Dashed left edge = started before May 1957 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond May 1957
Events in May 1957 4
1885 – 1957Erich von Stroheim (1885-1957)Died 12 May 1957, aged 71Austrian-born actor and director known for silent films such as Greed and for his acting role in Sunset Boulevard. His extravagant, perfectionist directing style made him a legendary and controversial figure in early Hollywood.
1908 – 1957Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957)Died 2 May 1957, aged 48American senator whose unsubstantiated accusations of communist infiltration in government fueled the anti-communist hysteria known as McCarthyism in the early 1950s. He died of complications related to alcoholism.
1957 – 1979Sid Vicious (1957-1979)Died 2 February 1979, aged 21Sid Vicious, bassist for the punk band the Sex Pistols, died of a heroin overdose in New York City while awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. His short, chaotic career made him one of punk rock's most notorious figures. He died on 2 February 1979.
1957 – 2025Cecile Richards (1957-2025)Died 20 January 2025, aged 67American activist who led the Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 2006 to 2018.