1st           1933
Laurence Olivier, who made his debut in American films as Julian Rolphe in “The Yellow Ticket” (1931), arrived in Los Angeles to co-star with Swedish actress Greta Garbo in “Queen Cristina”. But Greta didn’t like him and wanted John Gilbert for her leading man. What Greta wanted, Greta got!

2nd          1966
“Alfie” the British film starring Michael Caine received a Production Code seal despite the use of the word “abortion”.

4th           1952
Two years before he died, Will Hays informed Columbia that stars Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster must wear bathrobes in their love scene on the beach. The studio ignored the edict and the scene became one of the most famous in cinema history.

5th            1955
Carmen Miranda, fiery Brazilian singer/dancer, died suddenly after a heart attack onstage during Jimmy Durante’s live television show.

11th          1941
Rita Hayworth wore a negligee in Life magazine and the picture became the second most popular pin-up in WWII. Betty Grable, looking over her shoulder in a bathing suit was first!

12th           1920
Actress Olympe Bradna was born backstage of the famous Olympia Theater in Paris where her parents were showing a dog act.

14th           1955
“The Phenix City Story” was released. The movie was based on a true story about a murder and actor John McIntyre, who played the victim, actually wore the very same clothes the dead man was wearing when he was killed.

15th          1935
Humorist Will Rogers and his pilot pal Wiley Post were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.

16th           1956
Bela Lugosi, the screen’s most famous Dracula, died at 74. Obsessed with his screen image, the actor asked to be buried in his vampire cape.

17th           1942
Clark Gable shaved off his famous moustache at the Army Air Corps. Officers Candidate School. It was against regulations.

21st            1952
John Ford’s “The Quiet Man” opened at the Capitol Theater. It is considered by many to be John Wayne’s finest work. The movie also included stellar performances by Maureen O’Hara and Victor McLaglen.

26th           1978
Actor Charles Boyer committed suicide after the death of his wife of 44 years and just 2 days before his 81st birthday. His only child, Michael, committed suicide in 1965.

27th           1911
A fire in a movie theater in Canonsburg, PA., Perry Como’s hometown, caused a panic and resulted in the deaths of 25 people..

28th           1969
Darryl Zanuck became CEO of 20th Century Fox and his son Richard took over the presidency. One year later Darryl fired him.

29th           1982
Oscar-winning actress Ingrid Bergman died of cancer on her 67th birthday.

30th           1945
Cary Grant and Barbara Hutton (dubbed Cash & Cary) were divorced…the star took no alimony from the heiress.

1949
Variety reported that drive-in theaters were the only unsegregated entertainment places in the South.

1st            1944
“Arsenic and Old Lace”, the screen version of Joseph Kesselring’s hit Broadway play, premiered at the Strand. The Frank Capra film starred Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Jack Carson, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre. It also showcased stage actresses Josephine Hull and Jean Adair in their original roles as the murderous aunties.

2nd            1934
Actor/composer/singer Russ Columbo died at the age of 26 from an accidental gunshot wound. The circumstances were so bizarre that they were under question for some time. (see Readers Page).

5th            1935
“Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds”, Gene Autry’s first starring western at Republic Studios, was released to theaters. The film cost $18, 000 to make but went on to gross over $1 million.

                 1941
In Paris, France Maria Montez, exotic actress and wife of French actor Jean Pierre Aumont, died of a heart attack while taking a bath. She was 34.

7th            1957
The jury in the case of Maureen O’Hara vs. Confidential Magazine checked the seating in Grauman’s Chinese Theater where the scandal sheet stated the actress was making out with a Latin lover. Maureen won and the gossip magazine had to pay reparation for libeling her.

8th            1935
The Hoboken Four appeared on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show. They got an ovation that rocked the room and Bowes signed them to a contract of $50 apiece plus meals. Their lead singer was a skinny little guy named Frank Sinatra.

10th           1971
Pier Angeli, Paul Newman’s co-star in “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (1956) took her own life with an overdose of drugs.

17th           1997
Red Skelton, one of America’s most beloved comedians, died of pneumonia at 84.

19th           1928
The premiere of All Jolson’s second talking picture “The Singing Fool” made a whopping $15.5 million , a mammoth box office haul for that era.

21st           1921
Universal announced it would add a morality clause to all actor contracts to forestall any more scandals like the Fatty Arbuckle fiasco.

22nd         1955
James Dean finished his last scene for the epic movie “Giant” and planned to sign for the role of Rocky Graziano in “Somebody Up There Likes Me”.But 8 days later Dean was killed in the crash of his new Porsche and Paul Newman got the Rocky role.

24th            1925
Variety, the must –read trade paper for show business, added a new page for a new medium….radio!

25th            1941
Although America was not yet in WWII, the film industry gave moral support to its future ally. The star-studded premiere of “A Yank in the RAF “ was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater with Tyrone Power, Betty Grable and Irving Berlin among the attendees.

27th             1922
Nat Deverick’s “Power of Love” premiered at the Ambassador Hotel Theater. The photography was done in an early form of 3-D developed by Harry K. Fairsall 30 years before the process was perfected.