Showbiz History: Brooke's jeans, Cuckoo's statues, Aishwarya's crown
Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 9:00AM 8 random things that happened on this day, November 19th, in showbiz history...
1916 Goldwyn Pictures Corporations was established in Hollywood by Samuel Goldwyn. It's actually here and not with MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) that the 'Leo the Lion' trademark began... though of course in the silent films you didn't hear the lion's roar. The company was defunct by 1924 but it has lived on in many formed, merging with Metro to become MGM and the Goldwyn family is still in business with Samuel Goldwyn Films. They're next releases are the Andrea Riseborough indie Luxor and Denmark's Oscar submission Another Round starring Mads Mikkelsen.
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is released. The following March it becomes only the second film in history to win the "Big Five" Oscar categories...
Picture, Director, Screenplay, and both Lead Acting categories. (The first was It Happened One Night, 1934, and it's happened only once since then with Silence of the Lambs for 1991). We hope its reputation isn't tainted with that stupid Ratched series on Netflix.
1980 Brooke Shields infamous 1980 Calvin Klein ad "do you wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins?" is banned from CBS for its sexual suggestiveness (on Calvin Klein's 38th birthday no less). But that was only one of many commercials 15 year-old Brooke did in 1980 for the controversy-courting designer. The campaign sent jean sales skyrocketing and made Brooke Shields, already famous from teen modelling and the 1978 movie Pretty Baby, a household name. The Blue Lagoon a big box office hit the same year only added to her celebrity. Cultural norms really do change over time. Can you imagine the outcry now if a teenager had that sort of career, making two erotic dramas back to back (Blue Lagoon / Endless Love) that were released wide in movie theaters from major studios? Both films received negative reviews but were box office hits and each received a sole Oscar nomination, Cinematography and Song respectively.
1982 Meryl Streep gets her first post stardom flop with the thriller Still of the Night, new in theaters, but it's just a blip because Sophie's Choice follows it into theaters a month later and you know what happened there.
1993 The brilliant Addams Family Values, one of the best comedies of its decade, opens in theaters. Joan Cusack and Christina Ricci are robbed of Oscar noms for their totally inspired comic inventiveness and endlessly quotable line deliveries.
Aishwarya Rai at the Miss World pageant in 1994
1994 Aishwarya Rai, three years prior to Bollywood movie stardown, is crowned Miss World
2010 A very British weekend at the movies. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 opens in wide release while Made in Dagenham opens in limited.
2021 Exacty a year from now the family tennis drama King Richard (about Serena and Venus Williams and their father Richard) starring Will Smith and Mission Impossible 7 (Untitled) starring Tom Cruise are both slated to open.
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 58th to Jodie Foster. We can't be the only ones who miss her.
Other Actors Celebrating Birthdays Today: Felíx Lefebvre star of this year's French Oscar submission finalist Summer of 85 (21), Laura Osnes (35), Adam Driver (37), Eric Nenniger (42), Reid Scott (47), Sandrine Holt (48), Erica Alexander (51), Jason Scott Lee (54), Meg Ryan (59), Allison Janney (61), and Kathleen Quinlan (66)
Other Showbiz People with Birthdays Today: Director Barry Jenkins (41), Dancer Savion Glover (47), Director Paul Weitz (55), Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (62), News personality Ann Curry (64), Designer Calvin Klein (78), and talk show hosts Dick Cavett (84) and Larry King (87)
Gone but not forgotten: Oscar nominated actor Clifton Webb (Laura, Sitting Pretty, The Razor's Edge) born on this day in 1889, Oscar nominated actress Nancy Carroll (The Devil's Holiday) born on this day in 1903, Voice artist Eleanor Audley (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) born on this day in 1905, Actor Alan Baxter (Paint Your Wagon, Saboteur) born on this day in 1908, movie star Gene Tierney (Laura, Leave Her to Heaven) born on this day in 1920 (MORE ON HER LATER), TV star Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Addams) born on this day in 1942, and singer/actress Ofra Haza ("Im nin alu") born on this day in 1957.
Reader Comments (8)
I really miss Jodie,I watched her GG acceptence speech from a few years back and hope she fulfills the promise to do some quieter movies.
Love Jodie... I admired her intellectual cool so much as a teen.
OHHH does this mean a celebration of Gene Tierney's centennial!! Can't wait!
Nancy Carroll needs a reassessment. I've seen several of her films over the last year and she was quite a striking film performer, bright and lively. Somewhat akin to Clara Bow, maybe not as dazzling but someone whose work should be better known.
Wow, Paul Weitz is old! (I kid.)
Whenever I see these, I imagine movies starring the birthday boys and girls. And now I want a movie starring Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan and Allison Janney. Adam Driver, Jason Scott Lee, and Kathleen Quinlan can have supporting roles. Get Laura Osnes on the soundtrack. Make it happen, world!
Yeah, those Calvin Klein commercials wouldn't fly right now and watching them now. It feels wrong.
Joan Cusack and Christina Ricci were great in Addams Family Values. I saw it with my sister who was 10 at the time and to this day, we're still disappointed we never saw that dumb blonde bitch be burned onscreen. I think the reason why is because the camp had all of these bland white kids be the hot shit while those who don't fit in whether they're short, fat, and not-white were the ones who were treated like shit yet eventually got their revenge. For a couple of us Hispanic kids at that time, it was like "YES!"
Sitting Pretty is a hilarious and solid comedy with an absurd premise with the character of Clifton Webb becoming a babysitter for the three sons of Maureen O'Hara and Robert Young. A babysitter with somewhat exotic methods (who declares that he detests children).
The movie was a great success and the character became so popular that he returned in two more films and gave Webb an Oscar nomination as leading actor after two nominations as supporting actor. Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox never understood Clifton Webb's success with the audience playing unsympathetic roles, gentlemen with superior attitude - the secret was that Webb made these characters fun, charming to the public, even when, on paper, they weren't. The Boss, grudgingly, ended up producing films and looking for characters for the actor who had a series of hits like Cheaper By The Dozen (50), Titanic (53) and Three Coins in The Fountain (54) and starred opposite stars like Ginger Rogers, Myrna Loy and Barbara Stanwick.
Brooke Shields, one of the most beautiful human beings to set foot on Showbiz. If she was the face of the '80s, then what a beautiful decade it must have been. And as impressive as Brooke's beauty is the imitation of a young Catherine O'Hara for SCTV. Young Catherine resembles young Madeline Kahn and both resemble Rachel McAdams.
Still talking about beautiful human beings, Gene Tierney, beautiful and talented and with a dramatic life. Someone described her as "the girl who had everything and from whom everything was taken." Or something like this.
Aishwarya Rai, another beautiful human being, who is the star of a Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice called Bride and Prejudice that I recommend for those who like romcoms. Besides Rai are in the cast Martin Henderson, Daniel Gillies, Naveen Andrews, Alexis Bledel and Marsha Mason.
This year, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is in good position to actually win the big 5, as well. However, I don't think it's going to win anything beyond Actor and Adapted Screenplay. Original and Director are Mank's, and Picture and Actress seem to me like Nomadland's.
Let's wait and see.