7 random things that happened today, January 14th, in showbiz history
newlyweds leaving City Hall
1954 Marilyn Monroe, hot off of her superstar making year, elopes with baseball star Joe DiMaggio to San Francisco City Hall. He would be abusive and possessive and they would divorce the following year but stayed entangled for the rest of her life.
1970 The Supremes perform their final concert together in Las Vegas...
1976 The Bionic Woman premieres on TV, a spinoff of the sci-fi hit The Six Million Dollar Man. Star Lindsay Wagner will win Best Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmys the following year. She isn't well known today but she was a major TV star of 70s series and 80s telefilms.
1977 Fantasy Island first airs on TV in a movie-length version. It will begin its proper first season a full year later. As was the habit of TV series of the day, each episode was a standalone and focused on the guest stars who were often film stars from previous decades (see also The Love Boat). This first episode featured three time Oscar nominee Eleanor Parker, two time Golden Globe nominee Carol Lynley, Golden Globe winner Sandra Dee, and Golden Globe winner Hugh O'Brian.
40+ years and still together!
1980 Samuel L. Jackson, who was 31 years old and just starting to get TV roles (Ragtime, on the big screen, was next up) marries LaTanya Richardson. Happy 41st anniversary to the enduring couple who met during their college years. They're both actors. He's globally famous of course but she's a Tony nominee!
2005 Samuel L Jackson stars in Coach Carter, new in theaters. And Jennifer Garner stars as Elektra, new in theaters. The latter flopped and once again movie studios believed women couldn't carry superhero pictures... refusing to notice that the pictures themselves were the problem.
2011 Failed franchise lauch The Green Hornet, the Vince Vaughn comedy The Dilemma, and the Nicolas Cage period action film Season of the Witch were the new movies in theaters.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 80th birthday today to the one and only Faye Dunaway.
Which of her Globe nominated movie performances is your favourite? Hurry Sundown (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970), Chinatown (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Network (1976), or Barfly (1987)?
Other showbiz types with birthdays today: Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich), four time Oscar nominated screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (Grand Canyon, The Big Chill), Bebe Daniels (42nd Street, The Maltese Falcon), Grant Gustin (The Flash), Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights, The Purge: Anarchy), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere, Baller), rapper / actor LL Cool J (Deep Blue Sea, Lip Sync Battle), director Melina Matsoukas ("Formation", Queen & Slim), Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, The Outsider), Carl Weathers (Predator, Rocky), Emmy winner Holland Taylor (Hollywood, The Practice), Oscar nominee Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves, Punch-drunk Love), singer/actor Joe Seneca (The Blob, Silverado), Juan Pablo Raba (Peppermint, Agents of SHIELD), two time Oscar nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenwerth (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Fight Club, Social network), two time Oscar nominated editor Stuard Baird (Gorillas in the Mist, Superman), director Joseph Losey (The Boy with Green Hair, The Go-Between), Oscar winner Harold Russell (The Best Years of Our Lives), Oscar winning songwriter T Bone Burnett (Cold Mountain, Crazy Heart), Argentina's Chino Darín (El Angel, A Twelve Year Night), and Japanese novelist and actor Yukio Mishima (Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Afraid to Die).