What Happened in 1952

Major Events

1952 in Film & TV

  • Jan 14 "Today Show" premieres with Dave Garroway & Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV
  • Feb 18 4th Emmy Awards: first time awards presented based on nationwide basis, "The Red Skelton Show", Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca win
  • Feb 20 "African Queen" film directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn is released in the US
  • Mar 20 24th Academy Awards: "An American in Paris", Humphrey Bogart and Vivien Leigh win
  • Mar 27 "Singin' in the Rain", musical comedy film directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in NYC
  • Apr 30 Mr Potato Head is 1st toy advertised on television
  • Jul 24 "High Noon", American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Gary Cooper and Thomas Mitchell, is released
  • Dec 2 First human birth televised to public on KOA-TV Denver, Colorado

Did You Know?

The New York Daily News reports the first successful sexual reassignment operation

December 1, 1952


More People Born in 1952

Fun Fact About 1952

Patty Berg scores 64, best competitive round of golf by a woman

April 26, 1952


More 1952 Deaths

Famous Weddings in 1952

  • Feb 12 American singer Tony Bennett (25) weds art student Patricia Beech, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, New York; separate in 1965, divorce in 1971
  • Feb 14 Comedian Joey Adams marries gossip columnist Cindy Heller
  • Feb 21 English-American actress Elizabeth Taylor (19) marries for the 2nd time to English actor Michael Wilding (39); divorce in 1957

Famous Divorces in 1952

  • Feb 28 Actress Gene Tierney (31) divorces fashion designer Oleg Cassini (39) after almost 11 years of marriage
  • Apr 21 American actor Clark Gable (50) and socialite Sylvia Ashley (47) divorce
  • May 29 Country music legend Hank Williams and Audrey Sheppard granted divorce for the second and final time after seven years of marriage. Their first divorce was in 1948.

More 1952 Weddings