On This Day in Film & TV for December 8
Events in Film & TV
- 1857 Dion Boucicault's stage drama "The Poor of New York" opens at Wallack's Lyceum Theatre, NYC
- 1949 "On the Town", the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller and Vera-Ellen, premieres
- 1954 WPTZ TV channel 5 in Plattsburgh, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting
- 1955 Black Ealing comedy "The Ladykillers", directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Alec Guinness is released in the UK
- 1957 CBS broadcasts "The Sound of Jazz", live from NYC: an all-star program featuring swing era and contemporary jazz artists, including Count Basie, Red Allen, Ben Webster;, Thelonious Monk, and Gerry Mulligan;, highlight is the last collaboration of Billie Holiday and Lester Young on "Fine and Mellow"
- 1960 Musical "Peter Pan", starring Mary Martin broadcast, for a 3rd time, on NBC as a special event, videotaped in color for future rebroadcasts
- 1978 "The Deer Hunter", directed by Michael Cimino and starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep, premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1979)
- More Events in Film & TV
Sammy Davis Jr.
Maximilian Schell
Sam Kinison
Kim BasingerWeddings in Film & TV
- 2007 "Happy Days" actor and legendary bachelor Scott Baio (46) weds longtime girlfriend Renee Sloan at a luxury high-rise in Los Angeles, California
More Weddings & Divorces in Film & TV
Deaths in Film & TV
- 1811 Eliza Poe, English-American actress and the mother of the American author Edgar Allan Po, dies of tuberculosis at 23 or 24
- 1954 Gladys George, actress (Roaring Twenties), dies at 50
- 1957 Reginald Sheffield, British actor (Suspicion, Of Human Bondage, Second Chance), dies at 56
- 1983 Slim Pickens [Louis Burton Lindley Jr], American rodeo performer and actor (Dr Strangelove; Blazing Saddles), dies following surgery at 64
December in Film & TV History
Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas
The wedding in Jodhpur, India
December 1, 2018
Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family
On this day a tragedy engulfed one of Britain’s noted theatrical families of the early 20th century.
December 8, 1926
Coronation Street, King of the Soaps
Thought to have no great future when launched on this day, Coronation Street still reigns supreme
December 9, 1960
Melodrama at Theatre Leaves Actor Dead
One of England’s most popular actors arrived at the stage door on this day to prepare for another performance. He would never make it to the stage.
December 16, 1897