December 29, 1951

1951Willem de Blécourt, Dutch historical anthropologist^[†]

Willem de Blécourt is a Dutch historical anthropologist specialising in the study of witchcraft and folk magic in Europe from the Late Middle Ages to the 20th century. An Honorary Research Fellow at both the Huizinga Institute and the Meertens Institute, Amsterdam, de Blécourt is also a prolific author, having edited several books on the subject.

1951Yvonne Elliman, American singer-songwriter and actress^[†]

Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US No. 1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached No. 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was No. 5; at the time she had three top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she left music to be with her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

1951Mike deGruy, American documentary filmmaker (died 2012)^[†]

Michael V. deGruy was an American documentary filmmaker specializing in underwater cinematography. His credits include Life in the Freezer, Trials of Life, The Blue Planet and Pacific Abyss. He was also known for his storytelling, including a passionate TED talk about his love of the ocean on the Mission Blue Voyage. His company, Film Crew Inc., specialized in underwater cinematography, filming for the BBC, PBS, National Geographic, and the Discovery Channel. His notable accomplishments include diving beneath thermal vents in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He was a member of many deep sea expeditions and was a part of the team that first filmed the vampire squid and the nautilus.

1951Georges Thurston, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 2007)^[†]

Georges Thurston was a Quebec singer, author and composer and radio show host. He was known as Boule Noire since 1975 and worked in the music industry as a solo artist for nearly 30 years and as part of musical groups for five years.