1959 in film

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Overview of the events of 1959 in filmTemplate:SHORTDESC:Overview of the events of 1959 in film

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The year **1959 in film** involved some significant events, with *Ben-Hur* winning a record 11 Academy Awards.

## Events

* June 4 - The Three Stooges release their 190th and last short film, *Sappy Bull Fighters*.
* September 18 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx marries his second wife, Barbara Blakely.
* September 30 - The film of *Mise Éire*, made by George Morrison for Gael Linn, is premiered to close the Cork Film Festival, the first feature-length Irish language film.
* November 18 - William Wyler's film *Ben-Hur* premieres at Loews Theater in New York City.
* Sammy Davis, Jr. and May Britt start dating.

## Awards

**Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):**

***Black Orpheus*** (*Orfeu Negro*), directed by Marcel Camus, France
**Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):**

***Il Generale della Rovere*** (*General della Rovere*), directed by Roberto Rossellini, Italy / France
***La grande guerra*** (*The Great War*), directed by Mario Monicelli, Italy / France
**Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):**

***Les Cousins*** (*The Cousins*), directed by Claude Chabrol, France

## Short film series

* *Looney Tunes* (1930–1969)
* *Terrytoons* (1930–1964)
* *Merrie Melodies* (1931–1969)
* *Bugs Bunny* (1940–1962)
* *Yosemite Sam* (1945–1963)
* *Speedy Gonzales* (1953–1968)
* *The Three Stooges* (1934–1959)

## Births

* January 5 – Clancy Brown, American actor & voice actor
* January 17 - Momoe Yamaguchi, former Japanese actress & singer
* January 22 - Linda Blair, American actress
* February 2 - Laine Mägi, Estonian actress & dancer
* February 4 - Pamelyn Ferdin, American actress
* February 22 - Kyle MacLachlan, American actor
* March 5 - Darío Grandinetti, Argentinian actor
* March 6 - Tom Arnold, American actor & comedian
* March 7 - Donna Murphy, actress & singer
* March 8 - Aidan Quinn, Irish/American actor
* March 15 - Renny Harlin, Finnish director & producer
* March 18
	+ Irene Cara, American actress & singer
	+ Luc Besson, French director & producer
* March 22 - Matthew Modine, American actor
* March 23 - Catherine Keener, American actress
* April 15 - Emma Thompson, English actress
* April 17 - Sean Bean, English actor
* April 20 - Clint Howard, American actor
* June 11 - Hugh Laurie, English actor
* June 22 - Wayne Federman, American actor & comedian
* June 30 - Vincent D'Onofrio, American actor
* July 26 - Kevin Spacey, American actor
* August 10 - Rosanna Arquette, American actress
* August 14 - Marcia Gay Harden, American actress
* August 29 - Rebecca De Mornay, American actress
* September 23 - Jason Alexander, American actor
* October 21 - Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor
* November 14 - Paul McGann, British actor
* November 19 - Allison Janney, American actress
* November 28 - Judd Nelson, American actor
* December 13 - Johnny Whitaker, American actor
* December 29 - Patricia Clarkson, American actress
* December 31 - Val Kilmer, American actor

## Deaths

* January 21 - Cecil B. DeMille, 77, American director and producer, *The Ten Commandments*, *The Greatest Show on Earth*
* February 1 - Madame Sul-Te-Wan, 85, American actress, *King of the Zombies*, *In Old Chicago*
* February 4 - Una O'Connor, 78, Irish actress, *Witness for the Prosecution*, *The Adventures of Robin Hood*
* February 5 - Gwili Andre, 52, Danish actress
* February 22 - Helen Parrish, 35, American actress, *Too Many Blondes*, *X Marks the Spot*
* March 2 - Eric Blore, 71, British actor, *Top Hat*, *The Lady Eve*
* March 3 - Lou Costello, 52, American comedian and actor, half of Abbott and Costello comedy team, *Africa Screams*, *Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein*
* March 26 - Raymond Chandler, 70, American author and screenwriter, *The Big Sleep*, *Double Indemnity*
* March 27 - Grant Withers, 54, American actor, *My Darling Clementine*, *Fort Apache*
* April 12 - James Gleason, 76, American actor, *Here Comes Mr. Jordan*, *The Bishop's Wife*
* April 17 - Cecil Cunningham, 70, American actress, *The Awful Truth*, *Monkey Business*
* April 18 - Irving Cummings, 70, American director, *Louisiana Purchase*, *The Dolly Sisters*
* May 3 – Troy Sanders, 57, American score arranger and composer, *White Christmas*, *Going My Way*
* June 4 - Charles Vidor, 58, Hungarian director, *Gilda*, *Love Me or Leave Me*
* June 16 - George Reeves, 45, American actor, *Gone with the Wind*, *So Proudly We Hail!*
* June 18 - Ethel Barrymore, 79, American actress, *Portrait of Jennie*, *The Spiral Staircase*
* August 6 - Preston Sturges, 60, American writer, director, *Sullivan's Travels*, *The Lady Eve*
* September 6
	+ Edmund Gwenn, 81, British actor, *Miracle on 34th Street*, *Mister 880*
	+ Kay Kendall, 32, British actress, *Genevieve*, *Les Girls*
* September 11 - Paul Douglas, 52, American actor, *A Letter to Three Wives*, *It Happens Every Spring*
* September 14 - Wayne Morris, 45, American actor, *Kid Galahad*, *Paths of Glory*
* October 3 - William Bishop, 41, American actor, *Harriet Craig*, *Top Gun*
* October 7 - Mario Lanza, 38, American singer and actor, *The Great Caruso*, *Winged Victory*
* October 14 - Errol Flynn, 50, Australian actor, *The Adventures of Robin Hood*, *Captain Blood*
* October 23 - Gerda Lundequist, 88, Swedish actress, *Gosta Berlings Saga*
* November 7 - Victor McLaglen, 72, British actor, *The Quiet Man*, *Gunga Din*
* November 20 – Sylvia Lopez, 26, French actress, *Hercules Unchained*, *Son of the Red Corsair*
* November 25 - Gérard Philipe, 36, French actor, *Fan-Fan the Tulip*, *Beauties of the Night*
* December 24 - Edmund Goulding, 68, American director, *Grand Hotel*, *The Razor's Edge*

## Film debuts

* James Coburn - *Ride Lonesome*
* Mia Farrow - *John Paul Jones*
* Richard Harris - *Shake Hands with the Devil*
* Martin Landau - *Pork Chop Hill*
* Martin Scorsese - *Vesuvius VI*
* George C. Scott - *The Hanging Tree*
* Steven Spielberg - *The Lost Guy*

Template:1959 films