December 1974 in Film & Television History

Events in Film & TV

Television Finale

Dec 5 Final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus airs on BBC TV

Film Release

Dec 14 Disaster film "The Towering Inferno" is released, starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman

Film Premiere

Dec 19 "The Man with the Golden Gun", 9th James Bond film, starring Roger Moore, Britt Ekland and Christopher Lee, premieres in London

Film Release

Dec 20 "The Godfather Part II", directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, is released (Academy Awards Best Picture 1975)

Dec 27 Dear Abby show ends run on CBS radio after 11 years

Birthdays in Film & TV

Dec 2 Grant Wahl, American sports journalist (CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports), born in Mission, Kansas (d. 2022)
Dec 11 Ben Shephard, English TV personality, born in Epping, Essex, United Kingdom
Dec 11 Rey Mysterio [Óscar Gutiérrez], American professional wrestler, born in Chula Vista, California
Dec 16 Frida Hallgren, Swedish actress
Dec 17 Giovonni Ribisi, actor (Cory-My 2 Dads, New Leave it To Beaver)
Dec 17 Jeffrey "Duff" Goldman, American cake designer, TV personality (Ace of Cakes) and chef, born in Detroit, Michigan

Sarah Paulson (48 years old)

Dec 17 American actress (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; American Horror Story), born in Tampa, Florida

Dec 18 Bill Duggan, American television actor and host
Dec 18 Kari Byron, artist and television personality
Dec 19 Ricky Ponting, Australian cricket batsman, captain, coach and broadcaster (168 Tests, 13,378 runs @ 51.85; 41 x 100s), born in Launceston, Tasmania
Dec 22 Heather Donahue, American writer & actress, born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania

Dec 24 American DJ (On Air; American Top 40), and television host (American Idol, since 2002; Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve, since 2005; Live with Kelly and Ryan, since 2017), born in Atlanta, Georgia

Dec 25 Nagma [Nandita Arvind Morarji], Indian actress, born in Mumbai
Dec 26 Tiffany Brissette, American actress (Vicki-Small Wonder), born in Paradise, California
Dec 27 Masi Oka, Japanese-American actor
Dec 29 Mekhi Phifer, American actor, born in Manhattan, New York City
Dec 30 Johanna Sällström, Swedish actress (d. 2007)
Dec 31 Ryan Sakoda, Japanese American professional wrestler, born in Tokyo, Japan

Deaths in Film & TV

Dec 4 Lee Kinsolving, actor (Explosive Generation), dies at 36
Dec 5 Henry Wadsworth, American actor (The Thin Man, Applause, Fast & Loose), dies at 77
Dec 5 Pietro Germi, Italian actor, writer and director (Divorce Italian Style, The Facts of Murder), dies from hepatitis at 60
Dec 10 Paul Richards, American actor (Dr Thompson-Breaking Point), dies of cancer at 50
Dec 11 Reed Hadley, American actor (Zorro's Fighting Legion, Racket Squad, Shock, Grand Canyon), dies from a heart attack at 63
Dec 13 Rufus "Rufe" Davis, American actor (Cocoanut Grove, Trail Blazers, Gangs of Sonora), dies at 66
Dec 15 Anatole Litvak, Russian-born American film director, writer and producer (Mayerling, Anastasia, The Snake Pit), dies at 72
Dec 21 Richard Long, American actor (Prof-Nanny and the Professor), dies at 47
Dec 22 Fosco Giachetti, Italian actor (Wastrel, We the Living), dies at 74
Dec 25 Harry Ray, American film make-up artist, costume designer and actor (Avanti!), dies at 65
Dec 26 Farid al-Atrash [El-Atrache], Syrian composer, musician, virtuoso oud player, and actor (Akher kedba), dies of heart disease at 59