Showbiz History: Skeksis & Mystics... and Judy Garland & the Supremes?
Thursday, December 17, 2020 at 7:00AM 7 random things that happened on this day, December 17th, in showbiz history
1943 Now forgotten Universal B franchise "The Inner Sanctum" begins with Calling Dr Death featuring Lon Chaney Jr. Intended as a series that would be carried by Chaney and Oscar winner Gale Soondergard, only Chaney actually made it to the screen. There were six films in all.
1965 Judy Garland and the Supremes perform at Houston's then brand new 60,000 seat Astrodome Theater. Wait, what? Judy Garland AND Diana Ross and you could attend for a single dollar...
Crazy, right? The Supremes had just had their breakthrough hit "Where Did Our Love Go?" the previous summer. Judy was just 43 years old (and long since a superstar) but she would not survive the decade.
1971 A star-studded opening night in movie theaters with new films from Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn ($), Vanessa Redgrave (Mary Queen of Scots), and Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, and Lee Remick (Sometimes a Great Notion). All three are seldom discussed today but the latter two received Oscar nominations for acting.
1973 Woody Allen's sci-fi comedy Sleeper, co-starring Diane Keaton, opens in theaters. It's their second film together after Play it Again, Sam (1972) and their duets will be popular all decade long (peaking with the big hit and Oscar winner Annie Hall of course). They'll make 8 films together in total over 21 years, ending with Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).
1982 It's opening night at movie theaters for both Tootsie and The Dark Crystal. They've both lived on in popular culture and had remakes and reboots very recently on Broadway and on Netflix, respectively. My parents took us to The Dark Crystal. Reader, you don't even wanna know how obsessed I was.
1993 The Julia Roberts/Denzel Washington instant hit The Pelican Brief opened in movie theaters on this day. The far less successful but now beloved What's Eating Gilbert Grape also arrived, Leonardo DiCaprio's breakout picture.
2010 Opening day in movie theater for Oscar favourite The Fighter and Nicole Kidman's brilliant Oscar-nominated work in Rabbit Hole. Were you there for either of them... or both of them... that weekend?
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 46th to one of the best actors working, Sarah Paulson. She should already be a two-time Oscar nominee (Carol, 12 Years a Slave) but at least the Emmys came through with 7 nominations and a win.
Sarah Paulson photographed for W magazine in 2016
We had the pleasure of sitting down with her for a chat in 2014 and it was a great discussion.
Other showbiz people celebrating birthdays or anniversaries today: Queer auteur Gregg Araki (Kaboom, Mysterious Skin, Now Apocalypse), Honorary Oscar champ Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans), Oscar nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine, Eastern Promises), Director Rian Johnson (Knives Out), Kiersey Clemons (Dope), action hero Milla Jovovich (Monster Hunter), Emmy winning comic Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black), Bill Pullman (Independence Day, While You Were Sleeping), Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead), Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar, Boiler Room), Ernie Hudson (The Crow, Ghostbusters), Nat Wolff (The Stand), Bollywood's John Abraham (Dhoom, Romeo Akbar Walter), Steve Zissis (Togetherness, Happy Death Day 2U), Waltz With Bashir director Ari Folman, China's Zhou Yun (The Assassin, Gone with the Bullets), and much missed master film editor Sally Menke (Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds).
Reader Comments (14)
The Supremes had released Where Did Our Love Go and some of their other early hits by December 1965, when this concert took place.
A shirtless woman instead of a shirtless man in The Filme Experience? What's happening with the world? 😂😂😂
Very Julianne Moore vibes coming off Diane Keaton in that Sleeper still.
By December 1965 the Supremes were already on their 6th #1 in about 18 months. Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love and Come See About Me in 1964 alone. Stop! In the Name of Love, Back in My Arms Again and I Hear a Symphony in 1965. That's even more than the 5 Beatles #1s in the same time frame!
Sleeper is so much fun. Woody and Diane are excellent together in everything they've done. Well, they weren't "together" in Interiors or Radio Days but even there, you could feel the chemistry! When they reunited for Manhattan murder Mystery, they really sold the idea of a middle-aged married couple, because the two of them had such a long and affectionate history themselves.
Yes, Universal's Inner Sanctum mysteries were rather lackluster, yet introduction of talking head in a bowl was memorable and I enjoyed "Weird Woman." Judy Garland and The Supremes on 1 ticket - that's amazing!
Sleeper is definitely my favorite of Woody Allen's "early, funny" movies. I'm sure I've seen it ten times or so and still find plenty to laugh at.
I did not expect to see Sarah Paulson's breasts when I Clicked to Read More. The Inner Sanctum films aren't so forgotten. A Blu-ray set of the bunch came out this year from Shout Factory and seems to have sold well--I have a lot of friends who bought it. I have an old DVD set. They're fun watches at 2AM if you have insomnia. They're all only about 60 minutes long each. If you want to talk about completely forgotten films, talk about the Old Mother Riley series from the 30s and 40s. Of course they make Inner Sanctum seem positively Proustian in comparison.
"Sleeper" is one of Allen's funniest pure comedy films...Sarah Paulson looks very attractive in that photo
$7.50 to see Judy Garland and the Supremes? GODDAMN! If that was to happen right now, that ticket would now be $7,500.
I don't mean to be a guy but... those are some nice boobs from Sarah Paulson.
Top dollar was $7.50 to see Judy and Diana Ross AND the Supremes!! Unbelievable! I looked it up and even adjusted for inflation that's still only $61.78!!! Even indifferent seats to see some mid-level talent can be over 100 bucks now. Insanity!
The Inner Sanctum are hokey and cheap but for fans of Universal horror films that's standard and on those terms they are enjoyable. Chaney gives them some added appeal.
Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson are very good in Mary, Queen of Scots but the film pales when compared to Glenda's Elizabeth R. miniseries from around the same time.
Sometimes a Great Notion suffers from a slack pace but with that cast it's easy to stay with and Richard Jaeckel is very moving in his Oscar nominated role.
Also on this day the return of the king opened throughout the world
On this day in 2009, Jennifer Jones passed away at the age of 90. She left us a wonderful legacy of cinematic wonder that today’s generation should discover.
This day in 1965 marked the 40th day since the journalist-panelist-media queen Dorothy Kilgallen was found dead in her W 65th St Manhattan townhouse under very mysterious circumstances. Some said overdose; some said suicide; many said murder. She was the only journalist to interview Jack Ruby alone during his trial in Dallas and she stated that her findings would “blow the lid off the JFK case sky high.” She feared she was being stalked and marked for publicly doubting the Warren Report (which she printed in her column weeks before it was released to President Johnson). Her notes from the trial disappeared that night. When her hairdresser Marc Sinclair arrived the next morning to do her hair, the police and Joan Crawford were sitting in her living room! “What’s My Line” was never the same, despite upcoming mystery guest appearances by Judy Garland, The Supremes, Barbra Streisand, and many others. All those episodes are on YouTube! Word is that that her biopic is in the development stages right now. I’d LOVE to see Sarah Paulson cast as Dorothy. Her feud with Sinatra, her affair with Johnnie Ray, and her friendships with Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford and other celebs could make casting a real trip.