Showbiz History: Peanuts Special, Dame Judi, and Young Tom Hardy in Prosthetics
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 8:00AM 5 random things that happened on this day, December 9th, in showbiz history
1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" premieres on CBS, the first of many TV specials (and later feature films) based on Charles M Schultz classic comic strip. It went on to receive a Grammy nomination and win the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming and the Peabody, too.
1988 Mississippi Burning (the first of Frances McDormand's three soon-to-be-four appearances in a Best Picture nominee) and two comedies My Stepmother is an Alien and Twins open in movie theaters...
1992 Princess Diana and Prince Charles make their separation official (though the world already knew with lots of magazine covers like "It's Over!") and months of gossip. Are they covering this year in the new season of The Crown? (No i haven't watched *ducks head in shame*)
2002 Star Trek Nemesis premieres in California. Do people remember that Tom Hardy was the villain in this one? It came about 8 years before name-recognition fame hit with the 1-2-3 punch of RockNRolla's "Handsome Bob", Bronson, and that 'dream a little bigger, darling' supporting turn in Inception.
2005 Instant classic Brokeback Mountain opens in limited release in the US, an immediate critical and box office hit. Neverthless people couldn't stop snickering despite respecting and/or loving it. Homophobia is so cute [that was sarcasm - Editor]. It goes on to win three Oscars (Director, Adapted Screenplay, Score) but the tally should've been higher and it would have looked so good for the Academy in the history books. Alas. Sigh. Etcetera.
Today's Birthday Suit
A very happy 86th birthday to Dame Judi Dench pictured above in her fourth film, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968), where she played the fairy queen Titania. Dame Judi went on to much greater showbiz heights as a very fine "M", an Oscar winning Queen, a supporting not-so-secret weapon, and that rarest of rarities: a bankable leading lady who wasn't an international headliner until she'd become a senior citizen. All that plus she's Dame Maggie's bestie.
Other showbiz people to ❤️ who were born on this day (obviously not a complete list): Fabulous Baker Boy Beau Bridges, the ex Mr Joan Crawford and one of the very first second-generation movie stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr, indie filmmaking icon John Cassavettes, The Wicked Witch herself Margaret Hamilton, Spartacus himself Kirk Douglas, and that guy with the portal in his brain that spits you out onto the New Jersey Turnpike... "MALKOVICH MALKOVICH MALKOVICH"
Which of these anniversaries will you be celebrating today?
Reader Comments (15)
Beau Bridges missing best supporting actor for Baker Boys. I will never understand.
Dame Judi is a national treasure... She was nominated for everything for awhile there!
Re: THE CROWN, no they haven't reached that point yet. Elizabeth Debicki will have the honor of handling that particular story line. It was pretty great this season though.
Dame Judi's Oscar history is fascinating! Although we often talk about folks who get a ton of noms quickly after they're introduced/when they're young (e.g., Amy Adams, Kate Winselt) she's won who got all of her nominations, rather quickly, after 60!
It seems only sensible and right to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas today. I watch it every year anyway so doing it on its anniversary perfect.
It also feels proper to seek out one of Dame Judi's films that I haven't seen (NOT Cats!)...or maybe something with fellow Oscar winner and birthday sharer Broderick Crawford.
Please don't duck your head in shame Nat,this series of The Crown is badly scripted,designed,lit and acted,most of it verges on the ridiculous,I kept expecting Mel Brooks to pop out from behind the drapes.
By Q, do you mean M?
"Brokeback Mountain" was robbed of it's Best Picture Oscar because no matter how Hollywood wants to appear liberal it's actually very conservative ... yeah Tom Hardy made a pretty dull villain but nothing was going to save that "Star Trek" movie
I own "Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Brokeback Mountain" on Blu Ray and will re-watch both classics soon. Best Birthday wishes to Judi Dench, an astounding actress, especially riveting in the glorious "Pride & Prejudice" (2005), released same year as "Brokeback", which I agree should have won at least 3 more Oscars - Picture, Cinematography, and Actor (Heath Ledger).
deborah -- yes, i did. whoops. fixing.
Sad Charlie Brown Christmas won't be on tv this year.
^Actually "Charlie Brown Christmas" airs 12/13/2020 on PBS for first time this year.7:30 P.M. ET.
Another awesome post.
As much as Judi Dench has become a movie star in the past three decades, my favorite performance of hers remains her Lady Macbeth in the ITV production of Shakespeare's tragedy. her delivery of the somnambulistic episode is the best Lady Macbeth I've ever seen.
Young Judi looks like Bjork in a Michel Gondry video outtake in that second pic