Timelines for year 1981
Helen Mirren
John Boorman said he cast her opposite Nicol Williamson in Excalibur , against both of their protests, because he felt their dislike of each other made them perfect as rivals Morgana and Merlin.
Meg Ryan
Her first film audition was for the role played by Brooke Shields in Endless Love .
Has twice played Candice Bergen's daughter, first in Rich and Famous and again in The Women .
Rock Hudson
He had always been critical of plastic surgery, although in 1981 he had surgery on his eyelids after a cameraman convinced him it would make him look better on screen.
He was the original choice to play Jason Colby in the "Dynasty" spin off "The Colbys" , but had to turn it down due to his declining health. The part went to Charlton Heston instead.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981- 1985, pages 405-407. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
By the time he had taken the role of a suave and stately horse breeder on "Dynasty" , the AIDS virus was consuming him. Before long, he suffered memory loss and was forced to use cue cards. He also had difficulty speaking.
Bill Murray
Married his first wife, Mickey Kelley in Las Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday of 1981. They had a second ceremony at a church on March 25, 1981.
Performed the vocals for the song "The Best Thing" in the John Waters film Polyester .
Ellen Burstyn
The character of Jean Harris seems to be a favorite for Ellen Burstyn. Burstyn was Emmy-nominated for the lead role as Jean Harris in the 1981 TV-movie, The People vs. Jean Harris (TV) and, in 2006, she was nominated as a supporting character (as an ex-lover of Jean Harris's lover) in the cable-movie based on the Harris case in Mrs. Harris (TV). Burstyn is perhaps the first actress to be nominated for a performance that is less than 1-minute long (in fact, it is approximately 15 seconds). She vied for the Emmy with fellow "Mrs. Harris" co-star and Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman. Neither won.
Member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981
Michael Landon
His last wife was former make-up artist Cindy Clerico, whom he met near the end of the "Little House" run in 1981, and married two years later.
When he filed for divorce from Lynn, it cost him $26 million. Though he gave her his $3.5-million, 35-room Beverly Hills mansion, this bitter divorce was a devastating blow for Lynn, who stated on TV that her ex-husband had become her angel.
His mother Peggy died on March 15, 1981.
Ridley Scott
He and Michael Mann have both directed a Hannibal Lecter film. They have also both worked frequently with an actor who has played Jack Crawford. Mann directed Dennis Farina's first film, Thief , and he also used him on "Miami Vice" . Scott cast Harvey Keitel in The Duellists and Thelma & Louise . Keitel went on to play Jack Crawford in Red Dragon .
Walt Disney
In 1981, Walt Disney Productions (now The Walt Disney Company) purchased the rights to the Disney name from Retlaw Enterprises, the Disney family's company. Retlaw is Walter spelled backwards.
Charlton Heston
Heston has often been compared with his friend Ronald Reagan. Both actors started out as liberal Democrats but gradually converted to conservative Republicans, both served as Presidents of the Screen Actors Guild, both went into politics (Reagan as President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and Heston as President of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003), and both suffered from Alzheimer's disease in later life. Heston attended Reagan's state funeral on 11 June 2004.
In 1981, Heston was named co-chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Task Force for the Arts and Humanities. He served on the National Council for the Arts and was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild six times.
Robert De Niro
He started the whole "awards show ribbon" tradition by wearing a green ribbon on his lapel at the 1981 Academy Awards. The ribbon was in rememberance of several African-American children who were victims of a serial killer in Atlanta, Georgia in 1980-1981. The ribbon was given to him by a fan in the bleachers as he arrived; the victims' families had been wearing them for months.