18 December 1946. Hollywood film director, Steven Spielberg, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Films include: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Indiana Jones series, ET, Jurassic Park, and Schindler’s List. pic.twitter.com/KiaZ1TX7sY

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 18, 2023

18 December 1963. Hollywood star, Brad Pitt, was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA. He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Other films include: Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button & Legends of The Fall. pic.twitter.com/1LjwodQMHo

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 18, 2023

18 December 1987. The last episode of the BBC comedy series, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, was broadcast. It was written by and starred Victoria Wood. There were 2 series, consisting of 13 episodes, since 11 January 1985. pic.twitter.com/rHT0PxnU5D

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 18, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1997, actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live, Tommy Boy) Chris Farley died from a drug overdose in his apartment in the John Hancock Center in Chicago at the age of 33. Resurrection Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin https://t.co/EJwuFq3ufw pic.twitter.com/Vm45xy6i96

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 18, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 2008 actress, (Star Trek; Nurse/Dr. Chapel, Lwaxana Troi, the voice of most onboard computers) wife of Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett died; leukemia at home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, aged 76. Cremated remains to be launched by @celestisflights https://t.co/EJwuFq3ufw pic.twitter.com/ncEte8jwkc

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 18, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 2016 actress (Moulin Rouge) and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor died of cardiac arrest at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, aged 99. Cremated remains Kerepesi Cemetery in Budapest https://t.co/EJwuFq3ufw pic.twitter.com/9ev9YwkqaS

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 18, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1996, actor (La dolce vita; 8 1/2; La Notte; Divorzio all'italiana; Una giornata particolare), Marcello Mastroianni, died from pancreatic cancer in Paris, aged 72. Mastroianni Family Estate in Cimitero Monumentale del Verano, Rome https://t.co/8YJHUXPU2X pic.twitter.com/9sorS7ZQui

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 19, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1999 actor (Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999) Desmond Llewelyn died from injuries sustained in a car crash at Eastbourne District General Hospital, England, aged 85. Cremation https://t.co/8YJHUXPU2X pic.twitter.com/coFShUGziS

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 19, 2023

19 December 2015. Leading BBC Match of The Day presenter and pundit, Jimmy Hill, died (aged 87). He had played a key role in gaining better pay for professional footballers as President of the PFA in the 1960s, and was a key figure in the development of Coventry City FC. pic.twitter.com/VrhE75tYUC

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 19, 2023

20 December 1946. The classic Christmas feel good film, It’s A Wonderful Life, was released in the USA. At the time of its release, it was a box office flop. It was TV showings from the early 1950s onwards that transformed it into a Christmas family favourite. pic.twitter.com/Dl6xAO7liR

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 20, 2023

20 December 1952. Jenny Agutter was born in Taunton. She rose to fame as, Bobbie Waterbury, in The Railway Children. Other films include: Logan’s Run, An American Werewolf in London, The Eagle Has Landed, and Equus. More recently she starred in BBC1 drama series Call The Midwife. pic.twitter.com/UgXRDmKIFN

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 20, 2023

20 December 1974. Godfather II was released in the USA. It’s the second installment in the, Godfather Trilogy, acting as a sequel and a prequel. Al Pacino gives a riveting performance, as the cold and vengeful, Michael Corleone. It’s one of the greatest films of all time. pic.twitter.com/2eV7lw02uj

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 20, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 2009, actress (Clueless; Freeway; Bongwater; Girl, Interrupted; Drop Dead Gorgeous), singer Brittany Murphy-Monjack died from pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at the age of 32. Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills https://t.co/Meq91Dj6B2 pic.twitter.com/7a92zoPQyi

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 20, 2023

21 December 1925. Sergei Eisenstein’s classic film, Battleship Potemkin, was first shown in Moscow. It presented a dramatised version of the naval mutiny that occurred in 1905, when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against its officers. pic.twitter.com/z6KWWod47V

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 21, 2023

21 December 1937. Hollywood legend, Jane Fonda, was born in New York City. Films include: Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park, Barbarella (pictured), and On Golden Pond. She has won 2 Best Actress Oscars in the 1970s for Klute and Coming Home. pic.twitter.com/y5VYhdqZ2D

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 21, 2023

21 December 1937. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, the world’s first full-length colour animated film, premiered in USA. It was based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The story was created by a number of Disney’s storyboard artists. pic.twitter.com/IyRAIAUodL

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 21, 2023

21 December 1948. Hollywood legend, Samuel L. Jackson, was born in Washington DC, USA. He’s the highest-grossing actor of all time. His many films include: Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Coming to America, Patriot Games, Jurassic Park, and Do the Right Thing. pic.twitter.com/LAqZABxEYC

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 21, 2023

21 December 1980. The last episode of the private eye series, Shoestring, starring Trevor Eve, was broadcast on BBC1. It featured a radio private detective who investigates listener problems. 21 episodes were produced, with first one on 30 September 1979.
pic.twitter.com/6QKAtgzjoJ

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 21, 2023

21 December 2013. The legendary BBC sports broadcaster, David Coleman, died (aged 87). He was presenter on some of the BBC’s leading sporting programmes, including Grandstand and Sportsnight and he was the host of A Question of Sport for 18 years. pic.twitter.com/vx4d3iwiAo

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 21, 2023