Events in Film & TV
Television Debut
May 1 Animated series "SpongeBob SquarePants", created by Stephen Hillenburg, debuts on Nickelodeon
Film Premiere
May 4 "The Mummy" film directed by Stephen Sommers starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah premieres in the US
Music Awards
May 5 34th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw win
- May 9 45th British Academy Television Awards: "Father Ted" Best Comedy, "The Cops" Best Drama
Film Release
May 19 "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace", directed by George Lucas, starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Liam Neeson, is released in cinemas
Film & TV History
May 21 All My Children star Susan Lucci finally wins a Daytime Emmy after being nominated 19 times, the longest period of unsuccessful nominations in television history
- May 23 52nd Cannes Film Festival: "Rosetta" directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne wins the Palme d'Or
Birthdays in Film & TV
- May 11 Sabrina Carpenter, American actress (Girl Meets World) and singer, born in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
- May 23 James Charles [Dickinson], American internet personality and model (Cover Girl), born in Bethlehem, New York
- May 25 Brec Bassinger, American actress (Stargirl), born in Saginaw, Texas
- May 27 Lily-Rose Depp, French-American singer and actress (The Dancer), born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
- May 28 Cameron Boyce, American actor (Mirrors, Jessie), born in North Hollywood, California (d. 2019)
Weddings in Film & TV
Deion Sanders
May 21 NFL legend Deion Sanders (31) weds model Pilar Biggers in Paradise Island, Bahamas
Richard Dreyfuss
May 30 "The Goodbye Girl" actor Richard Dreyfuss (51) weds accountant Janelle Lacey in Los Angeles
Deaths in Film & TV
- May 2 Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
- May 6 Johnny Morris, British broadcaster and actor (Once in a Lifetime), dies at 82
- May 8 Dirk Bogarde [Derek van den Bogaerde] British writer and actor (Death in Venice, Servant), dies at 78
- May 8 Ed Gilbert, American actor (The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries), dies at 67
- May 8 Dana Plato, American actress (Kimberly-Diff'rent Strokes), dies at 34
- May 10 Shel Silverstein, American writer and cartoonist (Now Here's My Plan: A Book of Futilities; The Giving Tree) and songwriter ("A Boy Named Sue"; "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone"), dies at 68
- May 12 Penny Santon [Pierina Burlando], American actress (Fletch, Roll Out, Matt Houston), dies at 82
- May 17 Henry Jones, American actor (Vertigo, Phyllis, Falcon Crest, Gun Shy), dies from complications from a fall at 86
- May 19 Jonathan "Candy" Candido, American actor and radio performer (Peter Pan; The Great Mouse Detective), dies at 85
- May 21 Vanessa Brown [Smylla Brind], Austrian-born American actress (My Favorite Husband), dies at 71
- May 23 Owen Hart, Canadian-American professional wrestler, dies at 34
- May 25 Hillary Brooke, American film actress (The Abbott and Costello Show), dies at 84
Actors
Actresses
Comedians
Directors
Models
TV Stars