On This Day in Film & TV for May 17

Events in Film & TV

  • 1938 Radio quiz show "Information Please!" debuts on NBC Blue Network
  • 1939 1st televised baseball game is broadcast on NBC, with Princeton defeating Columbia 2-1
  • 1957 10th Cannes Film Festival: "Friendly Persuasion" directed by William Wyler wins the Palme d'Or
  • 1963 Bruno Sammartino beats Buddy Rogers in NY, to become WWF champ
  • 1966 KFDO (now KVIJ) TV channel 8 in Sayre, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting
  • 1975 NBC paid $5M for rights to show "Gone with the Wind" one time

Film tv awardsTelevision Awards

1976 28th Emmy Awards: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Jack Albertson & M Learned win

Actress Mary Tyler Moore
Actress
Mary Tyler Moore

Event of interestEvent of Interest

1980 Paul & Linda McCartney appear on "Saturday Night Live"

Musician, Activist and Photographer Linda McCartney
Musician, Activist and Photographer
Linda McCartney
Television Producer Lorne Michaels
Television Producer
Lorne Michaels
  • 1984 Mai Shanley, 21, of New Mexico crowned 33rd Miss USA
  • 1990 "Cheers" star Kelsey Grammer sentenced to jail for 30 days for DWI
  • 1991 Lupita Jones, 23, of Mexico, crowned 40th Miss Universe
  • 1996 Venezuelan Alicia Machado, aged 18, crowned 45th Miss Universe

Birthdays in Film & TV

  • 1888 Selmer Jackson, American actor (The Grapes of Wrath, Life & Legend of Wyatt Earp), born in Lake Mills, Iowa (d. 1971)
  • 1899 Ralf Harolde, American actor (Framed, Smart Money, Tip-off), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1974)
  • 1904 Jean Gabin, French actor (Moulin Rouge, La Grande Illusion), born in Paris, France (d. 1976)
  • 1905 John Patrick, American screenwriter and playwright (Pulitzer Prize 1954), born in Louisville, Kentucky
  • 1906 Horace McMahon, American actor (Detective Story, Martin Kane Private Eye), born in South Norwalk, Connecticut (dd. 1971)
  • 1909 Magda Schneider, German actress (Eva, Going Gay, Be Mine Tonight), born in Bavaria, German (d. 1996)
  • 1911 Maureen O'Sullivan, Irish actress (Tarzan, Pride & Prejudice, Hannah and Her Sisters), born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland (d. 1998)
  • 1911 Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-born supermodel (d. 1992)
  • 1919 Antonio Aguilar [Barraza], Mexican singer, producer and actor (Emiliano Zapata) who popularized the Mexican equestrian sport la charrería, born in Villanueva, Zacatecas, Mexico (d. 2007)
  • 1926 Tenniel Evans, British actor and clergyman (10 Rillington Place, My Brother's Keeper), born in Nairobi, Kenya (d. 2009)
  • 1936 Dennis Hopper, American actor (True Grit, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider), born in Dodge City, Kansas (d. 2010)
  • 1938 Don Dolan, actor (Guy Lewis- General Hospital), born in Staten Island, New York
  • 1938 Jason Bernard, actor (Judge-Liar Liar)
  • 1941 Grace Zabriskie, American actress
  • 1953 Kathleen Sullivan, newscaster (ABC-TV, CBS Morning Show), born in Pasadena, California
  • 1953 Yoko Shimada, Kumamota Japan, author (Kir Royal)/actress (Shogun)
  • 1955 Bill Paxton, actor (True Lies, Big Love), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2017)
  • 1956 Bob Saget, comedian (Full House, America's Funniest Home Video), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 1956 Sue Carpenter, TV presenter/journalist
  • 1959 Jim Nantz, American broadcaster
  • 1960 Fiona Hutchison, actress (One Life to Live, Guiding Light), born in Miami, Florida

Person of interestCraig Ferguson

1962 Craig Ferguson, Scottish actor, writer and comedian, born in Glasgow, Scotland

Actor & Comedian Craig Ferguson
Actor & Comedian
Craig Ferguson

Person of interestTrent Reznor

1965 Trent Reznor, American musician (9 Inch Nails) and film score composer, born in Mercer, Pennsylvania

Musician Trent Reznor
Musician
Trent Reznor
  • 1967 Cameron Bancroft, actor (Beverly Hills 90210)
  • 1967 Debbie Dutch, Titusville NJ, actress (Hell's Paradox)
  • 1969 Paige Turco, actress (Melanie-Guiding Light), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1969 Thom Filicia, American television personality
  • 1973 Matthew McGrory, American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1973 Sasha Alexander, American television actress
  • 1974 Marcia Turner, Miss America (Mass-Top 10-1996), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • 1974 Sendhil Ramamurthy, American actor
  • 1975 Kostas Sommer, Greek actor
  • 1975 Alex Wright, German professional wrestler
  • 1981 R. J. Helton, American Idol finalist
  • 1984 Lena Waithe, American screenwriter, actress and producer (Master of None), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1986 Tahj Mowry, American actor
  • 1988 Nikki Reed, American actress
  • 1990 Leven Rambin, American actress

Weddings in Film & TV


HeartWedding of Interest

1923 Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (21) weds assistant director Rudolf Sieber (26) in Berlin, Germany

Actress and Singer Marlene Dietrich
Actress and Singer
Marlene Dietrich

HeartWedding of Interest

1997 Actor Sylvester Stallone weds actress Jennifer Flavin in London

Actor/Director Sylvester Stallone
Actor/Director
Sylvester Stallone
  • 2008 Singer-songwriter and actress Ashlee Simpson (23) weds rock band Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz (28) in Encino, California

Deaths in Film & TV

  • 1943 Montagu Love, actor (Wind), dies at 65
  • 1974 Charles Braswell, actor (Only Game in Town), dies at 49
  • 1985 Hugh Burden, actor (Night of Laughing Dead), dies at 72
  • 1992 George Hurrell, Hollywood photographer, dies of cancer at 87
  • 1994 Andrew Brown, film Producer, dies at 55
  • 1996 Willis Conover, American broadcaster (Voice of America), dies at 75
  • 1999 Henry Jones, American actor (Vertigo, Phyllis, Falcon Crest, Gun Shy), dies from complications from a fall at 86
  • 2005 Frank Gorshin, American comedian and impersonator (Riddler-Batman), dies at 72
  • 2009 Jung Seung-hye, South Korean film producer (b. 1965)