Showbiz History: Sigourney's Wedding, Matthau's Centennial, and Johnny's First Guest
Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 8:00AM 
10 random things that happened on this day, October 1st, in showbiz history
1920 Walter Matthau born in New York. He goes on to become a Tony and Oscar winning film star with muliple hits spanning four decades in the 60s, 70s, and 90s including Charade, The Odd Couple, Cactus Flower, The Sunshine Boys, California Suite, Bad News Bears, and Grumpy Old Men Happy Walter Matthau Centennial -- do you have a favourite of his?
1937 Madame X, starring Gladys George, is released in movie theaters. It's the fourth film adaptation of the play and there would be six more including the arguably most famous version in 1966 starring Lana Turner.
1962 Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the first time. The legend Joan Crawford is his guest...
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane was opening later that month and Crawford was, ever, a diligent self-promoting STAR.
1968 Low-budget indie horror film The Night of the Living Dead has its world premiere in Pittsburgh before opening in theaters a few days later. It will be hugely successful, earning more than 250 times its budget at the box office, and become a majorly influential classic.
1971 Walt Disney World opens in Florida, following in the footsteps of the inaugural Disney theme park, Disneyland which had opened in 1955 in California.
1984 Sigourney Weaver (then 34 years old) marries Jim Simpson (then 28 years old). Happy 36th anniversary to the couple who are still going strong!
1993 Malice, Cool Runnings, For Love or Money, A Bronx Tale, and M Butterfly are the new releases for the weekend in movie theaters. Malice, starring Alec Baldwin, Bill Pullman, and Hollywood's hottest recent import Nicole Kidman star, wins the weekend. It also features Bebe Neuwirth and Gwyneth Paltrow in early film roles
2010 The Social Network emerges in movie theaters as the instant Oscar frontrunner. Sadly the instant classic quickly loses steam to the inferior and more traditional Oscar bait of The King's Speech
2014 Scarlett Johansson (then 29) marries Romain Dauriac a month after giving birth to their daughter Rose. Remember her very brief time as a Trans-atlantic wife? France's César Awards seized on the opportunity to claim her with a special tribute. The couple divorced in 2017.
2021 The Batman , the 11th live action Batman film, starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and Colin Farrell as The Penguin is set to open on this day. We previously discussed the teaser.
Today's Birthday Suit:
Happy 34th to the always captivating Jurnee Smollett (Eve's Bayou, Birds of Prey, Underground). Are you watching her new HBO series Lovecraft Country. It's quite a trip and the Costume Designer sure loves her body! The frequent and supernatural and sometimes gory sex scenes make it a spiritual descendant of HBO's pulpy/trashy True Blood which Jurnee Smollett also appeared in... though Lovecraft Country is also trying for actual meaning.
Other Actors Born on this day: Brie Larson (31), Rupert Friend (39), Chulpan Khamatova (45), Christian Borle (47), Leila Hatami (48), Song Il-guk (49), Zach Galifianakis (51), Esai Morales (58), Randy Quaid (70), Stella Stevens (82), and Julie Andrews (85); Other Showbiz Types Born on this day: Olympian Gus Kenworthy (29), Director Marielle Heller (41), Produceer John Ridley (56), Director Jean Jaques Annaud (77) Gone But Not Forgotten: Oscar nominated My Fair Lady drunk Stanley Holloway born on this day in 1890, Character actor Richard Loo (The Man With the Golden Gun, The Quiet American, Love is a Many Splendored Thing) born on this day in 1903, Two time Oscar nominee Jack Whitmore (Battleground, Give 'em Hell Harry) born on this day in 1921, Charlie's Angels Tom Bosley born on this day in 1927, Breakfast at Tiffanys and The A-Team's George Peppard born on this day in 1928, Oscar nominee Laurence Harvey (Room at the Top) born on this day in 1928, Oscar nominee and storied actor Richard Harris (The Field, This Sporting Life, Camelot, Harry Potter) born on this day in 1930,
Reader Comments (15)
Lovecraft Country is OUTSTANDING
I really love these trips through showbiz history. The more recent years bring back memories for me. I was so excited to see The Social Network opening weekend, and it did not disappoint. And Sigourney has always been one of our most elegant movie stars. More modern filmmakers should make use of that.
"Crawford was, ever, a diligent self-promoting STAR." Yes, which is one of the reasons the portrayal of her as "pickled" during that time period in Feud was so irksome!
I watched MALICE not too long ago and thought it was good! Nicole Kidman is definitely best in show and the movie was not what I was expecting at the end.
The Fortune Cookie and The Odd Couple are my two favorites Walter Matthau's performances. Great chemistry with Jack Lemmon.
I haven't seen every Walter Matthau film, but one of my favourite performances of his is in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
His Oscar for The Fortune Cookie is one of the most deserving ever. His most underappreciated performance is in The Bad News Bears. He's absolutely brilliant. Even totally miscast in A New Leaf he's hilarious, always knowing how to sneak up behind you to get his laughs.
Wow Sigourney Weaver and husband cleaning up in the "aging well" category.
Charlie's Angels' Bosley was David Doyle. Tom Bosley was Mr. Cunningham on Happy Days. Yes, I am an Old, and watched them religiously.
Favorite Matthau movie is probably Grumpy Old Men or The Odd Couple, but I do remember loving Hopscotch, with Glenda Jackson, but I haven't seen it in decades.
Also of note, he is uncredited, but is the drunk in the 70's "Earthquake" movie.
Walter Matthau is awesome. I miss that guy. I enjoy the movies he did with Jack Lemmon except for The Odd Couple II where it looked like neither of them wanted to be in the film and they just phoned it in.
My favorite Walter Matthau is Charade - what a perfect cast, one trying to steal the other's show. I'd love to see him with Audrey together in a movie. # And Weaver's husband? Between the two photos, nothing aged, only the hair changed! # Between The Social Network and The King's Speech, the Academy chose the nicest protagonist and could not resist Colin Firth. 🍹
Carson brought a class to talk shows that not is lacking
Sigourney's birthday is on the 8th.
Walter Matthau favourites:
The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three
Charlie Varrick (BAFTA Best Actor Award)
A New Leaf
Charade
The Odd Couple
Favorite Matthau-The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.
Time has been kind to both Sigourney her husband who is better looking now than then.
Would love to see that initial Johnny Carson Tonight Show and not just for Joan Crawford. He had an ease and adeptness as a host that no one can come close to matching. When he ruled the Tonight Show I never missed it now I couldn't care less about any of them. None of the late night hosts know how to lead an interview, or just let it happen, the way he did.