2026 Tri-Cities Regional, Day Six: Saturday, October 31

What’s My Name?

This Day in History - October 31 Birthdays

The five self-describing historical figures below were all born on October 31. Can you name them and place their birth years in chronological order? (Hint: the five people are in alphabetical order by surname.) Answers below.

• “When the Canadian version of Chicago-based Second City decided to make a sketch show for TV, I was part of the original cast and stayed for most of the run, playing Johnny LaRue and Mayor Tommy Shanks and others, then got into movies, with starring roles in Stripes, Splash, Spaceballs, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and Cool Runnings. Two of my projects, Canadian Bacon and Wagons East were released after a heart attack in my sleep ended it for me. I was later inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame and even became one of the first four entertainers featured on a Canadian postage stamp!”
• “As Chinese leader until the Communist takeover in 1949, I unified and modernized the nation, led the resistance against Japanese aggression, and preserved my country's culture and treasures from the invaders. I retreated to Taiwan with my supporters after the end of the Chinese Civil War following World War Two, and presided as president of the Republic Of China for the rest of my days.”
• “I was born in Leicester and gratefully accepted a grant from City Council to study acting in London, earning an Acting Diploma. Film and TV work followed, with my first high-profile role coming in the second part of the original BBC version of House of Cards, playing a recently-crowned King in an alternate history where the Queen passes away long before she actually did, and clashing with the evil Prime Minister leading to a forced abdication. A decade later I starred in Foyle’s War, a wartime mystery-drama about a Detective Chief Superintendent in Hastings on the south coast which ran for nine series.”
• “I played for Wake Forest as a running back, and led college football in rushing yards in my senior year, finishing tenth in the Heisman balloting. Somehow, I was passed over in both the NFL and AFL drafts, but I tried out for the Chicago Bears as a free agent, making the practice squad at first and the main roster a year later. My teammate was injured and I had my best season, and the next year we became one of American pro-sports first teammates, one white and one black, who roomed together on road trips. It was a tough season, and tougher for me, as I developed difficulty breathing during games and was diagnosed with embryonal cell carcinoma, which ended my life within a year. My story was made into a popular TV movie and I was played by a young James Caan!”
• “The way it is, actually, is that I took over for a legend, after a long career as a reporter and correspondent, and we dropped from first in the evening news ratings to trading places with the other two networks for the next little while. What you likely remember me for was my colorful turn of phrase whenever things got hot live, such as the wild 2000 election night, where I came up with ‘This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-o!’ and ‘This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a ’55 Ford!’!”

In 2024 (Ocean Shores), there were 289½ tables to this point.
In 2019 (Pasco), there were 379 tables to this point.
For full details, check out the Table Counts page!

Bridge clubs and tournaments throughout the ACBL are still struggling with returning to live play after the pandemic, so comparing this tournament's attendance to one before the pandemic is not really fair. We'll hope to get a similar number to Ocean Shores in 2024, around two-thirds of the 2019 pre-pandemic attendance, making the target number 294½ tables this time — but perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised!

Masterpoints for all players are updated nightly here first, with everyone’s current red and gold point total listed alphabetically below the leaders, before a shorter leaderboard is added to this page.

(The clues are above).

• Chiang Kai-shek ( 1887 - 1975 ) — Chinese general and politician who retreated to Taiwan after being defeated by the communists in the post-WWII Chinese Civil War.
• Dan Rather ( born 1931 ) — American journalist and correspondent who anchored the CBS Evening News after the retirement of Walter Cronkite.
• Brian Piccolo ( 1943 - 1970 ) — American football player whose career was cut short by embryonal cell carcinoma after a successful college stint with Wake Forest and a breakout season with the Chicago Bears.
• Michael Kitchen ( born 1948 ) — English actor best known as the Detective Chief Superintendent in mystery-drama Foyle’s War.
• John Candy ( 1950 - 1994 ) — Canadian actor and comedian who began on SCTV and later branched out into movies.