Brigitte Bardot of France brings European-style sex appeal to America in the movie And God Created Woman. The Obie Awards originate and honor off- and off-off Broadway theater. 1957 Comedy team Bud Abbott and Lou Costello end their partnership. Jamaica’s Harry Belafonte records ‘‘Banana Boat Song’’ and popularizes calypso music. Pioneering Asian American actor Sessue Hayakawa appears in The Bridge on the River Kwai. 1958 The 33 1/3 rpm stereo long-playing record is introduced. Economist Kenneth Galbraith publishes The Affluent Society, addressing America’s consumer society. The telephoto lens for thirty-five-millimeter cameras becomes popular. The Grammy Awards originate, honoring musical achievement. 1959 The air-crash deaths of rock and roll’s Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson) cause February 3 to be remembered as ‘‘the day the music died.’’ The term ‘‘paparazzi’’ first appears in the Federico Fellini film La Dolce Vita. 1960 The presidential debates between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy are televised and change the way political campaigns are run. Child actor Ron Howard assumes the role of Opie on The Andy Griffith Show. 1961 Historian Daniel Boorstin publishes The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, which addresses, among other things, celebrity. 1962 Scottish actor Sean Connery is the first movie actor to play James Bond. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson premieres. Blonde sex symbol Marilyn Monroe dies from a possible drug overdose. 1963 President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. African American actor Sidney Poitier stars in three fine films and ushers in a more accepting era for black actors. The television series That Was the Week That Was appears in the United States and lampoons very nearly everything. Bob Dylan records his song ‘‘Blowin’ in the Wind.’’ The American Music Awards originate and compete with the Grammys. 1964 The U.S. Supreme Court, in New York Times v. Sullivan, makes it difficult for celebrities or other public-figure plaintiffs to win libel or privacy suits. Controversial stand-up comic Lenny Bruce is convicted of obscenity. 1965 African American actor Bill Cosby appears in the television action series I Spy. Timeline | xxiii
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