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.
Quick Facts List of years in film ...
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The top ten 1969 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
More information Rank, Title ...
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[1] |
3 |
Midnight Cowboy |
United Artists |
$20,500,000[2] |
4 |
Easy Rider |
Columbia |
$16,900,000[1] |
5 |
Hello, Dolly! |
20th Century Fox |
$15,000,000[1] |
6 |
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice |
Columbia |
$14,600,000[1] |
7 |
Paint Your Wagon |
Paramount |
$14,500,000[1] |
8 |
True Grit |
$14,300,000[1] |
9 |
Cactus Flower |
Columbia |
$11,900,000[1] |
10 |
Goodbye, Columbus |
Paramount |
$10,500,000[1] |
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- 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.
- 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.
- Jack and Jill: A Postscript becomes the first feature film to receive an Australian Film Institute Award.
More information Category/Organization, 27th Golden Globe Awards February 2, 1970 ...
Category/Organization | 27th Golden Globe Awards February 2, 1970 | 23rd BAFTA Awards March 8, 1970 | 42nd Academy Awards April 7, 1970 |
Drama | 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 | 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 |
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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
- January 1
- January 2
- 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 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
- January 22 - Olivia d'Abo, British actress and singer
- January 27 – Patton Oswalt, American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, and writer
- January 28 - Kathryn Morris, American actress
- February 3 - Shane Rangi, New Zealand actor
- February 4 - Brandy Ledford, American actress and model
- February 5
- February 6
- February 8
- February 11
- 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 8 - Don Hall, American director, voice actor and writer
- March 10
- 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
- April 23 – Byron Thames, American actor
- April 24 - Rory McCann, Scottish actor
- April 25
- 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
- June 1 – Teri Polo, American actress
- June 3 - Tate Taylor, American filmmaker and actor
- June 4
- June 6 - Nina Sosanya, English actress and narrator
- June 7
- 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 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 2006)
- June 23 - Martin Klebba, American character actor and stunt performer
- June 24 - Jensen Daggett, American actress
- June 28
- June 29 - Aleks Paunovic, Canadian actor
- July 2 - John Emmet Tracy, American-Canadian actor
- July 3
- 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
- July 13 - Ken Jeong, American stand-up comedian, actor and producer
- July 17
- 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
- July 25 - Dave B. Mitchell, American voice actor
- July 28
- July 30 - Simon Baker, Australian actor
- July 31 - Loren Dean, American actor
- August 4 – Vlad Ivanov, Romanian actor
- August 5
- 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
- August 19
- 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
- August 28 – Jack Black, American actor, comedian, musician
- September 3 - Noah Baumbach, American director and screenwriter
- September 4 - Noah Taylor, Australian actor
- September 7 - Angie Everhart, American actress
- September 13
- September 14
- Bong Joon-ho, Korean director and screenwriter
- Oscar Kightley, Samoan-born New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, director and comedian
- September 21 - Ivan Shvedoff, Russian actor
- September 22 - Sue Perkins, English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer
- September 23
- September 25 – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress
- September 26 - David Slade, British director and actor
- September 29 – Erika Eleniak, American actress
- September 30
- October 1 – Zach Galifianakis, American actor
- October 3 – Gwen Stefani, American singer, songwriter and actress
- October 4 - Abraham Benrubi, American actor
- October 7 - Bobbie Brown, American actress
- October 8
- October 9 – Steve McQueen, English director
- October 10
- October 15 – Dominic West, English actor
- October 17
- October 19
- 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
- November 4 – Matthew McConaughey, American actor
- November 10
- 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
- November 28
- November 30
- December 5 - Eric Etebari, Iranian-American actor
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
Record of Howard T. McNear. Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000.