One of these days I'll take a break from making blogs every few days or weeks, especially with the various so-called "reboot" news in the past few months, among other news, both good and bad, which I'll get to in a moment. But I figured I'd make this blog for a special reason. That isn't to bring up my birthday being on July 19th, but let's be real, that isn't really an important subject matter here at the Pirates Wiki.
Tamayo Perry[]
First, regarding the note of bad news, which actually happened on June 23, 2024, but I didn't bring this up partly because it didn't feel right for me to do so, since almost every news outlet covered it the day of. But now that over a week has passed, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to mention it now, it being better late than never. June 23 saw the passing of Tamayo Perry, a renowned lifeguard celebrated for exceptional surfing talent as well as his message of love, deep faith in Jesus Christ, and living life to the fullest with the people you care about. For Pirates, Perry was one of an estimated 7,000 men who turned up for casting calls in Kauai and Oahu, Hawaii, and was one of six lucky candidates who became a core group of Queen Anne's Revenge pirates for filming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. While uncredited for the role, his contribution won't be forgotten here. For those interested, Perry's wife Emilia made a post on social media (i.e. Facebook and Instagram) inviting fans to join the celebration of Tamayo's life at Ehukai Beach Park on July 14th, adding the following Bible verse:
- "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
- 1 Corinthians 13:13
R.I.P. Tamayo Perry, you are loved and missed.
July Birthdays[]
And now we get to my main reason for this posting: we have quite a few birthdays in July, both Earthly and Heavenly, for some of our Pirates-related cast and crew, as well as some uncredited background Marines and Pirates. First, I wish a heavenly birthday to Disney Legend George Bruns who co-wrote "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" for the original Disneyland ride (July 3, 1914 – May 23, 1983); Uncle Vernon, er, His Majesty King George II actor Richard Griffiths (July 31, 1947 – March 28, 2013) from On Stranger Tides; and Eduardo Villanueva actor Sergio Calderón (July 21, 1945 – May 31, 2023) from At World's End. Earthly birthdays, or at least who are among the living, include Lee Arenberg (July 18, 1962), who is best known as Pintel, a pirate (and possibly Uncle Abner) almost always seen with his cohort (and possible nephew Terry) Ragetti in the original Pirates trilogy, among other appearances. We also have Golshifteh Farahani (July 10, 1983), known to Pirates fans as Shansa the sea witch in Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar's Revenge. This week in particular, we have Geoffrey Rush (July 6, 1951) aka Captain Hector Barbossa in all five Pirates movies, as well as K. Todd Freeman (July 9, 1965) who appeared as Captain Morgan in Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar's Revenge.
Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio birthdays and news[]
Remember when I said I wanted to make this blog for a special reason? Well, here it is. As I said, we've had some news over the past few months (hell, why not say years?) regarding the future of Pirates of the Caribbean, with the most recent news being that it is a reboot—I have my own thoughts about this subject, but I've already covered it enough in other blog posts, and no doubt I will cover it upon the next scrap of "new" news. With that in mind, I figure I'd express a more special Happy Birthday to Ted Elliott (July 4, 1961) and Terry Rossio (July 2, 1960), the screenwriting duo who gave us four amazing adventures with Captain Jack Sparrow, and one short film. Those who follow the history of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise would know that Elliott and Rossio had a concept for a pirate movie based on the original Disney ride during the early 1990s, pitching the idea no later than after completing work on Disney's Aladdin, so Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was over ten years in the making...and we have Elliott and Rossio, in part, to thank for the classic it became.
Mr. Rossio is one fans have heard the most from over the years, regarding fan questions, debunking falsehoods, and of course one POTC Wiki interview, as well as having attempted one proposed story for the fifth Pirates movie, which was shared on the 20th anniversary of the first film. And wouldn't you know it, today is his birthday, so give what could have been Captain Jack's fifth adventure a read as a tribute! Mr. Elliott was initially involved in a screenplay for a new Pirates movie (whether it is the one currently being written by Jeff Nathanson is unknown, though it is likely the case) but it seems Elliott is currently (for now, according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer) attached to National Treasure 3 instead, but that's another story for another day. Funny enough, it may be appropriate, as National Treasure originally focused on stealing the U.S. Declaration of Independence which was originally signed July 4th, 1776—so Independence Day, Elliott's birthday...there's a connection there! Either way, as two key persons in creating the Pirates franchise we know and love, I think we should wish both screenwriters/producers well as they go into new horizons.
And that's it! Now that I gave me wishes to some of our cast and crew of the Pirates series, I like to wish all users whose birthdays are in July. While I have NO idea how many of our POTC-related Wiki users and visitors were born in July, I'll just say "Happy Birthday!" and wish you all well...including meself (July 19) for what it's worth. Far har. :)