June 1, 1943: The Murder of Leslie Howard

June 1, 1943: British actor Leslie Howard is killed when the Nazis shoot down his plane off the coast of Spain. He was just 50 years old.

He was born on April 3, 1893, in Forest Hill, Southeast London, with the name Leslie Howard Steiner. ("Leslie" is one of many names that are considered masculine in Britain but feminine in America.) Having a German surname did not protect him at the end. He was also Jewish, also it's not clear whether the Nazis knew that. 

One of the earliest literary characters who could be called a "superhero" was the Scarlet Pimpernel. Sir Percy Blakeney was an English aristocrat living in Paris when the French Revolution broke out in 1789, and he disguised himself and used his swordfighting skills to save his friends among the French aristocracy that were targeted for death by the revolutionaries. The character was created by Baroness Emma Orczy, a Hungarian-born British noblewoman, for a 1903 play. Howard starred in the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel.

But he was already a star, having starred in Berkeley Square, and the film version of W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. He later starred in the American crime film The Petrified Forest, where he met the film's (and previously the play's) star, Humphrey Bogart; and played Professor Henry Higgins in the 1938 film version of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, 18 years before Rex Harrison debuted in the role in the musical version, titled My Fair Lady. Most Americans, though, remember him for playing Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind in 1939.

That film was released 3 months after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany, to start World War II. Howard made pro-British, anti-Nazi propaganda films, which which later led the British Film Yearbook to call his work "one of the most valuable facets of British propaganda."

He was rumored to have been working for British intelligence, which may have explained why he was killed. In May 1943, he traveled to Portugal -- which, like neighboring Spain, then had a Fascist government, but was neutral in the war, refusing to help fellow Fascists Germany and Italy -- to promote the British cause.

On June 1, 1943, he intended to head home, on a Douglas DC-3, co-operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation, which became British Airways in 1974), labeled Flight 777. It took off from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, intending to fly to Bristol, in England's West Country.

The plane was intercepted by 8 Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 fighters, and was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean, off Cedeira, in northwestern Spain. There were 17 people on board, all killed, including Howard and 4 KLM flight crew members.

The Nazis knew Howard had made his propaganda films, but it's not clear whether they knew he was on the plane. One theory that has persisted is that they thought that Prime Minister Winston Churchill was on it. They had certainly targeted Churchill, but they never got him.

Howard left behind a wife, Ruth Evelyn Martin; and 2 children, Ronald and Leslie Ruth. Ronald became an actor, and in the 1954-55 television season, he became TV's 1st Sherlock Holmes. He lived on until 1996.

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June 1, 1943 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Giants player-manager Mel Ott went 2-for-3 with a walk.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-9 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Stan Musial went 4-for-6 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Harry Walker won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-3 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Ellis Clary singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 5-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Eugene "Huck" Geary stole home plate in the bottom of the 14th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Browns won the opener, 7-4 in 12 innings. The BoSox won the nightcap, 3-2 in 10 innings.

* And the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 24. The Yankees won the opener, 5-1. The ChiSox won the nightcap, 5-3.

January 5, 1905: "The Scarlet Pimpernel" Premieres

Baroness Orczy

January 5, 1905: The Scarlet Pimpernel premieres at the New Theatre in London's West End. Emma Magdalena Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci, a 39-year-old Hungarian known as Baroness Orczy, had written it. Fred Terry stars in the title role.

She created the character of Sir Percy Blakeney, an English aristocrat living in Paris, seeing his friends being executed during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror in 1792. He leads a double life: Pretending to be a wealthy but mid-mannered fop, while courageously saving his friends' lives with expert swordsmanship. The name "Scarlet Pimpernel" comes from the red flower he draws on the messages he leaves, bragging of his exploits to his friends' would-be executioners.

He is assisted by a group of fellow gentlemen, and they are the only ones who know of his, as would be said later, secret identity, until his wife, the French actress Marguerite St. Just, finds out. She had left him after seeing the change in his attitude, while admiring the Pimpernel. Finding out that his change was a cover for his efforts, she returned to him.

British audiences loved the play, and the subsequent novel made the character and Baroness Orczy known throughout the world. Eventually, there would be 14 novels featuring Sir Percy, published between 1905 and 1940, plus 2 prequels featuring Blakeney ancestors, and one written in 1924, set in the present day, with a Blakeney descendant. Fred Terry lived until 1933, the Baroness until 1947.

There would be 3 silent films, starting in 1917, with Dustin Farnum in the role. The 1st sound version was in 1928, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Matheson Lang. The character would be played by Leslie Howard in 1934, Barry K. Barnes in 1937, and David Niven in 1950.

Merle Oberon as Marguerite, and Leslie Howard as Sir Percy

On TV, the BBC had productions starring James Carney in 1950 and 1951, and Tony Britton in 1955. ITV had a series based on the character in the 1955-56 season, starring Marius Goring. American TV debuted the Pimpernel in 1960, on CBS, with Michael Rennie. The BBC had a 1969 series with Anton Rodgers. CBS aired a TV-movie in 1982, with Anthony Andrews. BBC One aired a series in 1999 and 2000, with Richard E. Grant.

Someone once joked that the Scarlet Pimpernel had the lamest superhero name ever, despite having "Pimp" in it. But his mild-mannered civilian persona, combined with his courageous costumed heroism, made him an inspiration for such superheroes as Superman and Spider-Man; while his wealthy aristocrat secret identity as a cover for his heroism inspired Zorro, who, with his other attributes, inspired Batman, Green Arrow, Iron Man, and others.

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January 5, 1905 was a Thursday. Baseball and football were out of season. Basketball and hockey were still mostly amateur. So there were no scores on this historic day.