Events in Film & TV
- Jan 1 ABC radio splits into 4 networks (Info, Entertainment, Contemp & FM)
- Jan 1 Netherlands gets color TV
- Jan 1 WDCO TV channel 15 in Cochran, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Jan 2 KBHK TV channel 44 in San Francisco, California (IND) begins broadcasting
- Jan 4 Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for $13 million to CBS
- Jan 7 "GE College Bowl" quiz show premieres on NBC TV
- Jan 12 Nighttime version of "Hollywood Squares" premieres on NBC TV
- Jan 15 KDCD TV channel 18 in Midland, Texas (IND) begins broadcasting
- Jan 19 WKBF TV channel 61 in Cleveland, Ohio (IND) begins broadcasting
Film Premiere
Jan 20 Arthur Penn's film "Bonnie and Clyde" premieres in Paris, France with stars Warren Beatty & Faye Dunaway in attendance
- Jan 22 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC
Birthdays in Film & TV
- Jan 1 Miki Higashino, Japanese video game composer (Suikoden series), born in Japan
Cuba Gooding Jr. (55 years old)
Jan 2 American actor (Boyz n the Hood: Gladiator; As Good As It Gets: Jerry Maquire), born in The Bronx, New York
- Jan 2 Evan Parke, Jamaican actor
- Jan 3 Shannon Sturges, actress (Savannah)
- Jan 5 Carl Evans, American actor (Guiding Light), born in NYC, New York
- Jan 6 John Singleton, American director and screenwriter (Boyz in the Hood), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2019)
- Jan 8 Ami Dolenz, American actress (General Hospital, Can't Buy Me Love), born in Los Angeles, California
- Jan 9 Joey Lauren Adams, American actress, born in North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Jan 11 Sharon Brown, American actress (Chantal-Generations), born in NYC, New York
Heather Mills (55 years old)
Jan 12 English model, activist and writer (Out on a Limb), born in Aldershot, Hampshire
- Jan 12 Rachael Harris, American actress, born in Worthington, Ohio
- Jan 13 Chara [Miwa Watabiki], Japanese singer and actress (Swallowtail Butterfly), born in Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
LL Cool J (55 years old)
Jan 14 American rapper (Bigger and Deffer), born in Bay Shore, New York
- Jan 15 Chad Lowe, American actor (Spencer, Apprentice to Murder), born in Dayton, Ohio
- Jan 16 David Chokachi, American actor (Baywatch), born in Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Jan 21 Charlotte Ross, actress (Eve-Days of Our Lives), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Jan 22 Brian Jones, American sports radio and television host and former NFL linebacker (New Orleans Saints), born in Iowa City, Iowa
- Jan 22 Frank Lebœuf, French actor, sports commentator and former footballer (1998 FIFA World Cup), born in Marseille, France
- Jan 22 Guy Fieri [Ferry], American celebrity chef, restaurateur and TV personality (Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; Guy's Grocery Games), born in Columbus, Ohio
- Jan 25 Heinrich "Haini" Wolfgramm, Polynesian-American actor & musician (The Jets), born in San Francisco, California
- Jan 26 Ravi Teja, Indian film actor, born in Jaggampeta, India
- Jan 29 Edward Burns, American actor, director, writer (Brothers McMullen, Saving Private Ryan), born in Queens, New York
- Jan 29 Sora Jung, Korean actress, born in Seoul, South Korea
Weddings in Film & TV
Sharon Tate & Roman Polanski
Jan 20 Actress Sharon Tate (24) weds actor and director Roman Polanski (34) in Chelsea, London
Deaths in Film & TV
- Jan 5 Jean Murat, French actor (Eternal Rain, Carnival Flanders), dies at 79
- Jan 10 Basil Sydney, British actor (Hamlet, Jassy, Simba, Farmer's Wife), dies of pleurisy at 73
- Jan 10 Howard Smith, American actor (Kiss of Death, Call Northside 777), dies at 74
- Jan 16 John Davidson, American stage and silent and sound screen actor (The Bronze Bell; Dick Tracy vs Crime, Inc; Chinese Cat), dies at 81
- Jan 18 Bert Wheeler, American actor (Brave Eagle; The Nitwits; Hold 'em Jail;, High Flyers; Rainmakers), dies at 72
- Jan 18 John Ridgely, American actor (Northern Pursuit; They Died with Their Boots On; Air Force), dies from a heart ailment at 58
- Jan 25 Virginia Maskell, actress (Only Two Can Play), dies at 31
Actors
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