1975 in film

The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.

Events
March 26: The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London. May: In order to create the necessary special effects for his film, Star Wars, George Lucas forms Industrial Light and Magic. August 14: The cult classic film The Rocky Horror Picture Show premieres in London. Jaws becomes the first movie to gross $100 million in US theatrical rentals,[citation needed] setting the standard for future blockbusters. November 23: Sneak Previews, the first American film review show, premieres and launches the careers of critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. They will remain a team, and a staple among film critics, through various programs for the next twenty-four years.

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
See also: List of 1975 box office number-one films in the United States

The top ten 1975 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1975

Rank

Title

Studio

Domestic gross

1 Jaws Universal Pictures $260,000,000[1]

2 The Rocky Horror Picture Show 20th Century Fox $112,892,319[2]

3 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest United Artists $108,981,275[3]

4 Dog Day Afternoon Warner Bros. $50,000,000[4]

5 Shampoo Columbia Pictures $49,407,734[5]

6 The Return of the Pink Panther United Artists $41,833,347[6]

7 Funny Lady Columbia Pictures $39,000,000[7]

8 The Apple Dumpling Gang Walt Disney Productions $36,853,000[8]

9 Aloha, Bobby and Rose Columbia Pictures $35,000,000[9]

10 The Other Side of the Mountain Universal Pictures $34,673,100[10]

Actor's debuts
Kim Cattrall – Rosebud Tim Curry – The Rocky Horror Picture Show Brad Dourif – W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings Laurence Fishburne – Cornbread, Earl and Me Nastassja Kinski – The Wrong Move Christopher Lloyd – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Mary Stuart Masterson – The Stepford Wives Bill Murray – Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle Bill Paxton – Crazy Mama Dennis Quaid – Crazy Mama Chris Sarandon – Dog Day Afternoon Patrick Stewart – Hennessy John Travolta – The Devil's Rain Treat Williams – Deadly Hero (filmed in 1975, released in May 1976)

Awards
Awards ceremonies Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): Chronicle of the Years of Fire (Chronique des années de braise) Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): Adoption (Örökbefogadás)

Notable awards

Category/Organization

Golden Globe Awards January 24, 1976

BAFTA Awards February 29, 1976

Academy Awards March 29, 1976

Musical or Comedy

Drama

Best Film The Sunshine Boys One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Best Director Miloš Forman One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Stanley Kubrick Barry Lyndon Miloš Forman One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Best Actor Walter Matthau The Sunshine Boys Jack Nicholson One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Al Pacino Dog Day Afternoon / The Godfather Part II Jack Nicholson One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Best Actress Ann-Margret Tommy Louise Fletcher One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Ellen Burstyn Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Louise Fletcher One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Best Supporting Actor Richard Benjamin The Sunshine Boys Fred Astaire The Towering Inferno George Burns The Sunshine Boys Best Supporting Actress Brenda Vaccaro Once Is Not Enough Diane Ladd Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Lee Grant Shampoo Best Screenplay, Adapted One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Robert Getchell One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman Best Screenplay, Original Dog Day Afternoon Frank Pierson

Births
January 3 Danica McKellar, American actress Jason Marsden, actor

January 5: Bradley Cooper, American actor February 14: Malik Zidi, French actor February 22: Drew Barrymore, American actress and director March 22: Guillermo Diaz, American actor March 27: Stacy Ferguson, American actress/singer April 2: Adam Rodriguez, American actor May 3: Christina Hendricks, American actress June 4: Angelina Jolie, American actress June 25: Linda Cardellini, American actress June 27: Tobey Maguire, American actor July 11: Bridgette Andersen, American actress (d. 1997) July 17: Cécile de France, Belgian actress July 23: Suriya, Indian actor August 7: Charlize Theron, South African actress August 12: Casey Affleck, American actor September 30: Marion Cotillard, French actress October 5 Kate Winslet, English actress Parminder Nagra, English actress

October 7: Kaspars Znotiņš, Latvian actor November 6: Sean Patrick Maclam, Scottish Grindhouse film director November 19: Sushmita Sen, Indian actress December 17: Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress December 27: Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d.1988)

Deaths
Month

Date

Name

Age

Country

Profession

Notable films

January 1 Arthur Pierson 73 Norway/USA Director, Actor The Fighting O'Flynn · Home Town Story 9 Pierre Fresnay 77 France Actor La Grande Illusion · Le Corbeau 18 Gertrude Olmstead 77 USA Actress The Boob · The Monster 24 Larry Fine 72 USA Actor It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World · 4 for Texas 27 Bill Walsh 61 USA Screenwriter, Producer Mary Poppins · Bedknobs and Broomsticks

February 1 Richard Wattis 62 UK Actor The Longest Day · The Man Who Knew Too Much 11 Maria Balcerkiewiczówna 71 Poland Actress Vampires of Warsaw · Augustus the Strong 17 George Marshall 83 USA Director How the West Was Won · Destry Rides Again 20 Robert Strauss 61 USA Actor Stalag 17 · The Seven Year Itch 20 Lillian Fontaine 88 UK Actress The Locket · The Lost Weekend

March 4 Renée Björling 76 Sweden Actress Summer Interlude · A Lesson in Love 7 Ben Blue 73 Canada/USA Actor It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World · The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming 8 George Stevens 70 USA Director, Producer A Place in the Sun · Giant 9 Shirley Ross 62 USA Actress The Big Broadcast of 1938 · Thanks for the Memory 14 Susan Hayward 57 USA Actress I Want to Live! · The Snows of Kilimanjaro

April 3 Mary Ure 42 UK Actress Where Eagles Dare · Look Back in Anger 10 Marjorie Main 85 USA Actress Meet Me in St. Louis · Heaven Can Wait 13 Larry Parks 60 USA Actor The Jolson Story · Jolson Sings Again 14 Fredric March 77 USA Actor The Best Years of Our Lives · A Star Is Born 15 Richard Conte 65 USA Actor The Godfather · Ocean's 11 15 William Hartnell 67 UK Actor Hell Drivers · Carry On Sergeant

May 4 Moe Howard 77 USA Actor Punch Drunks · Men in Black

June 4 Evelyn Brent 75 USA Actress Underworld · The Last Command 6 Larry Blyden 49 USA Actor On a Clear Day You Can See Forever · Kiss Them for Me 28 Rod Serling 50 USA Screenwriter Seven Days in May · Planet of the Apes

July 2 James Robertson Justice 68 UK Actor The Guns of Navarone · Moby Dick

August 23 Hank Patterson 86 USA Actor The Arizona Kid · Tarantula

September 9 John McGiver 61 USA Actor The Manchurian Candidate · Midnight Cowboy 24 Clive Morton 71 UK Actor The Moonraker · Kind Hearts and Coronets 27 Mark Frechette 27 USA Actor Zabriskie Point · Many Wars Ago

October 18 Al Lettieri 47 USA Actor The Godfather · The Getaway 24 Martin Boddey 68 UK Actor Carry on Sergeant · Carry on Nurse 31 Joseph Calleia 78 Malta/USA Actor, Singer After the Thin Man · Touch of Evil

November 2 Pier Paolo Pasolini 53 Italy Director, Screenwriter, Actor The Hawks and the Sparrows · Teorema 4 Sheila Ryan 54 USA Actress Dressed to Kill · Song of Texas 5 Annette Kellerman 88 Australia Actress Venus of the South Seas · A Daughter of the Gods

December 9 William A. Wellman 79 USA Director Wings · Battleground 13 Cyril Delevanti 88 UK Actor Mary Poppins · Soylent Green 20 William Lundigan 61 USA Actor The House on Telegraph Hill · Love Nest 24 Bernard Herrmann 64 USA Composer Psycho · Taxi Driver