Events in Film & TV
- Jan 1 KPRC TV channel 2 in Houston, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Jan 1 KTTV TV channel 11 in Los Angeles, CA (MET) begins broadcasting
Television Premiere
Jan 12 "Arthur Godfrey & his Friends" premieres on CBS TV
- Jan 16 KNBH (now KNBC) TV channel 4 in Los Angeles, CA (NBC) 1st broadcast
- Jan 16 WTOP (now WUSA) TV channel 9 in Washington, D.C. (CBS) 1st broadcast
- Jan 17 Radio series "The Goldbergs" by Gertrude Berg premieres on US TV on CBS
- Jan 18 "They Stand Accused" courtroom drama premieres on CBS (later DuMont)
- Jan 20 1st inaugural parade televised, for Harry Truman, watched by 10 million people
Film & TV History
Jan 20 J. Edgar Hoover gives Shirley Temple a tear gas fountain pen
Birthdays in Film & TV
- Jan 2 Christopher Durang, playwright/actor (Sister Mary), born in Montclair, New Jersey
- Jan 7 Anne Schedeen, American actress, born in Portland, Oregon
- Jan 10 Teresa Graves, American actress (Laugh-in, Get Christie Love!), born in Houston, Texas
- Jan 12 Wayne Wang, American film director (Chan is Missing; Slam Dance), born in Hong Kong
- Jan 13 Brandon Tartikoff, American TV executive and president of NBC (1981-91), born in Freeport, New York (d. 1997)
- Jan 14 Christine Belford, American actress (Banacek, Empire, 90210), born in Amityville, New York
- Jan 14 Lawrence Kasdan, American screenwriter & director (Accidental Tourist), born in Miami, Florida
- Jan 14 Paul Chubb, Australian actor, born in Arncliffe, Australia (d. 2002)
- Jan 15 Panos Mihalopoulos, Greek actor, born in Kalamata, Greece
- Jan 16 Caroline Munro, British actress (Golden Voyage of Sinbad; Hammer Horror films), and singer ("Tar and Cement"; "Pump Me Up"), born Windsor, England
- Jan 17 Andy Kaufman, American comedian & actor (Taxi - "Latka Gravas"), born in New York City, New York (d. 1984)
- Jan 17 Billy T. James [William James Te Wehi Taitoko], New Zealand Maori comedian and singer (The Billy T. James Show), born in Cambridge, New Zealand (d. 1991)
- Jan 17 Debbie Watson, American actress (Karen, Tammy), born in La Mirada California,
- Jan 20 Martin von Haselberg, Argentine actor and performance artist, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Jan 24 John Belushi, American comedian (SNL, 1975-80), actor (Animal House), and singer (The Blues Brothers), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1982)
- Jan 26 David Strathairn, American actor (LA Confidential, The Bourne Ultimatum), born in San Francisco, California
- Jan 27 Jaya Suprana [Phoa Kok Tjiang], Indonesian pianist, composer, conductor, writer, educator, and television presenter, born in Denpasar, Bali
- Jan 31 Carol Hawkins, English actress (Dialing for Dingbats), born in Chipping Barnet, United Kingdom
Deaths in Film & TV
Victor Fleming (1889-1949)
Jan 6 American film director (The Wizard of Oz; Gone With The Wind), dies at 65
- Jan 31 Henri de Vries [Hendricus Van Walterop], Dutch actor (Cleopatra, White Cargo), dies at 84
Actors
Actresses
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