A Scots king, an English poet, and an American actor

December 9th, 1165, was the date of death for the Scots King known as Malcolm the Maiden, who was only twenty-four at the time. He suffered from ill health and it has been suggested he may have died of Paget’s Disease. He was unmarried and was succeeded by his brother William the Lion, whom we discussed earlier this week.
Moving on to the non-medieval, the renowned English poet, John Milton, was born on December 9th, 1608. And the actor and writer Kirk Douglas was born on this day in 1916. I had to mention this because of an act of kindness by Mr. Douglas this summer. I had mentioned in one of my blogs that I’d loved his book about the making of the classic film, Spartacus, and the ending of the Blacklist. To my astonishment, I received a handwritten note from him, telling me he was pleased that I’d enjoyed it. I have no idea how this was brought to his attention, but he made my day, week, and month! For those who have not read “I am Spartacus,” you are in for a wonderful reading experience, as entertaining as it is informative, as amusing as it is insightful. And if anyone has not yet seen this brilliant film, I urge you to remedy that before the year is out. It has more than stood the test of time and should not be missed.