Fran Lebowitz, on reading:

Think before you speak.

Read before you think.

- Fran Lebowitz.

Born on this day – Fritz Lang:

Fritz Lang

Director

Writer

Producer

December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976

Credits:

American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950); Bande-annonce de 'Le mépris' (1963); Bettler GmbH (1919); Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956); Clash by Night (1952); Cloak and Dagger (1946); Confirm or Deny (1941); Contempt (1963); Der Herr der Liebe (1919); Destiny (1921); Die 1000 Glotzböbbel vom Dr. Mabuse (2018); Die Frau mit den Orchideen (1919); Die Frauen des Josias Graffenreuth (1918); Die Herrin der Welt 8. Teil - Die Rache der Maud Fergusson (1920); Die Hochzeit im Excentricclub (1917); Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1924); Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924); Die Peitsche (1916); Die Rache ist mein (1919); Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922); Four Around the Woman (1921); Fury (1936); Grande Teatro Tupi (1951); Hangmen Also Die! (1943); Harakiri (1919); Hilde Warren und der Tod (1917); House by the River (1950); Human Desire (1954); Journey to the Lost City (1960); Liliom (1934); Lilith and Ly (1919); M (1931); M (1951); M. le maudit (1982); Man Hunt (1941); Metropolis (1927); Metropolis (2001); Metropolis Retrofit (2023); Ministry of Fear (1944); Moonfleet (1955); Moontide (1942); Mysteries of India, Part II: Above All Law (1921); Paparazzi (1964); Pest in Florenz (1919); Rancho Notorious (1952); Scarlet Street (1945); Secret Beyond the Door... (1947); Spies (1928); The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960); The Big Heat (1953); The Black Vampire (1953); The Blue Gardenia (1953); The Dance of Death (1919); The Halfbreed (1919); The Indian Tomb (1959); The Return of Frank James (1940); The Spiders - Episode 1: The Golden Sea (1919); The Spiders - Episode 2: The Diamond Ship (1920); The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933); The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959); The Wandering Image (1920); The Woman in the Window (1944); Western Union (1941); While the City Sleeps (1956); Wolkenbau und Flimmerstern (1919); Woman in the Moon (1929); You and Me (1938); You Only Live Once (1937).

Born on this day – Stuart Heisler:

Stuart Heisler

Director

Editor

December 5, 1896 – August 21, 1979

Born on this day – Tina Lattanzi:

Tina Lattanzi

Actress

December 5, 1897 – October 25, 1997

Born on this day – Walt Disney:

Walt Disney

Animator

Producer

December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966

Born on this day – Otto Preminger:

Otto Preminger

Director

Producer

Actor

December 5, 1905 – April 23, 1986

Born on this day – Virginia Lee Corbin:

Virginia Lee Corbin

Actress

December 5, 1910 – June 5, 1942

Credits:

3 Keys (1925); Ace High (1918); Adventure in Diamonds (1940); Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917); All's Swell on the Ocean (1924); Bare Knees (1928); Behind Life's Stage (1916); Broken Laws (1924); By Conscience's Eye (1916); Chasing Choo Choos (1927); Driven from Home (1927); Enemies of Children (1923); Fan Fan (1918); Fight and Win (1924); Footlights and Fools (1929); Forgotten Women (1931); Hands Up! (1926); Headlines (1925); Heart Strings (1917); Intolerance (1916); Jack and the Beanstalk (1917); Jazz Mamas (1929); Jazzland (1928); Knee High (1929); Ladies at Play (1926); Let Katie Do It (1916); Letter of Introduction (1938); Lilies of the Streets (1925); Morals for Women (1931); No Place to Go (1927); North Star (1925); Pidgin Island (1916); Play Safe (1927); Shotgun Pass (1931); Sinners in Silk (1924); Six-Shooter Andy (1918); So Ends Our Night (1941); Somebody Lied (1917); The Babes in the Woods (1917); The Cafe of Fallen Angels (1923); The Castle of Despair (1916); The Chorus Girl and the Kid (1916); The Chorus Lady (1924); The City That Never Sleeps (1924); The Cloud Rider (1925); The Forbidden Room (1919); The Handsome Brute (1925); The Head of the Family (1928); The Honeymoon Express (1926); The Light of Love (1917); The Little Snob (1928); The Old Toymaker (1917); The Perfect Sap (1927); The Splendid Sin (1919); The White Dove (1920); The Whole Town's Talking (1926); The Woman He Feared (1916); Three Women of France (1917); Treasure Island (1917); Vengeance of the Dead (1917); Wine of Youth (1924); X Marks the Spot (1931).

Born on this day – Odette Joyeux:

Virginia Lee Corbin

Actress

Writer

December 5, 1914 – August 26, 2000

Born on this day – Margaret Hayes:

Margaret Hayes

Actress

December 5, 1916 – January 26, 1977

Born on this day – Adriana Benetti:

Adriana Benetti

Actress

December 5, 1919 – February 24, 2016

Born on this day – Norman Burton:

Norman Burton

Actor

December 5, 1923 – November 29, 2003

Born on this day – Ray Austin:

Ray Austin

Director

Writer

Producer

Stuntman

Actor

December 5, 1932 – May 17, 2023

Born on this day – Joan Didion:

Joan Didion

Writer

December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021

Credits:

Books: 

Run River (1963); Play It As It Lays (1970); A Book of Common Prayer (1977); Democracy (1984); The Last Thing He Wanted (1996); Vintage Didion (2004); The 1960s & 70s (2019); Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968); The White Album (1979); Salvador (1983); Miami (1987); Some Women (1990); After Henry (1992); Sentimental Journeys (1993); Perspectives on the Individual (1998); Political Fictions (2001); Fixed Ideas (2003); Where I Was From (2003); Live and Learn (2005); The Year of Magical Thinking (2005); We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live (2006); Blue Nights (2011); Insider Baseball (2016); South and West (2017); Collected Essays (2018); Let Me Tell You What I Mean (2021); Bonds of War (2022); What She Means (2022); The Writer on Her Work (1980); Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews (1989); Florida Stories (1993); Writing Women's Lives (1994); Writing New York (1998); The Eloquent Essay (2000); Writing Los Angeles (2002); The Little Big Book of California (2005); 40 Model Essays (2005); The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers (2005).

Movies and television:

A Star Is Born (1976 / 2018); Babel (2005); Broken Trust (1995); Celebrity: Dominick Dunne (2008); Charlie Rose (1996–2011); Crossing Borders: The Journey of Carlos Fuentes (1989); David Halberstam: The Coldest Winter (2007); Dominick Dunne et les crimes de la jet set (2007); Ellie Parker (2005); Everything Is Copy (2015); Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1965); Late Review (2011); New York 360º Presents: The 2007 Matrix Awards (2007); New York in the 50's (2000); Nicole (1976); Northern Exposure (1993); Out of My Head (2018); Play It As It Lays (1972); Shotgun Freeway: Drives Through Lost L.A. (1995); Such Good Friends (1971); The 50 Year Argument (2014); The Brandon Teena Story (1998); The Falling of the Bright (2008); The Last Thing He Wanted (2020); The Panic in Needle Park (1971); The South Bank Show (2007); True Confessions (1981); Up Close & Personal (1996); West Wing Week (2013); Women and Men: Stories of Seduction (1990); Writers in Needle Park (2011).

Born on this day – J.J. Cale:

J.J. Cale

Singer

Guitarist

Songwriter

Sound engineer

December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013

Credits:

Albums:

5 (1979); 8 (1983); After Hours in Minneapolis (2019); After Midnight: The Best Of (2014); Anyway the Wind Blows: The Anthology (1997); Best of J.J. Cale (1989); Blowin’ Down The Road (2021); Cajun Moon (1974); Closer to You (1994); Collected (2006); Crazy Mama (2023); Gold (2007); Grasshopper (1982); Guitar Man (1996); In Session (Live) (2016); In Session at Paradise Studios, Los Angeles, 1979 (2003); In Session at the Paradise Studios, Los Angeles, 1979 (2003); Independence Day (2018); J J Cale (Discoteca Básica) (Live) (2019); J.J Cale - Breezin’ at the Cafe (Live) (2019); J.J. Cale - Live on Kfc, San Francisco (2015); La Femme de mon pote (1984); Live (2001); Live at Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, 1975 (FM Radio Broadcast) (1975); Live at Ebbett’s Field, Denver, 1975 (FM Radio Broadcast) (1975); Live in Minneapolis 1988 (2019); Live: Ebbett’s Field Denver CO 13 FEB ‘75 (Digitally Remastered) (2016); Live: Town Park, Telluride, CO July 2, 1994 (2018); Moon Smoke (2021); Movin’ On (2023); Naturally (1971); Number 10 (1992); Okie (1974); One Way Ticket (Live Radio Broadcast) (2018); Really (1972); Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings (2007); Right Down Here (Live At Pacific High, San Francisco. 4 Dec ‘71) (2016); Roll On (2009); Shades (1981); Special Edition (1984); Stay Around (2019); The Definitive Collection (1993); The J.J. Cale Collection (2011); The Low Down (2024); The Road to Escondido (2006); The Silvertone Years (2011); The Very Best of J.J. Cale (1997); To Tulsa and Back (2004); Travel-Log (1989); Troubadour (1976).

Movies and television:

2 Meter Sessions (1994); A Poem Is a Naked Person (1974); A Room for Romeo Brass (1999); Any Way the Wind Blows (2003); Bad News Bears (2005); Band on the Run (1982); Bandits (2001); Barney's Version (2010); Breaking Bad (2009); Burden (2018); Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004); Cruising Bar (1989); Cuéntame cómo pasó (2013); Dancing with the Stars (2008); Divorce (2013); Dog the Bounty Hunter (2005); Eastbound & Down (2012); Echo (2023); El Camino (2019); Elementarteilchen (2006); Eric Clapton: One More Car, One More Rider - Live on Tour 2001 (2002); Extract (2009); Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004); Far Out (2015); Flikken Maastricht (2007); Friday Night Lights (2007–2008); Grass (1999); Growing Pains (1987); Hawaii Five-0 (2016); Hoy nos toca (2018); Ida Red (2021); Immediate Family (1989); J.J. Cale & Company 1981 (1981); J.J. Cale: No Time (1990); JJ Cale in Session (2002); Jonathan Creek (2003); Knight Rider (1982); Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006); Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014); Lawn Dogs (1997); Lord of War (2005); Lynyrd Skynyrd: Live at Freedom Hall (2008); Master of None (2015); Men in Trees (2008); Middle Men (2009); Montana Story (2021); Morning Joe (2021); Mulatschag (2012); My Best Friend's Girl (1983); Nursie (2004); O herdeiro (1976); Phenomenon (1996); Rain Man (1988); Reservation Dogs (2023); Ride (2014); Robert Zemeckis on Smoking, Drinking and Drugging in the 20th Century: In Pursuit of Happiness (1999); Role Models (2008); Schmidteinander (1994); Scrapple (1998); Some Kind of Heaven (2020); Soundstage (2003); Squzz Corn N' Ole Scratch (2012); Starsky & Hutch (2004); Sunshine State (2002); Tales of the City (1993); Talkin' Blues (1996); Tammy (2014); Taratata (1994); That '70s Show (1999); The 56th Annual Grammy Awards (2014); The Country Bears (2002); The Cream of Eric Clapton (1990); The Dukes of Hazzard (2005); The Education of Charlie Banks (2007); The House I Live In (2012); The Midnight Special (1980); The Motorway File (1975); The Sensitive kind - John Mayall (1) (1990); The Tender Bar (2021); The Unforgivable (2021); The Wonder Years (1989); To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale (2005); Tohuwabohu (1993); Transparent (2014); United States of Tara (2009–2010); Unlawful Entry (1992); Vice Principals (2017); Viki ja Köpi Show (2024); Watchmen (2009); Wild Hogs (2007).

Born on this day – John Erwin:

John Erwin

Actor

Special effects

December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013

Credits:

13 Fighting Men (1960); ABC Weekend Specials (1979); Aesop's Fables (1971); Archie and His New Pals (1969); Archie's Bang-Shang Lalapalooza Show (1977–1978); Archie's Funhouse (1970); Archie's TV Funnies (1971); Babe (1995); Back to the Future Part II (1989); Chasing the Sun (2001); Citizen Soldier (1956–1957); Death Battle (2013); Everybody's All-American (1988); Family Guy (2005); Foofur (1986); Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (1979–1980); Groovie Goolies (1970); He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985); He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985); He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983–1985); Here's Lucy (1969); Hit Celebrity TV Commercials (2004); Looker (1981); Malcolm & Eddie (1999); Rawhide (1959–1965); Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1969–1972); Sabrina, Super Witch (1977–1978); She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985–1987); Silent Scream (2005); Skeletor's Revenge (1986); Spacecats (1991); The Archie Comedy Hour (1969–1970); The Archie Show (1968); The New Archie/Sabrina Hour (1977); The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1973); U.S. Of Archie (1974).

Born on this day – Pamela Blair:

Pamela Blair

Actress

December 5, 1949 – July 23, 2023

Credits:

21 Grams (2003); 42nd Street: The Musical (2019); All My Children (1985–1992); Angelo (1999); Annie (1982); Another World (1994); Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996); Before and After (1996); Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2021); Donahue (1990); Family Feud (1985); Great Performances (1971); Law & Order (1994); Loving (1983–1985); Maneater (2009); Me and Veronica (1992); Mighty Aphrodite (1995); Night of 100 Stars (1982); Ryan's Hope (1980); Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1998); Svengali (1983); The Cosby Mysteries (1994); The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1989); The Last Dance (2000); Tomorrow Morning (2022).

Born on this day – Carrie Hamilton:

Carrie Hamilton

Actress

Writer

December 5, 1963 – January 20, 2002

Credits:

Lunchtime Thomas (2001); The Pretender (2000); P.1 (1999); The X-Files (1999); Brooklyn South (1998); Touched by an Angel (1997); Walker, Texas Ranger (1995); Cool World (1992); A Mother's Justice (1991); Thirtysomething (1991); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991); Equal Justice (1991); Murder, She Wrote (1990); Checkered Flag (1990); Carol & Company (1990); The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989); Single Women Married Men (1989); Tokyo Pop (1988); Knightwatch (1988); Shag (1988); Tokyo Pop (1988); Hostage (1988); Fame (1986–1987); Love Lives On (1985).

Born on this day – Lisa Sheridan:

Lisa Sheridan

Actress

Producer

December 5, 1974 – February 25, 2019

Credits:

Strange Nature (2018); Six LA Love Stories (2016); Murder in the First (2016); Still the King (2016); The Fosters (2016); A Christmas Eve Miracle (2015); Only God Can (2015); Sick Day (2014); A Magic Christmas (2014); Taken Away (2014); Halt and Catch Fire (2014); Category 5 (2014); Elsa & Fred (2014); Perception (2013); Scandal (2013); Tiny Little Words (2012); Home Invasion (2012); Private Practice (2011); CSI: NY (2011); Healing Hands (2010); NCIS (2009); The Mentalist (2009); Conspiracy (2008); McCartney's Genes (2008); Saving Grace (2008); Shark (2008); CSI: Miami (2007–2008); Journeyman (2007); Moonlight (2007); The 4400 (2007); Invasion (2005–2006); Strong Medicine (2005); Without a Trace (2005); Monk (2004); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2004); Las Vegas (2004); The Practice (2003); Carolina (2003); Pirates (2003); FreakyLinks (2000–2001); Beat (2000); Diagnosis Murder (1999); Legacy (1998–1999); Any Day Now (1998); Step by Step (1997).

Born on this day – Adan Canto:

Adan Canto

Actor

December 5, 1981 – January 8, 2024

Credits:

The Cleaning Lady (2022); Agent Game (2022); Entertainment Tonight (2022); The Devil Below (2021); The Shot (2020); 2 Hearts (2020); Bruised (2020); The Hypnotist's Love Story (2019); Designated Survivor (2016–2019); The Marilyn Denis Show (2018); Amanda & Jack Go Glamping (2017); CTV's Big Fall Preview 2017 (2017); The Catch (2016); Second Chance (2016); Blood & Oil (2015); Narcos (2015); Before Tomorrow (2014); Pilot (2014); Almost Thirty (2014); Classification: M (2014); E! News (2014); Mixology (2014); X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014); Good Day L.A. (2013); The Following (2013); Al Ras (2012); Amar no es querer (2011); Santiago del otro lado (2011); Te presento a Laura (2010); Los Minondo (2010); Sin memoria (2010); Estado de Gracia (2009).

On this day in movie history - Serpico (1973)

Serpico

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler,

based on the book by Peter Maas,

was released in the United States on December 5, 1973.

Music by Mikis Theodorakis.

Cast:
Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Edward Grover, Tony Roberts, Allan Rich, Albert Henderson, Joseph Bova, Woodie King Jr., James Tolkan, Bernard Barrow, Nathan George, M. Emmet Walsh, Ted Beniades, F. Murray Abraham, Judd Hirsch.

Recommended reading:

Serpico

by Peter Maas.
 
First published 1973.
Published by Harper Perennial.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0060738189
ISBN-13: 978-0060738181
 
Description:
 
THE CLASSIC TRUE STORY OF THE COP WHO COULDN'T BE BOUGHT.
 
With an Afterword by Frank Serpico.
 

The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority.

 

Into this maelstrom came a working class, Brooklyn-born, Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced – or bought – and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.

 

"I don't think anyone can come away from Serpico without admiration for one man's lonely integrity." – New York Times.
 
"A penetrating . . . exciting story." – San Francisco Chronicle.
 
"[A] raw and moving portrait." – Chicago Sun-Times.
 
"An absorbing story of what one angry, honest man can do." – Detroit News.
 
"Excellent." – Newsweek.