MIKE GRACIA

Ronald William Howard is a director, producer, screenwriter,
and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor,
guest-starring in several television series, including an
episode of The Twilight Zone. 


He is best known for playing young Opie Taylor, the son 
of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the
sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. He
is 69 years old today.  

1973

1976

1995

In Scarface, Al Pacino played Tony Montana, who arrives in Florida
from Cuba in 1980 and eventually becomes wealthy from his
involvement in the booming cocaine business. Things fall apart
when Tony becomes addicted to the drug and his world collapses
in violence. Directed by Brian De Palma from a screenplay by Oliver Stone, Scarface co-starred Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Robert Loggia. The film was loosely
based on a 1932 gangster film of the same name, directed by
Howard Hawks and reportedly inspired in part by the real-life
mobster Al “Scarface” Capone. Though De Palma’s Scarface
received mixed reviews upon its initial release and was criticized
for its violence, it proved to be a success at the box-office and
went on to achieve pop-culture status.

DIRECTOR BRIAN DE PALMA

COMILLE BOHANNON

Film director Martin Charles Scorsese is 80 years old today.

Apocalypse Now, the acclaimed Vietnam War film directed by
Francis Ford Coppola, opened in theaters around the United
States on August 15, 1979.

The film, inspired in part by Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella
Heart of Darkness, among other sources, told the story of
an Army captain (played by Martin Sheen) and crew of men
who are sent into the Cambodian jungle to kill a U.S. Special
Forces colonel (Marlon Brando) who has gone AWOL and is
thought to be crazy. Apocalypse Now, which co-starred Robert
Duvall and Dennis Hopper, became notorious for its long,
difficult production, which included budget problems, shooting
delays due to bad weather on the Philippines set, a heart attack 
for Sheen and a nervous breakdown for Coppola.  
                                             

Francis Ford Coppola became 83 in April.

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock  (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980)

Alfred Hitchcock was an English filmmaker widely regarded as one
of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of
which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the
"Master of Suspense", he became as well known as any of his
actors thanks to his many interviews, his cameo roles in most
of his films, and his hosting and producing the television
anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–65).

His films garnered 46 Academy Award nominations, including six
wins, although he never won the award for Best Director despite
five nominations.