George Wendt, best known for playing Norm on Cheers, died
peacefully in his sleep while at home early Tuesday morning,
on the 32nd anniversary of the Cheers series finale. He was 76.
Wendt was on Cheers for the entirety of the show’s epic run
from 1982–1993.
On May 16, 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences handed out its first awards, at a dinner party for
around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the
Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.
The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM
film studio, the Academy was organized in May 1927 as a
non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and
improvement of the film industry.
Its first president and the host of the May 1929 ceremony was
the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Unlike today, the winners
of the first Oscars—as the coveted gold-plated statuettes
later became known—were announced before the awards
ceremony itself.
The first official Best Picture winner was Wings, directed by
William Wellman. The most expensive movie of its time, with
a budget of $2 million.
Joe Don Baker, the broad-shouldered Texas tough guy who
portrayed characters on both sides of the law, most notably
Sheriff Buford Pusser in the unexpected box-office hit
Walking Tall (1973), died Monday May 7.
Sinatra died in his sleep after suffering a heart attack at Cedars-
Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with his wife Barbara at
his side. He was 82.
On May 14, 1998, the legendary singer, actor and show-
business icon Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack in Los
Angeles, at the age of 82.
Sinatra emerged from an Italian-American family in Hoboken,
New Jersey, to become the first modern superstar of popular
music, with an entertainment career that spanned more than
five decades.
James Foley (December 28, 1953 – May 6, 2025)
Famed Hollywood director James Foley has passed away after
a battle with brain cancer. Many know James’ work but may
not even realize it. In addition to directing films like Glengarry
Glenn Ross and two films in the Fifty Shades franchise.
James worked with Madonna several times for her iconic music
videos. He directed videos for Papa Don’t Preach, Live to Tell,
and True Blue in the 1980s. James also served as the director
for Madonna’s 1987 feature film Who’s That Girl.
(Hollywood Reporter)
1992 
Al Pacino and James Foley.
