On This Day

August 1956 in Film & Television

Events in Film & TV

  • Aug 1 KRCR TV channel 7 in Redding-Chico, California (ABC) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 5 KUAM TV channel 8 in Agana, GU (CBS/ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 5 WCYB TV channel 5 in Bristol-Kingsport, Virginia (NBC) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 6 After going bankrupt in 1955, the American national broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena
  • Aug 8 WDIQ (now KMCT) TV channel 2 in Dozier, AL (PBS) begins
  • Aug 12 KOTI TV channel 2 in Klamath Falls, OR (NBC/CBS) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 13 WBIR TV channel 10 in Knoxville, TN (CBS) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 21 WTVW TV channel 7 in Evansville, IN (ABC) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 26 KREY TV channel 10 in Montrose, CO (CBS/NBC) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 28 17th Venice Film Festival opens. No Golden Lion awarded

Birthdays in Film & TV

Maureen McCormickMaureen McCormick (66 years old)

Aug 5 American actress (Marcia-Brady Bunch), born in Encino, California

Maureen McCormick
  • Aug 6 Stepfanie Kramer, American actress (Claudia-We Got it Made, Hunter), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Aug 10 Tugboat [Fred Ottman], WWF wrestler
  • Aug 12 Bruce Greenwood, actor (Spy, Another Chance, Malibu Bikini Shop)
  • Aug 12 Terry Taylor [Paul Klause], wrestler (WCW/WWF/NWA, Red Rooster)
  • Aug 17 Gail Berman, American film executive, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Aug 19 Adam Arkin, American actor (Busting Loose; Pearl; Northern Exposure - "Adam"), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Aug 20 Joan Allen, American actress (Peggy Sue Got Married, Tucker, In Country), born in Rochelle, Illinois

Kim CattrallKim Cattrall (66 years old)

Aug 21 British Canadian actress (Mannequin, Sex and the City), born in Liverpool, England

Kim Cattrall
  • Aug 23 Skipp Sudduth, American actor (Third Watch), born in Wareham, Massachusetts
  • Aug 28 Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor (The Limey), born in Cayey, Puerto Rico
  • Aug 30 Jayne Irving, English TV hostess (Live at 3), born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire

Weddings in Film & TV

  • Aug 5 American actress-singer Shirley Jones (22) weds film and stage actor-singer Jack Cassidy (29); divorce in 1975

William Shatner

Aug 12 Canadian "Star Trek" actor William Shatner (25) weds Gloria Rand; divorce in 1969

William Shatner

Christopher Plummer

Aug 19 Actor Christopher Plummer (26) weds actress Tammy Grimes (22) at Cherokee Castle in Sedalia, Colorado

Christopher Plummer

Archie Moore

Aug 21 Boxing champ Archie Moore (42) weds model Joan Hardy in Ensenada, Mexico

Archie Moore
  • Aug 27 Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt (32) weds "12 Angry Men" director Sidney Lumet (32)

Deaths in Film & TV

Bela LugosiBela Lugosi (1882-1956)

Aug 16 Austrian actor (Dracula, Plan 9 From Outer Space), dies of a heart attack at 73

Bela Lugosi
  • Aug 24 Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director (b. 1898)

Famous Film Stars

Search the largest, most accurate site for today in history.