1963 in film

The top ten 1963 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

• January 9 – Joseph Vogel resigns as president of MGM and is replaced by Robert O'Brien.
• February 20 – The classic epic western How the West Was Won premieres in the United States. It is an instant success with both audiences and critics and becomes the biggest moneymaker for MGM since Ben-Hur.
• June 12 – Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton, premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City. Its staggering production costs nearly bankrupted Twentieth Century Fox and the adulterous affair between Taylor and Burton made the publicity even worse. Cleopatra marked the only instance that a film would be the highest-grossing film of a year while still losing money, thus establishing it as, at the time, the biggest box office disaster in cinema history. The film's terrible reception harmed the reputation of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who had an esteemed career for directing classics like A Letter to Three Wives, All About Eve, Julius Caesar, The Barefoot Contessa, Guys and Dolls, and Suddenly Last Summer. It effectively destroyed the career of its well-known producer Walter Wanger, who never worked in Hollywood or on another film again; he died five years later at the age of 74 of a heart attack. Much of the blame for the film's failures could be pointed at Taylor's super-diva personality, her health issues, her and Burton's adulterous affair, and the studio's inadequate management. It wouldn't be until two years later that Rodgers and Hammerstein's adaptation of The Sound of Music would help rescue Fox from bankruptcy by becoming one of the highest-grossing motion pictures of all time.
• November 7 – The comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World premieres, with one of the finest all-star ensemble casts ever.^{[citation needed]} It is also the first comedy film ever directed by Stanley Kramer, best known for directing serious human drama films on controversial subjects like The Defiant Ones, Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
• December 25 – Walt Disney's production of The Sword in the Stone premieres. It is the second adaptation of T. H. White's The Once and Future King after the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical Camelot, the first cinematic adaptation of the novel, and the 13th film adaptation of the legend of King Arthur.

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: Tom Jones — Woodfall, United Artists-Lopert (British)

Best Director: Tony Richardson – Tom Jones

Best Actor: Sidney Poitier – Lilies of the Field

Best Actress: Patricia Neal – Hud

Best Supporting Actor: Melvyn Douglas – Hud

Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Rutherford – The V.I.P.s

Best Foreign Language Film: 8½ (Otto e mezzo), directed by Federico Fellini, Italy

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: The Cardinal

Best Actor: Sidney Poitier - Lilies of the Field

Best Actress: Leslie Caron - The L-Shaped Room

Comedy or Musical:

Best Picture: Tom Jones

Best Actor: Alberto Sordi - To Bed or Not to Bed

Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine - Irma la Douce

Other

Best Supporting Actor: John Huston - The Cardinal

Best Supporting Actress: Margaret Rutherford – The V.I.P.s

Best Director: Elia Kazan - America America

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

The Leopard (Il Gattopardo), directed by Luchino Visconti, Italy

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Hands Over the City (Le mani sulla città), directed by Francesco Rosi, Italy

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Il diavolo (To Bed... or Not to Bed), directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro, Italy

United States unless stated

United States except where noted..

• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Terrytoons (1930–1964)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Yosemite Sam (1945-1963)
• Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)

• January 3 - Rebecca Broussard, American former actress
• January 4 - Dave Foley, Canadian actor and comedian
• January 5 - Jiang Wen, Chinese actor, screenwriter and director
• January 6
  • Tony Halme, Finnish actor and singer (d. 2010)
  • Nathalie Richard, French actress
• January 14
  • Adjoa Andoh, British actress
  • Steven Soderbergh, American director^[6]
• January 19 - Veanne Cox, American actress
• January 20
  • Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, Lithuanian-Russian-British actress
  • James Denton, American actor
• January 22 - Nicola Duffett, English actress
• January 26 - Chin Siu-ho, Hong Kong actor
• January 31 - Tonio Arango, German actor
• February 3 - Kirk Baily, American actor (d. 2022)
• February 4 - Cheung Siu-fai, Hong Kong actor
• February 9 - Peter Rowsthorn, Australian stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer
• February 10 - Philip Glenister, English actor
• February 12
  • Brian Haley, American actor and comedian
  • John Michael Higgins, American actor
• February 13 - Barry Tubb, American actor and director
• February 14 - Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor and director
• February 15 - Wallace Wolodarsky, American screenwriter, producer, director and actor
• February 16 - Faran Tahir, Pakistani-American actor
• February 17
  • Michael Jordan, US basketball player and occasional actor
  • Larry the Cable Guy, American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, singer and radio personality
• February 19
  • Joey Diaz, Cuban-American stand-up comedian and actor
  • Jessica Tuck, American actress
• February 21 - William Baldwin, American actor
• February 22 - Peggy Lu, American actress
• February 24 - Geoff Bell, English actor
• February 26 - Chase Masterson, American actress and singer
• March 1 - Russell Wong, American actor
• March 4 - Daniel Roebuck, American actor and writer
• March 7 - Bill Brochtrup, American actor
• March 9 - Jean-Marc Vallée, Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter (d. 2021)
• March 11
  • Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Spanish actor, filmmaker and screenwriter
  • Alex Kingston, English actress
• March 12 - Jake Weber, English actor
• March 16 - Rick Holmes, American actor
• March 17 - James Larkin, British actor
• March 18 - Vanessa L. Williams, actress, singer and beauty queen
• March 19
  • Neil LaBute, American director and screenwriter
  • Geoffrey Lower, American actor
  • Stuart McQuarrie, Scottish actor
  • Mary Scheer, American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer
• March 20
  • Kathy Ireland, American model and actress
  • Ofer Samra, American artist and actor
  • David Thewlis, English actor
• March 22 - Francesco Quinn, Italian-born American actor (d. 2011)
• March 27 - Quentin Tarantino, director
• April 2 - Tim Hodge, American voice actor, story artist, writer, animator, comedian and director
• April 4 - Graham Norton, Irish actor, comedian, commentator and presenter
• April 8 - Dean Norris, American actor
• April 15 - Paula Pell, American writer, producer and actress
• April 17 - Joel Murray, actor
• April 18
  • Conan O'Brien, television entertainer and talk show host
  • Eric McCormack, Canadian-American actor
• April 19 - Thomas Mills Wood, American actor
• April 20 - Tim Maculan, American actor
• April 21 - Erik King, American actor
• April 26 - Jet Li, Singaporean actor
• April 27 - Yammie Lam, Hong Kong actress (d. 2018)^[7]
• April 30 - James Marsh, British director
• May 8 - Michel Gondry, French filmmaker and producer
• May 9 - Gary Daniels, English actor, producer, martial artist and fight coordinator
• May 10 - Rich Moore, American director, screenwriter and voice actor
• May 11 - Natasha Richardson, actress (d. 2009)
• May 12
  • Gavin Hood, South African filmmaker and actor
  • Rob Moran, American actor and producer
  • John Schultz, American director, screenwriter and producer
• May 15
  • Brenda Bakke, American actress
  • Jamie Harris, British actor
  • Grant Heslov, American actor and filmmaker
• May 16 - Marina Massironi, Italian actress
• May 22
  • Chris Pedersen, American actor
  • Cle Shaheed Sloan, American actor and documentary director
• May 25 - Mike Myers, Canadian actor
• May 30 - Cynthia Gouw, American actress
• June 1
  • Brian Goodman, American director, writer and actor
  • David Rudman, American puppeteer, writer, director and producer
• June 6 - Jason Isaacs, English actor
• June 9 - Johnny Depp, American actor
• June 10
  • Teresa Cheung Siu-wai, Canadian actress and producer
  • Jeanne Tripplehorn, American actress
• June 12
  • Isabelle Candelier, French actress
  • Tim DeKay, actor & producer
  • Patrice Martinez, American actress (d. 2018)
• June 15 - Helen Hunt, American actress and director
• June 17 - Greg Kinnear, American actor, producer and television personality
• June 22
  • Randy Couture, American actor
  • Heidi Kozak, Danish-American actress
• June 25
  • John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
  • Jackie Swanson, American actress
• June 27 - David Drake, American actor
• June 29 - Judith Hoag, American actress
• June 30 - Rupert Graves, English actor
• July 2 - Mark Kermode, English critic
• July 4
  • Raman Hui, Hong Kong animator, director and producer
  • Monty Montgomery, American producer, director, actor and screenwriter
• July 5 - Edie Falco, American actress
• July 8
  • Rocky Carroll, American actor and director
  • Michael Cuesta, American director
• July 13 - Sandy Fox, American voice actress
• July 15
  • Brigitte Nielsen, Danish actress and singer
  • Joy Smithers, Australian actress
• July 16
  • Phoebe Cates, American former actress
  • Paul Hipp, American actor, singer-songwriter and filmmaker
• July 17 - Stephen Tredre, English actor and writer (d. 1997)
• July 18 - Jeff Burr, American director, writer and producer (d. 2023)
• July 19 - Bettina Kupfer, German actress
• July 20 - Frank Whaley, American actor, director, screenwriter and comedian
• July 22 - Joanna Going, American actress
• July 27 - Donnie Yen, Hong Kong actor
• July 29 - Alexandra Paul, American actress
• July 30 - Lisa Kudrow, American actress
• July 31 - Larry Romano, American actor
• August 1
  • Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor
  • John Carroll Lynch, American character actor and director
  • Coolio, American rapper and actor (d. 2022)
• August 2 - Igor Khait, American animator (d. 2016)
• August 3
  • Lisa Ann Walter, American actress, comedian and producer
  • Isaiah Washington, American actor
• August 5 - Mark Strong, English actor
• August 7
  • Ramon Estevez, American actor and director
  • Harold Perrineau, American actor
• August 8 - Jon Turteltaub, American filmmaker
• August 9 - Whitney Houston, American actress, producer and singer (d. 2012)
• August 13 - Sridevi, Indian actress (d. 2018)
• August 14 - Emmanuelle Béart, French actress
• August 15 - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Mexican filmmaker
• August 16 - Christine Cavanaugh, American actress (d. 2014)
• August 19
  • Darcy DeMoss, American actress
  • Matthew Glave, American actor
  • John Stamos, American actor and musician
• August 20 - Justina Vail Evans, British actress
• August 23 - Ed Gale, American actor and stunt performer (d. 2025)
• August 24 - Hideo Kojima, Japanese video game designer, director, producer, and writer
• August 28 - Peter Mygind, Danish actor
• August 29 - Karl Markovics, Austrian actor and director
• August 30 - Michael Chiklis, American actor, director and producer
• September 3
  • Serena Gordon, English actress
  • Holt McCallany, American actor, producer and writer
• September 5 - Jonny Phillips, English actor
• September 7 - W. Earl Brown, American actor, screenwriter, producer and musician
• September 8
  • David Lee Smith, American actor
  • Betsy Russell, American actress
  • Larry Zerner, American actor
• September 12 - Michael McElhatton, Irish actor and writer
• September 16 - Leslie Wing, American former actress
• September 17
  • Gian-Carlo Coppola, American producer and actor (d. 1986)
  • James Urbaniak, American character actor
• September 18 - Christopher Heyerdahl, Canadian actor
• September 19
  • Spencer Garrett, American actor
  • Dan Povenmire, animator and voice actor
• September 20
  • Ivan Heng, Singaporean actor
  • Robert LaSardo, American character actor
• September 21 - Angus Macfadyen, Scottish actor
• September 25
  • Tate Donovan, American actor and director
  • Mikael Persbrandt, Swedish actor
• September 27
  • Marc Maron, American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician
  • Brian Steele, American actor
  • Scott Lawrence, American actor
• October 1 - Beth Chamberlin, American actress
• October 6
  • Jsu Garcia, American actor and producer
  • Elisabeth Shue, American actress
• October 8 - David Yates, English director, producer and writer
• October 9 - Sheila Kelley, American actress
• October 12
  • Rami Heuberger, Israeli actor and director (d. 2025)
  • Dave Legeno, English actor (d. 2014)
• October 13 - Hiro Kanagawa, Japanese-Canadian actor
• October 14 - Lori Petty, American actress
• October 16 - Pamela Bach, American actress (d. 2025)
• October 23 - Allison Shearmur, American producer (d. 2018)
• October 26 - Ted Demme, American director, producer and actor (d. 2002)
• October 27 - Deborah Moore, English actress
• October 28 - Lauren Holly, American-Canadian actress
• October 29
  • Jed Brophy, New Zealand actor
  • Damian Chapa, American actor, director, screenwriter and producer
• October 30 - Michael Beach, American actor
• October 31
  • Sanjeev Bhaskar, British actor, comedian and television presenter
  • Dermot Mulroney, American actor
  • Rob Schneider, actor and comedian
• November 3 - Brian Henson, American puppeteer, director and director
• November 5 - Tatum O'Neal, American actress
• November 6 - Tsuyoshi Ihara, Japanese actor, martial artist and writer
• November 10
  • Hugh Bonneville, English actor
  • Tommy Davidson, American actor and comedian
• November 12 - Sam Lloyd, American actor and singer (d. 2020)
• November 15
  • Doreen Montalvo, American actress, singer and playwright (d. 2020)
  • Kevin J. O'Connor, American actor
• November 17
  • Perry Caravello, American actor and comedian
  • Dylan Walsh, American actor
• November 18 - Rich Fulcher, American comedian and actor
• November 19 - Angela Means, American comedian and actress
• November 20 - Ming-Na Wen, American actress
• November 22 - Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Icelandic actor
• November 25
  • Kevin Chamberlin, American actor and singer
  • Eddie Jemison, American actor
• November 27
  • Vladimir Mashkov, Russian actor
  • Fisher Stevens, American actor
• December 5 - Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
• December 6
  • Jens Hultén, Swedish actor
  • Matt Malloy, American actor
  • Ulrich Thomsen, Danish actor and filmmaker
• December 14 - Cynthia Gibb, American actress
• December 15 - Helen Slater, American actress
• December 16
  • Benjamin Bratt, American actor, producer and activist
  • James Mangold, American filmmaker
• December 18
  • Olivier Broche, French actor and producer
  • Brad Pitt, American actor
• December 19
  • Jennifer Beals, actress
  • Paul Rhys, Welsh actor
  • Til Schweiger, actor
• December 20
  • Joel Gretsch, American actor
  • Iqbal Theba, Pakistani actor
• December 23 - Jess Harnell, American voice actor and singer
• December 29 - Julian Bleach, English actor and singer
• December 31 - Stefania Orsola Garello, Italian actress

• January 1 – Filippo Del Giudice, 70, Italian film producer^[8]
• January 2
  • Dick Powell, 58, American actor, director, Murder, My Sweet, The Bad and the Beautiful
  • Jack Carson, 52, Canadian actor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Mildred Pierce
• January 6 – Frank Tuttle, 70, American director, This Gun for Hire, Waikiki Wedding
• January 26 – Ole Olsen, 70, American actor and comedian, Hellzapoppin'
• January 28 – John Farrow, 58, Australian director, Hondo, The Big Clock
• February 2 – William Gaxton, 69, American actor and singer, Diamond Horseshoe, The Heat's On
• February 8 – George Dolenz, 55, Hungarian actor, Vendetta, My Cousin Rachel
• February 18 – Monte Blue, 76, American actor, Key Largo, White Shadows in the South Seas
• March 18 – Wanda Hawley, 67, American actress, The Young Rajah, The Midnight Message
• March 25 – Felix Adler, 79, American screenwriter, Saps at Sea, Block-Heads
• April 4 – Jason Robards Sr., 70, American actor, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Isle of the Dead
• April 30 – Bryant Washburn, 74, American actor, Sky Patrol, Adventures of Captain Marvel
• May 2 – Oscar A. C. Lund, 77, Swedish film actor, director, and writer
• May 6 – Monty Woolley, 74, American actor, The Bishop's Wife, The Man Who Came to Dinner
• May 17 – Daniel Mendaille, 77, French actor, On Trial, Napoléon
• May 19 – Luana Walters, 50, American actress, Mexicali Rose, The Corpse Vanishes
• July 1 - Ezz El-Dine Zulficar, Egyptian director and producer, The Second Man, The River of Love
• June 7 – ZaSu Pitts, 69, American actress, Greed, Life with Father
• June 18 – Pedro Armendáriz, 51, Mexican actor, The Fugitive, Fort Apache
• June 20 – Gordon Jones, 51, American actor, I Take This Oath, The Green Hornet
• July 10 – John Sutton, 54, Pakistani actor, The Three Musketeers, Captain from Castile
• July 25 – Leota Lane, 59, American singer, actress, Three Hollywood Girls
• August 4 – Tom Keene, 66, American actor, Our Daily Bread, Ghost Valley
• August 14 – Clifford Odets, 57, American playwright and screenwriter, Sweet Smell of Success, None but the Lonely Heart
• August 17 – Richard Barthelmess, 68, American actor, Broken Blossoms, Only Angels Have Wings
• August 23 – Mary Gordon, 81, Scottish actress, Smart Guy, Shamrock Hill
• August 25 – Edward L. Cahn, 64, American director, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Girls in Prison
• September 4 – Byron Russell, 79, Irish actor, Mutiny on the Bounty, Parnell
• September 15 – Oliver Wallace, 76, English composer, Dumbo, Cinderella, Peter Pan
• October 8 –
  • Frank R. Adams, 80, American composer and screenwriter, Peg o' My Heart, The Cowboy and the Lady
  • Grace Darmond, 68, Canadian actress, What Every Woman Wants, The Hope Diamond Mystery
• October 11 – Jean Cocteau, 74, French director and screenwriter, Beauty and the Beast, Orpheus
• October 18 – Constance Worth, 52, Australian actress, China Passage, Meet Boston Blackie
• October 29 – Adolphe Menjou, 73, American actor, Paths of Glory, A Star is Born
• October 31
  • Henry Daniell, 69, British actor, Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror, The Great Dictator
  • Hans Jacoby, 59, German screenwriter, Reunion in Reno, Champagne for Caesar
• November 1 – Elsa Maxwell, 82, American gossip columnist, Rhapsody in Blue, Stage Door Canteen
• November 15 - Paul Sloane, 70, American director, The Woman Accused, Down to Their Last Yacht
• November 25
  • Jean Brooks, 47, American actress, The Leopard Man, The Seventh Victim
  • Joseph Sweeney, 79, American actor, 12 Angry Men, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit
• November 29 – Charles Schnee, 47, American screenwriter, The Bad and the Beautiful, Red River
• November 30
  • Phil Baker, 67, American comedian and actor, The Gang's All Here, Take It or Leave It
  • Gina Malo, 54, American actress, The Gang Show, All In
• December 2
  • Sabu, 39, Indian actor, Jungle Book, The Thief of Bagdad
  • Mario Zampi, 60, Italian director, The Naked Truth, Five Golden Hours
• December 4 – Robert Hamer, 52, British director, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Dead of Night
• December 5 – Tom London, 74, American actor, Calamity Jane, High Noon
• December 12
  • Yasujirō Ozu, 60, Japanese director and screenwriter, Tokyo Story, Late Spring
  • Barbara Read, 45, Canadian actress, Three Smart Girls, The Shadow Returns