Showbiz History: Carole Lombard, Donny & Marie, Marwen Kenzari

6 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...

1942 Movie star Carole Lombard, then married to the "King of Hollywood" Clark Gable, tragically dies in a plane crash on the way home from a war bond rally. She was just 33 but thankfully left behind stone cold comedy classics like Nothing Sacred, My Man Godfrey, and her last film, released posthumously, To Be Or Not To Be...

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Showbiz History: Batman's debut and JLaw's second Globe win

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...

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Showbiz History: Hurston's work, Nicole's night, and Fame's debut

7 random things that happened on this day, January 7th, in showbiz history

1891 Best-selling author Zora Neale Hurston is born in Alabama. Where's her biopic? Hell, where are the movies based on her books and plentiful short stories? The only movie length adaptation has been the TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005). 

1971 Today is the big "5-0" for Jeremy Renner, twice Oscar nominated (The Hurt Locker, The Town), but whose promising gifts were completely swallowed up by a desire to become a franchise star which was both successful in a supporting sense (9 years and counting as Hawkeye in the MCU) and not in the headliner sense (Mission: Impossible... Tom Cruise quickly taking the franchise back, Hansel & Gretel... one and done, The Bourne Legacy... Matt Damon quickly taking the franchise back)...

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Showbiz History: 12 Years a Slave, Mama Rose, and More...

5 random things that happened on this day, January 4th, in history...

1853 New York born Solomon Northup regains his freedom after abduction and enslavery in 1841 in Washington DC. The abolitionist thankfully recorded his life story in the memoir 12 Years a Slave which became an instant best-seller. Over a century and a half later, the film version by the British auteur Steve McQueen deservedly won the 2013 Best Picture Oscar. 

1903 A horrific end to a story of animal cruelty and a shameful event in the then nascent film-industry, too. Topsy, a 27 or so year-old elephant, who was ripped from her family as a baby in Southeast Asia and never adjusted well to life in the America circus, is famously electrocuted in Coney Island...

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Showbiz History: Traffic, Show Boat, and Gérard Depardieu

7 random things that happened on this day, December 27th, in showbiz history

1927 Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's "Show Boat" opens on Broadway. It will utterly change the musical artform linking plot and characters and song in a way that had never been done. Plus it has truly amazing songs. Here's a good 5 minute overview of how revolutionary it was. It's had three film versions but honestly it seems ripe for a remake given today's much more evolved takes on race relations and appropriate casting processes. In short Hollywood is always remaking the wrong projects and ignoring famous but non-definitively made titles that are perfect for redos...

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