Year 1923 in Film & Television

Events in Film & TV

Event of Interest

Feb 1 Noël Coward's "Young Idea" premieres in London

Playwright, Director and Singer Noël Coward — Playwright, Director and Singer
Noël Coward

Hollywoodland

Jul 13 The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads "Hollywoodland" but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949

Learn More

Learn More

Sep 7 Mary Katherine Campbell (Ohio), 16, crowned 2nd Miss America 1922-23
Oct 16 Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio founded

Event of Interest

Nov 23 Cecil B. DeMille's first version of "The Ten Commandments" premieres in the USA

Filmmaker and Director Cecil B. DeMille — Filmmaker and Director
Cecil B. DeMille

Dec 31 BBC begins using Big Ben chime ID

Birthdays in Film & TV

Jan 1 Barbara Baxley, American actress and singer (Norma Rae, Countdown), born in Stockton, California (d. 1990)
Jan 3 Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Australian actor, pilot and radio announcer, born in Coogee, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2009)
Jan 8 Giorgio Tozzi, American operatic bass (dubbed vocals of Emile de Becque for "South Pacific" film), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2011)
Jan 8 Larry Storch, American comedian (F Troop, Larry Storch Show), born in NYC, New York
Jan 13 Jack Watling, British actor (Nanny, Adventure for 2, Naked Heart), born in London, England (d. 2001)
Jan 16 Gene Feist, American actor, playwright, producer and co-founder of Roundabout Theater Company, born in New York (d. 2014)
Jan 17 Onno Molenkamp, Dutch actor (Lifespan, Broken Mirrors, The Lift), born in Fort de Kock, Dutch East Indies (d. 1990)
Jan 17 Carol Raye [Kathleen Corkery], British-born Australian actress (Number 96, Blankety Blanks), born in London, England
Jan 19 Jean Stapleton, American actress (Damn Yankees, Klute, All in the Family), born in NYC, New York (d. 2013)
Jan 21 Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer and actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona), born in Cadiz, Spain (d. 1995)
Jan 22 Diana Douglas, Bermudian-born American actress (The Indian Fighter), born in Devonshire Bermuda (d. 2015)
Jan 23 Florence Halop, American actress (Night Court, St Elsewhere), born in Jamaica, Queens, New York (d. 1986)
Jan 26 Anne Jeffreys [Annie Carmichael], American singer and actress (Dick Tracy, Topper, General Hospital), born in Goldsboro, North Carolina (d. 2017)
Jan 31 Eddie Ryder, American actor (General Hospital, Up Yours), born in NYC, New York (d. 1997)
Feb 2 Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (These Three, Hitler's Children, Lone Ranger), born in NYC, New York (d. 1988)
Feb 2 Liz Smith [Mary Elizabeth], American journalist and gossip columnist known as "The Grand Dame of Dish" (WNBC, NY Daily News), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2017)
Feb 4 Conrad Bain, Canadian actor (Maude, Diff'rent Strokes), born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada (d. 2013)
Feb 7 Keefe Brasselle [John Brasselli], American actor (The Eddie Cantor Story, Be Our Guest), born in Elyria, Ohio (d. 1981)
Feb 15 Keene Curtis, American character actor (The Rothschilds, Cheers, Amanda's), born in Salt Lake City, Utah (d. 2002)
Feb 18 Allan Melvin, American character actor (Brady Bunch, All in Family), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2008)
Feb 27 Dexter Gordon, American jazz tenor saxophonist and actor (Round Midnight, The Other Side of Round Midnight), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1990)
Feb 28 Charles Durning, American actor (Fury, Sting, Tootsie), born in Highland Falls, New York (d. 2012)
Mar 3 Barney Martin, American actor, comedy writer and NYPD detective (Seinfeld), born in Queens, New York (d. 2005)
Mar 6 Ed McMahon, American TV host (Johnny Carson Show, Star Search), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2009)
Mar 8 Sembene Ousmane, Senegalese author/novelist/director (Doctor Noir)
Mar 11 Terence Alexander, English actor (Bergerac), born in London, England (d. 2009)
Mar 12 Helen Parrish, American actress (Hour Glass, Three Smart Girls Grow Up), born in Columbus, Georgia (d. 1959)
Mar 12 Mae Young, American professional wrestler and one of the pioneers in women's wrestling (National Wrestling Alliance, WWF), born in Sand Springs, Oklahoma (d. 2014)
Mar 22 Marcel Marceau, French mime artist and actor (Barbarella, Silent Movie), born in Strasbourg, France (d. 2007)
Mar 24 Murray Hamilton, American character actor (Rich Man Poor Man, Anatomy of a Murder), born in Washington, North Carolina (d. 1986)
Mar 26 Bob Elliott, American comedian (Bob & Ray, Get a Life), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2016)
Apr 1 Robert "Bobby" Jordan, American actor (Dead End Kids, Kid Dynamite, Flying Wild), born in Harrison, New York (d. 1965)
Apr 2 Gloria Henry [McEniry], American actress (Dennis the Menace), born in New Orleans, Louisiana [1]
Apr 3 Jan Sterling [Jane Adriance], American actress (Ace in the Hole, The High and the Mighty), born in NYC, New York (d. 2004)
Apr 4 Manon Alving, Dutch actress (The Assault, Short American), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 2010)
Apr 4 Peter Vaughan, British actor (Porridge, Game of Thrones), born in Wem, Shropshire, England (d. 2016)
Apr 5 Michael V Gazzo, American playwright and actor (The Godfather Part II, Fear City), born in Hillside, New Jersey (d. 1995)
Apr 8 Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (Knight Rider), born in Cork, Ireland (d. 1997)
Apr 9 Dann Cahn, American film editor (I Love Lucy, Beverly Hillbillies), born in Hollywood, California (d. 2012)
Apr 12 Ann Miller [Johnnie Lucille Collier], American actress, dancer, and singer (On the Town), born in Chireno, Texas (d. 2004)
Apr 13 Mari Blanchard, American actress and femme fatale (Kathy-Klondike), born in Long Beach, California (d. 1970)
Apr 13 Don Adams, American actor and comedian (Get Smart), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)

Harry Reasoner

Apr 17 Harry Reasoner, American newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS), born in Dakota City, Iowa (d. 1991)

Apr 20 Mother Angelica, Catholic American Franciscan nun, born in Canton, Ohio (d. 2016)
Apr 22 Hugh Lloyd, British actor (Hugh and I, Punch & Judy Man), born in Chester, England (d. 2008)
Apr 22 Avis Bunnage, British actress (Rising Damp, Coronation Street), born in Ardwick, Manchester, England (d. 1990)
Apr 22 Aaron Spelling, American television producer (Charlie's Angels), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2006)

Bettie Page

Apr 22 Bettie Page, American pinup model considered the 'Queen of Pinups' and the 'Dark Angel', born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2008)

Apr 23 Nathan "Dambuza" Mdledle, South African singer (Manhattan Brothers) and actor
Apr 23 Antonino Rocca, Italian-Argentine professional wrestler, born in Treviso, Veneto, Italy (d. 1977)
Apr 25 Anita Björk, Swedish actress (Miss Julie, Loving Couples, Night People), born in Tällberg, Sweden (d. 2012
Apr 28 Adele Mara [Adelaida Delgado], American actress, singer and dancer (Cool Million, Wheels), born in Highland Park, Michigan (d. 2010)
Apr 28 William Guarnere, South American WWII Veteran portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
Apr 29 Maxine Audley, British actress (Peeping Tom, Ricochet, House of Cards), born in London, England (d. 1992)
Apr 30 Al Lewis [Alexander Meister], American actor (The Munsters, Used Cars), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2006)
May 4 Eric Sykes, English writer, actor and director (Goon Show, Sykes and A...), born in Oldham (d. 2012)
May 4 Mrinal Sen, Bengali film director (In Search of Famine), born in Faridpur, East Bengal (d. 2018)
May 5 Godfrey Quigley, Irish actor (Barry Lyndon, Educating Rita, Rooney), born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine (d. 1994)
May 6 Elizabeth Sellars, Scottish actress (Chalk Garden, A Voyage Round My Father), born in Glasgow, Scotland
May 9 Johnny Grant, American radio personality, television producer (d. 2008)
May 15 Johnny Walker [Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi], Indian actor (Madhumati, Chachi 420), born in Indore, British India (d. 2003)
May 18 Liam Sullivan, American singer and actor (Star Trek, The Magic Sword, Monroes), born in Jacksonville, Illinois (d. 1998)
May 20 Edith Fellows, American actress (Pennies From Heaven, She Married Her Boss), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2011)
May 24 Siobhán McKenna [Cionnaith], Irish stage actress (Saint Joan, The Chalk Garden), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 1986)
May 24 Seijun Suzuki, Japanese cult film director, born in Tokyo (d. 2017)
May 26 Horst Tappert, German director, actor and former SS member (Derrick), born in Elberfeld, Germany (d. 2008)
May 26 James Arness, American actor (Gunsmoke, How the West Was Won), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2011)
May 26 Roy Dotrice, British actor (A Moon for the Misbegotten, Amadeus) and narrator (A Song of Ice and Fire), born in Guernsey, Channel Islands (d. 2017)
May 27 Sumner Redstone, American media mogul (ViacomCBS), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2020)
May 30 James "Jimmy" Lydon, American actor (Twice Blessed, Life with Father), born in Harrington Park, New Jersey
Jun 15 Erland Josephson, Swedish actor, dramatist and author (The Sacrifice, Utflykt), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 2012)
Jun 21 John Compton, American actor (Shannon-D.A.'s Man), born in Lynchburg, Tennessee (d. 2015)
Jul 1 Constance Ford, American model and actress (Burden Hunt, Another World), born in NYC, New York (d. 1993)
Jul 6 Cathy O'Donnell [Ann Steely], American film noir actress (Miniver Story, Man from Laramie), born in Siluria, Alabama (d. 1970)
Jul 6 Marie McDonald, American singer and actress known as "The Body Beautiful" (Promises Promises), born in Burgin, Kentucky (d. 1965)
Jul 10 Suzanne Cloutier, Canadian film actress (Othello), born in Ottawa, Ontario (d. 2003)
Jul 13 Sudie Bond, American actress (Love Story, Johnny Dangerously), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1984)
Jul 14 Dale Robertson, American actor (Death Valley Days, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Iron Horse), born in Harrah, Oklahoma (d. 2013)
Jul 18 Michael Medwin, British actor and producer (Four in a Jeep, Scrooge, Checkpoint), born in London, England
Jul 21 Henny Alma [Hendrika den Broek], Dutch actress (Soldier of Orange), born in the Hague, Amsterdam (d. 2006)
Jul 22 Lillian Ellison, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
Jul 22 Mukesh [Mathur], Indian "playback singer" for Bollywood films, born in Delhi, British India (d. 1976)
Jul 22 The Fabulous Moolah [Mary Lillian Ellison], American pro wrestler (World Champion 1956-83), born in Kershaw County, South Carolina (d. 2007)

Estelle Getty

Jul 25 Estelle Getty, American actress (The Golden Girls, The Golden Palace), born in NYC, New York (d. 2008)

Jul 25 Leonardo Villar, Brazilian actor (The Given Word), born in Piracicaba, Brazil (d. 2020)
Jul 29 Gordon Mitchell [Charles Allen Pendleton], American actor and bodybuilder (Sinbad), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2003)
Aug 6 John "Jackie" Kelk, American actor and stand-up comedian (The Aldrich Family, The Adventures of Superman), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
Aug 10 Rhonda Fleming [Marilyn Louis], American actress and singer nicknamed the "Queen of Technicolor" (Spellbound), born in Hollywood, California
Aug 14 Alice Ghostley, American singer and actress (Bewitched, Designing Women), born in Eve, Vernon County, Missouri (d. 2007)
Aug 15 Rose Marie [Mazzetta], American actress, comedienne and singer (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Doris Day Show), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)
Aug 20 Jim Reeves, American country singer and actor (Gun Fury, Kimberley Jim), born in Panola County, Texas (d. 1964)
Aug 23 Humphrey Fisher, TV producer, born in England (d. 1996)
Aug 24 Helena Carter [Helen Rickerts], American model and actress (Invaders from Mars), born in NYC, New York (d. 2000)

Richard Attenborough

Aug 29 Richard Attenborough, English actor and director (Gandhi, Jurassic Park, Young Winston), born in Cambridge, England (d. 2014)

Aug 29 Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley and Chairman of the Board of Governors of BBC (1986-96), born in Surrey (d. 2006)
Aug 31 Larry Grayson, British comedian (Generation Game), born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England (d. 1995)
Sep 3 Terry Wilson, American actor (Wagon Train, Escape to Witch Mountain), born in Huntington Park, California (d. 1999)
Sep 7 Peter Lawford, British actor, producer and socialite (Mrs Miniver, Thin Man), born in London, England (d. 1984)
Sep 8 Alan Weeks, English sports commentator (BBC), born in Bristol. England (d. 1996)
Sep 8 Francois Chaumette, French actor (Le Bossu, They Never Slept, Christine), born in Paris, France (d. 1996)

Weddings in Film & TV

Wedding of Interest

May 17 Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (21) weds assistant director Rudolf Sieber (26) in Berlin, Germany

Wedding of Interest

Sep 12 Actor Spencer Tracy (23) weds Louise Treadwell (26) in Cincinnati, Ohio

Wedding of Interest

Nov 25 Film director Frank Capra (26) weds actress Helen Howell in San Francisco, California

Divorces in Film & TV

Divorce of Interest

Mar 4 Italian actor Rudolph Valentino (24) divorces actress Jean Acker (26)

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

Deaths in Film & TV

Jan 18 Wallace Reid, American actor, director and screenwriter referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover" (Every Inch a Man), dies from morphine addiction at 31

Sarah Bernhardt

Mar 26 Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (Camille, Queen Elizabeth), dies of uremia at 78

Apr 9 Mauritius H Binger, director and producer (Living Ladder), dies

1922
1924