Show Business: The Most of 1981

The Most Happy Fella: French Director Abel Gance, who lived just long enough to enjoy the huge success of the revival of his 1927 silent movie epic, Napoleon. The Least Happy Fella: Fred Silverman, once known as TV’s Man with the Golden Gut, who brought only heartburn to NBC and finally had no choice but to resign as president.

The Bravest Fella: Grant Tinker, who replaced Silverman as president of the beleaguered network.

The Most Nervous Fella: Dan Rather, who succeeded the venerable Walter Cronkite as anchorman of the CBS Evening News, only to watch the show’s ratings fall sharply.

The Biggest Bomb (for the second year in a row): Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, which was pulled back from distribution in 1980 for extensive re-editing, only to fail again when it was re-released in 1981.

The Five Richest Tourists: the Rolling Stones, whose concert tour of 29 U.S. cities pulled down some $35 million.

The Most Boring Swing Through the Jungle: John and Bo Derek’s Tarzan, which managed to give a distinctly sour taste to both cheesecake and beefcake.

The Foxiest Fox: Elizabeth Taylor, who played Regina in a revival of Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, breaking house records from Broadway to Los Angeles.

Most Enduring Charmers: Katharine Hepburn and Claudette Colbert, who returned to Broadway and proved, at 74 and 78, that age does not always wither, nor custom stale.