This week we cover the period between 29th March – 4th April as we look back at the the fascinating history of the film industry. We love to celebrate the history of cinema here at More Movies and we really enjoy delving into and highlighting some of the most interesting moments in the world of movies, including milestone releases, births and deaths of the industry’s most notable characters, along with other historic happenings.
American actor Leonidas “Lon” Chaney, nicknamed “the man of a 1000 faces”, and star of films such as The Hunchback Of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sadly, 102 of his 157 films are now considered lost.
1st April, 1883
American musician and actor Dooley Wilson, famous for his roles in Casablanca, Come to the Stable and Stormy Weather, was born in Tyler, Texas (d. 1953)
3rd April, 1886
American actor Warner Baxter, famous for his roles in In Old Arizona, Crime Doctor and The Cisco Kid, was born in Columbus, Ohio
29th March, 1889
British actress Joyce Carey, famous for her roles in The Astonished Heart, Brief Encounter, and In Which We Serve, was born in Kensington, London
30th March, 1898
American actor and tap dancer Charles “Honi” Coles, most famous for his role as Tito Suarez in Dirty Dancing, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2nd April, 1911
British actor Alec Guinness, famous for his roles in The Ladykillers, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Star Wars, was born in London, England
2nd April, 1914
Japanese writer and actor Toshiro Mifune, famous for his roles in Rashomon, Seven Samurai and Shogun, was born in Tsingtao, China
1st April, 1920
American screenwriter, director and actor Jack Webb, famous for his roles in Sunset Boulevard, Dragnet and Dark City, was born in Santa Monica, California
2nd April, 1920
Northern Irish actor Patrick Magee, famous for his roles in A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon and Asylum, was born in Armagh, Northern Ireland
31st March, 1922
American singer and actress Doris Day, known as the “girl next door” and famous for her roles in Pillow Talk, The Man Who Knew Too Much and Calamity Jane, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio
3rd April, 1922
American actor Marlon Brando, famous for his roles in The Godfather, A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, was born in Omaha, Nebraska
3rd April, 1924
Irish actor Ray McAnally, famous for his roles in The Mission, My Left Foot and The Sicilian, was born in Buncrana, County Donegal
30th March, 1926
American singer and actress Jane Powell, famous for her roles in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Royal Wedding and A Date With Judy, was born in Portland, Oregon
1st April, 1929
The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next 38 years
31st March, 1930
The Blue Angel, starring Marlene Dietrich in her breakthrough role, premiered in Germany
1st April, 1930
American actor Anthony Perkins, most famous for his role as Norman Bates in the Psycho franchise, was born in New York City
4th April, 1932
Timeline Block
American actor Warren Beatty, famous for his roles in Bonnie & Clyde, Shampoo and Dick Tracy, was born in Richmond, Virginia
30th March, 1937
American actor John Quade, famous for his roles in Every Which Way But Loose, Any Which Way You Can and High Plains Drifter, was born in Kansas City
1st April, 1938
The Hound of the Baskervilles, the first of 14 films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, was released in the U.S.
31st March, 1939
English comedian and actor Eric Idle, famous for being a part of Monty Python and films such as Life of Brian, was born in South Shields, England
29th March, 1943
American actor Christopher Walken, famous for his roles in The Deer Hunter, The Dead Zone and Catch Me If You Can, was born in New York City
31st March, 1943
Movie star Jimmy Stewart is promoted to full colonel, one of the few Americans to rise from private to colonel in four years
29th March, 1945
American actress Pamela Reed, famous for her roles in Kindergarten Cop, Bean and Junior, was born in Tacoma, Washington
2nd April, 1949
Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, most famous for his role as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, was born in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire
30th March, 1950
American actress Julie Carmen, famous for her roles in Gloria, In the Mouth of Madness and Fright Night Part 2, was born in Mount Vernon, New York
4th April, 1954
Irish actor and film director Brendan Gleeson, famous for his roles in In Bruges, Braveheart and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was born in Dublin
29th March, 1955
French-American actor Christopher Lambert, famous for his roles in Highlander, Mortal Kombat and Greystoke, was born in Great Neck, New York
29th March, 1957
American actor Alec Baldwin, famous for his roles in Beetlejuice, The Hunt for Red October and The Cat in the Hat, was born in Amityville, New York
3rd April, 1958
Some Like It Hot, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, was released in New York City
29th March, 1959
Nigerian-born English-Australian actor Hugo Weaving, most famous for his role as Agent Smith in The Matrix, was born in Ibadan, Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
4th April, 1960
American actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, famous for his roles in Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America and Trading Places, was born in Brooklyn, New York
3rd April, 1961
Australian supermodel and actress Elle MacPherson, famous for her roles in The Edge, Sirens and Batman & Robin, was born in Sydney, New South Wales
29th March, 1964
American actor Robert Downey Jr, famous for his roles in Sherlock Holmes, Iron Man and the Avengers films, was born in New York City
4th April, 1965
American actor Don Alvarado, famous for his roles in Captain Thunder, Morning Glory and Big Steal, died aged 66
31st March, 1967
New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless, famous for her roles in Eurotrip, Xena: Warrior Princess and Bedtime Stories, was born in Auckland, New Zealand
29th March, 1968
2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, premiered at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.
2nd April, 1968
Indian actor and bollywood star Ajay Devgan, famous for his roles in Singham, Tanhaji and Dilwale, was born in New Delhi, India
2nd April, 1969
American actor Selmer Jackson, famous for his roles in The Grapes of Wrath, Devil Goddess and Pitfall, died aged 82
30th March, 1971
Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, famous for his roles in Trainspotting, Star Wars Episodes I, II, III and Moulin Rouge, was born in Perth, Scotland
31st March, 1971
English actor Melville Cooper, famous for his roles in The Private Life of Don Juan, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Father of the Bride, died aged 76
29th March, 1973
Australian-American actor Heath Ledger, famous for his roles in Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight and 10 Things I Hate About You, was born in Perth, Western Australia
4th April, 1979
Chariots of Fire, directed by Hugh Hudson and starring Ben Cross and Ian Charleson, premiered at a Royal Command Film Performance
30th March, 1981
American actress Gloria Swanson, famous for her roles in Airport 1975, Sunset Boulevard and Queen Kelly, died aged 84
4th April, 1983
American actor James Cagney, famous for his roles in The Public Enemy, White Heat and Yankee Doodle Dandy, died aged 86
30th March, 1986
Austrian actor Paul Henreid, famous for his roles in Now Voyager, Casablanca and Deception, died aged 84
29th March, 1992
American actor Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, tragically died in an on-set firearms accident on The Crow aged just 28
31st March, 1993
Portuguese actor Mário Viegas, famous for his roles in The Jew, Divine Comedy and Funeral of Patrao, died aged 47
1st April, 1996
Japanese film producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, most famous for creating the Godzilla franchise, died aged 86
2nd April, 1997
10 Things I Hate About You, a modernization of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, was released in the U.S.
31st March, 1999
American actor Anthony Caruso, a character actor in more than one hundred American films, usually playing villains and gangsters in films such as The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Land and Fort Massacre, died aged 86
4th April, 2003
Influential American film critic Roger Ebert, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1975 and presented film critic programming for over 30 years, died aged 70
4th April, 2013
American voice actor Erik Bauersfeld, famous for is line “It’s A Trap!”, uttered as Admiral Ackbar in the Star Wars films, died aged 93
3rd April, 2016
Well there we have our picks for this week in film history between 29th March – 4th April.
Be sure to check back next week for some more fun film facts and tidbits. If you think we missed something important, be sure to let us know in the comments.
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