The following is a sampling of errors contained in various editions of the Time/Information Please Almanac.

Eddie Albert (actor) - Some editions erroneously report he was born in "1908."
Correction: Because he was born out of wedlock, his mother altered his birth certificate to read "1908." His son, Edward Albert (also an actor), confirmed Eddie was actually born in 1906 in Rock Island, Illinois. Consult Eddie Albert's profile for more information.


Dirk Benedict (actor/writer) - Some older editions mistakenly list his year of birth as "1944," instead of the correct date of March 1st, 1945. Recent editions have actually dropped his listing altogether. For additional in-depth biographical data, visit our biography of Dirk Benedict.


Jack Benny (comedian) - Some editions erroneously report he was born in "Waukegan, Illinois."
Correction: He was born February 14th, 1894, at 4:04 a.m., at Mercy Hospital, in Chicago, Illinois. For many years the Information Please Almanac continued to report the incorrect birthplace, but thankfully recent editions have the correct data. Visit our profile of Jack Benny for additional information.


David Copperfield (magician) - Some editions misspell his place of birth "Matchen," but newer editions thankfully have the correct spelling of Metuchen, New Jersey.


Senator Barry Goldwater (U.S. Senator) - Some editions erroneously report his date of birth. This is one error that is perfectly understandable. Not only did nearly every reference source on the planet report the same erroneous date of birth, but Barry Goldwater himself reported January 1st as his date of birth in his various autobiographies and other books because he truly believed it was his actual date of birth. Late in life, Senator Goldwater learned he was actually born at 3 a.m., on January 2nd, 1909. Consult Senator Goldwater's profile for more information.


Richard Harris (actor/singer) - Some editions erroneously report he was born in "1933."
Correction: He was born October 1st, 1930, at 11:20 a.m. GDT (10:20 GMT), in Limerick, Ireland. This is the date and time of birth Richard himself reported as his precise time of birth, and has subsequently been verified by many researchers. For additional biographical data, visit our profile of Richard Harris.


Katharine Hepburn (actress) - Some older editions erroneously report "11/8/1909" as her date of birth, but newer editions thankfully have the correct 5/12/07 listed. Visit our biography of Katharine Hepburn for additional in-depth information.


Billie Holiday (singer) - Some editions erroneously report her real name was "Eleanora Fagan" and mistakenly list her birthplace as "Baltimore."
Correction: She was actually born Elinore Harris, April 7th, 1915, at 2:30 a.m., at Philadelphia General Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Consult Billie Holiday's profile for more information.


Dorothy Lamour (actress/singer) - Some editions mistakenly claim her name at birth was "Mary Kaumeyer."
Correction: Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton was her real name. She personally addressed this issue in an attempt to set the record straight. Additional biographical data can be found in our profile of Dorothy Lamour.


Lotte Lenya (actress/singer) - Some editions erroneously list her year of her birth as "1905."
Correction: She was actually born October 18th, 1898, in Vienna, Austria.


Walter Matthau (actor) - Some editions erroneously report his real name was "Walter Matuschanskayasky."
Correction: His family has repeatedly verified that Walter John Matthow was his actual name at birth. For additional information, visit our profile of Walter Matthau.


Steve McQueen (actor) - Some editions erroneously report his place of birth was "Indianapolis, Ind."
Correction: He was born in Beech Grove, Indiana.


Ethel Merman (actress/singer) - Some editions erroneously report her year of birth as "1909."
Correction: She was actually born January 16th, 1908, at 359 4th Avenue, in Astoria, Queens, New York. For additional in-depth biographical data, visit our biography of Ethel Merman.


Andy Warhol (artist) - Some editions erroneously report both his date and place of birth. Older editions incorrectly list his birth data as "Cleveland, Ohio, 8/8/1931."
Correction: Warhol was actually born August 6th, 1928, at 6:30 a.m., at 73 Orr Street, Soho, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


It is not our intent to denigrate this fine publication, but merely to point out the above inaccuracies to prevent further dissemination of the erroneous data.


Visit our list of errors contained in other reference books.