Frances Arnold* engineer/biochemist/N - Edgewood, PA USA
1956-0726 Dorothy Hamill* figure skater/OG - Chicago, IL USA
1956-0812 Bruce Greenwood* actor - Rouyn-Noranda, QC Canada
1956-0819 Adam Arkin* actor - Brooklyn, NY USA
1956-0820 Joan Allen* actress - Rochelle, IL USA
1956-0821 Kim Cattrall* Canadian actress - Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England
1956-0824 Kevin Dunn* actor - Chicago, IL USA
1956-0824 Uli Egen* hockey player - Füssen, West Germany
1956-0825 Henri Toivonen* rally driver - Jyväskylä, Finland (1986/29)
1956-0826 Brett Cullen* actor - Houston, TX USA
1956-0826 Luis Guzmán* actor - Cayey, Puerto Rico
1956-0831 Kent Nilsson* hockey player - Nynäshamn, Sweden
1956-0909 Courtney Kennedy Hill* fifth of Robert Kennedy’s 11 children - Boston, MA USA
1956-0912 Leslie Cheung* singer/ actor - Kowloon, British Hong Kong (2003/46)
1956-0914 Ray Wilkins* football player/ coach - Hillingdon, England (2018/61)
1956-0916 David Copperfield* (b Kotkin) magician - Metuchen, NJ USA
1956-0916 Tony Little* television fitness personality/businessman - Fremont, OH USA
1956-0916 Mickey Rourke* actor - Schenectady, NY USA
1956-0918 Peter Šťastný* Slovak-Canadian hockey player (NHL 100)/ politician/father of Paul Stastny - Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
1956-0920 Gary Cole* actor/voice actor - Park Ridge, IL USA
1956-0921 Madeeha Gauhar* actress/playwright/ activist - Karachi, Pakistan (2018/61)
1956-0923 Paolo Rossi* football player - Prato, Italy (2020/64)
1956-0924 Ilona Slupianek* (b Schoknecht) athlete (shot put)/OG - Demmin, East Germany
1956-0925 Jamie Hyneman* special effects expert (Myth Buster)- Marshall, MI USA
1956-0925 Randy Waldrum* football player/manager - Irving, TX USA
1956-0926 Jutta Allmendinger* sociologist - Mannheim, West Germany
1956-0926 Leslie Hamilton* hospice nurse/actress - Salisbury, MD USA (2020/63)
1956-0926 Linda Hamilton* actress/sister of Leslie - Salisbury, MD USA
1956-0929 Sebastian Coe* athlete/politician - Chiswick, London England
1956-0930 Carol Jenkins Barnett* businesswoman/ philanthropist - Lakeland, FL USA (2021/65)
1956-1001 Theresa May* politician - Eastbourne, Sussesx, England
1956-1001 Michael Saxell* singer-songwriter/ composer/producer - Helsingborg, Sweden
1956-1004 Christoph Waltz* actor - Vienna, Austria
1956-1007 Brian Sutter* hockey player/coach - Viking, AB Canada
1956-1008 Stephanie Zimbalist* actress - New York, NY USA
1956-1013 Chris Carter* screenwriter/director/ producer - Bellflower, CA USA
1956-1017 Mae Jemison* engineer/physician/astronaut - Decatur, AL USA
1956-1018 Martina Navratilova* Czech American tennis player - Prague, Czechoslovakia
1956-1020 Danny Boyle* film director - Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England
1956-1021 Carrie Fisher* actress - Burbank, CA USA (2016/60)
1956-1022 Priscilla Martel* chef/food writer/consultant - USA
1956-1023 Dwight Yoakam* singer - Pikeville, KY USA
1956-1026 Rita Wilson* actress/singer/producer - Los Angeles, CA USA
1956-1027 Stanley Praimnath* bank executive/911 WTC survivor/ motivational speaker - Guyana
1956-1029 Babben Larsson* actress/stand-up comedian - Dalhem, Gotland, Sweden
1956-1030
1956-1101
1956-1103 Dru C. Gladney* anthropologist - Pomona, CA USA (2022/65)
1956-1103 Gary Ross* film director/ writer/producer - Los Angeles, CA USA
1956-1104 John Paul Getty III* grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty - Minneapolis, MN USA
1956-1108 Richard Curtis* British screenwriter/film director/to England at age 11 - Wellington, New Zealand
1956-1110 David “Sinbad” Adkins* stand-up comedian/ actor - Benton Harbor, MI USA
1956-1110 Matt Craven* actor - Port Colborne, ON Canada
1956-1111
1956-1114 Valerie Jarrett* Am. lawyer/civic leader - Shiraz, Iran
1956-1114 Jon Miller* television executive for NBC Sports - Washington, D.C. USA
1956-1119 Ann Curry* journalist/ news anchor/w Japanese mother - Agaña, Guam, USA
1956-1120 Bo Derek* (b Mary Collins) actress/producer - Long Beach, CA USA
1956-1120 Jan Maxwell* actress - Fargo, ND USA (2018/61)
1956-1122 Richard Kind* actor/ comedian - Trenton, NJ USA
1956-1130 Juliana Jendo* Assyrian singer/ actress - Tel Tamer, Syria
1956-1201 Claire Chazal* journalist/ romance writer/television news director - Thiers, Puy-de-Dôme, France
1956-1205
1956-1207 Larry Bird* basketball player/ coach/executive - West Baden Springs, IN USA
1956-1209 Antony Alda* (b Antonio D’Abruzzo) actor/half-brother of Alan Alda - St. Julien, France (2009/52)
1956-1216 Hannu Jortikka* hockey coach - Turku, Finland
1956-1217 Peter Farrelly* film director/ screenwriter/ novelist - Phoenixville, PA USA
1956-1224 Anil Kapoor* actor - Bombay, Bombay State, India
1956-1226
1956-1230 Patricia Kalember* actress - Schenectady, NY USA
1956-1230 Jacek Wszola* athlete (high jump) - Warsaw, Poland
1956-1231 Al Harris* Am. football player/coach - Bangor, ME USA
1956-0
1956-0
1956-0
Updated 2025-0312 Helsinki
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