11th – 17th January: Discover This Fascinating Week in Film History

This week we cover the period between 11th – 17th January as we look back at the the fascinating past of the film industry. We love to celebrate the history of cinema here at More Movies and we really enjoy delving into and highlighting some of the most interesting moments in the world of movies, including milestone releases, infamous events, births and deaths of the industry’s most notable characters, along with other historic happenings.

English actor Ernest Thesiger, famous for his roles in Bride of Frankenstein and The Ghoul, was born in London

15th January, 1879

American character actor Noah Beery, famous for his roles in Story of Esther and The Mark of Zorro, was born in Kansas City, Missouri

17th January, 1882

British actor George Zucco, famous for his roles in Fog Island and the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, was born in Manchester, England

11th January, 1886

American actor John Hamilton, famous for his role in Superman, was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

16th January, 1887

German cinematographer and film director Karl Freund, famous for his films Dracula, I love Lucy and The Mummy, was born in Dvůr Králové, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire

16th January, 1890

Japanese film actor Kamatari Fujiwara, famous for his roles in Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo, was born in Tokyo, Japan

15th January, 1905

American actor Grant Withers, famous for his roles in Rio Grande, Oklahoma and Annie, was born in Pueblo, Colorado

17th January, 1905

American actor William Bendix, famous for his roles in Lifeboat, Babe Ruth Story and Life of Riley, was born in New York City

14th January, 1906

American actor Jeff Morrow, famous for his roles in The Robe, Union Pacific and Temperatures Rising, was born in New York City

13th January, 1907

German-American actress Luise Rainer, the first actor to win multiple Academy Awards , and famous for her roles in The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth, was born in Düsseldorf, Germany

12th January, 1910

American actress Patsy Kelly, famous for her roles in Rosemary’s Baby and North Ave Irregulars, was born in Brooklyn, New York

12th January, 1910

American actor Lloyd Bridges, famous for his roles in High Noon, Hot Shots! and Airplane!, was born in San Leandro, California

15th January, 1913

American model and actress Veda Ann Borg, famous for her roles in Kid Galahad, Avalanche and Accomplice, was born in Boston, Massachusetts

11th January, 1915

American actor Robert Stack, famous for his roles in The Untouchables, Unsolved Mysteries and Written on the Wind, was born in Los Angeles, California

13th January, 1919

Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio MGM, announced the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

11th January, 1927

American actor Mitchell Ryan, famous for his roles in Dark Shadows, Lethal Weapon and Chase, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio

11th January, 1928

American actor Gregory Walcott, famous for his roles in Plan 9 from Outer Space and 87th Precinct, was born in Wendell, North Carolina

13th January, 1928

Australian actor Rod Taylor, famous for his roles in The Birds and Time Machine, was born in Sydney, New South Wales

11th January, 1930

American actor James Earl Jones, most famous for voicing Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise as well as roles in Exorcist II and Soul Man, was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi

17th January, 1931

American actress Faye Dunaway, famous for her roles in Chinatown and Bonnie & Clyde, was born in Bascom, Florida

14th January, 1941

American actor Carl Weathers, famous for his role as Apollo Creed in Rocky, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana

14th January, 1948

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, film based on B. Traven’s novel, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, premiered in the United States

15th January, 1948

American film director John Carpenter, famous for the Halloween franchise and The Thing, was born in Carthage, New York

16th January, 1948

English actress & model Caroline Munro, famous for her roles in The Spy Who Loved Me and Maniac, was born in Windsor, Berkshire

16th January, 1949

American actress Kirstie Alley, famous for her roles in Star Trek II and Look Who’s Talking Too, was born in Wichita, Kansas

12th January, 1951

American animation director John Lasseter, most famous for helping to set up and lead Pixar Animation, was born in Hollywood, California

12th January, 1957

American actor Humphrey Bogart, famous for roles in Casablanca and Caine Mutiny, died of cancer aged 57

14th January, 1957

American actress Edna Purviance, famous for her roles in many Charlie Chaplin films and Sunnyside, died aged 61

13th January, 1958

Shooting begins on Dr No, the first James Bond film

16th January, 1962

Canadian-American actor Jim Carrey, famous for his roles in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dumb & Dumber and The Mask, was born in Ontario Canada

17th January, 1962

British actor Jason Connery, son of Sean Connery, famous for his roles in Robin of Sherwood, Nemo and Puss in Boots, was born in London, England

11th January, 1963

American producer, director and writer Steven Soderbergh, famous for his work on Ocean’s Eleven and Traffic, was born in Atlanta, Georgia

14th January, 1963

American actress Penelope Ann Miller, famous for her roles in Awakenings, Chaplin and Kindergarden Cop, was born in Los Angeles, California

13th January, 1964

American musician & filmmaker Rob Zombie, famous for the Halloween film remakes and House of 1000 Corpses, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts

12th January, 1965

British actress Emily Watson, famous for her roles in Corpse Bride, War Horse and Red Dragon, was born in Islington, London

14th January, 1967

American actor Jason Bateman, famous for his roles in Horrible Bosses, Dodgeball and Game Night, was born in Rye, New York

14th January, 1969

American actor John Dall, famous for his roles in The Corn is Green and Rope, died of a heart attack aged 50

15th January, 1971

English actor Orlando Bloom, famous for his roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and The Lord of the Rings franchise, was born in Canterbury, England

13th January, 1977

English-Australian actor Peter Finch, famous for his roles in Network, The Nun’s Story and Judith, died aged 60

14th January, 1977

English actor Michael Bates, famous for his roles in A Clockwork Orange and Salt & Pepper, died aged 57

11th January, 1978

American actress Beulah Bondi, famous for playing the mother of James Stewart in four films, Of Human Hearts, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life , died aged 88

11th January, 1981

British actor Bernard Lee, famous for his role as M in the James Bond movies, died aged 73

16th January, 1981

American actor Mason Gamble, famous for his role as Dennis the Menace, was born in Chicago, Illinois

16th January, 1986

American actor and dancer Ray Bolger, famous for his role as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, died aged 83

15th January, 1987

Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, famous for his roles in The Hunger Games films, was born in Melbourne, Victoria

13th January, 1990

American voice actress Betty Lou Gerson, famous for her work on 101 Dalmatians and Cinderella, died of a stroke aged 84

12th January, 1999

American actor Richard Crenna, famous for his roles in Rambo, Summer Rental and Sand Pebbles, died aged 76

17th January, 2003

Indian actor Amrish Puri, famous for his role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, died aged 72

12th January, 2005

American actress and singer Ruth Warrick, famous for her roles in Citizen Kane and All My Children, died aged 88

15th January, 2005

American actress Shelley Winters, famous for her roles in Lolita, A Place in the Sun and The Poseidon Adventure, died of heart failure aged 85

14th January, 2006

American-born Irish actor Patrick McGoohan, famous for his roles in Hell Drivers, Escape from Alcatraz and A Time To Kill, died aged 80

13th January, 2009

American actor Paul Picerni, famous for his roles in Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, House of Wax and The Untouchables, died aged 88

12th January, 2011

Swedish actress Anita Ekberg, famous for her roles in La Dolce Vita and War and Peace, died aged 83

11th January, 2015

English actor Alan Rickman, most famous for his role in Die Hard and performance as Prof. Snape in the Harry Potter franchise, died of cancer aged 69

14th January, 2016

American scriptwriter and author of The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty, died aged 89

12th January, 2017

American actor Bradford Dillman, famous for his roles in Piranha, Sudden Impact and Enforcer, died aged 87

16th January, 2018

American actress Yvette Mimieux famous for her roles in The Time Machine and The Back Hole died aged 80.

17th January, 2022

Well there we have our picks for this week in film history between 11th – 17th January.

Be sure to check back next week for some more fun film facts and tidbits. If you think we missed something important, be sure to let us know in the comments.

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