15th – 21st February: Discover This Fascinating Week in Film History

This week we cover the period between 15th – 21st February 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.

American actor John Barrymore, famous for his role in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

15th February, 1882

American actor Adolphe Menjou, famous for his roles in The Front Page and A Star is Born, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

18th February, 1890

American actor Louis Calhern, famous for his roles in Julius Caesar and Blackboard Jungle, was born in New York City

19th February, 1895

Austrian-American actress Celia Lovsky, famous for her roles in 36 Hours and Soylent Green, was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary

21st February, 1897

British actor Bramwell Fletcher, famous for his roles in White Cargo, Random Harvest and The Mummy, was born in Bradford, Yorkshire

20th February, 1904

American actor Cesar Romero, famous for playing the Joker in Batman ’66 and his role in Ocean’s 11, was born in New York City

15th February, 1907

American actor Kevin McCarthy, famous for his roles in Invasion of Body Snatchers and Death of a Salesman, was born in Seattle, Washington

15th February, 1914

British comedian and actor Richard “Dick” Emery, famous for his roles in Ooh… You Are Awful, The Big Job andYellow Submarine, was born in London, England

19th February, 1917

American actor Lee Marvin, famous for his roles in The Dirty Dozen, Paint Your Wagon and Cat Ballou, was born in New York City

19th February, 1924

American screenwriter, producer and director Robert Altman, famous for his films The Player, M*A*S*H and Nashville, was born in Kansas City, Missouri

20th February, 1925

Silent film It, directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno, was released in the U.S.

15th February, 1927

Bahamian-American Sidney Poitier, the first black actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor, famous for his roles in In the Heat of the Night, To Sir, with Love and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, was born in Miami, Florida

20th February, 1927

American film director, screenwriter and producer Bob Rafelson, famous for his films Five Easy Pieces, The King of Marvin Gardens and The Postman Always Rings Twice, was born in New York City

21st February, 1933

Bringing Up Baby, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, was released in the U.S.

16th February, 1938

English actor Alan Rickman, most famous for his role in Die Hard and performance as Prof. Snape in the Harry Potter franchise, was born in Hammersmith, London

21st February, 1946

British actor Anthony Daniels, famous for his role as C-3PO in the Star Wars films, was born in Salisbury, England

21st February, 1946

Walt Disney’s animated film Cinderella premiered in Boston, Massachusetts

15th February, 1950

American film director John Hughes, famous for his films including The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, was born in Lansing, Michigan

18th February, 1950

British actress Jane Seymour, famous for her roles in Live and Let Die, Somewhere in Time and Dr Quinn, was born in London, England

15th February, 1951

The African Queen, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was released in the U.S.

20th February, 1952

American actor John Travolta, famous for his roles in Grease, Pulp Fiction and Face/Off, was born in Englewood, New Jersey

18th February, 1954

American actor Jeff Daniels, famous for his roles in Dumb & Dumber, Speed and The Martian, was born in Athens, Georgia

19th February, 1955

Filipino-American actor and film director Lou Diamond Phillips, famous for his roles in La Bamba, Young Guns and Stand & Deliver, was born at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines

17th February, 1962

English actor Christopher Eccleston, famous for his roles in Gone in Sixty Seconds, 28 Days Later and Shallow Grave, was born in Salford, England

16th February, 1964

American actor Matt Dillon, famous for his roles in The Outsiders and Crash, was born in New Rochelle, New York

18th February, 1964

American film director Michael Bay, famous for his films Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Transformers, was born in Los Angeles, California

17th February, 1965

Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, famous for his roles in Licence to Kill, The Usual Suspects and Sicario, was born in San Germán, Puerto Rico

19th February, 1967

British actor Donald Wolfit, famous for his roles in Lawrence of Arabia, Becket and Accursed, died aged 65

17th February, 1968

American actor Tim Holt, famous for his role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, died aged 54

15th February, 1973

American actor Mahershala Ali, famous for his roles in Moonlight and The Green Book, was born in Oakland, California

16th February, 1974

American character actor Andy Devine, famous for his roles in Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and Stagecoach, died aged 71

18th February, 1977

American actress Charlotte Greenwood, famous for her roles in Oklahoma and Moon over Miami, died aged 84

18th February, 1978

American actor, comedian and director Jordan Peele, famous for his films Us and Get Out, was born in New York City

21st February, 1979

Austrian acting coach and actor Lee Strasberg, famous for his roles in The Godfather: Part II and Somewhere in the Night, died aged 80

17th February, 1982

American actress Haylie Duff, famous for her roles in 7th Heaven and Napoleon Dynamite, was born in Houston, Texas

19th February, 1985

American actor Paul Stewart, famous for his roles in Citizen Kane and Kiss Me Deadly, died aged 77

19th February, 1986

Canadian actor Elliot Page, famous for his roles in Juno, Inception and Hard Candy, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia

21st February, 1987

British actress Bonnie Wright, famous for her roles as Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, was born in London, England

17th February, 1991

The U.S. movie box office hits quickest $1 billion for a single year (51 days)

20th February, 1998

American film critic Gene Siskel, who hosted a series of movie review programs with Roger Ebert since 1975, died aged 53

20th February, 1999

Irish actor Daniel “Dan” O’Herlihy, famous for his roles in Twin Peaks, Fail Safe, The Last Starfighter and Robocop, died of natural causes aged 85

17th February, 2005

American actor Walker Edmiston, famous for his roles in The Great Mouse Detective, Dick Tracy and The Transformers: The Movie, died aged 81

15th February, 2007

Toshiba announces its formal recall of its HD DVD video format, ending the format war between it and Sony’s Blu-Ray Disc

19th February, 2008

Kristen Stewart is the first American actress to win a French César Award as Best Supporting Actress for Clouds of Sils Maria

20th February, 2015

American actress Rachel Welch known for her roles in One Million Years B.C. and The Three Musketeers, died aged 82

15th February, 2023

Well there we have our picks for this week in film history between 15th – 21st February.

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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