1921 in Film & Television

• Mar 21 Walter Kerr Theater (Ritz, CBS, NBC, ABC) opens at 223 W 48th St NYC
• May 23 "Shuffle Along" 1st black musical comedy, opens in NYC
• Aug 5 KDKA Pittsburgh presents first radio broadcast of MLB; Pirates beat Phillies, 8-0; Harold Arlin first play-by-play broadcaster
• Sep 7 In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held.
• Sep 8 1st Miss America crowned in Atlantic City - Margaret Gorman (16) of Washington, D.C.
• Oct 28 Amsterdam's Tuschinski movie theater opens

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 137

• Jan 3 John Russell, American actor (Pale Rider, Rio Bravo), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1991)
• Jan 9 Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright, born in Mumbai, India (d. 2006)
• Jan 11 Kathleen Byron, British actress (Abdication, Profile, Saving Private Ryan), born in London, England (d. 2009)
• Jan 11 Gory Guerrero, professional wrestler (d. 1990)
• Jan 15 Frank Thornton, British actor (Are You Being Served?, Last of the Summer Wine), born in Dulwich, London (d. 2013)
• Jan 17 Dehl Berti, Chiricahua Apache actor (Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Guns of Paradise), born in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 1991)
• Jan 21 John Doucette, American actor (The Lone Ranger, Lock Up, Big Town), born in Brockton, Plymouth County Massachusetts (d. 1994)
• Jan 28 Alfred Marks, British actor and comedian (Desert Mice, Scream & Scream Again), born in Holborn, London (d. 1996)
• Jan 29 Anthony George, American aactor (Untouchables, Checkmate), born in Endicott, New York (d. 2005)
• Jan 31 Carol Channing, American actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hello Dolly), singer and comedian, born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2019)
• Jan 31 John Agar, American actor (Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2002)
• Jan 31 Mario Lanza [Alfredo Arnold Cocozza], Italian-American actor and singer (Great Caruso, Toast of New Orleans), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1959)
• Feb 1 Peter Sallis, British actor (Wallace and Gromit, Last of the Summer Wine), born in Twickenham, England (d. 2017)
• Feb 5 Ken Adam, British film production designer (James Bond sets), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2016)

• Feb 9 B M Ducat-Amos, Air Commandant/director (RAF Nursing Service)
• Feb 14 Hugh Downs, TV journalist (20/20, Concentration), born in Akron, Ohio

• Feb 22 Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (La Strada, Swindle, White Sheik) and wife of director Federico Fellini, born in San Giorgio di Piano, Italy (d. 1994)
• Feb 24 Abe Vigoda, American actor (Barney Miller, The Godfather), born in NYC, New York (d. 2016)
• Feb 24 Douglass Watson, American actor (Satan Murders, Another World), born in Jackson, Georgia (d. 1989)
• Feb 26 Betty Hutton [Elizabeth June Thornburg], American actress, dancer, singer and comedian (Greatest Show on Earth), born in Battle Creek, Michigan (d. 2007)
• Feb 27 Michael Fox, American actor (Perry Mason, Quincy, Dallas, Bold & the Beautiful), born in Yonkers, New York (d. 1996)
• Mar 1 Jack Clayton, film director
• Mar 2 Norman T. Hatch, American oscar-winning marine cinematographer during WWII (With the Marines at Tarawa), born in Boston (d. 2017)
• Mar 3 Diana Barrymore, American actress (Nightmare, Lady Courageous, Fired Wife), born in NYC, New York (d. 1960)
• Mar 4 Joan Greenwood, British actress and director (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Amorous Mr Prawn), born in London, England (d. 1987)
• Mar 6 Ross Hunter, American film producer (Airport, Madame X, Pillow Talk), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996) date of birth disputed)
• Mar 8 Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (Skipper-Gilligan's Island), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1990)
• Mar 9 Carl Betz, American actor (The Donna Reed Show, Love of Life), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1978)
• Mar 9 Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (A Girl in Black), born in Athens, Greece (d. 1998)
• Mar 10 Cecil "Cec" Linder, Polish-Canadian actor (Goldfinger, Quatermass and the Pit), born in Galicia, Poland (d. 1992)
• Mar 12 Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (Oklahoma!, Carousel), born in East Orange, New Jersey (d. 1986)
• Mar 15 Madelyn Pugh, American television writer
• Mar 19 Tommy Cooper, British comedian and magician (d. 1984)
• Mar 21 Logan Ramsey, American actor (Head, Joy Sticks, Say Yes), born in Long Beach, California (d. 2000)
• Mar 22 Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi, Italian actor (Between Miracles), born in Castro dei Volsci, Italy (d. 2004)
• Mar 25 Nancy Kelly, American child actress and model (The Bad Seed, Double Exposure, Jesse James), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1995)

• Mar 28 Dirk Bogarde [Derek van den Bogaerde] British writer and actor (Death in Venice, Servant), born in London, England (d. 1999)
• Apr 3 Robert Karvelas, American actor (Get Smart), born in NYC, New York (d. 1991)
• Apr 5 Robert Q. Lewis, American TV host (Masquerade Party, Robert Q Lewis Show), born in NYC, New York (d. 1991)
• Apr 9 Frankie Thomas, American actor and author (Tom Corbett Space Cadet), born in NYC, New York (d. 2006)
• Apr 10 Chuck Connors, American author, actor (The Rifleman, Branded, Cowboy in Africa), professional basketball and baseball player, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1992)
• Apr 16 Peter Ustinov, British actor, author, journalist, comedian and broadcaster (Death on Nile, Logan's Run, Billy Budd), born in London, England (d. 2004)
• Apr 20 Janine Sutto, French-Canadian actress and comedian (Guide de la petite vengeance), born in Paris, France (d. 2017)
• Apr 21 Jack Fletcher, American actor (Calucci's Department, Once Upon a Mattress), born in Forest Hills, New York (d. 1990)
• Apr 23 Janet Blair [Martha Janet Lafferty], American singer and actress (Leave it to the Girls, Smith Family), born in Altoona, Pennsylvania (d. 2007)
• Apr 28 Rowland Evans, American news reporter (CNN-Evans & Novak), born in Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania (d. 2001)
• Apr 29 Tommy Noonan, American actor, screenwriter and producer (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Promises Promises), born in Bellingham, Washington (d. 1968)
• May 3 Joe Ames, American singer and actor (The Ames Brothers Show), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 2007)
• May 4 Virginia "Patsy" Garrett, American singer and actress (Nanny & the Professor, Fred Waring's Pleasure Time), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2015)
• May 7 Gale Robbins [Betty Gale Murphy], American singer and actress (Fuller Brush Girl, Mr Hex), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1980)
• May 14 Arve Opsahl, Norwegian actor and stand-up comedian (Mot i brøstet, Olsen-banden), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2007)
• May 16 Harry Carey Jr, American actor (Back to the Future Part III, Gremlins), born in Saugus, California (d. 2012)
• May 19 Daniel Gélin, French actor (Obsession, The Man Who Knew Too Much), born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire (d. 2002)
• May 23 Humphrey Lyttelton, British jazz musician, actor and broadcaster (It's Great to Be Young), born in Eton, Buckinghamshire (d. 2008)
• May 23 James [Benjamin] Blish, US/UK, sci-fi author (Hugo, Star Trek Reader)
• May 23 Loren Tindall, American actor (Meet Me on Broadway, Girl of Limberlost), born in Hastings, Oklahoma (d. 1973)
• May 23 Montague Modlyn, broadcaster
• May 31 Alida Valli [Baroness Alida von Marckenstein-Frauenberg], Italian actress (The Paradine Case, The Third Man), born in Rome, Italy (d. 2006)
• May 31 Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer
• Jun 1 Nelson Riddle, American Grammy Award winning bandleader, conductor and orchestrator for Capitol Records (Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Dean Martin), born in Oradell, New Jersey (d. 1985)
• Jun 8 Alexis Smith, Canadian actress and singer (The Age of Innocence, Follies), born in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada (d. 1993)
• Jun 8 Sheila Ryan, American actress (Big Fix, Mule Train, Ringside, Caged Fury), born in Topeka, Kansas (d. 1975)
• Jun 12 Hendrik Witteveen, Dutch economist, Minister of Finance (1963–65; 1967–71), born in Zeist, Netherlands
• Jun 12 James Archibald Houston, Canadian author and filmmaker (Tikta'Liktak), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2005)
• Jun 21 Jane Russell, American actress and leading sex symbol in 1940s-50s (The Outlaw), born in Bemidji, Minnesota (d. 2011)
• Jun 21 Jean Kent [Joan Summerfield], British actress (Caravan, Bond Street), born in London, England (d. 2013)
• Jun 21 Joan Tetzel, American actress (Hell Below Zero, Joy in the Morning), born in NYC, New York (d. 1977)

• Jun 22 Joseph Papp, stage producer/director (Pirates of Penzance), born in Brooklyn, New York
• Jun 27 Muriel Pavlow, British actress (Murder, She Said, Reach for the Sky), born in Lewisham, London (d. 2019)
• Jul 2 Maria Britneva, Russian actress (A Room with a View, Maurice), born in Petrograd, Russia (d. 1994)
• Jul 3 Susan Peters [Suzanne Carnahan], American actress (Random Harvest, Young Ideas), born in Spokane, Washington (d. 1952)
• Jul 10 Jean "Jeff" Donnell, American actress (Gidget Goes to Rome, Hoedown, 9 Girls), born in Windham, Maine (d. 1988)
• Jul 11 Ilse Werner [Ilse Charlotte Still], Dutch-German actress (Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow), born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (d. 2005)
• Jul 13 Ernest Gold [Goldner], Austrian-born American film composer (Exodus), born in Vienna (d. 1999)
• Jul 13 Git Gay [Birgit Carp], Swedish revue director, actress and singer (Git Gay Show, Ge mig en lektion i kärlek), born in Karlshamn, Sweden (d. 2007)
• Jul 17 Acquanetta [Mildred Davenport], American actress nicknamed "The Venezuelan Volcano" (Tarzan & Leopard Woman), born in Newberry, South Carolina (d. 2004)
• Jul 17 František Zvarík, Slovakian stage actor (Slovak National Theatre), born in Vrútky, Slovakia (d. 2008)
• Jul 23 Calvert DeForest, American comedian (Larry "Bud" Melman), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
• Jul 23 Heinz Bennent, German actor (Possession, The Serpent's Egg), born in Stolberg, Germany (d. 2011)
• Jul 26 Jean Shepherd, American writer and actor (A Christmas Story), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1999)
• Jul 27 Émile Genest, French-Canadian actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Les Plouffe), born in Quebec City, Canada (d. 2003)
• Jul 29 Richard Egan, American actor (Empire, Redigo, Pollyanna), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1987)
• Jul 30 George Lampe, Dutch painter and director (Free Academy), born in Schiedam, Netherlands (d. 1982)
• Aug 2 Alan Whicker, British journalist and TV broadcaster (Whicker's World), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 2013)
• Aug 3 Marilyn Maxwell, American actress and entertainer (Champion, The Lemon Drop Kid, East of Sumatra), born in Clarinda, Iowa (d. 1972)
• Aug 8 Esther Williams, American swimmer and actress (Dangerous when Wet), born in Inglewood California (d. 2013)
• Aug 17 Maureen O'Hara [FitzSimons], Irish actress and singer (Miracle on 34th St, The Quiet Man), Ranelagh, County Dublin (d. 2015)
• Aug 19 Gene Roddenberry, executive producer (Star Trek), born in El Paso, Texas
• Aug 25 Monty Hall, Canadian-American TV game show host (Let's Make a Deal), born in Winnipeg Canada (d. 2017)
• Aug 26 David Begelman, film producer
• Aug 27 Leo Penn, American actor and film director, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (d. 1998)
• Aug 28 Johan "Joop" Doderer, Dutch actor (Swiebertje, My Fair Lady), born in Velsen, Netherlands (d. 2005)
• Aug 28 Nancy Kulp, American actress (The Beverly Hillbillies, The Aristocats, Shane), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1991)
• Aug 28 Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, academic and playwright (All About My Mother), born in Lima, Peru (d. 2007)
• Sep 3 Harry Landers [Sorokin], American actor (Star Trek, Ben Casey, Drive a Crooked Road), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)
• Sep 5 Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive, born in Houston, Texas (d. 2007)

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next

• Apr 8 Ernst von Possart, German actor and theatre director (Bayerische Hoftheater), dies at 79
• Apr 18 Earnest [Bachigaloupi] Tourniaire, Dutch actor (Inkwartiering, Kloris & Roses), dies at 70
• Oct 17 Katherine Griffith [Kiernan], American actress (Pollyanna, Fast Company), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 45

• Share On Facebook
• Share On Twitter