Showbiz History: Batman's debut and JLaw's second Globe win
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 at 9:00AM 5 random things that happened on this day, January 12th, in history...
1966 Beloved but shortlived Batman TV series premieres on ABC. The first episode "Hi Diddle Riddle" introduced Frank Gorshin as The Riddler (my personal favourite, this side of Catwoman, as a child watching in syndication years later). He would appear in 10 episodes across the three seasons. The movies have preferred the other key villains for some reason. Listen, it's not like The Penguin and The Joker are any less ridiculous conceptually!
1981 Dynasty premieres on ABC in a three hour event with its first two episodes "Oil" running back-to-back...
Blake and Steven Carrington, homophobe dad and tragic gay son on "Dynasty"The first seeason partially revolved around a murder trial for family patriarch Blake (John Forsythe) who had accidentally killed his son's Steven's (Al Corley) gay lover in a rage when he found them together. Very scandalous for the 1980s!
The nighttime soap about rich warring families in Colorado was not an immediate smash but season two (or, more accurately Joan Collins joining the cast) rectified that and by the mid 80s it was TV's #1 rated show.
2001 Lizzie McGuire starring Hilary Duff premieres on the Disney Channel. Duff was recently in talks to revive the character but it fell through. Meanwhile at the movie theaters Save the Last Dance starring Julia Stiles (with Kerry Washington in support) opened, becoming a surprise January hit.
JLaw's win and JLD's tweet the next day
2014 A big television night. The wildly buzzy True Detective premiered on HBO opposite the 71st annual Golden Globes Awards where 12 Years a Slave (Drama) and American Hustle (comedy) reigned for film and Breaking Bad (drama) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (comedy) triumphed for TV. Oscar would repeat all the big drama film wins but for Supporting Actress. The Globes (and then BAFTA were Jennifer Lawrence's big gets with the previously unknown Lupita Nyong'o rapidly rising in media love and favor. (And Lupita also giving the better performance... not that that always matters to awards bodies!)
2018 Family adventure sequel Paddington 2, Liam Neeson actioner The Commuter, horror sequel Insidious The Last Key, and Taraji P Henson in Proud Mary opened in movie theaters for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday wekend. But audiences were more excited to see Oscar hopeful The Post, which went wide that day than any of the brand new releases. Did you see any of those films that weekend?
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 84th birthday to Bond Girl Shirley Eaton who played "Jill Masterson" in Goldfinger. Remember when she recreated her iconic look for the Daily Mail?
Other showbiz birthdays on this day: The first back-to-back Oscar winner Luise Rainer (The Good Earth, The Great Ziegfeld), stand-up sensation Hannah Gadsby (Nanette, Douglas), much-loved Issa Rae (Insecure, Little), super undervalued and frankly awesome character actor Simon Russell Beale (The Deep Blue Sea, Penny Dreadful), talented director Mary Harron (American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page), Tony winner Andre De Shields (Hadestown, The Wiz), South Korea's Ahn Seo-Hyun (Okja), Patsy Kelly (North Avenue Irregulars, Rosemary’s Baby), problematic Kirstie Alley (Star Trek II, Cheers), once-ubiquitous Oliver Platt (Bulworth, Huff), Director François Girard (The Red Violin, 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould), Director Rob Zombie (Halloween), Norway's Jakob Oftebro (Kon-Tiki, Max Manus), sexy Olivier Martinez (Unfaithful, The Horseman on the Roof), funny Rachael Harris (Lucifer, The Hangover), Dutch director Mike van Diem (Character), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Chicago Med, Arrow), stuntwoman Jessie Graff (Wonder Woman), Dorothy Green (The Big Heat, Tammy), Director Wayne Wang (Smoke, Maid in Manhattan), Pixar's ousted John Lasseter (Toy Story), the late Naya Rivera (Glee), Author Jack London, Singer Ruth Brown, Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm (Spice World), and One Direction’s Zayn Malik
Reader Comments (21)
Still not over Naya Rivera. What a tremendous talent that could’ve easily transferred over to film.
JLaw won the Bafta right before the Oscars, actually, I was very worried she’d scoop two in a row that year.
Unpopular opinion: While I love Lupita's performance and win (oh how I wish she'd won best actress for US), my vote is for Jennifer Lawrence in Supporting Actress that year. I think it is her best performance (maybe Winter's Bone, idk). I understand the miscast claims but is not like we dont see older man (specially cons) married to much younger woman in real life. She did won NSFC and NYFCC so Im not alone.
His age wasn’t the problem, hers was. She wasn’t too young for him, just too young for the role. And I’d rank Katniss and Mother higher among JLaw performances.
I agree with LSS: I'd vote for Lupita, but JLaw is terrific in a electric, restless, godardian performance. She pretty much steals the movie.
They were both great (all the nominees would have been fine winners that year, though Roberts was in the wrong category). But I would have voted for Hawkins, who should have an Oscar by now.
I'm a Squibb voter,Lupita's lack of experience shows esp during the soap scene,no real tears or feeling just scrunchy faced pretend crying plus Paulson is way better and Lawrence took a role that Cameron DIaz should've done and that may have helped Cameron get away from the rubbish she was appearing in and maybe wouldn't have retired and I do think Roberts supports Streep and would have been a close 2nd after Squibb.
I'm a JLaw supporter. Lupita's OK, but not only is Sarah Paulson better - should not only have been nominated, but should have won the whole thing - but I also prefer Alfre Woodard in a small but trenchant role. That's just sticking to 12 Years a Slave.
You know what's coolest about this Batman series? The actors seem to be enjoying themselves all the time, playing straight, including those who play the villains. Whether you like the tone of the program or not, the way the characters are presented is faithful to the comics (something that superhero movies don't always do, leaving fans disappointed) and even served as an influence. Their Catwoman, for example, was a direct influence on Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman.
Bushwick: during shutdown this past spring I became obsessed with old Glee performances on YouTube. Rivera's turns became my favorites. Her rendition of Don"t Rain On My Parade is spectacular. And her take on The Band Perry's If I Die Young is one of the most moving musical performances ever put on film. What a loss. She would have been a fantastic Anita in West Side Story for example.
Michael R -- it's weird that so few of Glee alum have been able to make subsequent careers work because most of them are quite talented. Maybe they stayed on the show too long and got too pigeonholed as that particular character? I wonder what would have happened for Rivera had she lived.
Prajhan -- totally agree. It's why the show is so fun and why the camp really works.
Shmeebs -- you're right. i'll adjust the text.
Jennifer Lawrence gave us the best performance. What a disgusting comment about her talent.
She deserved a nomination for mother. I hate that some people don't respect her job just because she is young and beautiful.
Al Corley--what a babe. Sigh.
PS Lupita deserved her Oscar. It's not even close.
I was a Dynasty watcher from day one because of my enduring love for Linda Evans which began with reruns of The Big Valley but Joan Collins did kick the series into high gear. Once she was on EVERYBODY watched and it was a true water cooler show the next day. It was always ridiculous but in a very fun way at first. Later when it went off the rails it still had its moments but they were much fewer.
Lupita was the right choice. Fuck J-Law and her over-the-top performance. It is funny how fame can really change you where she was just an unknown in Winter's Bone and then she showed sides about herself once she became famous and winning an Oscar as it turned out that she's not really a nice person. Talented but full of shit.
Sounds like we need a 2013 Smackdown next
I couldn't care less if Lawrence is too young for the part, she owns the character, she’s a total blast, killer-funny and fierce; she mirrors Sharon Stone's Ginger in the far superior Casino. Having said that my winner that year would've been Julia Roberts just because she's the best she has been since Closer for which she was robbed a nod. My rank:
ROBERTS
LAWRENCE
NYONG'O
SQUIBB
HAWKINS
Nyong'o
Hawkins
Roberts
Squibb
Lawrence
I never saw that photo of Shirley Eaton recreating early Golden Girl - classic and Best Wishes to the great actress in one of the most memorable Bonds, starring Sean Connery and Honor Blackman ("Pussy Galore", I must be dreaming). I also liked Eaton in "Ten Little Indians" and "Around the World Under the Sea." Eartha Kitt was my favorite Catwoman of all (G-r-r-r-r-r-r), and Danny Devito in "Batman Returns" almost as good as Gorshin ("I am not a human being! - I am an animal!").
I need the 2013 smackdown Nat😘😘