1939 in Film & Television

• Feb 15 Lillian Hellman's play "The Little Foxes" premieres in New York City

• Apr 17 SN Behrman's "No Time for Comedy" premieres in NYC

• May 17 1st televised baseball game is broadcast on NBC, with Princeton defeating Columbia 2-1
• Jun 1 1st boxing match to be televised, Lon Nova defeats Max Baer
• Jun 10 MGM cartoon character Barney Bear debuts
• Jun 12 Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures' Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
• Jul 7 "The Rules of the Game", French film directed by Jean Renoir, starring Nora Gregor and Paulette Dubost, premieres in Paris

• Aug 6 1st broadcast of "Dinah Shore Show" on NBC-radio

• Sep 30 1st televised college football game (Fordham vs Waynesburg at NYC)

• Oct 22 NBC becomes first network to televise a pro football game; Brooklyn Dodgers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14 at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field
• Nov 6 WRGB TV channel 6 in Schenectady-Alby-Troy, NY (CBS) 1st broadcast

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 140

• Jan 1 Michèle Mercier, French actress
• Jan 9 Susannah York, English actress (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Superman), born in London, England
• Jan 10 Sal Mineo, American actor (Exodus, Rebel Without a Cause), born in NYC, New York
• Jan 17 Maury Povich, TV host (Current Affair, Maury)/Mr Connie Chung
• Jan 23 Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist
• Jan 23 Arlene Golonka, American actress
• Feb 5 Jane Bryant Quinn, newscaster/financial writer (Everyone's Money Book), born in Niagara Falls, New York
• Feb 6 Mike Farrell, American actor, director and activist (M*A*S*H, Battered, Patch Adams), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Feb 9 Janet Suzman, South African actress (Dry White Season, Nuns on the Run)
• Feb 12 John D Hancock, American actor and director (Black Marble, Traxx, Houston Knights), born in Kansas City, Missouri
• Feb 14 Michael Rudman, English theater director and producer (Donkeys' Years)
• Feb 17 Mary Ann Mobley, American model/actress (Miss America-1959, Diff'rent Strokes), Biloxi Ms, (d. 2014)
• Feb 18 Petronella CM "Carletta" Banning, actress (Potasch & Perlemoer)
• Feb 19 Gwen Taylor, British actress (Life of Brian, Sob Sisters, Screaming)
• Feb 21 Richard Beymer, Avoca IA, actor (West Side Story, Diary of Anne Frank)
• Feb 25 Marisa Mell, Graz Austria, actress (Masquerade, Casanova '70)
• Feb 26 Josephine Tewson, English actress
• Mar 2 Barbara Luna, American actress (5 Weeks in a Balloon, Gentle Savage), born in NYC, New York
• Mar 4 Paula Prentiss, [Ragusa] San Ant Tx, actress (Parallax View, He & She)
• Mar 4 Carlos Vereza, Brazilian actor
• Mar 5 Samantha Eggar, actress (Collector, Dr Doolittle) [or May 3], born in London, England
• Mar 5 Norman Seeff, South African-bon American photographer and filmmaker, born in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Mar 6 David Spielberg, Weslaco Tx, actor (Jessica Novak, The Practice)
• Mar 14 Bertrand Blier, novelist/director (Going Places), born in Paris, France
• Mar 14 Raymond J. Barry, American actor
• Mar 21 Kathleen Widdoes, actress (Without a Trace), born in Wilmington, Delaware
• Mar 23 Bert Berdis, Pitts, comedian (Tim Conway Show)
• Mar 26 Phillip R Allen, Pitts, actor (Harry-Hardy Boys Mystery, Mitch-Alice)
• Apr 1 Ali MacGraw, Pound Ridge NY, actress (Love Story, Goodbye Columbus)
• Apr 3 Catalino "Lino" Brocka, Filipino film director (Macho Dancer, Jaguar), born in Pilar, Sorsogon, Philippines (d. 1991)
• Apr 3 François de Roubaix, French film score composer, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France (d. 1975)
• Apr 5 David Winters, American choreographer and director (Steve Allen Comedy Hour), born in London, England
• Apr 7 David Frost, Tenterdon England, TV host (That Was the Week That Was), (d. 2013)

• Apr 9 Michael Learned, actress (Olivia in The Waltons, Nurse), born in Washington, D.C.
• Apr 11 Louise Lasser, American actress (Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!), born in NYC, New York
• Apr 13 Paul Sorvino, actor (Chiefs, Dick Tracy)
• Apr 16 Donald MacCormick, British broadcaster
• Apr 16 Boris Dvornik, Croatian actor (d. 2008.)
• Apr 19 Ellen Weston, American actress (Betty-SWAT), born in NYC, New York
• Apr 20 Peter S. Beagle, American novelist and screenwriter (The Last Unicorn), born in NYC, New York
• Apr 22 Jason Miller, actor and writer (Exorcist, Light of Day), born in Scranton, Pennsylvania
• Apr 23 David Birney, American actor (Brigette Loves Bernie, St Elsewhere), born in Washington, D.C.
• Apr 23 Lee Majors [Harvey Lee Yeary], American film and TV actor ($6,000,000 Man, The Fall Guy), born in Wyandotte, Michigan
• Apr 27 Judy Carne, English comedienne and actress (Laugh-In, Love on a Rooftop), born in Northampton, England (d. 2015)

• May 1 Ray Aranha, actor (Nick-Married People), born in Miami, Florida
• May 4 Paul Gleason, American actor (Breakfast Club, Die Hard), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 2006)
• May 7 Marco St John, American actor (Rayford-Ball Four), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
• May 9 Pierre Desproges, French humorist (d. 1988)
• May 13 Harvey Keitel, actor (Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs)
• May 19 17th earl of Pembroke, English landowner/director (Emily)
• May 19 James Fox, actor (The Servant), born in London, England
• May 19 Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-born American actress (Flower Drum Song, World of Suzie Wong), born in Hong Kong
• May 25 Dixie Carter, TN, actress (Designing Women, Edge of Night)

• May 26 Brent Musburger, sportscaster (CBS-TV)
• May 30 Michael J Pollard, actor (Bonny & Clyde, Roxanne), born in Passaic, New Jersey
• Jun 1 Cleavon Little, actor (Blazing Saddles, Toy Soldiers), born in Chickasha Oklahoma (d. 1992)
• Jun 8 Bernie Casey, American actor (Boxcar Bertha, Rent-a-Cop), born in Wyco, West Virginia (d. 2017)
• Jun 10 Alexandra Stewart, actress (In Praise of Older Women), born in Montreal, Quebec
• Jun 11 Christina Crawford, American actress and author (Mommie Dearest), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jun 27 R. D. Burman, Indian film score composer (1942: A Love Story), born in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India (d. 1994)
• Jun 30 John Fortune [John C. Wood], English satirist and comedian (Bremner, Bird and Fortune), born in Bristol, England (d. 2013)
• Jul 1 Frank Parker, American actor (Days of our Lives, Never Too Young), born in Darby, Pennsylvania
• Jul 1 Karen Black, American actress (5 Easy Pieces, Pyx), (d. 2013)
• Jul 4 Ed Bernard, American actor (Joe-Police Woman, Jim-White Shadow), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jul 10 Lawrence Pressman, American actor (Man From Atlantis, Hellstrom Chronicle), born in Cynthiana, Kentucky
• Jul 12 Phillip Adams, Australian humanist and broadcaster (Late Night Live), born in Maryborough, Victoria
• Jul 14 Sid Haig [Sidney Mosesian], American actor (House of 1000 Corpses, Jason of Star Command), born in Fresno, California
• Jul 15 Patrick Wayne, actor (Rounder, Shirley, Beyond Atlantis), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jul 16 Corin Redgrave, Brtish actor (Excalibur, A Man For All Seasons), born in London (d. 2010)
• Jul 16 Mary Parkinson, British broadcaster, born in Doncaster, West Riding
• Jul 17 Andrée Champagne, French Canadian actress and politician, born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
• Jul 22 Gila Almagor, Israeli actress
• Jul 27 Irv Cross, American NFL sportscaster (CBS-TV), born in Hammond, Indiana
• Jul 27 James Victor, Dominican-American actor (Boulevard Night, Streets of LA), born in Santiago Province, Dominican Republic (d. 2016)
• Jul 30 Peter Bogdanovich, American director and producer (Last Picture Show), born in Kingston, New York
• Jul 31 France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress (St Elsewhere, Diamond Head), born in Marseilles, France
• Aug 2 Wes Craven, American film director (Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2015)
• Aug 4 Frank Vincent, American actor (The Sopranos), born in North Adams, Massachusetts (d. 2017)
• Aug 7 Verna Bloom, Lynn MA, actress (After Hours, Badge 373)
• Aug 7 Anjanette Comer, American actress (Baby, Lepke), born in Dawson, Texas
• Aug 10 Kate O'Mara, Leicaster England, actress (Caress Morell-Dynasty, AbFab)
• Aug 16 Carol Shelley, actress (Gwendolyn Pidgeon-Odd Couple), born in London, England
• Aug 17 Anthony Valentine, British actor (Colditz), born in Blackburn, Lancashire (d. 2015)
• Aug 18 Molly Bee, American actress (Pinky Lee Show), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 2009)
• Aug 18 Harald Heide-Steen Jr., Norwegian actor and comedian, born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2008)
• Aug 20 Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor and politician (d. 2004)
• Aug 21 Clarence Williams III, American actor (Mod Squad, 52 Pick Up, Purple Rain), born in NYC, New York
• Aug 22 Valerie Harper, American actress (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda), born in Suffern, New York
• Aug 25 Liselot Beekmeyer, Dutch actress (Issue Blum), born in Schiedam, Netherlands
• Aug 28 [Catherine] Cassie Mackin, American newswoman (NBC TV) and 1st woman to regularly anchor an evening network newscast alone, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1982)
• Aug 30 Elizabeth Ashley, American actress (Coma, Evening Shade), born in Ocala, Florida
• Aug 30 John Peel, English DJ and Broadcaster (BBC Radio 1), born in Heswell, Merseyside (d. 2004)
• Sep 1 Lily Tomlin, American comedienne and actress (9 to 5, Laugh-in, All of Me), born in Detroit, Michigan
• Sep 5 Donna Anderson [Knaflich], American actress (On the Beach), born in Gunnison, Gunnison County Colorado
• Sep 5 George Lazenby, Australian actor (OHMSS-James Bond), born in Goulburn, Australia
• Sep 10 Greg Mullavey, actor (Tom-Mary Hartman, Rituals), born in Buffalo, New York
• Sep 13 Richard Kiel, American actor (So Fine, Jaws-Moonraker, Skidoo), born in Detroit, Michigan, (d. 2014)

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• Apr 22 Actor and naval officer of World War II Douglas Fairbanks Jr (29) weds Huntington Hartford's former wife Mary Lee Hartford

• Jan 10 Jameson Thomas, British actor (Piccadilly, Farmer's Wife), dies from tuberculosis at 50
• Apr 18 Theo Mann, actress (Pink Bernd, Hedda Gabler), dies at 88
• Jun 9 Owen Moore, Irish actor (She Done Him Wrong), commits suicide at 52
• Jun 18 Frans "Sas" van Aerschot, Flemish operetta actor (Paljas), dies at 73
• Sep 5 Cornelis J "Cor" van Ast, Dutch actor and director (Ghost Hotel, Two Boys), dies at 67
• Sep 24 Carl Laenmie, film producer, dies
• Oct 28 Alice Brady, American actress (My Man Godfrey, Gay Divorcee), dies at 46
• Nov 12 Oscar [Bachigaloupi] Tourniaire, Dutch actor and director (Pink Kate), dies at 59
• Nov 13 George Nicholls Jr, actor (Finishing School), dies at 42
• Dec 12 Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (The Mark of Zorro, 3 Musketeers, Robin Hood), dies from a heart attack at 56
• Dec 19 Willem Benoy, Flemish actor and director (The White), dies at 57

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