Who’s Turning 50 This Year?

Since there are at least 3 important people in my life who are about to turn 50, I’ve been taking more notice of who else, and what else, is also turning this age. For instance, here are some actors who are about to become “quinquagenarian”: (Beside each of their names I will include my favourite performance of theirs)

• Jim Parsons (as Michael in , 2020)

• Kristen Wiig (as Annie in , 2011)

• Adrien Brody (as Wladyslaw Szpilman in , 2002)

• Neil Patrick Harris (as Desi Collings in , 2014)

• Kate Beckinsale (as Darlene Davis in , 1999)

• Dave Chappelle (as George “Noodles” Stone in )

• Juliette Lewis (as Becky in , 1993)

• Seth MacFarlane (as Max Chilblaine in , 2017)

Tori Spelling, Neve Campbell, and Tyra Banks all turn 50 this year, and though they are all talented actors, I am embarrassed to say that I’ve seen little to none of their movies. They were all bigger stars outside of movies, though.

And some other celebrities of note…

• Edge (11 time WWE/world champion)

• Oscar De La Hoya (Also 11 time world title holder)

• Nas, rapper

• Monica Lewinsky (I saw her doing a TED talk of some sort a few years ago and realized she’s a really cool person, and that we were such monsters to her back in the 90’s…)

And not only are this week’s nominees turning 50, so are the following movies:

• The Exorcist

• Mean Streets

• American Graffiti

• Robin Hood (Disney’s animated)

• The Sting

And if we mark the age of a TV show by its premiere, these ones turn 50 this year:

• The Six Million Dollar Man

• The Young and the Restless

• Kojak

But if we measure it by their last episode airing, then Bonanza and Mission: Impossible are turning 50. 

As for musical artists, the following had debut albums 50 years ago this year:

• Barry Manilow

• Aerosmith

• The Pointer Sisters

• Bachman-Turner Overdrive

And perhaps the most talked about headline of 1973 was Roe v. Wade.

Something I did not realize when I posted our nominees: Not only is 50 years old, so is the anniversary of the death of its star, Bruce Lee. He left us way too young 50 years ago at just 32. So having said that…

Congratulations This is your week.

Best Actress:

Jane Seymour as Solitaire in I haven’t seen this one, but she’s a great actor. I’ll always know her as Dr. Quinn.

Best Actor: Bruce Lee as Lee in

Best Quote: “If you’d come today you would’ve reached a whole nation. Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication.” – Carl Anderson as Judas in

According to my Letterboxd account, I’ve only seen 5 movies from 1973. Here they are ranked against each other:

1. The Sting

2. Robin Hood

3. Enter the Dragon

4. Paper Moon

5. American Graffiti

And I’m going to plan on seeing , , and this year. The last title is a shock to me. I always swore I would never watch it, and just 5 years ago I said on this blog that I didn’t “feel the need to or want to.” But I believe it’s old enough that it won’t have the effect on me it would have when I was, say, 15 or 25. Not only that, I am also old enough. Old enough to know what is real and fake in the movies, and old enough to know watching it doesn’t hold any spiritual significance.