Cineliteracy: What You Need to Know about 1982 as Movie Year

My Oscar Book:

Research in progress: June 25, 2025

Missing: Best Actor, Supp. Actor and Actress

Top-Grossing Films of 1982

Rank Title Distributor Box-office gross

1 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal $359,197,037
2 Tootsie Columbia $177,200,000
3 An Officer and a Gentleman Paramount $129,795,554
4 First Blood Orion $125,212,904
5 Rocky III United Artists $124,146,897
6 Porky’s 20th Century Fox $105,492,483
7 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Paramount $78,912,963
8 48 Hrs. $78,868,508
9 Poltergeist MGM $76,606,280
10 The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Universal $69,701,637

Events

January 1 – Terry Semel becomes president of Warner.

March 5 –

John Belushi dies after injection with heroin and cocaine at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles, California.

June 11

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the highest-grossing film to date.

Michelle Pfeiffer appears in first lead role, in Grease 2, the sequel to the top-grossing film of 1978.

June 22 –

Coca-Cola Company acquires Columbia for $750 million.

July 9 — Sci-fi movie Tron, first feature to use computer animation extensively.

July 23 —

Twilight Zone: The Movie, Vic Morrow and two child actors are accidentally killed during helicopter scene, leading to reforms in safety and child-labor laws.

October 22 –

First Blood released to widespread commercial and critical success, launching the Rambo franchise.

December 8 –

Comedian Eddie Murphy makes his film debut in the hit 48 Hrs.

December 17 –

Tootsie, the highest-grossing comedy to date and Columbia’s top-grossing film at $177 million.

December 27 –

Ned Tanen resigns as Universal president, and Robert Rehme becomes president of Universal’s new Theatrical Motion Picture Group.

The THX Sound System is developed for movie theaters.

My Oscar Award Book:

Awards

55th Academy Awards, April 11, 1983

Best Film: Gandhi
Best Director: Richard Attenborough, Gandhi
Best Actor: Ben Kingsley, Gandhi
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, Sophie’s Choice
Best Supporting Actor: Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Lange, Tootsie
Best Screenplay, Adapted John Briley
Best Screenplay, Original John Briley, Gandhi
Best Original Score John Williams, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial John Williams
Best Original Song: “Up Where We Belong,” An Officer and a Gentleman
Best Foreign Language Film: Begin the Beguine

Festivals

Palme d’Or (Cannes Film Fest): Tie–Missing, Costa-Gavras, US
Yol (The Way), directed by Yılmaz Güney, Turkey
Golden Lion (Venice Film Fest): The State of Things, Wim Wenders, W. Germany / Portugal / US

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Fest): Veronika Voss), Fassbinder, W. Germany

Births

Deaths
Month Date Name Age Country Profession Notable films

January 1

Victor Buono 43 US Actor, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Robin and the 7 Hoods
1 Margot Grahame 70 UK Actress, The Informer, The Three Musketeers
4 Kathryn Scola 90 US Screenwriter
Baby FaceThe Glass Key
5 Hans Conried 64 US Actor
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.Peter Pan
5 Harvey Lembeck 58 US Actor
Stalag 17Beach Party
8 Reta Shaw 69 US Actress
Mary PoppinsEscape to Witch Mountain
8 Grégoire Aslan 73 Switzerland Actor
CleopatraThe Return of the Pink Panther
10 Paul Lynde 55 US Actor
Bye Bye Birdie Send Me No Flowers
30 Stanley Holloway 91 UK Actor
My Fair LadyBrief Encounter

February

Feb 5 Dolores Moran 58 US Actress
To Have and Have Not, The Horn Blows at Midnight
11 Eleanor Powell 69 US Actress, Dancer, Born to Dance, Broadway Melody of 1936
11 Takashi Shimura 76 Japan Actor
Seven SamuraiGodzilla
12 Victor Jory 79 Canada Actor
Gone with the WindThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer
14 Antonio Casas 70 Spain Actor
The Good, the Bad and the UglyTristana
17 Lee Strasberg 80 US Actor
The Godfather Part IIGoing in Style
18 Tina Carver 59 US Actress
From Hell It CameInside Detroit
22 John Carter 74 US Sound Engineer
JawsEl Dorado
24 Virginia Bruce 71 US Actress
The Great ZiegfeldJane Eyre
March 5 John Belushi 33 US Actor
The Blues BrothersNational Lampoon’s Animal House
5 Burton Miller 57 US Costume Designer
The Front PageAirport ’77
5 Giuseppe Porelli 84 Italy Actor
I dieci comandamentiDon Camillo: Monsignor
6 Ayn Rand 77 Russia Screenwriter, The Fountainhead, Love Letters
8 Walter Plunkett 79 US Costume Designer
Gone with the WindAn American in Paris
19 Alan Badel 58 UK Actor
The Day of the JackalForce 10 from Navarone
21 Harry H. Corbett 57 UK Actor
JabberwockyCarry On Screaming!
22 Harold Goldblatt 82 UK Actor
A Night to RememberSunday Bloody Sunday
26 Sam Kydd 67 UK Actor
The LadykillersEye of the Needle
27 Betty Schade 87 US Actress
After FiveFirst Love
29 Rudy Bond 69 US Actor
The GodfatherA Streetcar Named Desire
April 1 Stephen Chase 79 US Actor
When Worlds CollideThe Blob
3 Warren Oates 53 US Actor
The Wild BunchIn the Heat of the Night
7 Brenda Benet 36 US Actress
Harum ScarumWalking Tall
12 Lenny Baker 37 US Actor
Next Stop, Greenwich VillageThe Paper Chase
15 Arthur Lowe 66 UK Actor
Kind Hearts and CoronetsThe Ruling Class
21 Joe Sawyer 75 Canada Actor
GildaIt Came from Outer Space
22 Stanley Roberts 65 US Screenwriter
The Caine MutinyMade in Paris
25 W. R. Burnett 82 US Screenwriter
High SierraThe Great Escape
25 Don Wilson 81 US Actor
NiagaraBuck Benny Rides Again
26 Celia Johnson 73 UK Actress
Brief EncounterThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
27 George Dunn 67 US Actor
Operation PetticoatThe Beguiled
27 Tom Tully 73 US Actor
The Caine MutinyCharley Varrick
May 1 Margaret Sheridan 55 US Actress
The Thing from Another WorldI, the Jury
2 Helmut Dantine 63 Austria Actor
Whispering CityBring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
2 Hugh Marlowe 71 US Actor
All About EveThe Day the Earth Stood Still
2 Wini Shaw 75 US Actress, Singer
Gold Diggers of 1935Front Page Woman
14 Hugh Beaumont 73 US Actor
The Blue DahliaRailroaded!
16 Sidney Hickox 86 US Cinematographer
The Big SleepWhite Heat
16 Leigh Snowden 52 US Actress
Outside the LawThe Creature Walks Among Us
29 Romy Schneider 43 Germany Actress
The TrialWhat’s New Pussycat?
June 10 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 37 Germany Screenwriter, Director, Actor
Love Is Colder Than DeathKatzelmacher
16 Gwen Wakeling 81 US Costume Designer
Samson and DelilahHow Green Was My Valley
18 Curd Jürgens 66 Germany Actor, Director
The Spy Who Loved MeThe Longest Day
21 Cotton Warburton 70 US Film Editor
Mary PoppinsNeptune’s Daughter
29 Michael Brennan 69 UK Actor
Trouble in StoreUp in the World
29 Henry King 96 US Director, Producer, Twelve O’Clock High, The Gunfighter
July 8 Isa Miranda 73 Italy Actress, Hotel Imperial, Summertime
12 Kenneth More 67 UK Actor
The Longest DayBattle of Britain
16 Patrick Dewaere 35 France Actor, Screenwriter, Director
A Bad SonLe Juge Fayard dit Le Shériff
18 John Maxwell 64 US Actor
The ProwlerWithout Warning!
19 John Harvey 70 UK Actor
The Satanic Rites of DraculaThe Man with My Face
23 Vic Morrow 53 US Actor
Twilight Zone: The MovieThe Bad News Bears
29 Harold Sakata 62 US Actor
GoldfingerDimension 5

August

Aug 2 Cathleen Nesbitt 93 UK Actress An Affair to Remember, Separate Tables
7 Jill Banner 35 US Actress
Spider BabyThe President’s Analyst
10 William Henry 67 US Actor
The Thin ManMister Roberts
10 José Nieto 80 Spain Actor
The Girl from BejarEl abanderado
11 Folmar Blangsted 77 Denmark Film Editor
Rio BravoSummer of ’42
11 Tom Drake 64 US Actor
Meet Me in St. LouisWords and Music
12 Henry Fonda 77 US Actor
12 Angry MenOnce Upon a Time in the West
13 Joe E. Ross 68 US Actor
Hear Me GoodThe Love Bug
13 Charles Walters 70 US Director
LiliThe Unsinkable Molly Brown
14 Kanhaiyalal 71-72 India Actor
Meri Surat Teri AnkhenSatyam Shivam Sundaram
14 Patrick Magee 58 Ireland Actor
A Clockwork OrangeBarry Lyndon
19 Russell Waters 74 UK Actor
The Wicker ManThe Blue Lagoon
20 Ulla Jacobsson 53 Sweden Actress
Smiles of a Summer NightLove Is a Ball
20 Edward Ludwig 82 Russia Director
Wake of the Red WitchBig Jim McLain
22 John Boxer 73 UK Actor
GandhiThe Bridge on the River Kwai

Aug 29

Ingrid Bergman 67 Sweden Actress, Casablanca, Notorious

September

Sep 2 Jay Novello 78 US Actor
The Pride and the Passion, The Lost World
5 Richard Lane 83 US Actor
Alias Boston Blackie, Brother Orchid
13 Philip Ober 80 US Actor
From Here to EternityNorth by Northwest
14 Grace Kelly[37] 52 US Actress
Rear WindowDial M for Murder
15 Rolfe Sedan 86 US Actor
NinotchkaPhantom of the Rue Morgue
24 Sarah Churchill 67 UK Actress
Royal WeddingAll Over the Town
28 Mabel Albertson 81 US Actress
What’s Up, Doc?Barefoot in the Park
28 Seth Banks 66 US Costume Designer
To Kill a Mockingbird, 9 to 5

October

Oct 3 Vivien Merchant 53 UK Actress, Frenzy, Alfie
5 Joseph Hurley 68 US Art Director, Psycho, The Postman Always Rings Twice
8 Fernando Lamas 67 Argentina Actor, Director
Dangerous When WetThe Merry Widow
12 John Brahm 89 Germany Director
Hangover SquareThe Locket
12 Howard Sackler 52 US Screenwriter
The Great White HopeJaws 2
26 Valerio Zurlini 56 Italy Director, Screenwriter
The Desert of the TartarsViolent Summer

November

Nov 1

King Vidor 88 US Director, Producer, Duel in the Sun, War and Peace
1 James Broderick 55 US Actor
Dog Day AfternoonThe Taking of Pelham One Two Three
4 Dominique Dunne 22 US Actress Poltergeist

Nov 4

Jacques Tati 75 France Actor, Director, Mon Oncle, Mr. Hulot’s Holiday

7 Elio Petri 53 Italy Director, Screenwriter
Investigation of a Citizen Above SuspicionThe 10th Victim
17 Ruth Donnelly 86 US Actress
The Bells of St. Mary’sMr. Smith Goes to Washington
18 William P. McGivern 63 US Screenwriter
The Wrecking CrewBrannigan
21 Lee Patrick 80 US Actress
Auntie MameThe Maltese Falcon
26 Robert Coote 73 UK Actor
A Matter of Life and DeathThe Ghost and Mrs. Muir
26 Dan Tobin 72 US Actor
Woman of the YearThe Velvet Touch
27 Steve Gordon 44 US Screenwriter, Director
ArthurThe One and Only
30 Verna Fields 64 US Film Editor
JawsAmerican Graffiti

December

Dec 2

Marty Feldman 48 UK Actor, Director, Young Frankenstein, The Last Remake of Beau Geste
10 Roy Webb 94 US Composer
NotoriousBringing Up Baby
21 Gladys Henson 83 Ireland Actress
The Happiest Days of Your LifeThe Prince and the Showgirl
22 Jack Webb 62 US Actor
Sunset BoulevardPete Kelly’s Blues
29 Sol C. Siegel 79 US Producer
Three Coins in the FountainGentlemen Prefer Blondes

Film Debuts

Caroline Aaron – Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Pamela Adlon – Grease 2
Kirstie Alley – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Antonio Banderas – Labyrinth of Passion
Christine Baranski – Soup for One
Frances Barber – The Missionary
Michael Bowen – Forbidden World
Nicolas Cage – Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Billy Campbell – How Sleep the Brave
Peter Capaldi – Living Apart Together
Glenn Close – The World According to Garp
Maryam d’Abo – Xtro
Tim Daly – Diner
Geena Davis – Tootsie
Rebecca De Mornay – One from the Heart
Christine Ebersole – Tootsie
Erika Eleniak – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
David Faustino – Neil Simon’s I Ought to Be in Pictures
Miguel Ferrer – Truckin’ Buddy McCoy
Whoopi Goldberg – Citizen
Hugh Grant – Privileged
Anthony Michael Hall – Six Pack
Paul Herman – Dear Mr. Wonderful
C. Thomas Howell – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Alex Hyde-White – The Toy
Željko Ivanek – The Soldier
Luz María Jerez – Sorceress
Angelina Jolie – Lookin’ to Get Out
Claudia Karvan – Going Down
Tchéky Karyo – The Return of Martin Guerre
Kevin Kline – Sophie’s Choice
Andy Lau – Once Upon a Rainbow
Joey Lawrence – Hit and Run
Jet Li – Shaolin Temple
Vincent Lindon – Guy de Maupassant
Diego Luna – Antonieta
Amy Madigan – Love Child
Michael Madsen – Against All Hope
Wendie Malick – A Little Sex
Ian McNeice – Voice Over
Michael Milhoan – The Beach Girls
Esai Morales – Forty Deuce
Eddie Murphy – 48 Hrs.
Gary Oldman – Remembrance
Ed O’Ross – Dear Mr. Wonderful
Barry Otto – Norman Loves Rose
Rick Overton – Young Doctors in Love
Rob Paulsen – Tron
Paul Reiser – Diner
Molly Ringwald – Tempest
Scott Rudin (producer) – I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can
James Russo – A Stranger Is Watching
William Sadler – Hanky Panky
Meredith Salenger – Annie
Miguel Sandoval – Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann
Greta Scacchi – Second Sight [it]
Jackie Shroff – Swami Dada
Shawnee Smith – Annie
Bill Smitrovich – A Little Sex
Beau Starr – Hanky Panky
Eric Stoltz – Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fred Tatasciore – Dragon Lord
Ulrich Tukur – Die Weiße Rose
Forest Whitaker – Tag: The Assassination Game
James Wilby – Privileged
Mark Williams – Privileged
Victor Wong – Nightsongs
Philip Zandén – Jönssonligan och Dynamit-Harry
Hans Zimmer (film composer) – Moonlighting
Daphne Zuniga – The Dorm That Dripped Blood