International Women’s Day – March 8 – Sylvia Lawry:

On International Women’s Day, I recognize Sylvia Lawry, who founded the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 1947.

Founder Sylvia Lawry | National Multiple Sclerosis Society (nationalmssociety.org)

Sylvia Lawry, who single-handedly launched an international war on multiple sclerosis, founding both the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in the United States and the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation abroad, and who profoundly influenced research, disease management, and public policy concerning this complex neurological disease, died February 24, 2001, in New York City. Ms. Lawry was 85 and lived in Manhattan.

“The death of Sylvia Lawry was a tremendous loss to our organization and to the MS movement. Sylvia’s legacy will continue to inspire all of us who knew, or even knew of, her as we move closer each day to a world free of multiple sclerosis,” pledged Joyce Nelson, former President and CEO of the National MS Society.

“Sylvia Lawry was a private no-nonsense person to whom you couldn’t say ‘no,”‘ shares Weyman Johnson, former chairman, National MS Society, board of directors. “She devoted more than 50 years of her life seeking the means to end MS and was a hero to anyone touched by the challenges of the disease.”

Born in Brooklyn in 1915, one of four children of Jacob and Sophie Friedman, Sylvia Lawry was attending Hunter College with the aim of becoming a lawyer when her younger brother Bernard began experiencing visual and balance problems. They proved to be early symptoms of MS, an unpredictable, chronic, and often disabling disease of the central nervous system. For several years, the family pursued cures without success, ultimately leading Ms. Lawry to place a small classified notice in The New York Times in 1945: “Multiple Sclerosis. Will anyone recovered from it please communicate with patient.”

When the more than 50 replies she received were from individuals as desperate as she to find encouraging news about MS, Sylvia Lawry realized the need for an organized effort to stimulate and finance research into the cure, treatment, and cause of multiple sclerosis. The result was that on March 11, 1946, Ms. Lawry, a lone young woman, gathered 20 of the nation’s most prominent research scientists and founded what would become the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. From these humble beginnings, Ms. Lawry devoted the rest of her life to the pursuit of a world free of MS.

Initially incorporated in 1946 as the Association for Advancement of Research in Multiple Sclerosis with the sole purpose of sponsoring MS research, the organization was renamed as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in 1947. This was in recognition of the fact that people affected by the disease, both patients and their families, desperately needed information and other service programs to enhance their lives while the cure was being sought. That year also, the first two local chapters of the Society were chartered in California and Connecticut.

Though Bernard’s health continued to weaken, and he ultimately succumbed to MS-related causes in 1973, Sylvia Lawry saw there were millions of others like her brother who needed help. With the assistance of Senator Charles Tobey of New Hampshire, whose daughter had MS, Ms. Lawry personally lobbied Congress and persuaded them to adopt legislation on August 15, 1950, establishing what is now the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Up to this time, government interest in MS was minimal with research expenditures totaling approximately $14,000. Since then, government appropriations to the Institute have steadily increased, until today they have passed the $1.5 billion mark, approximately $110 million which directly impacts multiple sclerosis.

In the same era, chapters of the Society were established across the country to better serve people with MS and their families. Diverse education, counseling, self-help, equipment loan, advocacy, and referral programs were introduced with the help of dedicated volunteers and grassroots event-based fundraising.

In 1967, spurred by the fact that at that time almost one-third of the Society’s research funds were being awarded to investigators outside the U.S., Ms. Lawry founded the MSIF (Multiple Sclerosis International Federation). The federation helped coordinate fundraising and service efforts of young societies in Canada, Britain, France, Germany, and other European countries, modeled on the American original. The federation became a catalyst for the global MS movement in Latin America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Eastern Europe. Today there are 43 member societies around the world. The MSIF is headquartered in London.

Ms. Lawry served as Executive Director of the National MS Society until 1982 and maintained her role as Secretary of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation until 1997, when she “retired.” She continued to be an officer of the National Board and was a full-time volunteer, devoting her efforts to the Society’s international programs and typically working a 12-hour day. “I’ll retire when MS retires,” she promised just a few months before respiratory illness ended her regular presence at the Society’s home office in Manhattan. She did continue to work from her home with colleagues worldwide and a book on her life and the history of the Society was just completed when she was hospitalized in February 2000.

Sylvia Lawry fiercely pursued her dream of a world free of MS for more than a half century. Though her vision of a cure for MS is not yet a reality, the National MS Society which she founded has devoted more than $600 million to MS research since 1946--playing a seminal part in developing understanding of the central nervous and immune systems, the two most complex systems in the human body.

Ms. Lawry’s commitment to research has also led the Society to become instrumental in the development of many of the FDA-approved medications that can reduce the number of acute MS attacks, protect the central nervous system from damage and delay the onset of more permanent disabilities.

The hard work of one young woman has resulted in an organization that today has a 50-state network of chapters expending nearly $126 million a year to serve over one million people and which devotes more than $46 million each year to support over 440 research projects internationally. The Society’s web site receives nearly two million visitors each month (www.nationalMSsociety.org); provides a toll-free telephone number that connects callers to their nearest local office (1.800.344.4867); and publishes an award-winning quarterly magazine Momentum, which has a readership of over one million. The Society also offers educational programs to health-care professionals and organizes state and national advocacy campaigns to address issues impacting people with disabilities.

Ms. Lawry was a widow and was survived by her two sons Steven and Frank Englander; her sister Lillian Wilson; and her two grandchildren Matthew and Marissa. The biography on Ms. Lawry’s life and its impact on the MS movement, Courage, was published in October 2003 by the firm Ivan R. Dee.

Please direct contributions in her memory to the National MS Society or the MS International Federation, 733 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Anne McCaffrey, on writing:

That's what writing is all about, after all, making others see what you have put down on the page and believing that it does, or could, exist and you want to go there.

_{- Anne McCaffrey}

Born on this day – Mississippi John Hurt:

Mississippi John Hurt

Blues singer

Guitarist

March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966

Born on this day – Louise Beavers:

Louise Beavers

Actress

March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962

Credits:

The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1961); The Facts of Life (1960); All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960); The Magical World of Disney (1959–1960); Bourbon Street Beat (1959); Frontier Doctor (1959); The Goddess (1958); Tammy and the Bachelor (1957); Playhouse 90 (1957); Teenage Rebel (1956); You Can't Run Away from It (1956); Good-bye, My Lady (1956); Star Stage (1956); General Electric Theater (1955); The Danny Thomas Show (1953–1954); Stories of the Century (1954); Never Wave at a WAC (1953); Beulah (1952); I Dream of Jeanie (1952); Colorado Sundown (1952); Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951); The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951); My Blue Heaven (1950); The Jackie Robinson Story (1950); Girls' School (1950); Tell It to the Judge (1949); For the Love of Mary (1948); Good Sam (1948); A Southern Yankee (1948); Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948); Banjo (1947); Lover Come Back (1946); Young Widow (1946); Delightfully Dangerous (1945); Barbary Coast Gent (1944); Dixie Jamboree (1944); South of Dixie (1944); Follow the Boys (1944); There's Something About a Soldier (1943); Jack London (1943); Top Man (1943); All by Myself (1943); Du Barry Was a Lady (1943); Good Morning, Judge (1943); Tennessee Johnson (1942); Seven Sweethearts (1942); The Big Street (1942); Holiday Inn (1942); Reap the Wild Wind (1942); Young America (1942); The Vanishing Virginian (1942); Shadow of the Thin Man (1941); Belle Starr (1941); Kisses for Breakfast (1941); Sign of the Wolf (1941); Virginia (1941); I Want a Divorce (1940); No Time for Comedy (1940); Primrose Path (1940); Women Without Names (1940); Parole Fixer (1940); Reform School (1939); The Lady's from Kentucky (1939); Made for Each Other (1939); Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus (1938); The Headleys at Home (1938); Brother Rat (1938); Life Goes On (1938); Scandal Street (1938); The Last Gangster (1937); Love in a Bungalow (1937); Wings Over Honolulu (1937); Make Way for Tomorrow (1937); Rainbow on the River (1936); General Spanky (1936); Wives Never Know (1936); Bullets or Ballots (1936); Annapolis Farewell (1935); Million Dollar Baby (1934); West of the Pecos (1934); Imitation of Life (1934); I Give My Love (1934); Dr. Monica (1934); Beggar's Holiday (1934); The Merry Frinks (1934); Cheaters (1934); Merry Wives of Reno (1934); I Believed in You (1934); Glamour (1934); Registered Nurse (1934); Strictly Fresh Yeggs (1934); The Woman Condemned (1934); A Modern Hero (1934); Gambling Lady (1934); I've Got Your Number (1934); Bedside (1934); Palooka (1934); Grin and Bear It (1933); Jimmy and Sally (1933); In the Money (1933); Only Yesterday (1933); Bombshell (1933); Notorious But Nice (1933); A Shriek in the Night (1933); Her Bodyguard (1933); Midnight Mary (1933); Hold Your Man (1933); What Price Innocence? (1933); The Story of Temple Drake (1933); The Big Cage (1933); Central Airport (1933); Pick-up (1933); The Phantom Broadcast (1933); Girl Missing (1933); 42nd Street (1933); Hunting Trouble (1933); Her Splendid Folly (1933); She Done Him Wrong (1933); Too Busy to Work (1932); Hesitating Love (1932); Wild Girl (1932); Hell's Highway (1932); Divorce in the Family (1932); Doctor X (1932); Unashamed (1932); What Price Hollywood? (1932); The Dark Horse (1932); Street of Women (1932); The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932); Night World (1932); Young America (1932); You're Telling Me (1932); It's Tough to Be Famous (1932); The Expert (1932); The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932); Ladies of the Big House (1931); Good Sport (1931); Girls About Town (1931); Reckless Living (1931); Sundown Trail (1931); Annabelle's Affairs (1931); Party Husband (1931); 6 Cylinder Love (1931); Don't Bet on Women (1931); Millie (1931); Paid (1930); Knights Before Christmas (1930); Bright Lights (1930); Outside the Law (1930); Manslaughter (1930); Our Blushing Brides (1930); Recaptured Love (1930); Back Pay (1930); Safety in Numbers (1930); True to the Navy (1930); Honey (1930); She Couldn't Say No (1930); Wide Open (1930); Second Choice (1930); Nix on Dames (1929); Wall Street (1929); Barnum Was Right (1929); Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929); Thunderbolt (1929); Glad Rag Doll (1929); Coquette (1929); Seeing the World (1927); Oriental Hugs (1928); Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927).

Born on this day – Maxine Jennings:

 
Maxine Jennings

Actress

March 8, 1909 – January 11, 1991

Credits:

Hawaii Five-O (1968); My Three Sons (1964); G.I. War Brides (1946); Mr. Wong, Detective (1938); The Dummy Owner (1938); Breakfast for Two (1937); The Big Shot (1937); On Again-Off Again (1937); There Goes My Girl (1937); Wrong Romance (1937); You Can't Buy Luck (1937); The Woman I Love (1937); Sea Devils (1937); We're on the Jury (1937); They Wanted to Marry (1937); Criminal Lawyer (1937); Dog Blight (1936); Make Way for a Lady (1936); Don't Turn 'em Loose (1936); Walking on Air (1936); Mary of Scotland (1936); Bunker Bean (1936); The Last Outlaw (1936); Fight is Right (1936); The Witness Chair (1936); Murder on a Bridle Path (1936); The Farmer in the Dell (1936); Love on a Bet (1936); Follow the Fleet (1936); Radio Barred (1936); Muss 'em Up (1936); Chatterbox (1936); I Dream Too Much (1935); Counselitis (1935); Another Face (1935); Old Man Rhythm (1935); A Night at the Biltmore Bowl (1935); Roberta (1935); Maybe It's Love (1935); Honeymooniacs (1929); The Godless Girl (1928).

Born on this day – Claire Trevor:

Claire Trevor

Actress

March 8, 1910 – April 8, 2000

Credits:

Breaking Home Ties (1987); Murder, She Wrote (1987); The Love Boat (1983); Kiss Me Goodbye (1982); The Cape Town Affair (1967); How to Murder Your Wife (1965); The Stripper (1963); Dr. Kildare (1962); Two Weeks in Another Town (1962); The Investigators (1961); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956–1961); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1960); The Untouchables (1959); Wagon Train (1959); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); Marjorie Morningstar (1958); Playhouse 90 (1957); The Mountain (1956); Producers' Showcase (1956); Schlitz Playhouse (1956); Climax! (1956); Lucy Gallant (1955); Lux Video Theatre (1954–1955); Man Without a Star (1955); The Ford Television Theatre (1953–1954); The High and the Mighty (1954); General Electric Theater (1954); The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953); Stop, You're Killing Me (1952); My Man and I (1952); Hoodlum Empire (1952); Best of the Badmen (1951); Hard, Fast and Beautiful! (1951); Borderline (1950); The Lucky Stiff (1949); The Babe Ruth Story (1948); Key Largo (1948); The Velvet Touch (1948); Raw Deal (1948); Born to Kill (1947); The Bachelor's Daughters (1946); Crack-Up (1946); Johnny Angel (1945); Murder, My Sweet (1944); The Woman of the Town (1943); Good Luck, Mr. Yates (1943); The Desperadoes (1943); Street of Chance (1942); Crossroads (1942); The Adventures of Martin Eden (1942); Texas (1941); Honky Tonk (1941); Dark Command (1940); Allegheny Uprising (1939); I Stole a Million (1939); Stagecoach (1939); Five of a Kind (1938); Valley of the Giants (1938); The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938); Walking Down Broadway (1938); Big Town Girl (1937); Second Honeymoon (1937); Dead End (1937); One Mile from Heaven (1937); King of Gamblers (1937); Time Out for Romance (1937); Career Woman (1936); 15 Maiden Lane (1936); Star for a Night (1936); To Mary - with Love (1936); Human Cargo (1936); Song and Dance Man (1936); My Marriage (1936); Navy Wife (1935); Dante's Inferno (1935); Spring Tonic (1935); Black Sheep (1935); Elinor Norton (1934); Baby, Take a Bow (1934); Wild Gold (1934); Hold That Girl (1934); Jimmy and Sally (1933); The Mad Game (1933); The Last Trail (1933); Life in the Raw (1933); The Imperfect Lover (1932); The Meal Ticket (1931); Good Times (1931).

Born on this day – Cyd Charisse:

Cyd Charisse

Actress

Dancer

March 8, 1922 - June 17, 2008

Credits:

Empire State Building Murders (2008); Frasier (1995); Burke's Law (1995); Swimsuit (1989); Crazy Like a Fox (1986); Murder, She Wrote (1985); Glitter (1984); Sentimental Journey (1984); The Fall Guy (1984); Fantasy Island (1978–1983); Portrait of an Escort (1980); The Love Boat (1979); Hawaii Five-O (1978); Warlords of the Deep (1978); Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976); Medical Center (1975); Fol-de-Rol (1972); Maroc 7 (1967); The Silencers (1966); Assassination in Rome (1965); Something's Got to Give (1962); Two Weeks in Another Town (1962); Checkmate (1961); Five Golden Hours (1961); Black Tights (1960); Party Girl (1958); Twilight for the Gods (1958); Silk Stockings (1957); Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956); It's Always Fair Weather (1955); Deep in My Heart (1954); Brigadoon (1954); Easy to Love (1953); The Band Wagon (1953); Sombrero (1953); Singin' in the Rain (1952); The Wild North (1952); The Mark of the Renegade (1951); ast Side, West Side (1949); Tension (1949); Words and Music (1948); The Kissing Bandit (1948); On an Island with You (1948); The Unfinished Dance (1947); Fiesta (1947); Till the Clouds Roll By / Roberta (1946); Three Wise Fools (1946); The Harvey Girls (1946); Ziegfeld Follies (1945); This Love of Mine (1944); In Our Time (1944); Thousands Cheer (1943); Something to Shout About (1943); This Love of Mine (1942); The Gay Parisian (1941); Escort Girl (1941).

Born on this day – Lore Segal:

Lore Segal

Writer

Translator

Teacher

Actress

March 8, 1928 – October 7, 2024

Credits:

Books:

All the Way Home (1973); An Absence of Cousins (2024); Half the Kingdom (2013); Her First American (1985); Ladies' Lunch (2023); Lucinella (1976); More Mole Stories and Little Gopher, Too (2005); Morris the Artist (2003); Mrs. Lovewright & Purrless Her Cat (1993); Other People's Houses (1973); Shakespeare's Kitchen (2007); Tell Me a Mitzi (1977); Tell Me a Trudy (1977); The Best American Short Stories 1990 (1990); The Book Of Adam To Moses (1987); The Journal I Never Kept (2019); The Story of King Saul and King David (1991); The Story of Old Mrs. Brubeck (1981); Why Mole Shouted and Other Stories (2004).

Movies and television:

Crossing Delancey (1988); Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000); My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports (1996); Vielleicht habe ich Glück gehabt / Maybe I was lucky (2003).

Born on this day – Gerard Kennedy:

Gerard Kennedy

Actor

March 8, 1932 – April 21, 2025

Credits:

1915 (1982); A Country Practice (1984–1990); A Shifting Dreaming (1982); Acropolis Now (1991); Against the Wind (1978); All Saints (2004); And Where Lies the Justice? (1984); Ashes to Ashes (1966); Australian Playhouse (1966); BeastMaster (2002); Bellamy (1981); Bellbird (1977); Bligh (1992); Blood Crime (2002); Blue Heelers (1994–2001); Bluey (1977); Body Melt (1993); Body Melt: Behind the Scenes (1993); Body Melt: Stills Gallery (2006); Boys from the Bush (1992); Breaking News (1994); Carson's Law (1983); Case for the Defence (1978); Cash and Company (1975); Celebrity Squares (1975); City Homicide (2010); Col'n Carpenter (1990); Conspiracy 365 (2012); Cop Shop (1979–1983); Crisis (1963); Division 4 (1969–1975); Dramatically Black (2005); Ebbtide (1994); Eliza Fraser (1976); Emma: Queen of the South Seas (1988); Fat Tony & Co (2014); Fatty Finn (1980); Five Mile Creek (1984); Flight Into Hell (1987); Fox Studios Australia: The Grand Opening (1999); Garbo (1992); Glitch (2015); Golden Pennies (1985); Great Expectations: The Untold Story (1987); Hobby Farm (2009); Homicide (1966); Human Lie Detector (2006); Hunter (1967–1969); King's Men (1976); Life Forms (1994); Locusts and Wild Honey (1980); Lucky Miles (2007); Mama's Gone A-Hunting (1977); Mission: Impossible (1988–1990); Neighbours (2002); Newsfront (1978); On Location with 'The Irishman' (2006); Panic Station (1982); Pizza (2001); Plain Jane (1966); Plains Empty (2005); Police Crop: The Winchester Conspiracy (1990); Power Without Glory (1976); Prisoner (1985); Puzzle (1978); Raw Deal (1977); Running from the Guns (1987); Rush (1974); Sammy Awards 1979 (1979); Schnipples (2013); Scooter: Secret Agent (2005); Skyways (1979–1980); Special Squad (1984); Stingers (2002); Stock Squad (1985); Studio 86 (1986); Tandarra (1976); Ted Hamilton's Musical World (1974); The 11th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (1969); The 13th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (1971); The 14th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (1972); The 15th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (1973); The Best of Aussie Cop Shows (2002); The Brush-Off (2004); The Coral Island (1983); The Flying Doctors (1986–1990); The Footy Show / Segment: Bullet & Gunn (2005); The Graham Kennedy Show (1972); The Inner Sanctuary (1996); The Irishman (1978); The Last of the Knucklemen (1979); The Last of the Knucklemen: Interviews (2004) (2004); The Last Outlaw (1980); The Lighthorsemen (1987); The Lost World (2000); The Making of 'Lucky Miles' (2007); The Mango Tree (1977); The Saddle Club (2001–2008); The Sullivans (1980); The Trial of Ned Kelly (1977); Thunderstone (1999); Underbelly (2008); Wolf Creek 2 (2013).

Born on this day – Matthew Lewis:

Matthew Lewis

Photographer

Photojournalist

March 8, 1930 – October 2, 2024

Credits:
Awarded Pulitzer Prize for work with The Washington Post in 1975.
 

Born on this day – Clint Kimbrough:

Clint Kimbrough

Actor

Director

March 8, 1933 – April 9, 1996

Robert De Niro (left), Clint Kimbrough (right), in Bloody Mama (1970).

Credits:

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959); Art Carney Special (1959); Bloody Mama (1970); Crazy Mama (1975); General Electric Theater (1959); Hot Spell (1958); Iron Horse (1967); Kraft Theatre (1957); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1959–1961); Look Up and Live (1958); Magic Carpet (1972); Night Call Nurses (1972); One Love - Conflicting Faiths (1959); R.C.M.P. (1960); Studio One (1957); The Arrangement (1969); The Boston Strangler (1968); The Danny Thomas Hour (1967); The Last Movie (1971); The Trials of O'Brien (1965); The Young Nurses (1973); Von Richthofen and Brown (1971).

Born on this day – Drew Struzan:

Drew Struzan

Movie poster & music album artist / illustrator

Actor

Producer

March 8, 1947 – October 13, 2025

Credits:

Books:

A Bloody Business; Drew Struzan: Oeuvre; Movie Poster Art; Movie Posters of Drew Struzan; The Art of Drew Struzan.

Movies and television:

3rd Shift: Michael's Lament (2009); A Gift from Heaven (1994); A Piece of the Action (1977); A Small Town in Texas (1976); Abominable (2006); Adventures in Babysitting (1987); After School (1988); Aladdin (1992); Alice Cooper: Welcome to My Nightmare (1975); All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989); All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 (1996); All Night Long (1981); All's Fair (1989); An American Tail (1986); Anastasia (1997); Angels in the Outfield (1994); Animal Crackers (2017); Arabian Nights (2000); Back to the Future (1985); Back to the Future Part II (1989); Back to the Future Part III (1990); Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World (2015); *batteries not included (1987); Better Off Dead (1985); Big Trouble in Little China (1986); Blade Runner (1982); Blood Makes Noise (2005); Borderline (1980); Born in East L.A. (1987); Buddy Buddy (1981); Cabo Blanco (1980); California Suite (1978); Cannonball Run II (1984); Car Wash (1976); CBS News Roundup (2013); Champions (1984); Coming to America (1988); Cross Creek (1983); Cutthroat Island (1995); D.C. Cab (1983); Dark Horizon (2009); Dreamscape (1984); Drew Struzan Congratulatory Video (2020); Drew Struzan: An Appreciation of an Artist (2008); Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013); DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990); E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); Empire of the Ants (1977); Escape to Witch Mountain (1975); Fake-Out (1982); Fame (1980); Filmbuff (2019); First Blood (1982); Floyd Norman: An Animated Life (2016); Futureworld (1976); Happy Hour (1986); Hard to Be Me (2010); Harlem Nights (1989); Harry and the Hendersons (1987); Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976); Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002); Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001); Heat and Dust (1983); Hellboy (2004); Hercules (1983); High-Ballin' (1978); Hocus Pocus (1993); Hook (1991); Hope Springs Eternal: A Look Back at 'the Shawshank Redemption' (2004); Hot Pursuit (1987); I, the Jury (1982); Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (2003); Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine (1999); Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Jake Speed (1986); Johnny Dangerously (1984); Kill Squad (1981); Killer Force / aka The Diamond Mercenaries (1976); Labou (2008); Ladyhawke (1985); Looking Back at the Future (2006); Love and Art: A Conversation with Drew Struzan (2019); Mallrats (1995); March or Die (1977); Mars Attacks! (1996); Masters of the Universe (1987); Matilda (1978); Meatballs III: Summer Job (1986); Miracles and Mystery: Creating 'the Green Mile' (2006); Mob City (2013); Moon Over Parador (1988); Mother Lode (1982); Muppet Treasure Island (1996); Nadine (1987); Newsies (1992); Oh Heavenly Dog (1980); Pan's Labyrinth (2006); Planet of the Apes (2001); Police Academy (1984); Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985); Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986); Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987); Pop culture adventure (2010); Popstar Private Eye (2007); Promoting Dystopia: Rendering the Poster Art (2007); Prop Culture (2020); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Raiding the Lost Ark: A Filmumentary (2012); Raise the Titanic (1980); Return to Macon County (1975); Return to Oz (1985); Risky Business (1983); Robin and Marian (1976); Sahara (1983); Second Thoughts (1983); Sextette (1977); Shipwrecked (1990); Shirley Valentine (1989); Simon Says (2006); Ski School (1991); Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002); Squirm (1976); Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999); Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002); Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005); Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977); Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980); Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983); Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015); Stay Tuned (1992); Stroker Ace (1983); Sunset (1988); Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion (2008); Taking Care of Business (1990); Tales from the Future (2010); Tales of Halloween (2015); Tales of Halloween / Segment: Bad Seed (2015); Tentacles (1977); The Bear (1984); The Black Bird (1975); The Cannonball Run (1981); The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002); The Dark Crystal (1982); The Evictors (1979); The Ewok Adventure (1984); The Experts (1989); The Flintstones (1994); The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000); The Florence Henderson Show (2009); The Food of the Gods (1976); The Fox and the Hound (1981); The Frisco Kid (1979); The Goonies (1985); The Great Muppet Caper (1981); The Green Mile (1999); The Incubus (1981); The Land Before Time (1988); The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977); The Legend of Wolf Lodge (1987); The Lonely Guy (1984); The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997); The Man Who Drew Bug-Eyed Monsters (1994); The Mask (1994); The Mist (2007); The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992); The Muppet Movie (1979); The Name of the Rose (1986); The Norseman (1978); The Outing (1987); The Pirates of Penzance (1983); The Plague Dogs (1982); The Secret of NIMH (1982); The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976); The Shawshank Redemption (1994); The Sting II (1983); The Thing (1982); This Is the End (2013); Three O'Clock High (1987); Thunder and Lightning (1977); Tilt (1979); To Be or Not to Be (1983); Torrente 3: El protector (2005); Tron (1982); Under Fire (1983); Unfaithfully Yours (1984); War of the Worlds (2005); Weekend Warriors (1986); We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993); When Darkness Came: The Making of 'The Mist' (2008); White Nights (1985); Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978).

Born on this day – Cass Warner:

 

Cass Warner

Director

Producer

Writer

March 8, 1948 – March 14, 2024

Credits:

23rd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards (2013); American Masters (2008); Answering the Call: Ground Zero's Volunteers (2005); Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream (1998); HOPPER: In His Own Words (2012); Mystic Nights and Pirate Fights (1998); Switch (1977); The Brothers Warner (2007); The Dini Petty Show (1989); The Joan Rivers Show (1993).

Born on this day – James Van Der Beek:

 

James Van Der Beek

Actor

Writer

March 8, 1977 – February 11, 2026

Credits:

+ de cinéma (2001); 25 Words or Less (2020); 70th Golden Globe Awards (2013); 100 Greatest Teen Stars (2007); 1999 MTV Movie Awards (1999); 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (2000); 2000 MTV Movie Awards (2000); 2011 New Now Next Awards (2011); 2014 CMT Music Awards (2014); 2019 Golden Globe Awards (2019); 2024 CMT Music Awards (2024); ABC News Breakfast (2026); Access Daily (2015–2017); Access Hollywood (2018); After Lately (2012); Aliens in the Family (1996); Anatomy of a Scene (2001–2004); Angus (1995); As the World Turns (1995); Asshole for Hire (2011); Backwards (2012); Bad Hair (2020); Belvedere: Destiny (2018); Big Morning Buzz Live (2012); Bret Easton Ellis Podcast (2014–2018); Carters Get Rich (2017); Castle in the Sky (1986); Castle in the Sky: Behind the Microphone (2003); Castle in the Sky: Character Sketches (2010); Castle in the Sky: Creating 'Castle in the Sky' (2010); Castle in the Sky: The World of Laputa (2010); Celebrity Page (2017–2020); Celebs React (2016); Chelsea Lately (2010–2014); Clarissa Explains It All (1993); Collective Soul: Run (1999); Conan (2012–2017); Criminal Minds (2007–2017); CSI: Cyber - Season 1: CGI: Cyber (2015); CSI: Cyber - Season 1: Encoding CSI: Cyber (2015); CSI: Cyber - Season 1: It Can Happen to You: Season 1 of CSI: Cyber (2015); CSI: Cyber - The Final Season: Behind the Firewall (2016); CSI: Cyber - The Final Season: Mr. Russell Goes to Washington (2016); CSI: Cyber - The Final Season: Pixel Perfect (2016); CSI: Cyber (2015–2016); Dancing with the Stars (2019–2023); Danny Roane: First Time Director (2006); Dawson's Creek (1998–2003); Dawson's Creek: Behind the Scenes (1999); DILF Khakis (2011); Diplo: A Day in the Life (2016); Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012–2013); Downsizing (2017); Drop the Mic (2017); E! Behind the Scenes (1998); E! News (2014); E! True Hollywood Story (2005); E.W.C. - Express Written Consent (2012–2017); Elle (2026); Entertainment Tonight (2008–2026); Entertainment Weekly Cast Reunions (2018); Eva Adams (2009); Extra (2015–2019); Eye of the Beast (2007); Fast Foodies (2021); Final Draft (2007); Football Wives (2007); Formosa Betrayed (2009); Franklin & Bash (2011); Free Radio (2008); Friends with Better Lives (2014); Frontline (2001); Good Morning America (2019–2024); Harvest (1998); Hollywood, Unapologetic! (2017); Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020); How I Met Your Mother (2008–2013); I Love You, I Love You Not (1996); Indiana Home Shopping (2015); Inside Edition (2026); Inspired by Bret Easton Ellis (2010); Island Hoppers (2019); Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019); Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001); Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2012); Ke$ha: Blow (2011); Kevin Hart: What the Fit (2018); Kevin Pollak's Chat Show (2016); Labor Day (2013); Larry King Now (2013); Last Call with Carson Daly (2003–2012); Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2018); Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1999); Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2010–2012); Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014); Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2011); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2012); Live with Kelly and Mark (2012–2018); Magnum Dopus: The Making of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2020); Match Game (2018–2020); Matthew Gray Gubler: The Unauthorized Documentary (2007); Medium (2009); Mercy (2010); Modern Family (2017); Mrs. Miracle (2009); MTV Movie Special: Varsity Blues (1999); Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (2001); Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party (2004); One Tree Hill (2008–2009); One Voice Somos Live: A Concert for Disaster Relief (2017); Overcompensating (2025); Pose (2018); Pose: Identity, Family, Community (2018); Power Rangers (2015); Rachael Ray (2012–2014); Revealed with Jules Asner (2002); Robot Chicken (2006); Robot Chicken: Star Wars (2007); Room 104 (2017); Rove LA (2012); Salem Falls (2011); Saturday Night Live (1999); Saturday Night Live 25 (1999); Saturday Night Live: The Best of Tom Hanks (2004); Scary Movie (2000); Sea Oak (2017); Seventeen: The Faces for Fall (1998); Sex, Power, Love & Politics (2006); Sidelined 2: Intercepted (2025); Sidelined: Rewind with Noah and Siena (2025); Sidelined: The QB and Me (2024); Sidewalks Entertainment (2010); Skin (2018); Songs from Dawson's Creek (1999); Spoilers (2014); Standing Still (2005); Stolen (2009); T4 (2003); Taken in Broad Daylight (2009); Talk Stoop (2014); Texas Rangers (2001); TFI Friday (1999); That Scene with Dan Patrick (2021); The $100,000 Pyramid (2019); The 13th Annual Environmental Media Awards (2003); The 23th Annual Environmental Media Awards (2013); The 26th Annual Environmental Media Awards (2016); The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1998); The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1999); The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards (2012); The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2011); The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards (2019); The '90s Greatest (2018); The Big Bang (2010); The Bonnie Hunt Show (2010); The Daily Show (2001–2011); The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2015); The Eric Andre Show (2013); The Forgotten (2009); The Gates (2026); The Howie Mandel Show (1998); The Insider (2014–2017); The Jennifer Hudson Show (2024); The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale (2018); The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (2002); The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015–2019); The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2017); The Magic Bracelet (2013); The Masked Singer (2025); The Nightly Show (2017); The Paley Center Presents Law & Order: Before They Were Stars (2020); The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU (2020); The Panel (1999); The Plague (2006); The Queen Latifah Show (2014); The Real Full Monty (2024); The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1998–2001); The Rules of Attraction (2002); The Soup (2015); The Storm (2009); The Talk (2014–2017); The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1999–2002); The View (2024); The Wendy Williams Show (2010–2020); This Morning (2017); Three (2005); TigerBelly (2017); Today (2017–2025); Total Access 24/7 (2002); Total Request Live (2002); True Life (1998); Two-a-Days: The Ellis Way (2009); Ugly Betty (2007); Under a Rock with Tig Notaro (2019); V Graham Norton (2003); Vampirina (2017–2021); Van Der Week: Behind the Scenes (2011); Vandermemes (2011); Varsity Blues (1999); Wake Up, It's Tuesday! (2010); Walker (2024); War of the Dead (2011); Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2012–2017); We Are Family (2024); What Would Diplo Do? (2017); What's Up Now (2023).

On this day in movie history - Fargo (1996)

Fargo

directed by Joel Coen,

written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen,

was released in the United States on March 8, 1996.

Music by Carter Burwell.

Cast:

Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell, Kristin Rudrüd, Tony Denman, Steve Reevis, Larry Brandenburg, John Carroll Lynch, Steve Park, Bruce Bohne, Larissa Kokernot, David S. Lomax, Melissa Peterman, Michelle Suzanne LeDoux, Bain Boehlke, Warren Keith, James Gaulke, José Feliciano, Michelle Hutchison, Cliff Rakerd, Gary Houston, Steve Edelman, Sally Wingert, Bruce Campbell.

On this day in movie history - 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

 

10 Cloverfield Lane

directed by Dan Trachtenberg,

written by Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken and Damien Chazelle,

based on a story by Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken,

was released in the United States on March 8, 2016.

Music by Bear McCreary.

 
Cast:

John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr., Douglas M. Griffin, Suzanne Cryer, Bradley Cooper, Sumalee Montano, Frank Mottek, Kayla Bechor.

On this day in movie history - Mine 9 (2019)

 

Mine 9

directed and written by Eddie Mensore,

was released at Cinequest in the United States on March 8, 2019.

Music by Mauricio Yazigi.

 
Cast:

Terry Serpico, Mark Ashworth, Kevin Sizemore, Clint James, Drew Starkey, Erin Elizabeth Burns, Alpha Trivette, Francine Locke, Elizabeth Houston, Annie Thrash, Owen Vaccaro, Tuesday Beebe, Vanley Boro, Shelby Tsuhlares, Patrick Lemon, Karl Funk, Joseph W. Peterson Jr., Brian J. Cain, Richard Langsmith, John Vella, Dave Jones, Brendon Lewis, Sheldon Lewis, Brecken Lewis, Matthew Keegan Osburn, Scottie Hurley, Tom Sayers, Ralph Campbell, Roger Looney, Dan Justice, Josh Rowe, Brandon May.

On this day in television history - M Squad (1960)

 

M Squad
Season 3. Episode 25.

Episode entitled: The Velvet Stakeout.

Released March 8, 1960.

Directed by William Witney.

Written by Stuart Jerome and Maxwell Shane.

Music by Benny Carter.

 
Cast:
Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Whitney Blake, John Shay, Malcolm Atterbury, Oliver McGowan.