Film year 1961
List of film years
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Other events
Film year 1961 | |
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American actor Gary Cooper (left) dies on May 13, 1961 . | |
Events
- January 20th - Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller's marriage ends in divorce after four and a half years of marriage.
- February 1 - World premiere of Misfits - Not Sociable (Director: John Huston ). For this production, based on a script by Arthur Miller , both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable were in front of the camera for the last time. Gable did not live to see the premiere.
- December 20th - World premiere of Divorce in Italian (directed by Pietro Germi ), the first Commedia all'italiana film .
- Winner of the BRAVO Otto readers' choice 1961:
- Category - male film star: Gold OW Fischer , silver Hansjörg Felmy , bronze Rock Hudson
- Category - female film star: Gold Ruth Leuwerik , Silver Sabine Sinjen , Bronze Liselotte Pulver
Film awards
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards will take place on March 16 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
- Best drama: Spartacus by Stanley Kubrick
- Best Musical: Few are chosen by Charles Vidor and George Cukor
- Best Comedy: The apartment of Billy Wilder
- Best Actor (Drama): Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry
- Best Actress (Drama): Greer Garson in Sunrise at Campobello
- Best Actor (Musical / Comedy): Jack Lemmon in Das Appartement
- Best Actress (Musical / Comedy): Shirley MacLaine in Das Appartement
- Best Supporting Actor: Sal Mineo in Exodus
- Best Supporting Actress: Janet Leigh in Psycho
- Best Director: Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers
- Cecil B. DeMille Award : Fred Astaire
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards will be held on April 17th at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica . The moderator is Bob Hope .
- Best Picture: The Apartment by Billy Wilder
- Best Actor: Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry
- Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor in Phone Butterfield 8
- Best director: Billy Wilder for Das Appartement
- Best Supporting Actor: Peter Ustinov in Spartacus
- Best Supporting Actress: Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry
- Best original script: Billy Wilder and IAL Diamond for Das Appartement
- Best script based on a literary source: Richard Brooks for Elmer Gantry
- Best music: Ernest Gold for Exodus
- Best Foreign Language Film: The Virgin Spring by Ingmar Bergman
Complete list of award winners
Cannes International Film Festival 1961
The Cannes festival runs from May 3rd to May 18th. The jury under President Jean Giono selects the following winners:
- Golden Palm : Still after year and day by Henri Colpi and Viridiana by Luis Buñuel
- Best Actor: Anthony Perkins in Do You Love Brahms?
- Best actress: Sophia Loren in And yet they live
- Best director: Julija Solntsewa for Flaming Years
- Special jury prize: Mother Johanna von den Engeln by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Berlin International Film Festival 1961
The festival in Berlin takes place from June 23rd to July 4th. The jury selects the following winners:
- Golden Bear : The Night by Michelangelo Antonioni
- Best Actor: Peter Finch in And Tomorrow Everything
- Best Actress: Anna Karina in A Woman is a Woman
- Best director: Bernhard Wicki for The Miracle of Malachia
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Festival runs from August 20th to September 3rd. The jury selects the following winners:
- Golden Lion : Last year in Marienbad by Alain Resnais
- Best Actor: Toshirō Mifune in Yojimbo - The Bodyguard
- Best actress: Suzanne Flon in Tu ne tueras point
British Film Academy Award
- Best Picture: The Apartment by Billy Wilder
- Best British Actor: Peter Finch for The Man with the Green Carnation
- Best Foreign Actor: Jack Lemmon for Das Appartement
- Best British Actress: Rachel Roberts for Saturday night through Sunday morning
- Best Foreign Actress: Shirley MacLaine for Das Appartement
Étoile de Cristal
- Best film: Lola, the girl from the port by Jacques Demy
- Best Actor: Jean-Paul Belmondo in Breathless
- Best Actress: Anouk Aimée in The Sweet Life
- Best Foreign Film: Those Playing With Love by Michelangelo Antonioni
- Best Foreign Actor: Anthony Perkins in Psycho
- Best Foreign Actress: Monica Vitti in Playing With Love
New York Film Critics Circle Award
- Best Film: West Side Story by Robert Wise
- Best director: Robert Rossen for Haie der Großstadt
- Best Actor: Maximilian Schell in The Judgment of Nuremberg
- Best Actress: Sophia Loren in And Yet They Live
- Best Foreign Film: The Sweet Life of Federico Fellini
National Board of Review
- Best Film: Question Seven by Stuart Rosenberg
- Best Director: Jack Clayton for Castle of Terror
- Best Actor: Albert Finney on Saturday night through Sunday morning
- Best Actress: Geraldine Page in Sommer und Rauch
- Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Gleason in Sharks of the City
- Best Supporting Actress: Ruby Dee in A Spot in the Sun.
- Best foreign language film: The Bridge by Bernhard Wicki
Laurel Award
- Best Action Drama: Alamo by John Wayne
- Best Actor: John Wayne in the Alamo
- Best Drama: Elmer Gantry by Richard Brooks
- Best Actor in Drama : Burt Lancaster in Elmer Gantry
- Best Dramatic Actress: Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment
- Best Comedy: The apartment of Billy Wilder
- Best Comedic Actor: Jack Lemmon in The Apartment
- Best Comedic Actress: Janet Leigh in Pepe - What Can the World Cost?
- Best Musical: Pepe - What Can the World Cost by George Sidney
- Best Entertainment Film: The AbsentMinded Professor by Robert Stevenson
Further film prizes and awards
- Astor de Oro : Saturday night to Sunday morning by Karel Reisz
- German Critics' Prize : Boy Gobert
- Directors Guild of America Award : Billy Wilder for Das Appartement , Frank Borzage (life's work)
- Ernst Lubitsch Prize : Gert Fröbe for The Crook and the Dear God
- Louis Delluc Prize : With my eyes from François Reichenbach
- Nastro d'Argento : Rocco and his brothers by Luchino Visconti and The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman
- Photoplay Award : Fever in the Blood of Elia Kazan (Best Film), Troy Donahue (Most Popular Male Star), Connie Stevens (Most Popular Female Star)
- German Film Critics' Prize : The Haunted Castle in the Spessart by Kurt Hoffmann
- Festival Internacional de Cine de Donostia-San Sebastián : The Obsessed by Marlon Brando (Golden Shell)
- Writers Guild of America Award : Just give us a call - come to the house (Best Musical), Elmer Gantry (Best Drama), Das Appartement (Best Comedy), George Seaton (Lifetime Achievement)
Birthdays
January to March
January
- Roland Suso Richter , German director January 7th:
- Stephan Baumecker , German actor January 8:
- January 10: Evan Handler , American actor
- January 13: Julia Louis-Dreyfus , American actress
- January 17: Brian Helgeland , American screenwriter and director
- January 19: Paul McCrane , American actor
- January 24th: Nastassja Kinski , German actress
- January 26: Julia Kent , German actress and screenwriter
February
- Gabrielle Carteris , American actress February 1:
- Lauren Lane , American actress February 2:
- Keith Gordon , American actor and director February 3:
- February 10: Alexander Payne , American director
- February 11: Carey Lowell , American actress
- February 16: Eric Red , American director and screenwriter
- February 21: Christopher Atkins , American actor
- February 24: Kasi Lemmons , American actress and director
- February 28: Rae Dawn Chong , Canadian actress
March
- Steven Weber , American actor March 4th:
- Jelena Jakowlewa , Russian actress March 5:
- Dirk Schäfer , German director and documentary filmmaker March 5th:
- Camryn Manheim , American actress March 8:
- March 11: Elias Koteas , Canadian actor
- March 14th: Penny Johnson Jerald , American actress
- March 17: Casey Siemaszko , American actor
- March 18: Geoffrey Owens , American actor
- March 20: Maja Maranow , German actress
- March 24th: Nina Hoger , German actress
- March 25: John Stockwell , American director
- March 28: Barbara Wussow , Austrian actress
- March 29: Amy Sedaris , American actress
- March 29: Michael Winterbottom , British director
April to June
April
- Christopher Meloni , American actor April 2:
- Elizabeth Gracen , American actress April 3:
- Eddie Murphy , American actor April 3:
- Andrea Arnold , British director April 5th:
- Lisa Zane , American actress April 5:
- April 14: Robert Carlyle , British actor
- April 18: Jane Leeves , British actress
- April 19: Serge Falck , Belgian-Austrian actor
- April 19: Catherine Lloyd Burns , American actress
- April 20: Konstantin Lavronenko , Russian actor
- April 23: Dirk Bach , German actor, voice actor, presenter and comedian († 2012)
- April 26: Joan Chen , Chinese-American actress and director
May
- Stephen Daldry , British director May 2nd:
- George Clooney , American actor May 6:
- John Corbett , American actor May 9:
- May 10: Johanna ter Steege , Dutch actress
- May 14: Ulrike Folkerts , German actress
- May 14: Tim Roth , British actor
- May 15: Katrin Cartlidge , British actress († 2002)
- May 15: Larry Holden , British actor († 2011)
- May 17: Corey Johnson , American actor
- May 20: Owen Teale , British actor
- May 22: Ann Cusack , American actress
- May 23: Bernhard Majcen , Austrian actor
- May 31: Lea Thompson , American actress
June
- Sophie Rois , Austrian actress June 1st:
- Michael J. Fox , Canadian actor June 9:
- Aaron Sorkin , American screenwriter June 9:
- June 11th: María Barranco , Spanish actress
- June 17th: Denis Lavant , French actor
- June 21: Simone Brahmann , German actress and voice actress
- June 21: Petra Kalkutschke , German actress
- June 24: Iain Glen , British actor
- June 25: Timur Bekmambetov , Kazakh director
- June 29: Sharon Lawrence , American actress
- June 30: Christian Wewerka , German actor and speaker
July to September
July
- Lesley Vickerage , British actress July 1:
- Mark Billingham , British author and actor July 2nd:
- Samy Naceri , French actor and producer July 2nd:
- Alba Parietti , Italian singer and actress July 2nd:
- Kimberly Foster , American actress July 6:
- Eckhard Preuss , German actor, screenwriter and director July 7th:
- Wally Pfister , American cameraman July 8:
- Raymond Cruz , American actor July 9:
- Martin Halm , German actor and voice actor July 9:
- July 10: Ulla Kock am Brink , German presenter
- July 10: Jacky Cheung , Hong Kong-Chinese actor and singer
- July 12th: Stef Bos , Dutch singer and actor
- July 12th: Heike-Melba Fendel , German actress
- July 14th: Jackie Earle Haley , American actor
- July 14: Patricia Schlesinger , German television presenter
- July 15: Lolita Davidovich , Canadian actress
- July 15: Jean-Christophe Grangé , French screenwriter
- July 15: Forest Whitaker , American actor, producer and director
- July 16: Tony Ayres , Australian screenwriter and director
- July 17th: Henning Lohner , German director and composer
- July 17: Zbigniew Zamachowski , Polish actor
- July 18: Elizabeth McGovern , American actress
- July 18: Lew Schneider , American producer, screenwriter, and actor
- July 19: Hideo Nakata , Japanese director and producer
- July 19: Campbell Scott , American actor
- July 23: Woody Harrelson , American actor
- July 25th: Herbert Föttinger , Austrian actor
- July 25: Katherine Kelly Lang , American actress
- July 27: John Putch , American actor and director
- July 30: Laurence Fishburne , American actor
August
- Dana Sparks , American actress August 1:
- Molly Hagan , American actress August 3:
- Lauren Tom , American actress August 4:
- Tawny Kitaen , American actress August 5:
- Janet McTeer , British actress August 5th:
- Clayton Rohner , American actor August 5:
- Amy Stiller , American actress August 9:
- August 16: Elpidia Carrillo , Mexican actress
- August 17th: Kati Outinen , Finnish actress
- August 18: Birol Ünel , German-Turkish actor
- August 19: Francesca Comencini , Italian director
- August 23: Alexandre Desplat , French composer
- August 25: Ally Walker , American actress
- August 29: Philipp Moog , German actor
September
- Cédric Klapisch , French director and actor September 4th:
- September 11: Virginia Madsen , American actress
- September 14th: Martina Gedeck , German actress
- September 18: James Gandolfini , American actor († 2013)
- September 19: Susanne Holst , German presenter
- September 19: Ross Kettle , South African-American actor and director
- September 19: Kai Wessel , German director
- September 21: Thomas Klemm , German composer
- September 21: Serena Scott Thomas , British actress
- September 21: Nancy Travis , American actress
- September 22nd: Scott Baio , American actor
- September 22nd: Bonnie Hunt , American actress
- September 22: Catherine Oxenberg , American actress
- September 23: Chi McBride , American actor
- September 23: Elizabeth Peña , American actress
- September 24th: Pierre Cosso , French actor
- September 24th: John Logan , American screenwriter
- September 24th: Michael Tavera , American composer
- September 25: Heather Locklear , American actress
- September 27: Andy Lau , Chinese actor
- September 29th: Tobias Hoesl , German actor
- September 30th: Eric Stoltz , American actor
October to December
October
- Alexei Pavlovich Schipenko , Russian screenwriter October 3:
- David W. Harper , American actor October 4:
- Matthias Brandt , German actor October 7th:
- Peter Øvig Knudsen , Danish screenwriter October 9:
- October 10: Danuta Stenka , Polish actress
- October 11: Hany Abu-Assad , Dutch-Palestinian director
- October 11th: Alfred Dorfer , Austrian actor
- October 13: Abderrahmane Sissako , Mauritanian director and producer
- October 13: Volker A. Zahn , German screenwriter
- October 16: Marc Levy , French writer, actor and producer
- October 19: Burkhard C. Kosminski , German director and actor
- October 23: David Kitay , American film composer
- October 24th: Wolfgang Herold , German producer and sound supervisor
- October 26: Cyrus David , German actor, director and presenter
- October 26: Dylan McDermott , American actor
- October 29th: Regina Sattler , Austrian actress
- October 31: Peter Jackson , New Zealand director
November
- Ralph Macchio , American actor November 4:
- November 14th: Lucas Belvaux , Belgian actor, director and screenwriter
- November 14: Daniel Bernard Sweeney , American actor
- November 16: Andrea Prodan , Italian actor
- November 18: Nick Chinlund , American actor
- November 20: Phil Joanou , American director
- November 22: Mariel Hemingway , American actress
- November 25: Ted Elliott , American screenwriter
- November 27th: Samantha Bond , British actress
- November 27: Steve Oedekerk , American actor, director and screenwriter
- November 28: Martin Clunes , British actor
- November 28: Alfonso Cuarón , Mexican director
- November 28: Jonathan Mostow , American director and producer
- November 29: Tom Sizemore , American actor
- November 30th: Diego Wallraff , German actor
- November 30th: Paul Schulze , American actor
December
- Lito Vitale , Argentine composer December 1st:
- David Anthony Higgins , American actor and screenwriter December 9:
- Joe Lando , American actor December 9:
- December 10th: Nia Peeples , American actress
- December 11th: Kimberly Scott , American actress
- December 12th: Sarah Sutton , British actress
- December 16: Shane Black , American screenwriter and director
- December 16: Sam Robards , American actor
- December 16: Jon Tenney , American actor
- December 19: Scott Cohen , American actor
- December 24th: Wade Williams , American actor
- December 25th: Stefan Ruzowitzky , Austrian director
- December 26: John Lynch , British actor
- December 26: Tahnee Welch , American actress
Day unknown
- Susi Stach , Austrian actress
deceased
January to March
- January 10: Dashiell Hammett , American crime writer (* 1894)
- January 14: Barry Fitzgerald , Irish actor (* 1888)
- January 14th: Ernest Thesiger , British actor (* 1879)
- January 19: Charlotte Daudert , German actress (* 1913)
- Anna May Wong , American actress (* 1905) February 2:
- Ludwig Meybert , German actor, theater director and radio play speaker (* 1893) February 5:
- February 17: Nita Naldi , American actress (* 1894)
- February 24: Harry J. Wild , American cameraman (* 1901)
- March 12: Belinda Lee , British actress (born 1935)
- March 12th: Hedwig Wangel , German actress (* 1875)
April to June
- Rudolf Reiff , German actor (* 1901) April:
- April 25: George Melford , American actor and director (* 1877)
- April 26: Gustav Ucicky , Austrian director (* 1899)
- April 27: Roy Del Ruth , American director (* 1893)
- Hugo Werner-Kahle , German actor (* 1882) May 1:
- May 10: Luciano Doria , Italian producer and director (* 1891)
- May 13: Gary Cooper , American actor (born 1901)
- May 20: Hilde Schneider , German actress (* 1914)
- May 22: Edward F. Cline , American director (* 1892)
- May 30th: Else Bassermann , German actress and screenwriter (* 1878)
- John Stone , American producer and screenwriter (* 1888) June 3:
- Curt Johannes Braun , German screenwriter (* 1903) June 5:
- June 10: Harry Hermann Spitz , German radio editor and orchestra leader (* 1899)
- June 14: Eddie Polo , American actor and director (* 1875)
- June 17: Jeff Chandler , American actor (born 1918)
- June 30th: Lee de Forest , American inventor and film technology pioneer (* 1873)
- June 30: Kurt Meister , German actor, director, author and radio play speaker (* 1901)
July to September
- Maria Wendt , German actress (* 1876) July 1:
- Ernest Hemingway , American writer and screenwriter (* 1899) July 2:
- Franklyn Farnum , American actor (* 1878) July 4th:
- July 10: Peter Preses , Austrian actor and screenwriter (* 1907)
- July 10: Dagny Servaes , German-Austrian actress (* 1894)
- July 18: Alfréd Deésy , Hungarian director and actor (* 1877)
- July 22nd: Eduard von Winterstein , German actor (* 1871)
- July 23: Valentine Davies , American screenwriter (born 1905)
- Alfred Kunz , Austrian stage and costume designer (* 1894) August 2nd:
- Bruno Lopinski , German actor, recording and production manager (* 1877) August 3:
- Maurice Tourneur , French director (* 1873) August 4th:
- August 11: Géza von Bolváry , Hungarian director (* 1897)
- August 27: Gail Russell , American actress (born 1924)
- August 30: Charles Coburn , American actor (* 1877)
- September 10: Leo Carrillo , American actor (* 1881)
- September 20: Andrzej Munk , Polish director (* 1921)
- September 22nd: Marion Davies , American actress (* 1897)
- September 22nd: Henry Lorenzen , Danish actor (* 1899)
- September 22nd: Roland Schacht , German film critic and screenwriter (* 1888)
- September 22nd: Albin Skoda , Austrian actor (* 1909)
- September 23: Seymour Nebenzahl , German-American producer (* 1897)
October to December
- Kurt Bobeth Bolander , German actor (* 1896) October 4:
- October 10: Lewin Fitzhamon , British director (* 1869)
- October 11: Chico Marx , American comedian and member of the Marx Brothers (* 1887)
- October 13: Maya Deren , American avant-garde director and film theorist (* 1917)
- October 13: Zoltan Korda , Hungarian-British director (* 1895)
- October 18: Hans Heinz Theyer , Austrian cameraman (* 1910)
- October 22: Joseph Schenck , American manager and producer (* 1878)
- October 23: Raúl Cancio , Spanish actor (* 1911)
- October 29: Guthrie McClintic , American actor and producer (* 1893)
- Eduard Köck , Austrian actor (* 1882) November 3:
- Elsie Ferguson , American actress (* 1883) November 5:
- November 13: Max Hansen , Danish actor and singer (* 1897)
- November 24th: Ruth Chatterton , American actress (* 1893)
- November 28: Arthur Melbourne-Cooper , British producer and film pioneer (* 1874)
- December 14: Aribert Wäscher , German actor (* 1895)
- December 30th: Paul Richter , Austrian actor (* 1895)