On This Day

August 1971 in Film & Television

Events in Film & TV

  • Aug 1 CBS presents the first episode of BBC production "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", continuing weekly until September 5th
  • Aug 5 WNPE TV channel 16 in Watertown, NY (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 6 3rd San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Muir College, University of California
  • Aug 23 WGTU TV channel 29 in Traverse City, MI (ABC) begins broadcasting
  • Aug 25 32nd Venice Film Festival opens
  • Aug 30 WNPI TV channel 18 in Norwood, NY (PBS) begins broadcasting

Birthdays in Film & TV

  • Aug 4 Jeff Gordon, American auto racer (Winston Cup Series 1995, 97, 98, 2001; Daytona 500 1997, 99, 2005) and broadcaster (Fox NASCAR), born in Vallejo, California
  • Aug 6 Merrin Dungey, American actress
  • Aug 7 Sydney Penny, American actress (Danni-New Gidget, Thorn Birds, All My Children), born in Nashville, Tennessee
  • Aug 10 Justin Theroux, American actor (Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire), born in Detroit, Michigan
  • Aug 11 Alejandra Barros, Mexican actress
  • Aug 13 Moritz Bleibtreu, German actor (Run Lola Run), born in Munich, Bavaria, Germany
  • Aug 13 Rolando Molina, Salvadoran-born American actor (Next Friday; Eagle Eye), born in San Salvador, El Salvador
  • Aug 14 Raoul Bova, Italian actor, born in Rome, Italy
  • Aug 17 Uhm Jung-hwa, South Korean singer and actress
  • Aug 18 Trey Ames, American actor (David-A Year in the Life), born in Canton, Ohio
  • Aug 18 Jacob Vargas, American actor (Mi vida loca), born in Michoacan, Mexico
  • Aug 19 Mary Joe Fernández, American tennis player, broadcaster (Olympic gold 1992, 96), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  • Aug 20 Jonathan Ke Quan, Vietnamese-American actor (Sam-Together We Stand), born in Saigon, South Vietnam
  • Aug 20 David Walliams, English actor, comedian (Come Fly With Me) and children's author, born in London, England
  • Aug 22 Richard Armitage, English actor (The Hobbit, Robin Hood), born in Leicester, Leicestershire
  • Aug 22 Rick Yune, American actor (Snow Falling on Cedars), born in Washington, D.C.
  • Aug 24 Pierfrancesco Favino, Italian actor, born in Rome, Italy
  • Aug 25 Mike Lockwood, professional wrestler (d. 2003)

Thalía

Aug 26 Thalia Sodi, Mexican actress and singer known as the "Queen of Latin Pop", born in Mexico City, Mexico

Thalía
Singer-Songwriter and Actress Thalía
  • Aug 27 Julian Cheung Chi-Lam, singer (A Modern Love Story) and actor (Return Of The Cuckoo), born in North Point, British Hong Kong
  • Aug 29 Carla Gugino, American actress, born in Sarasota, Florida
  • Aug 31 Chris Tucker, American stand-up comedien and actor (Rush Hour), born in Atlanta, Georgia

Weddings in Film & TV

Donna Summer

Aug 5 Five-time Grammy Award singer Donna Summer [nee Gaines] (22) weds actor Helmuth Sommer; divorce in 1976

Donna Summer
Singer Donna Summer

Deaths in Film & TV

Paul Lukas

Aug 15 Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (Kim, Berlin Express), dies of heart failure at 76

Paul Lukas
Actor Paul Lukas
  • Aug 16 Elsie Baker, actress (Ghosts of Hanley House), dies at 78
  • Aug 16 Spyros Skouras, Greek-born American movie executive (20th Century Fox), dies at 78
  • Aug 17 Horace McMahon, American actor (Detective Story, Martin Kane Private Eye), dies from a heart ailment at 65
  • Aug 23 Oliver McGowan, American actor (Banning, Stagecoach), dies at 64


1971 in Film & Television History

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