Events in Film & TV
- 1880 Steele MacKay's play "Hazel Kirke" premieres in New York City
- 1924 George Kelly's play "Show-Off," premieres in New York City
Event of Interest
1952 1st African American executive of a major TV station (Jackie Robinson-WNBC NY)
Jackie Robinson
Film Premier
1970 "Patton" directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring George C. Scott premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1971)
George S. Patton
George C. Scott
Birthdays in Film & TV
- 1895 Nigel Bruce, British actor (Rebecca, Suspicion, Sherlock Holmes), born in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico (d. 1953)
- 1905 Eddie Foy Jr [Edwin Fitzgerald Jr], American actor (The Pajama Game, Fair Exchange), born in New Rochelle, New York (d. 1983)
- 1905 Hylda Baker, English comedy actress, born in Farnworth, Lancashire, England (d. 1986)
- 1908 Gordon Fraser, newscaster (All Star News), born in Lawrence, Massachusetts
- 1909 Robert Coote, British actor (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Scaramouche), born in London, England (d. 1982)
- 1912 James Craig [Meador], American actor (Devil & Daniel Webster, Cyclops), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 1985)
- 1915 William Talman, American actor (Crashout, The Hitch-Hiker, Perry Mason), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1968)
- 1915 Norman Wisdom, English comedian (Kraft Music Hall, Trouble In Store), born in London, England (d. 2010)
- 1916 Colin Morris, playwright/documentary filmmaker
- 1918 Ida Lupino, Anglo-American actress (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) and director (The Hitch-Hiker), born in London, England (d. 1995)
- 1919 Janet Waldo, American radio and actress (Judy Jetson, Shazzan, Penelope Pitstop), born in Yakima, Washington (d. 2016)
- 1923 Conrad Bain, Canadian actor (Maude, Diff'rent Strokes), born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada (d. 2013)
- 1928 Dave Ketchum, American actor (Agent 13-Get Smart, M*A*S*H), born in Quincy, Illinois
- 1929 Jerry Adler, American actor, director and producer (The Sopranos, The Good Wife), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1936 Gary Conway, actor (Burke's Law, Land of the Giants), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- 1936 David Brenner, American stand-up comedian and TV talk show host (Nightlife) known as a pioneer of observational comedy, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
- 1937 Collin Wilcox, Highlands NC, actor (To Kill a Mocking Bird)
- 1937 David Newman, American filmmaker (d. 2003)
- 1940 John Schuck, American actor (McMillan & Wife, Holmes & Yoyo), born in Boston, Massachusetts
George A. Romero
1940 George A. Romero, American-Canadian director (Night of the Living Dead), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2017)
George A. Romero
- 1943 Cheryl Miller, Sherman Oaks California, actress (Paula-Daktari, Born Free)
- 1947 Jeannie Wilson, actress (Simon & Simon, Stir Crazy), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- 1949 Michael Beck, actor (Hans Helms-Holocaust), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- 1950 Pamela Franklin, actress (Satan's School for Girls), born in Tokyo, Japan
- 1951 Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
- 1952 Lisa Eichhorn, actress (Cutter's Way, Yanks), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
- 1958 Mary Ann Pascal, actress (Samantha-Brothers)
- 1960 Pamelyn Ferdin, actress (Happy Birthday Wanda June, Tool Box Murders)
- 1960 Jenette Goldstein, American actress
- 1962 Michael Riley, Canadian actor
- 1968 Kristen Marie, actress (Cheryl McKinnon-Another World)
- 1968 Marko Matvere, Estonian actor
- 1969 Brandy Ledford, American actress and model
- 1970 Gabrielle Anwar, Laleham England, actress (Body Snatchers)
- 1971 Michael Goorjian, American actor (Party Of Five, SLC Punk!), born in San Francisco, California
- 1971 Rob Corddry, American actor and comedian
Weddings in Film & TV
Wedding of Interest
1939 Singer Frank Sinatra (23) marries 1st wife Nancy Barbato
Frank Sinatra
Wedding of Interest
1941 Actress Vera-Ellen (19) weds fellow dancer Robert Hightower
Vera-Ellen
- 2015 Actress Riley Keough (25) weds stuntman Ben-Smith Petersen in Napa, California
Deaths in Film & TV
- 1944 Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress, dies at 79
- 1959 Una O'Connor, actress (Banjo, Invisible Man), dies at 78
- 1968 Eddie Baker, American actor (A Man About Town, Collars and Cuffs), dies of emphysema at 70
- 1982 Sue Carol, actress (She's My Weakness), dies at 73 of a heart attack
- 1983 Jim Ameche [James Amici], American voice actor (Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy), dies at 67
- 1983 Reginald Denham, English writer & director (Obsession, The Bad Seed), dies at 89
- 1990 Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian professional wrestler, dies at 74
- 1991 Bob Leslie, actor (Cinderella, Mako: Jaws of Death), dies at 64
- 1992 John Dehner [Forkum], American actor (The Right Stuff, Big Hawaii, Bare Essence), dies of emphysema and diabetes at 76
- 1992 Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish supermodel, dies at 80
- 1994 Jan Veldkamp, Dutch geophysicist and director (KNMI), dies at 84
- 2000 Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer, dies at 80
- 2002 George Nader, American actor (Robot Monster, Away All Boats), dies at 80
- 2005 Raiford "Ossie" Davis, American actor, director, author, and civil rights activist (Purlie Victorious, Do the Right Thing, Hot Stuff, Man Called Adam), dies from heart problems at 87
- 2006 Myron Waldman, American animator (Fleischer Studio), dies at 97
- 2007 Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
- 2011 Tura Satana, Japanese-American actress (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!), dies at 72
- 2018 John Mahoney, British-born American actor (Fraiser, Frantic, 8 Men Out), dies of throat cancer at 77
- 2018 Kenneth Haigh, British actor (Look Back in Anger, Search for the Nile), dies at 86
February in History
River of Dreams Delivers a Writer of Genius
Forced to find a new job when the American Civil War struck the Mississippi river, Samuel Longhorne Clemens turned to writing and Mark Twain was born.
February 2, 1863I'm Not Gay Insists 'Fruit-Flavoured, Mincing' Liberace
Entertainer Liberace died on this day, going to his grave insisting he was not gay. But his death from AIDS told a different story . . .
February 4, 1987Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap
How did a 'This Is Your Life' surprise for footballer Danny Blanchflower backfire so badly and end with the Tottenham Hotspur star storming off the set?
February 6, 19612,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk
One of the British Museum's treasured pieces of Roman antiquity was shattered on this day by a drunken visitor.
February 7, 1845
