Sonny and Cher.

Entertainer Cher (Cheryl Sarkisian) rose from teenage pop star
("I Got You Babe") to Oscar-winning actress ("Moonstruck").

1987

Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935)

T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia,
died as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an
assumed name.

The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar
succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six
days before.

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 film, starring Peter
O’Toole, based on the wartime activities of T.E.
Lawrence. 

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. 

                   
CAMILLE BOHANNON       

  
     
     
     
 
Actress Katharine Houghton Hepburn
(May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003)

Hepburn’s career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned
six decades. She worked in a varied range of genres,
from screwball comedy to literary drama, which earned
her various accolades, including four Academy Awards
for Best Actress—a record for any performer.

 
1940

1932

1949

1951