Events in Film & TV
- 1956 KETA TV channel 13 in Oklahoma City, OK (PBS) begins broadcasting
Academy Awards
1964 36th Academy Awards: "Tom Jones", Best Film, Patricia Neal and Sidney Poitier win Best Actor/Actress, Poitier first black actor to win
Sidney Poitier
Patricia Neal
- 1990 Final episode of Pat Sajak's late night TV show on CBS
Event of Interest
1994 Asteroid 7373 Takei discovered and named after Star Trek actor George Takei
George Takei
Event of Interest
2000 "When Louis Met..." documentary by Louis Theroux premieres on BBC2 in the UK featuring Jimmy Saville
Louis Theroux
- 2003 49th British Academy Television Awards: "Alistair McGowan's Big Impression" Best Comedy, "Spooks" Best Drama
Film Premier
2015 "Avengers: Age of Ultron", directed by Joss Whedon, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner, premieres in Los Angeles
- 2019 BTS is the first K-pop band to perform on US TV show "Saturday Night Live"
Birthdays in Film & TV
- 1762 Johanna Cornelia Wattier-Ziesenis, Dutch actress (Phaedra, Lady Macbeth), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1827)
- 1880 Charles Christie, Canadian film studio owner, born in London, Ontario, Canada (d. 1955)
- 1902 Godfrey Kenton, English actor (The Tempest, Well's Theater), born in London (d. 1998)
- 1903 Rex Evans, British actor (Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, Zara, Matchmaker), born in Southport, Sefton, England (d. 1969)
- 1909 Jan Veldkamp, Dutch geophysicist and director (KNMI) (d. 1994)
- 1916 Phyllis Fraser [Helen Brown Nichols], American actress, journalist, and co-founder of Beginner Books, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2006)
- 1917 Howard Keel, American actor, singer and president of the Screen Actors Guild (7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Kiss Me Kate), born in Gillespie, Illinois (d. 2004)
- 1919 Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer, born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2000)
- 1922 Jean Topart, French voice and film actor regarded as "one of the inimitable voices of French cinema" (Fantastic Planet), born in Paris, France (d. 2012)
- 1923 Mari Blanchard, American actress and femme fatale (Kathy-Klondike), born in Long Beach, California (d. 1970)
- 1923 Don Adams, American actor and comedian (Get Smart), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
- 1924 Stanley Donen, American film director and producer (Singin' in the Rain , Bedazzled, Damn Yankees), born in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 2019)
- 1924 Jack Chick, American religious cartoonist (Chick tracts), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
- 1927 Maurice Ronet, French film actor, director, and writer (Frantic, Sphinx, Circle of Love), born in Nice, France (d. 1983)
- 1931 Jon Stone, American director and co-creator of Sesame Street, born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1997)
- 1932 Barney Simon, South African theatre director and writer, born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 1995)
- 1933 Shani Wallis, Irish-American singer and actress (Oliver), born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England
- 1935 Lyle Waggoner, American actor (Carol Burnett Show, Wonder Woman), born in Kansas City, Kansas
- 1937 Edward Fox, English actor (The Day of the Jackal, Gandhi), born in Chelsea, London
- 1939 Paul Sorvino, American actor (Chiefs, Dick Tracy), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1945 Tony Dow, American actor and director (Wally-Leave it to Beaver), born in Hollywood, California
- 1948 Amy Robinson, American writer and actress (Mean Streets), born in Trenton, New Jersey
- 1950 Ron Perlman, American actor (Quest for Fire, Beauty & the Beast), born in The Bronx, New York
- 1950 Terry Lester, American actor (Young & Restless, As World Turns), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- 1951 Peter Davison, English actor (fifth Doctor in Doctor Who, All Creatures Great and Small), born in London
- 1952 Erick Avari, American-Indian actor, born in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
- 1957 Gary Kroeger, American comedian (SNL, Return of Shaggy Dog), born in Cedar Falls, Iowa
- 1957 Saundra Santiago, American actress (Gina-Miami Vice), born in The Bronx, New York
- 1964 Page Hannah, American actress (Kate Riley-Fame), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1964 Caroline Rhea, Canadian comedian and actress, born in Westmount, Quebec, Canada
- 1969 Harold Pruett, American actor (Sybil, Embrace of the Vampire), born in Anchorage, Alaska (d. 2002)
- 1970 Monty Brown, American professional wrestler and NFL linebacker (Buffalo Bills), born in Saginaw, Michigan
- 1970 Rick Schroder, American actor (Ricky-Silver Spoons, Champ, Earthling), born in Staten Island, New York
- 1971 Cory Yothers, American actor (Off the Rock), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1971 Dina Korzun, Russian actress, born in Smolensk, Russia
Jonathan Brandis
1976 Jonathan Brandis, American actor (Lucas Wolenczak-seaQuest DSV), born in Danbury, Connecticut (d. 2003)
Jonathan Brandis
- 1976 Valentina Cervi, Italian actress, born in Rome, Italy
- 1976 Yu Ji-tae, South Korean actor, born in Seoul
- 1978 Kyle Howard, American actor, born in Loveland, Colorado
- 1978 Chris Sligh, American singer and Idol finalist, born in Madison, Tennessee
- 1980 Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, born in Shreveport, Louisiana
- 1981 Courtney Peldon, American actress, born in NYC, New York
- 1984 Hiro Mizushima, Japanese actor, born in Tokyo
- 1988 Allison Williams, American actress (Girls, Get Out), born in New Canaan, Connecticut
- 1992 Jett Travolta, son of actors John Travolta & Kelly Preston, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2009)
- 1992 Emma Degerstedt, American actress, born in Long Beach, California
Weddings in Film & TV
- 2002 "Law & Order" actor Benjamin Bratt (38) weds actress-model Talisa Soto (35) in San Francisco, California
Wedding of Interest
2009 Actor Michael Biehn (52) weds actress Jennifer Blanc (35)
Michael Biehn
- 2017 "New Girl" actress Hannah Simone (36) weds musician Jesse Giddings in a secret ceremony
Deaths in Film & TV
- 1949 C. V. France, British actor (The Skin Game, Adventure in Blackmail), dies at 80
- 1952 [Rosalie] Julia Cuypers, Flemish actress (Adelaarsjong), dies at 79
- 1973 Balraj Sahni [Yudhishthir], Indian Bollywood actor (Dharti Ke Lal), dies of cardiac arrest at 59
- 1974 Stanley Smith, American actor (Honey, King of Jazz, Soup to Nuts), dies at 71
- 1975 Larry Parks, actor (Jazz Singer), dies at 60
- 1975 Larry Parks [Samuel Lawrence Parks], American actor (The Jolson Story, Love Is Better Than Ever), dies of a heart attack at 60
- 1978 Paul McGrath, American actor (Witness, No Time for Love), dies at 74
- 1984 Dionyssis Papayannopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1912)
- 1984 Richard Hurndall, British actor (Doctor Who, The Inheritors, It's Murder But Is It Art), dies from a heart attack at 73
- 1986 Stephen Stucker, actor (Trading Places, Airplane), dies
- 1990 Luis Trenker, South Tyrolean film producer, director and actor (Berge in Flammen), dies at 97
- 1990 Ronald Ibbs, Irish actor (No Hiding Place, The Saint), dies at 74
- 1993 Henny Budie, Dutch director and producer (Sterrenslag), dies
- 1994 Nikolai Afanasyevich Kryuchkov, Soviet film actor (Telegram, Town People), dies at 83
- 1994 Nikolai Krjoetsjkov, Russian actor (Ballad of Soldatje), dies at 83
- 1994 Rudolf Hrusinský, Czech actor and director (Short Cut, Golden Eels), dies at 73
- 1997 Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
- 2001 Jimmy Logan, British comedian (Mad Death), dies at 73
- 2004 Caron Keating, British television presenter (b. 1962)
- 2005 Philippe Volter, Belgian actor (b. 1959)
- 2007 Don Selwyn, Māori actor and film director (b. circa 1936)
- 2013 Frank Bank, American actor (Lumpy-Leave it to Beaver), dies at 71
April in History
Yes, We Have Some Bananas
A strange fruit went on sale in London on this day, the like of which nobody had seen before. Known to scientists as the Plantaine fruit, it is now unremarkable.
April 10, 1633Hallelujah! Music That Moved a King
Few can fail to be moved by Handel's Messiah oratorio, culminating in the Hallelujah Chorus. It was even said to have brought a king to his feet.
April 13, 1742Iceberg Sinks 'Unsinkable' Titanic
The Titanic hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank on this day in history. She took with her to the bottom of the sea some of the world’s richest people.
April 15, 1912Madame Tussaud's Bloody Background
Madame Tussaud, famous for her waxworks, perfected her art in the grimmest of 'schools' – the French Revolution - where she made models of guillotined heads.
April 16, 1850
