- Jan 10 "Pete the Tramp" cartoon strip by C D Russell debuts
Film Premier
Feb 3 "Shanghai Express" directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook and Anna Mae Wong premieres in Los Angeles
Marlene Dietrich
Event of Interest
Apr 16 Short film "The Music Box" starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1932 Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film)
Stan Laurel
Oliver Hardy
- Apr 28 1st broadcast of "One Man's Family" on NBC radio
- May 2 Jack Benny's 1st radio show premieres (NBC Blue Network)
- Jul 28 "White Zombie" - 1st feature length zombie film directed by Victor Halperin and starring Béla Lugos is released in the US
- Aug 6 1st Venice Film Festival opens
- Aug 22 BBC begins experimental regular TV broadcasts
- Sep 18 Actress Peg Entwistle commits suicide by jumping from the letter "H" in the Hollywood sign
- Oct 11 1st political telecast (Democratic National Committee) at CBS, NYC
- Oct 20 Journalist Robert Trout joins CBS
- Nov 7 1st broadcast of "Buck Rogers in the 25th century" on CBS-radio
- Nov 18 "Flowers & Trees" receives 1st Academy Award for a cartoon
Film Awards
Nov 18 5th Academy Awards: Fredric March and Wallace Beery in 1st ever tie for Best Actor. "Grand Hotel" and Helen Hayes also win.
Event of Interest
Nov 28 Groucho Marx performs on radio for the first time
Groucho Marx
- Dec 2 "Adventures of Charlie Chan" 1st heard on NBC-Blue radio network
Film Premier
Dec 22 Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers 1st joint movie "Flying Down to Rio," directed by Thornton Freeland, premieres in NYC
Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers
- Dec 22 "The Mummy" directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff is released in the US - 1st Mummy horror film