One of the screen's great hero baddies died today in 1986. He was a song and dance man straight out of Vaudeville but made his name in gangster movies with a wise-cracking style and a line everybody can do - 'You dirty rat!' If you want to see the late, great James Cagney at his best, watch his Shake Hands With the Devil in which he plays a deranged IRA member and Angels With Dirty Faces - that walk to the electric chair can't fail to bring tears to your eyes.
In other news ...
The Spanish artist Francisco Goya was born today in 1746. He's the guy who painted Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, who used to appear on English money before they started using various ever-more-obscure people who had something-or-other to do with the Industrial Revolution. Goya's sketches of Wellington's war in Spain are horrific, with arms and legs hanging in trees. He painted a pretty spooky witch or two as well.
Even the Head of Art at Leighford High has heard of him, so he must be famous!
