Filmmaker Steven Allan Spielberg is a major figure of the New
Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster. He is
widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time
and is the most commercially successful director in film history
with many accolades, including three Academy Awards. 

Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Phoenix,
Arizona. He moved to California and studied film in college. He’s
78 today.
 

Richard (Dick) Wayne Van Dyke is 99 today.      
     
     
 

On December 13, 1925, Dick Van Dyke, the quintessential
“nice guy” actor who would become known for his work
in such movie classics as Mary Poppins (1964) and Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang (1968), as well as the popular 1960s CBS - 
TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 – 1966), was born
in West Plains, Missouri.

Van Dyke, who was raised in Danville, Illinois, served in the
Army Air Force Special Services during World War II and in
the 1950s took various acting jobs and hosted a series of
TV game shows. In 1960, he starred on Broadway in Bye
Bye Birdie, a role which earned him a Tony Award.    
    
    
 Van Dyke was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in
1995 and the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1993, and has been
honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement
Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2020, and
was recognized as a Disney Legend in 1998. 

(1993 – 2001)

After more than a decade of hits like that never quite made it
to the top of the charts, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
finally earn their first #1 hit when “Tears Of A Clown” topped
the Billboard Hot 100 on December 12, 1970.

William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (84).

Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch)
(December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020)

As an actor and philanthropist, Kirk Douglas received
an Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement
and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He lived with his second wife, producer Anne Buydens,
until his death in 2020. A centenarian, Douglas was one
of the last surviving stars of the film industry’s Golden
Age. 

1960

Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966)

A pioneer of the American animation industry,Walt introduced
several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film
producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards earned
(22) and nominations (59) by an individual. 

Walt Disney was presented with two Golden Globe Special
Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors.

Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress and have also been named as some
of the greatest films ever by the American Film Institute.