December 2009 in Film & Television History

Events in Film & TV

A Steady Rain

Dec 6 Final Broadway performance of "A Steady Rain", starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig

Dec 11 Angry Birds, a Finnish puzzle video game released internationally

Avatar Released

Dec 18 James Cameron's "Avatar" starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver, released in the US, becomes highest-grossing film of all time

Johansson Debuts on Broadway

Dec 28 Scarlett Johansson makes her debut on Broadway in the Arthur Miller play "A View from the Bridge"

Weddings in Film & TV

Dec 19 American pop singer, musician, and actor Kevin Jonas (22) weds Danielle Deleasa (23) at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York

Deaths in Film & TV

Dec 1 Éva Szörényi, Hungarian actress and freedom activist for Hungary, dies at 92
Dec 1 Ramses Shaffy, Dutch singer and cabaret actor (Zaak MP, Liefdesbekentenissen), dies at 76
Dec 2 Maggie Jones, English actress (b. 1934)
Dec 3 Richard Todd, Irish-born British actor (Dorian Gray, Assassin Yangtse Incident), dies at 90
Dec 4 Eddie Fatu, Samoan-American professional wrestler (b. 1973)
Dec 5 Garfield Morgan, British actor (Odessa File, To Catch a Spy), dies at 78
Dec 7 Mark Ritts, American actor (b. 1946)
Dec 9 Gene Barry [Eugene Klass], American actor (The Atomic City, Bat Masterson), dies of congestive heart failure at 90
Dec 16 Roy E. Disney, American businessman (b. 1930)
Dec 17 Dan O'Bannon, Screenwriter, after a short illness (b.1943)

Jennifer Jones (1919-2009)

Dec 17 American actress (Farewell to Arms), dies of natural causes at 90

Dec 18 Connie Hines, American actress (Mister Ed), dies of heart problems at 78
Dec 19 Kim Peek, American prodigious savant and inspiration for the 1988 film Rain Man, dies of a heart attack at 58
Dec 20 Arnold Stang, American comedian and actor (Broadside, Milton Berle, Top Cat), dies at 91
Dec 20 Brittany Murphy, American actress (Drop Dead Gorgeous), dies at 32
Dec 20 Mairoon Ali, Trinidadian comedienne and actress (b. 1954)
Dec 29 Steve Williams, American professional wrestler, known as "Dr. Death", and USFL football player, dies of throat cancer at 49