On this day: Best Actress Tie, Lincoln Assassination... and a Tarzan and Jill Marriage.
Friday, April 14, 2017 at 9:00AM 
On this day in history as it relates to showbiz...
1865 President Lincoln is assassinated. He's surely the President that's hit the movies the most often, most successfully in Steven Spielberg's fantastic Lincoln (2012)
1894 The first commercial motion picture house opens using Thomas Edison's "kinetoscope" device. You had to look through a peephole though so it was only one viewer at a time, though the venue had 10 of the machines. Coincidentally Thomas Edison will be played by Benedict Cumberbath in this year's Oscar hopeful The Current War which is about Edison's battle with George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) over sustainable electricity in America...
1904 Sir John Gielgud, one of the great British actors, was born. He won the Oscar for Arthur (1981) but his filmography stretches all the way from the silent era through Elizabeth (1998)
1925 Oscar regular Rod Steiger (On the Waterfront, The Pawnbroker, In the Heat of the Night) born
1933 Actress Shani Wallis, who I'm still mystified wasn't Oscar nominated for Oliver! (1968), is born.
1939 John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" is published. It becomes a classic movie the very next year
1941 The great mysterious Oscar-winning goddess Julie Christie (Darling, Away From Her, McCabe and Mrs Miller) is born in British India. Happy 76th, diva!
1955 Wonderful writer/director Don Roos (The Opposite of Sex, Happy Endings, Web Therapy) is born. Did you know that he's married to actor Dan Bucatinsky (All Over The Guy, 24: Legacy, Scandal). Get this - their first date was to a Michelle Pfeiffer premiere: Love Field (1992)
1956 Actors Vera Miles and Gordon Scott, who co-starred in Tarzan's Hidden Jungle the year before, marry. Incidentally she was "Jill" not "Jane". As their marriage was falling apart they both made their best movies: Gordon in Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) and Vera in Psycho (1960)
1957 Undervalued French-Canadian actor Lothaire Bluteau born. He's wonderful in Black Robe, Jesus of Montreal, and Bent. Recently he's been doing TV like Vikings, 24, and The Tudors
1958 Stanley Kubrick marries Christiane Harlan, his third wife. Third time's the charm. They remain together until his death in 1999
1961 Actor Robert Carlyle of Trainspotting, Priest, The Full Monty, and Once Upon a Time fame is born
← 1967 It's the 50th anniversary of a movie I've never heard of called It's a Bikini World. The title alone... I mean, GIMME.
1968 Anthony Michael Hall, Bratpacker, born. Happy 49th!
1969 On Shani Wallis's 36th birthday, her movie Oliver! wins Best Picture. But another race stole the glory: The 1968 Oscars featured the first and only tie in Best Actress (which Anne-Marie covered a few years back here and here): Barba Streisand (Funny Girl) and Katharine Hepburn (Lion in Winter) both won the Oscar, leaving fellow nominees (Patricia Neal in The Subject was Roses, Vanessa Redgrave as Isadora, and Joanne Woodward in Rachel Rachel) in a 3 way instead of 4 way tie for... um... losing.
Who would you have voted for?
1973 The youngest Best Actor winner of all time, Adrien Brody (The Pianist) is born in Queens
1977 Sarah Michelle Gellar aka Buffy born. Happy 40th, Chosen One!
1980 Kramer vs Kramer wins Best Picture 1979. It's also a year where all the acting winners were either repeats or would become multiple winners. Melvyn Douglas wins his second Oscar for Being There. While Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep (Kramer vs Kramer), and Sally Field (Norma Rae), all win their first with their second statues to come within the next decade.
1989 John Cusack first lifts that boombox over his head in movie theaters in the then minor but now classic romcom Say Anything which was the feature directorial debut of Cameron Crowe.
1995 Rob Roy opens in theaters starring Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange with Tim Roth stealing the show (and an Oscar nomination). It was completely overshadowed by another Scottish epic (Braveheart) that year but it's a way better film.
← 1996 Abigail Breslin born. Just 10 years later she'd be up for the Supporting Actress Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine
2017 The eighth film in the Fast and Furious franchise opens in theaters today. How would you rank the previous seven?
Reader Comments (23)
Julie Christie is sublime in Shampoo.
My wish for Julie Christie's birthday is that she could be tempted out of retirement to make one last great film but I am extremely doubtful alas. Still despite her small output she's made some great and some interesting pictures wherein she was always amazing. Favorites Far From the Madding Crowd, Darling and Fahrenheit 451 but even a misfire like In Search of Gregory is worth watching because of her involvement.
Despite my love of both Babs and Funny Girl my vote that year would have gone to Kate Hepburn in her best winning performance in Lion in Winter. I'd have voted for Streisand a few years on for The Way We Were which is her best performance.
Despite handing four Oscars to Katie Hepburn, the Academy managed to honour her only once for a performance that actually ranks among the very greatest of her career - and that time was 'The Lion in Winter'. And given the choice between Kate and Babs (or, in fact, all the nominees that year), the great Kate easily takes the Oscar.
Taking into consideration all eligible performances that year, though, not even Elenor of Aquitane stands a chance against Mia Farrow's Rosemary. (If I could choose the Best Actress field of 1968, I would pick Mia Farrow, Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand, and I'd throw in Jeanne Moreau for 'The Bride Wore Black' and Maggie Smith for the very delightful 'Hot Millions', and I couldn't be any happier with a Best Actress race.)
Why DIDN'T Shani Wallis get in for "Oliver!"? Especially since Kay Medford got in for "Funny Girl" and she did practically nothing. Was she being pushed as a Lead and didn't get in?
Prediction time: Will The Current War score double lead nominations, or are we looking at Shannon's third shot at a supporting victory?
Team Funny Girl, natch.
Is it weird that finding out that a brat-packer is under 50 makes me feel young?
Happy birthday, Julie Christie.
Thanks for the shout-out for Lothaire Bluteau. Ever since Jesus of Montreal, I've seen almost all of his films from Orlando (with Tilda Swinton) to Le Confessional (with Kristin Scott-Thomas) and always loved his presence.
As for the 1968 Oscar, I prefer Vanessa Redgrave's turn in Isadora than any actress that year.
Love Julie Christie in all her film appearances even in films such as Dragonheart, Finding Neverland</> and Branagh's Hamlet. She was amazing in Away From Her even if I thought Gordon Pinsent gave a touching and more nuanced performance.
I'd probably go with Streisand, but these are both terrific (easily Hepburn's worthiest win), so I understand the tie.
Just the other day I was thinking that Julie Christie in Darling must be one of the most underrated Oscar wins for Best Actress ever. It's taken for granted cause she was literally the hottest girl that year, but her performance is so brave and fun.
Oh THAT tie! It's amazing to see the Academy make the right choice, but I personally would have chosen Babs cause that was starmaking at its best. Take a note Emma Stone. And while Lion in Winter is easily Kate's best performance, but she already has enough of the golden guys.
Irvin-that has ALWAYS been a mystery to me as well. She's playing two of Oscar's favorite roles for women (long-suffering wife and prostitute), the sole woman in the Best Picture winner, she's under 40, British, and gets the central musical ballad. On paper, this is a slam dunk. The lead argument would make sense, but if she was pushed as supporting I'm at a loss.
Vera Miles and Gordon Scott, you made my day!
Re: 1979, there are a couple of intruging links among the acting winners: Sally Field would go on to win her second Oscar in Places in the Heart (1984), written and directed by Robert Benton, who had written (for the screen) and directed the film for which Hoffman and Streep won their Oscars in 1979 (and who would himself win Oscars in both years); meanwhile, Melvyn Douglas had won his first Oscar for Hud (1963), directed by Martin Ritt, who directed Field to her win in 1979.
You can't do that with every year!!
Totally agree on Wallis,She'd be my winner.
It's Hepburn over Babs.
Hurt stole Rob Roy for me.
Christie was overlooked for Shampoo.
I think Barbra Streisand is great in Funny Girl, but I actually don't like the movie itself very much, so I probably wouldn't have voted for her. I'm not sure if that's fair.
Abigail Breslin is funny and charming in Little Miss Sunshine so I get why she was nominated, but in reality Toni Collette out-acted her in that movie. I mean, just watch her eat that popsicle during the KFC dinner scene!
Shani totally repaid the snub by presenting the Musical Score award the very next year.
I hate LMS with a passion,I don't see the fuss at all,it's so bad taste and not in John Waters way.
I predict Julie Christie will get a Best Actress nomination before the end of this decade. She pops up every ten years or so and wows the critics and the industry every time.
Julie Christie in Doctor Zhivago will always be one of the most iconic figures in the movies for me. I still am destroyed she didn't get her second Oscar in 2008.
In 1969, I'd have to say this tie is pretty great. Both of the performances are brilliant and unique and most importantly have stood the test of time. That Oscar lineup is crazy good. I'd still most regretfully have to get rid of Vanessa Redgrave to put in Julie Andrews for Star!
Devin D: Shannon won't happen. If The Current War is good enough for Oscar (doubtful, due to the terrible choice of central focus), it'll be Cumberbatch, as Edison, and Hoult, as TESLA, getting the acting nominations.
Julie Christie is still one of my favorite actresses and is one of the all time beauties of the silver screen. Darling was great,but as mentioned that was the year she was indeed the
"it" girl with Zhivago out that year as well. Wish she would come back!
I agree with so many that I thought Shanni Wallis should have been nominated.
To this date,I still think Mia Farrow's performance in Rosemary's Baby is the biggest best actress omission of all time. i just watched it again a few weeks ago and you can't take your eyes off of her and she carries that entire film. I assume until The Exorcist played out so well,horror films got no respect and it was controversial at the time. I remember at the time I was in Catholic High school and were warned by the priests not to see it. So of course we all flocked to it. i would have taken out Vanessa that year.
I think the 1969 tie was well deserved for both of them as they were two very different but brilliant and strong performances. it would have been hard back then to pick just one. .
Babs
Close call, but team Babs. The ultimate star-making turn showcasing the depths of Ms. Streisand's artistry. My Man is gorgeous and brilliant and devastating all at once.
Lindsay- i'm team babs too. she wasn't joking with that 'The Greatest Star' number. what a star vehicle and what an instant star.