HUGH WALPOLE, An English novelist, was born on this date (d: 1941); As a young man, the future dean of English letters who could make or break literary careers and reputations hero-worshiped Henry James, more than forty years his senior. Walpole called him “my very dear Master,” and James responded with “darling Hugh” and “my belovedest little Hugh.”

Little Hugh, the story goes, once attempted to seduce the virginal James, who promptly broke into tears and cried, “I can’t...I can’t” Of the many who could, and did, Walpole’s greatest loves were the Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior and a married Cornish constable names Harold Cheevers who had once been revolver champ of the British Isles. Like E.M. Forster’s London bobby, Cheevers was brawny and masculine and stayed with Walpole until the day the writer died.

JOHN HOLMES, American porn star, died (b. 1944); For a whole new spin on the name "Walpole" and better known as “John C. Holmes” or “Johnny Wadd” (after the lead character in a series of related films), John Holmes was one of the most famous male adult film stars of all time, appearing in about 2,500 adult loops, stag films, and porno feature movies in the 1970s and 1980s, including at least one Gay feature film and a handful of Gay loops.

He was best known for his exceptionally, nay, monumentally large penis, which was heavily promoted as being the longest in the porn industry; however, its exact dimensions are unknown. It was detailed, by Holmes himself, in an interview in "Screw" magazine to be a formidable 16.5 inches. It's girth was prodigious. Holmes also attracted notoriety for his involvement in the Wonderland murders in 1981.

Also known as the Four on the Floor Murders" or "the Laurel Canyon Murders," four still unsolved murders occurred in Los Angeles on July 1, 1981. It is assumed that six people were targeted to be killed in the known drug house of the Wonderland Gang, five of whom were present. Four of those five, Billy DeVerell, Ron Launius, Joy Miller, and Barbara Richardson, died from extensive blunt-force trauma injuries. Only Ron Launius' wife, Susan Launius, survived the attack, allegedly masterminded by organized crime figure and nightclub owner Eddie Nash. Nash, his henchman Gregory DeWitt Diles, and Holmes were at various times arrested, tried, and acquitted for their involvement in the murders. Val Kilmer played Holmes in a 2003 film about the murders, Wonderland.

John Holmes died from complications of HIV-AIDS.