ENTERTAINMENT : Irving Berlin Marks 101st Birthday

Irving Berlin began the second year of his second century today. For his 101st birthday, the composer of such holiday classics as “Easter Parade” and “White Christmas” continued his practice of not paying much attention to his personal holiday.

“A quiet day with family. That he always has. He never had any big to-dos,” said his secretary, Hilda Schneider.

Another icon of American culture, dancer-choreographer Martha Graham, reached her 95th birthday today and, like Berlin, largely ignored it. She spent the afternoon at her dance studio rehearsing Mikhail Baryshnikov for a performance of the her 1947 creation, “Night Journey.”