1971 in film

The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1971 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Events

• February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music. The film includes footage from Dylan's 1966 UK tour.
• The first permanent IMAX projection system is installed at Ontario Place's "Cinesphere" in Toronto.
• April 23 - Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song becomes the highest-grossing independent film of 1971.

Awards

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Go-Between, directed by Joseph Losey, United Kingdom

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini), directed by Vittorio De Sica, Italy / W. Germany

1971 film releases

U.S.A. unless stated

January–March

• January 1971
  • 31 January
    • Countess Dracula
• February 1971
  • 9 February
    • Little Murders
• March 1971
  • 11 March
    • A New Leaf
    • THX 1138
  • 12 March
    • Plaza Suite
    • The Andromeda Strain
  • 13 March
    • Vanishing Point
  • 17 March
    • The Barefoot Executive
  • 21 March
    • Making It
  • 24 March
    • Friends
  • 25 March
    • The Deserter
  • 31 March
    • B.S. I Love You

April–June

• April 1971
  • 9 April
    • Summer of '42
• May 1971
  • 1 May
    • Billy Jack
  • 21 May
    • Escape from the Planet of the Apes
  • 26 May
    • Big Jake
• June 1971
  • 13 June
    • Unman, Wittering and Zigo
• 18 June
  • • Willard
    • The Panic in Needle Park
  • 22 June
    • Scandalous John
  • 23 June
    • The Seven Minutes
  • 30 June
    • The Million Dollar Duck
    • Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
    • Carnal Knowledge

July–September

• July 1971
  • 1 July
    • Murphy's War
    • Walkabout
  • 2 July
    • Shaft
  • 24 July
    • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster) - (Japan)
• August 1971
  • 6 August
    • Let's Scare Jessica to Death
  • 9 August
    • The Mephisto Waltz
  • 15 August
    • Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
  • 19 August
    • The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
  • 25 August
    • A Gunfight

October–December

• October 1971
  • 9 October
    • The French Connection
• November 1971
  • 3 November
    • Fiddler on the Roof
    • Play Misty for Me
  • 24 November
    • Black Beauty
• December 1971
  • 13 December
    • Bedknobs and Broomsticks
  • 20 December
    • Harold and Maude
  • 19 December
    • A Clockwork Orange
  • 21 December
    • Such Good Friends
  • 22 December
    • Star Spangled Girl
    • The Last Picture Show
  • 23 December
    • Dirty Harry
  • 29 December
    • Straw Dogs
  • 30 December
    • Diamonds Are Forever

Notable films released in 1971

U.S.A. unless stated

• $ (a.k.a. Dollars, The Heist), starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn
• 10 Rillington Place, starring Richard Attenborough and John Hurt - (U.K.)
• 1000 Convicts and a Woman, British exploitation film directed by Ray Austin
• 1870, Italian historical drama starring Anna Magnani and Marcello Mastroianni
• 200 Motels, featuring Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention
• 3, Norwegian drama depicting a polyamorous relationship between a man and two women
• The 300 Year Weekend, starring Michael Tolan and William Devane

A

• Aabhijathyam, Indian Malayalam, directed by A Vincent and produced by RS Prabhu, with stars Madhu, Sharada and Sukumari
• Aana Valarthiya Vanampadiyude Makan, Indian Malayalam, directed and produced by P. Subramaniam, with stars Gemini Ganesan and Rajasree
• Aap Aye Bahaar Ayee, Bollywood film produced, directed and written by Mohan Kumar, with stars Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana
• The Abominable Dr. Phibes, starring Vincent Price and Joseph Cotten - (U.K.)
• Achante Bharya, Indian Malayalam film, directed by Thikkurissi Sukumaran Nair, with stars Adoor Bhasi, K. P. Ummer and Ragini
• Adrift on the Nile (Thartharah fawq al-Nil), directed by Hussein Kamal - (Egypt)
• Adiós, Sabata (a.k.a. The Bounty Hunters), starring Yul Brynner - (Italy)
• The Adversary (Pratidwandi), directed by Satyajit Ray - (India)
• Agnimrigam, Indian Malayalam film, directed by M. Krishnan Nair, with stars Prem Nazir, Sathyan and Sheela
• Amar Prem (Immortal Love), starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna - (India)
• Anand, starring Rajesh Khanna - (India)
• The Anderson Tapes, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, Christopher Walken
• And Now for Something Completely Different, a Monty Python film - (U.K.)
• The Andromeda Strain, directed by Robert Wise, starring Arthur Hill, Kate Reid, David Wayne, James Olson
• Animal Treasure Island (Dōbutsu Takarajima) - (Japan)

B

• Bananas, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Louise Lasser and Howard Cosell
• The Barefoot Executive, starring Kurt Russell
• The Battle of Kerzhenets (Secha pri Kerzhentse) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks, starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson
• The Beguiled, starring Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page
• Benny's Bathtub (Bennys badekar) - (Denmark)
• Between Miracles (Per grazia ricevuta), directed by and starring Nino Manfredi - (Italy)
• Beware of a Holy Whore (Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder - (West Germany)
• The Big Boss (Tang shan da xiong / a.k.a. Fists of Fury), starring Bruce Lee - (Hong Kong)
• The Big Doll House, starring Pam Grier
• Big Jake, starring John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara
• Billy Jack, starring Tom Laughlin, re-released in 1973
• Bleak Moments, directed by Mike Leigh, starring Anne Raitt, Sarah Stephenson - (U.K.)
• Bless the Beasts and Children, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Bill Mumy
• The Blood on Satan's Claw, starring Patrick Wymark and Linda Hayden- (U.K.)
• The Boat on the Grass (Le Bateau sur l'herbe), starring Jean-Pierre Cassel - (France)
• Born to Win, starring George Segal, Paula Prentiss, Héctor Elizondo, Karen Black, Robert De Niro
• The Boy Friend, directed by Ken Russell, starring Twiggy - (U.K.)
• Brian's Song, starring James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Shelley Fabares, Judy Pace, Jack Warden
• Brother John, starring Sidney Poitier
• Bunny O'Hare, starring Bette Davis

C

• Carnal Knowledge, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen
• Carry On Henry, directed by Gerald Thomas, starring Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims - (U.K.)
• The Ceremony (Gashiki), directed by Nagisa Oshima - (Japan)
• Chandler, starring Warren Oates and Leslie Caron
• Le Chat (The Cat), directed by Robert Bresson, starring Jean Gabin and Simone Signoret - (France)
• A Clockwork Orange, directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Malcolm McDowell - (U.K.)
• The Clowns (I clowns), a TV film directed by and starring Federico Fellini - (Italy)
• Cold Turkey, directed by Norman Lear, starring Dick Van Dyke and Bob Newhart
• Confessions of a Police Captain (Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica), starring Franco Nero - (Italy)
• Countess Dracula, starring Ingrid Pitt - (U.K.)
• Crucible of Terror, starring Mike Raven, James Bolam and Mary Maude- (U.K.)

D

• Dauria - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Deadly Duo (Shuang xia), directed by Chang Cheh - (Hong Kong)
• The Deadly Trap, starring Faye Dunaway and Frank Langella
• Death in Venice (Morte a Venezia), directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Dirk Bogarde and Silvana Mangano - (Italy/France)
• The Decameron, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini - (Italy)
• The Deserter, directed by Burt Kennedy, starring Bekim Fehmiu, John Huston, Richard Crenna, Chuck Connors, Brandon deWilde
• Desperate Characters, directed by Frank D. Gilroy, starring Shirley MacLaine and Kenneth Mars
• The Devils, directed by Ken Russell, starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave - (U.K.)
• The Devil Has Seven Faces, starring Stephen Boyd and Carroll Baker- (Italy)
• Die Screaming, Marianne, starring Susan George and Barry Evans- (U.K.)
• Diamonds Are Forever, starring Sean Connery (as James Bond), with Jill St. John, Jimmy Dean, Charles Gray - (U.K.)
• Dirty Harry, directed by Don Siegel, starring Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, John Vernon, Reni Santoni
• Doc, starring Stacy Keach and Faye Dunaway
• Drive, He Said, directed by Jack Nicholson, starring Karen Black and Bruce Dern
• Duel, the directorial debut of Steven Spielberg, starring Dennis Weaver
• Dulcima, starring John Mills and Carol White - (U.K.)

E

• The Emigrants, directed by Jan Troell, starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann - (Sweden)
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy, Ricardo Montalbán, Eric Braeden, William Windom, Sal Mineo
• Evdokia, directed by Alexis Damianos - (Greece)
• Evel Knievel, starring George Hamilton and Sue Lyon

F

• Family Life (Życie rodzinne) - (Poland)
• Family Life, directed by Ken Loach - (U.K.)
• Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Chaim Topol
• A Fistful of Dynamite (a.k.a. Duck You Sucker), directed by Sergio Leone, starring James Coburn and Rod Steiger - (Italy)
• Fleeing the Trap, starring Behrouz Vossoughi and Davoud Rashidi (Iran)
• Fools' Parade, starring James Stewart, George Kennedy, Kurt Russell
• Fortune and Men's Eyes - (Canada)
• Four Nights of a Dreamer (Quatre nuits d'un rêveur), directed by Robert Bresson - (France)
• The French Connection, directed by William Friedkin, starring Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider - 5 Academy Awards including best film, director and actor
• Fright, starring Susan George and Honor Blackman - (U.K.)

G

• The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, starring Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Robert De Niro
• Gas-s-s-s, directed by Roger Corman
• Gentlemen of Fortune (Dzhentlmeny udachi) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Get Carter, directed by Mike Hodges, starring Michael Caine - (U.K.)
• A Girl in Australia (Bello onesto emigrato Australia), starring Alberto Sordi - (Italy/Australia)
• The Go-Between, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Dominic Guard - (U.K.)
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster) - (Japan)
• Grandads-Robbers (Stariki-razboyniki) - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Grissom Gang, starring Kim Darby and Scott Wilson
• Guddi, starring Dharmendra - (India)
• Gumshoe, directed by Stephen Frears, starring Albert Finney and Billie Whitelaw - (U.K.)
• A Gunfight, starring Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash

H

• Hannie Caulder, starring Raquel Welch, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Culp
• Hare Rama Hare Krishna, directed by and starring Dev Anand - (India)
• Harold and Maude, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort
• The Hellstrom Chronicle, a documentary directed by Walon Green narrated by a dramatized title character portrayed by Lawrence Pressman
• The Hired Hand, directed by and starring Peter Fonda, with Warren Oates, Verna Bloom
• The Horsemen, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Omar Sharif and Jack Palance
• The Hospital, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring George C. Scott and Diana Rigg
• How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman (Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês) - (Brazil)
• How to Frame a Figg, starring Don Knotts and Yvonne Craig
• The Hunting Party, starring Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Oliver Reed

I

• I, Monster, starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing - (U.K.)
• In Prison Awaiting Trial (Detenuto in attesa di giudizio), starring Alberto Sordi - (Italy)

J

• Joe Hill, directed by Bo Widerberg - (Sweden/U.S.A.)
• Johnny Got His Gun, directed by Dalton Trumbo, starring Timothy Bottoms, Diane Varsi, Jason Robards, Donald Sutherland
• Juste avant la nuit (a.k.a. Just Before Nightfall), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stéphane Audran - (France)

K

• King Lear, directed by Peter Brook, starring Paul Scofield - (U.K.)
• King Lear, directed by Grigori Kozintsev - (U.S.S.R.)
• Klute, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Jane Fonda (Oscar winner), Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider
• Kotch, directed by Jack Lemmon, starring Walter Matthau

L

• Land of Silence and Darkness (Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit), directed by Werner Herzog - (West Germany)
• The Last Picture Show, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson
• The Last Run, starring George C. Scott
• Lawman, starring Burt Lancaster, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Ryan, Robert Duvall
• Le Mans, starring Steve McQueen
• Liberation (Osvobozhdenie / Befreiung), directed by Yuri Ozerov - (U.S.S.R./East Germany/Poland/Yugoslavia/Italy)
• The Light at the Edge of the World
• Little Murders, directed by Alan Arkin, starring Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson, Donald Sutherland
• Love (Szerelem) - (Hungary)
• The Love Machine, directed by Jack Haley, Jr., starring Dyan Cannon

M

• Macbeth, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Jon Finch and Francesca Annis - (U.K./U.S.)
• Made for Each Other, starring Joseph Bologna and Renée Taylor
• Malpertuis, starring Orson Welles and Susan Hampshire - (Belgium/France)
• Man in the Wilderness, starring Richard Harris
• The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker, starring Richard Benjamin, Joanna Shimkus and Adam West
• Mary, Queen of Scots, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
• McCabe & Mrs. Miller, directed by Robert Altman, starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie
• Melody, starring Mark Lester and Jack Wild - (U.K.)
• The Mephisto Waltz, starring Alan Alda and Jacqueline Bisset
• Mere Apne - (India)
• The Million Dollar Duck, starring Sandy Duncan
• Minnie and Moskowitz, directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands and Seymour Cassel
• Mira, directed by Fons Rademakers - (Netherlands/Belgium)
• The Missing Clerk (Den forsvundne fuldmægtig) - (Denmark)
• Mon oncle Antoine - considered by some critics the greatest Canadian film - (Canada)
• Murmur of the Heart, directed by Louis Malle - (France/Italy/West Germany)
• Murphy's War, starring Peter O'Toole

N

• A New Leaf, directed by and starring Elaine May, co-starring Walter Matthau
• Nicholas and Alexandra, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman, Laurence Olivier, Jack Hawkins - (U.K.)
• Night of Dark Shadows, directed by Dan Curtis, starring David Selby and Grayson Hall
• The Night Digger (a.k.a. The Road Builder), starring Patricia Neal - (U.K.)
• The Night God Screamed, low-budget psychological horror starring Jeanne Crain with Alex Nicol, Gary Morgan, James Sikking
• Nikah Halala, by Nosrat Karimi. (Iran)

O

• Octaman
• Officers (ofitsery) - (U.S.S.R.)
• Oil Lamps (Petrolejové lampy) - (Czechoslovakia)
• The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston and Anthony Zerbe
• On the Buses, starring Reg Varney - (U.K.)
• One Armed Boxer (Du bei chuan wang), starring Jimmy Wang Yu - (Hong Kong)
• One More Train to Rob, starring George Peppard and Diana Muldaur
• Out 1 (a.k.a. Out 1, noli me tangere), directed by Jacques Rivette, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud - (France)

P

• The Panic in Needle Park, starring Al Pacino
• The Pine Tree in the Mountain (U gori raste zelen bor) - (Yugoslavia)
• Play Misty for Me, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Jessica Walter and Donna Mills
• Plaza Suite, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Walter Matthau, Maureen Stapleton, Barbara Harris, Lee Grant
• Porcupines Are Born Without Bristles (Taralezhite se razhdat bez bodli) - (Bulgaria)
• Pretty Maids All in a Row, written and produced by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Roger Vadim, starring Rock Hudson and Angie Dickinson
• Prince Sinbad of the Mountains
• Punishment Park, directed by Peter Watkins
• The Pursuit of Happiness, starring Michael Sarrazin, Barbara Hershey, Robert Klein

R

• Raid on Rommel, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Richard Burton and John Colicos
• Raphael, or The Debauched One (Raphaël ou le Débauché) - (France)
• Red Sky at Morning, starring Richard Thomas and Desi Arnaz, Jr.
• Red Sun, starring Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon - (France/Italy/Spain)
• Rendezvous at Bray, starring Anna Karina - (France/Belgium)

S

• Sacco e Vanzetti, starring Gian Maria Volontè - (Italy)
• A Safe Place, starring Jack Nicholson and Tuesday Weld
• The Salamander (La Salamandre), starring Bulle Ogier - (Switzerland)
• See No Evil, starring Mia Farrow
• The Seven Minutes, starring Marianne McAndrew
• Shaft, directed by Gordon Parks, starring Richard Roundtree
• She Killed in Ecstasy (Sie tötete in Ekstase) - (West Germany/Spain)
• Shoot Out, directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Gregory Peck
• Silence (Chinmoku) - (Japan)
• Skin Game, starring James Garner and Louis Gossett, Jr.
• Something Big, starring Dean Martin
• Sometimes a Great Notion (Never Give an Inch), directed by and starring Paul Newman, with Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Richard Jaeckel, Michael Sarrazin
• Soul to Soul, a concert documentary featuring Wilson Pickett, Ike & Tina Turner and more
• Star Spangled Girl, directed by Jerry Paris, starring Sandy Duncan and Tony Roberts
• Straw Dogs, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George - (U.K./U.S.)
• Such Good Friends, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Dyan Cannon and Burgess Meredith
• Summer of '42, directed by Robert Mulligan, starring Jennifer O'Neill and Gary Grimes
• Sunday, Bloody Sunday, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
• Support Your Local Gunfighter, starring James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette
• Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, directed by Melvin Van Peebles
• Sympathy for the Underdog (Bakuto gaijin butai) - (Japan)

T

• THX 1138, the directorial debut of George Lucas, starring Robert Duvall
• T.R. Baskin, starring Candice Bergen
• Taking Off, directed by Miloš Forman, starring Lynn Carlin and Buck Henry
• The Tales of Beatrix Potter, a dance film featuring The Royal Ballet - (U.K.)
• They Might Be Giants, starring George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward
• Three Reservists (Trimata ot zapasa), directed by Zako Heskiya, starring Georgi Partsalev and Kiril Gospodinov - (Bulgaria)
• A Touch of Zen (Xia nu) - (Taiwan)
• Trafic, directed by and starring Jacques Tati - (France)
• The Trojan Women, directed by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Irene Papas - (U.S.A./U.K./Greece)
• Twitch of the Death Nerve (Ecologia del delitto), starring Claudine Auger - (Italy)
• Two English Girls (Les deux anglaises et le continent), directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud - (France)
• Two-Lane Blacktop, starring James Taylor and Warren Oates

U

• Unman, Wittering and Zigo, starring David Hemmings - (U.K.)
• Up Pompeii, starring Frankie Howerd and Michael Hordern - (U.K.)

V

• Valdez Is Coming, starring Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Jon Cypher, Richard Jordan
• Vampyros Lesbos, directed by Jesus Franco
• Vanishing Point, starring Barry Newman and Cleavon Little
• Villain, starring Richard Burton and Ian McShane - (U.K.)
• Von Richthofen and Brown (a.k.a. The Red Baron), directed by Roger Corman, starring John Phillip Law

W

• W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (W.R. - Misterije organizma) - (Yugoslavia/West Germany)
• Wake in Fright, directed by Ted Kotcheff, starring Donald Pleasence - (Australia)
• Walkabout, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Jenny Agutter and David Gulpilil - (Australia/U.K.)
• Le Wazzou polygame (The Polygamist's Morale) - (Niger/France)
• What's the Matter with Helen?, starring Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters
• What the Peeper Saw, starring Britt Ekland, Mark Lester, Hardy Krüger
• When Eight Bells Toll, starring Anthony Hopkins, Robert Morley, Nathalie Delon, Jack Hawkins - (U.K.)
• Whity, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder - (West Germany)
• Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, starring Shelley Winters and Mark Lester
• Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, starring Dustin Hoffman
• Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? a.k.a. Death of a Hooker, starring Red Buttons and Sylvia Miles
• Wild Rovers, directed by Blake Edwards, starring William Holden and Ryan O'Neal
• Willard, starring Bruce Davison, Elsa Lanchester, Ernest Borgnine
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, directed by Mel Stuart, starring Gene Wilder and Jack Albertson
• The Working Class Goes to Heaven (La classe operaia va in paradiso), starring Gian Maria Volontè, Palme d'Or winner - (Italy)

XYZ

• You Are a Widow, Sir (Pane, vy jste vdova!) - (Czechoslovakia)
• Zeppelin, starring Elke Sommer and Michael York - (U.K.)
• El Zorro de Monterrey
• Zorro, Rider of Vengeance

Short film series

• The Pink Panther (1964–69)(1971-72)(1974–77)(1978–80)
• The Ant and the Aardvark (1969–1971)
• Roland and Rattfink (1968–1971)
• Tijuana Toads (1969–72)
• Woody Woodpecker (1941–49, 1951–72)
• Chilly Willy (1953–72)
• The Beary Family (1962–72)

Births

• January 2 - Taye Diggs, American actor
• January 7 - Jeremy Renner, American actor
• January 11 - Mary J. Blige, American musician
• January 15 - Regina King, American actor
• January 24 - Stanislas Merhar, French actor
• February 1
  • Jill Kelly, American pornographic actress
  • Michael C. Hall, American actor
• February 11 - Damian Lewis, English actor
• February 15
  • Alex Borstein, American actress
  • Renee O'Connor, American actress
• February 17 - Denise Richards, American actress
• February 22 - Lea Salonga, Filipina voice actress/singer
• February 25 - Sean Astin, American actor
• March 2 - Method Man, American actor and musician
• March 5 - Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor
• March 7 - Peter Sarsgaard, American actor
• March 10 - Jon Hamm, American actor
• March 13 - Annabeth Gish, American actress
• March 15 - Chris Patton, American voice actor
• March 27 - Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
• March 31 - Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor
• April 12 - Shannen Doherty, American actress
• April 18 - David Tennant, Scottish actor
• April 19 - Wendy Powell, American voice actress
• April 28 - Bridget Moynahan, American actress
• May 14 - Sofia Coppola, American actress, writer, and director
• May 27
  • Lisa Lopes, American singer and actress (d.2002)
  • Paul Bettany, English actor
• May 30 - Idina Menzel, American actress,singer and songwriter
• June 4 - Noah Wyle, American actor
• June 5 - Mark Wahlberg, American actor and musician
• June 15 - Taavi Eelmaa, Estonian actor
• June 16 - Tupac Shakur, American actor and musician (d.1996)
• July 1 - Missy Elliott, American musician and actress
• July 16 - Corey Feldman, American actor
• July 21 - Charlotte Gainsbourg, French actress
• August 10 - Justin Theroux, American actor
• August 29 - Carla Gugino, American actress
• August 31 - Chris Tucker, American actor
• September 8
  • David Arquette, American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter
  • Martin Freeman, English actor
• September 14 - Kimberly Williams-Paisley, American actresses
• September 15 - Colleen Villard, American voice actress
• September 16 - Amy Poehler, American actress
• September 18 - Jada Pinkett Smith, American actress
• September 21 - Luke Wilson, American actor
• October 20 - Snoop Dogg, American musician and actor
• October 29 - Winona Ryder, American actress
• November 25 - Christina Applegate, American actress
• December 1 - Emily Mortimer, English actress
• December 6 - Katariina Unt, Estonian actress
• December 7 - Chasey Lain, American pornographic actress
• December 23 - Corey Haim, Canadian actor (d. 2010)
• December 26 - Jared Leto, American actor and musician

Deaths

• January 5 - Douglas Shearer, 71, Canadian pioneer sound engineer, The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain
• January 15 - John Dall, 52, American actor, Rope, Spartacus
• February 3 - Jay C. Flippen, 71, American actor, Oklahoma!, Winchester '73
• February 22 - Frédéric Mariotti, 87, French actor, Barrabas, Mare Nostrum,
• February 26 - Fernandel, 67, French actor, The Little World of Don Camillo, Around the World in 80 Days
• March 8 - Harold Lloyd, 77, American silent screen comedian, Safety Last!, The Freshman
• March 12 - Roy Glenn, 56, American actor, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, A Raisin in the Sun
• March 15 - Bebe Daniels, 70, American actress, 42nd Street, The Maltese Falcon
• April 9 - Paulette Noizeux, 83, French actress
• May 1 - Glenda Farrell, 66, American actress, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Little Caesar
• May 27 - Chips Rafferty, 62, Australian actor, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Sundowners
• May 28 - Audie Murphy, 45, American World War II hero, actor, The Red Badge of Courage
• June 10 - Michael Rennie, 61, British actor, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Robe
• June 18 - Thomas Gomez, 65, American actor, Key Largo, Pittsburgh
• July 3 - Jim Morrison, soundtrack, Cast Away, The Doors
• July 6 - Louis Armstrong, 69, American musician, actor, Hello, Dolly!, High Society
• July 23 - Van Heflin, 60, American actor, Shane, 3:10 to Yuma
• August 3 - Ernst Eklund, 81, Swedish actor
• August 15 - Paul Lukas, 80, Hungarian actor, The Lady Vanishes, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
• August 16 - Spyros Skouras, 78, Greek-American studio executive
• August 17 - Horace McMahon, 65, American actor, Detective Story, Susan Slept Here
• September 7 - Spring Byington, 84, American actress, Meet John Doe, You Can't Take It With You
• September 10 - Pier Angeli, 39, Italian actress, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Battle of the Bulge
• September 11 - Bella Darvi, 42, Polish actress, Hell and High Water, The Egyptian
• October 11 - Chester Conklin, 85, American actor, Modern Times, The Great Dictator
• October 12 - Fritz Achterberg, 90, German actor, Hamlet
• October 26 - Vincent Coleman, 71, American actor
• November 2 - Martha Vickers, 46, American actress, The Big Sleep, Alimony
• November 17 - Gladys Cooper, 82, English actress, My Fair Lady, Rebecca
• December 13 - Dita Parlo, 63, Polish actress, La Grande Illusion, L'Atalante
• December 18 - Diana Lynn, 45, American actress, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The Kentuckian
• December 28 - Max Steiner, 83, Austrian film composer, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind
• December 29 - Ken Rawkins, 53, English sound re-recording, Hamlet, Dracula: Prince of Darkness
• December 30 - Dorothy Comingore, 58, American actress, Citizen Kane, The Hairy Ape
• December 31 - Marin Sais, 81, American actress, Oath of Vengeance, Reefer Madness

Film debuts

• F. Murray Abraham - They Might Be Giants
• Kathy Bates - Taking Off
• Stockard Channing - The Hospital
• Brian Cox - Nicholas and Alexandra
• Daniel Day-Lewis - Sunday Bloody Sunday
• Gérard Depardieu - Cry of the Cormoran
• Craig T. Nelson - The Return of Count Yorga
• John Ritter - The Barefoot Executive
• David Ogden Stiers - THX 1138

References