7 random things that happened on this day (Nov 25th) in showbiz history...
1932 Claudette Colbert infamously bathes in milk in Cecil B DeMille's The Sign of the Cross, new in theaters.
1947 The Hollywood Blacklist begins, denying employment to those with perceived Communist ties or sympathies. This period has haunted self-reflecting Hollywood since as witnessed in Trumbo, The Way We Were, Guilty by Suspicion, Good Night and Good Luck, and numerous other movies...
1984 Bob Geldolf's blockbuster charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" recorded in London. The song featured a who's who of British pop stars of the time singing the chorus with Sting, Bono, Boy George, Paul Young, and George Michael on lead vocals...
1992 Aladdin and The Bodyguard both open wide in movie theaters, the day before Thanksgiving and become ginormous hits, before battling it out for Best Original Song at the Oscars with "Friend Like Me" and "A Whole New World" versus "I Have Nothing" and "Run To You." "A Whole New World" wins as Disney theme songs tend to. (I was rooting for "I Have Nothing")
1995 Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" from the hit movie Waiting to Exhale hits #1 on the Hot 100. The original song is nominated at the MTV Movie Awards and the Grammy Awards but not the Oscars.
2009 The ultra depressing bestseller adaptation The Road starring Viggo Mortensen opens in theaters. Remember when apocalyptic visions of the future were scary rather than merely glimpses of deadly mass stupidity as in the T**** years?
2013 The soundtrack to Frozen is released, eventually going triple platinum, winning Grammy's Best Soundtrack, Billboard's Album of the Year, and Oscar's Best Original Song for "Let it Go".
Today's Birthday Suit
Today is the centennial of Emmy winner and SAG lifetime achievement winner Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009) who was born in Mexico City on this very day one hundred years ago.
Montalban getting a rubdown in Neptune's Daughter (1949)
In the 1940s and 1950s he was Hollywood's go-to "Latin Lover" before settling into his late career peak via Star Trek The Wrath of Khan (1982) on the big screen and Fantasy Island (1977-1984) on television. In the 80s there was a silly rumor that his chest was prosthetic as the very popular villain "Khan" but all one had to do was look at any of his earlier movie appearances or photoshoots to understand that he was giving manly muscled chest for his entire career.
Other Actors celebrating birthdays today: Sen Liang (23), Cameron Moulène (27), Katie Cassidy (34), Haley Webb (35), Gaspard Ulliel (36), Natalia Cordova-Buckley (38), Amy Seimetz (39), Joel Kinnaman (41), Jang Young-nam (47), Christina Applegate (49), Jill Hennessy (52), Billy Burke (54), Dougray Scott (55), Tony nominee Kevin Chamberlin (57), Emmy winner John Laroquette (73), Tracey Walter (73), Paul Copley (76), Hana Maciuchová (75), and Kathryn Grant (87) who is one of the oldest living film actors.
Other showbiz people celebrating birthdays today: Comic Cole Escola (34), Makeup artist Robert Kurtzman (56), Singer Amy Grant (60), Twin Peaks writer Mark Frost (67), Writer Charlaine Harris (69), classic X-Men comic writer Chris Claremont (70), Director Jonathan Kaplan (73), and Oscar nominated cinematographer Stephen H Burum (80)
Gone but not forgotten: Singer/actress Helen Gahagan (She) born on this day in 1900, Athlete Joe DiMaggio born on this day in 1914, Actress Noel Neill (Superman) born on this day in 1920, Actor Jeffrey Hunter (King of Kings, The Searchers) born on this day in 1926, Screenwriter Murray Schisgal (Tootsie, Luv) born on this day in 1926, and golden son John F Kennedy Jr born on this day in 1960