8 random things that happened on this day (November 23rd) in showbiz history
Paul Newman as Billy the Kid
1859 Billy the Kid, future outlaw and movie inspiration was maybe born on this day (there's disagreement on that front). Numerous westerns would feature the gunslinger as a character, sometimes as hero sometimes as villain, who was orphaned at 15 and a wanted outlaw by 16. He's been played on film or television by numerous stars who were usually much older than the actual "kid" (given that he was killed at just 21 years of age), including but not limited to: Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, Dane DeHaan, Emilio Estevez, and of course Paul Newman in The Left-Handed Gun (1958).
1923 Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments premieres. He would of course remake it as the infinitely better-remembered 1956 classic of the same name...
1934 Romantic drama The Painted Veil starring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall opens in movie theaters. It's later remade (quite well!) in 2006 with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton.
1963 Beloved Sci-fi franchise Doctor Who premieres on TV with the pilot episode "An Unearthly Child". The series will run for 26 seasons and then return a couple decades later for another 13 and counting. William Hartnell (pictured above) was the first of many Doctors.
1988 The Bill Murray Christmas comedy "Scrooged" opens in movie theaters. Carol Kane was awesome as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The film received one Oscar nomination for Best Makeup.
1993 Mrs Doubtfire released becoming a mega-smash
2005 Rent the misfire screen adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon opens.
2018 Japan's Shoplifters and the UK's The Favourite both open in movie theaters in limited release. They were both well received by Oscar voters and they were both nominated for Best Picture here at the Film Bitch Awards, with The Favourite taking the gold medal (see the snapshot above).
Today's Birthday Suit
Happy 42nd to still underlusted-after hottie Iranian-British Kayvan Novak (Sirens, Four Lions, Syriana) who has been sexy for a long time but is now more likely to make people hurt from laughing on the brilliant vampiric comedy series What We Do in the Shadows. What I want to know is, given the Emmy showing of that series this recent awards season, will the cast finally get nominations next summer?
Other actors celebrating birthdays to date: Ricky Whittle (39), Tim Chiou (41), Joi Johannson (49), Oded Fehr (50), Robin Padilla (51), Vincent Cassel (54), Michelle Gomez (54), Maxwell Caulfield (61), Jeannie Bell (77), and Franco Nero (79)
Bonus suit: Boris Karloff glamour shotOther showbiz types celebrating birthdays to day: Pop star Miley Cyrus (28), Model Matthieu Charneau (32), Director Destin Daniel Cretton (42), Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (55), Personality Robin Roberts (60), Musician Bruce Hornsby (66), Seantor Chuck Schumer (70), Comic Bruce Vilanch (72), Director/Screenwriter James Toback (76), Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (76), Writer/Director/Screenwriter Robert Towne (86)
Gone but not forgotten: Horror icon Boris Karloff (The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein) born on this day in 1887, Harpo Marx (Duck Soup) born on this day in 1888, Michael Gough (Batman, Top Secret) born on this day in 1916, Actress Nadia Gray (La Dolce Vita) born on this day in 1923, Oscar winning songwriter Johnny Mandel (MASH, The Sandpiper) born on this day in 1925, Actress Susan Anspach (Five Easy Pieces, Play it Again Sam) born on this day in 1942, and actress Dominique Dunne (Poltergeist) born on this day in 1959.