1927 in Film & Television

• Jan 5 Fox Studios exhibits Movietone
• Jan 10 Fritz Lang's silent film "Metropolis" premieres in Berlin
• Jan 11 Royale Theater (Golden, CBS Radio Playhouse) opens at 242 W 45th NYC
• Jan 11 Louis B. Mayer head of film studio MGM announces creation of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

• Jan 26 Maxwell Anderson's play "Saturday's Children" premieres in New York City
• Feb 5 "The General", American silent film directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman, starring Al Boasberg, premieres in New York City

• May 18 Grauman's Chinese Theater opens in Hollywood, California
• Aug 1 Earliest date for a film to be considered for the Academy Awards
• Aug 12 "Wings", one of only two silent films - the other being The Artist in 2011 - to win an Oscar for best picture, opens starring Clara Bow (Outstanding Picture 1929)
• Sep 7 Philo Farnsworth demonstrates the first use of his electronic television in San Francisco

• Oct 6 "The Jazz Singer", directed by Alan Crosland, starring Al Jolson and May McAvoy, released, 1st film with a soundtrack (Honorary Academy Award 1928)

• Dec 27 Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "Show Boat" premieres in New York City

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 152

• Jan 1 Patricia "Pat" Heywood, Scottish actress (10 Rillington Place, Lucky Feller), born in Gretna Green, Scotland
• Jan 4 Barbara Rush, American actress (Marsha-Peyton Place, It Came From Outer Space, Flamingo Road), born in Denver, Colorado
• Jan 10 Gisele MacKenzie [LaFlèche], Canadian singer and actress (Your Hit Parade), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2003)
• Jan 10 Lee Philips, American actor and director (Peyton Place, Ellery Queen), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1999)
• Jan 15 Norm Crosby, American comedian (Young at Heart Comedians), born in Boston, Massachusetts
• Jan 17 Eartha Kitt, American singer (Santa Baby), dancer, comedian, actress and activist (Catwoman-Batman), born in North, South Carolina (d. 2008)
• Jan 17 Michael Herford Wooller, TV/film producer
• Jan 25 Gregg Palmer [Palmer Edvind Lee], American actor (Scream, To Hell & Back), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2015)
• Jan 26 William Redfield, American actor (Jimmy Hughes Rookie Cop, Marriage), born in NYC, New York (d. 1976)
• Jan 27 Doretta Morrow, American actress (Because You're Mine), born in NYC, New York (d. 1968)
• Jan 27 Michael Craig [Gregson], American actor (Escape 2000, Vault of Horror), born in Poona, British India
• Jan 27 Nancy Dickerson, pioneering American radio and TV journalist (NBC, CBS), born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (d. 1997)
• Feb 3 Kenneth Anger, American Underground Filmmaker
• Feb 5 Robert Brown, American actor (Here Come the Brides, Primus), born in Trenton, New Jersey
• Feb 5 Val Dufour, American actor (Eugenie Grandet, Another World), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2000)
• Feb 12 Anne Gillis [Alma Conner], American actress (Faline-Bambi, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Men), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 2018)
• Feb 14 Lois Maxwell [Hooker], Canadian actress (Goldfinger, Dr. No, Miss Moneypenny), born in Kitchener, Ontario (d. 2007)
• Feb 15 Harvey Korman, American actor (Carol Burnett Show, Blazing Saddles), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008)
• Feb 16 June Brown, British actress (EastEnders, Sitting Target), born in Needham Market, Suffolk

• Feb 21 Erma Bombeck, humorist (The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank), born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 1996)
• Feb 22 Donald May, American actor (Adam-Edge of Night, Colt .45), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Feb 24 Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (Hiroshima Mon Amour), born in Alsace-Lorraine (d. 2017)
• Feb 25 Richard "Dick" Jones, American actor ("Pinocchio "- Pinocchio, The Frontiersman), born in Snyder, Texas (d. 2014)
• Feb 25 Jane Nigh, American actress (Lorelei-Big Town, Blue Blood, Rawhide), born in Hollywood, California (d. 1993)
• Feb 27 Guy Mitchell [Albert George Cernik], American singer and actor (Red Garters, 3 Redheads from Seattle), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1999)
• Feb 27 Doralyn "Lynn" Cartwright, American character actress (A League of Their Own), born in McAlester, Oklahoma (d. 2004)
• Mar 1 Harry Belafonte, Jamaican-American calypso singer, actor and activist (Banana Boat Song; Buck & the Preacher), born in Harlem, New York
• Mar 4 Thayer David, American actor (Eiger Sanction, Rocky, Nero Wolfe, Savages), born in Medford, Massachusetts (d. 1978)
• Mar 5 John "Jack" Cassidy, American singer and actor (Oscar-He & She, The Eiger Sanction), born in Richmond Hill, Virginia (d. 1976)
• Mar 6 William J Bell, soap opera creator (Young & Restless), born in Chicago, Illinois

• Mar 7 James Broderick, American actor and director (Dog Day Afternoon, Family), born in Charlestown, New Hampshire (d. 1982)
• Mar 10 Claude Laydu, Belgian-born Swiss actor (Diary of a Country Priest), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 2011)
• Mar 10 Donn Trenner, orchestra leader (ABC's Nightlife), born in New Haven, Connecticut
• Mar 10 Barbara Sinatra, American model and philanthropist, born in Bosworth, Missouri (d. 2017)
• Mar 16 Karlheinz Boehm, Austrian actor (Face of Fear, Peeping Tom, Unnatural), born in Darmstadt, Austria (d. 2014)
• Mar 16 Olga San Juan, American actress, dancer and comedian (Variety Girl, 1 Touch of Venus), born in NYC, New York (d. 2009)
• Mar 17 Patrick Allen, British actor (Roman Holiday, Dial "M" for Murder), born in Nyasaland, Africa (d. 2006)
• Mar 30 Peter Marshall, TV game show host (Hollywood Squares), born in Huntington, West Virginia
• Mar 31 William Daniels, American actor (Dr Mark Craig-St Elsewhere, 1776), born in Brooklyn, New York
• Apr 13 Maurice Ronet, French film actor, director, and writer (Frantic, Sphinx, Circle of Love), born in Nice, France (d. 1983)
• Apr 14 Dany Robin, French actress (Follow the Boys, Topaz, Jupiter, Julietta), born in Clamart, France (d. 1995)
• Apr 16 Edie Adams [Edith Enke], American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian (Murial Cigar), born in Kingston, Pennsylvania (d. 2006)
• Apr 16 Peter Mark Richman, American actor (Andrew-Dynasty), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Apr 21 Gerald Flood, British actor (Doctor Who, Patton), born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (d. 1989)
• Apr 24 Pasqualino de Santis, Italian cinematographer, born in Fondi, Latina, Italy (d. 1996)
• Apr 26 Jack Douglas, English comedian (My Brother Was an Only Child, Jack Paar Show), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England (d. 1989)
• May 1 Roland Verhavert, Flemish screen writer (Sea Gulls Die in the Harbor)
• May 2 Raymond "Ray" Barrett, Australian actor (The Troubleshooters, Gillette Summer Sports Reel), born in Brisbane, Queensland (d. 2009)
• May 4 Owen "Terry" Scott, British actor and comedian (Terry and June, Carry On Films), born in Watford, Hertfordshire (d. 1994)
• May 5 Patricia "Pat" Carroll, American comedienne and actress (Ursula- The Little Mermaid, Make Room for Daddy), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
• May 6 Ettore Manni, Italian actor (Street People, Divine Nymph, Fatal Desire, Heroes in Hell), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1979)
• May 7 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American novelist and screenwriter, born in Cologne, Germany (d. 2013)
• May 8 Murray Lerner, American documentary and experimental film director and producer (Secrets of the Reef), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2017)
• May 11 Mort Sahl, comedian/political satirist/beatnik (Big Party), born in Montreal, Quebec
• May 13 Herbert Ross, director/choreographer (Footloose)
• May 20 David Hedison, American actor (Colbys, Voyage to Bottom of Sea), born in Providence, Rhode Island
• May 21 Kay Kendall [Justine McCarthy], British actress (Genevieve, The Constant Husband, Les Girls), born in Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire (d. 1959)
• May 22 Michael Constantine, American actor (Room 222, Don't Drink the Water), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
• May 26 Jacques Bergerac, French actor (Gigi, Les Girls, Thunder in Sun) and business executive (Revlon), born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France (d. 2014)
• May 30 Norman "Clint" Walker, American actor (Kodiak, Cheyenne, Dirty Dozen), born in Hartford, Illinois
• May 30 Dick Noel, American TV host (It's a Small Wonder), born in Brooklyn, New York
• Jun 2 W. Watts Biggers, American novelist and animator, (d. 2013)
• Jun 4 Geoffrey Palmer, British actor (A Fish Called Wanda, The Madness of King George, Butterflies, Smacks & Thistle), born in London, England
• Jun 4 Priscilla Morrill, American actress (Edie Grant-Mary Tyler Moore), born in Medford, Massachusetts (d. 1994)

• Jun 10 Michael Walsh, major-general/director (Overseas Relations)
• Jun 15 Ibn-e-Insha, Pakistani humourist and Urdu poet (d. 1978)
• Jun 18 Paul Eddington, British actor (Devil Rides Out, Devil's Bride), born in Paddington, London (d. 1995)
• Jun 21 Carl Burton Stokes, African American politician (51st mayor of Cleveland) and TV newscaster, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1996)
• Jun 22 Ann Petersen, Belgian actress (Home Sweet Home, Pauline & Paulette), born in Wuustwezel, Belgium (d. 2003)
• Jun 23 Bob Fosse, choreographer/director (Cabaret, Damn Yankees), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jun 27 Bob Keeshan, American actor (Captain Kangaroo), born in Lynbrook, New York (d. 2004)
• Jun 27 Robert Casey, American actor (Henry-Aldrich Family Show, What to Do on a Date), born in Rochester, New York
• Jun 30 Harvey Vernon [Chet Smith], American actor (Teen Wolf, Jasper-Carter Country), born in Flint, Michigan (d. 1996)
• Jun 30 James Goldman, American screenwriter/playwright (The Lion in Winter, They Might Be Giants), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jul 2 Brock Peters [George Fisher], American actor and singer (Carmen Jones, To Kill a Mockingbird), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
• Jul 2 Ruth Berghaus, choreographer/director
• Jul 4 Luigina "Gina" Lollobrigida, Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptor (Trapeze, Falcon Crest), born in Subiaco, Italy
• Jul 5 Beverly Tyler, American singer and actress (Fireball, The Youngest Profession, Big Town), born in Scranton, Pennsylvania (d. 2005)

• Jul 6 Pat Paulsen, Wash, comedian/presidential candidate (Smothers Bros Show)
• Jul 6 Susan Cabot, American actress (Sorority Girl, Carnival Rock), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
• Jul 9 Ed Ames [Edmund Dantes Urick], American popular singer and actor (Ames Brothers, My Cup Runneth Over), born in Malden, Massachusetts
• Jul 10 William Smithers, American actor (Witness, Peyton Place, Attack!), born in Richmond, Virginia
• Jul 14 John William Chancellor, news anchor (NBC, VOA), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jul 15 Carmen Zapata, American actress (Hagen, Viva Valdez, Man & the City), born in NYC, New York (d. 2014)
• Jul 25 Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor (Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board), born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France (d. 2003)
• Jul 30 Richard Johnson, British stage and screen actor and producer (Never So Few, Restless, Beyond the Door), born in Upminster (d. 2015)
• Jul 30 Victor Wong [Yee Keung Victor Wong], American actor (Big Trouble in Little China), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2001)
• Aug 7 Carl Switzer, American actor (Our Gang, Beginner's Luck, General Spanky), born in Paris, Illinois (d. 1959)
• Aug 9 Robert Shaw, British actor, novelist, and playwright (Deep, Jaws, Sting, Black Sunday), born in Westhoughton, Lancashire (d. 1978)
• Aug 10 Vernon Washington, American actor (Roots, The Last Starfighter, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1988)
• Aug 14 Frank Cvitanovich, filmmaker
• Aug 17 Robert Moore, American director and actor (Murder by Death, Marshall-Diana), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1984)
• Aug 20 Geriatric1927 [Peter Oakley], English video blogger, born in Norwich, Norfolk, England (d. 2014)
• Aug 20 Yootha Joyce, British actress (Man About the House, George and Mildred), born in Wandsworth, London (d. 1980)
• Aug 27 Norma Connolly, American actress (Ruby Anderson-General Hospital, The Young Marrieds), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1998)
• Aug 30 Bill Daily, American actor and comedian (I Dream of Jeannie, The Bob Newhart Show), born in Des Moines, Iowa (d. 2018)

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• Jun 14 Johanna Barbiers, Dutch actress (Voddenraper of Paris), dies at 79
• Jul 9 John Drew Jr., American Shakespearean actor (The Big Bonanza), dies at 73
• Sep 20 George Nichols, American director and actor (His Favorite Pastime, Star Boarder), dies at 62 or 63

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