1969 in film explained

The year 1969 in film involved some significant events, with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid dominating the U.S. box office and becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time and Midnight Cowboy, a film rated X, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture.United Artists will celebrated their 50th anniversary.

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

See also: List of 1969 box office number-one films in the United States. The top ten 1969 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1969
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	20th Century Fox	$29,200,000^[1]
2	The Love Bug	Buena Vista	$21,000,000
3	Midnight Cowboy	United Artists	$20,500,000^[2]
4	Easy Rider	Columbia	$16,900,000
5	Hello, Dolly!	20th Century Fox	$15,000,000
6	Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice	Columbia	$14,600,000
7	Paint Your Wagon	Paramount	$14,500,000
8	True Grit	Paramount	$14,300,000
9	Cactus Flower	Columbia	$11,900,000
10	Goodbye, Columbus	Paramount	$10,500,000

Events

January 14 - Louis F. Polk Jr. becomes president and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
February 23 - Madhubala dies due to a congenital heart disease, at age 36.
June 22 - American singer and actress Judy Garland dies at age 47 of an accidental barbiturate overdose in London.
July 8 - Kinney National Services Inc. acquire substantially all of the assets of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
July 13 - Al Pacino's film debut (Me, Natalie).
Summer - Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980. From 1969 to 1979, the festival is non-competitive.
August 8 - Kirk Kerkorian buys 24% of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, becoming the biggest shareholder.
August 9 - Tate murders: Sharon Tate, the 26-year-old pregnant actress, model and Roman Polanski's wife, is murdered by Charles Manson's "Family" at 10050 Cielo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, aside three friends and an unrelated man.
August 29 - The Color of Pomegranates now regarded as a landmark in film history
September 20 - Injun Trouble was released, becoming the final entry of Merrie Melodies before Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation was shut down.
November 10 - Elvis Presley's film career ends with the release of Change of Habit.
becomes the first feature film to receive an Australian Film Institute Award.

Awards

Category/Organization	27th Golden Globe Awards February 2, 1970		23rd BAFTA Awards March 8, 1970	42nd Academy Awards April 7, 1970
Category/Organization	width=200	Drama !	23rd BAFTA Awards March 8, 1970	42nd Academy Awards April 7, 1970	Musical or Comedy
Best Film	Anne of the Thousand Days	The Secret of Santa Vittoria	Midnight Cowboy
Best Director	Charles Jarrott Anne of the Thousand Days		John Schlesinger Midnight Cowboy
Best Actor	John Wayne True Grit	Peter O'Toole Goodbye, Mr. Chips	Dustin Hoffman John and Mary / Midnight Cowboy	John Wayne True Grit
Best Actress	Genevieve Bujold Anne of the Thousand Days	Patty Duke Me, Natalie	Maggie Smith The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Best Supporting Actor	Gig Young They Shoot Horses, Don't They?		Laurence Olivier Oh! What a Lovely War	Gig Young They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Best Supporting Actress	Goldie Hawn Cactus Flower		Celia Johnson The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie	Goldie Hawn Cactus Flower
Best Screenplay, Adapted	Bridget Boland, John Hale and Richard Sokolove Anne of the Thousand Days		Waldo Salt Midnight Cowboy	Waldo Salt Midnight Cowboy
Best Screenplay, Original			Waldo Salt Midnight Cowboy	William Goldman Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Original Score	Burt Bacharach Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid		N/A	Burt Bacharach Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman Hello, Dolly!
Best Original Song	"Jean" The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie		N/A	"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Foreign Language Film	Z		N/A	Z

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

If...., directed by Lindsay Anderson, United Kingdom

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Rani Radovi (Early Works), directed by Želimir Žilnik, Yugoslavia

1969 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

List of action films of 1969
List of animated feature films of 1969
List of avant-garde films of 1969
List of comedy films of 1969
List of drama films of 1969
List of horror films of 1969
List of science fiction films of 1969
List of thriller films of 1969
List of western films of 1969

Short film series

Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Cool Cat (1967—1969)
Merlin the Magic Mouse (1967—1969)
The Pink Panther (1963–1969, 1971–1977, 1978–1980)
The Inspector (1965-1969)
The Ant and the Aardvark (1969–1971)
Roland and Rattfink (1968–1971)
Tijuana Toads (1969–1972)
Woody Woodpecker (1941–1949, 1951–1972)
Chilly Willy (1955–1972)
The Beary Family (1962–1972)

Births

January 1
- Morris Chestnut, American actor
- Mr. Lawrence, American voice actor, comedian, writer, storyboard artist, animator and director
- Verne Troyer, American actor (died 2018)
January 2
- Nicholas Gleaves, English actor
- Tommy Morrison, American professional boxer, mixed martial artist and actor (died 2013)
January 3 - John Ales, American actor
January 5 - Shea Whigham, American actor
January 6 - Norman Reedus, American actor
January 8 - Ami Dolenz, American former actress
January 11 - Kyle Richards, American actress
January 14 – Jason Bateman, American actor
January 15 - Meret Becker, German actress and singer
January 17 – James Waterston, American actor
January 18 – Dave Bautista, American actor and former professional wrestler
January 20 - Reno Wilson, American actor
January 21
- Karina Lombard, Tahitan actress
- Matt Willig, American actor and former football player
January 22 - Olivia d'Abo, British actress and singer
January 23 - Stephanie Romanov, American actress
January 27 – Patton Oswalt, American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, and writer
January 28 - Kathryn Morris, American actress
January 29 - Sam Trammell, American actor
February 3 - Shane Rangi, New Zealand actor
February 4 - Brandy Ledford, American actress and model
February 5
- Bobby Brown, American singer-songwriter and actor
- Michael Sheen, Welsh actor and producer
February 6
- April Haney, American former actress and singer
- Masaharu Fukuyama, Japanese actor and singer
- David Hayter, Canadian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer
February 8
- Brian Krause, American actor
- Mary McCormack, American actress
February 11
- Jennifer Aniston, American actress
- Lee Tockar, Canadian voice actor and visual artist
February 12 - Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer and screenwriter
February 13 - Andrew Bryniarski, American actor
February 15 - James Riordan, American actor
February 21 - Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, American actress
February 22 - Thomas Jane, American actor
February 26 - Steve Agee, American comedian, actor, writer and musician
February 28 - Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
March 1 – Javier Bardem, Spanish actor
March 6 - Amy Pietz, American actress and singer
March 8 - Don Hall, American director, voice actor and writer
March 10
- Paget Brewster, American actress
- Dave Sheridan, American actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician
March 11 – Terrence Howard, American actor
March 15 - Kim Raver, American actress and producer
March 16 - Judah Friedlander, American actor and comedian
March 17 - Patrick Van Horn, American actor
March 19 - Connor Trinneer, American actor
March 23 - Richard Cadell, Illusionist, puppeteer and screenwriter
March 27 - Kevin Corrigan, American character actor
March 28 - Brett Ratner, American director and producer
April 2 – Ajay Devgan, Indian actor
April 3 – Ben Mendelsohn, Australian actor
April 6 – Paul Rudd, American actor
April 21
- Toby Stephens, English actor
- Joel de la Fuente, American actor
April 23 – Byron Thames, American actor
April 24 - Rory McCann, Scottish actor
April 25
- Gina Torres, American actress
- Renée Zellweger, American actress
April 29 - Paul Adelstein, American actor
May 1 – Wes Anderson, American director
May 2 - Karel Dobrý, Czech actor
May 10 - Lenny Venito, American actor
May 12 - Kim Fields, American actress and director
May 14 – Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
May 15 - Kirk DeMicco, American filmmaker
May 22 - Michael Kelly, American actor
May 24 – Carl Anthony Payne II, American actor
May 25 – Anne Heche, American actress (died 2022)
May 27 - Glenn Ficarra, American screenwriter, director and producer
May 28 - Justin Kirk, American actor
June 1 – Teri Polo, American actress
June 2 - Ol Parker, English director, producer and screenwriter
June 3 - Tate Taylor, American filmmaker and actor
June 4
- Rob Huebel, American actor, comedian and writer
- Horatio Sanz, Chilean-born American actor and comedian
June 6 - Nina Sosanya, English actress and narrator
June 7
- Adam Buxton, English actor, comedian and writer
- Kim Rhodes, American actress
- Anthony Simcoe, Australian actor
June 8 - J. P. Manoux, American actor, director and writer
June 9 - Josh Hamilton, American actor
June 11 – Peter Dinklage, American actor
June 12 - Andrew Howard, Welsh actor
June 13 - Laura Kightlinger, American actress, writer and comedian
June 15 – Ice Cube, American actor and rapper
June 18 - Ella Kenion, English comedy actress
June 19 - Sean Anders, American director and screenwriter
June 21 - Lloyd Avery II, American actor (died 2005)
June 23 - Martin Klebba, American character actor and stunt performer
June 24 - Jensen Daggett, American actress
June 28
- Tichina Arnold, American actress
- Angeline Ball, Irish actress
- Ayelet Zurer, Israeli actress
June 29 - Aleks Paunovic, Canadian actor
July 2 - John Emmet Tracy, American-Canadian actor
July 3
- Shawnee Smith, American actress and singer
- Gedeon Burkhard, German actor
July 4 - Charles Paraventi, American-born Brazilian actor
July 5 - RZA, American rapper, actor and filmmaker
July 6 - Brian Van Holt, American actor
July 7 - Cree Summer, American-Canadian actress, voice actress and singer
July 8 - Rachael Lillis, American voice actress and screenwriter (died 2024)
July 10
- Jamie Glover, English actor
- Gale Harold, American Actor
July 13 - Ken Jeong, American stand-up comedian, actor and producer
July 17
- Jason Clarke, Australian actor
- Kazuki Kitamura, Japanese actor
July 19 - Bodhi Elfman, American actor
July 20 - Josh Holloway, American actor
July 21 – Godfrey, American actor, comedian
July 22 – James Arnold Taylor, American actor, writer and producer
July 24
- Rick Fox, Canadian-Bahamian former basketball player and actor
- Jennifer Lopez, American actress, singer
July 25 - Dave B. Mitchell, American voice actor
July 28
- Alexis Arquette, American actress (died 2016)
- Noma Dumezweni, British actress
July 30 - Simon Baker, Australian actor
July 31 - Loren Dean, American actor
August 4 – Vlad Ivanov, Romanian actor
August 5
- Chuck Campbell, Canadian actor and comedian
- Kim Mai Guest, American voice actress
August 6 - Chris Edgerly, American voice actor, comedian and singer
August 8 - Chris Beetem, American actor
August 12 - Nev Fountain, English writer
August 15 - Kimberley Kates, American actress and producer
August 16 - Kate Higgins, American voice actress and singer
August 17 - Donnie Wahlberg, American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and producer
August 18
- Edward Norton, American actor
- Christian Slater, American actor
August 19
- Viveka Davis, American actress
- Paula Jai Parker, American actress
- Matthew Perry, Canadian-American actor (died 2023)
August 21 - Nathan Jones, Australian actor and former professional wrestler
August 24 - Pierfrancesco Favino, Italian actor and producer
August 27
- Reece Shearsmith, English actor, writer and comedian
- Chandra Wilson, American actress and director
August 28
- Jack Black, American actor, comedian, musician
- Jason Priestley, Canadian-American actor and television director
August 31 - Jonathan LaPaglia, Australian actor
September 3
- Noah Baumbach, American director and screenwriter
- John Fugelsang, American actor, comedian, writer and television host
September 4 - Noah Taylor, Australian actor
September 6 - Trina McGee, American actress
September 7 - Angie Everhart, American actress
September 13
- Ace Bhatti, British actor
- Dominic Fumusa, American actor
- Tyler Perry, American actor
September 14
- Bong Joon-ho, Korean director and screenwriter
- Oscar Kightley, Samoan-born New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, director and comedian
September 20 - Victoria Dillard, American former actress
September 21 - Ivan Shvedoff, Russian actor
September 22 - Sue Perkins, English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer
September 23
- Crispin Bonham-Carter, English actor
- Shaw Jones, American actor
September 25 – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress
September 26 - David Slade, British director and actor
September 29 – Erika Eleniak, American actress
September 30
- Silas Weir Mitchell, American character actor
- Mark Smith, British actor
October 1 – Zach Galifianakis, American actor
October 3 – Gwen Stefani, American singer, songwriter and actress
October 4
- Abraham Benrubi, American actor
- Jerry Minor, American actor, comedian and writer
October 7 - Bobbie Brown, American actress
October 8
- Jeremy Davies, American actor
- Dylan Neal, Canadian-American actor
October 9 – Steve McQueen, English director
October 10
- Manu Bennett, New Zealand actor
- Wendi McLendon-Covey, American actress and comedian
October 15 – Dominic West, English actor
October 16 - Terri J. Vaughn, American actress, director and producer
October 17
- Wood Harris, American actor
- Kevin Stea, American actor, singer and director
- Nancy Sullivan, American actress, television presenter, and screenwriter
October 19
- Roger Cross, Jamaican-born Canadian actor
- Trey Parker, American actor, creator of South Park
October 22 - Spike Jonze, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
October 25 - Nika Futterman, American actress, voice actress and singer
October 26 - Robert Maillet, Canadian actor and former professional wrestler
October 31 - David Coburn (actor), American actor
November 4 – Matthew McConaughey, American actor
November 10
- Jennifer Cody, American dancer and actress
- Ellen Pompeo, American actress
November 13 – Gerard Butler, Scottish actor^[3]
November 19 - Erika Alexander, American actress, writer and producer
November 20 - Callie Thorne, American actress
November 21 - John Ortiz, American actor
November 27
- Elizabeth Marvel, American actress
- Chin Han, Singaporean actor
November 28
- Martin Cummins, Canadian actor
- Colman Domingo, American actor, writer and director
November 30
- Marc Forster, German-Swiss director, producer and screenwriter
- Conan Stevens, Australian actor
- Chris Weitz, American director, screenwriter and producer
December 5 - Eric Etebari, Iranian-American actor
- Catherine Tate, English actress, comedian and writer
December 7 - Patrice O'Neal, American stand-up comedian, actor and radio personality (died 2011)
December 9 - Allison Smith, American actress, singer, writer and director
December 10 - Stephen Billington, English actor
December 11 - Max Martini, American actor, writer and director
December 13 - Tony Curran, Scottish actor
December 14 - Greg Hemphill, Scottish-Canadian comedian, actor, writer and director
December 15
- Adriana Esteves, Brazilian actress
- Ralph Ineson, English actor and narrator
December 19 – Kristy Swanson, American actress
December 20 - Brian O'Halloran, American actor, producer and podcaster
December 21 – Julie Delpy, French actress
December 27 - Sarah Vowell, American actress
December 29
- Jennifer Ehle, American actress
- Patrick Fischler, American character actor

Deaths

January 1 – Barton MacLane, 66, American actor, The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre^[4]
January 3 – Howard McNear, 63, American actor, Anatomy of a Murder, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Blue Hawaii, Follow That Dream^[5] ^[6]
January 4 – Violet and Daisy Hilton, 60, English conjoined twins, actresses, appeared in film Freaks
January 8 – Leslie Goodwins, 69, English director, The Mummy's Curse, Mexican Spitfire
January 27 – Charles Winninger, 84, American actor, Destry Rides Again, The Sun Shines Bright
February 2 – Boris Karloff, 81, English actor, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Raven
February 5 – Thelma Ritter, 66, American actress, Rear Window, All About Eve
February 9 – Gabby Hayes, 83, American actor, The Man from Utah, In Old Oklahoma
February 11 – James Lanphier, 48, American actor, The Pink Panther, The Party
February 19 - Madge Blake, 69, American actress, The Long, Long Trailer, Batman
February 23 - Madhubala, 36, Indian actress, Mahal, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Mughal-E-Azam
February 27 – John Boles, 73, American actor, Frankenstein, Stella Dallas
March 18 – Barbara Bates, 43, American actress, The Caddy, All About Eve
March 19 – Lola Braccini, 79, Italian actress, My Little One, What a Distinguished Family
March 25 – Alan Mowbray, 72, British actor, Terror by Night, My Darling Clementine
April 2 – Fortunio Bonanova, 74, Spanish actor, Citizen Kane, An Affair to Remember
April 23 – Krzysztof Komeda, 37, Polish composer, Rosemary's Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers
May 3 – Karl Freund, 69, Czech-American cinematographer and director, Metropolis, The Mummy, Key Largo
May 24
- Paul Birch, 57, American actor, The Gun Runners, Gunmen from Laredo
- Mitzi Green, 48, American actress, Lost in Alaska, Skippy
May 27 – Jeffrey Hunter, 42, American actor, The Searchers, King of Kings
June 2 – Leo Gorcey, 51, American actor, Ghost Chasers, Spook Busters
June 8 – Robert Taylor, 57, American actor, Quo Vadis, Camille, Bataan, Ivanhoe
June 10 – Frank Lawton, 64, English actor, A Night to Remember, The Devil-Doll
June 13 – Martita Hunt, 70, Argentine-English actress, Becket, Great Expectations
June 19 – Natalie Talmadge, 73, American silent screen actress, Our Hospitality, Intolerance
June 20 – Rudolf Schwarzkogler, 29, Austrian experimental filmmaker, Satisfaction
June 22 – Judy Garland, 47, American actress and singer, The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Star Is Born^[7]
June 23 – Stanley Andrews, 77, American actor, West of Wyoming, Across the Badlands, Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders
July 5 - Lambert Hillyer, 75, American director, Dracula's Daughter, Batman
July 5 – Leo McCarey, 72, American director, An Affair to Remember, Going My Way
July 7 - Erskine Sanford, 83, American actor, Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons
July 8 – Gladys Swarthout, 68, American singer, Romance in the Dark, Give Us This Night
July 13 - Bess Meredyth, 79, American screenwriter, The Unsuspected, Charlie Chan at the Opera
July 15 - Peter van Eyck, 57, Polish actor, The Wages of Fear, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
July 17 - Harry Benham, 85, American actor, Nicholas Nickleby
July 18 - Barbara Pepper, 54, American actress, The Rogues Tavern, Kiss Me, Stupid^[8]
July 26
- Andrés Soler, 70, Mexican actor, A Day with the Devil, The Great Madcap,
- Raymond Walburn, 81, American actor, High, Wide, and Handsome, Third Finger, Left Hand
August 1 – Donald Keith, 65, American actor, The Plastic Age, Parisian Love
August 9 – Sharon Tate, 26, American actress, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Valley of the Dolls
August 14 – Sigrid Gurie, 58, American actress, Algiers, The Adventures of Marco Polo
August 15 – William Goetz, 66, American producer, studio executive, Sayonara, Les Misérables
August 18 – Mildred Davis, 68, American actress, Safety Last!, Grandma’s Boy
August 26 – Martin Miller, 69, Czech actor, 55 Days at Peking, The Pink Panther
September 14 – James Anderson, 48, American actor, To Kill a Mockingbird, Take the Money and Run
September 19 – Rex Ingram, 73, American actor, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Thief of Bagdad
October 8 – Eduardo Ciannelli, 81, Italian actor, Gunga Din, Strange Cargo
October 12 – Sonja Henie, 57, Norwegian actress, former Olympic ice skater, Sun Valley Serenade, One in a Million
October 15 – Rod La Rocque, 70, American actor, Meet John Doe, The Shadow Strikes^[9]
October 28 – Constance Dowling, 49, American actress, Up in Arms, The Well-Groomed Bride
November 5 – Lloyd Corrigan, 69, American actor, Son of Paleface, The Thin Man Goes Home
November 8 – Dave O'Brien, 57, American actor, Captain Midnight, Brand of the Devil
December 3 – Ruth White, 55, American actress, To Kill a Mockingbird, No Way to Treat a Lady
December 7 – Eric Portman, 68, British actor, A Canterbury Tale, The Bedford Incident
December 13 – Luigi Pavese, 72, Italian actor, Toto in Color, Il Mattatore
December 22
- Ilse Steppat, 52, German actress, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Josef von Sternberg, 73, Austrian director, The Blue Angel, Macao

References

Book: Finler, Joel Waldo . 2003 . The Hollywood Story . Wallflower Press . 978-1-903364-66-6 . 358–359.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080615024132/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1969.shtml Top 20 Films of 1969 by Domestic Revenue
Web site: Gerard Butler . https://web.archive.org/web/20160810093723/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2bbda95d0c . dead . August 10, 2016 . BFI . 11 February 2022 . en.
News: Movie Bad Guy, Barton MacLane, Dead At 66. 3 April 2017. The Evening Independent. Associated Press. January 2, 1969.
Record of Howard McNear, Social Security Death Index.
Record of Howard T. McNear. Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000.
Web site: Judy Garland American singer and actress . Encyclopedia Britannica . 13 May 2019 . en.
Book: Ellenberger. Allan R.. Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. 2001. McFarland. 9780786450190. 144. April 27, 2017.
News: Silent Film Star Rod La Rocque Dies. October 17, 1969. August 12, 2010.