Events in Film & TV
Event of Interest
1958 Cheryl Crane aged 14, daughter of actress Lana Turner, stabs to death organized crime figure Johnny Stompanato, her mother's boyfriend, in self-defence. The crime was later ruled a "justifiable homicide"
Lana Turner
Academy Awards
1960 32nd Academy Awards: "Ben-Hur", Charlton Heston & Simone Signoret win
Charlton Heston
Simone Signoret
- 1975 British sitcom "The Good Life" starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith debuts on BBC One
Event of Interest
1993 WrestleMania IX, Caesar's Palace, LV, NV: Yokozuna beats Bret Hart for WWF Heavyweight title
Hulk Hogan
- 2019 Kathie Lee Gifford leaves NBC'sToday show after 11 years
Birthdays in Film & TV
- 1875 Samuel S. Hinds, American actor (Raven, Test Pilot), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1948)
- 1892 Cyril Smith, Scottish actor (The Adventures of Sir Lancelot), born in Peterhead, Scotland (d. 1963)
- 1892 Esther Howard, American actress, born in Helena, Montana (d. 1965)
- 1897 Pierre Fresnay, French actor (Monsieur Vincent, Grand Illusion), born in Paris, France (d. 1975)
- 1898 Agnes Ayres [Hinkle], American actress (Sheik, Souls at Sea), born in Carbondale, Illinois (d. 1940)
- 1901 Carmel Myers, American actress (Carmel Myers Show), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1980)
- 1906 Beatrice "Bea" Benaderet, American actress (Kate-Petticoat Junction), born in NYC, New York (d. 1968)
- 1906 John Cameron Swayze, American newscaster (Timex, Hindenberg), born in Wichita, Kansas (d. 1995) [NS]
- 1913 Rosemary Lane, American actress (An Angel from Texas, 4 Mothers, Harvest Melody), born in Indianola, Iowa (d. 1974)
- 1916 David White, American actor (Larry Tate-Bewitched), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1990)
- 1923 Manon Alving, Dutch actress (The Assault, Short American), born in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands (d. 2010)
- 1923 Peter Vaughan, British actor (Porridge, Game of Thrones), born in Wem, Shropshire, England (d. 2016)
- 1925 Elizabeth Wilson, American screen and stage actress (Doc, East Side/West Side), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2015)
- 1928 Bill Ryan, American newscaster (Smithsonian), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1928 Jimmy Logan, British comedian (Mad Death), born in Dennistoun, Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2001)
Maya Angelou
1928 Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author ("I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), born in St Louis, Missouri
Maya Angelou
Anthony Perkins
1932 Anthony Perkins, American actor and singer (Psycho, Friendly Persuasion, Fear Strikes Out, Pretty Poison), born in NYC, New York (d. 1992)
Anthony Perkins
- 1932 Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet filmmaker (Andrei Rublev, Mirror, Stalker), born in Zavrazhye, Russia, Soviet Union (d. 1986)
- 1934 Dorothy Grenfell Williams, radio producer and broadcaster, born in Johannesburg (d. 1994)
- 1940 Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Korczak), born in Willemstad, Curaçao, Kingdom of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
- 1941 Bill Tarmey, English actor (Coronation Street), born in Ardwick, Manchester (d. 2012)
- 1944 David Melville, British physicist and academic (Middlesex Polytechnic), born in Gateshead, Durham, England
- 1944 Craig T. Nelson, American actor (Poltergeist, Hayden Fox-Coach), born in Spokane, Washington
- 1945 Caroline McWilliams, American actress (Sally-Soap, Marcy-Benson), born in Seattle, Washington
- 1945 Walter Charles, American actor (Fletch Lives, Weeds), born in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
- 1947 Ray Fosse, American baseball player and broadcaster, born in Marion, Illinois
- 1948 Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor (Charlie Fairhead - Casualty), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
- 1950 Christine Lahti, American actress (Harvey Korman Show, Swing Shift), born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1954 Julie Carmen, American actress (Gloria, Last Plane Out), born in Mount Vernon, New York
- 1956 David E. Kelley, American writer and TV producer (Picket Fences, Chicago Hope), born in Waterville, Maine
- 1957 Ali El Haggar, Egyptian singer and actor, born in Imbabah, Giza
- 1957 Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish film director (The Other Side of Hope), born in Orimattila, Finland
- 1958 Hrvoje Horvatic, video artist
- 1960 Jonathan Agnew, English cricket broadcaster, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire
- 1960 Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-born English-Australian actor (Agent Smith - The Matrix), born in Ibadan, Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
- 1963 Anthony Clark, American actor and comedian (Boyd Pritchett-Boston Common), born in Lynchburg, Virginia
Graham Norton
1963 Graham Norton [Graham Walker], Irish comedian and TV presenter, born in Dublin
Graham Norton
Robert Downey Jr
1965 Robert Downey Jr, American actor (Charlie Chaplin, Iron Man, Avengers), born in NYC, New York
Robert Downey Jr
- 1966 Nancy McKeon, American actress (Jo Polniazek-Facts of Life), born in Westbury, New York
- 1968 Jennifer Lynch, American film director, screenwriter and author of The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1970 Barry Pepper, Canadian actor (The Kennedys), born in Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada
- 1971 John Zandig, American professional wrestler, born in Sewell, New Jersey
- 1975 Pamela Ribon, American screenwriter and author, born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
- 1977 Stephen Mulhern, English TV presenter, born in Stratford, London
- 1978 Irene Skliva, Greek model (Miss World 1996), born in Athens, Greece
Heath Ledger
1979 Heath Ledger, Australian-American Actor (Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight), born in Perth, Western Australia (d. 2008)
Heath Ledger
Jamie Lynn Spears
1991 Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress (Zoey 101), born in McComb, Mississippi
Jamie Lynn Spears
- 1992 Alexa Nikolas, American actress (Zoey 101), born in Chicago, Illinois
Weddings in Film & TV
- 1992 John Tesh (Entertainment Tonight) marries actress Connie Selleca
Wedding of Interest
1992 Comedian Sam Kinison (38) weds Malika Souiri at the Candlelight Chapel in Las Vegas
Sam Kinison
Wedding of Interest
2001 Actress and model Brooke Shields (35) weds sitcom writer Chris Henchy (37) in Catalina Island, California
Brooke Shields
Wedding of Interest
2008 Singer-songwriter and actress Beyonce Knowles (30) weds rapper Jay-Z (43) at a 13,500-square foot penthouse apartment in New York
Beyoncé Knowles
Jay-Z
- 2014 TV personality Taylor Armstrong (42) weds attorney John Bluher at the Bel Air Bay Club in Pacific Palisades, California
Deaths in Film & TV
- 1951 Al Christie, Canadian film director and producer (b. 1881)
- 1958 Johnny Stompanato, American organized crime figure and abusive partner of actress Lana Turner, stabbed to death by Turner's daughter in self-defence at 32
- 1963 Jason Robards Sr, American actor (Acapulco, Isle of the Dead), dies from a heart attack at 70
- 1970 Byron Foulger, American actor (Capt Nice, Petticoat Junction), dies at 70
- 1979 Edgar Buchanan, American actor (Petticoat Junction), dies at 76
- 1981 Brad Johnson, actor (Annie Oakley), dies at 56
Gloria Swanson
1983 Gloria Swanson, American actress (Airport 1975, Sunset Boulevard) and producer, dies of a heart ailment at 84
Gloria Swanson
- 1983 Jacqueline Logan, American actress and silent film leading lady (WAMPAS Baby Star), dies at 78
- 1992 Sy Kramer, singer/comedy writer dies of cancer at 59
- 1994 Virginia "Ginny" Simms, American actress and singer (Night and Day, Kay Kyser Band), dies of a heart attack at 78
- 1995 Kenny Everett [Maurice James Christopher Cole], British TV personality and disc Jockey, dies at 50 of an AIDS related illness
- 1995 Priscilla Lane, American actress (Saboteur, Bodyguard), dies at 77
- 1996 Carl Burton Stokes, African American politician (51st mayor of Cleveland) and TV newscaster, dies at 68 (b. 1927)
- 1999 Faith Domergue, American actress and early "scream queen" (Vendetta, House of 7 Corpses), dies at 74
- 2002 Harry L. O'Connor, Czech film stuntman
- 2003 Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
- 2003 Resortes, Mexican comedian (b. 1916)
- 2007 Bob Clark, American film director (b. 1941)
- 2007 Terry Hall, English ventriloquist (b. 1927)
- 2011 Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, filmmaker and political activist (b. 1958)
- 2012 Claude Miller, French director and screen writer, dies at 70
- 2013 Roger Ebert, American film critic (Pulitzer Prize 1975), dies of cancer at 70
- 2016 Chus Lampreave [María Jesús Lampreave Pérez], Spanish actress (Volver, Belle Époque), dies at 85
- 2018 Gertrude Jeannette, African American taxi driver, playwright and film and stage actress (Shaft, Cotton Comes to Harlem), dies at 103
April in History
![Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!]()
Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!
An excited crowd looked up in astonishment and wonder when, in 1877, the first human cannonball flew above their heads.
April 2, 1877![The Computer That Came By Truck]()
The Computer That Came By Truck
It didn't have the sleek lines that Steve Jobs would admire and it needed to be carried on a truck, but the computer age had finally arrived in rural England.
April 3, 1957![Lionheart Richard, The Stranger King]()
Lionheart Richard, The Stranger King
Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood’s king is considered one of the great English monarchs. Yet he cost his country a fortune and barely lived there.
April 6, 1199![The Man Who Sold His Wife]()
The Man Who Sold His Wife
Most modern readers believe Thomas Hardy was plunging into deep fiction when he wrote about a man selling his wife in, The Mayor of Casterbridge. He wasn't.
April 7, 1832
