1974 in film
Overview of the events of 1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.
Columbia Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) celebrated their 50th anniversaries.
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1974 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Highest-grossing films of 1974
Rank |
Title |
Distributor(s) |
Domestic rentals
|
1
|
The Towering Inferno
|
20th Century Fox / Warner Bros.
|
$50,000,000[1]
|
2
|
Blazing Saddles
|
Warner Bros.
|
$45,200,000[1]
|
3
|
Young Frankenstein
|
20th Century Fox
|
$38,800,000[1]
|
4
|
Earthquake
|
Universal
|
$36,300,000[1]
|
5
|
The Trial of Billy Jack
|
Warner Bros.
|
$31,100,000[2]
|
6
|
The Godfather Part II
|
Paramount
|
$30,700,000[1]
|
7
|
Airport 1975
|
Universal Pictures
|
$25,800,000[1]
|
8
|
The Longest Yard
|
Paramount
|
$23,000,000[1]
|
9
|
Death Wish
|
$22,000,000[3]
|
10
|
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
|
Sunn Classic
|
$21,895,000[4]
|
Events
- February 7 – Blazing Saddles is released in the United States.
- May 28 - Joseph E. Levine, the founder of Embassy Pictures, resigns as president.
- June 20 – Chinatown, directed by Roman Polanski and featured Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston, is released to worldwide critical acclaim.
- September 23 – Barry Diller announced as chairman and chief executive office of Paramount Pictures.
- November 1 – Technicolor ceases its legendary dye-transfer printing process.
- November 8 – Frank Yablans announces his resignation as president of Paramount Pictures with effect from January 5, 1975.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with big fanfare, including That's Entertainment!, a retrospective documentary celebrating its prestigious musicals (e.g. The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, Gigi, An American in Paris, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers).
- October–December – Three "disaster films" are released in three consecutive months: Airport 1975, Earthquake, and The Towering Inferno respectively. All were box office successes.
- December 30 – Gordon Stulberg resigns as president of 20th Century Fox.
- Kevin Costner made his film debut in Sizzle Beach, U.S.A., although the film was not released until 1986.
Awards
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
- The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, directed by Ted Kotcheff, Canada
1974 films
By country/region
By genre/medium
Births
- January 1 – Jennifer Podemski, Canadian actress
- January 5 – Daisy Bates, English actress
- January 10
- January 14 - Kevin Durand, Canadian actor
- January 16 - Johnny Trí Nguyễn, Vietnamese–American actor
- January 18 - Maulik Pancholy, American actor
- January 19 - Natassia Malthe, Norwegian actress and model
- January 21 - Vincent Laresca, American actor
- January 24 – Ed Helms, American actor and comedian
- January 28
- January 30
- February 2 - Oz Perkins, American actor, screenwriter and director
- February 4 – Urmila Matondkar, Indian actress
- February 5 - Tofiga Fepulea'i, New Zealand actor and comedian
- February 8
- February 9
- February 10
- February 11 - Isaiah Mustafa, American actor
- February 12 - Lisa Brenner, American actress
- February 15
- Miranda July (née Grossinger), American filmmaker, performance artist and fiction writer
- Gina Lynn, American former pornographic actress
- February 16 – Mahershala Ali, American actor and rapper
- February 17
- February 18 – Nadine Labaki, Lebanese actress, director and activist
- February 25 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (d. 1993)
- March 5
- March 7
- March 8
- March 14 - Etan Cohen, Israeli-American screenwriter and director
- March 15 - Renoly Santiago, Puerto Rican actor, singer and writer
- March 21 - Rhys Darby, New Zealand actor, comedian and voice actor
- March 23 - Randall Park, American actor, comedian and writer
- March 24 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
- March 25 - Laz Alonso, American actor
- March 31
- April 2 - Harold Hunter, American professional skateboarder and actor (d. 2006)
- April 10 - Omar Metwally, American actor
- April 11 - David Banner, American rapper and actor
- April 12 - Marley Shelton, American actress
- April 15
- April 18 - Edgar Wright, English filmmaker
- April 21
- April 23 - Barry Watson, American actor
- April 24 – Jennifer Paz, Filipino actress
- April 26 – Ivana Miličević, American actress
- April 28 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress
- May 2 - Matt Berry, English actor, voice actor, comedian, writer and musician
- May 3 - Joseph Kosinski, American filmmaker
- May 7 – Breckin Meyer, American actor, voice actor, writer and producer
- May 10 - Craig Hall, New Zealand actor
- May 11 – Benoît Magimel, French actor
- May 14 - Carla Jimenez, American actress
- May 15 – Russell Hornsby, American actor
- May 21 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
- May 22 – Sean Gunn, American actor
- May 23 - Jewel, American singer-songwriter and actress
- May 24 - Dash Mihok, American actor and director
- May 25 - Maria Fernanda Cândido, Brazilian actress and television presenter
- June 2 - Leah Cairns, Canadian actress
- June 6 - Danny Strong, American actor, writer, director and producer
- June 11 - Lenny Jacobson, American actor
- June 12
- Jared Bush, American screenwriter, producer and director
- Jason Mewes, American actor, comedian, film producer and podcaster
- June 13 - Brande Roderick, American model and actress
- June 14 - Phillip Rhys, English actor and filmmaker
- June 16 - Joseph May, British-born Canadian-American actor
- June 20 – Lenin M. Sivam, Sri Lankan-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- June 23 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
- June 25
- June 28 - Kirsty Mitchell, Scottish actress
- July 1 - Jonathan Roumie, American actor
- July 3 - Corey Reynolds, American actor
- July 4 - Mick Wingert, American voice actor
- July 8 – Tami Erin, American actress
- July 10 - Imelda May, Irish actress and singer
- July 16 - Robinne Lee, American actress
- July 20 - Simon Rex, American actor, rapper and comedian
- July 22
- July 27 - Amy Hathaway, American former actress
- July 29 - Josh Radnor, American actor and filmmaker
- July 30 – Hilary Swank, American actress
- July 31
- August 2 - Angie Cepeda, Colombian actress
- August 5 – Kajol, Indian actress
- August 7 – Michael Shannon, American actor
- August 8 - Enzo Cilenti, English actor
- August 10 - Craig Kirkwood, American former actor
- August 11 - Chris Messina, American actor, director, writer and producer
- August 14 - Tomer Sisley, Israeli-French actor and comedian
- August 15 – Natasha Henstridge, Canadian actress and model
- August 20
- August 23 – Ray Park, Scottish actor and stuntman
- August 31 - Marc Webb, American music video director and filmmaker
- September 1 - Burn Gorman, English actor and musician
- September 4 - Nona Gaye, American singer and retired actress
- September 5 - Romina Yan, Argentine actress, screenwriter and singer (d. 2010)
- September 6
- September 7 - Noah Huntley, English actor
- September 10 – Ryan Phillippe, American actor
- September 11 - Ben Best, American actor, writer, musician and producer (d. 2021)
- September 18 - Xzibit, American rapper, actor and broadcaster
- September 19
- September 30 - Ashley Hamilton, American actor, comedian and singer-songwriter
- October 1 - Sherri Saum, American actress
- October 2 - Michelle Krusiec, American actress, writer and producer
- October 6
- October 7 - Numan Acar, Turkish-German actor and producer
- October 17
- October 20 – Brian Limond, Scottish comedian, actor and writer
- October 28
- October 31
- November 2 - Nelly, American actor, rapper and singer
- November 4 – Matthew Rhys, Welsh actor
- November 7 - Carl Steven, American child actor (d. 2011)
- November 9 - Ryo Kase, Japanese actor
- November 10 – Simone Singh, Indian actress
- November 11 – Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor
- November 12 - Tamala Jones, American actress
- November 14
- November 16 – Chloë Sevigny, American actress
- November 17 – Leslie Bibb, American actress and model
- November 21 – Tiit Sukk, Estonian actor
- November 24 - Stephen Merchant, English comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter
- November 25 - Kenneth Mitchell, Canadian actor (d. 2024)
- November 26 - Omar Chaparro, Mexican actor, comedian, television host and singer
- November 30 - Hinnerk Schönemann, German actor
- December 1 – Érica Rivas, Argentinian actress
- December 11 - Lisa Ortiz, American voice actress and voice director
- December 15 - P. J. Byrne, American actor
- December 17
- December 24 - Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor
- December 25 - Andrew McNee, Canadian actor
- December 27 - Masi Oka, Japanese actor, producer and digital effects artist
- December 29 - Mekhi Phifer, American actor
Deaths
Month |
Date |
Name |
Age |
Country |
Profession |
Notable films
|
January
|
2 |
Tex Ritter |
68 |
US |
Actor, Singer |
|
3 |
Gino Cervi |
72 |
Italy |
Actor |
|
14 |
Paul Whitsun-Jones |
50 |
UK |
Actor |
|
31 |
Samuel Goldwyn |
94 |
Poland |
Producer, Studio Executive |
|
31 |
Roger Pryor |
72 |
US |
Actor |
|
February
|
7 |
Arline Judge |
61 |
US |
Actress |
|
11 |
Anna Q. Nilsson |
85 |
Sweden |
Actress |
|
23 |
Florence Rice |
67 |
US |
Actress |
|
23 |
Harry Ruby |
79 |
US |
Screenwriter, Composer |
|
27 |
Orry-Kelly |
66 |
Australia |
Costume Designer |
|
28 |
Carole Lesley |
38 |
UK |
Actress |
|
March
|
3 |
Barbara Ruick |
43 |
US |
Actress, Singer |
|
5 |
Billy De Wolfe |
67 |
US |
Actor |
|
7 |
Alberto Rabagliati |
67 |
Italy |
Actor, Singer |
|
8 |
Martha Wentworth |
84 |
US |
Actress, Voice Actress |
|
13 |
Howard St. John |
68 |
US |
Actor |
|
19 |
Edward Platt |
58 |
US |
Actor |
|
28 |
Dorothy Fields |
68 |
US |
Songwriter |
|
28 |
Françoise Rosay |
82 |
France |
Actress |
|
29 |
Seton I. Miller |
71 |
US |
Screenwriter |
|
April
|
2 |
Douglass Dumbrille |
84 |
Canada |
Actor |
|
10 |
Patricia Collinge |
81 |
Ireland |
Actress |
|
13 |
Stanley Smith |
71 |
US |
Actor |
|
18 |
Betty Compson |
77 |
US |
Actress |
|
20 |
Peter Lee Lawrence |
30 |
Germany |
Actor |
|
24 |
Bud Abbott |
78 |
US |
Actor |
|
30 |
Agnes Moorehead |
73 |
US |
Actress |
|
May
|
18 |
Mary Maguire |
55 |
Australia |
Actress |
|
24 |
Duke Ellington |
75 |
US |
Composer |
|
25 |
Donald Crisp |
91 |
UK |
Actor |
|
June
|
6 |
Blanche Yurka |
86 |
US |
Actress |
|
10 |
Lewis R. Foster |
75 |
US |
Director, Screenwriter |
|
17 |
Pamela Britton |
51 |
US |
Actress |
|
28 |
Frank Sutton |
50 |
US |
Actor |
|
July
|
13 |
Joe Flynn |
48 |
US |
Actor |
|
13 |
Marthe Vinot |
79 |
France |
Actress |
|
27 |
Julián de Meriche |
65 |
Mexico |
Actor |
|
|
28 |
Truman Bradley |
69 |
US |
Actor, Narrator |
|
August
|
13 |
Ilona Massey |
64 |
Hungary |
Actress |
|
16 |
Maxwell Reed |
55 |
Ireland |
Actor |
|
September
|
6 |
Olga Baclanova |
78 |
Russia |
Actress |
|
6 |
Otto Kruger |
89 |
US |
Actor |
|
14 |
Barbara Jo Allen |
68 |
US |
Actress |
|
14 |
Warren Hull |
71 |
US |
Actor |
|
18 |
Edna Best |
74 |
UK |
Actress |
|
21 |
Jacqueline Susann |
56 |
US |
Author, Actress |
|
21 |
Walter Brennan |
80 |
US |
Actor |
|
22 |
Stephanie Bidmead |
45 |
UK |
Actress |
|
27 |
James R. Webb |
64 |
US |
Screenwriter |
|
October
|
13 |
Ed Sullivan |
73 |
US |
Actor |
|
November
|
7 |
Rodolfo Acosta |
54 |
Mexico |
Actor |
|
13 |
Vittorio De Sica |
73 |
Italy |
Actor, Director, Screenwriter |
|
14 |
Johnny Mack Brown |
70 |
US |
Actor |
|
17 |
Clive Brook |
87 |
UK |
Actor |
|
25 |
Rosemary Lane |
61 |
US |
Actress, Singer |
|
December
|
4 |
Lee Kinsolving |
36 |
US |
Actor |
|
5 |
Pietro Germi |
60 |
Italy |
Actor, Director, Screenwriter |
|
10 |
Paul Richards |
50 |
US |
Actor |
|
11 |
Reed Hadley |
63 |
US |
Actor |
|
15 |
Anatole Litvak |
72 |
Ukraine |
Director, Producer |
|
21 |
Richard Long |
47 |
US |
Actor |
|
26 |
Jack Benny |
80 |
US |
Actor |
|
Film debuts
References
External links
|
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