Timelines for year 1968
Tom Hayden
Member of the Chicago Seven that protested at the 1968 Democratic convention
Member of the so-called "Chicago Seven" - along with Abbie Hoffman, and Jerry Rubin - anti-Vietnam War protesters arrested at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass were part of the defense team that won Hayden and the others acquittals.
Valerie Solanas
Valerie, released on bail after shooting Andy Warhol, called the Factory (Warhol's studio) on Christmas Day in 1968. Andy answered the phone. She wished him a Merry Christmas and threatened to shoot him again if he didn't meet her demands which include her appearance on the Johnny Carson show, publication of the SCUM Manifesto in the Daily News and $25,000 in cash. She was locked away again, with her bail raised to $50,000 and then to $100,000. She was declared incompetent to stand trial and later pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced to three years, one of which she had already served while awaiting trial.
John Phillip Law
The tall and handsome blond '60s and '70s actor, son of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy, was best known for playing silent, mysterious types on film, including the object of Rod Steiger's affection in The Sergeant (1968), but also appeared in a numerous Italian movies both before and after his Hollywood peak.
Sharon Tate
Her character, 'Freya Carlson', in The Wrecking Crew (1968) was the inspiration for 'Felicity Shagwell' in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).
Karl Hardman
Karl Hardman is the real-life father of Kyra Schon (he also played her father in the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) )
Ethel Waters
Universal Pictures announced in November 1968 that they would be making a movie version of Waters autobiography "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" from a screenplay by Peter S. Feibleman, with Julian Blaustein producing. It was planned to use an unknown to play Waters but the film was never made.
Jerry Herman
Was the original choice of producer David Geffen to write the score for a musical version of Mel Brooks' film The Producers (1968), but convinced Geffen (and Brooks) that Brooks himself was more qualified for the work.
Roger Ebert
Shares the birth-place of Urbana, Illinois with the character Hal 9000, as specified in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) one of his favorite films. He held a birthday party for Hal 9000 at the University of Illinois in Urbana in 1997 (Hal's birth-date in the novel, not the film) celebrated with a screening of 2001 and its cowriter Arthur C. Clarke in attendance via satellite.
Heather Young
Was pregnant during much of the second season of "Land of the Giants" (1968) and had to either be filmed mostly from the waist up or was written out of several episodes altogether.
Dennis Wilson
In 1968, Wilson picked up a couple of women hitchhikers and took them to his house to party. The women were associated with a wanna-be song-writer named Charles Manson, who invited himself to visit the Beach Boy. Wilson also picked up a male hitchhiker that year, drug dealer Charles Watson, whom Dennis invited to hang out at his house. In fact, Manson met "Tex" Watson at Wilson's house; the two would become partners in some of the most infamous murders of the 20th Century. Initially, Wilson tolerated Manson's presence at his house, as he brought his groupies with him. Wilson had encouraged Manson's musical ambitions and one of his songs, "Cease to Exist", appeared on the Beach Boys album "20/20" under the title "Never Learn Not to Love". Eventually, Wilson and his musical confederates whom had been introduced to Manson became disenchanted with him, despite the former pimp's provision of women, due to Charlie's fierce temper. Ultimately, Manson and his girls proved to be unwanted guests who tried to commandeer Wilson's house. Wilson, too intimidated to evict his guests, eventually moved out of his own house. Shortly thereafter, Manson and his followers left and began their descent into the hellish frenzy that culminated in the Tate-LaBianca killings. committed the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Had four children. Daughter, Jennifer was born in 1968, sons Carl in 1972, Michael in 1973 and Gage in 1982. He also adopted his first wife Carol's son, Scott as his own in 1966.
Tom Savini
Was originally supposed to be a special effects make-up artist on Night of the Living Dead (1968), but was drafted to Vietnam just before filming began.
Dustin Hoffman
He was a neighbor of Mel Brooks in New York and was set to play the role of Franz Liebkind in Brooks' first film, The Producers (1968). Just before production was to commence, Hoffman was offered the role of Ben Braddock in The Graduate (1967), co-starring Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft, and asked to be let out of his contract. The role of Liebkind eventually went to Kenneth Mars.
Lee J. Cobb
His performance of 'King Lear' in 1968 is the longest-running production of the play in Broadway history.