June 22: ‘Bernie’ brings an unusual East Texas crime to the big screen in 2012

Published 2:00 am Monday, June 22, 2020

“Bernie,” which was playing in theaters on this day in 2012, starred Jack Black as Bernie Tiede, a mortician in Carthage, and Shirley MacLaine as Marjorie Nugent, the wealthy widow who befriended him. 

 After becoming Nugent’s companion and taking control of her finances, Tiede was found guilty of shooting the 81-year-old woman and hiding her body in a freezer. 

The cast of the movie based on the true story included Longview native Matthew McConaughey in a starring role and Kay Epperson of Rusk in a bit part. 

 In the Spotlight

–2018: Shea Whigham, a graduate of Tyler Junior College, is in the movie “The Catcher was a Spy.”

— 2016: Terrell native Jamie Foxx appears on “Entertainment Tonight.”

— 2013: “We Won’t Be Shaken” by Building 429, featuring Jason Roy who grew up in Mount Pleasant, hits No. 1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.

— 2012: Longtime U.S. Congressman Louie Gohmert, of Tyler, is a guest on “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”

— 2012: Alan Tudyk, who attended Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, begins voicing minor characters in “Phineas and Ferb” and appears in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” 

— 2005: Journalist Bill Moyers, who grew up in Marshall, is a guest on “The Daily Show.”

— 1996:  Atlanta native Tracy Lawrence scores a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Time Marches On.”

— 1989: Gilmer native Johnny Mathis appears on the TV special “The Songwriters Hall of Fame 20th Anniversary: The Magic of Music.”

— 1985: The Oak Ridge Boys, featuring Lamar County native Duane Allen, have the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Little Things.”

— 1983: Tyler native Sandy Duncan is a guest on “The Merv Griffin Show.”

— 1974: Panola County native Jim Reeves’s “I’d Fight the World” peaks at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

— 1968: Gilmer native Johnny Mathis’ “Venus” peaks at No. 23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary singles chart.

— 1959: “Along Came Jones” by The Coasters, featuring Tyler native Carl Gardner, hits No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

— 1934: Greenville native John Boles stars in “The Life of Vergie Winters.”