Merrell In The Morning Fun You May Have Missed

Today's Celebrations

Plimsoll Day - Samuel Plimsoll, a member of the English Parliament back in the day who championed sailors' safety

Celebrity Birthdays

1893 - Jimmy (James Francis) Durante - actor, comedian: “Good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.”; Ziegfeld Follies, The Man Who Came to Dinner, It Happened in Brooklyn, The Jimmy Durante Show; died Jan 29, 1980

1906 - Lon Chaney Jr. - actor: The Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, Dracula vs. Frankenstein, The Mummy’s Curse; died July 12, 1973

1930 - Robert Wagner [84] - actor: Hart to Hart, The Mountain, The Towering Inferno, Titanic, It Takes a Thief, Pink Panther, Midway

1950 - Mark Spitz [64] - swimmer: U.S. Olympic 9-time gold medal winner, the most gold medals won by an individual [seven in 1972 and 2 in 1968]

1955 - Greg Norman [59] - golf champion: British Open [1986, 1993], holds record for lowest 72-hole total [267-1993]

1960 - Lionel Cartwright [54] - Singer/songwriter/musician is born in Gallipolis, Ohio. His relaxed vocal style leads to four Top 10 singles from 1989-1991, the biggest coming with "Leap Of Faith"

1963 - Lenny (Leonard Kyle) Dykstra [51] - baseball: NY Mets [World Series: 1986], Philadelphia Phillies [all-star: 1990, 1994, 1995/World Series: 1993/led league in hits: 192-1990, 194-1993]

1967 - Laura Dern [47] - actress: Jurassic Park, Blue Velvet, Rambling Rose; daughter of actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd

1979 - Craig Campbell [35] - Singer/songwriter is born in Metter, Georgia. He nets hits with the 2010 release "Family Man" and the 2012 single "Outta My Head"

Tabloid News

Oklahoma Teen Dupes Walmart Managers Out of Almost $30,000

From houston.cbslocal.com -

A 17-year-old scammed 3 Oklahoma Walmart stores out of nearly $30,000.
Police say the teen, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, conned the managers of those stores into thinking he was an employee. The teen “acted as if he was a general manager from another store,” says the police report. He told the managers he was doing an inventory before corporate higher ups came to inspect them after the holidays. Surveillance cameras recorded the teen all alone in the cash room where he took “multiple bundles of cash, stuffing them inside his pockets and clothes,” says the report. He allegedly showed up in uniform and nametag at a store in Edmond, where he worked a register and pocketed $3,000.
Police arrested the teen last week after he stole from a Walmart in Norman. Authorities say he had a uniform and nametag because he had worked at a Walmart in Oklahoma city…before he was fired for stealing.