May 1: Harry Leon Wilson, American novelist

BORN MAY 1:

Harry Leon Wilson (1867-1939) was an American novelist who, though not a household name today, brought pleasure to thousands (if not millions) by writing the novels that became four films: Merton of the Movies (filmed in 1924, a film that is now lost; 1932, as Make Me a Star; and 1947, with Red Skelton); and Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), with Charles Laughton as an English "gentleman's gentleman" who has been gambled away to a couple of gauche, nouveau riche American millionaires. Merton was also done as a stage and radio play. After working in the publishing industry in New York, Wilson settled permanently at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in an artists' community that included Jack London, Upton Sinclair, Ambrose Bierce, Sinclair Lewis, and others. This is where he wrote his most famous novels.

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Mar. 23: Kurosawa Akira, Japanese filmmaker

BORN MARCH 23:

Kurosawa Akira (1910-1998) was a Japanese filmmaker who is amongst a handful of the greatest in his craft. You can't really claim to know much about film if you don't know his. He directed thirty films over five decades, directing his first during World War II (after starting out as a painter and then working in the industry for most of a decade). Sixteen of his films featured the actor Toshiro Mifune. Some of his more significant works were Rashomon, famous for telling the same story (with variations) from different points of view; Ikiru, which examines the struggles of a terminally ill Tokyo bureaucrat and his final quest for meaning; Seven Samurai, the inspiration for Hollywood's The Magnificent Seven; Yojimbo, about two crime bosses vying for the services of a masterless samurai (the inspiration for the Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars); Kagemusha, about a lower-class criminal who impersonates a dying warlord to discourage advances by his enemies; and Ran, with a plot derived from Shakespeare's King Lear. Kurosawa received the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1990.

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Jan. 20: Federico Fellini, Italian filmmaker

BORN JANUARY 20:

Federico Fellini (1920-1993) Italian filmmaker recognized as one of the greatest of all time, whose work blends fantasy with earthiness, and who made La Strada; Nights of Cabiria; La Dolce Vita; 8-1/2; Satyricon; and Amarcord. He was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, and won four.

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Dec. 20: George Roy Hill, American filmmaker

BORN DECEMBER 20:

George Roy Hill (1922-2002) American director of such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (nominated: Oscar for Best Director) and The Sting (won: Oscar for Best Director), both with Paul Newman and Robert Redford; as well as Slaughterhouse-Five, The World According to Garp, The Little Drummer Girl, and others. (Note that many of these were adapted from books.)

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Dec. 18: Steven Spielberg, American filmmaker

BORN DECEMBER 18:

Steven Spielberg (1946 - ) ubiquitous American filmmaker; Jaws; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Raiders of the Lost Ark; E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; The Color Purple; Empire of the Sun; Schindler's List (Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director); Amistad; Saving Private Ryan (Oscar for Best Director; Munich; Lincoln; Jurassic Park; 14 more Academy Award nominations to date.

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Dec. 5: Walt Disney, American filmmaker

BORN DECEMBER 5:

Walt Disney (1901-1966) American filmmaker and entrepreneur responsible for dozens of animated and live-action films (which earned a record 22 Academy Awards, plus four honoraries) as well as theme parks and other enterprises. His films include "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Fantasia; Pinocchio; Dumbo; Bambi; Cinderella; and Mary Poppins.

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Nov. 17: Martin Scorsese, American filmmaker

BORN NOVEMBER 17:

Martin Scorsese (1942 - ) American filmmaker; who has directed over 25 features and numerous documentaries and shorts. Taxi Driver; Raging Bull; The Last Temptation of Christ; Goodfellas; Gangs of New York; The Aviator; The Departed; Hugo; The Wolf of Wall Street; numerous Academy Award nominations, one win (The Departed)

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Sep. 7: Elia Kazan, Greek-American filmmaker

BORN SEPTEMBER 7th:

Elia Kazan (1909-2003) Greek-American filmmaker and writer known for making films with bad boys like Marlon Brando (A Streetcar Named Desire; On the Waterfront) and James Dean (East of Eden).

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