September 1978 in Film & Television History

Events in Film & TV

Dawn of the Dead

Sep 1 Horror film "Dawn of the Dead" written and directed by George A. Romero, starring David Emge, Ken Foree and Scott H. Reiniger premieres in Torino

Sep 1 Last broadcast of "Columbo" starring Peter Falk on NBC
Sep 3 Bernard Slade's stage comedy "Same Time, Next Year", closes at the Ambassador Theatre, NYC,, after 1,453 performances and a Tony Award

Telethon

Sep 4 Jerry Lewis' 13th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $29,074,405

Sep 9 Kylene Barker (Virginia), crowned 51st Miss America 1979

Taxi

Sep 12 Situation comedy "Taxi" premieres on ABC television starring Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, and Andy Kaufman

Film & TV History

Sep 16 Filming begins for "Monty Python's Life of Brian", on location in Monastir, Tunisia

Sep 17 30th Emmy Awards: "All in the Family"; Ed Asner & Sada Thompson win
Sep 18 "WKRP in Cincinnati", an ensemble TV sitcom created by Hugh Wilson and set in a struggling radio station debuts on CBS
Sep 21 3rd Toronto International Film Festival: "Girlfriends" directed by Claudia Weill wins the People's Choice Award
Sep 29 "Flying High," debuts on CBS
Sep 29 "For Richer, For Poorer," TV Daytime Soap; last airs on NBC-TV

Birthdays in Film & TV

Sep 3 Nick Wechsler, American actor (Roswell), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Wes Bentley (45 years old)

Sep 4 American actor (Yellowstone), born in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Sep 5 Laura Bertram, Canadian actress (Trance Gemini-Andromeda), born in Toronto, Ontario
Sep 6 Mathew Horne, English actor (Gavin & Stacey), born in Nottingham, England
Sep 6 Natalia Cigliuti, Uruguayan-American actress (Lindsay-Saved By Bell: New Class), born in Montevideo, Uruguay
Sep 10 Manju Warrier, Indian Malayalam actress, producer and dancer, born in Nagercoil, India
Sep 11 Ben Lee, Australian singer-songwriter ("Cigarettes Will Kill You"; "Love Me Like the World Is Ending"), and actor (The Rage in Placid Lake), born in Sydney, Australia
Sep 12 Ben McKenzie, American actor (Gotham), born in Austin, Texas
Sep 12 Elisabetta Canalis, Italian model and actress, born in Sassari, Italy
Sep 12 Ruben Studdard, American singer (American Idol, I Need An Angel), born in Frankfurt, Germany
Sep 13 Megan Henning, American actress (I Know Who Killed Me), born in Baltimore, Maryland
Sep 14 Carmen Kass, Estonian model (estimated to have been the second-highest-paid model in the world in 2002), born in Talinn, Estonia
Sep 16 Matthew Rogers, American TV host and country singer, born in Arcadia, California
Sep 16 Nick Cordero, Canadian Broadway actor (Bullets Over Broadway), born in Hamilton, Canada (d. 2020)
Sep 18 Pilar López de Ayala, Spanish actress (Juana la Loca), born in Madrid, Spain
Sep 18 Shelly Moore, Miss Teen USA (Tennessee, 1997), born in Jacksonville, Florida
Sep 19 Michelle Alves, Brazilian supermodel, born in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Sep 19 Nigel Mitchell, English TV presenter (Quizmania and Capital Disney), born in Kingston Upon Thames, England
Sep 23 Anthony Mackie. American stage and screen actor (Brother To Brother; The Hurt Locker - "Sgt. Sanborn"; Captain America -"Falcon"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Sep 23 John "Worm" Miller, American filmmaker, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sep 23 Keri Lynn Pratt, American film and television actress (Jack & Bobby), born in Concord, New Hampshire
Sep 25 Jodie Kidd, English model, born in Guildford, United Kingdom
Sep 28 Marzena Godecki, Polis-Australian actress (Ocean Girl), born in Bytom, Poland
Sep 30 Candice Michelle, American female wrestler

Weddings in Film & TV

Meryl Streep

Sep 30 Actress Meryl Streep (29) weds sculptor Don Gummer (31) in Mason's Island, Connecticut

Deaths in Film & TV

Sep 8 Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, Argentine film director (Monday's Child), dies at 54
Sep 12 Frank Ferguson, American character actor (My Friend Flicka - "Gus"; Peyton Place - "Eli Carson"), dies of cancer at 71 (0r 78, birthdate disputed)
Sep 22 Lina Carstens, German actress (Homeland, Broken Jug), dies at 85
Sep 23 Jay Adler, American actor (Macon County Line; Illegal, Big Combo), dies at 79
Sep 24 Virginia Valli [McSweeney], American (mostly silent) film actress (Wild Oranges; Pleasure Garden), dies at 73
Sep 25 Claire Adams, Canadian born silent film actress (Legally Dead, End of the Road), dies at 80
Sep 30 Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy), dies at 75