Events in Film & TV
- May 2 KYTL (now KPNX) TV channel 12 in Mesa/Phoenix, Arizona AZ (NBC) begins broadcasting with a telethon to benefit United Cerebral Palsy
- May 3 WTVO TV channel 17 in Rockford, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting
- May 8 WIPB TV channel 49 in Muncie, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
- May 10 KCBD TV channel 11 in Lubbock, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
- May 12 KUHT TV channel 8 (PBS) in Houston, TX, begins broadcasting
- May 23 WHIZ TV channel 18 in Zanesville, OH (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
- May 25 1st non-commercial educational television station - Houston, Texas
- May 28 Premier of 1st animated 3-D cartoon in Technicolor-"Melody"
- May 31 WSUN TV channel 38 in St Petersburg-Tampa, FL (IND) 1st broadcast
Birthdays in Film & TV
- May 6 Lynn Whitfield, American actress (Josephine Baker; Equal Justice), born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- May 9 Amy Hill, American comedian and actress (All-American Girl - "Grandma"; Magnum, PI - "Kumu"), born in Deadwood, South Dakota
- May 9 Gregory Beecroft, Chorpus Christi TX, actor (Guiding Light)
- May 10 Alex Foster, American jazz and session saxophonist (SNL Band; Mingus Big Band), born in Oakland, California
- May 10 Lawrence Lau, actor (Jamie Frame-Another World)
- May 10 Tito Santana, Mexican-American professional wrestler
- May 11 Boyd Gaines, American actor (Mark-One Day at a Time, Sure Thing), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- May 11 David Gest, American television producer, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
Pierce Brosnan (70 years old)
May 16 Irish actor (Remington Steele, the 5th James Bond, 1995-2004), born in Drogheda, Ireland
- May 17 Kathleen Sullivan, American newscaster (ABC-TV, CBS Morning Show), born in Pasadena, California
- May 17 Yoko Shimada, Kumamota Japan, author (Kir Royal)/actress (Shogun)
- May 19 Victoria Wood, British comedian and actress (Dinner Ladies), born in Bury, Lancashire (d. 2016)
- May 24 Alfred Molina, British actor (Spider Man 2, Frida, Chocolat), born in London, England
- May 24 Nell Campbell [Laura], Australian actress (Rocky Horror), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- May 25 Jane Priest, Australian model who kissed Prince Charles on the beach, born in Perth, Australia
- May 29 Big Daddy Graham [Edward Gudonis], American comedian, writer, actor, recording artist, and radio personality, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2021)
Danny Elfman (70 years old)
May 29 American singer-songwriter (Oingo Boingo - "Weird Science"), and Emmy and Grammy Award-winning composer (The Simspons Theme; Good Will Hunting; Tim Burton films), born in Los Angeles, California
Deaths in Film & TV
- May 11 Jean Adair, Canadian actress, dies at 80
- May 24 Cor Hermus, Dutch actor, director and writer (Bleeke Bet, William of Orange, Jantes), dies at 63
- May 29 Man Mountain Dean [Frank Simmons Leavitt], American professional wrestler, dies at 61
- May 30 Dooley Wilson [Arthur Wilson], American musician and actor (Beulah, Casablanca), dies of natural causes at 67
- May 30 George Barnes, cinematographer, dies at 60
