10 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history
1775 The US Postal System is created. Are there any great movies about mailmen? I'm drawing a blank. Do not say The Postman.
The first movie actress to get a postage stamp would be Ethel Barrymore but she had to share it with her brothers Lionel and John! Grace Kelly was (I believe) the first movie star to get a solo postage stamp. Since that time (in 1993) we've had: Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Zasu Pitts, Marilyn Monroe, Lucille Ball, Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Hattie McDaniel, Judy Garland, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, and Shirley Temple. Who is next? Any guesses?
More after the jump including Mr Julie Andrews, Pee Wee Herman, and Cate Blanchett...
1922 Blake Edwards, future writer/director and future Mr Julie Andrews is born in Tulsa Oklahoma. Despite numerous box office hits and enduring films, he will only be nominated for one Oscar for writing Victor/Victoria, his wife's triumphant 1982 return to the genre she owned in the 1960s. Oscar will make it up to him in his eighties when he's given an Honorary Oscar.
1928 Stanley Kubrick, legendary director is born. What's your favorite Kubrick?
1968 Olivia Williams is born in London. Happy 50th birthday to one of the most perpetually undersung actresses. She's always good but probably best known for her 90s hits Rushmore (1998) and The Sixth Sense (1999) we're especially fond of her work in Ghost Writer (2010) and in TV's "Dollhouse" (2009-2010). What's your favorite of her roles?
1975 "The Hustle" hits #1, the symbolic start of the shortlived but wondrous disco era.
1991 Paul Reubens is arrested in Florida for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater temporarily ending the legendary Pee Wee Herman persona,
1997 James Cameron and Linda Hamilton are married in Malibu, six years after their classic Terminator 2 triumph in theaters and four years after their daughter is born. It's the second marriage for Hamilton and the fourth for Cameron. They will divorce a year and a half later post Titanic-mania.
2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember opens in movie theaters featuring Beyoncé's feature film debut as "Foxxy Cleopatra". It's the third and final film in the Austin Powers series. Mike Meyers will win an MTV Award for his performance but get this: Beyoncé will lose her category of Breakthrough Female Performance... I mean look at this list.
Different times, folks. Different times.
2013 Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine opens in limited release to huge numbers. It will become one of his biggest hits and Cate Blanchett will steamroll her way to a well deserved second Oscar.
Brad & Leo in costumes by Arianne Phillips
2019 Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will open in movie theaters starring QT alums Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen as well as first timers in Tarantino's filmography: Margo Robbie, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Olyphant, James Marsden, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Damian Lewis, and Clifton Collins Jr. Though it takes place during the Manson murders, it's not explicitly about that (we don't believe) though Sharon Tate (Robbie) is a character. The official synopsis:
A faded TV actor and his stunt double embark on an odyssey to make a name for themselves in the film industry during the Helter Skelter reign of terror in 1969 Los Angeles.