2014 Event Sony Pictures releases its comedy 'The Interview' today in over 300 theaters and through online channels; the film depicts an attempted assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and was initially canceled due to threats and hacking attacks 2014 Event Sony Pictures will release its controversial comedy, 'The Interview', about an attempted assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un; the film was canceled after hacking attacks and threats, but Sony now seeks a wide audience for the movie 2014 Event Sony Pictures cancels release of its movie "The Interview" after hacking attacks and threats thought to be ordered by the North Korean government; the movie is reportedly a comedy depicting an attempted assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un 2014 Event Seth Meyers hosts the 66th Annual Emmy Awards; winning series include 'Modern Family' for best comedy and 'Breaking Bad' for best drama; winning actors include Julianna Margulies ('The Good Wife') and Bryan Cranston ('Breaking Bad') 2014 Event At the 71st Golden Globe Awards, Best Motion Picture is awarded to '12 Years a Slave'; 'American Hustle is receives the Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy award, with actress Amy Adams honored as Best Actress 2002 Death Barry Took, comedian, writer, television presenter on BBC program Points of View and BBC Radio 4 program The News Quiz, wrote comedy with Mary Feldman 1998 Event "Comic Relief" benefit comedy show 1997 Event 11th American Comedy Award: Debbie Reynolds 1996 Death Richard Michael Hills, comedy script writer, dies at 70 1996 Death Eric Davidson, comedy scriptwriter, dies at 65 1996 Death Mario Viegas, actor (The Jew, Divine Comedy), dies at 47 1996 Event 10th American Comedy Award 1995 Death Benny Lee, entertainer, comedy actor, singer, appeared in radio comedy programs, including It's a Square World, appeared in episodes of Are You Being Served?, and the television series Minder, dies at 84 1995 Event 9th American Comedy Award: Rodney Dangerfield 1994 Event "Comedy Tonight" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City after 8 performances 1994 Event "Comedy Tonight" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City for 8 performances 1994 Death John I M Stewart, detective writer (A Comedy of Terrors), dies at 88 1994 Death Michael O'Donoghue, comedy writer (SNL), dies at 54 1994 Event 8th American Comedy Award: Carrot Top wins 1993 Event "White Liars/Black Comedy" closes at Criterion New York City after 38 performances 1993 Event "White Liars/Black Comedy" opens at Criterion New York City for 38 performances 1993 Death Paul D Zimmerman, U.S. screenwriter (King of Comedy), dies at 54 1993 Event 7th American Comedy Award: Seinfeld wins 1992 Death Sy Kramer, singer/comedy writer dies of cancer at 59 1992 Event 6th American Comedy Award: Cathy Ladman, Judy Watkins, Billy Crystal 1991 Event 5th American Comedy Award: Dennis Wolfberg 1990 Event "Dave Thomas Comedy Show," last airs on CBS-TV 1990 Event Dave Thomas Comedy Show, debuts on CBS-TV 1990 Event "Ha!" comedy Channel on cable TV begins transmitting 1990 Event 4th American Comedy Award: When Harry Met Sally 1989 Event "Doctor Doctor," TV Comedy starring Matt Frewer, debuts on CBS-TV 1989 Event 3rd American Comedy Award: Paula Poundstone 1988 Event 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams and Tracey Ullman 1987 Event 1st American Comedy Award 1986 Event "Designing Women," TV Comedy, debuts on CBS 1985 Death James Craig, actor (Human Comedy, Kismet), dies of lung cancer at 74 1984 Death Gordon Jenkins, orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 73 1984 Event "Human Comedy" closes at Royale Theater New York City after 13 performances 1984 Event "Human Comedy" opens at Royale Theater New York City for 13 performances 1983 Death Frank Link, actor (Burns and Schreiber Comedy Show), dies at 46 1983 Death Ank [Anna M] van der Moer, actress (Verkade, Dutch Comedy), dies at 71 1981 Event New York City mayor Koch turns down a $7,500 offer to perform comedy 1979 Event Bernard Slade's "Romantic Comedy," premieres in New York City 1979 Event "Co-Ed Fever," TV Comedy, debut and cancelled that outing on CBS 1978 Event Situation comedy "Taxi" premieres on ABC television 1977 Event "Comedy with Music (Victor Borge)" closes at Imperial New York after 66 perf 1977 Event "Comedy with Music (Victor Borge)" opens at Imperial New York City for 66 performances 1976 Birthday Andy Milonakis, born in Katonah, New York, actor, comedian, uses comedy to deflect from his congenital growth-hormone condition, giving him the voice, appearance of an adolescent boy, appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live television show 1975 Birthday Linda Cardellini, born in Redwood City, California, actress, known for television comedy series, 'Freaksand Geeks', also for 'ER' television show, and 'Scooby-Doo' films 1975 Event 1st Annual Comedy Awards of the Year hosted by Alan King 1975 Event "Hot l Baltimore" situation comedy premieres on ABC TV 1974 Death Pedro Regas, actor (Pat Paulsen's Comedy Hour), dies at 92 1973 Event "Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour," TV Variety; debut on ABC 1972 Birthday Dane Cook, born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dane Jeffrey Cook, comedian, stand up comic, released five comedy albums, 'Retaliation' went double platinum, the highest charting comedy album in 28 years, appeared in 15 films since 1997, including 'My Best Friend's Girl' 1972 Death Al Goodman, Russian/US orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at 81 1969 Event "Smothers Brothers comedy Hour," last airs on CBS-TV 1969 Event Monty Python comedy troupe forms 1969 Birthday Patton Oswalt, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, comedian, employs observational comedy, black comedy, surreal humor in his acts, wrote for MADtv, played Spence Olchin on 'The King of Queens' television show, voice of Remy in 'Ratatouille' 1967 Event Monkees take home an Emmy for their Outstanding comedy Series 1967 Birthday Tim Vine, born in London, Enlgand, actor, comedian, performs stand up comedy, television, appears at festivals, tours through the United Kingdom include 'Current Puns' and 'Punslinger', achieved Guinness World Record for most jokes told in an hour 1967 Event "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" premieres on CBS (later ABC, NBC) 1965 Event "Comedy in Music-Opus 2" closes at John Golden New York City after 192 performances 1965 Birthday Carrot Top, Florida, comedian, American Comedy Award-1994 1964 Event "Comedy in Music-Opus 2" opens at John Golden New York City for 192 performances 1964 Death Eddie Cantor, comedian (Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater), dies at 72 1962 Event TV comedy series "Beverly Hillbillies" premieres on CBS 1961 Death Peter H "Paul" Huf, actor and director (Dutch Comedy), dies at 70 1961 Birthday Wendy Liebman, born in Manhasset, New York, comedian, performs stand up comedy, American Comedy Award for Female Stand-up Comedian of the Year, 1997, appeared on HBO, The Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show 1960 Death Cees [Cornelis J] Laseur, Dutch actor/dir (Hague Comedy), dies at 60 1959 Birthday Hugh Laurie, born in Oxford, England, James Hugh Calum Laurie, actor, writer, musician, comedian, comedy partner, Stephen Fry, known for the Fry and Laurie double act, appears in successful Fox television drama House, playing role of Dr. Gregory House 1959 Event Dmitri Shostakovich's comedy "Cheryomushk," premieres in Moscow 1958 Birthday Werner Schwab, born in Austria, writer, playwright, visual artist, studied sculpture at Vienna's Akademie der bildenden Kunste in 1990, wrote sixteen plays, produced eight, controversial works in the Austrian Black comedy tradition 1957 Birthday Stephen Fry, born in Hampstead, England, actor, comedian, film director, starred in comedy series, 'Absolute Power', film 'Wilde' 1957 Birthday Jo Brand, born in Hastings, England, stage name, 'The Sea Monster', stand up comedian, embraced alternative comedy movement, employing use of monotone delivery, pauses, image inspired by radicalized feminism 1957 Death Al White, choreographer (NBC Comedy Hour), dies 1957 Event "Blondie" situation comedy premieres on NBC TV (later on CBS) 1956 Event "Comedy in Music (Victor Borge)" closes at Golden New York City after 849 performances 1955 Birthday Fred Norris, comedy writer/singer, Howard Stern Show 1955 Event "Mr Peepers" (TV Comedy) starring Wally Cox airs for last time on NBC 1955 Birthday Sandra Bernhard, born in Flint, Michigan, actress, King of Comedy, Nancy-Roseanne 1955 Event "Mickey Rooney Show," TV comedy last airs on NBC 1955 Death Theo Frenkel, actor (Footlights, Hague's Comedy), dies 1955 Birthday Sandra Bernhard, born in Arizona, Follow That Bird, King of Comedy 1953 Event "Comedy in Music (Victor Borge)" opens at John Golden New York City for 849 perf 1953 Birthday Robyn Douglass, Sendai Japan, actress, Lonely Guy, Romantic Comedy 1953 Event "Amos 'n Andy," TV Comedy, also radio from '29; last aired on CBS 1951 Birthday Janet Eilber, born in Detroit, Michigan, actress, Hard to Hold, Romantic Comedy 1950 Birthday Louise Duart, Quincy, Massachusetts, comedienne, Paramount Comedy Theater # 5 1949 Event Candid Camera, TV comedy Variety, moves to NBC 1948 Birthday Bruce Vilanch, born in New York City, New York, comedy writer, appeared regularly with Whoopi Goldberg on Hollywood Squares, appeared in Bosom Buddies, Law & Order, wrote for show Billy Crystal, Academy Awards host 1948 Birthday Mario Viegas, actor, The Jew, Divine Comedy, Funeral of Patrao 1944 Event 1st TV Musical comedy (The Boys from Boise) 1944 Birthday Marilyn Michaels, comedienne, ABC Comedy Hour 1943 Birthday Harve Brosten, comedy writer/producer/director, All in the Family 1940 Birthday Terry Gilliam, Minneapolis, comedy author-animator, Monty Python 1939 Event SN Behrman's "No Time for Comedy," premieres in New York City 1939 Birthday David Winters, born in London, England, choreographer, Steve Allen Comedy Hour 1936 Event RCA shows 1st real TV program (dancing, film on locomotives, Bonwit Teller fashion show and monologue from Tobacco Road and comedy) 1935 Birthday Richard Brautigan, born in Tacoma, Washington, writer, novelist, wrote Trout Fishing in America, known for black comedy, parody, satire, and Zen Buddhism 1933 Birthday Barbara Carson, born in Memphis, Tennessee, actress, Comedy Tonight, Carter Country 1933 Event Eugene O'Neill's comedy "Ah, Wilderness," premieres in New York City 1931 Birthday Eric Davidson, comedy scriptwriter 1930 Birthday Darryl Hickman, born in Hollywood, California, actor, Human Comedy, Tea and Sympathy 1928 Birthday Barry Took, born in Muswell Hill, North London, England, comedian, writer, television presenter on BBC program Points of View and BBC Radio 4 program The News Quiz, wrote comedy with Mary Feldman 1927 Birthday Anita Kerr, born in Memphis, Tennessee, singer, Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour 1927 Birthday Lucio Fulci, born in Rome, Italy, director, screenwriter, actor, known for directing gore films, Zombi 2 and The Beyond, other genres, including giallo, western, comedy 1927 Birthday Robert Orben, magician, comedy writer, author, specializes in observational comedy, wrote, 'Encyclopedia of Patter', 'Speaker's Handbook of Humor', speechwriter for Vice President Gerald R. Ford, became Director, White House Speechwriting Department 1926 Birthday Richard Michael Hills, comedy script writer 1924 Birthday Lucas J "Luc" Lutz, Dutch actor and director, Hague Comedy 1924 Birthday Terry Gibbs, born in Brooklyn, New York, orchestra leader, Steve Allen Comedy Hour 1924 Birthday George Kirby, born in Chicago, comedian, ABC Comedy Hour, Pearl Bailey Show 1921 Event "Shuffle Along" 1st black musical comedy, opens in New York City 1920 Birthday Jimmy Edwards, comedy actor, Barnes 1918 Birthday Joey Bishop, born in New York, entertainer, member of the "Rat Pack", guest on talk, comedy and game shows 1914 Event "Tillie's Punctured Romance," 1st six-reel feature comedy debuts 1914 Event 1st feature-length silent film comedy, "Tillie's Punctured Romance" released. (Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin) 1912 Event 1st Mack Sennett "Keystone Comedy" movie released 1912 Birthday Ank van der Moer, actress, Verkade, Dutch Comedy 1911 Birthday Benny Lee, born in Glasgow, Scotland, entertainer, comedy actor, singer, appeared in radio comedy programs, including It's a Square World, appeared in episodes of Are You Being Served?, and the television series Minder 1910 Birthday Robert Paige, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, actor, Colgate Comedy Hour 1910 Birthday Gordon Jenkins, Webster Grove, Missouri, orchestra leader, NBC Comedy Hour 1907 Birthday Paul J. Steenbergen, Netherlands, actor, Ciske Rat, founder, Hague's Comedy 1906 Birthday John I M Stewart, British detective writer, Comedy of Terrors 1903 Birthday Joris Diels, Flemish actor and director, Haagsche Comedy 1899 Birthday Cees Lasseur, Dutch actor and owner, Hague Comedy 1893 Birthday Theo Frenkel, actor, Footlights, Hague's Comedy 1892 Birthday Eddie Cantor, New York City, comedian, Eddie Cantor Comedy Theater 1892 Birthday Oliver Hardy, Harlem, Georgia, comedy team member, Laurel and Hardy 1890 Birthday Al Goodman, Nikopol Russia, orchestra leader, NBC Comedy Hour 1886 Event Comedy opera "Dorothy," 1st produced in London 1876 Death Aleksander Fredro, Polish comedy writer (Zemstra), dies at 82 1799 Birthday Honore de Balzac, France, novelist, Pere Goriot, Human Comedy 1794 Death Nicolas de Chamfort, known for aphorisms and witty epigrams, wrote successful comedy, 'La Jeune Indienne', commits suicide at 53 1793 Birthday Aleksander Fredro, Polish comedy writer, Pan Jowiolski 1787 Event 1st American comedy, "The Contrast," made its debut in New York City 1787 Birthday Louis Angely, German, comedy writer, Sieben Madchen in Uniform 1741 Birthday Nicolas de Chamfort, born in Clermont-Ferrand, France, known for aphorisms and witty epigrams, wrote successful comedy, 'La Jeune Indienne' 1655 Birthday Jean-Franeois Regnard, French comedy writer, Slave in Algeria 1611 Event Shakespeare's romantic comedy "Tempest" 1st presented 1321 Death Dante Alighieri, author (Divine Comedy), dies
