December in movie history - Gangster Story (1959):

Gangster Story

directed by Walter Matthau,

written by Paul Purcell,

based on a story by Richard Grey and V.J. Rheims,

was released in the United States in December, 1959.
Exact release date unknown.
Music by Alex Compinsky.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Carol Grace, Bruce MacFarlane, Garry Walberg, Raikin Ben-Ari, David Leonard, John Albright, Clegg Hoyt, Leonard Bremen, Vic Tayback.

On this day in movie history - The Blue Knight (1973):

The Blue Knight

directed by Robert Butler,

written by E. Jack Newman,

based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,

a four-part made-for-TV film,

was originally broadcast on NBC from November 11 – 14, 1973.
Music by Nelson Riddle.

Cast:

William Holden, Lee Remick, Joe Santos, Sam Elliott, Eileen Brennan, Vic Tayback, Anne Archer, Lucille Benson, Ja'net DuBois, Mario Roccuzzo, Jamie Farr, David Moody, Gloria LeRoy, Richard Collier, Kenneth Wolger, George DiCenzo, Raymond Guth, Emile Meyer, Ernest Esparza III, John Quade, Janit Baldwin, Arell Blanton, Helen Boll, Simmy Bow, Don Calfa, Lou Cutell, Alan Fudge, John Furlong, Stan Haze, Howard Hesseman, Randy Kirby, Jon Korkes, Arthur Malet, Karmin Murcelo, Rudy Ramos, Paul Reid Roman, Lee Weaver, Jason Wingreen, Richard 'Dub' Wright, Harry Arnie, Katharine Bard, James Beach, Nanci Beck, Norland Benson, Roxanne Bonilla, Claire Brennen, Thomas Paul Carey, Ric Carrott, Stanley Bennett Clay, Patrick Dennis-Leigh, Larry Duran, Joseph X. Flaherty, Ben Frommer, Eddra Gale, Janie Greenspun, Raven Grey Eagle, Margie Haber, Monika Henreid, Janear Hines, Jan-Minika Hughes, J.S. Johnson, Richard E. Kalk, Wayne King Sr., Dudley Knight, Maryann Krakow, Bob Lauher, Norma Lee, David Lipp, Jay W. MacIntosh, E. Jack Neuman, Douglas T. O'Dell, Tim O'Denning, Danny 'Big Black' Rey, Richard Sarradet, Jeffrey Sayre, Christopher Seitz, Ken Smedberg, Nick St. Nicholas, Michael Stearns, Jack Tesler, Russell Thorson, Tom Tolbert, Dino Washington, John Sylvester White, Clint Young.

On this day in movie history - The Gambler (1974):

The Gambler

directed by Karel Reisz,

written by James Toback,

was released in the United States on October 2, 1974.
Music by Jerry Fielding.

Cast:

James Caan, Paul Sorvino, Lauren Hutton, Morris Carnovsky, Jacqueline Brookes, Burt Young, Carmine Caridi, Vic Tayback, Steven Keats, London Lee, M. Emmet Walsh, James Woods, Carl W. Crudup, Allan Rich, Stuart Margolin, Ric Mancini, Joel Wolfe, Raymond Serra, William Andrews, Joseph Attles, Antonio Fargas, Ernest Butler, Sully Boyar, Gregory Rozakis, Starletta DuPois, Lucille Patton, Ed Kovens, Baron Wilson, Richard Foronjy, Frank Sivero, Frank Adonis, Philip Sterling, Patricia Fay, Beatrice Winde, Leon Pinkney, Alisha Fontaine, Presley Caton, Mitch Stein, Jonathan Kushner, Charles Polk, Dick Schaap, Chick Hearn, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Jerry Leon, Melanie Mayron.

On this day in movie history - Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974):

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,

directed and written by Michael Cimino,

was released in the United States on May 24, 1974.
Music by Dee Barton.

Cast:
Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach, Gary Busey, Jack Dodson, Eugene Elman, Burton Gilliam, Roy Jenson, Claudia Lennear, Bill McKinney, Vic Tayback, Dub Taylor, Gregory Walcott, Erica Hagen, Alvin Childress, Virginia Baker, Stuart Nisbet, Irene K. Cooper, Cliff Emmich, June Fairchild, Ted Foulkes, Leslie Oliver, Mark Montgomery, Karen Lamm, Luanne Roberts, Lila Teigh, George Kennedy, David Chow, Beth Howland, Steve Moriarty.

Born on this day – Vic Tayback:

Vic Tayback

Actor

January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990

Credits:

MacGyver (1985); Horseplayer (1990); All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989); Act Naturally (1989); Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers (1989); Criminal Act (1989); Loverboy (1989); Tales from the Darkside (1983); The Under Achievers (1987); The Three Kings (1987); Adderly (1986); The Love Boat (1977); Treasure Island (1986); Weekend Warriors (1986); Crazy Like a Fox (1984); Murder, She Wrote (1984); Alice (1976); Finder of Lost Loves (1984); The Jesse Owens Story (1984); Hotel (1983); Fantasy Island (1977); Matt Houston (1982); Mysterious Two (1982); The Shape of Things (1982); T.J. Hooker (1982); The Time Crystal (1981); Flo (1980); The Night the City Screamed (1980); CHiPs (1977); Gridlock (1980); Rage! (1980); This Year's Blonde (1980); Portrait of a Stripper (1979); Time Express (1979); Supertrain (1979); Sweepstakes (1979); The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978); Vega$ (1978); The Cheap Detective (1978); Getting Married (1978); Hawaii Five-O (1968); James at 16 (1977); The Choirboys (1977); Little Ladies of the Night (1977); The Shaggy D.A. (1976); Mansion of the Doomed (1976); McCloud (1970); Special Delivery (1976); The Big Bus (1976); Family (1976); Bronk (1975); The Practice (1976); Medical Center (1969); No Deposit, No Return (1976); Dark Victory (1976); The Black Bird (1975); The Blue Knight (1975); Cannon (1971); Switch (1975); On the Rocks (1975); Insight (1960); Khan! (1975); Barney Miller (1975); Lepke (1975); Report to the Commissioner (1975); The Rookies (1972); Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974); The Gambler (1974); Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974); All in the Family (1971); Griff (1973); Maxie (1973); Papillon (1973); The Don Is Dead (1973); The Blue Knight (1973); The Alpha Caper (1973); Cops (1973); Emperor of the North (1973); Partners in Crime (1973); Emergency! (1972); The Partridge Family (1970); Honor Thy Father (1973); The Streets of San Francisco (1972); Mod Squad (1968); Gunsmoke (1955); Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1971); The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969); The Super (1972); Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972); Arlene Golonka in Call Holme (1972); The F.B.I. (1965); Longstreet (1971); Ironside (1967); Death Follows A Psycho (1972); Arnie (1970); They Call It Murder (1971); Mannix (1967); The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969); Columbo (1971); Blood and Lace (1971); Bewitched (1964); The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970); The Young Lawyers (1969); The Silent Force (1970); Bonanza (1959); Here Come the Brides (1968); Lancer (1968); My World and Welcome to It (1969); Land of the Giants (1968); The Outsider (1968); The Good Guys (1968); The Felony Squad (1966); That Girl (1966); Mission: Impossible (1966); Bullitt (1968); With Six You Get Eggroll (1968); Star Trek (1966); Judd for the Defense (1967); The Monkees (1965); Cimarron Strip (1967); The Second Hundred Years (1967); Get Smart (1965); Captain Nice (1967); Occasional Wife (1966); Family Affair (1966); Gambit (1966); Daniel Boone (1964); Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966); Love on a Rooftop (1966); I Dream of Jeannie (1965); The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964); F Troop (1965); Rawhide (1959); The Lieutenant (1963); Arrest and Trial (1963); Love with the Proper Stranger (1963); Dr. Kildare (1961); Saints and Sinners (1962); Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962); Surftide 77 (1962); Five Minutes to Live (1961); 77 Sunset Strip (1958); North to Alaska (1960); Hotel de Paree (1959); Gangster Story (1959); Lock Up (1959); T-Bird Gang (1959); The Power of the Resurrection (1958); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955); Buckskin (1958).