• Family With Most Stars On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
When Drew Barrymore (USA) received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 4, 2004, she became the seventh member of her family to be so honored. Stars had previously been awarded to her father John D. Barrymore, her great-uncle Lionel Barrymore, her great-aunt Ethel Barrymore, her grandparents John Barrymore and Dolores Costello and her great-grandfather Maurice Costello.
• Most Stars On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Gene Autry (USA), the actor, composer and song writer, has five stars on the Hollywood Walk of fame strip – numbers 6,384, 6,520, 6,644, 6,667 and 7,000 Hollywood Boulevard – awarded for Recording, Motion Pictures, Television, Radio and Theater.
• Highest Annual Earnings By A Film Producer
Producer-director Steven Spielberg (USA) topped the 2003 Forbes Celebrity 100 list, having earned an estimated $200 million (£119 million) during 2002.
• Largest Audience To Attend A Film Premiere
A total of 23,930 people attended the premiere of Brewster McCloud (USA, 1970) at the Houston Astrodome, Texas, USA, on Dec. 5, 1970. Paying between $2.50 and $50 (then £1.04 and £20.86) per seat, the audience watched the film from a special 70-mm print made for the premiere at a cost of $12,000 (then £5,008), which was projected on to a 47.54 x 18.28-m (156 x 60-ft) screen.
• Most Oscars Won By A Film
At the 2004 American Academy Awards ceremony held on Feb. 29, 2004, the third installment of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King (NZ/USA, 2003) won all 11 of its nominations. The film, directed by Peter Jackson, walked away with Best Picture, Best Director, Art Direction, Costume Design, Visual Effects, Sound, Editing, Makeup, Screenplay based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Original Score and Original Song.
The Return of the King shares this record of 11 Oscar wins with two other films. The first to achieve the record was Ben-Hur (USA, 1959), which won 11 Oscars from 12 nominations on April 4, 1960, followed by Titanic from 14 nominations on March 23, 1998.
• Most Oscar-Winning Generations
The only family to contain three generations of Oscar winners are the Hustons (all USA). Walter Huston (1884-1950) won Best Supporting Actor for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (USA, 1948). His son John (1906-87) won Best Director for the same film and John’s daughter Angelica (b. July 8, 1951) won Best Supporting Actress for Prizzi’s Honor (USA, 1985).
• Longest Film Ever Made
The Cure for Insomnia (USA, 1987), directed by John Henry Timmis IV, is 85 hours long. It premiered in its entirety at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, 1987.
• Longest Cartoon Series ‘Talkie’
Between 1933 and 1957, Max Fleischer’s Popeye the Sailor Man had 233 one-reelers and a single two-reeler (Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinbad the Sailor; USA, 1936) in the cinema. The series was first aired on television in September 1956, making it the longest-running syndicated cartoon series.
• Most Emmy Awards Won For An Animated TV Series
By September 2003, The Simpsons (FOX, USA) had won a total of 20 Emmy awards: eight for Outstanding Animated Program (one hour or less) in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003; 10 for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992 (six), 1993, 1998, 2001 and 2003 and two for Outstanding Music and Lyrics in 1997 and 1998.
• Highest Annual Earnings By A Magician
David Copperfield (USA) had the highest annual earnings of any magician in 2002 with $55 million (£32.7 million) according to the 2003 Forbes Celebrity 100 list. The star of TV shows for both ABC and CBS, Copperfield has performed illusions such as making a jet plane disappear and walking through the Great Wall of China.
• Longest Running Comic
Since its first edition was published on Dec. 4, 1937, The Dandy has been published continuously by DC Thomson & Co of Dundee, UK. The weekly comic’s best known character is Desperate Dan, an unshaven cowboy from a town called Cactusville, whose favorite food is cow pie.
• Most Valuable Tv Costume
The Superman suit from the 1955 series The Adventures of Superman sold for a record $129,800 (£81,307) at the Profiles in History auction, Los Angeles, California on July 31, 2003. The suit was worn by George Reeves (USA) in the title role.
• Longest Running Tv Chat Show
The Tonight Show (NBC, USA) first aired on Sept. 27, 1954 hosted by Steve Allen (USA). The Tonight Show With Jay Leno has been hosted by Jay Leno (USA) since 1992, when he took over from Johnny Carson (USA). Carson began hosting the show in 1962 and moved it to its present location in Hollywood, California, USA.