Charles T. Russell

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Sunday) to an Olympic champion who was born on a Friday 80 years ago today and died on a Friday, approximately 146 miles (234 kms) from the place where this person was born, at the age of 72 (cancer).

Our birthday champ competed in only one Olympics and won two Olympic gold medals only four days apart (no hurdles).

The first of those two Olympic gold medals was an Olympic record while the second of the two medals came with a world record.

You might know the name of the actor who was the only person to appear in all of the following eight films. This actor shares the same initials with our birthday athlete and the actor was born about 31 years before our birthday champion.

Eight films are: 1. Shadow of a Doubt, 2. Phantom of the Opera, 3. Lifeboat , 4. The Postman Always Rings Twice, 5. Brute Force, 6. Conrack, 7. Cocoon, and 8. The Pelican Brief.

Only a few of you might remember that our birthday champion was a member of a certain group.

Time to name our birthday athlete on this final Sunday of November.

Please remember that no research is allowed.

Good luck.

[bambam1729]

I'll narrow it down - born in 1942 - so likely won 2 gold medals in either 1964 or 1968. Nobody won 2 individual golds in those games except Peter Snell in 64, but I don't think its him. So its likely an American in the relays.

1964 - Bob Hayes, Henry Carr, or Mike Larrabee
1968 - Jim Hines or Lee Evans

I have no idea about the actor and of those films only saw The Pelican Brief, which was a great movie.

I think you've done Bob Hayes recently, so one of the other four.

[DoubleRBar]

Very good. bambam1729. You have found our birthday athlete in one of those four sprinters.

[dukehjsteve]

I had it narrowed down to these guys too, but then I got lazy and left it to others. But now that there have been no others, I've thought about it, and only Henry Carr perfectly fits. As to the movie initials deal I know Cocoon but there are too many oldsters in the movie for that to have helped me.

[gh]

Hume Cronyn

[DoubleRBar]

Henry Carr was born in Alabama 80 years ago today. Nice work, dukehjsteve.

Henry Carr made the U.S. Olympic team in 1964 when he was a student at Arizona State University and won the 200 at the semi-final U.S. Olympic Trials at Randall's Island in New York. Winners at the semi-final trials were "guaranteed" a spot on the American Olympic team to Tokyo, Japan.....as long as those winners showed "reasonable form" in the U.S. final trials which were held at the Los Angeles Coliseum in mid-September of 1964.

Carr ran in Los Angeles on September 13, 1964 and he placed fourth in the 200 final. Paul Drayton won in 20.4, Dick Stebbins was second in 20.6, and Bob Hayes got third place in 20.7. Henry Carr ran 20.8 for fourth place.

The U.S. selectors decided that Carr was in reasonable shape for Tokyo where the men's 200 final would take place on October 17, 1964 (just about four weeks after the Los Angeles trials).

The rest is history (can you believe that was over 58 years ago?). Henry Carr drew lane seven for the Olympic 200 final in Tokyo and won that race going away in 20.3 (20.36) into a light wind of -0.7. Paul Drayton got the silver medal, running 20.5 (20.58) and Edwin Roberts (Trinidad) took the bronze medal in 20.6 (20.63). Rich Stebbins, who went to Fremont High School in Los Angeles (not far from the Coliseum), was seventh place in 20.8 (20.89) as all three Americans ran in the 200 final.

Some may ask what would Bob Hayes have done in that 200 final. Of course nobody can answer that question and I won't even try to guess what he would have done after his great 100 win from lane one on the last dirt track at the Olympic Games.

I can say that I was very lucky to have seen Bob Hayes and Henry Carr run several times (including the Olympic Trials in Los Angeles) during their track careers and both were amazing athletes and so much fun to watch.

Henry Carr died from cancer on the last Friday of May in 2015. He was 72 years old.

Hume Cronyn is the actor with the same initials as Henry Carr. Hume Cronyn was born in 1911 and died in 2003 from cancer.
Good work, gh.

Thank you, dukehjsteve, bambam1729, and gh.

[J Rorick]

And the title of the thread (Charles T. Russell) signifies what?

[cigar95]

And the title of the thread (Charles T. Russell) signifies what?

It's possibly connected to this hint also not yet revealed:

Only a few of you might remember that our birthday champion was a member of a certain group.

Did Carr have a particular religious affiliation? Russell was best known as a religious figure.

[DoubleRBar]

Yes, Henry Carr was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. I believe this group was started by Charles T. Russell. Originally it was called the Bible Student Movement.

[lonewolf]

When I see the name Charles Russel, I think of the great Western artist. I remember in the 1950s when Great Falls was the customs stop into and out of Canada, the circular rotunda of the modest passenger terminal was lined with large original Russell paintings, priceless even then, hung slightly above the reach of the standing public. Passengers disembarked from twin-engine C-47s and underwent luggage inspection at long tables in open-air sheds, winter and summer.

[DoubleRBar]

The artist was Charles M. Russell.

[Steele]

This was certainly one of the more entertaining exercises. TY, DRB.