9 random things that happened on this day, February 9th, in showbiz history...
1964 It's the first appearance of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. 73 million people were watching.
1971 Supposedly All in the Family's fifth episode "Judging Books by Covers", airing on this night, is the first on American TV dealing with homosexuality. Archie Bunker mistakenly assumes a guy he meets is gay and then later learns that one of his best friends actually is.
1979 Walter Hill's street gang thriller The Warriors is released but famously runs into immediate trouble with reports of vandalism and fighting at theaters.
1985 Madonna's second album "Like a Virgin" hits #1 in its 11th week of release, finally getting past the aging but still hugely popular blockade of "Purple Rain" by Prince and "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen which had been camped in the top two spots since the the previous summer!
1990 The 40th annual Berlinale begins with Steel Magnolias, which had already played in the US, as the opening night film. the Costa-Gavras/Jessica Lange drama Music Box and the Czech film Larks on a String tie for the Golden Bear at festival's end. Lange is nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for the former.
2000 50th annual Berlinale begins with Wim Wenders The Million Dollar Hotel as opening night film. Gong Li was the jury president that year and at festival's end the Golden Bear went to Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, which had already opened in the US.
2001 Hannibal opens in movie theaters with Julianne Moore taking over for Jodie Foster and Ray Liotta getting his brains eaten up like pudding. Gross.
2006 The 56th Berlinale begins with Snow Cake as the opening night film. Sir Ian McKellen was the special career achievement honoree. Charlotte Rampling was the jury president and at festival's end, Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams by Jasmila Zbanic was awarded the Golden Bear. Zbanic's debut feature went on to become the Bosnian Oscar submission but it was not nominated. Zbanic has a second shot at Oscar glory this year with Quo Vadis, Aida? (reviewed) We'll find out today if it made the Oscar finals.
2012 The 62nd Berlinale begins with opening night film Farewell My Queen (which is awesome). Mike Leigh was the jury president at at festival's end Italy's Caesar Must Die takes the Golden Bear and Switzerland's Sister takes the Silver Bear. Both are submitted to the Oscars but neither are nominated. However, both the films which won acting prizes, Denmark's A Royal Affair (Best Actor, Mikkel Følsgaard) and Canada's War Witch (Best Actress, Rachel Mwanza) go on to become Oscar nominated films the following winter.
2020 One year ago the 92nd Academy Awards were held. Parasite made history as the first non-English language film to win the Oscar. It also won Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Best International Feature. With 4 Oscars it tied Fanny & Alexander and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as the most Oscar'ed foreign-language film of all time (though neither of those won Best Picture of course).
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 34th birthday to Michael B Jordan who is still underrecognized by the mainstream awards shows. His sole honors to date, despite much praised work were a Spirit nomination for Fruitvale Station, an Emmy nod for producing a TV movie Fahrenheit 451, a Critics Choice Best Supporting Actor nomination for Black Panther and a SAG win for "Outstanding Cast" shared with everyone else in Black Panther. That's it! Nothing for Creed at all from the majors and very little for Black Panther both of which he was so deserving for. Frustrating. But he's in demand and only 34 so surely some awards bait material will soon pop up.
Bonus Birthday Suit: Avan Jogia (anyone else miss "Now Apocalypse"?other showbiz birthdays today: Avan Jogia (Tut, Zombieland Double Tap) pictured left in Now Apocalypse, Zhang Ziyi (The Grand Master, Crouching Tiger), Japanese Director Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering With You), Tom Hiddleston (Thor, The Deep Blue Sea), Michael B Jordan (Creed, Black Panther), Oscar winner Ronald Colman (A Double Life, Random Harvest), Carmen Miranda (The Gangs All Here, Something for the Boys), Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones, The Last Witch Hunter), Oscar nominee Peggy Wood (The Sound of Music), Oscar winner Joe Pesci (Goodfellas, The Irishman), Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero, Brand New Testament), Ciarán Hinds (The Woman in Black, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Margarita Levieva (Adventureland, The Diary of a Teenage Girl), Emmy and Tony winner Judith Light (Who's The Boss?, Transparent), Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby, Broadway Danny Rose), Charles Shaughnessy (The Magicians, The Nanny), Director Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe, Evil Dead), Oscar nominee Janet Suzman (Nicholas & Alexanda, A Day in the Life of Joe Egg), Kathryn Grayson (Kiss Me Kate, Showboat), director Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas, Freeheld), stuntwoman Heidi Moneymaker (frequent Scarlett Johansson double) singer songwriter Carole King, and supermodel Amber Valletta.