10 random things that happened on this day in history as it relates to showbiz (Aug 14th)
1040 King Duncan is killed in battle by an army led by his cousin Macbeth, which will all later be rewritten by William Shakespeare as altogethier plottier and magically damning. Macbeth hasn't been transferred to cinema as much of some other Shakespearean tragedies which is TOTALLY fine because no one will ever top Kurosawa's Throne of Blood anyway.
1851 Outlaw Doc Holliday born in Georgia. The gambler / dentist / gunfighter / tuberculosis-victim has made for quite a scenery-chewing role for famous actors over the years, including Cesar Romero, Walter Huston, Kirk Douglas, Arhtur Kennedy, Adam West, Martin Landau, Jason Robards, Stacy Keach, Willie Nelson, Dennis Quaid, and Val Kilmer.
1928 Lina Wertmuller born in Rome. She'll become the first woman ever nominated for a directing Oscar when she's 48 years old for the masterpiece Seven Beauties.
1939 Oscar's first Best Actress, Janet Gaynor marries a costume designer so famous, he didn't even need a last name: Adrian. Many people believe it was a "lavender marriage"...
Adrian was known to be queer and Gaynor was often rumored to be bisexual and more than 'best friends' with Broadway star Mary Martin but Adrian and Gaynor remained together until his death 20 years later. Despite "gowns by Adrian" being synonomous with MGM glamour (He designed for Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer dozens of times) he was never honored with an Oscar as there was no costume design category until 1948 after Adrian had stopped designing for films. His classics all pre-date the category but they are many and include Marie Antoinette, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Woman of the Year, The Women, The Wizard of Oz, Queen Christina, Waterloo Bridge, Ninotchka and The Great Ziegfeld. But, given his iconic status in the Golden Age of American cinema we must assume it was homophobia that prevented an Honorary Oscar!
1945 Steve Martin born in Waco, Texas. Somehow I never think of him as Texan... or even Southern!
1953 James Horner, Oscar favorite and Titanic composer born in Los Angeles.
1959 "What a thrill." Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden born in La Jolla California on this day. What a thrill to meet her this year at gay pride in NYC!
1966 Oscar winner Halle Berry born in Cleveland.
1992 Single White Female hits movie theaters starring Bridget Fonda (long retired *sniffle*) and Jennifer Jason Leigh
2009 District 9 opens in movie theaters and becomes an unexpected big hit. It's also one of the rare sci-fi films to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. It's also the last film I took my nephews to see before they all moved far away from me *sniffle*
2020 Universal has claimed this date for "untitled event film" so we hope it's eventful!
Other celebrity birthdays today:
Mila Kunis, Emmanuelle Béart, Ana Matronic (The Scissor Sisters), Raoul Bova, Romane Bohringer, Adrian Lester, René Goscinny (Creator of Astérix), Sarah Brightman, David Crosby, and Jackée Harry