March 11 is the birthday of French-Russian dancer and choreographer MARIUS PETIPA (1818-1910).

Petipa "is noted for his long career as Premier maître de ballet (First Ballet Master) of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, making him Ballet Master and principal choreographer of the Imperial Ballet (precursor of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet), a position he held from 1871 until 1903. Petipa created over fifty ballets, some of which have survived in versions either faithful to, inspired by, or reconstructed from the original. Among these works, he is most noted for The Pharaoh's Daughter (1862); Don Quixote (1869); La Bayadère (1877); Le Talisman (1889); The Sleeping Beauty (1890); The Nutcracker (likely choreographed by Lev Ivanov, perhaps with Petipa's counsel and instruction) (1892); Le Réveil de Flore (1894); La Halte de cavalerie (1896); Raymonda (1898); Les Saisons (1900), and Les Millions d’Arlequin (a.k.a. Harlequinade) (1900)." (Wikipedia)

March 11 is the birthday of American author and illustrator WANDA GÁG (1893-1946).

Gág "is best known for writing and illustrating the children's book Millions of Cats, the oldest American picture book still in print. Gág was also a noted printmaker, receiving international recognition and awards. Some of her books have been awarded Newbery Honors and Caldecott Honors ... Maurice Sendak has cited her as an influence." (Wikipedia)

To see examples of Gág’s art, CLICK HERE.

March 11 is the birthday of American film director RAOUL WALSH (1887-1980).

Among the many films Walsh directed are "They Died with Their Boots On," "White Heat" and the lavish, art nouveau silent film Arabian Nights fantasy THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, starring Douglas Fairbanks.

March 11 is the birthday of SHEMP HOWARD (1895-1955).

"Known professionally as Shemp, Howard was an American comedian and actor. He was called 'Shemp' because 'Sam' came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known today for his role as the third stooge in the Three Stooges, a role he first portrayed at the beginning of the act in the early 1920s (1923–1932) while the act was still associated with Ted Healy and known as 'Ted Healy and his Stooges,' and again from 1946 until his death in 1955." (Wikipedia

March 11 is the birthday of Spanish sculptor and painter JOSEP MARIA SUBIRACHS ( 1927-2014).

Subirachs "was a Spanish sculptor and painter of the late 20th century. His best known work is probably the Passion Facade of the basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. He was controversial, as he did not make any concessions to the style of the architect who designed the building, Antoni Gaudí." (Wikipedia)

To see sculptures from Subirachs’ Passion Façade, Sagrada Familia (Barcelona), CLICK HERE.

March 11 is the birthday of NINA HAGEN (b. 1955) The German singer, songwriter, and actress is 70 years old today. Heidewitzka!!

“I sing about UFOs and extraterrestrials, and so I designed a UFO fashion. It includes science-fiction bikinis and Bermuda Triangle shorts.”

Hagen "is known for her theatrical vocals and rise to prominence during the punk and Neue Deutsche Welle movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as 'The Godmother of German Punk.'"