5 random things that happened on this day, February 28th, in showbiz history...
1921 One hundred years ago today movie producer Saul Zaentz was born in New Jersey. He won the Best Picture Oscar three times: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient. That gives him the all time record for "Most Best Picture wins" which he shares in a tie with Sam Spiegel (On the Waterfront, Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia). The living producers that share second place with 2 wins each are Clint Eastwood and Albert S Ruddy (though they're both 90 years old) and Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner (who are fairly young as producers go winning for both 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight so they could conceivably tie this three-time record... though it obviously won't be easy to do!
1983 M*A*S*H airs its final episode after 11 seasons. The vast majority of the television audience in the US was watching. I remember my oldest brother crying and being confused about why...
1996 The 38th Annual Grammys are held (25th anniversary!). Alanis Morrissette's seminal "Jagged Little Pill" took Album of the Year while Seal took Song/Record for "Kiss from a Rose". The Music Video Grammy went to "Scream" by those storied siblings, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. Coolio, Mary J Blige, TLC, Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder, Nine Inch Nails, and Annie Lennox (for her brilliant cover of "No More I Love Yous") also won Grammys that night. Frank Sinatra also won his last (of nine overall) Grammys for his work on his last completed album "Duets II". He died two years later.
2013 Pope Benedict XVI shockingly resigns; Popes just don't do that. Sir Anthony Hopkins was recently Oscar-nominated for playing him and this internal drama with major external consequences in The Two Popes (2019). We think that was a superb performance (and nice warm up for The Father) but it was a co-lead in a duet movie so it had no business snagging that Best Supporting Actor nomination.
2016 Five years ago today the 88th Academy Awards honoring 2015 were held and it was quite unexpectedly exciting. The Revenant led the nominations with 12 and we feared the worst. But the very atypical (but remarkably worthy) contender Mad Max Fury Road won the most Oscars (six !!!) while Spotlight nabbed Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The acting categories were infinitely less suspenseful with all the frontrunners winning but for Best Supporting Actor which always felt like a toss up between Sylvester Stallone (Creed) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) with Rylance eventually prevailing.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 34th today to the original Miss Bala (2011), Stephanie Sigman.
'La piel es la frontera entre el misterio de la sangre y el misterio del mundo, el teatro donde comunican nuestras entrañas con el universo, el principio y el final de muchas historias, amores y guerras'
-Un escrito que me mando alguien hace mucho tiempo
We thought the Mexican-American actress would be a bigger star by now after proving her range, international flexibility, and that not small matter of her incredible beauty. But hey, the win for any actor is consistent work and she's definitely had that highlights being from Mexico (Miss Bala), Norway (Pioneer), the UK (Spectre) and here in the US (albeit mostly on TV procedurals). She seems to be taking a wee break at the moment (young motherhood, plus you know Hollywood being mostly on hiatus) but still active on Instagram!
Other showbiz birthdays: Tony & Globe winner Bernadette Peters (The Jerk, Pennies from Heaven), Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poet's Society, Swing Kids), Oscar nominated writer/director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas, Time Code), Stephanie Sigman (Miss Bala, Spectre), Ali Larter (Final Destination, Heroes), Rory Cochrane (Argo, White Boy Rick), Sarah Bolger (In America, The Tudors), John Turturro (Quiz Show, Barton Fink), Rae Dawn Chong (The Color Purple, Quest for Fire), Bobb'e J Thompson (Role Models, House of Payne), Kelly Bishop (Gilmore Girls, Dirty Dancing), Annabelle Acosta (Quantico, Kill Chain), Geoffrey Arend (Garden State, 500 Days of Summer), China's Angelababy (Hitman: Agent 47, Young Detective Dee), Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King, Hustlers), Quinn Shephard (Hostages, Blame), Dorothy Stratten (They All Laughed, Galaxina), Stephanie Beacham (Dynasty, Troop Beverly Hills), Director Guy Maddin (Saddest Music in the World, My Winnipeg), Oscar winning songwriter Markéta Irglová (Once), Broadway legend Tommy Tune, and comedian Gilbert Gottfried.
Bonus b-day suit: one of our favourite directors Vincente Minnelli, born on this day in 1903.
And late greats like Oscar-winning director Vincente Minnelli (Gigi, Meet me in St Louis), Oscar nominee Charles Durning (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, To Be Or Not To Be, Tootsie), Oscar winning writer Ben Hecht (The Scoundrel, Notorious), and Billie Bird (Sixteen Candles, The Mating Season)