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