That is one wild playground.
Today is the 26th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting, which is also Adolf Hitler's birthday.
Today is also the birthday of Betty Lou Gerson, the first actress to play Cruella DeVille. She was born on April 20, 1914, and had a long career as a voice actress for radio dramas. But 101 Dalmatians was not the only Disney movie she lent her voice to. She was also the opening narrator for the DIsney's 1950 animated rendition of Cinderella, and appeared onscreen very briefly in Mary Poppins.
She got married to Joseph T. Ainley in 1936. He died in 1965, so she married Louis R. Lauria in 1966 and they stayed married until he died in 1994. She worked at Lous R. Lauria's telephone answering service for a while. In 1996, she was named a Disney legend, the same year Disney released their live-action version of 101 Dalmatians, their first live-action remake. I wonder what Betty Lou Gerson had to say about the live-action version of 101 Dalmatians.
Betty Lou Gerson died of a stroke on January 12, 1999. Had she still been alive on the day of the Columbine massacre, she would have turned 85.
Here's a creepy numerical coincidence. Cruella DeVille stole 15 puppies from Anita and Roger in 101 Dalmatians, and a total of 15 people died in the Columbine massacre (including the two assailants, who saved the criminal justice system money by committing suicide in the library).
