
Famous birthdays for June 17: Will Forte, Odessa A'zion
1 of 4 | Will Forte attends the premiere of "The Studio" at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles on March 24. The actor turns 55 on June 17. File Photo by Greg Grudt/UPI | License Photo
June 17 (UPI) -- Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini.
They include:
-- John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1703
-- Musician Igor Stravinsky in 1882
-- Artist M.C. Escher in 1898
-- Writer John Hersey in 1914
-- Filmmaker Ken Loach in 1936 (age 89)
File Photo by Rocco Spaziani/UPI
-- Egyptian Nobel Peace Prize laureate/former Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei in 1942 (age 83)
-- Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1943 (age 82)
-- Musician Barry Manilow in 1943 (age 82)
-- Musician George S. Clinton in 1947 (age 78)
-- Comedian/actor Joe Piscopo in 1951 (age 74)
Photo by Mark Peterson/UPI
-- Actor Mark Linn-Baker in 1954 (age 71)
-- Actor Jon Gries in 1957 (age 68)
-- Musician Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) in 1958 (age 67)
-- Filmmaker Bobby Farrelly in 1958 (age 67)
-- Actor Thomas Haden Church in 1960 (age 65)
-- Actor Greg Kinnear in 1963 (age 62)
File Photo by David Silpa/UPI
-- U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame speed skater Dan Jansen in 1965 (age 60)
-- Actor Jason Patric in 1966 (age 59)
-- Fashion designer Tory Burch in 1966 (age 59)
-- Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye in 1968 (age 57)
-- Musician Kevin Thornton (Color Me Badd) in 1969 (age 56)
-- Actor Will Forte in 1970 (age 55)
-- Musician Paulina Rubio in 1971 (age 54)
-- Tennis star Venus Williams in 1980 (age 45)
File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
-- Actor Jodie Whittaker in 1982 (age 43)
-- Actor Arthur Darvill in 1982 (age 43)
-- Actor Manish Dayal in 1983 (age 42)
-- Musician Mickey Guyton in 1983 (age 42)
-- Musician Kendrick Lamar in 1987 (age 38)
-- Actor KJ Apa in 1997 (age 28)
-- Actor Odessa A'zion in 2000 (age 25)
File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
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Hamilton Spectator
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Horoscope for Tuesday, June 17th, 2025
The lazy, hazy days of summer are approaching, but today is shaping up to be busy. With an emphasis on productivity, many of us will be motivated to get organized and tackle our to-do lists. However, we should take care to pace ourselves and avoid taking on too many projects or problems at once. That said, we'll find that we can best manage our workload by teaming up with others, creating a practical plan of action to follow, and intuitively recognizing when it's time to take a break. ARIES (March 21 to April 19) There may be much for you to do and keep up with. Try not to burn yourself out. TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Today is great for networking and building relationships, whether it's for business, community organizing, or expanding your circle of friends. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You'll find the day useful for handling matters concerning your home, family or finances. This can be a chance to address an issue before it becomes a bigger problem. CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You shine today thanks to your intelligence and poise. It's an excellent time to show folks what you can do. Collaborations will also be successful. LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22) Following your intuition may lead you to an exciting new opportunity or a moment of victory. VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) You may be ready to take decisive action on a plan! While you might be tempted to do this alone, you're encouraged to enlist help from others. LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) Your energy or bandwidth may be lower than usual. Create a schedule or routine that you can stick to so you can have enough time to rest. SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21) The romantic vibes in the air are strong. If you're single, you may meet someone new. If you're partnered, plan a date for you and your love! SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21) It's time to get on top of tasks that you've either been procrastinating or haven't had the time to do. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19) You may find learning, coaching or teaching to be rewarding. There's much that you can share and gain. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18) You have the power to make a positive change within your life. All you need to do is to get to it! PISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20) Be confident in advocating for yourself or asking for what you need. FOR TODAY'S BIRTHDAY If you could choose to be anything in the world, it would certainly not be a copycat. You have your own mind, so there's no need to allow anyone else to think for you. You may be someone who enjoys surprising others with your off-the-wall sense of humour or non-traditional lifestyle. You enjoy lively conversations and heated debates. Your mental acuity is sharp. However, learning how to admit when you're wrong may be something you need to work at. This past year, progress may have felt very stop-and-start for you. However, this year, it's full steam ahead! BIRTHDATE OF: Venus Williams, professional tennis player; Will Forte, actor/producer; Kendrick Lamar, rapper.


UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Justin Willman conjures laughter in 'Magic Lover' special
Justin Willman combines stage magic with stand-up comedy in his new special "Magic Lover," available Tuesday on Netflix. Photo courtesy of Netflix June 17 (UPI) -- Comedian and magician Justin Willman combines his two passions in his new Netflix special, Magic Lover, and the performer said he finds the two arts to be "very similar." Willman, 44, is known for combining magic and comedy in his Netflix series Magic for Humans and The Magic Prank Show, as well as his former hosting gigs on shows including Cupcake Wars and Baking Impossible. Magic Lover, his first-ever combination magic show and stand-up comedy special, is out Tuesday on Netflix. Willman told UPI in a recent interview that comedy and magic are a natural pairing. "I think magic inherently kind of has comedy baked into it," he said. "Because I find even when I'm not doing a trick that's funny, people's reaction to having their mind blown is often to laugh. So there's almost like a biological connection between the two." Willman said jokes and magic tricks can also be very similar in structure. "A joke has a setup and a punchline, and a trick has a setup and a reveal. I think those are very similar. And in intertwining magic and comedy, you know, the tricky part is to make sure they don't distract or dilute one another." Willman said he has been "spending years" trying to strike the right balance between magic and comedy, which he said "comes down to timing." "I find a good joke to be great misdirection because when someone's laughing, they're not burning you with their eyes necessarily. So I think I initially was drawn to magic and comedy kind of being a combo just because of the psychological utilitarian purpose that comedy had as a misdirection device." Magical origins Willman said his love of the performing arts started with comedy. "The love of comedy is what came first. I very vividly remember begging to stay up late and watch Johnny Carson with my parents when I was 6, 7, 8 years old." Willman said he would pick apart the jokes that made his parents laugh to try to see what made them funny. "My parents were both serious people, and obviously as I kid I could make them laugh, but the way that I would see comedy make them laugh felt different," he recalled. "Like it was like a superpower that I wanted to unlock, but I had no clue how to." The aspiring young comedian hit a literal bump in the road at the age of 12 when he broke both of his arms trying to ride a bike while wearing in-line skates. "When I got my cast off months later, my doctor randomly recommended I learn card tricks as physical therapy. So he prescribed me magic, basically," Willman said. Willman spent months mastering basic tricks, and by the age of 14 he was performing at children's parties. "That's when I kind of realized, I made 40 bucks just now for 45 minutes of work. Like, I could make a living doing this. And that's kind of when the show business career, I guess, technically started." When good tricks go bad Willman said part of the appeal of magic is the uncertainly -- never quite knowing when something isn't going to go quite as planned. "I did have a really bad experience once. I was doing a kid's birthday party outside. It was a beautiful day. I made a bird appear, my dove, and it flew up into a tree. I forgot that my pet bird could fly. I try to act like that's supposed to happen, you know, 'the show must go on,'" he said. However, the situation went from bad to worse when Willman spotted a hawk circling overhead. "And, in front of the children, this hawk swoops down, snatches my dove and flies away with it," he said. "Kids were crying, I couldn't really play it off. It was pretty brutal. From that point on, I kinda realized 'Maybe using my pets that I love in my act is not the way to go.'" These days, animals play less of a role in Willman's stage performances, but there are still numerous variables involved. Much of his act involves "mind tricks," such as baiting an audience member into thinking of a particular word. The secret, Willman said, is always having a contingency plan -- and, if the contingency plan has to happen, making sure the audience doesn't realize that what they are seeing is "Plan B." "I love the idea that every show is a bit of a wild card," he said. "Like if every show [had] zero risk involved and exactly what I want to happen will happen, it feels a little, I don't know, unexciting to me." He said his 30 years of experience in magic has given him more of a "thrill-seeking" approach to the craft. "I think that little bit of uncertainty, where a lot is left to an audience's will or ability to change their minds, I think is what people think about later," Willman said. The variables are "where the magic is," he said. Magic for the modern age The art of magic has evolved in the decades since Willman started performing, and he said the rise of technologies like CGI, video effects, AI and deepfakes have "forced a lot more creativity" when it comes to trying to inspire awe in viewers. "It definitely has at least made me want to make the magic about something more than just the trick," he said. "Whether it's about something funny or earnest or heartfelt or absurd or about something topical, it's not just about the trick. The trick is a delivery device for this point of view or this angle or my hot take on something." Despite being best known for TV, Willman said he feels magic is meant to be experienced live, and he planned his special around trying to make Netflix viewers feel like a part of the live audience. "I approach everything that I do that is filmed, whether it's Magic for Humans or this special -- I try to make it feel like you are experiencing it like the person who's there, using as few cuts as possible." Willman said he hopes his special will inspire viewers to want to go out to see live magic shows in person. "If you enjoyed it on your couch watching the TV, you will love it in person," he said. "I think wherever technology and AI and all this goes, it won't ever change. ... Experiencing this crazy thing in person, I feel like we will crave that kind of tactile wonder more than ever. At least, I really hope so. I'm banking on it. I have no fallback plan." Justin Willman: Magic Lover is available to stream now on Netflix.


UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Watch: Mariska Hargitay calls Jayne Mansfield film a 'cathartic' journey
1 of 3 | Mariska Hargitay discussed learning about her late mom, Jayne Mansfield, for her new documentary. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo June 17 (UPI) -- Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay says creating a documentary about her mother, late Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield, was a "cathartic" experience. The actress discussed My Mom Jayne, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Monday. "I feel like I've been preparing, my entire life, to make it," she told Colbert. "But I was ready, and during COVID, I -- you know, we all had some down time and I found these boxes of fan letters that I'd received from fans that were all pertaining to my mom, whether they were, you know, people that had met her or had a story to share with me or a playbill, or something special." "I had the time to sit with each letter and people had sent me things that were truly, like, a gift, because it felt like pieces of her, and so I said, 'I think I want to dig in here,'" she added. "...It's been such a joy to go on this archaeological dig, really, about her. It's been just an exquisite and rewarding and cathartic and extraordinary journey." Hargitay, 61, was three years old when her mother died at age 37 in 1967. In addition to sorting through letters, photographs and her late mother's belongings, Hargitay interviewed her half-siblings to create a more complete picture of Mansfield. The documentary also shares that Hungarian bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay is not Hargitay's biological father. The actress learned in her 20s that Nelson Sardelli, an Italian singer, is her birth father. My Mom Jayne is set to air on HBO and stream on Max June 27. Photos: 'Law and Order' icon Mariska Hargitay turns 60 Mariska Hargitay and her godchildren attend the premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" in New York City on December 5, 2002. Hargitay has called "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" a "platform to effect change." Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI | License Photo