It was on this day in M(ichigan) M(ovie) H(istory),  January 31, 1875,  American actor, film director and, screenwriter Horace B. Carpenter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A veteran of Selig two-reelers in the early 1910s, burly American character actor Carpenter came to the forefront after joining the Lasky Feature Play Company (later Paramount) in 1914. For pioneering director Cecil B. DeMille, Carpenter played Spanish Ed … Continue reading M(ichigan)M(ovie)H(istory)On this Day, January 31, 1875 actor Horace B. Carpenter born

It was on this day, January 30, 1914,  American stage and screen actor David Wayne  was born  in Traverse City, Michigan.   Born Wayne James McMeekan,  he grew up in Bloomingdale, Michigan.  He attended Western Michigan University then worked as a statistician in Cleveland where he joined a Shakespeare repertory company. Two years later he had a minor role in “The American Way” in New York. … Continue reading #M(ichigan)M(ovie)H(istory), On this day, January 30, 1914, actor David Wayne was born

It was on this day, January 30, 1922,  American comedian and director, Thomas Richard “Dick” Martin, cohost of the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In from 1968-73,  was born in Battle Creek, Michigan. For more on Dick Martin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Martin_(comedian) Continue reading #M(ichigan)M(ovie)H(istory) On this day, January 30, 1922, comedian Dick Martin was born in Battle Creek, Michigan

Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Untitled Detroit Project’ is set to hit theaters Aug. 4 and will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Detroit riots.  This film will be the first released through Annapurna Pictures’ new marketing and distribution organization when it opens in theaters and is exemplary of the type of films that this operation will distribute. Described as a crime drama set against the backdrop … Continue reading Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Untitled Detroit Project’ release date announced will be first film marketed and distributed by Annapurna Pictures

It was on this day in M(ichigan)M(ovie)H(istory), January 29, 1945,  American actor and film producer Thomas William “Tom” Selleck was born. Born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Martha Selleck (née Jagger), a housewife, and Robert Dean Selleck (d. 2001), an executive and real estate investor, Selleck worked as a model, while attending the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship where he played … Continue reading #M(ichigan)M(ovie)H(istory): On this Day, January 29, 1945, Tom Selleck was born

Lily Tomlin will be honored at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for her Life Achievement Sunday night. Born in Detroit, Tomlin began work after college as a stand-up comic, eventually becoming a star, thanks to “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.”     Tomlin said she didn’t really consider herself an actor until she appeared in the 1975 country-music satire “Nashville,” which marked her film debut a performance which … Continue reading Lily Tomlin to be honored at SAG Awards for life achievement

On Thursday, the DIA’s Detroit Film Theatre begins a series of weekday-afternoon screenings that will take place a few times a month until late June. The DIA has been collecting amateur public submissions since the fall as part of an ambitious effort by several organizations — including the Free Press, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Society, the Walter P. Reuther … Continue reading DIA begins screening home movies collected for ‘Detroit ’67’ project

“Detroit Steel,” a new reality series will premier at 10 p.m. Saturday on the History Channel. Focusing on a car customization shop, Mobsteel, which has locations in Brighton and Detroit, and creates beautiful, powerful rides from vehicles in various states of disrepair. “Detroit Steel” draws viewers into the city’s history and love affair with automobiles and introduces them to the men and women who make … Continue reading “Detroit Steel”debuts on History channel

It was on this day in M(ichigan) M(ovie) H(istory),  January 27, 1964,  one of Hollywood’s leading early comedy directors, Norman Zeno McLeod died.  He was 65. Born  20 September 1895  in Grayling, Michigan, McLeod came from a family that had no connections to show business (his father was a clergyman).   Starting out in the film business as an animator, he learned the comedy trade at the … Continue reading #M(ichigan)M(ovie)H(istory): On this Day, January 27, 1964 director Norman Z. McLeod dies