Year 1955 in Film & Television

• Jan 1 WEAT (now WPEC) TV channel 12 in West Palm Beach, FL (CBS) begins
• Jan 2 1st "Bob Cummings Show" premieres on NBC (later on CBS)

• Jan 5 KMSP TV channel 9 in Minneapolis-St Paul, MN (IND) 1st broadcast
• Jan 7 WCIQ TV channel 7 in Mt Cheaha, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Jan 8 WUNC TV channel 4 in Chapel Hill, NC (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Jan 10 "Ordet", directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, starring Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, is released
• Jan 19 "The Millionaire" TV program premieres on CBS
• Jan 23 KORK (now KVBC) TV channel 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada (NBC) 1st broadcast

• Feb 12 WTVY TV channel 4 in Dothan, AL (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Feb 13 KRCG TV channel 13 in Jefferson City, MO (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Feb 14 WFLA (now WXFL) TV channel 8 in Tampa-St Petersburg, Florida (NBC) begins
• Feb 17 KTVF TV channel 11 in Fairbanks, AK (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting

• Mar 1 KFAR (now KATN) TV channel 2 in Fairbanks, AK (ABC/NBC) 1st broadcast
• Mar 5 WBBJ TV channel 7 in Jackson, TN (ABC) begins broadcasting

• Mar 15 WLEX TV channel 18 in Lexington, KY (NBC) begins broadcasting
• Mar 20 KXTV TV channel 10 in Sacramento, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting

• Mar 27 WPRI TV channel 12 in Providence, RI (ABC) begins broadcasting

• Apr 1 WTVT TV channel 13 in Tampa-St Petersburg, FL (CBS) 1st broadcast

• Apr 14 WBRZ TV channel 2 in Baton Rouge, LA (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
• Apr 24 KFDM TV channel 6 in Beaumont, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Apr 24 KMAU (now KGMV) TV channel 3 in Wailuku, HI (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Apr 28 WBIQ TV channel 10 in Birmingham, AL (PBS) begins broadcasting
• May 2 WGBH TV channel 2 in Boston, MA (PBS) begins broadcasting
• May 10 8th Cannes Film Festival: "Marty" directed by Delbert Mann wins Palme d'Or
• May 15 KPUA (now KGMD) TV channel 9 in Hilo, HI (CBS) begins broadcasting
• May 21 WFRV TV channel 5 in Green Bay, WI (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
• May 27 Red Buttons Show, last airs on NBC-TV
• May 30 KMVT TV channel 11 in Twin Falls, ID (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
• Jun 3 KLFY TV channel 10 in Lafayette, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting


• Jun 4 "Mickey Rooney Show" TV comedy last airs on NBC
• Jun 7 "$64,000 Question" premieres on CBS TV
• Jun 10 KWEX TV channel 41 in San Antonio, TX (IND) begins broadcasting
• Jun 12 TV comedy "Mister Peepers" starring Wally Cox airs for last time on NBC
• Jun 12 Monitor (full weekend program) begins on NBC radio network

• Jun 24 5th Berlin International Film Festival: "The Rats" wins Golden Bear (audience vote)
• Jun 25 "Imogene Coca Show" last airs on NBC-TV
• Jun 27 "Julius LaRosa Show" debuts on CBS-TV

• Jul 1 KOTA TV channel 3 in Rapid City, SD (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
• Jul 2 "Lawrence Welk Show" premieres on ABC
• Jul 15 WNDU TV channel 16 in South Bend, IN (NBC) begins broadcasting
• Jul 16 "Golden Horseshoe Revue" 1st of 50,000+ performances, Disneyland
• Jul 17 Disneyland televises its grand opening in Anaheim, California.
• Jul 31 KRNT (now KCCI) TV channel 8 in Des Moines, Iowa (CBS) 1st broadcast
• Jul 31 WHIS (now WVVA) TV channel 6 in Bluefield, West Virginia (NBC) 1st broadcast
• Aug 1 WILL TV channel 12 in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Aug 7 KSTF TV channel 10 in Scottsbluff-Gering, NB (CBS/NBC) begins
• Aug 12 WPBT TV channel 2 in Miami, FL (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Aug 15 WXEX TV channel 8 in Richmond-Petersburg, VA (ABC) begins
• Aug 25 16th Venice Film Festival: "Ordet" directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer wins Golden Lion
• Aug 26 1st color telecast (NBC) of a tennis match (Davis Cup)
• Aug 26 "Pather Panchali", Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray, starring Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee and Karuna Banerjee, is released
• Aug 31 KTRE TV channel 9 begins broadcasting in Lufkin, Texas (ABC/NBC affiliate)
• Sep 1 KARD (now KSNW) TV channel 3 in Wichita, KS (NBC) begins broadcasting
• Sep 2 KCRA TV channel 3 in Sacramento, CA (NBC) begins broadcasting
• Sep 3 KTBS TV channel 3 in Shreveport, LA (ABC) begins broadcasting
• Sep 5 WKRG TV channel 5 in Mobile, AL (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Sep 5 WTTW TV channel 11 in Chicago, IL (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Sep 10 "Gunsmoke" premieres on CBS TV
• Sep 11 KTVT TV channel 11 in Fort Worth-Dallas, TX (IND) begins broadcasting
• Sep 12 KNTV TV channel 11 in San Jose, CA (ABC) begins broadcasting
• Sep 15 WCTV TV channel 6 in Tallahassee-Thomasville, FL (CBS) begins
• Sep 22 Commercial television begins in UK with ITV; meanwhile on BBC radio Grace Archer is killed in a barn fire on Brookfield Farm - the BBC denies this was to spoil the launch of the rival network
• Sep 22 With the launch of ITV, the UK's 1st commercial television station, the 1st advert on UK TV airs for Gibbs SR toothpaste
• Sep 28 1st World Series color TV broadcast on NBC-TV (Yanks beat Dodgers)
• Sep 28 WITN TV channel 7 in Washington, NC (NBC) begins broadcasting
• Sep 29 "Sergeant Preston" debuts on CBS

• Oct 1 WORA TV channel 5 in Mayaguez, PR (TCI) begins broadcasting
• Oct 2 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" premieres on CBS television in the US
• Oct 2 WHTN (now WOWK) TV ch 13 in Huntington-Charleston, WV (CBS) begins
• Oct 3 "Captain Kangaroo" premieres on CBS-TV, Good Morning, Captain!
• Oct 3 WDBJ TV channel 7 in Roanoke, VA (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Oct 3 WTVS TV channel 56 in Detroit, MI (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Oct 20 "No Time for Sergeants" opens on Broadway, starring Andy Griffith

• Oct 22 WWNY TV channel 7 in Carthage-Watertown, NY (CBS) begins broadcasting
• Oct 27 "Rebel Without a Cause", directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Dean and Natalie Wood, is released
• Nov 19 KXMB TV channel 12 in Bismarck, ND (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
• Nov 21 KTVO TV channel 3 in Ottumwa-Kirksville, IA (ABC) begins broadcasting
• Nov 28 KMVI (now WMAU) TV channel 12 in Wailuku, HI (IND) begins broadcasting
• Nov 28 KTHV TV channel 11 in Little Rock, AR (CBS) begins broadcasting

• Dec 3 KTVE TV channel 10 in Monroe-El Dorado, LA (NBC) begins broadcasting

• Dec 21 2nd National Film Awards (India): "Mirza Ghalib" wins the Golden Lotus

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 193

• Jan 2 Tex Brashear, American voice actor

• Jan 6 Sandra Bernhard, American actress (Follow That Bird, King of Comedy), born in Flint, Michigan
• Jan 9 J. K. Simmons, American actor (Whiplash), born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan
• Jan 12 Rockne S. O'Bannon, American screenwriter, born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 13 Trevor Rabin, South African-American rock guitarist (Yes, 1983-94 - "Owner Of A Lonely Heart"), and film score composer (National Treasure), born in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Jan 15 Enrico Mentana, Italian newscaster (RAI), born in Milan, Italy
• Jan 18 Hans van Tongeren, Dutch actor (Hunk), born in Breda, Netherlands (d. 1982)

• Jan 19 Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-born actor & comedian, born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 20 Wyatt Knight, American actor (d. 2011)
• Jan 22 John Wesley Shipp, American actor (Dawson's Creek, One Life to Live), born in Norfolk, Virginia
• Jan 26 Lucia Mendez, Mexican actress & singer (Lucia es Luna Moreno), born in León, Guanajuato, Mexico
• Feb 2 Michael Talbott, American actor (Stan-Miami Vice), born in Waverly, Iowa
• Feb 5 Debra Jo Fondren, American model & actress, born in Los Angeles, California
• Feb 7 Rolf Benirschke, NFL place kicker/TV host (Wheel of Fortune), born in Boston, Massachusetts
• Feb 8 Ethan Phillips, actor (Neelix-Star Trek Voyager)
• Feb 8 Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart, American professional wrestler (WWF/WCW/NJPW/CWFI/Calgary), born in Montebello, California (d. 2018)
• Feb 8 Nancy Oliver, American playwright and television writer
• Feb 9 Charles Shaughnessy, actor (Shane-Days of our Lives, Nanny), born in London, England
• Feb 9 Jim J. Bullock, American actor (Monroe-Too Close for Comfort), born in Casper, Wyoming
• Feb 10 Chris Adams, British pro wrestler and judoka (d. 2001)
• Feb 10 Jim Cramer, American television personality
• Feb 14 James Eckhouse, American actor
• Feb 14 Rip Rogers, American professional wrestler, born in Seymour, Indiana
• Feb 15 Christopher McDonald, American actor
• Feb 16 Hunt Block, American actor
• Feb 18 Raymond Rougeau, Canadian professional wrestler, born in Saint-Sulpice, Canada
• Feb 19 Jeff Daniels, GA, actor (Something Wild, Dumb & Dumber, Speed)

• Feb 25 Leann Hunley, actress (Dane Carrington-Dynasty, Dawson's Creek)
• Feb 28 Gilbert Gottfried, comedian (Beverly Hills Cop)
• Mar 2 Dale Bosworth, TV host (America's Most Wanted)
• Mar 4 Dominique Pinon, French actor
• Mar 5 Marcia McCabe, American actress (Alice Grande - One Life to Live), born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
• Mar 7 Anupam Kher, Bollywood actor (Vijay, Silver Linings Playbook), and Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India, born in Shimla, India
• Mar 9 Ornella Muti, Italian actress (Flash Gordon, Most Beautiful Wife), born in Rome, Italy
• Mar 10 Juliusz Machulski, Polish director/writer/actor (Do It Yourself)
• Mar 10 Youssra, Egyptian actress and singer
• Mar 11 [Kater]Nina Hagen, German actress (Blue Angel), born in East Berlin, German DR
• Mar 13 Glenne Headly, actress (Dick Tracy, Making Mr Right), born in New London, Connecticut
• Mar 14 Helen Atkinson-Wood, British actress and comedian (O.T.T., Blackadder the Third), born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire
• Mar 15 Daniel "Dee" Snider, American singer, songwriter and actor (Twisted Sister), born in Astoria, Queens
• Mar 16 Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
• Mar 17 Bill Beyers, actor (Wally McCandless-Capitol)
• Mar 17 Gary Sinise, American actor (Apollo 13, CSI: NY, Forrest Gump), born in Blue Island Illinois

• Mar 21 Jean Marie Hon, actress (Jane-Man From Atlantis), born in San Francisco, California
• Mar 23 Petrea Burchard, American actress
• Mar 29 Christopher Lawford, American actor (Charlie Brent-All My Children), born in Santa Monica, California
• Mar 29 Dianne Kay, American actress (Nancy-8 is Enough, Reggie, Glitter), born in Phoenix, Arizona
• Mar 29 Marina Sirtis, English actress (Troi-Star Trek: The Next Generation), born in London, England
• Mar 29 Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor and film director (Braveheart), born in Dublin
• Apr 5 Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress (Jefferson in Paris), born in Montereau-Fault-Yonne, France
• Apr 6 Michael Rooker, American actor (Guardians of the Galaxy), born in Jasper, Alabama
• Apr 8 Kane Hodder, American actor and stuntman
• Apr 11 Michele Scarabelli, Canadian actress (Jo Santini-Airwolf, Alienation, Dallas), born in Montreal, Quebec
• Apr 14 Simone Griffeth, American actress (Death Race 2000, Amanda's), born in Savannah, Georgia
• Apr 23 Judy Davis, Australian actress (Barton Fink, Husbands & Wives), born in Perth, Australia
• Apr 23 Su Ingle, British actress (Around the World in Seven Minutes and Four Times on Saturday), born in London
• Apr 24 Michael O'Keefe, American actor (Caddyshack, Ironweed, Slugger's Wife), born in Mount Vernon, New York
• Apr 24 John Epperson [Lypsinka], American drag artist and actor, born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi
• Apr 25 Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor (The Glass Agency), born in Kabudrahang, Hamadan Province, Iran
• Apr 29 Kate Mulgrew, American actress (Capt Janeway-Star Trek Voyager), born in Dubuque, Iowa
• Apr 29 Wendee Lee, American voice actress
• Apr 29 Leslie Jordan, American actor and writer (Will and Grace), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee
• May 5 Melinda Culea, American actress (A-Team, Brotherly Love), born in Western Springs, Illinois
• May 7 Peter Reckell, American actor (Days of our Lives), born in Elkhart, Indiana
• May 9 Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (Misfits of Science), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• May 10 Chris Berman, sportscaster (ESPN)
• May 15 Lee Horsley, American actor (Nero Wolfe, Matt Houston), born in Muleshoe, Texas
• May 16 Debra Winger, American actress (Terms of Endearment, Officer & Gentleman), born in Columbus, Ohio
• May 16 Hazel O'Connor, Coventry England, singer/actress (Breaking Glass)
• May 17 Bill Paxton, actor (True Lies, Big Love), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2017)

• May 20 Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer (Three Colors film trilogy), born in Bielsko-Biała, Poland
• May 25 Connie Selleca, American actress (Hotel, Capt America II), born in The Bronx, New York
• May 27 Richard Schiff, American actor (The West Wing), born in Bethesda, Maryland
• May 27 Eric Bischoff, American professional wrestling promoter
• May 30 Jake "The Snake" Roberts, American wrestler, born in Gainesville, Texas
• May 31 Laura Baugh, American golfer, writer, broadcaster (LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1973), born in Gainesville, Florida
• Jun 1 Ralph Morse, British actor, singer and writer of historical dramas
• Jun 2 Gary Grimes, American actor (Summer of '42, Class of '44), born in San Francisco, California
• Jun 2 Dana Carvey, comedian (SNL, Garth-Wayne's World), born in Missoula, Montana
• Jun 4 Mary Testa, American stage actress (On The Town), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jun 6 Sandra Bernhard, American actress and comedian (King of Comedy, Nancy on Roseanne), born in Flint, Michigan
• Jun 7 William Forsythe, American actor (Raising Arizona, Once Upon a Time in America), born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
• Jun 8 (Thomas) Griffin Dunne, American actor (American Werewolf in London, Who's That Girl; After Hours), and film maker, born in New York City
• Jun 10 Andrew Stevens, actor (Seduction, Boys in Company C, Fury), born in Memphis, Tennessee
• Jun 13 Alan Hansen, Scottish soccer defender (26 caps; Liverpool 434 games) and broadcaster (BBC Match of the Day), born in Sauchie, Scotland
• Jun 14 Kim Lankford, American actress (Gingers-Knots Landing), born in Montebello, California
• Jun 14 Paul O'Grady, English TV presenter, comedian and drag queen (Lily Savage), born in Tranmere, England
• Jun 15 Julie Hagerty, American actress (Airplane, Princesses), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Jun 15 Polly Draper, American actress (Thirtysomething, Side Effects), born in Gary, Indiana
• Jun 16 Laurie Metcalf, American actress (Roseanne, Ladybird), born in Carbonville, Illinois
• Jun 21 David Marshall Grant, American actor (Legs, French Postcards), born in Westport, Connecticut
• Jun 21 Leigh McCloskey, American actor (Dallas, Executive Suite, Gen Hosp), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jun 23 Maggie Greenwald, American film director and writer
• Jun 24 Betsy Randle, American actress
• Jun 25 Michael Sabatino, American actor (Days of Our Life, Bold & Beautiful), born in Venice, California

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• Mar 17 Erotic writer Anaïs Nin marries actor Rupert Pole at Quartzsite, Arizona, while still married to her first husband
• Jun 26 Actor Geoffrey Holder marries Carmen de Lavallade

• Aug 29 "Untamed Youth" actress Mamie Van Doren (24) weds trumpeter and actor Ray Anthony (33)
• Sep 18 Actress-singer Debbie Reynolds (23) weds singer Eddie Fisher (27)
• Oct 2 Actress Joyce Randolph marries publisher Richard Charles

• Feb 6 Rosey Rowswell, American MLB broadcaster (Pittsburgh Prates 1936-54), dies from uremic poisoning at 71
• Feb 12 Tom Moore, actor (Ladies be Seated, Majority Rules), dies at 71
• Feb 12 S Z Sakall [Gerö Jenö], Hungarian stage and film character actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), dies at 72
• Feb 27 Tom Howard, comedian (It Pays to be Ignorant), dies at 66
• Mar 7 Tom Dugan, Irish actor (Circus Clown, Drag, Skyway), dies at 66
• Mar 21 Muriel Aked, British actress, dies at 67
• Apr 7 Theda Bara, actress (Camille, Cleopatra, 2 Orphans), dies at 62
• Apr 25 Constance Collier, actress (Perils of Pauline), dies at 77
• Apr 30 Rudolf Klein-Rogge, German actor and prototype for silent films master criminal (Metropolis, Spies), dies at 69
• Jun 11 Walter Hampden, American actor (Five Fingers, Hunchback of Notre Dame), dies at 75
• Jul 22 Joseph Foley, American actor (Mr Peepers), dies at 45
• Jul 23 Betsy van Es, Flemish actress (Un soir de joie), dies at 55
• Jul 23 Harry Haden, actor (Harry-Stu Erwin Show), dies at 73
• Jul 25 Isaak Iosifovich Dunayevsky, Soviet operetta and film composer, dies at 55
• Aug 5 Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer and actress (Down Argentine Way), dies of a heart attack at 46
• Aug 5 Suzan (Susan) Ball, American actress, dies of cancer at 21
• Aug 23 Reginald Tate, British actor (b. 1896)
• Sep 1 Philip Loeb, actor (Jake-Goldbergs), dies at 61
• Sep 28 Arthur Donaldson, Swedish American actor, dies at 86

• Sep 30 Michael Chekhov, Russian-American actor (Rhapsody, Abie's Irish Rose), dies at 64
• Oct 1 Charles Christie, American film studio owner, dies at 75
• Oct 2 O B Clarence, English actor (Penn of Pensnsylvania), dies at 85
• Oct 9 Alice Joyce, actress (Song O' My Heart), dies at 65
• Oct 15 Fumio Hayasaka, Japanese film score composer (Rashomon; Seven Samurai), dies of tuberculosis at 41
• Oct 19 John Hodiak, American actor (Battleground, A Bell for Adamo, Lifeboat), dies from coronary thrombosis at 41
• Nov 9 Tom Powers, actor (Station West, Destination Moon), dies at 65
• Nov 22 Shemp Howard [Samuel Horwitz], American actor and comedian (3 Stooges), dies of a heart attack at 60
• Dec 1 Chief Thundercloud [Victor Daniels], Cherokee actor (The Lone Ranger, Colt .45), dies from stomach cancer at 57
• Dec 5 Paul Harvey, American actor (Spellbound, Calamity Jane, Heldorado, Jamboree), dies at 73
• Dec 21 Dorothy Bernard, actress (Margaret-Life With Father), dies at 65
• Dec 24 Nana Bryant, American stage and screen actress (Ladies of the Chorus; Our Miss Brooks - "Mrs. Nestor"), dies at 67