Events in Film & TV
- May 14 24th Emmy Awards: "All in the Family", Carrol O'Conner & Jean Stapleton win
Theater Premiere
May 16 Melvin Van Peebles' musical "Don't Play Us Cheap" opens at Barrymore Theater, NYC; runs for 164 performances
- May 18 "Me and The Chimp" an American TV sitcom last airs on CBS in the US
- May 19 25th Cannes Film Festival: "The Working Class Goes to Heaven" directed by Elio Petri and "The Mattei Affair" directed by Francesco Rosi jointly awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
- May 19 WMAV TV channel 18 in Oxford, MS (PBS) begins broadcasting
Birthdays in Film & TV
Dwayne Johnson (50 years old)
May 2 American pro wrestler (WCW C'ship x 2; WWE C'ship x 8; Royal Rumble 2000), actor and producer (Baywatch, Jumanji), born in Hayward, California
- May 2 Pandora Boxx [Michael Steck], American drag queen, comedian and TV personality (RuPaul's Drag Race), born in Jamestown, New York
- May 5 Brigitta Boccoli, Italian actress (Manhattan Baby), born in Milan, Italy
- May 7 Asghar Farhadi, Iranian film director (The Salesman, A Separation), born in Khomeyni Shahr, Iran
- May 9 Megumi Odaka, Japanese actress and artist
- May 10 Emma Ridley, American actress (Return to Oz, Boy Meets World), born in Hampstead, England
- May 11 Anita Hegh, Australian actress
- May 12 Paul Stout, American actor (Phillip-Scarecrow & Mrs King), born in Saugus, California
- May 14 Gabriel Mann [Mick], American actor (Bourne films - "Danny Zorn"; Revenge -"Norman"), born in Middlebury, Vermont
- May 15 David Charvet, actor (Melrose Place)
- May 16 Khary Payton, American actor (The Walking Dead; Bobbleheads:The Movie), born in Augusta, Georgia
- May 22 Alison Eastwood, daughter of actor Clint/actress (Tightrope)
- May 22 Anna Belknap, American actress (CSI NY), born in Damariscotta, Maine
- May 22 Annabel Chong, Singapore actress
- May 24 Greg Berlanti, American television writer and producer (Dawson's Creek, Riverdale, Arrowverse), born in Rye, New York
- May 26 Patsy Palmer [Julie Merkell], British actress (Eastenders), born in London, England
Laverne Cox (50 years old)
May 29 American actress (Orange Is the New Black, Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word) and LGBT advocate, born in Mobile, Alabama
- May 31 Archie Panjabi, British actress (The Good Wife), born in Edgeware, England
- May 31 Christian McBride, American jazz bassist, composer, broadcaster (Jazz Night in America), and artistic director (Newport Jazz Festival), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Deaths in Film & TV
- May 3 Bruce Cabot, actor (Diamonds are Forever), dies at 68
- May 13 Dan Blocker, American actor (Cimarron City - "Tiny"; Bonanza - "Hoss"), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 43
- May 15 Nigel Green, South African-born British character actor (Zulu, Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies of an accidental barbiturate overdose at 47
- May 22 Margaret Rutherford, English actress (Murder Ahoy, VIP's), dies at 80
- May 24 Asta Nielsen, actress (Joyless Street), dies at 88
- May 24 Gavin Muir, American actor (Mary of Scotland, Johnny Trouble), dies at 71
- May 24 Ismail Yasseen, Egyptian comedian and actor (Isamil Yassine as Tarzan, Ibn Hamidu), dies of a heart attack at 59
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