1970 in film
The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1970 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:Rank | Title | Studio | Box-office gross rental |
1 | Love Story | Paramount Pictures | $50,000,000 |
2 | Airport | Universal Pictures | $44,500,000 |
3 | M*A*S*H | 20th Century Fox | $30,000,000 |
4 | Patton | 20th Century Fox | $27,000,000 |
5 | Little Big Man | Warner Bros. | $15,000,000 |
6 | Woodstock | Warner Bros. | $14,500,000 |
7 | Tora! Tora! Tora! | 20th Century Fox | $13,700,000 |
8 | Ryan's Daughter | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | $13,400,000 |
9 | Catch-22 | Paramount Pictures | $12,300,000 |
10 | The Owl and the Pussycat | Columbia Pictures | $11,500,000 |
Events
- January 9 - Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, effectively ending his career.
- February 11 - The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, premieres in New York City. The film's soundtrack album, including Badfinger's "Come and Get It", is released on Apple Records.
- March 12 - Film debut of Ornella Muti in La moglie più bella 3 days after her 15th birthday.
- March 17 - The controversial film The Boys in the Band, directed by William Friedkin and based on Mart Crowley's hit off-Broadway play, opens in theaters.
- October 24 - Joan Crawford's final film, the low-budget horror picture Trog, opens in theaters.
- December 14 - John Lennon and Yoko Ono film Up Your Legs Forever with 367 participants in New York City.
- The IMAX motion picture projection system premieres at the Fuji Pavilion, at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan.
- In Culver City, California, MGM begins selling off its studio back lot property and movie props.
Awards
Notable films released in 1970
unless stated#
- 7 Plus Seven, a TV documentary directed by Michael Apted -
A
- The Act of the Heart, starring Geneviève Bujold and Donald Sutherland -
- The Adventurers, starring Candice Bergen, Bekim Fehmiu, Olivia de Havilland, Ernest Borgnine
- The Adventures of Gerard, starring Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach, Jack Hawkins
- Airport, directed by George Seaton, starring Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Jacqueline Bisset, Van Heflin, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes
- Alex in Wonderland, directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Donald Sutherland
- The American Soldier, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder -
- And Soon the Darkness, starring Pamela Franklin -
- Ann and Eve, starring Gio Petré, Marie Liljedahl and Francisco Rabal
- The Angel Levine, starring Zero Mostel and Harry Belafonte
- The Aristocats - an animated Disney film. Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, starring Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Gary Dubin, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Roddy Maude-Roxby, and Liz English
- Awakening of the Beast -
B
- The Baby Maker, starring Barbara Hershey and Sam Groom
- The Ballad of Cable Hogue, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Jason Robards and Stella Stevens
- Bartleby, starring Paul Scofield –
- The Bear and the Doll, starring Brigitte Bardot and Jean-Pierre Cassel -
- Bed and Board, directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud -
- Behold Homolka -
- The Beloved, starring Raquel Welch -
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes, starring James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans
- Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, directed by Russ Meyer, starring Dolly Read
- The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, directed by Dario Argento -
- Black Brigade, starring Stephen Boyd and Richard Pryor
- Bloody Mama, directed by Roger Corman, starring Shelley Winters, Pat Hingle, Don Stroud, Robert De Niro
- The Boatniks, starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers and Phil Silvers
- The Body, a documentary narrated by Frank Finlay and Vanessa Redgrave -
- Borsalino, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon -
- El bosque del lobo -
- The Boys in the Band, directed by William Friedkin
- Brancaleone at the Crusades, starring Vittorio Gassman and Adolfo Celi -
- The Breach, directed by Claude Chabrol -
- Brewster McCloud, directed by Robert Altman, starring Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, Shelley Duvall
- The Brotherhood of the Bell, starring Glenn Ford, Rosemary Forsyth and Maurice Evans
- The Butcher, directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stéphane Audran and Jean Yanne -
C
- Cannon for Cordoba, starring George Peppard
- Carry On Up the Jungle, starring Sid James, Kenneth Connor, Frankie Howerd -
- Case for a Rookie Hangman
- Catch-22, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Alan Arkin, Jon Voight, Richard Benjamin, Bob Newhart, Charles Grodin, Orson Welles, Art Garfunkel
- C.C. and Company, starring Joe Namath, Ann-Margret and William Smith
- Le Cercle Rouge , directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon, Bourvil, Yves Montand, Gian Maria Volonté -
- Chariots of the Gods, documentary -
- The Cheyenne Social Club, directed by Gene Kelly, starring James Stewart and Henry Fonda
- Chisum, starring John Wayne, Ben Johnson, Forrest Tucker, Christopher George, Glenn Corbett
- Claire's Knee, directed by Éric Rohmer -
- Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County, starring Dan Blocker and Nanette Fabray
- , starring Eric Braeden and Susan Clark
- Compañeros, starring Franco Nero and Jack Palance -
- The Confession, directed by Costa-Gavras, starring Yves Montand and Simone Signoret -
- The Conformist, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Stefania Sandrelli -
- Connecting Rooms, starring Bette Davis and Michael Redgrave -
- Cotton Comes to Harlem, starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Redd Foxx
- Count Dracula, starring Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski and Herbert Lom-
- Country Dance, starring Peter O'Toole
- Crescendo, starring Stefanie Powers
- Crime and Punishment -
- Crimes of the Future, directed by David Cronenberg -
- Cromwell, directed by Ken Hughes, starring Richard Harris and Alec Guinness -
- ''The Cross and the Switchblade, starring Pat Boone and Erik Estrada
D
- Darker than Amber, starring Rod Taylor and Jane Russell
- Darling Lili, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson
- Days and Nights in the Forest, directed by Satyajit Ray -
- Deep End, directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Jane Asher -
- The Delta Factor, starring Yvette Mimieux and Christopher George
- The Demise of Father Mouret, directed by Georges Franju -
- Diary of a Mad Housewife, directed by Frank Perry, starring Carrie Snodgress, Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella
- Dionysus in '69, directed by Brian De Palma
- Dirty Dingus Magee, starring Frank Sinatra
- Dodes'ka-den, directed by Akira Kurosawa -
- The Dunwich Horror, starring Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee
E
- Eden and After, directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet -
- El Condor, starring Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef
- El Topo -
- Elise, or Real Life -
- End of the Road, starring Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, James Earl Jones
- Entertaining Mr Sloane, starring Beryl Reid and Harry Andrews -
- Equinox, starring Frank Bonner
- Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion, starring Marie Liljedahl, Maria Rohm and Christopher Lee -
- Even Dwarfs Started Small, directed by Werner Herzog -
F
- Figures in a Landscape, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Robert Shaw -
- Five Easy Pieces, directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Jack Nicholson, Susan Anspach and Karen Black
- The Flight -
- Four Murders Are Enough, Darling -
- Fragment of Fear, starring David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt -
- Fruit of Paradise -
G
- Gamera vs. Jiger -
- The Games, directed by Michael Winner, starring Michael Crawford, Ryan O'Neal, Charles Aznavour -
- The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, directed by Vittorio De Sica - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1971 and Golden Bear winner -
- Getting Straight, starring Elliott Gould and Candice Bergen
- Gimme Shelter, a documentary featuring The Rolling Stones
- Gods of the Plague, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder -
- Goodbye Gemini, starring Judy Geeson, Martin Potter, Michael Redgrave and Alexis Kanner-
- Goin' Down the Road -
- The Great White Hope , directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander
- The Green Wall -
H
- Halls of Anger , starring Calvin Lockhart and Jeff Bridges
- The Hawaiians, starring Charlton Heston
- Hello-Goodbye, starring Michael Crawford
- Hercules in New York, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Hi, Mom!, directed by Brian De Palma, starring Robert De Niro
- History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess, directed by Shohei Imamura -
- Hoffman, starring Peter Sellers and Sinéad Cusack -
- Hornets’ Nest, starring Rock Hudson
- The Horror of Frankenstein, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara and Veronica Carlson-
- Horton Hears a Who!, TV animated film
- House of Dark Shadows, directed by Dan Curtis, starring Jonathan Frid and Grayson Hall
- How Do I Love Thee?, starring Jackie Gleason and Maureen O'Hara
- Husbands, directed by and starring John Cassavetes, with Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk
I
- I Love My Wife, directed by Mel Stuart, starring Elliott Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Angel Tompkins
- I Never Sang for My Father, directed by Gilbert Cates, starring Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Melvyn Douglas
- The Intruders, starring Don Murray, John Saxon and Anne Francis
- Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, directed by Elio Petri, starring Gian Maria Volonté - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 1970 -
- The Invincible Six, directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Stuart Whitman and Elke Sommer
- I Walk the Line, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Gregory Peck and Tuesday Weld
J
- El jardín de las delicias, directed by Carlos Saura -
- Jenny, starring Marlo Thomas and Alan Alda
- Joe, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Peter Boyle and Susan Sarandon
- Julius Caesar, directed by Stuart Burge, starring Charlton Heston, Jason Robards, John Gielgud -
K
- Kati Patang, starring Rajesh Khanna -
- Kazoku -
- Kelly's Heroes, starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles
- Khilona -
- , a documentary on Martin Luther King, Jr. directed by Sidney Lumet
- The Kremlin Letter, directed by John Huston, starring Patrick O'Neal, Barbara Parkins, Bibi Andersson, Nigel Green, Orson Welles
L
- The Landlord, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey, Louis Gossett, Jr.
- Landscape After the Battle, directed by Andrzej Wajda -
- The Last Grenade, directed by Gordon Flemyng, starring Stanley Baker, Honor Blackman, Richard Attenborough, Alex Cord
- Last of the Mobile Hot Shots, starring James Coburn
- The Last Warrior, aka Flap, starring Anthony Quinn, Shelley Winters, Tony Bill
- Leo the Last, directed by John Boorman, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Billie Whitelaw -
- Let It Be - documentary film directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and featuring The Beatles -
- The Liberation of L.B. Jones, directed by William Wyler, starring Roscoe Lee Browne, Anthony Zerbe, Lee J. Cobb, Lola Falana, Barbara Hershey
- Little Big Man, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George
- Little Fauss and Big Halsy, starring Robert Redford and Michael J. Pollard
- The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir, a TV film -
- Loot, directed by Silvio Narizzano, starring Richard Attenborough, Lee Remick, Hywel Bennett -
- Lost in the Desert, directed by Jamie Uys -
- Love Story, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal - winner of 5 Golden Globes including best picture and best director
- Lovers and Other Strangers, starring Cloris Leachman, Beatrice Arthur, Richard Castellano, Diane Keaton
- Loving, starring George Segal and Eva Marie Saint
M
- M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman, starring Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Robert Duvall, Michael Murphy, Sally Kellerman, Jo Ann Pflug
- Macho Callahan, starring Jean Seberg, David Janssen, Lee J. Cobb
- Maidstone, written, directed by and starring Norman Mailer
- A Man Called Horse, starring Richard Harris
- The Man Who Haunted Himself, starring Roger Moore, Anton Rodgers and Hildegarde Neil -
- Metello -
- Michael the Brave -
- The Molly Maguires, directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris
- Monte Walsh, starring Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, Jeanne Moreau
- The Moonshine War, starring Alan Alda, Richard Widmark, Patrick McGoohan
- Move, starring Paula Prentiss and Elliott Gould
- The Music Lovers, directed by Ken Russell, starring Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson -
- Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly, starring Michael Bryant, Ursula Howells, Pat Heywood and Vanessa Howard-
- Myra Breckinridge, starring Raquel Welch, Mae West, John Huston, Farrah Fawcett, Rex Reed
N
- The Nameless Knight -
- Ned Kelly, starring Mick Jagger -
- Norwood, starring Glen Campbell, Kim Darby, Joe Namath
O
- o.k., directed by Michael Verhoeven -
- Of Gods and the Undead -
- On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Barbra Streisand and Yves Montand, songs by Alan Jay Lerner
- One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, starring Tom Courtenay -
- One More Time, directed by Jerry Lewis, starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford
- One Song a Day Takes Mischief Away -
- On the Comet
- The Out-of-Towners, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis
- The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again, starring Walter Brennan, Chill Wills, Fred Astaire
- The Owl and the Pussycat, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Barbra Streisand and George Segal
P
- The Palace of Angels -
- The Past-Master, directed by Petar B. Vasilev, starring Kiril Gospodinov and Yuriy Yakovlev -
- Patton, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring George C. Scott - winner of 7 Academy Awards for 1971 including best picture, director and actor
- Peace in the Fields -
- Peau d'Âne, directed by Jacques Demy, starring Catherine Deneuve and Jean Marais -
- The People Next Door, starring Eli Wallach and Julie Harris
- Perfect Friday, starring Ursula Andress and Stanley Baker
- Performance, directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg, starring James Fox and Mick Jagger -
- The Phantom Tollbooth
- The Pizza Triangle, directed by Ettore Scola, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Monica Vitti -
- The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Robert Stephens, Geneviève Page, Colin Blakely -
- Pufnstuf starring Van Snowden and Jack Wild
- Purab Aur Paschim, starring Ashok Kumar -
- Puzzle of a Downfall Child, starring Faye Dunaway
Q
- Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx, starring Gene Wilder and Margot Kidder -
- ¡Qué hacer! -
R
- Rabbit, Run, directed by Jack Smight, starring James Caan
- The Railway Children, directed by Lionel Jeffries, starring Jenny Agutter -
- The Rebel Rousers, starring Jack Nicholson
- The Revolutionary, starring Jon Voight
- Rio Lobo, directed by Howard Hawks, starring John Wayne, Jorge Rivero, Jennifer O'Neill, Jack Elam, Sherry Lansing
- The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer, starring Peter Cook, Denholm Elliott, Arthur Lowe -
- R. P. M., directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Anthony Quinn and Ann-Margret
- Reza Motorcyclist - directed by Masoud Kimiai
- Ryan's Daughter, directed by David Lean, starring Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, John Mills -
S
- Salt of the Black Earth -
- Scars of Dracula, starring Christopher Lee, Dennis Waterman and Jenny Hanley -
- Scream and Scream Again, starring Vincent Price, Alfred Marks and Christopher Lee-
- Scrooge, directed by Ronald Neame, with Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans -
- Skullduggery, starring Burt Reynolds and Susan Clark
- Soldier Blue, directed by Ralph Nelson, starring Candice Bergen and Peter Strauss
- Something for Everyone, directed by Harold Prince, starring Angela Lansbury and Michael York
- Space Amoeba, directed by Ishirō Honda -
- The Spider's Stratagem, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci -
- Spring and Port Wine, starring James Mason and Susan George -
- Start the Revolution Without Me, directed by Bud Yorkin, starring Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland, Hugh Griffith
- Strange Holiday
- The Strawberry Statement, starring Bruce Davison, Kim Darby, Bud Cort
- Street Scenes, directed by Martin Scorsese
- Strogoff
- Sunflower, directed by Vittorio De Sica, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren -
- Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came, starring Brian Keith, Don Ameche, Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleshette
- A Swedish Love Story -
T
- Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy -
- Taste the Blood of Dracula, starring Christopher Lee -
- Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Liza Minnelli
- There's a Girl in My Soup, starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn -
- There Was a Crooked Man..., starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda
- They Call Me Trinity, starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer -
- The Things of Life -
- Three Sisters, by Laurence Olivier, starring Joan Plowright and Olivier -
- ...tick...tick...tick..., starring Jim Brown and George Kennedy
- Too Late the Hero, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Henry Fonda -
- Tora! Tora! Tora!, co-directed by Richard Fleischer and Kinji Fukasaku, starring Martin Balsam and Takahiro Tamura -
- Trash, produced by Andy Warhol, directed by Paul Morrissey
- The Traveling Executioner, starring Stacy Keach, Bud Cort
- Tristana, directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, Franco Nero -
- The Twelve Chairs, directed by Mel Brooks, starring Frank Langella, Ron Moody, Dom DeLuise
- Two Mules for Sister Sara, directed by Don Siegel, starring Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood
U
- Ucho -
- La última aventura del Zorro
- Up in the Cellar, starring Joan Collins and Larry Hagman
V
- Valerie and Her Week of Wonders -
- The Vampire Lovers, starring Peter Cushing -
- Vengeance -
W
- A Walk in the Spring Rain, starring Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman
- The Wandering Swordsman, directed by Chang Cheh -
- Waterloo, directed by Sergei Bondarchuk, starring Rod Steiger, Christopher Plummer, Orson Welles -
- Weekend With the Babysitter starring George E Carey and Susan Romen
- Where's Poppa?, directed by Carl Reiner, starring George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman
- Which Way to the Front?, directed by and starring Jerry Lewis
- White Sun of the Desert -
- Whale, directed by Petar B. Vasilev, starring Georgi Kaloyanchev, Dimitar Panov, Georgi Partsalev -
- The Window - starring Behrouz Vossoughi and Googoosh - Iran
- Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder -
- The Wild Child, directed by François Truffaut -
- Wood Pigeon - directed by Ali Hatami
- Woodstock, a musical documentary featuring Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, Santana, Jefferson Airplane and others
- WUSA, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
Z
- Zabriskie Point, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
- Zig Zag, starring George Kennedy, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson
1970 film releases
January–March
- January 1970
- Scream and Scream Again
- *9 January
- **...tick...tick...tick...
- *14 January
- **Last of the Mobile Hot Shots
- **The Dunwich Horror
- *21 January
- **The Only Game in Town
- *25 January
- **MASH
- *28 January
- **The Molly Maguires
- February 1970
- *1 February
- **The Kremlin Letter
- *5 February
- **Patton
- *9 February
- **Zabriskie Point
- *10 February
- **The Party at Kitty and Stud's
- *11 February
- **King of the Grizzlies
- March 1970
- *4 March
- **Loving
- *5 March
- **Airport
- *6 March
- **Skullduggery
- *18 March
- **The Liberation of L.B. Jones
- *21 March
- **Gamera vs. Jiger
- *31 March
- **Waterloo
April–June
- April 1970
- *8 April
- **
- **The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County
- *9 April
- **Halls of Anger
- *27 April
- **Zig Zag
- *28 April
- **A Man Called Horse
- May 1970
- *6 May
- **'Equinox
- *7 May
- **Taste the Blood of Dracula
- *13 May
- **My Lover, My Son
- **Getting Straight
- *20 May
- **The Landlord
- **Too Late the Hero
- *26 May
- **The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart
- **Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- **Pufnstuf
- *27 May
- **Watermelon Man
- June 1970
- *3 June
- **The Executioner
- *10 June
- **The Invincible Six
- *15 June
- **The Strawberry Statement
- *16 June
- **Two Mules for Sister Sara
- *17 June
- **Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
- **A Walk in the Spring Rain
- **The Hawaiians
- *23 June
- **Kelly's Heroes
- *24 June
- **Myra Breckinridge''
July–September
- July 1970
- *1 July
- **The Boatniks
- *9 July
- **The Games
- *12 July
- **Hello-Goodbye
- *15 July
- **Joe
- **The Revolutionary
- *31 July
- **Move
- August 1970
- *1 August
- **Space Amoeba
- *10 August
- **Diary of a Mad Housewife
- *12 August
- **Lovers and Other Strangers
- **Soldier Blue
- *24 August
- **House of Dark Shadows
- September 1970
- *12 September
- **Five Easy Pieces
- *16 September
- **R. P. M.
- *23 September
- **Tora! Tora! Tora!
October–December
- October 1970
- *1 October
- **Cover Me Babe
- **How Do I Love Thee?
- **The Traveling Executioner
- *4 October
- **The Vampire Lovers
- *11 October
- **The Great White Hope
- *12 October
- **The Mind of Mr. Soames
- *21 October
- **Little Fauss and Big Halsy
- *23 October
- **No Blade of Grass
- *24 October
- **Trog
- November 1970
- *5 November
- **Scrooge
- *7 November
- **The Phantom Tollbooth
- *8 November
- **Scars of Dracula
- *9 November
- **Ryan's Daughter
- *18 November
- **I Walk the Line
- December 1970
- *8 December
- **Husbands
- **The Horror of Frankenstein
- *11 December
- **The Aristocats
- *15 December
- **The Wild Country
- *16 December
- **Puzzle of a Downfall Child
- **Love Story
- *17 December
- **Rio Lobo
- *21 December
- **I Love My Wife
- *25 December
- **There Was a Crooked Man...
Short film series
- The Ant and the Aardvark
- Roland and Rattfink
- Tijuana Toads
- Woody Woodpecker
- Chilly Willy
- The Beary Family
Births
- January 24 – Matthew Lillard, American actor, voice actor, director and producer
- January 29 - Heather Graham, American actress
- January 31 - Minnie Driver, English actress
- February 3 - Warwick Davis, English actor
- February 14 - Simon Pegg, English actor
- March 4 - Sergio Basáñez, Mexican actor
- March 5 - Rimantė Valiukaitė, Lithuanian actress
- March 6 - Dan Põldroos, Estonian actor
- March 7 - Rachel Weisz, English actress
- March 18 - Queen Latifah, American actress and rapper
- March 20 - Linda Larkin, American actress and voice actress
- March 28 - Vince Vaughn, American actor, writer and producer
- April 13 - Ricky Schroder, American actor
- April 20 - Shemar Moore, American actor
- April 21
- *Nicole Sullivan, American actress, voice artist and comedian
- *Rob Riggle, American actor, comedian, and marine
- April 25 - Jason Lee, American actor, comedian, and professional skateboarder
- April 29 - Uma Thurman, American actress
- May 4 - Will Arnett, Canadian actor
- May 9 - Helen Hill, American animator
- May 12 - Samantha Mathis, American actress
- May 18 - Tina Fey, American actress and comedian
- May 22 - Naomi Campbell, English model and actress
- May 23 - Nanette Burstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- May 25 - Octavia Spencer, American actress
- May 26 - John Hamburg, American writer and director
- May 27 - Joseph Fiennes, English actor
- May 28 - Glenn Quinn, Irish actor
- June 24 - Andres Raag, Estonian actor
- June 15 - Leah Remini, American actress, author and activist
- June 26
- *Sean Hayes, American actor and comedian
- *Chris O'Donnell, American actor
- *Nick Offerman, American actor, writer, comedian, producer and woodworker
- July 14 - Mike McFarland, American voice actor
- July 16 - Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thai film director
- July 30 - Christopher Nolan, English-American film director, producer and writer
- August 6 - M. Night Shyamalan, American film director, writer, producer and actor
- August 15
- *Anthony Anderson, American actor
- *Maddie Corman, American actress
- August 16
- *Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor
- *Kaili Närep, Estonian actress
- August 18 - Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor
- August 23
- *Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian
- *River Phoenix, American actor
- August 24 - Jonathan Ward, American actor
- August 26 - Melissa McCarthy, American actress, comedian and film producer
- September 4 - Ione Skye, British-born American actress
- September 7 - Tom Everett Scott, American actor
- September 11 - Taraji P. Henson, American actress
- September 29 - Emily Lloyd, English actress
- September 30 - Tony Hale, American actor
- October 2
- *Kelly Ripa, American actress and television host
- *Maribel Verdú, Spanish actress
- October 8 - Matt Damon, American actor
- October 12 - Kirk Cameron, American actor
- October 19 - Chris Kattan, American actor and comedian
- October 24 - Raul Esparza, American actor
- October 30 - Nia Long, American actress
- November 1 - Merle Palmiste, Estonian actress
- November 6 - Ethan Hawke, American actor
- November 12 - Aitor Iturrioz, Mexican actor
- November 13 - José María Yazpik, Mexican actor
- November 16 - Martha Plimpton, American actress
- December 12
- *Jennifer Connelly, American actress
- *Regina Hall, American actress
- December 17 - Sean Patrick Thomas, American actor
Deaths
- January 7 - Jack Natteford, 75, American screenwriter, 1,000 Dollars a Minute, Black Bart
- January 19 - Hal March, 49, American actor, Hear Me Good, Send Me No Flowers
- January 23 - Nell Shipman, 77, Canadian actress, writer, producer, Back to God's Country, The Grub-Stake
- January 25 - Eiji Tsuburaya, 68, Japanese film director and special effects designer, Godzilla, Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
- January 27 - Rocco D'Assunta, 65, Italian actor, comedian and playwright
- February 6 - Roscoe Karns, 76, American actor, It Happened One Night, Alibi Ike
- February 19 - Jules Munshin, 54, American actor, On the Town, Take Me Out to the Ball Game
- February 24 - Conrad Nagel, 72, American actor, All That Heaven Allows, The Divorcee
- March 4 - Peter Godfrey, 70, British director, Christmas in Connecticut, The Two Mrs. Carrolls
- March 6 - William Hopper, 55, American actor, Rebel Without a Cause, Track of the Cat
- March 23 - Del Lord, 75, Canadian pioneer Hollywood director, A Plumbing We Will Go, All the World's a Stooge
- March 25 - Virginia Van Upp, 68, American producer and screenwriter, Gilda, Cover Girl
- March 26 - Patricia Ellis, 51, American actress, A Night at the Ritz, Rhythm in the Clouds
- April 9 - Cobina Wright, 82, American singer and actress, The Razor's Edge, Footlight Serenade
- April 11 - Cathy O'Donnell, 46, American actress, Ben-Hur, The Best Years of Our Lives
- April 18 - Glenn Tryon, 71, American actor and director, Lonesome, Miss Mink of 1949
- April 19 - George Blair, 64, American director, Duke of Chicago, Streets of San Francisco
- April 25 - Anita Louise, 55, American actress, The Little Princess, The Story of Louis Pasteur
- April 26 - Gypsy Rose Lee, 59, American burlesque performer and actress, Screaming Mimi, Belle of the Yukon
- April 28 - Ed Begley, 69, American actor, 12 Angry Men, Patterns
- April 30 - Inger Stevens, 35, Swedish actress, Hang 'Em High, A Guide for the Married Man
- May 10 - Mari Blanchard, 43, American actress, Destry, She-Devil
- May 14 - Billie Burke, 85, American actress, The Wizard of Oz, Father's Little Dividend
- May 17 - Nigel Balchin, 61, British screenwriter, The Man Who Never Was, 23 Paces to Baker Street
- May 23 - Nydia Westman, 68, American actress, Ladies Should Listen, Dressed to Thrill
- June 4 - Sonny Tufts, 58, American actor, The Virginian, Government Girl
- June 14 - William Daniels, 68, American cinematographer, Camille, Ninotchka
- July 6 - Marjorie Rambeau, 80, American actress, A Man Called Peter, Tobacco Road
- July 9 - Sigrid Holmquist, 71, Swedish actress, Just Around the Corner, Meddling Women
- July 14 - Preston Foster, 69, American actor, The Informer, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
- July 22 - Fritz Kortner, 78, German director, Pandora's Box, The Razor's Edge
- July 24 - Frank Silvera, 55, Jamaican actor, Viva Zapata!, Hombre
- August 1 - Frances Farmer, 56, American actress, Come and Get It, The Toast of New York
- September 3 - Vasil Gendov, 78, Bulgarian film director, actor and screenwriter, Bulgaran is Gallant
- September 11 - Chester Morris, 69, American actor, Meet Boston Blackie, Five Came Back
- September 18 - Jimi Hendrix, 27, American musician, Almost Famous, Wayne's World
- September 29 - Edward Everett Horton, 84, American actor, Arsenic and Old Lace, Top Hat
- October 4 - Janis Joplin, 27, American singer, Watchmen, Three Kings
- October 10 - Grethe Weiser, 67, German actress, My Friend Barbara, Lemke's Widow
- October 17 - Vola Vale, 73, American actress, The Phantom of the Opera
- October 20 - Patrick Wymark, 44, British actor, Battle of Britain, Where Eagles Dare
- October 21 - Ernest Haller, 74, American cinematographer, Gone with the Wind, Mildred Pierce
- November 2 - Fernand Gravey, 64, French actor, The King and the Chorus Girl, The Great Waltz
- November 17 - Naunton Wayne, 69, British actor, Crook's Tour, Dead of Night
- November 25 - Louise Glaum, 82, American actress, Greater Than Love, Sex
- December 12
- *Carolyn Craig, 36, American actress, House on Haunted Hill, Portland Exposé
- *George Terwilliger, 88, American director and screenwriter, The Fatal Hour, Bride's Play
- December 23 - Charles Ruggles, 84, American actor, Bringing Up Baby, The Parent Trap
- December 30 - Lenore Ulric, 78, American actress, Notorious, Camille
- December 31 - Suzanne Dalbert, 43, French actress, Mark of the Gorilla, The 49th Man
Film debuts
- Jane Alexander - The Great White Hope
- Linda Blair - The Way We Live Now
- Brian Blessed - Country Dance
- Danny DeVito - Dreams of Glass
- Robert Downey, Jr. - Pound
- Shelley Duvall - Brewster McCloud
- Pam Grier - Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
- Dan Hedaya - Myra Breckinridge
- Don Johnson - The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart
- Jeffrey Jones - The Revolutionary
- Tommy Lee Jones - Love Story
- Diane Keaton - Lovers and Other Strangers
- Frank Langella - Diary of a Mad Housewife
- Anne Meara - The Out-of-Towners
- Ornella Muti - The Most Beautiful Wife
- Stephen Rea - Cry of the Banshee
- Susan Sarandon - Joe
- Tom Selleck - Myra Breckinridge
- Paul Sorvino - Where's Poppa?
- Sissy Spacek - Trash
- Sylvester Stallone - The Party at Kitty and Stud's
- Burt Young - Carnival of Blood