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The 1970s were a huge turning point for thriller movies. During this decade, cinema turned up the suspense. It kept us on the edge of our seats, gripping the armrests of theater chairs with white-knuckled intensity. Imagine a decade filled with psychological tension, mind-bending plots, gritty crime dramas, and raw, unpredictable action. It’s as if the decade was made for film fans who wanted intense thrills. This list of the best 70s thriller movies showcases how the decade became a turning point for suspense and action in cinema.

The 1970s film thrillers didn’t just entertain; they changed the genre by combining aspects that would impact film for decades to come. Those jump scares, heart-pounding chases, and mind-bending turns redefined the rules of suspense.

The culture zeitgeist was the center of the best 1970s thrillers’ pulse, which went beyond the plot. The political unrest, Watergate scandals, and social upheaval...

Actor, Musician and Philanthropist Jeremy Renner to serve as Grand Marshal for the 92nd Anniversary of The Hollywood Christmas Parade Supporting Marine Toys for Tots.

The live parade presented in association with The City of Los Angeles will take place on the streets of Hollywood, CA on Sunday, December 1, 2024 starting at 6:00 p.m. at Hollywood landmark Tcl Chinese Theatre.

Jeremy Renner is an award-winning actor and dedicated philanthropist whose commitment to giving back is as integral to his identity as his celebrated film roles. In 2023, he founded the RennerVation Foundation, a youth-focused nonprofit dedicated to creating meaningful opportunities for children in foster care and at-risk youth. The foundation’s mission is to foster joy, growth, and a strong sense of belonging, offering these young individuals experiences and resources that allow them to embrace the fullness of childhood. With memorable performances in films including The Hurt Locker and the Avengers series,...

Ho-ho-Hawkeye. MCU and Mayor of Kingstown star Jeremy Renner will take the reindeer reins as grand marshal of the 92nd Hollywood Christmas Parade next month.

The two-time Oscar-nominated actor, who was badly injured in a snowplow accident nearly two years ago, will preside over the festivities starting at 6 p.m. Sunday, December 1. Launched in 1928, the parade is a longstanding Los Angeles tradition and serves as an official kickoff to the holiday season. It also collects and donations charities including the U.S. Marines’ Toys for Tots program.

“I’m honored to serve as the grand marshal for this year’s Hollywood Christmas Parade and excited to partner with Toys for Tots to bring joy to children in need,” Renner said in a statement. “Their mission aligns closely with the work we do at the RennerVation Foundation, creating meaningful experiences for at-risk youth. This season of giving is about spreading hope,...

All October long, Cracked is catching up with some of the greatest writers in Simpsons history to discuss the most beloved segments from the “Treehouse of Horror” series. From the cursed monkey’s paw to Krusto the Clown, we’re digging into the making of some real fan-favorites.

When it comes to The Simpsons, longtime showrunner Al Jean has seen just about everything. Which means that when he’s picking show favorites, the competition is fierce. Maybe never more so than among “Treehouse of Horror” episodes, as he was half of the creative team behind the second one (with his stalwart writing partner Mike Reiss), and he’s played a role in pretty much every installment since.

When I ask him and Reiss for a favorite, though, the answer comes pretty easy: Season 26’s “Treehouse of Horror Xxv.”

Per usual, it contained three segments, all written by Stephanie Gillis. The first was “School Is Hell,...

First impressions are everything — except when they’re not. While most sitcoms that struggle in their first season get the ax, there have been occasions when a network is so invested in the success of a star or a concept that they give it another shot after retooling things. Sometimes they ditch a few characters or switch the location; other times they go so far as to change the name of the show. Then they put it back out into the world and hope everyone forgets about the original incarnation.

Here are seven such shows that were retooled after (or during) their first season, with notably mixed results…

7 Ellen

Ellen DeGeneres’ mid-1990s ABC sitcom was a modest success. Its first season, though, was very different from those that would follow. For starters, it was called These Friends of Mine instead of Ellen. And a couple of those friends (played...

Born in 1920, Walter Matthau was a celebrated performer on both the stage and screen, known for his gruff, rumpled persona. Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Matthau turned to acting after serving in the United States Army Air Force during WWII. He became a frequent presence on the small screen with appearances in “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Goodyear Playhouse,” and “The Du Pont Show of the Week” (which brought him an Emmy bid in 1963), to name a few. During this period he also appeared in several films, few of them comedies, including “A Face in the Crowd” (1957) and “Fail Safe” (1964).

At the same time, he gained increasing respect as a stage actor with Tony Award-winning performances in “A Shot in the Dark” (Featured Actor in a Play in 1962) and “The Odd Couple” (Actor in a Play in 1965). It was in the latter role of Oscar Madison,...

There was a time when Matt Damon was so renowned, his very name would give away the ending of a movie.

14 Gary Oldman

Oldman had on so much makeup in 2001’s Hannibal that he requested to “do it anonymously” for the theatrical release. But one Nathan Murray was credited as “Mr. Oldman's assistant,” which kind of gave away the game.

13 Matt Damon

Christopher Nolan thought having Damon’s name attached to 2014’s Interstellar would give away much of the story, because people would have a built-in expectation of him being a “good guy.”

12 Gene Hackman

Hackman had a big part in 1993’s The Firm, but Tom Cruise was given humongous billing that made his name the same size as the movie title in some instances. Upon learning that, Hackman was basically like: Screw it, don’t even credit me.

11 David Hyde Pierce

Pierce provided the voice for the character Abe Sapien in Hellboy,...

A while back, a terrific book about the golden age of action stars called “The Last Action Heroes” came out (buy it here). Written by Nick De Semlyen, the book takes a very affectionate look at all of the icons we grew up with in the 80s and 90s, with one notable exception. Steven Seagal does not come off well in the book – at all. One of the wildest stories from the book recounts a time when Seagal grew outraged over the fact that a meeting room he wanted was being occupied by the legendary Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

The two actors, who would have been in their late sixties then, were participating in a read-through for their hit comedy Grumpy Old Men. According to the book, the vibe in the room was light, with the two old pros cracking up their director, Daniel Petrie and assembled guests. One of them was William Osborne,...

Peter Marshall, who hosted the popular game show The Hollywood Squares for more than 15 years and had a long career as an actor, singer and comic, died today of kidney failure at his Encino home. He was 98. His publicist Harlan Boll confirmed to news to Deadline.

Marshall won four Daytime Emmys for hosting the syndicated Hollywood Squares from 1966-81. The tic-tac-toe game featured two contestants agreeing or disagreeing with celebrities who provided answers to Marshall’s questions — which ranged from silly to ribald. The format has been revived a few times over the years, with a new edition hosted by Nate Burleson with Drew Barrymore in the famed center square is to premiere in midseason.

Among the scores of stars who appeared on Hollywood Squares were Walter Matthau, Gloria Swanson, Glenn Ford, and Milton Berle, as well as regulars Paul Lynde — who often killed as the center square — Rose Marie,...

Gena Rowlands, the award-winning actress known for her roles in films such as A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria, and The Notebook, has died at the age of 94.

Rowlands died Wednesday, August 14th, at her home in Indian Wells, California, according to TMZ. She had been battling Alzheimer’s disease.

Hailing from Cambria, Wisconsin, Rowlands originally got her start in theater, studying drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Upon graduating, she starred in several repertory productions before making her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch. She later starred in the Broadway play Middle of the Night.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, Rowlands transitioned to a career in television. She starred in the syndicated television series Top Secret and made guest appearances on shows including Laramie, Riverboat, 77 Sunset Strip, and Dr. Kildare. She also appeared on several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

However,...

No sitcom archetype gets Flanderized faster than the Dumb Character. In fairness, Flanderization — the act of taking a single trait and magnifying it until it becomes the entire character — seems inevitable with dim-witted sitcom roles since there’s really nowhere to go but down (in Iq).

Here are five characters that had at least half a brain in their sitcom introductions, only to degenerate into complete and utter brainlessness…

1 Woody Boyd, ‘Cheers’

When Woody arrived at Cheers to take the place of his mentor, the addled Coach, he was a naive, unsophisticated innocent from Indiana. Characters who don’t know what’s going on can be a sitcom writer’s dream — when others need to explain to Doofus what’s happening, a lot of clunky exposition can be delivered quickly.

Woody’s naivety gave way to stupidity in Cheers’ later years. When you study the Constitution because you’re thinking about running for Congreff,...

Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we cover the 55th Academy Awards in 1983, honoring the films of 1982.

There was no suspense as to what would win heading into the ceremony. “Gandhi” dominated from top to bottom, winning eight awards from its leading 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Richard Attenborough and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley. The biopic did not have a Best Actress contender, but even if it did, there was no beating Meryl Streep, who prevailed for “Sophie’s Choice.” She was such a lock that even fellow nominee Debra Winger‘s parents were rooting for Streep.

See Oscars Playback: When ‘Chariots of Fire’ outran ‘Reds’ for the gold

1982 was a breakout year for Jessica Lange, who became the first performer in 38 years to receive two acting nominations...

Many people may not know this, but before Steven Seagal’s action movie heyday, he worked as a martial arts instructor and choreographer. Most famously, he was super agent Michael Ovitz’s martial arts teacher. Ovitz, notoriously, thought he could make anyone a movie star, and proved it by securing Steven Seagal a movie deal at Warner Bros, where he made Above the Law… and the rest was history.

Another guy Steven Seagal trained was Sean Connery, who was one of Ovitz’s first major clients. The agent paired Connery up with Seagal to get him into shape for the unofficial James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again. Connery was fifty-two at the time and had a couple of fight sequences in the film, so Seagal was brought in to whip him into shape. One day, while sparring, Seagal broke Connery’s wrist. The urban legend is that Connery did something that made him angry,...

The original 1964 Broadway production of "Hello, Dolly!" was considered a showcase for its star, Carol Channing, and little else. At the time, critics were not entirely kind, saying the show had "unnecessary vulgar and frenzied touches," and that they "wouldn't say that Jerry Herman's score is memorable." Despite the middling reviews, "Hello, Dolly!" won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Leading Actress (for Channing), Best Direction, Best Choreography, and Best Original Score.

The mid-'60s were a weirdly fraught time for major Hollywood musicals, as the genre provided some of the era's biggest hits, but also some of its biggest bombs. In 1964, Disney had a big hit with "Mary Poppins" and Warner Bros. made bank with "My Fair Lady," so musicals were suddenly on the rise. In 1965, Fox released "The Sound of Music," adapted from the stage production by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and it proved to be one of...

Yentl.The publication of My Name Is Barbra, Barbra Streisand's 970-page memoir, has offered fans of the actress-singer-icon a long-awaited glimpse into her life. It’s a lot of book, a maximalist feast of details and anecdotes that paints a lavish portrait of the woman who became a generational star. It’s easy to forget just how much of Streisand's career was besieged by misogyny, whether it was critics' repeated derision of appearance or co-stars like Walter Matthau berating her on set. Streisand certainly never forgot, and her memoir offers frequent reminders of the sexism that hampered her path to success at every turn. Her memoir conveys an achingly detailed portrait of endurance by a wildly ambitious woman. Wherever she went, she was derided for trying to do or be “too much,” and she took pleasure in proving her detractors wrong in her inimitable style. When she chose to get behind the camera and direct,...

Season 1 of "The Simpsons" is a whole different beast. You've got brown Mr. Smithers, character designs out of a Dr. Seuss book, and Homer inexplicably sounding like Walter Matthau. It's a charming affair, but it also hasn't yet turned into "The Simpsons" we've come to know and love.

What complicates the first season even more is the way that Fox aired certain episodes out of order. This was famously a much bigger problem with the classic era of "Futurama," but it also led to some inconsistencies in early "Simpsons." While the animation, character designs, and voices were all slowly evolving in the right direction throughout the first three seasons, the out-of-order episodes meant the show would sometimes take a seemingly random, large step back in animation quality. A case in point was the season 1 finale, "Some Enchanted Evening," which inexplicably looked closer to the old bumpers on "The Tracey Ullman Show...

At the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929, native Pennsylvanian Janet Gaynor made history as the first American-born performer to win an Oscar by taking the Best Actress prize for her body of work in “7th Heaven,” “Street Angel,” and “Sunrise.” Over the subsequent 95 years, 215 more thespians originating from the United States won the academy’s favor, meaning the country has now produced 68.1% of all individual acting Oscar recipients. Considering the last decade alone, the rate of such winners is even higher, at 70.3%.

At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).

Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...

World-renowned director Steven Spielberg was at the height of his career when he made the Oscar-winning film "Schindler's List," but he wasn't the only filmmaker who was interested in adapting the novel of the same name for the silver screen. The acclaimed director Billy Wilder, an auteur of classic Hollywood cinema who penned and directed such renowned films as "The Apartment" and "Sunset Boulevard," was also vying for the rights to turn this story into a movie. However, by the time Thomas Keneally's evocative historical novel was published in 1993, Wilder's career was already winding down.

For a long time, Wilder enjoyed one of the most prosperous careers in Hollywood. His Oscar-nominated 1944 film "Double Indemnity" is considered the signal film of noir cinema and the model of the femme fatale trope. After Wilder's smashing success "Sunset Boulevard" earned three Oscars in 1951, he quickly went on to release several star vehicles...

Jack Lemmon was the two-time Oscar-winner who starred in dozens of films, working until his death in 2001 at the age of 76. But how many of those titles are classics? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest movies, ranked worst to best.

Lemmon won his first Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for “Mister Roberts” (1955). A second Oscar for Best Actor followed for “Save the Tiger” (1973), making him the first person to pull off victories in both categories. He competed six more times for Best Actor throughout his career.

He is perhaps best known for his long collaboration with Walter Matthau, with whom he made 11 films. In films such as “The Fortune Cookie” (1966), “The Odd Couple” (1968), and “Grumpy Old Men” (1993), Lemmon’s fastidiousness played beautifully off of Matthau’s scruffiness.

On the small screen, Lemmon earned Emmys for “‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous, ‘S Gershwin” (Best Variety Performer in 1972) and...

Snoop plays a former sports star who takes on losing pee-wee outfit in a charming comedy that has more than a passing resemblance to Bad News Bears

When laconic rapper-turned-actor Snoop Dogg is called on to appear in a film, he more often than not plays himself or a version thereof – and so it goes again in this salty but ultimately very wholesome sports movie. There’s even a sly parallel between the character Snoop plays and the efforts he’s made in the real world setting up an American football league for kids. Yes, his thespian range may be pretty limited, but there’s no denying Snoop has a palpable onscreen charisma and a good sense of comic timing that director Charles Stone III skilfully directs around.

The plot, as old as time – or at least as old as vintage 1976 comedy The Bad New Bears – posits Snoop as JJ,...

If you have any doubt about exactly what you are in for with Snoop Dogg’s first-ever starring role in a mainstream movie, The Underdoggs, you won’t after seeing the disclaimer that pops up on screen at the start of the film.

The Following Movie Is Rated-r For Strong Language That May Not Be Suitable For Children.

But F**K All That.

You Know As Well As I Do That The Kids Who Aren’T Supposed To Be Watching This Sh*T Curse More Than The Rest Of US Motherf**Kers.

So Stop Worrying, Kick Back, Relax And Enjoy The Motherf**King Show…

Any questions? The Underdoggs is a descendant of foul-mouthed R-rated comedies like Bad Santa merged with kid-driven sports movies like The Mighty Ducks (which it references in one scene) and especially The Bad News Bears, which was about a ragtag Little League team who cussed a...

It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma.

So says Joe Pesci’s David Ferrie during a critical scene in Oliver Stone’s JFK, a movie being revisited for a few reasons. One is that Shout Factory just put out a 4K restoration that reissues both the director’s cut and theatrical cuts of these films. But, we’re also revisiting it due to the fact director Oliver Stone, more than thirty years after the film’s release, is still utterly fascinated by the assassination. His recent documentary, JFK: Through the Looking Glass, served as a bookend to the film, while another documentary, Citizen Stone, is in production and examines how the film, in some ways, served as his undoing, a notion I can’t say I agree with.

Whatever the case, JFK is a fascinating piece of work that was one of the most provocative films of the 90s.

If anyone is good at spotting hidden meanings in movies, it’s Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino wrote a book of film criticism in which he said one of Elvis Presley’s movies had a rich subtext. The film was helmed by one of the most consequential action movie directors of all time.

Quentin Tarantino felt 1 Elvis Presley movie is similar its director’s struggles in Hollywood

In his 2022 book Cinema Speculation, Tarantino talked about the work of film director Don Siegel of Dirty Harry fame. “But the rogue law enforcement officer, at odds with their superiors, who operates independently to get their man and enforce their own self-determined version of justice, is practically the quintessential Siegel protagonist,” he wrote. “Even his criminals go rogue.

“Mickey Rooney’s Baby Face Nelson stands in direct contrast to Leo Gordon’s Dillinger, and both Walter Matthau’s Charley Varrick and Burt Reynolds’ cat burglar...

Elvis Presley’s acting career never reached its fullest potential, but many of the people who worked with him praised his ability on screen. Eventually, though, his acting career took a downturn. Still, two of his friends said they watched him give one of his best performances in the mid-1970s. They couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable as he performed it, though.

Elvis Presley gave an incredible but uncomfortable acting performance to his friends

In the 1970s, Elvis brought his friends to Denver for a ski trip. They had traveled there after a tour, and everyone was exhausted and irritable. Still, Linda Thompson, Jerry Schilling, and Myrna Smith rallied enough to celebrate Elvis’ 41st birthday with him.

Elvis had seemed glum, but he perked up when Smith said she hadn’t seen the movie Across 110th Street. It was his favorite film, and he launched into a detailed explanation of its plot.

In the 1920s, a pair of comedians were paired together by chance, and showed a chemistry that caught the attention of audiences; Laurel and Hardy went on to make over 100 short and feature-length films that pioneered movie comedy. Over the next few decades, the studios were quick to seize upon a popular pairing, both comedic and romantic, creating some of the most popular duos in screen history – some of which carried over into offscreen friendships and real-life love stories. In the years since the downfall of the studio system, actors haven’t been paired as they were during the Golden Age, when they were contracted to do a studio’s bidding, but friendships and mutual respect has led to some memorable modern-day pairings.

From the earliest days of cinema to Abbott and Costello to Martin and Lewis to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, a successful comedy pairing can lead to big box office returns.

There are films you watched every time they pop up on TCM or streaming services. It’s like visiting an old friend. These movies put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. And one such film is “Charade,” which celebrates its 60th anniversary on Dec. 5. Deftly directed by Stanley Donen from a fun and thrilling Peter Stone screenplay, “Charade” stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn who exude a William Powell/Myrna Loy style chemistry that leaps off the screen. And let’s not forget that gorgeous Henry Mancini score, the romantic Oscar-nominated title tune “Charade,” with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and the pulsating Saul Bass title sequence.

I saw “Charade” when it was released, and I’ve probably seen it at least 15 more times. And each time seems like the first. Not many films have that kind of power. A 2010 Criterion Collection article by film historian...

Sitcoms are among some of the most beloved TV shows ever made. Unlike respected premium drama series like "The Wire," "Breaking Bad," or "True Detective," which regularly top lists of the greatest TV shows ever made, shows like "Friends," "Seinfeld," "Cheers," and "The Office" are beloved in a way that feels a lot more personal. Sitcoms are feel-good experiences, even when they're shows about nothing, and are the exact opposite of David Fincher's intense thrillers.

Which is why I can't shake the feeling that the auteur is making fun of himself with his latest effort. As /Film's Chris Evangelista wrote in his review of "The Killer," "I'm not saying Fincher is on the same level as a cold-blooded killer, but he clearly sees a lot of himself (and his approach to his work) in his latest protagonist." But if the director was trying to draw this parallel between the...

From the 1960s to the 1990s, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon made 10 movies together, and the pair developed quite a reputation for being one of Hollywood’s wildest duos, a bond that served them well in their collaborations. Before Matthau passed away in 2000, we’d spoken to him several times, and he talked to us about the chemistry that he and Lemmon shared. (Click on the media bar below to hear Walter Matthau) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Walter_-Matthau_Jack_Lemmon_.mp3

The post Walter Matthau’s Recipe For Success: Just Add Lemmon appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Matthew Perry, the actor known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom “Friends,” has died. He was 54.

Perry was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times. Authorities found him unresponsive around 4 p.m., and there was no signs of foul play or drugs on the scene.

Perry gained international recognition for his role as the wry, fast-on-his-feet twentysomething Chandler on “Friends,” which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. He earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2002 for his performance on the iconic sitcom. Among the six stars in the “Friends” ensemble, Perry was ambitious as a performer and a producer, but he also grappled with a long struggle with substance abuse that stunted his career. Later in life, particularly with his 2022 book, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir,” Perry focused much of his energy...

Elaine Devry, an actress who appeared in such films as The Atomic Kid and A Guide for the Married Man and on dozens of TV shows after becoming the fourth of Mickey Rooney’s eight wives, has died. She was 93.

Devry died Sept. 20 in her home in Grants Pass, Oregon, according to a notice placed on a local funeral home website.

Devry married Rooney in Las Vegas in November 1952 and made her first onscreen acting appearances the next year in the Rooney-starring comedy film A Slight Case of Larceny and on an episode of the Ronald Reagan-hosted CBS anthology series General Electric Theater.

In the Republic Pictures sci-fi comedy The Atomic Kid (1954), directed by Leslie H. Martinson, she was introduced as “Elaine Davis (Mrs. Mickey Rooney),” and her character, a nurse, marries her husband’s Barnaby “Blix” Waterberry at the end of the movie.

In A Guide for the Married Man...

James Brolin on Wednesday clarified he was mistakenly referring to the 1973 film “The Way We Were” in an interview with Bill Maher in which he said his wife, Barbra Streisand, was working on redoing the ending.

“The Way We Were” is, in fact, being re-released Oct. 17 on Blu-ray for its 50th anniversary, not “Funny Girl.”

Brolin released a statement of clarification to TheWrap.

“To My Wife Barbra and all her fans,” the statement said. “Drinking tequila with Bill Maher on his ‘Club Random’ podcast recently, I mistakenly mentioned the wrong film. I meant to say my wife was working on ‘The Way We Were.‘ Apologies for all the confusion … Jim Brolin.”

Original story is below:

“Funny Girl,” the smash hit that cemented Barbra Streisand’s place in Hollywood at the ripe age of 26, ended with her protagonist, Fanny Brice, separating from her husband after he was released from prison.

Fifty-five years later,...

As any critic will tell you, when you’re watching a comedy with an audience, it doesn’t matter how bad the movie is — even the jokes that are making you groan are going to provoke laughter. (That’s why comedies are always screened with a crowd; the studios want the audience giggles to rub off on you.) But at the Venice Film Festival, when I saw “The Palace,” Roman Polanski’s garish debacle of an ensemble comedy, I was sitting in the Sala Darsena, which seats 1400 (and was full), and on the rare occasion when a line in the movie got laughs, it was literally coming from about six people. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard a giant theater this deadly silent for a movie that’s working this strenuously to amuse you.

Polanski, if you look back over his credits, has an astoundingly consistent track...

Loretta Swit remembers well the night she won her first Emmy Award.

On Sept. 7, 1980, the “Mash” star sat in her agent’s living room in Beverly Hills, watching the ceremony on TV when she heard her name called out and saw her picture flash on the screen. Swit was not in the audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium that year because her union, the Screen Actors Guild, was on strike.

Swit and her fellow “Mash” troupers Alan Alda, Mike Farrell and Jamie Farr were among the most vocal and visible actors on picket lines and at press conferences when SAG initiated its first work stoppage in 20 years on July 21, 1980. The reality of her Emmy win – after seven consecutive nominations — sunk in for Swit when she suddenly got a phone call from Europe from her friend Jacqueline Bisset. “She was so excited. She said, ‘Hey, you won!’ ” Swit recalls.

Forty-three years later,...

Apple TV+’s hit limited series “Hijack” starring Idris Elba is a nail-biting thrill ride set in real-time. Over the years, there have been many types of hijack films. Besides planes, there have been suspenseful takeovers of ships, trains, subways and even trucks.

“The Taking of the Pelham One Two Three,” from 1974 — avoid the two remakes — is a superb thriller about four men who take over a New York subway car and hold the passengers, conductor and an undercover policeman hostage unless they get $1 million (remember that was a lot of money 49 years ago). If their demands aren’t met, they will start killing hostages. Directed by Joseph Sargent and adapted by Peter Stone from the best-selling novel by John Godey, “Taking” boasts a stellar cast at the top of their game including Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Hector Elizondo and Martin Balsam. David Shire penned the influential score.

A year...

In 1957, Elvis Presley began working with Michael Curtiz, the esteemed director of Casablanca. At this point, Curtiz was an Academy Award-winning director, and Elvis was primarily a musician with only three films on his acting resume. Curtiz fully expected to dislike him. When they began working together, though, the director found that he liked Elvis far more than he had anticipated.

Elvis Presley impressed a director who had expected to dislike him

Elvis dove headfirst into preparing for King Creole, believing that the role could be majorly beneficial to his acting career. While Elvis was optimistic about the part, Curtiz wasn’t happy that he had to direct a relatively inexperienced actor. Elvis worked to prove himself to the director, though.

“You just didn’t have a lot of fooling around with Curtiz — I mean, he would embarrass the hell out of you,” Elvis’ co-star Jan Shepard said in the...

Ever since movies began, filmmakers have depicted the end of the world of the world on screen whether it be from floods, asteroids, comets, alien invasion and even Zombies. But cinema went nuclear after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945. The arrival of the nuclear age heralded the introduction of a new sub-genre: destruction by atomic bomb. And with the release July 21 of Christopher Nolan’s lauded “Oppenheimer,” which domestically earned some $70 million in its opening weekend, let’s look at some of the vintage flicks of the genre.

Nuclear destruction of London is stopped at the last moment in the taut 1950 British film “Seven Days to Noon,” directed by John and Roy Boulting and winners of the original story Oscar, stars veteran character actor Barry Jones as a brilliant scientist working at an atomic research center in London who steals an A-bomb that...

In films ranging from Catch-22 to Little Miss Sunshine, Arkin was renowned for the technical virtuosity he brought to each role of his colossal career

Alan Arkin, Oscar winning actor in Little Miss Sunshine, dies aged 89Alan Arkin: a life in pictures

Tough, unsentimental, witty, gravel-voiced and bullet-headed, Alan Arkin was a wiry character actor and comic presence who had a colossal career on stage, TV and movies. He came from the era of male stars such as Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Ben Gazzara, Robert Duvall and Peter Falk – actors who projected a kind of take-it-or-leave-it pugnacity, integrity and strength. The always sympathetic and technically brilliant Arkin perhaps came into his own late in life, his face and shaven head morphing into a black-comic skull of derision and hilarity as the outrageous old guy who says what he wants because he’s decided he doesn’t care any more what...

Lew Palter, the veteran character actor and admired CalArts School of Theater faculty member who portrayed the department store magnate Isidor Straus in James Cameron’s Titanic, has died. He was 94.

Palter died May 21 of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, Catherine Palter, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The New York native played one of the Supreme Court justices in First Monday in October (1981), starring Walter Matthau, Jill Clayburgh and Barnard Hughes, and he donned a robe for stints on The Flying Nun, Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law as well.

Plus, he portrayed an LAPD detective on the 1976-77 CBS series Delvecchio, starring Judd Hirsch.

Palter joined CalArts in 1971 and served as an acting teacher and director at the Santa Clarita school until his retirement in 2013, but he also conducted private workshops and taught around the country and around the world, including in Edinburgh and at Carnegie Mellon and UCLA.

Glenda Jackson, the British actress who hit the snooze bar on her acting career for a 23-year career in politics, died on Thursday, as per her representatives. During her peak years in the 1970s and 80s, she won two Oscars (and was nominated for two more) and two Emmy Awards. She was nominated for four Tony Awards, finally winning one in 2018 after a late-in-life career resurgence. She was 87 years old.

Jackson, whose father was a bricklayer and whose mother was a barmaid and domestic, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She was told by the academy’s principal that, due to her looks, she would likely only find work as a character actress, and she shouldn’t depend on getting jobs after 40.

This proved to be the opposite of true. Her big break came when experimental theater director Peter Brook cast her in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s groundbreaking adaptation of “Marat/Sade.

Glenda Jackson, the two-time Oscar winner who walked away from a hugely successful acting career to spend nearly a quarter-century in the U.K. parliament, only to make a comeback on the stage, died Thursday. She was 87.

Jackson died peacefully after a brief illness at her home in Blackheath, London, and her family was at her side, her agent Lionel Larner said in a statement. “Today we lost one of the world’s greatest actresses, and I have lost a best friend of over 50 years,” he said.

She recently completed filming The Great Escaper opposite Michael Caine, Larner noted.

The British actress collected a slew of honors that included best actress Academy Awards for Women in Love (1969) and A Touch of Class (1973); two Emmys for her performance as Elizabeth I in the BBC miniseries Elizabeth R (a role she also played in the 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots); and a...

In 1968, Ringo Starr acted alongside a number of Hollywood legends in the film Candy. He had very little screen time in the movie, but he still spent a good amount of time on set with the other actors. He said he greatly enjoyed the experience and looked back fondly on all the times he irritated actor Richard Burton. Starr shared what he did to get himself kicked off Burton’s boat.

Ringo Starr | David Redfern/Redferns Ringo Starr met multiple Hollywood stars while filming the movie ‘Candy’

Starr acted in The Beatles’ films, but his first movie without his bandmates was 1968’s Candy. Starr got to know some of Hollywood’s biggest names while on set.

“At the end of the year I was off to Rome to film a movie: Candy — what a great movie,” Starr said, per The Beatles Anthology. “It was the mind-blowing thrill of my life.

What do the 76th annual Tonys have in common with the 17th annual awards?

Stephen Sondheim.

The late, great influential composer is represented in this year’s Tonys with the acclaimed, popular revivals of his 1979 classic “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Street” earning eight nominations and 1987’s “Into the Woods” receiving six.

Sixty years ago, it was Sondheim’s musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” which dominated the Tony Awards with six wins: best musical, best producer for Harold Prince, best director for George Abbott, best author for Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, leading actor for Zero Mostel and featured actor for David Burns. Ironically, Sondheim failed to earn a nomination for best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theater. He would not win for his tunes until “Company” in 1971. Vying in that category were “Stop the World I Wanted...

I’ve loved gangster movies since I was four years old and saw Humphrey Bogart and Sylvia Sidney in Dead End (1937) on TV, and Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) at the movies (My dad pinched a lobby card for me). Every Friday night, a local NYC station ran old crime flicks on a slot called “Tough Guys.” Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and George Raft were the faces over the title. Today that might be Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Wesley Snipes, and James Gandolfini.

The gangster and crime genre produced some of the most influential films in cinema history. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar (1931), William A. Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931), and Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932), get a lot of credit for breaking ground in topics beyond criminality, shattering sexual taboos as well as the boundaries of acceptable visual violence. High Sierra (1941) and White Heat...

The ‘King of Calypso’ starred in ‘Kansas City’ and ‘BlacKkKlansman’.

US actor, singer, and activist Harry Belafonte, known for his role in Island In The Sun, has died at the age of 96.

Known as the ‘King of Calypso’, Belafonte made history with his third studio album Calypso (1956) which was said to be the first album by a solo artist to sell more than a million copies in the US and featured the beloved song ‘Day-o’ (The Banana Boat Song).

He earned his acclaim on the screen after he starred alongside James Mason, Joan Fontaine and Joan Collins in Robert Rossen...

Harry Belafonte, the actor, singer and civil rights trailblazer, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home, with his wife Pamela by his side. He was 96.

Belafonte is considered among the most successful Caribbean-American music stars of all time and one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood, making a name for himself during the 1950s and ’60s. An activist and social campaigner by nature, he was an early supporter of the Civil Rights movement and became a major figure in the American social and political history of the 20th century.

He was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and backed many historic political and social causes and events, including the anti-apartheid movement, equal rights for women, juvenile justice, climate change and the decolonization of Africa. He was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, leading a delegation of Hollywood including best friend Sidney Poitier,...

Harry Belafonte, the actor, producer, singer and activist who made calypso music a national phenomenon with “Day-o” (The Banana Boat Song) and used his considerable stardom to draw attention to Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights issues and injustices around the world, has died. He was 96.

Belafonte, recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2014, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his Manhattan home on the Upper West Side with his wife, Pamela, by his side, longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine told The Hollywood Reporter.

A master at blending pop, jazz and traditional West Indian rhythms, the Caribbean-American Belafonte released more than 30 albums during his career and received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy from the Recording Academy in 2000.

Calypso, which featured “Day-o” and another hit, “Jamaica Farewell,” topped the Billboard pop album list for an incredible 31 weeks in 1956 and is credited as...

Iconic actor, musician, and lifelong activist Harry Belafonte has died at the age of 96. The cause, per his longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine, was congestive heart failure.

Belafonte’s singing shaped a musical consciousness for generations of Americans, from traditional folk music and spirituals to Caribbean calypso and protest songs. His acting in films such as “Carmen Jones” and “Odds Against Tomorrow” won praise and helped pave the way for Black performers who would follow. And his activism took him to the front lines of the civil rights movement, where he marched with Martin Luther King Jr., lobbied for the release of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela, and joined other stars to raise money for famine relief on the African continent. Realizing from an early age the power of celebrity to advance social change, Belafonte was among the rare few to have been equally entrenched in the worlds of entertainment and politics with genuine results to spare.

The ‘90s were the decade of The Simpsons, sorry Seinfeld. The family was introduced in 1987 through a series of short clips in between skits on Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show, overstayed their welcome and were spun off. The series debuted on Dec. 17, 1989 with a holiday special, “Simpsons Roasting on An Open Fire,” before hopping on the rotisserie of regular rotation on Jan. 14, 1990 with “Bart the Genius,” directed by David Silverman, and written by Jon Vitti.

The half-hour animated series was created by Matt Groening, who came up with it as a last-second pitch to foil his own plan to animate his comic strip Life in Hell. The Simpsons was produced by TV legend James L. Brooks, who drove The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Taxi, and Sam Simon, who wrote for Taxi and Cheers.

The voice talent continued over from the shorts. Dan Castellaneta performed the voices of Homer Simpson,...

Of all The Beatles, Ringo Starr was the most successful in his movie career. Each acted with the band and appeared in films afterward, but Starr has the most extensive filmography. Critics agree that he showed promise as an actor; he was natural and charming onscreen and could have had a successful career. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very selective in the films he agreed to appear in, which negatively impacted his career. Here are four of Starr’s films to avoid.

Ringo Starr | Michael Putland/Getty Images ‘Give My Regards to Broad Street’ is 1 of the movies Ringo Starr appeared in with another Beatle

Starr agreed to appear in the 1984 film Give My Regards to Broad Street because his former bandmate Paul McCartney wrote it.

Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach, Paul McCartney, and Linda McCartney | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

“Ringo and I are good friends,” McCartney said, per the book Ringo:...

“They’re gonna put me in the movies,” Ringo Starr sang on The Ed Sullivan Show as the Beatles covered Buck Owens’ hit “Act Naturally.” The 1965 appearance featured songs from the group’s new film, Help!, director Richard Lester’s send-up of James Bond movies and other elements of spymania, as well as a follow-up to the greatest jukebox movie ever made, A Hard Day’s Night (1964). Both films put the rhythm up front. It was natural.

Prior to the nationally broadcast live performance, Starr prepared the audience by introducing himself as “all nervous and out of tune,” and smiled embarrassedly without missing or slowing a beat through his propulsive country swing. Starr was a natural performer, a locally famous beat-keeper in Liverpool before joining the Beatles, whose rhythm patterns had a character which set him apart from other drummers. His beats had personality. As the song says, he played the...