8 random things that happened on this day, October 14th, in showbiz history
1930 The Gershwin musical Girl Crazy opens on Broadway, introducing the standards "Embraceable You" "But Not For Me" and "I Got Rhythm" into the American songbook. Future movie star Ginger Rogers was in the original cast! It was adapted to film twice, first in 1932 and then with Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland in 1943.
1960 Did you know that Doris Day didn't only make comedies? A thriller called Midnight Lace, was new in theaters that weekend with Doris in danger!
Rex Harrison, John Gavin, Myrna Loy, and Roddy McDowall co-starred and Doris Day was nominated for Best Actress, Drama at the Golden Globes. How about that? If you've seen it do tell...
1977 Linda Rondstadt sings The National Anthem at the World Series.
1988 It was a very Best Actress kind of weekend at the US box office. The Accused, a courtroom drama starring Jodie Foster as a rape victim opened at #1 (and would eventually win Jodie the first of two quick Best Actress Oscars). Also opening that weekend in limited release were Madame Sousatzka (which won Shirley Maclaine a Globe for Best Actress -- tying with Jodie!) and Woody Allen's Another Woman starring Gena Rowlands though the latter doesn't move awards voters.
1990 Super tall and super talented movie star couple Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis file for divorce. They had made three movies together in quick succession in the second half of the 1980s, two very silly genre comedies (Transylvania 6-500 and Earth Girls are Easy) and one masterful sci-fi horror flick (The Fly) but the marriage was brief.
1996 Madonna gives birth to her first child Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. Nathaniel (that's me), then in college, was very excited for and promptly threw a baby shower and invited all the gays -- we donated a bunch of toys to charity, no fooling!
Daniel Craig with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli and director Martin Campbell to announce his 007 gig
2005 MGM makes the official announcement that Daniel Crag will be the new James Bond. People go nuts with hate at the news even though they didn't know who he was. But we had faith cuz we already loved him (via his gay rough trade work in Love is The Devil)
2017 Harvey Weinstein expelled from AMPAS, the group he famously and shamelessly courted and influenced for years, due to numerous sexual abuse allegations.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 44th birthday to Chang Chen photographed by Yoshi Miyamasu.
Here he is photographed by Yoshi Miyamasu. Chen has been starring in movies for so many years (we first fell hard in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) so why is it so hard to find good photos of him online? Very excited that he's in the stacked international cast of Dune (2021)
Bonus Birthday Suit
Happy 40th to Ben Whishaw
Remember how annoying it was when Julie Taymor had Ben Whishaw naked for a whole movie (The Tempest) but robbed him of his genitals with CGI?
Other actors celebrating birthdays today: Max Thierot (32), Jay Pharoah (33), Anastasiya Vedenskaya (36), David Oakes (37), Roy Chiu (39), Ben Whishaw (40), Cansu Dere (40), Steve Coogan (55), Lori Petty (57), Maria Lundqvist (57), Udo Kier (76)
Other Showbiz Types: Director Benh Zeitlin (38), Singer Usher (42), Singer Natalie Maines (46), Director Zoya Akhtar (48), Designer Isaac Mizrahi (59), Singer Thomas Dolby (62), Singer Cliff Richard (80), Designer Ralph Lauren (81) Director Carroll Ballard (83)
Gone but Not Forgotten: Pioneering black actor Clarence Muse (Shadow of a Doubt, The Black Stallion) born on this day in 1898, Mother of film acting Lillian Gish (Broken Blossoms, Night of the Hunter, born on this day in 1893, Director Jack Arnold (Creature from the Black Lagoon, With These Hands) born on this day in 1916, James Bond Roger Moore born on this day in 1927, Night Court star Harry Anderson born on this day in 1952