28 years ago Today in Movie History – January 24 – Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple would rise to #1 at the box office. At the time, Spielberg was really only known for popcorn blockbusters like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. and Purple would be classified as his first “serious” picture. Focusing on the plight of African-Americans in the U.S. during the early 20th century, Purple starred Danny Glover, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Rae Dawn Chong, and Whoopi Goldberg in her first film role. It would be a rousing box office success with a domestic tally of $98 million. Purple earned 11 Oscar nominations yet won none of them. Based originally on a novel by Alice Walker, it would later be made into a Broadway play.
As for birthdays, John Belushi would’ve turned 65 years old today. One of the original cast members of “Saturday Night Live”, Belushi would make a huge splash in film as Bluto in the iconic comedy National Lampoon’s Animal House. Two years later, further success would follow with The Blues Brothers. Other film roles: Goin South, 1941, Neighbors, and Continental Divide. Dan Aykroyd wrote the role of Dr. Venkman in Ghostbusters for Belushi, but the star would die in 1982 from a drug overdose.
Ed Helms is 40 today. Known to many for his supporting role on TV’s “The Office”, Helms found box office success in The Hangover trilogy. Other notable roles include Cedar Rapids, Jeff, Who Lives At Home and We’re the Millers. Helms is currently attached to headline a reboot of the Vacation franchise.
As for Six Degrees of Separation between them:
John Belushi was in The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd was in Trading Places with Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy was in Meet Dave with Ed Helms
And that’s today – January 24 – in Movie History!
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