Video: Monroe's funeral (at 6:04)

(Wednesday, August 8, 1962, 1:00 PDT) — A brief, simple funeral service, arranged by her second husband Joe DiMaggio and attended by only 31 close family and friends, was held today for film legend Marilyn Monroe at the small Westwood Village Funeral Chapel in Hollywood. Monroe’s acting coach, Lee Strasberg, delivered her eulogy. Continue reading Marilyn Monroe funeral held in Hollywood 50 years ago this hour (1962) →

Video: August 4, 1962 (at 0:54)

(Saturday, August 4, 1962) — On the last night of her life, actress Marilyn Monroe turned down a dinner invitation from Peter and Patricia Lawford and opted instead to stay at home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. She retired to her bedroom at about 9 p.m.

Video: 'Birdman of Alcatraz' trailer

(Tuesday, July 3, 1962) — Birdman of Alcatraz, a fictionalized film version of the life of Robert Stroud, a federal prison inmate known as the “Birdman of Alcatraz” because of his life with birds, opened today in the U.S. Continue reading ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’ opens in the U.S. 50 years ago today (1962) →

Video: '76 Trombones'

(Tuesday, June 19, 1962) — The Music Man, a film about a con man who comes to a Midwestern town with a scam using a boy’s marching band program, opened today in the U.S.

The film was directed by Morton DaCosta and stars Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett and Ron Howard. It won one Academy Award and was nominated for five more.

Video: 'Lolita' profiled (at 7:05)

(Wednesday, June 13, 1962) — Lolita, a comedy-drama film about a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with a teenage girl, opened tonight at the Loew’s State and the Murray Hill theaters in New York City.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film stars James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon and Peter Sellers.

Video: Monroe fired June 8, 1962 (at 12:14)

(Friday, June 8, 1962) — 20th Century Fox fired actress Marilyn Monroe today from its production Something’s Got to Give, saying she was unreliable having only reported for work on twelve occasions out of a total of 35 days of production. Fox later changed its mind, but Monroe died before filming could resume, and the movie was abandoned.

Video: 'The Miracle Worker' trailer

(Wednesday, May 23, 1962) — The Miracle Worker, a biographical film about the determined teacher who helped Helen Keller overcome deafness and blindness to learn to communicate, opened today at the Astor and the Trans-Lux Fifty-second Street theaters in New York.

Directed by Arthur Penn, the film stars Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft, both of whom would win acting Oscars for reprising their Broadway roles as Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan.

Video: 'Cape Fear' trailer

(Thursday, April 12, 1962) — Cape Fear, a film about an attorney whose family is stalked by a criminal he helped to send to jail, premiered today in the U.S.

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, the film stars Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen and Lori Martin.