On This Day in Film & TV for August 11

Events in Film & TV

1937 "The Life of Emile Zola" directed by William Dieterle and starring Paul Muni premieres in New York (Best Picture 1938)

1973 "American Graffiti", directed by George Lucas, opens in cinemas across the United States

1984 During a radio voice test, US President Reagan jokes he "signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes."

1635 Thomas Betterton, British actor and dramatist (Coriolanus), born in London, England (d. 1710)
1867 Hobart Bosworth, American actor (Woman of Affairs, Big Parade), born in Marietta, Ohio (d. 1943)
1867 Joseph M Weber, comedian/singer (Weber & Lewis Fields)
1888 Owen Nares [Ramsay], British actor and manager (Maiden Erleigh), born in Maiden Erlegh, Berks, England (d. 1943)
1902 Lloyd Nolan American, actor (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Peyton Place), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1985)
1911 Henry Kulky [Kulakowich], American actor (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Love Nest), born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York (d. 1965)
1913 Paul Dupuis, French Canadian actor (Passport to Pimlico, Tot Coq), born in Montréal, Québec, Canada (d. 1976)
1915 Jean Parker [Luise-Stephanie Zelinska], American actress (Beyond Tomorrow, Little Women), born in Butte, Montana (d. 2005)
1924 Arlene Dahl, American actress and TV panelist (Ambush), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1937 Allegra Kent, US actress (Addams Family)
1937 Anna Massey, actress (De Sade, Doll's House)
1940 Kip King, actor (Charlie & Company), born in Chicago, Illinois
1941 Patricio Guzman, director/actor (Cruz del Sur, Moon over Parador)
1944 Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
1949 Ian Charleson, actor (Gandhi, Chariots of Fire), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
1951 Vincent Bilodeau, Quebec actor and comedian
1952 Ann Michelle, England, actress (Virigin Witch, Mistress Pamela)

1953 Hulk Hogan, [Terry Bollea], WWF heavyweight champion (1984-89), born in Augusta, Georgia

1953 Sanford Jensen, American actor (Foley Square), born in South Haven, Michigan
1954 Lina Polito, actress (Love & Anarchy), born in Naples, Italy
1955 Norio Honaga, wrestler (NJPW)
1958 Cordelia Gonzalez, actress (La Gran Fiesta), born in San Juan Puerto Rico
1959 Linda Rhys Vaughn, Grossmont Ca, playmate (Apr, 1982)
1964 Miguel A. Núñez Jr., American actor
1965 Viola Davis, American actress (The Help, Prisoners, Suicide Squad), born in St. Matthews, South Carolina
1965 Embeth Davidtz, American actress (Bicentennial Man, Schindler's List), born in Lafayette, Indiana
1967 Collin Chou, Taiwanese actor

1967 Joe Rogan, American television host, comedian and podcaster (Fear Factor, The Joe Rogan Experience), born in Newark, New Jersey

1968 Anna Gunn, American actress
1969 Eddie Garcia, LA, actor/musician (Guys Next Door-I Was Made For You)
1971 Julie Anne Clark, playmate (Mar, 1991), born in Tucson, Arizona
1971 Alejandra Barros, Mexican actress
1972 Jonathon Prandi, American model
1973 Nigel Harman, British actor (Eastenders), born in London
1974 Will Friedle, American actor
1976 Will Friedle, actor (Eric-Boy Meets World, Gift of Love), born in Hartford, Connecticut
1978 Amber Brkich, American reality television personality
1981 Fiona Sit, Hong Kong singer and actress
1982 Alan Halsall, British actor

1983 Chris Hemsworth, Australian actor (Thor, Avengers), born in Melbourne, Victoria

1978 Charo marries Kjell Rasten, a producer, in South Lake Tahoe, California

1990 "General Hospital" actor Maurice Benard (27) weds Paula Smith
2012 "The Hangover" actor-comedian Zach Galifianakis (42) weds co-founder of the Growing Voices charity Quinn Lundberg at the UBC Farm in Vancouver, Canada

1961 Antanas Škėma, Lithuanian writer actor and director (b. 1910)
1973 Peggy Castle, American actress (Lily Merrill-Lawman), dies of cirrhosis at 46
1975 Howard Wendell, American actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Murder Your Wife), dies at 67
1980 Willi Forst, Austrian actor and director (Bel Amis, Operette, Vienna Blood), dies at 77
1982 Tom Drake [Alfred Sinclair Alderdice], American actor (Meet Me in St. Louis, Warlock), dies of lung cancer at 63
1988 Anne Ramsey, American actress (Throw Mama from the Train), dies of cancer at 59
1989 John Meillon, actor (Wild Duck, Crocodile Dundee), dies
1994 Dorothy Grenfell Williams, radio producer and broadcaster, dies at 60
1994 Mark "Red" Mitchell, American actor (JFK, 8 Seconds, Want to Live), dies at 33

1994 Peter Cushing, actor (Star Wars, Dr Who), dies of cancer at 81

1995 Phil Harris [Wonga Philip], American actor and singer (Anything Goes, Robin Hood), dies of heart failure at 91
1995 Wilbur Stark, tV/film producer, dies at 83
2005 James Booth [David Geeves], British actor and screenwriter (Zulu, Keeping Mum), dies at 77
2008 Sir William "Bill" Cotton, British television producer and executive (Noel Gay TV), dies at 80

2014 Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (Mork & Mindy, Good Will Hunting), commits suspected suicide at 63