10 Stars Who Would Turn 100 in 2021
The second year of the Roaring Twenties brought a new president to the White House, Warren G. Harding. More significant was White Castle — by some accounts the world’s first fast food chain — which opened its doors in Wichita, Kansas. Albert Einstein won his Nobel Prize. The New York Giants won the World Series, the first time the event was ever broadcast on radio. One of America’s deadliest race massacres took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Adolf Hitler became Fuehrer of the Nazi Party in post-WWI Germany. And in the midst of Hollywood’s silent golden age, future stars of the big screen were born.
As we welcome a new year, hoping for peace and an end to the global pandemic, many of us long for the simple pleasure of going to the movies. While waiting for the next straight-to-streaming release, take a moment to celebrate this year’s would-be centenarians. None of them are still with us, but their movies are, and they’re easier to watch than ever.
January 27 – Donna Reed
Donna Reed delayed her movie career until she earned her college degree, but once she had that and her stage name (she was born Donna Mullenger) there was no stopping her rise. Of her 40 movies, three were nominated for Best Picture, including From Here to Eternity, for which she received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Annual airings of the latter have made Reed’s face familiar to generations. She also had her own long-running TV series, The Donna Reed Show. Reed died in 1986 at the age of 64.
Flickchart Top 5:
- It’s a Wonderful Life (Global rank: 13)
- From Here to Eternity (Global rank: 532)
- The Picture of Dorian Gray (Global rank: 2323)
- They Were Expendable (Global rank: 2838)
- Shadow of the Thin Man (Global rank: 4088)
February 5 – Ken Adam
Ken Adam was not an actor, but the movie sets he designed are as iconic as any star. “You can’t fight in here, this is the War Room!” might not be one of cinema’s most memorable lines if the War Room itself were not so damn cool — I mean, just look at that big board! In addition to this masterpiece for Dr. Strangelove, Adam provided jaw-droppingly huge sets for seven James Bond movies, and he won an Oscar for his work on Stanley Kubrick’s gorgeous period epic Barry Lyndon. Adam, who as a young man fled Nazi Germany for England, died just five years ago at the age of 95.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Dr. Strangelove (Global rank: 32)
- Barry Lyndon (Global rank: 236)
- Goldfinger (Global rank: 411)
- Dr. No (Global rank: 551)
- Thunderball (Global rank: 1043)
February 8 – Lana Turner
The legend of Lana Turner’s beauty got re-upped in the 1990s when it played a central role in the movie L.A. Confidential. The 21st-century singer Lana Del Ray takes her stage name from Turner, for whom it was also an adopted name. Turner is still reckoned one of the most famous actresses of all time, and though some would attribute this more to her knockout looks and her constant presence in the gossip columns than to her movie roles, the fact is that she appeared in some real heavy-hitters. She made the jump from black and white to Technicolor and received one Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for 1958’s Peyton Place. Turner died in 1995.
Flickchart Top 5:
- The Bad and the Beautiful (Global rank: 911)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (Global rank: 1061)
- Imitation of Life (Global rank: 1588)
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Global rank: 4182)
- The Three Musketeers (Global rank: 4732)
February 22 – Giulietta Masina
Giulietta Masina was the wife and muse of Italian director Federico Fellini, and together they were responsible for some of the most powerful movies to come out of postwar Europe. Though possessing of unforgettable and striking features, Masina could disappear completely into her characters; their complex emotions seemed to bubble up from deep within her and emerge as intense glares, sharp laughs, and movements that were as seemingly spontaneous as they were unmistakably truthful. Charlie Chaplin said that she was the most emotionally impactful actress he ever saw. Masina died in 1994, one year after she and Fellini celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Nights of Cabiria (Global rank: 293)
- La Strada (Global rank: 304)
- Juliet of the Spirits (Global rank: 1912)
- Europa ’51 (Global rank: 4459)
- The Swindle (Global rank: 5895)
April 16 – Peter Ustinov
For a man with a laugh as cheery as a cherry cordial, Peter Ustinov played a hell of a villain. From the wicked Emperor Nero to the craven Prince John to the pirate Blackbeard, Ustinov oozed hedonism on the screen. Off-screen, though, he was widely loved and admired by those who knew him, and he is noted for his work with UNICEF and his promotion of humanism and peaceful internationalism. Ustinov won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor and was only a T away from EGOT status when he died in 2004, though he had received two Tony nominations.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Spartacus (Global rank: 620)
- Robin Hood (Global rank: 1150)
- Logan’s Run (Global rank: 1463)
- Death on the Nile (Global rank: 2298)
- We’re No Angels (Global rank: 2454)
May 2 – Satyajit Ray
If the only thing you know about Indian cinema is Bollywood excess, get acquainted with Satyajit Ray. The Bengali filmmaker’s Apu Trilogy, about a boy becoming a man in early 20th-century India, made Ray a fixture of the international arthouse circuit. His extensive body of work spans over four decades and includes many heartfelt portraits of artists, musicians, and scholars whose personal struggles mirror the struggles of their nation. Ray won high honors in his native India, took prizes at Cannes and the Venice Film Festival, and received a lifetime achievement Oscar. He died in 1992.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Pather Panchali (Global rank: 509)
- The World of Apu (Global rank: 1459)
- Aparajito (Global rank: 1618)
- The Music Room (Global rank: 2351)
- Charulata (Global rank: 4493)
June 21 – Jane Russell
Jane Russell wasn’t just another pretty face in the Hollywood studio system. The angular brunette was a gifted singer, comedienne, and even impressionist, as she demonstrated in her most well-remembered film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, alongside Marilyn Monroe. She played foil to personalities as disparate as Frank Sinatra, Groucho Marx, and Vincent Price, often while wearing revealing bathing suits. Russell was outspoken about her religious beliefs throughout her life, recording a substantial amount of gospel music between her film and TV appearances. She died in 2011.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Global rank: 1060)
- The Paleface (Global rank: 4321)
- Son of Paleface (Global rank: 5871)
- His Kind of Woman (Global rank: 6058)
- The Tall Men (Global rank: 7723)
August 19 – Gene Roddenberry
Star Trek fans know him as “The Great Bird of the Galaxy.” Gene Roddenberry, born in El Paso, Texas, in 1921, set a new bar for science fiction with his concept for a “Wagon Train to the stars,” the canny way he pitched the show in the era of wall-to-wall TV Westerns. Star Trek‘s first multi-cultural crew of explorers sought out “new life” and “strange new worlds,” and as the franchise expanded it pioneered a combination of allegorical social commentary and tech-inspired optimism about humanity’s future. Roddenberry died in 1991, but Star Trek is still very much with us.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Global rank: 309)
- Star Trek (Global rank: 322)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Global rank: 955)
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Global rank: 1450)
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Global rank: 1530)
September 30 – Deborah Kerr
Scottish actress Deborah Kerr had a knack for conveying aching emotions through prim and proper facades. Whether playing a disturbed nun, a lovesick invalid, a haunted nanny, or a defiantly determined tutor, she was sympathetic even as she commanded respect. As a young actress she worked closely with leading British filmmaker Michael Powell, then moved to Hollywood where she racked up six Oscar nominations for lead actress before transitioning to theater in the final part of her career. Though undoubtedly best known for starring in the melodrama An Affair to Remember and the musical The King and I, Kerr’s more psychological roles have retained a great deal of appeal. Kerr died in 2007.
Flickchart Top 5:
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Global rank: 201)
- Black Narcissus (Global rank: 238)
- The Innocents (Global rank: 310)
- From Here to Eternity (Global rank: 532)
- An Affair to Remember (Global rank: 1105)
November 3 – Charles Bronson
A star with an unforgettable voice and unblinking stare, Charles Bronson moved fluidly between the macho genres of Western, War, and Action. Some of the most rugged works of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s used Bronson as their vehicle for bloodshed, revenge, and coldly-recited one-liners. He worked in coal mines and was wounded in the Pacific Theater of World War II before becoming an actor, and even in his early movies he played seasoned, hardened men. He costarred with his wife Jill Ireland in 15 films and died in 2003.
Flickchart Top 5:
- Once Upon a Time in the West (Global rank: 155)
- The Great Escape (Global rank: 176)
- The Magnificent Seven (Global rank: 240)
- The Dirty Dozen (Global rank: 385)
- Death Wish (Global rank: 1876)
