Year 1922 in Film & Television

Events in Film & TV

Film Premier

Mar 4 1st vampire film Nosferatu premieres at the Berlin Zoological Garden, Germany, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula

Novelist Bram Stoker — Novelist
Bram Stoker

Event of Interest

May 23 Walt Disney incorporates his 1st film company Laugh-O-Gram Films

Animator Walt Disney — Animator
Walt Disney

Jul 11 The Hollywood Bowl opens.

Event of Interest

Jul 19 American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller first to break 1 minute barrier for 100m freestyle; swims 58.6s at Alameda, CA

Swimmer and Actor Johnny Weissmuller — Swimmer and Actor
Johnny Weissmuller

Jul 25 AT&T begins broadcasting on WBAY (NYC-later WEAF, WNBC, WRCA & WFAN)
Oct 18 British Broadcasting Company (BBC) founded, later called British Broadcasting Corporation

Historic Communication

Nov 14 BBC begins daily radio broadcasts from the 2LO transmitter at Marconi House

Inventor and Nobel Laureate Guglielmo Marconi — Inventor and Nobel Laureate
Guglielmo Marconi

Nov 26 1st successful Technicolor movie (The Toll of the Sea), premieres at the Rialto Theatre in NYC
Dec 24 BBC broadcasts first British radio play "The Truth about Father Christmas"

Birthdays in Film & TV

Jan 2 Jason Evers, American actor (Wrangler, Channing), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
Jan 3 Bill Travers [William Inge Lindon-Travers], British actor, director, officer and animal rights activist (Born Free, Gorgo), born in Sunderland, England (d. 1994)
Jan 13 John Hewer, English actor famous for portraying Captain Birdseye in British commercials, born in London (d. 2008)

Betty White

Jan 17 Betty White [Ludden], American actress and comedian with the longest TV career of a female entertainer (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls), born in Oak Park Illinois

Jan 19 Guy Madison [Robert Moseley], American actor (Wild Bill Hickok), born in Pumpkin Center, California (d. 1996)

Paul Scofield

Jan 21 Paul Scofield, English actor (A Man for All Seasons, Train), born in Hurst, England (d. 2008)

Jan 21 Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas, American singer (If?) and character actor (Kojak, On Her Majesty's Secret Service), born in Garden City New Jersey, (d. 1994)
Jan 25 Raymond Baxter, English television presenter & writer (Fast Lady), born in Ilford, United Kingdom (d. 2006)
Jan 26 Michael Bentine, England, author/comedian (Reluctant Jester)
Jan 30 Dick Martin [Thomas Richard], American actor & comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Carbon Copy), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2008)
Jan 31 William Sylvester, American actor (2001: A Space Odyssey, Gemini Man), born in Oakland, California (d. 1995)
Jan 31 Joanne Dru [LaCock], American actress (Red River, All the King's Men), born in Logan, West Virginia (d. 1996)
Feb 5 Bernard Kalb, American journalist, moderator, lecturer and author, one of the most respected broadcast journalists of his time (CBS News, NYT, Times), born in NYC, New York
Feb 6 Patrick Macnee, British actor (The Avengers, Magnum, P.I., Sherlock Holmes), born in London, England (d. 2015)
Feb 6 Denis Norden, British television personality, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 2018)
Feb 7 Josephine "Hattie" Jacques, British comedy actress (Carry on films, Hancock's Half Hour), born in Kent, England (d. 1980)
Feb 8 Audrey Meadows [Cotter], American actress (The Honeymooners, The Jackie Gleason Show), born in NYC, New York (d. 1996)
Feb 9 Kathryn Grayson [Zelma Hedrick], American vocalist and actress (Anchors Aweigh, Kiss Me Kate), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (d. 2010)
Feb 10 Neva Patterson, American actress (The Seven Year Itch, Taxi, Nichols), born near Nevada, Iowa (d. 2010)
Feb 24 Steven Hill, American actor (Mission Impossible, Law & Order), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2016)
Feb 26 Margaret Leighton, British actress (The Go-Between, The Night of the Iguana), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1976)
Mar 4 Richard E. Cunha, American cinematographer and film director (d. 2005)
Mar 4 Martha O'Driscoll, American film actress, dancer and socialite (Young and Willing, Blonde Alibi), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 1998)
Mar 4 Dina Pathak [Ghandi], Indian Gujarati theatre actress, director and activist (President-National Federation of Indian Women), born in Amreli, Gujarat, India (d. 2002)
Mar 5 James Noble, American actor (Benson, 1776, Airplane II: The Sequel), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2016)
Mar 8 Cyd Charisse [Tula Finklea], American dancer and actress (Singin' in the Rain), born in Amarillo, Texas (d. 2008)
Mar 10 Adam Kennedy, American actor, screenwriter, novelist ant painter (The Californians, Just Like Humphrey Bogart), born in Lafayette, Indiana (d. 1997)
Mar 11 Vinnette Carroll, American actress and 1st African-American woman to direct on Broadway (1972: Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope), born in NYC, New York (d. 2002)
Mar 11 José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor, director and comedian (La Cabina, Travels With My Aunt), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 2009)

Carl Reiner

Mar 20 Carl Reiner, American comedian, actor and writer (2000 Year Old Man, Dick Van Dyke Show), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2020)

Mar 20 Jack Kruschen, Canadian character actor (The Apartment, Busting Loose), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2002)
Mar 20 Ray Goulding, comedian (Bob & Ray), born in Lowell, Massachusetts
Mar 21 Russ Meyer, American film director (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!), born in San Leandro, California (d. 2004)
Mar 22 Stewart Stern, screenwriter (Rebel Without A Cause)
Mar 23 Marty Allen, Pitts, comedian (Allen & Rossi), "Hello Dere"
Mar 23 Ugo Tognazzi, Italian comedy actor, director and screenwriter (La Cage Aux Folles, The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man), born in Cremona, Italy (d. 1990)
Mar 25 Bruno VeSota, American character actor and director (They Stand Accused, Chopper, Teenage Doll, Wild Rovers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1976)

Eileen Ford

Mar 25 Eileen Ford, American modelling agency executive and co-founder (Ford Modelling Agency), born in Manhattan, New York, (d. 2014)

Mar 30 Turhan Bey [Sahultavy], Austrian-born actor dubbed "The Turkish Delight" (Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2012)
Mar 31 Patrick Magee [McGee], Northern Irish actor and director (A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon), born in Armagh, Northern Ireland (d.1982)
Mar 31 Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (Kismet, Man of La Mancha, Endless Love), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1999)

Doris Day

Apr 3 Doris Day [Kappelhoff], American singer, animal welfare activist and actress known as the "girl next door" actress (Pillow Talk, The Man Who Knew Too Much), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2019)

Apr 13 Jean Topart, French voice and film actor regarded as "one of the inimitable voices of French cinema" (Fantastic Planet), born in Paris, France (d. 2012)
Apr 14 Maria Luisa Bemberg, Argentine filmmaker, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1995)
Apr 15 Michael Ansara, American actor (Broken Arrow, Centennial), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 2013)
Apr 18 Barbara Hale, American actress (Della Street in Perry Mason), born in DeKalb, Illinois (d. 2017)
Apr 18 Avril Angers, British stand-up comedian and actress (Coronation Street, The Family Way), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2005)
Apr 24 John Donovan "J D" Cannon, American actor (McCloud, Ike, Call to Glory), born in Salmon, Idaho (d. 2005)
Apr 26 Mike Kellin [Myron Kellin], American actor (Pipe Dream, American Buffalo), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1983)
Apr 27 Daphne Anderson, British actress (Beggar's Opera, Hobson's Choice), born in London, England (d. 2013)
Apr 27 Jack Klugman, American actor (Oscar-Odd Couple, Quincy, Goodbye Columbus), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
May 5 Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and film actress (Box Office, Affair with a Stranger), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2015)
May 6 Vladimir Etush, Soviet actor and People's Artist of the USSR, born in Moscow, RSFSR
May 7 Darren McGavin [Richardson], American actor (Murphy Brown, The Night Stalker, A Christmas Story), born in Spokane, Washington (d. 2006)
May 7 Lewis "Lew" Anderson, American actor and musician (The Howdy Doody Show), born in Kirkman, Iowa (d. 2006)
May 9 Sheila Burrell, British actress (Black Orchid, Paranoiac, Laughter in Dark), born in Blackheath, London (d. 2011)
May 10 Nancy Walker, American actress (Rhoda, McMillan & Wife), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1992)
May 13 Bea Arthur, American comedian, singer and actress (Maude, The Golden Girls), born in NYC, New York (d. 2009)
May 14 Richard Deacon, American actor (Dick Van Dyke Show), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1984)
May 19 David McLean [Eugene Joseph Huth], American actor known for appearing in Marlboro advertisements (Days of Our Lives, Tate), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1995)
May 22 Judith Crist, American film critic (TV Guide, Today), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2012)
May 22 Quinn Martin, American television producer, born in NYC, New York (d. 1987)
May 24 Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)

Christopher Lee

May 27 Sir Christopher Lee, English actor (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), born in London, England (d. 2015)

May 31 Denholm Elliott, actor (Alfie, Raiders of the Lost Ark), born in London, England (d. 1992)
Jun 1 Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (My Favorite Husband), born in West Orange, New Jersey (d. 1991)
Jun 1 Joan Copeland [Miller], American actress (Roseland, A Little Sex), born in NYC, New York
Jun 2 Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
Jun 2 Carmen Silvera, Canadian-born British actress ('Allo 'Allo!), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2002)
Jun 8 Myron Healey, American actor (The Lone Ranger, Wyatt Earp), born in Petaluma, Sonoma County California (d. 2005)
Jun 9 Fernand Seguin, Canadian biochemist - Radio and TV animator (d. 1988)

Judy Garland

Jun 10 Judy Garland [Frances Gumm], American actress and singer (The Wizard of Oz), born in Minnesota (d. 1969)

Jun 10 Bill Kerr, South African-born Australian actor (Hancock's Half Hour), born in Cape Town (d. 2014)
Jun 11 Michael Cacoyannis, Greek film director (Zorba the Greek, Trojan Women), born in Limassol, Cyprus (d. 2011)
Jun 11 Tony Charmoli, American dancer, choreographer, and director (Dinah Shore, Danny Kaye), born in Mountain Iron, Minnesota
Jun 24 Jack Carter [Chakrin], American comedian and actor, born in Brooklyn New York (d. 2015)
Jun 26 Eleanor Parker, American actress (Caged, Detective Story, Hans Brinker), born in Cedarville, Ohio (d. 2013)
Jun 26 Frances Rafferty, American WWII pin-up girl, dancer and actress (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood), born in Sioux City, Iowa (d. 2004)
Jun 28 Michael Vale, American actor known for being Dunkin' Donuts mascot "Fred the Baker", born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2005)
Jun 28 Erik Bauersfeld, American voice actor (Star Wars' Admiral Ackbar "Its a trap"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2016)
Jul 6 William Schallert, American actor (Patty Duke Show, Get Smart), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
Jul 11 Eugene "Gene" Evans, American actor (My Friend Flicka, Johnny Ringo, Alamo), born in Hollbrook, Arizona (d. 1998)
Jul 13 Lois Kibbee, American actress (Edge of Night), born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin (d. 1993)
Jul 21 Mollie Sugden, English actress (Are You Being Served?), born in Keighley, Yorkshire (d. 2009)
Jul 22 Dan Rowan [Daniel Hale Rowan], American comedian (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), born in Beggs, Oklahoma (d. 1987)
Jul 26 Blake Edwards, American writer and director (10, SOB, Breakfast at Tiffany's), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 2010)
Jul 26 Jason Robards, American actor (A Thousand Clowns, Any Wednesday), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2000)
Jul 27 Adolfo Celi, Italian film actor and director (Next Man, Murders in Rue Morgue), born in Messina, Sicily (d. 1986)
Jul 27 Lillian Hayman, American actress (Leslie Uggams Show), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1994)
Jul 27 Norman Lear, American TV writer and producer (All in The Family), born in New Haven, Connecticut
Aug 1 Arthur Hill, Canadian actor (Owen Marshall, Glitter), born in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada (d. 2006)
Aug 1 Paul Lambert, American character actor (Executive Suite, Spartacus), born in El Paso, Texas (d. 1997)
Aug 8 Rory Calhoun [Francis Timothy McCown], American actor (Blue & Gray, How to Marry a Millionaire), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1999)
Aug 12 Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor and playwright (Porridge), born in Paisley (d. 1987)
Aug 22 Micheline Presle [Chassagne], French actress (Nea, Donkey Skin), born in Paris, France
Aug 23 Jean Darling, American child actress (Our Gang), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 2015)
Aug 23 Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter, television writer and producer, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2011)
Aug 26 Irving R. Levine, American journalist (NBC News), born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (d. 2009)
Sep 1 Il Mattatore [Vittorio Gassman], Italian actor, director and screenwriter (Scent of a Woman, War & Peace), born in Genoa, Italy (d. 2000)
Sep 1 Yvonne De Carlo [Middleton], Canadian-American actress (10 Commandments; The Munsters-Lily), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2007)

Weddings in Film & TV

Wedding of Interest

May 13 "Latin Lover" silent actor Rudolph Valentino (27) weds film costume and set designer Natacha Rambova (25) in Mexicali, Mexico

Actor and Silent Film Idol Rudolph Valentino — Actor and Silent Film Idol
Rudolph Valentino

Wedding of Interest

Sep 28 Stage and film actor James Cagney (23) weds dancer Frances Vernon

Divorces in Film & TV

Divorce of Interest

Aug 9 Actress Gloria Swanson (23) divorces businessman Herbert K. Somborn after almost 3 years of marriage

Deaths in Film & TV

Feb 1 William Desmond Taylor [Deane-Tanner], Irish director & actor (The Awakening, Broken Coin), murdered at 49
Mar 4 Bert Williams, African American comedian and entertainer, dies at 46
May 21 Sidney Ainsworth, British silent film actor (Not in the News, The Rajah's Tunic), dies at 49
May 29 Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Armenian-Russian theatrical director of the Moscow Art Theatre (Vakhtangov Theatre), dies of cancer at 39
Jun 6 Lillian Russell, American actress and operetta singer, dies at about 60
Nov 19 Frank Bacon, American playwright, actor and author (Lightnin'), dies from a heart attack at 58