Today’s Past in the Movies … May 30

May 30 … What occurred in movie-land today in years past?

Events on this day:

1977 – Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope records $1,554,475 box office on opening weekend.
1977 – Smokey and the Bandit records $1,728,060 box office on opening weekend.
2004 – The Day After Tomorrow records $85,807,341 box office on opening weekend.

Born on this day:

1896 – Howard Hawks (Producer/Director: Scarface, His Girl Friday, The Big Sleep)
1899 – Irving Thalberg (Producer: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mutiny on the Bounty)
1908 – Mel Blanc (Voice Actor: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)
1912 – Hugh Griffith (Actor: Ben-Hur, Exodus, Mutiny on the Bounty)
1920 – Franklin Schaffner (Oscar-winning Director: Papillon, Patton, Planet of the Apes)
1927 – Clint Walker (Actor: The Ten Commandments, The Dirty Dozen)
1928 – Agnes Varda (Director: The Gleaners and I, Vagabond, Cleo from 5 to 7)

Died on this day:

1967 – Claude Rains (Actor: The Good Earth, The Invisible Man, Casablanca)
2006 – Shohei Imamura (Director: The Pornographers, Black Rain, The Eel, Dr. Akagi)