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- Welcome to the Archive for October, 2007
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- October 1
Stella Stevens is born (1938). Ex-Hollywood bombshell Stella Stevens has been in a variety of genre features, including Invisible Mom (1997), The Granny (1995), werewolf flick Mom (1990), The Terror Within II (1990), Monster in the Closet (1986), The Manitou (1978), The Mad Room (1969), and Jerry Lewis's original The Nutty Professor (1963). She also produced son Andrew Stevens, who would go on to become another genre regular. Stella was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Richard Harris is born (1930). Richard Harris's extensive résumé includes playing Gulliver in a 1977 version of Gulliver's Travels and starring as Dom Frollo in the 1997 made-for-television version of The Hunchback. His other credits include Gladiator (2000), Tarzan, The Ape Man (1981), Orca (1977), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). Fondly known for his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Richard died on October 25, 2002. He was born in Limerick, Ireland.
James Whitmore is born (1921). James Whitmore's long and distinguished acting career includes five decades of genre titles, including Them! (1954), Planet of the Apes (1968), the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption (1994), and The Relic (1997). James was born in White Plains, New York.
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- October 2
Persis Khambatta is born (1950). Persis played the smooth-pated beauty Lieutenant Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1977). She also appeared in Warrior of the Lost World (1984, as Nastasia) and Megaforce (1982, as Zara). Khambatta, who died August 18, 1998, was born in Bombay, India.
Antz opens (1998). A neurotic worker ant struggles to maintain his individuality within the highly communal world of his ant colony in this animated fantasy. The film features the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Anne Bancroft, and Christopher Walken, among others. Kids flock to the box office—and a lot of parents join in the fun, as well.
Bud Abbott is born (1896). Bud, of course, was the tall straight-man of the comedy team Abbott and Costello. Together with his partner Lou Costello, he lampooned a variety of genre legends and conventions in such films as Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), The Time of Their Lives (1946), and Hold That Ghost (1941). Abbott, who died in 1974, was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
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- October 3
Adair Tishler is born (1996). Adair Tishler may be best known to genre fans for her role as Molly Walker on NBC's series Heroes. Tishler also has roles in the films Farmhouse and Jack and the Beanstalk.
Neve Campbell is born (1973). As beleaguered scrapper Sindey Prescott, Neve made her voice heard in Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 3 (1999). She also bewitched audiences with her turn in The Craft (1996, as Bonnie), and appeared in three episodes of the series Medium in 2007. Campbell was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Hart Bochner is born (1956). Hart Bochner, son of film and television actor Lloyd Bochner, has been featured in several genre titles, including Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), Apartment Zero (1988), Making Mr. Right (1987), Supergirl (1984), and Terror Train (1980). He also lent his voice to the animated telefilm Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993). Bochner was born in Los Angeles, California.
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- October 4
Anne Rice is born (1941). Anne Rice has achieved fame and fortune with her vampire novels, which include the original Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and The Queen of the Damned. Interview with the Vampire was later adapted into Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and itty-bitty Kirsten Dunst. Rice, who has sometimes been credited as Anne Rampling, was born Howard Allen O'Brien in New Orleans, Louisiana. She adopted the first name of Anne during her elementary school years, and changed her surname after marrying Stan Rice in 1961.
Susan Sarandon is born (1946). Academy Award winner and political activist Sarandon is still known to loyal cultists as Janet, the innocent heroine of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Her other genre turns include a repressed witch in The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and a woman who becomes involved with bisexual vampire Catherine Denueve in The Hunger (1983). Along the way, Sarandon also provided the voice of the spider in James and the Giant Peach (1996). Sarandon was born in New York, New York.
Charlton Heston is born (1924). A solid performer, sometimes a histrionic one, but always a classic, ol' Bright Eyes was born on this date. He is forever immortal for his ringing cry, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!" in the original film version of Planet of the Apes (1968, as George Taylor). Heston's other genre work includes Armageddon (1998, as the narrator), In the Mouth of Madness (1995, as Jackson Harglow), Soylent Green (1973, as Police Detective Thorn), The Omega Man (1971, as Robert Neville), and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970, as George Taylor). Heston was born John Carlton Carter in Evanston, Illinois.
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- October 5
Donald Pleasence is born (1919). Donald Pleasence will forever be remembered by horror fans as Dr. Sam Loomis, the psychiatrist hot on the trail of Michael Myers in John Carpenter's original Halloween as well as four of its sequels. His extensive genre credits also include Buried Alive (1990), The House of Usher (1988), Prince of Darkness (1987), Creepers (1985), Escape from New York (1981), Dracula (1979), Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), The Mutations (1973), Tales That Witness Madness (1973), THX 1138 (1970), and Fantastic Voyage (1966). Pleasence, who died on February 2, 1995, was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England.
Karen Allen is born (1951). Karen Allen has starred in two undisputed genre classics. She played Marion Ravenwood, the heroine of the original Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and Jenny Hayden, the young widow who has a close encounter with alien Jeff Bridges in Starman (1984). Her other credits include Ghost in the Machine (1993), Scrooged (1988), and an episode of the updated Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "The Creeper." Look for her in the fourth Indiana Jones thrill ride, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). Allen was born in Carrollton, Illinois.
Sam Beckett's last known leap date (1953). This date marks the last known jump point for Dr. Sam Beckett's Quantum Leaps through history.
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- October 6
Roswell premieres (1999). The television series Roswell, which ran from 1999 to 2002, took its inspiration from the Roswell High young adult novels by Melinda Metz. The premise is that the Roswell, New Mexico, UFO crash of 1947 was real, and that the aliens emerge from "incubation" years later, looking like ordinary children with extraordinary powers and an unclear destiny.
Ioan Gruffudd is born (1973). Actor Ioan Gruffudd took on the role of Horatio Hornblower in a series of films based on the C. S. Forester novels. In 2004, he was a series regular on the short-lived series Century City as Lukas Gold, and also appeared in the 2004 movie King Arthur. In 2005, he starred in the first Fantastic Four movie and reprised his role in the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Gruffudd was born in Llwydoed, Aberdare, South Wales.
David Brin is born (1950). Author David Brin is perhaps best known for his stories set in the Uplift universe. In addition to having a Ph.D. in space science, Brin has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for his fiction writing. Brin was born in Glendale, California.
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- October 7
Fail-Safe opens (1964). Fail-Safe, directed by Sidney Lumet, was based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. Post–Cuban missile crisis, it tackles an impending nuclear situation. The movie stars Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, and Walter Matthau.
Never Say Never Again opens (1983). Irvin Kershner directed Never Say Never Again, in which Sean Connery takes his last bow as James Bond. Other stars include Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow, Barbara Carrera, and Kim Basinger.
Dylan Baker is born (1959). Actor Dylan Baker's resume includes stage, screen, audio, and television roles aplenty. He played the part of Dr. Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). Baker was born in Syracuse, New York.
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- October 8
Demolition Man opens (1993). Demolition Man from Warner Brothers was directed by Marco Brambilla, and featured Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, and Sandra Bullock in the pretty streets of Los Angeles in 2032—where caffeine's illegal, so let's not go there.
Frank Herbert is born (1920). Frank Herbert wrote more than twenty novels along with numerous short stories, receiving the most critical attention and cult popularity with his Dune saga, which first appeared serialized in Analog magazine beginning in 1963. Herbert, who died on February 11, 1986, was born in Tacoma, Washington.
Matt Damon is born (1970). Actor and screenwriter Matt Damon found himself in happy payday-land with his role as Jason Bourne, a survivor of mind control on the run from the CIA, in a string of movies based on Robert Ludlum's novels. He also starred in The Brothers Grimm (2005) and provided voicework in Titan A.E. and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002). He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting. Damon was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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- October 9
Alien Terminator opens (1996). Maria Ford and Rodger Halston headline this B-movie flick written and directed by Dave Payne (Addams Family Reunion, 1998) with Roger Corman providing the push as executive producer. Scientists isolated in an underground lab face off against an unanticipated menace.
Brandon Routh is born (1979). Brandon James Routh is best known for playing Superman in the 2006 film Superman Returns. Routh also lent his voice to an episode of the series The Batman, playing the role of John Marlowe. Routh was born in Des Moines, Iowa.
Jodelle Ferland is born (1994). Jodelle Micah Ferland has guest-starred on several TV series, including Smallville, Stargate SG-1, Kingdom Hospital, Dead Like Me, John Doe, Masters of Horror, and Dark Angel. Ferland will also appear in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Harmony" in the series' fourth season. In 2007, she appeared in the horror movies The Messengers and Seed. Ferland was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.
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- October 10
Peggy Sue Got Married opens in theaters 1986. This fantasy film combines comedy and time travel. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Kathleen Turner plays Peggy Sue, and Coppola's nephew, Nicolas Cage, plays her husband-to-be. Turner was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film's cinematography and costume design also garnered nominations.
Richard Jaeckel is born (1926). Richard Jaeckel provided a strong presence across three decades of genre titles, including The Green Slime (1969), Chosen Survivors (1974), Day of the Animals (1977), The Dark (1979), and John Carpenter's Starman (1984). Jaeckel, who died in 1997, was born in Long Beach, Long Island, New York.
Jessica Harper is born (1949). Jessica played Janet Majors in Shock Treatment, the 1981 sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. She's also been featured in Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977), Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974), and the creepy The Evictors (1979). Jessica was born in Chicago, Illinois.
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- October 11
Tuck Everlasting opens in US theaters (2002). Based on Natalie Babbitt's novel of the same name, Tuck Everlasting is a fable about love and family and the consequences of immortality. The movie stars Alexis Bledel, William Hurt, Sissy Spacek, Jonathan Jackson, Scott Bairstow, and Ben Kingsley, along with Amy Irving and Victor Garber.
Luke Perry is born (1965). Coy Luther Perry III appeared in 1992's Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie as Oliver Pike. He also appeared in movies Fogbound, The Fifth Element, and The Enemy, among others. His telefilm credits include The Triangle, Descent, and Robin Cook's Invasion, as well as the miniseries Supernova. Perry is perhaps best known to science fiction fans as the titular star of Showtime's post-apocalyptic science fiction series, Jeremiah (2002–2004). Perry was born in Mansfield, Ohio.
Claudia Black is born (1972). Claudia Lee Black's appealing performances in the movie Pitch Black and in The Sci Fi Channel's original science fiction series Farscape won her a worldwide fan following. In Stargate SG-1's ninth season, she joined the cast in the part of Vala Mal Doran.
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- October 12
Aleister Crowley is born (1875). Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, pursued studies in occultism and mysticism. He published novels, poetry, and plays, but is best known for his books on magick. Crowley, who died on December 1, 1947, was born in Warwickshire, England.
Hugh Jackman is born (1968). Hugh Michael Jackman first claimed the attention of genre fans with his portrayal of Wolverine in Bryan Singer's X-Men (2000), a role which he reprised in subsequent films in the franchise. He cut a fine figure as a time-traveling aristocrat in the romantic comedy Kate & Leopold (2001), which also starred Meg Ryan. Jackman was born in Pymble, New South Wales, Australia.
Celia Lovsky dies (1979). As the unforgettable matriarch ruler and wise-woman T'Pau, every phrase she spoke in her sonorous, grave accent laid the foundation of the inscrutable Vulcan civilization. She appeared in only one Star Trek episode ("Amok Time"), and spoke few words ("Art thou human, or art thou Vulcan?"), but made an invaluable contribution to Roddenberry's world. Lovsky also appeared in Soylent Green (1973, as Exchange Leader) and The Power (1968, as Mrs. Hallson). In addition, she appeared on The Twilight Zone (1959, episode "Queen of the Nile," in a dual role as both Mrs. Draper and Viola). Lovsky was born Caecilie Lvovsky in Vienna, Austria.
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- October 13
Christopher Judge is born (1967). Douglas Christopher Judge is noted for his role as the Jaffa warrior Teal'c on the series Stargate SG-1. He guest-starred on several TV series, including First Wave, Freedom, and Andromeda. He has contributed voice work to the animated TV series X-Men: Evolution and the video games Def Jam Fight for NY and Stargate SG-1: The Alliance. Judge also wrote four episodes of the Stargate SG-1 series. Judge was born in Los Angeles, California.
John Lone is born (1952). John starred as the prehistoric Charlie in 1984's Iceman. His other genre credits include The Shadow (1994) and the remake of King Kong (1976). John was born in Hong Kong.
Kelly Preston is born (1962). Kelly Kamalelehua Palzis Preston-Travolta appeared in her husband's not-so-epochal epic Battlefield Earth (2000). Her other genre credits include Sky High (2005), The Cat in the Hat (2003), Jack Frost (1998), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Spellbinder (1988), Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), SpaceCamp (1986), Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983), and Christine (1983). She was also featured in a 1990 episode of Tales from the Crypt titled "The Switch." Kelly was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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- October 14
Day of the Dead opens (1985). Director George A. Romero delivers the long-awaited sequel to the classic horror films Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. In a future where the walking dead outnumber the living by as many as 400,000 to 1, a group of scientists engage in outlandish experiments on unwilling soldiers in a quest to reverse their undead transformation. But when the military leaders realize what the scientists are doing to their own troops, the last surviving humans turn against each other at the same moment the zombies penetrate humanity's last stronghold. The cast includes Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, and Joseph Pilato.
Starship Invasions opens (1977). Robert Vaughn and Christopher Lee star in this low-budget UFO flick in which friendly aliens battle evil ones—with Earth as the battlefield. Despite its X-Files-like pretensions, the movie is, needless to say, overshadowed by the same year's SF blockbusters Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Jack Arnold is born (1916). Jack Arnold was a noted director who made many contributions to the genre. As a screenwriter, he penned story treatments for such films as The Monolith Monsters (1957) and Tarantula (1955). His credits as a film director include It Came from Outer Space (1953), This Island Earth (1954, uncredited), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Revenge of the Creature (1955), Tarantula (1955), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), The Space Children (1958), and Monster on the Campus (1958). As a television director, Arnold helmed episodes of such series as World of Giants (1959), The Magician (1973), The Bionic Woman (1976), Wonder Woman (1976), and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). Arnold, who died in 1992, was born in New Haven, Connecticut.
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- October 15
Dominic West is born (1969). Dominic West keeps improving his genre stock with movies such as The Punisher: War Zone (2008), 300 (2007), Hannibal Rising (2007), and The Forgotten (2004), with an early appearance as a palace guard in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999). West was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
Mark Lenard is born (1924). Mark is best known as Vulcan ambassador Sarek, the inscrutable father of Leonard Nimoy's legendary alter-ego, Spock. Mark's portrayal of the reserved, graceful Sarek began on the original Star Trek series (1966). (He also guest-starred as the Romulan Commander in the first-season episode "Balance of Terror.") His portrayal of Sarek continued in the franchise's big-screen adventures, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), and also in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (episodes "Sarek" and "Unification, Part 1"). He also appeared in Back to the Planet of the Apes (1974, television, as Urko), Planet of the Apes (1974, series, as Urko), and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, as Klingon Captain). Mark was born in Chicago, Illinois, and died November 22, 1996.
Tanya Roberts is born (1954). Tanya, one of television's Charlie's Angels, played the title role in 1984's Sheena and has starred in a number of other genre projects, including Tourist Trap (1979), The Beastmaster (1982), and the high-tech James Bond thriller, A View to a Kill (1985). Tanya was born in The Bronx, New York.
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- October 16
Bride of Chucky opens (1998). With the tagline "Chucky gets lucky," Jennifer Tilly joins the franchise as the demonic doll's main squeeze. This latest sequel in the Chucky series does fairly well at the box office, ensuring that this franchise will continue to be as unkillable as Chucky himself.
Tim Robbins is born (1958). Actor, writer, and director Tim—significant other of Susan Sarandon—has starred in Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005) and Code 46 (2003). His other big-screen credits include Brian De Palma's Mission to Mars (2000). the nightmarish Jacob's Ladder (1990), and the ill-fated adaptation Howard the Duck (1986). Tim also guest-starred on television's Amazing Stories (episode "Mirror, Mirror..."). Tim was born in West Covina, California.
Angela Lansbury is born (1925). Television's famous Jessica Fletcher (of Murder, She Wrote) played the granny in The Company of Wolves (1984), Neil Jordan's surreal retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. She also lent her voice to the roles of Mrs. Potts in Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Mommy Fortuna in The Last Unicorn (1982). Her earlier big-screen credits include Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and her Oscar-nominated turn in the classic The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Angela was born in London, England.
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- October 17
Julie Adams is born (1928). Julie cut a fine figure as Kay Lawrence, the underwater damsel-in-distress in the 1954 classic, Creature from the Black Lagoon. Her other big-screen credits include Psychic Killer (1975), The Underwater City (1962), and Treasure of Lost Canyon (1951). On television, Julie has made appearances on Sliders (episode "Roads Taken"), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (episode "Mr. R.I.N.G."), Night Gallery (episode "The Miracle at Camafeo"), and the original Alfred Hitchcock Presents (episode "Summer Shade"). Julie was born in Waterloo, Iowa.
Beverly Garland is born (1928). Beverly was well-known as Roger Corman's "It" girl, in addition to her work for many other directors. She has appeared in The Neaderthal Man (1953), The Rocket Man (1954), It Conquered the World (1956), Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956), Not of This Earth (1957), The Alligator People (1959), Stark Fear (1961), Twice-Told Tales (1963), and Hellfire (1995, TV). She also guest-starred on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as Ellen Lane, mother of Lois Lane. Her genre work on TV includes appearances and voice work on such series as Spider-Man (episode "The Haunting of Mary Jane Watson"), The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (episode "The Mystery Of The Fallen Angels"), Kung Fu (episode "Battle Hymn"), The Wild, Wild West (episode "The Night of Bleak Island"), The Twilight Zone (episode "The Four of Us Are Dying") and Science Fiction Theatre (episodes "On The Other Side Of The Moon" and "The Negative Man"). Beverly was born in Santa Cruz, California.
Jerry Siegel is born (1914). Superman co-creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster set pen to paper and created mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and his über alter-ego Superman, who has become one of the most famous cultural icons in history. Superman has spawned countless comic-book series and spin-offs, and has been adapted to the large and small screens several times. Jerry was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
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- October 18
Joe Morton is born (1947). Joe was The Brother from Another Planet in director John Sayles' 1984 sci-fi independent feature. Joe's other genre credits include What Lies Beneath (2000), The Astronaut's Wife (1999), Apt Pupil (1998), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and The Clairvoyant (1982). His television credits include the 1989 premiere episode of the Alien Nation series. Joe was born in New York, New York.
Dawn Wells is born (1938). Dawn parlayed her notoriety as Mary Ann, the country girl-turned-castaway on Gilligan's Island, into roles in such low-budget genre fare as Return to Boggy Creek (1978) and The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976). Dawn was born in Reno, Nevada.
Peter Boyle is born (1935). Peter Boyle gave a classic comic performance as the confused (and overly libidinous) monster in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein (1974). His other big-screen genre credits include Species II (1998), The Shadow (1994), and Outland (1981). Peter's television appearances include a 1995 episode of The X-Files titled "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and two installments of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Peter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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- October 19
Meteor opens in theaters (1979). A potentially destructive asteroid fragment heads for Earth. The movie's main attraction is its stellar cast, with Henry Fonda as the president of the United States, and standout work from Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Martin Landau, Karl Malden, and Brian Keith.
From Hell opens in theaters (2001). Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, From Hell's subject is the brutal case of Jack the Ripper in 1888 London. The cast includes Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, and Ian Richardson.
Roger R. Cross is born (1966). Roger R. Cross is perhaps best known to genre fans in the role of Joshua on the SCI FI Channel series First Wave. He has also made appearances on several other genre series and films including M.A.N.T.I.S., Sliders, The Sentinel, Viper, Highlander: The Series, Millennium, Doomsday Rock, Cloned, The X-Files, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, Shadow Raiders, Stargate SG-1, Sole Survivor, The Outer Limits, Taken, Final Destination 2, X2, The Twilight Zone, Enterprise, The Chronicles of Riddick, and The 4400. Cross was born in Christiana, Manchester.
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- October 20
The Hidden opens in theaters (1987). The Hidden, written by Jim Kouf and directed by Jack Sholder, tells the story of an unpleasant alien who jumps from one human host to another. The cast featured Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, and Claudia Christian.
Bela Lugosi is born (1882). Bela is forever remembered as Dracula, a character he helped define for the movie-going public, but he also starred in The Black Cat, The Wolf Man, and Murders in the Rue Morgue, as well as the camp classics Plan 9 From Outer Space (1958), Bride of the Monster (1956), and Glen or Glenda (1953). He also helped lampoon the genre in the comedy classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). Bela was sometimes credited as Arisztid Olt. Bela was born Be'la Ferenc Dezso Blasko in Lugos, Austria-Hungary (now Romania).
Gigantor comes to America (1963). First seen in Japan as Tetsujin 28, Gigantor, a giant, needle-nosed robot remotely controlled by a young boy, becomes an American TV series at the hands of animator Fred Ladd.
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- October 21
The Dead Zone opens (1983). A white-knuckle adaptation of the Stephen King novel, about a man with paranormal abilities who tries to stop the meteoric rise of a deranged and very dangerous politician, the movie features an excellent cast led by Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, and Martin Sheen. It was directed by Canadian genre master David Cronenberg, whose other credits include eXistenZ (1999), The Fly (1986), Videodrome (1983), and Scanners (1981).
Carrie Fisher is born (1956). Well before the debut of Xena, Carrie Fisher starred as a formidable warrior-princess. Aside from co-opting a classic pastry form to invent a legendary sci-fi coif, she earned genre immortality with her portrayal of the feisty Princess Leia Organa, who proved equally at ease wielding political power and Imperial blaster rifles.
François Truffaut dies (1984). François Truffaut, a master filmmaker and leader of the French "New Wave" cinema of the 1960s, directed several masterpieces, including his adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1966). Later, longtime admirer Steven Spielberg cast Truffaut as Claude Lacombe, the UFO specialist in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Truffaut was born in 1932 in Paris, France.
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- October 22
Joan Fontaine is born (1917). Oscar-winning leading lady Joan gave an immortal performance as the second Mrs. de Winter in Alfred Hitchcock's haunting 1940 adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Her other credits include Suspicion (1941), The Witches (1966), and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961). Joan was born in Tokyo, Japan.
Constance Bennett is born (1904). Constance, one of the most popular stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, is best remembered for her delightful portrayal of Marion Kirby in the madcap ghost stories Topper (1937) and Topper Takes a Trip (1939). Constance, who died in 1965, was born in New York, New York.
Catherine Deneuve is born (1943). Art-house favorite and ageless international beauty Catherine played Miriam Blaylock, the seductive vampire in 1983's The Hunger, as well as Carol Ledoux, the deranged young woman who loses her grip on reality in Roman Polanski's classic thriller, Repulsion (1965). Catherine was born in Paris, France.
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- October 23
Prince of Darkness opens (1987). This effectively creepy (but often incomprehensible) horror flick concerns a group of academics who set up shop in an old church, where they find themselves battling demonic forces determined to end the world as we know it. The movie reunites director John Carpenter with his Halloween star, Donald Pleasence, and casts rocker Alice Cooper as an ominous homeless man tied to an apocalyptic conspiracy.
Pleasantville opens in theaters (1998). Tobey Maguire stars as a teenager, who, along with his sister (Reese Witherspoon), gets drawn into a 1950s black-and-white TV program. Maguire and Joan Allen both won Saturn Awards for their performance.
Coleen Gray is born (1922). Coleen starred as a woman whose quest for eternal youth turns her into the title creature in The Leech Woman (1960). Her other genre appearances include roles in The Phantom Planet (1961) and Mark of the Vampire (1957). Coleen was born in Staplehurst, Nebraska.
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- October 24
B. D. Wong is born (1962). Award-winning stage actor Wong played Dr. Henry Wu, the chief geneticist in Steven Spielberg's monster hit, Jurassic Park (1993). He also made an appearance on a 1996 installment of The X-Files titled Hell Money. Wong was born in San Francisco, California.
F. Murray Abraham is born (1939). Oscar-winner Abraham played Ad'har Ru'afo in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and starred as Professor Harlech in the 1993 made-for-television version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. He also made appearances in Muppets from Space (1999), Mimic (1997), Nostradamus (1994), Beyond the Stars (1989), and Madman (1978). Abraham was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bob Kane is born (1915). Batman creator Bob Kane first breathed life into the Caped Crusader in Detective Comics No. 27 (1939) and went on to guide his creation into many other media—most notably the eponymously named 1960s television show and the blockbuster feature films (which, incidentally, have seen more Batmans than the old television series saw Catwomans). Bob was born Bob Kahn in New York, New York.
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- October 25
Whit Bissell is born (1909). Whit, who specialized in playing cops and doctors, was a genre regular throughout his long career. Some of the more popular big-screen titles on his résumé include Soylent Green (1973), The Time Machine (1960), Monster on the Campus (1958), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Target Earth (1954), and The Lost Continent (1951). He guest-starred as Mister Lurry on the classic Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," was a regular on the mid-1960s Time Tunnel series, and made appearances on everything from the original The Outer Limits and Alfred Hitchcock Presents to The Bionic Woman and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Whit, who died in 1996, was born in New York, New York.
Leo G. Carroll is born (1892). Leo is remembered by genre fans for his role as Professor Gerald Deemer, the scientist whose experiments lead to the creation of a deadly giant spider in Tarantula (1955). He also appeared as Marley's ghost in the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol and played the title role in the 1953 television series version of Topper. Leo's résumé also includes a handful of Hitchcock classics, including North by Northwest (1959), Strangers on a Train (1951), Spellbound (1945), Suspicion (1941), and Rebecca (1940). Leo, who died in 1972, was born in Weedon, England.
Richard Harris dies (2002). Richard Harris's extensive résumé includes playing Gulliver in a 1977 version of Gulliver's Travels and starring as Dom Frollo in the 1997 made-for-television version of The Hunchback. His other credits include Gladiator (2000), Tarzan, The Ape Man (1981), Orca (1977), and The Cassandra Crossing (1976). He is fondly known by Harry Potter fans for his portrayal of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). Richard was born October 1, 1930, in Limerick, Ireland.
Get more info on today's date at SCIFIpedia's Timeline.
- October 26
