1960s Timeline

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Jun 19

Frank Borzage, Academy Award Winning Director, Dead at 69

June 19, 1962 - Frank Borzage (pictured with Marlene Dietrich in 1936), Academy Award-winning motion-picture director, died today after a long illness. He was 69 years old. Mr. Borzage won the first director’s Oscar in 1927 for “Seventh Heaven,” which starred Janet Gaynor (right), and another in 1931 for “Bad Girl,” with Sally Eilers and James Dunn. Last February, he received the D.W. Griffith Award of the Director’s Guild of America, that group’s highest honor. A former prop

Jun 19

Movies: "Hatari!"

June 19, 1962 - Opening today is “Hatari,” an adventure romantic comedy film directed by Howard Hawks that stars John Wayne as the leader of a group of professional game catchers in Africa. It was shot in Technicolor and filmed on location in northern Tanganyika. The film includes dramatic wildlife chases and the scenic backdrop of Mount Meru, a dormant volcano. Also in the cast are Red Buttons, Elsa Martinelli, and Hardy Krüger. The musical score is by Henry Mancini. #classi

Jun 19

Movies: "The Music Man"

June 19, 1962 - Opening in local theatres today is “The Music Man,” a musical film directed and produced by Morton DaCosta, based on Meredith Willson’s 1957 Broadway musical of the same name. Robert Preston reprises the title role from the stage version, starring alongside Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Ron Howard, and Paul Ford. Traveling con artist Harold Hill (Preston) targets the naïve residents of a small town in 1910s Iowa by posing as a boys' band leader to raise money

Jun 18

Edward G. Robinson Stricken with Heart Attack

June 18, 1962 - Edward G. Robinson (pictured in 1952), stricken with a heart attack while on film location near the Tanganyika border in Africa, was flown to a hospital in Nairobi today. Although the 68-year-old actor vowed he would be “back on the set tomorrow,” a spokesman for the unit now shooting sequences for “Sammy Going South” said Mr. Robinson would be in the hospital for at least four days. Mr. Robinson, who won fame playing tough-talking gangster roles, was stricken

Jun 16

Sidney Lumet Will Direct "The Pawnbroker"

June 16, 1962 - The first production of an independent production team headed by Roger H. Lewis and Philip Langner will be “The Pawnbroker.” Sidney Lumet will direct the screenplay by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin that was adapted by the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant. Rod Steiger (pictured) will portray the title role of a Polish Jew whose family has been killed in a Nazi concentration camp and who sets up shop in Harlem as a pawnbroker front for gangster

Jun 15

Janet Leigh Files for Divorce from Tony Curtis

June 15, 1962 - Actress Janet Leigh filed for divorce today from her estranged husband, actor Tony Curtis, charging “extreme cruelty.” They separated March 17 but expressed hopes for a reconciliation. According to lawyer Marvin Meyer, a property settlement has been reached, and the suit will not be contested. The film stars were married in 1951 and are the parents of two daughters, Kelly (second from left) and Jamie (right). #classicmovies #1960s #OTD

Jun 14

Movies: "That Touch of Mink"

June 14, 1962 - Opening today is “That Touch of Mink,” a comedy romance film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young, and Audrey Meadows. Cary Grant was a big fan of the CBS show “The Honeymooners” and Audrey Meadows in particular, and he was responsible for getting her a role in the film. A rich businessman (Grant) and a young woman (Day) are attracted to each other. He wants an affair, while she wants to save herself for marriage. #classicmovi

Jun 14

Blake Edwards' New Company To Produce "The Pink Panther"

June 14, 1962 - Formation of an independent film company, G. and E. Productions, has been announced by Blake Edwards and Martyn Jurow, partners in the enterprise. They also disclosed plans for the organization’s first few projects. The initial film, beginning in November, will be “The Pink Panther,” a comedy starring David Niven (pictured right with Peter Sellers) to be made in Switzerland and France for the Mirisch Company and United Artists release. Afterward, “The Great Ra

Jun 13

Movies: "Merrill's Marauders"

June 13, 1962 - Opening in local theatres today is “Merrill’s Marauders,” a Technicolor war film, photographed in CinemaScope, and directed and co-written by Samuel Fuller. It is based on the exploits of the long-range penetration jungle warfare unit of the same name in the Burma campaign, culminating in the Siege of Myitkyina of 1944. The source is the nonfiction book “The Marauders,” written by Charlton Ogburn, Jr., a communications officer who served with Merrill's Maraude

Jun 13

Movies: "Lolita"

June 13, 1962 - Opening today is “Lolita,” a psychological comedy-drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the 1955 novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote the screenplay. The film follows Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged literature lecturer who becomes sexually infatuated with Dolores Haze (nicknamed "Lolita"), a young adolescent girl, with disastrous results. It stars James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, and Sue Lyon (pictured) as Lolita. #cl

Jun 13

Lee Remick Makes an Easy $100,000

June 13, 1962 - One of the most incredible by-products of the dispute between 20th Century-Fox and Marilyn Monroe over “Something’s Got to Give” is the story of Lee Remick’s position in the movie. Miss Remick (pictured with director George Cukor) was hired to replace Miss Monroe last Friday. On that day, Fox announced that Miss Monroe had been dismissed from the movie because of her absences from the set during filming in violation of her contract. Then Dean Martin, co-star i

Jun 12

Ava Gardner Returns to the Big Screen

June 12, 1962 - Ava Gardner is returning to the screen after a 3-year absence in a film being produced 16 miles from her home in Madrid. Samuel Bronston Productions said today that Miss Gardner had agree to play the leading female role in “55 Days at Peking.” Shooting will start about July 1. During the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, U.S. Marine Maj. Matt Lewis (Charlton Heston) and Sir Arthur Robertson (David Niven) develop a plan to keep the rebels at bay until an international mili

Jun 12

Mickey Rooney Files for Bankruptcy

June 12, 1962 - Mickey Rooney filed petitions of voluntary bankruptcy in Federal court today. The actor listed debts of $484,914 and assets of $500 worth of household goods and clothes. His biggest debt, he said, is $168,000 due on a personal loan from Fryman Enterprises of Beverly Hills. The IRS demands $106,686 in income taxes and the state of California $9,826 in state income taxes. Mr. Rooney lost $2,000 at horse races last year, his petitions showed, while he owes 3 of h

Jun 11

Fox Halts Shooting Indefinitely on "Something's Got To Give"

June 11, 1962 - Twentieth Century-Fox decided today to halt shooting indefinitely on “Something’s Got to Give,” from which it had dismissed Marilyn Monroe last Friday. The movie already has cost the studio $2 million. Production was suspended after a hectic day during which Peter G. Lavathes, executive vice president in charge of studio operations, tried to persuade Dean Martin to continue in the movie without Miss Monroe. The actor had notified the studio that he would not r

Jun 10

Movies: "The Longest Day"

June 10, 1962 - “The Longest Day,” the 20th Century-Fox version of Cornelius Ryan’s book about the Allied landings in Normandy, will open on Oct. 4 at the Warner Theatre. The Darryl F. Zanuck production runs for three hours and fifteen minutes and will be presented on a reserved-seat basis. #classicmovies #1960s #OTD #wwii

Jun 10

Movies: "Mutiny on the Bounty"

June 10, 1962 - “Mutiny on the Bounty” is reaching the end of an extended and expensive production journey. The remake will have its world premiere “about Nov. 1,” according to MGM. This will end a screen saga that began three years ago. The project, first announced on Nov. 1, 1959, was filmed in Tahiti and at the Metro studio in Culver City, Calif., starting in November 1960. It is the costliest ever turned out by the company; estimates run from $17 to $20 million. Productio

Jun 9

Dean Martin Quits "Something's Got to Give"

June 9, 1962 - Dean Martin quit the movie “Something’s Got to Give” today because Marilyn Monroe had been dismissed. “I have the greatest respect for Miss Lee Remick and her talent and all the other actresses who were considered for the role, but I signed to do the picture with Marilyn Monroe, and I will do it with no one else,” Mr. Martin declared. He notified 20th Century-Fox of his decision through the Music Corporation of America, his agency. The studio dismissed Miss Mon

Jun 9

Faye Dunaway Joins Cast of "A Man for All Seasons"

June 9, 1962 - Faye Dunaway (pictured with William Roderick), 22 years old, will play Margaret More in the Broadway production of Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for All Seasons” starting June 25. She replaces Olga Bellin. The play is based on the historical events leading up to the execution of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse Henry VIII’s wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who did not bear him a son, so that he could marry

Jun 8

Marilyn Monroe Fired from "Something's Got to Give"

June 8, 1962 - Marilyn Monroe was dismissed today by the head of the 20th Century-Fox studio from a movie she is making for the company. The film, “Something’s Got to Give,” was already far behind schedule. Peter G. Levathes, executive vice president in charge of operations at the studio, said that Miss Monroe had been absent repeatedly from the set without justification while it was being filmed. He charged the star with “breach of contract.” These absences, he declared, had

Jun 7

Actress Nancy Kwan Weds in London

June 7, 1962 - Nancy Kwan, the screen star, was married today in London to Peter Pock, Austrian hotel keeper and ski instructor, in a civil ceremony. The 23-year-old Eurasian star of “Suzy Wong” and “Flower Drum Song” wore a white silk dress. The 15-minute ceremony was performed by the Paddington superintendent registrar, A. James Rul. #classicmovies #1960s #OTD #wedding