I'm watching Seventh Voyage tonight. I never tire of Ray's work. Not only did he inspire all the famous careers mentioned above, but thousands of others like myself, who may not have achieved fame but have been motivated to do creative work and live a life of imagination.
What could be better or more important in the end than to be a great role model? That's the best model he ever made.

When I finally got to meet him for the first time, he was everything you'd want a hero to be - open, unassuming, seemingly genuinely interested in what I had to say, generous with his time (this was before he traveled with 'handlers", I just saw him walking in an empty hotel hallway, approached him and spoke with him for over 10 minutes).

Happy birthday indeed.

SAM33