Showbiz History: Richard Farnsworth, The Women, Shirley Maclaine's daughter and more
Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 9:37AM 8 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...
1920 Richard Farnsworth, the very talented actor (Comes a Horseman, The Grey Fox), who started in film as a stuntman, was born on this day 100 years ago in Los Angeles. Happy Farnsworth Centennial. Sadly he died 20 years ago, shortly after delivering his tremendously moving Oscar-nominated performancee in The Straight Story...
"The Women" with their director George Cukor (center)
1939 The Women opens in movie theaters starring a who's who of female stars. It was one of an absurd number of classics to be released in the greatest year of Hollywood's "Golden Age". There were so many classics released that year that The Women couldn't even manage a single Oscar nomination despite being one of the year's biggest hits.
1954 Rear Window, one of those rare perfect movies, was released on this day
Sachi & Shirley in early 1959
1956 Shirley Maclaine gave birth to her only child (and mini-me), Sachi Parker, just one year after her movie debut (Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry). Sachi wrote a book "Lucky Me" in 2013 detailing her life (or, rather, the lack of it) with her ambitious mother.
1992 The 49th annual Venice Film Festival kicks off. At festival's end The Story of Qi Ju, one of several excellent Zhang Yimou / Gong Li pictures, will win the Golden Lion. Other hits of the festival included Sally Potter's Orlando, Bigas Luna's Jamón Jamón, and Claude Saudate's Un coeur en hiver. Qi Ju will be submitted by China for the Oscars but denied a nomination.
2002 Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, marries Freddie Prinze Jr in Mexico. Happy 18th anniversary to the enduring couple today!
2010 Black Swan is a sensation as the opening night film of the 67th international Venice Film Festival but it goes home nearly empty-handed when the festival ends and prizes are handed out, taking only the Marcelo Mastroianni 'Emerging Actor' award for Mila Kunis. Somewhere by Sofia Coppola wins the Golden Lion.
2017 Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird has its world premiere at Telluride. It will go on to become a surprise hit, major Oscar player, and winner of 5 Gold Medals right here at the 2017 Film Bitch Awards ;) which were Best Picture, Director (Greta Gerwig), Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Supporting Actress (Laurie Metcalf), and Actor in a Limited or Cameo Role (Stephen McKinley Henderson).
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 24th birthday to Zendaya. Are you rooting for her brilliant turn in Euphoria at the Emmys?
Other celebrities celebrating birthdays today...
Legend: Lily Tomlin; Actors: Boyd Holbrook, Scott Speedman, Shoshana Bean, Burn Gorman, Hwang Jung-min, George Maharis, Jiang Shuying, Raqesh Bapat, and Susan Backlinie... the girl who gets eaten at the beginning of Jaws; Others: Padma Lakshmi, Broadway star Carolee Carmello, musician Babydaddy, singer Barry Gibb, singer Gloria Estefan, director Craig Gillespie, director/cinematographer Uta Briesewitz, and Oscar winning composer Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther).
Gone but not forgotten and also born on this day...
Richard Arlen, Vittorio Gassman, James Rebhorn, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Yvonne de Carlo
Reader Comments (4)
Happen to be watching Richard Farnsworth's "The Grey Fox" right now! First time for me but been meaning to see it for years. How perfect!
Never thought of Rear Window and The Women as having a link (outside of how many of Women's stars played opposite Jimmy Stewart). It's somewhat ephemeral but still interesting to see that two such classics were released on the same day and outside of the holy Christmas sweet spot of Oscar competition though that didn't exist at the time.
Richard Farnsworth totally nails his cynical small-town sheriff role in Misery too. The bickering with Frances Sternhagen definitely lightens the grim proceedings.
I have a soft spot for Richard Farnsworth, being an '80s kid who grew up with Anne of Green Gables. I've seen Straight Story - is Comes a Horseman worth a viewing?
Love Richard Farnsworth. Went to see The Straight Story in college, and my friend and I were the only ones in the theater. I guess it was good that no one else was forced to hear me cry.
I wish someone would cast Mila Kunis in a decent role again. I'd like to see her stretch herself.