1960s Timeline

Aug. 31, 1961 - Twentieth Century-Fox has "indefinitely postponed" its multimillion dollar production of "The Greatest Story Ever Told," Spyros P. Skouras, president of Fox, said today. Mr. Skouras declined to give a reason for the postponement. One probable conflict is a rival film based on the life of Jesus, "King of Kings," which MGM will release in October. It is understood that more than $3 million had already been spent on "The Greatest Story." Max von Sydow, Swedish ac

Aug. 30, 1961 - Charles Coburn (pictured with Marilyn Monroe in 1953), whose career in show business covered 68 years, died today of heart failure at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital. He was 84 years old. In 1943, Mr. Coburn won an Academy Award for a supporting role in "The More the Merrier," a light satire of housing conditions in wartime Washington. He was an Oscar nominee for two other pictures, "The Green Years" (1946) and "The Devil and Miss Jones" (1941). Other films in

Aug. 29, 1961 - "The Great War," an Italian-made drama, is opening at New York's Trans-Lux Theatre (with subtitles). Vittorio Gassman and Silvana Mangano have leading roles in the release directed by Mario Monicelli. The film tells the story of an odd couple of army buddies in World War I. While played on a comedic register, it does not hide from viewers the horrors of trench warfare. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovies #celebrities #foreignfilm

Aug. 28, 1961 - Rex Harrison has been signed to portray Julius Caesar in 20th Century-Fox’s "Cleopatra," which director Joseph Mankiewicz will place before the cameras on Sept. 18 in Rome. The British actor will join a cast that so far includes Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Roddy McDowall. Mr. Harrison was last seen on the big screen last year in "Midnight Lace" with Doris Day and John Gavin. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovies #celebriti

Aug. 27, 1961 - Ingrid Thulin, one of the leading actresses in Sweden, will star in "Intermezzo" over the NBC-TV network on Nov. 19 from 10 to 11 p.m. Miss Thulin, a member of director Ingmar Bergman's "varsity," will be making her television debut in this country. She will play a role that was filled by another Swedish actress, Ingrid Bergman, in the 1939 film "Intermezzo." The TV drama will be adapted from the David O. Selznick movie. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #

Aug. 27, 1961 - Gail Russell, film actress, was found dead in her Los Angeles apartment today. The body of the 36-year-old wife of Guy Madison, TV and film actor, was found by two neighbors because they had not seen her for several days. The body was found on the living room floor. The police said there was an empty vodka bottle near the body and several other empty vodka bottles in the kitchen and bedroom. Miss Russell, who was named in 1947 as a critics' selection for "star

Aug. 25, 1961 - Jane Fonda and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. have been cast in "The Chapman Report," a Technicolor drama by Warner Brothers that will be directed by George Cukor. Based on the best-selling novel by Irving Wallace that was inspired by the Kinsey Report, the film follows the personal lives of four women (Claire Bloom, Jane Fonda, Shelley Winters, and Glynis Johns) with four separate sexual neuroses, ranging from frigidity to nymphomania. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. plays a resea

Aug. 25, 1961 - Mercedes McCambridge, actress, is being sued for divorce by her husband, Fletcher Markle, movie director and producer. Mr. Markle filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court today. Miss McCambridge, who won an Oscar for her performance in "All the King's Men" (1949), has battled alcoholism, and she has been hospitalized several times after bouts of heavy drinking. She married Mr. Markle in 1950. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #films #classicmovie

Aug. 24, 1961 - "40 Pounds of Trouble," a comedy film, will be the first feature that Curtleigh Productions, Tony Curtis's independent company, will make for Universal release. The film will be directed by Hollywood newcomer Norman Jewison and will star Mr. Curtis and Suzanne Pleshette. The film is a retelling of Damon Runyon's 1932 short story "Little Miss Marker." Hilarity ensues when a casino manager spends a day at Disneyland with a cute but troublesome little girl. #movi

Aug. 24, 1961 - Robert F. Six, president of Continental Air Lines, and Audrey Meadows, the actress best known for her role as Alice Kramden on the CBS-TV show "The Honeymooners," were married today in Honolulu. The marriage was the third for Mr. Six and the second for Miss Meadows. Mr. Six's second wife was Ethel Merman, the singer. Miss Meadows said she would continue her television and motion work. She has a role in the comedy romance, "That Touch of Mink," currently filmin

Aug. 23, 1961 - Darryl F. Zanuck's "The Big Gamble," a drama set on the Ivory Coast of Africa, will be the next attraction at New York's Paramount Theatre, following the current "Marines, Let's Go!" Stephen Boyd, Juliette Greco, and David Wayne are featured in the 20th Century-Fox release, which was directed by Richard Fleischer. The film follows the misadventures of an ambitious, unlucky Irishman who goes on a long and arduous trip to Africa along with his wife and bumbling

Aug. 23, 1961 - Sidney Lumet has been signed to direct the film version of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night." The film will be produced in New York next month, at a budget of $350,000. Mr. Lumet, who staged the adaptation of "The Iceman Cometh" last season for "The Play of the Week," recently returned from Paris, where he completed the direction of the film based on Arthur Miller's play, "A View from the Bridge." Eugene O'Neill posthumously received the 1957 Pu

Aug. 23, 1961 - Three stars of the New York Yankees made their Hollywood debuts today: Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Yogi Berra, who are in California for a series with the Los Angeles Angels. Normally blasé movie crew members could not wait to cluster around the ballplayers before shooting, after shooting, and during breaks in the filming of "That Touch of Mink." When the players had ended their hour-and-a-half of acting work, Berra grinned and remarked: "This is like stea

Aug. 22, 1961 - Anthony Quinn will play an Arab chief in "Lawrence of Arabia." The actor will interrupt his assignment in "Barrabas," now shooting in Rome, to report to Jordan for scenes with the director, David Lean. The epic historical drama film is based on the life of T.E. Lawrence and his 1926 book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom." Mr. Lawrence was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer, who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and th

Aug. 22, 1961 - Donnell Cooley (right), the musician and actor better known as Spade Cooley, was spared the gas chamber and sentenced to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of his wife, Ella May, 37. Judge William L. Bradshaw set the penalty for the 50-year-old "King of Western Swing" after the latter had withdrawn an insanity plea. On April 26, Mr. Cooley was indicted for the murder of his wife on April 3 at the couple's home near Willow Springs, California. Mr. Co

Aug. 22, 1961 - Alice Faye (pictured with José Ferrer), musical comedy star of the 1930s and '40s, will return to the screen after an absence of 16 years. She has been signed to portray the mother of Pat Boone and Pamela Tiffin in the 20th Century-Fox remake of "State Fair." It is the role played by Louise Dresser in the 1932 version and by Fay Bainter in the 1945 version. Miss Faye had left her career as a film actress in the 1940s and became known for her role on the radio

Aug. 21, 1961 - "El Cid," a historical film spectacle with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, will open at New York's Warner Theatre on a reserved-seat basis on Dec. 14. Anthony Mann directed the MGM release, which also features Raf Vallone, Genovieve Page, Hurd Hatfield, and Herbert Lom. The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies

Aug. 19, 1961 - Opening in local theatres this week is "The Young Doctors," a drama film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Ben Gazzara, Fredric March, Dick Clark, Eddie Albert, and George Segal. The film is based on the 1959 novel "The Final Diagnosis" by Arthur Hailey. The medical drama, which takes place at a fictional New York City hospital, was made with the cooperation and approval of the American Medical Association. #movienight #movietime #movie #movies #film #film

Aug. 18, 1961 - Josephine Baker, American-born music-hall star, was decorated today as a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor for her work in the Resistance during the German Occupation in World War II. During the war, Miss Baker surreptitiously obtained information on the Axis powers which she then relayed to the Allies. She also went on missions to Morocco and Algeria for the French underground. Senior service officers, friends from the theatre world and Miss Baker's 11

Aug. 18, 1961 - This week's new film is "The Pit and the Pendulum," a Panavision horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Barbara Steele. The film is loosely inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 short story. Set in 16-century Spain, the story is about a young Englishman who visits a forbidding castle to investigate his sister's mysterious death. After a series of horrific revelations, ghostly appearances and violent deaths, the young man becomes strap