1926 in Film & Television

• Aug 6 Warner Bros premieres Vitaphone sound-on-disc movie system (NY)
• Aug 6 "Don Juan" starring John Barrymore is released, the 1st feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects
• Aug 18 Weather map televised for 1st time
• Oct 7 Actress Theo Mann-Master resigns from stage
• Oct 9 NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation) forms
• Nov 15 1st formal radio network, RCA takes over AT&T 25 station Network (NBC)
• Dec 10 1st radio broadcast in the Sprinfield area (WCBS)

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 156

• Jan 2 Howard Caine, American actor (Brushfire), born in Nashville Tennessee (d. 1993)
• Jan 5 Robert Earle, Baldwin NY, TV host (GE College Bowl)
• Jan 6 Miklós "Mickey" Hargitay, Hungarian-American actor, bodybuildern and the 1955 Mr. Universe, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2006)
• Jan 8 Soupy Sales, [Milton Hines], NC, comedian (Soupy Sales Show)
• Jan 11 Grant Tinker, American TV executive (NBC), born in Stamford, Connecticut (d. 2016)
• Jan 11 Phil Sidey, broadcaster
• Jan 14 Frank Aletter, American character actor (Mac-It's About Time, Tom-Nancy), born in Long Island, New York (d. 2009)
• Jan 14 Warren Mitchell, English actor (Alf Garnett in Till Death Us Do Part), born in London (d. 2015)
• Jan 15 Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss star of German cinema (The Last Bridge, Gervaise, Space 1999), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2005)
• Jan 17 Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and ballerina (Red Shoes), born in Dunfermline Scotland (d. 2006)
• Jan 17 Richard Michael Hills, comedy script writer
• Jan 19 Fritz Weaver, actor (Josef-Holocaust, Day of the Dolphin), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)

• Jan 21 Raf Reymen, Flemish actor (Huisvuil, Het glas water), born in Gent, Flanders, Belgium (d. 1990)
• Jan 21 Stephen "Steve" Reeves, American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist (Hercules, Goliath, Sandokan), born in Glasgow, Montana (d. 2000)
• Jan 24 Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter
• Jan 27 Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (Cries & Whispers, Damned), born in Sollefteå, Sweden (d. 2004)
• Feb 1 Stuart Whitman, American actor (Capt Apache, Ransom, Cimarron Strip), born in San Francisco, California
• Feb 2 Nydia Ecury, celebrated Afro-Dutch writer, translator and actress (Kantika pa Mama Tera), born in Rancho, Aruba (d. 2012)
• Feb 3 Shelley Berman, comedian (Son of Blob, Love American Style), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Feb 6 Haskell Wexler, American cinematographer and director, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2015)
• Feb 6 Walker Edmiston, American actor (Star Trek, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, The Dukes of Hazzard), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2007)
• Feb 11 Leslie Nielsen, Canadian actor (Spy Hard, Forbidden Planet, Naked Gun), born in Regina, Saskatchewan (d. 2010)
• Feb 20 Dame Gillian Lynne [Pyrke], British dancer, choreographer and actress, known for Broadway work on "Cats" and "The Phantom of the Opera," born in Bromley, Kent (d. 2018)
• Feb 22 Bud Yorkin, producer (All in the Family, 1959, 1960 Emmy), born in Washington, Pennsylvania (d. 2015)
• Feb 22 Kenneth Williams, British actor (Hancock's Half Hour, Carry On films), born in King's Cross, London (d. 1988)
• Feb 24 Jean Alexander, English actress (Hilda Ogden on Coronation Street), born in Liverpool (d. 2016)
• Feb 26 Cynthia Stone, American actress (That Wonderful Guy, Ad Libbers), born in Peoria, Illinois (d. 1988)
• Mar 1 Cesare Danova, Italian-American actor (Tentacles, Viva Las Vegas, Garrison's Gorillas), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1992)
• Mar 1 Robert Clary [Widerman], French-American actor, published author, artist and lecturer (LeBeau-Hogan's Heroes), born in Paris, France
• Mar 5 Joan Shawlee [Fulton], American actress (Some Like It Hot, Prehistoric Women, Abbott & Costello Show), born in Forest Hills, New York (d. 1987)
• Mar 6 Andrzej Wajda, Polish film director (Ashes & Diamonds, Man of Iron), born in Suwalki (d. 2016)
• Mar 9 Joe Franklin, American radio host, TV personality and New York institution (The Joe Franklin Show), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2015)
• Mar 12 Gudrun Ure, Scottish actress (Super Gran, Lady MacBeth, BBC Sorcerer), born in Campsie, Stirlingshire, Scotland
• Mar 12 Hildy Park, American actress and writer (To Tell the Truth), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2004)

• Mar 18 Peter Graves [Aurness], American actor (Mission Impossible, Airplane!, Stalag 17), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2010)
• Mar 21 Andre Delvaux, Heverie Belgium, director/writer (Benvenuta)
• Mar 21 Virginia Weidler, American child actress (Babes on Broadway, All This & Heaven Too), born in Hollywood, California (d. 1968)
• Mar 23 Martha Wright, American actress and singer (South Pacific, The Martha Wright Show), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 2016)
• Mar 30 Ray McAnally, Irish actor (The Mission, My Left Foot, Empire State, Sicilian), born in Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland (d. 1989)
• Mar 31 Sydney Chaplin, American actor and son of Charles Chaplin (Adding Machine, Psycho Sisters), born in Beverly Hills, California (d. 2009)
• Apr 1 Lyndon Brook, British actor (Invasion, Reach for the Sky), born in York, England (d. 2004)
• Apr 3 Andrew Keir, Scottish character actor (Rob Roy, Absolution, Blood Hunt, Catholics), born in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 1997)
• Apr 5 Roger Corman, American producer and director (Little Shop of Horrors), born in Detroit, Michigan
• Apr 10 Junior Samples, American comedian and country singer (Hee Haw), born in Cumming, Georgia (d. 1983)
• Apr 12 Jane Withers, American actress, model, and singer (All Together Now, Josephine the plumber), born in Atlanta, Georgia
• Apr 14 Gloria Jean, American actress and singer (Never Give a Sucker an Even Break), born in Buffalo, New York
• Apr 14 Liz Renay [Pearl Elizabeth Dobbins], American actress (Desperate Living), born in Chandler, Arizona (d. 2007)
• Apr 18 Günter Meisner, German actor (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Between Wars, Adolf Hitler, Quiller Memorandum), born in Bremen, Weimar Republic (d. 1994)
• Apr 22 Charlotte Rae, American character actress, comedian, singer and dancer (Edna-Facts of Life), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Apr 30 Cloris Leachman, American actress (Last Picture Show, Phyllis), born in Des Moines, Iowa
• May 5 Ann B Davis, American actress (Bob Cummings Show, Alice-Brady Bunch), born in Schenectady NY, (d. 2014)
• May 7 Val Bisoglio, American actor (Lt Marsh-Police Woman, Danny-Quincy ME), born in NYC, New York

• May 8 Don Rickles, comedian (Don Rickles Show, CPO Sharkey), born in Queens, New York (d. 2017)
• May 8 Erico Menczer, Fiume Italy, cinematographer (Chosen, Miranda)
• May 11 Frank Thring, Australian actor (El Cid, Ben-Hur), born in Melbourne, Victoria (d. 1994)
• May 14 Eric Morecambe [John Bartholomew], British comedian (Morecambe & Wise, Picadilly Palace), born in Morecambe, Lancashire (d. 1984)
• May 17 Tenniel Evans, British actor and clergyman (10 Rillington Place, My Brother's Keeper), born in Nairobi, Kenya (d. 2009)
• May 18 Dirch Passer, prolific Danish actor (Going for Broke, Mig og mafiaen), born in Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1980)
• May 19 David Jacobs, British broadcaster (Juke Box Jury), born in London (d. 2013)
• May 21 Rick Jason [Richard Jacobson], American actor (Day of the Wolves, Eagles Attack at Dawn), born in NYC, New York (d. 2000)
• May 24 Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor (The Stanley Baxter Moving Picture Show, Crook Anonymous), born in Glasgow, Scotland
• May 25 Claude Akins, American character actor (B. J. and the Bear, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Movin' On), born in Nelson, Georgia (d. 1994)
• May 29 Charles Denner, French actor (The Bride Wore Black, The Man Who Loved Women), born in Tarnów, Poland (d. 1995)
• Jun 1 Andy Griffith, American actor, comedian, television producer, Southern gospel singer, and writer (Andy Griffith Show, Matlock), born in Mount Airy, North Carolina (d. 2012)

• Jun 2 Milo O'Shea, Irish character actor (Barbarella, Staircase and Mass Appeal, Romeo & Juliet), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2013)
• Jun 3 Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress (Maggie-Blue & Grey), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1991)
• Jun 4 Nan Leslie [Nan Coppage], American actress (Kings Row, The Californians), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2000)
• Jun 9 Mona Freeman, American actress (Black Beauty, Dear Wife, Heiress), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2014)
• Jun 10 June Haver [Stovenour], American actress (Dolly Sisters, Girl Next Door), born in Rock Island, Illinois (d. 2005)
• Jun 10 Lionel Jeffries, British actor (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Camelot), born in Forest Hill, London (d. 2010)
• Jun 11 Brother Dave Gardner, American comedian, drummer and singer, born in Jackson, Tennessee (d. 1983)
• Jun 12 Jackie Pallo, English professional wrestler, born in Islington, Greater London, England (d. 2006)
• Jun 13 Paul Lynde, American comedian and actor (The Hollywood Squares, Uncle Arthur-Bewitched), born in Mt Vernon, Ohio (d. 1982)
• Jun 18 Eva Bartok, Hungarian-born actress (Crimson Pirate), born in Kecs kemet, Hungary (d. 1998)
• Jun 21 Conrad Hall, Tahitian-American cinematographer, born in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia (d. 2003)
• Jun 26 Tadeusz Konwicki, Polish writer (Bohin Manor) and film director, born in Nowa Wilejka, Wilenskie (d. 2015)

• Jul 1 Franclaois-Regis Bastide, writer/broadcaster
• Jul 1 Delmar Watson, American child actor (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Heidi, Annie Oakley), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2008)
• Jul 4 Mary Stuart, American actress (Jo-Search for Tomorrow), born in Miami, Florida (d. 2002)
• Jul 10 Carleton Carpenter, American actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist (Up Periscope, Summer Stock), born in Bennington, Vermont
• Jul 10 Fred Gwynne, American actor (Car 54 Where Are You, Munsters), born in NYC, New York (d. 1993)
• Jul 11 Patrick Wymark [Cheeseman], British actor (Skull, Tomb of Ligeia), born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire (d. 1970)
• Jul 14 Harry Dean Stanton,American actor, musician, and singer (Lucky, Alien, Cool Hand Luke, The Godfather Part II), born in West Irvine, Kentucky (d. 2017)
• Jul 17 Édouard Carpentier, French-born professional wrestler
• Jul 17 Charles Champlin, American film critic and writer
• Jul 18 Jane Hylton [Audrey Gwendolene Clark], British actress (Adv of Sir Lancelot, Daybreak), born in London, England (d. 1979)
• Jul 18 Richard Pasco, British actor (Gorgon, Arch of Triumph), born in Barnes, London (d. 2014)
• Jul 18 Robert Sloman, English screenwriter, born in Oldham, Lancashire, England (d. 2005)
• Jul 19 Helen Gallagher, American singer, dancer and actress (Ryan's Hope, Strangers When We Meet), born in Brooklyn, New York
• Jul 20 Patricia "Pat" Cutts, British actress (Coronation Street), born in London, England (d. 1974)
• Jul 21 Paul Burke, American actor (Naked City, Thomas Crown Affair, Neal-Dynasty), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2009)
• Jul 21 Queenie Watts [Mary Spenton], British singer and actress (Up the Junction, Holiday on the Buses), born in London, England (d. 1980)
• Jul 21 Bill Pertwee, British actor (Dad's Army), born in Amersham, England (d. 2013)
• Jul 22 Bryan Forbes, director and producer (Endless Games, King Rat), (d. 2013)
• Jul 26 James Best [Jewel Franklin Guy], American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Sounder), born in Powderly, Kentucky (d. 2015)

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• Jan 17 Comedian George Burns marries comedienne Gracie Allen

• Jan 30 Barbara La Marr, American actress (The White Moth), dies at 29
• Apr 19 Sir Squire Bancroft [Butterfield], British actor and manager known for creating 'drawing-room comedy' (Haymarket), dies at 84
• Sep 11 Matsunosuke Onoe [Tsuruzo Nakamura], Japanese actor (Araki Mataemon, Yajîkita: zenpen), Japanese actor, dies at 50
• Nov 1 Louis H Chrispijn, Dutch actor and director (Krates), dies at 72

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