1948
Events
January 5 - Warner Brothers shows the first color newsreel (Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl).
March 17 - Hells Angels founded in California.
July 26 - U.S. President signs Executive Order 9981, ending racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces.
December 30 - The play Kiss Me, Kate opens for the first of 1,077 performances.
Top grossing films
1. The Red Shoes, (55th in year of release, lifetime box office would place it in first)
2. Road to Rio
3. Easter Parade
4. Red River
5. The Three Musketeers and Johnny Belinda
Academy Awards:
Best Picture: Hamlet - Two Cities Films
Best Director: John Huston - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Best Actor: Laurence Olivier - Hamlet
Best Actress: Jane Wyman - Johnny Belinda
Best Supporting Actor: Walter Huston - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Best Supporting Actress: Claire Trevor - Key Largo
Golden Globe Awards:
Best Picture (tie): Johnny Belinda
Best Picture (tie): The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Best Director: John Huston - The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Best Actor: Laurence Olivier - Hamlet
Best Actress: Jane Wyman - Johnny Belinda
Films released in 1948
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, (June 15), starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Anna Karenina, (January 22)
Arch of Triumph, (February 17)
Bicycle Thieves, (November 24), (Ladri di biciclette)
Call Northside 777, (February 1), with James Stewart
The Fallen Idol, (September 30), written by Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed
Easter Parade, (June 30)
Fighter Squadron, (November 19), directed by Raoul Walsh.
Fort Apache, (March 9), directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne
Hamlet, (May 4)
Joan of Arc, (November 11), starring Ingrid Bergman and José Ferrer
Johnny Belinda, (September 14)
Key Largo, (July 16), starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
Ladies of the Chorus, (October 22)
The Lady from Shanghai, (June 9)
Macbeth, (October 1), directed by and starring Orson Welles
Melody Time, (May 27)
Mexican Hayride, (December 27), starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
The Naked City, (March 4)
The Noose Hangs High, (March 4), starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Oliver Twist, (June 30), directed by David Lean
The Paleface, (December 24)
Les parents terribles, (December 1), directed by Jean Cocteau
Red River, (September 30)
The Red Shoes, (September 6)
Rope, (August 23), by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart
Scott of the Antarctic, (December ?), starring John Mills
The Snake Pit, (November 4)
State of the Union, (April 30)
The Three Musketeers, (October 20), -(film mentioned in disamb.page)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, (January 6), starring Humphrey Bogart
The Winslow Boy, (September 24)
Music Events
Al Jolson is voted the "Most Popular Male Vocalist" in 1948 by a Variety poll
Patti Page becomes the first artist to use the technique of multi-track overdubbing (later popularized by Les Paul & Mary Ford).
Perry Como has his first television Christmas Special
Columbia Records introduces the 33 rpm LP (“long playing”) record at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, featuring 25 minutes of music per side, compared to the four minutes per side of the 78 rpm record, the previous standard for gramophone records.
Otis Rush's musical career begins.
Pop hits on record
"Buttons and Bows" - Dinah Shore
"Confess" recorded by
Doris Day & Buddy Clark
Patti Page (the first multi-tracked song)
"Cool Water" - Vaughn Monroe & The Sons of the Pioneers
"Deck Of Cards" - Phil Harris
"Don't Have To Tell Nobody" - Frankie Laine
"Gloria" - The Mills Brothers
"Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue" recorded by:
Gordon MacRae
The Harmonicats
Jack Emerson
"I Love You So Much (It Hurts Me)" - The Mills Brothers
"I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover" recorded by:
Frankie Laine
Art Mooney
"I'm My Own Grandpa" - Guy Lombardo & The Guy Lombardo Trio
"Is It True What They Say About Dixie" - Al Jolson & The Mills Brothers
"It's Magic" - Doris Day
"Little White Lies" - Dick Haymes & The Four Hits And A Miss
"Love Somebody" - Doris Day & Buddy Clark
"Mañana" - Peggy Lee
"Monday Again" - Frankie Laine
"My Happiness" recorded by:
The Pied Pipers
Jon and Sondra Steele
"Nature Boy" recorded by: **Nat King Cole
Sarah Vaughan
"Red River Valley" - Jo Stafford
"Red Roses For A Blue Lady" - Vaughn Monroe
"Rosetta" - Frankie Laine
"So Tired" - Russ Morgan
"Someday You'll Want Me To Want You" - Vaughn Monroe
"The Things We Did Last Summer" - Georgia Gibbs
"A Tree In the Meadow" - Margaret Whiting
"Twelfth Street Rag" - Pee Wee Hunt
"Underneath the Arches" - Andrews Sisters
"What Could Be Sweeter" - Frankie Laine
"Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" - Georgia Gibbs
"Woody Woodpecker" - Kay Kyser
"You Call Everybody Darlin'" - Al Trace
"You Can't Be True, Dear" - Ken Griffin
1948 Musical Hits
Buttons and Bows-Dinah Shore
Manana-Peggy Lee
Twelfth Street Rag-Pee Wee Hunt
Nature Boy-Nat King Cole
You Can't Be True, Dear-Ken Griffin
Woody Woodpecker-Kay Kyser
You Call Everybody Darlin'- Al Trace
I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover-Art Mooney
A Tree In the Meadow-Margaret Whiting
Love Somebody-Doris Day with Buddy Clark
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