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Happy 80s Birthdays
1940 - Herbie Hancock (Keyboardist) "Rockit"
1946 - Ed O’Neil (Actor) Married with Children
1947 - Alex Briley (Singer) Village People (G.I.)
1947 - Dan Lauria (Actor) The Wonder Years
1947 - David Letterman (Talk Show Host)
1951 - Tom Noonan (Actor) Easy Money
1956 - Andy Garcia (Actor) Stand and Deliver
1961 - Charles Mann (Football)
1966 - Lorenzo White (Football)
1971 - Shannen Doherty (Actress) Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Fun Fact!
David Letterman Appeared on Many Game Shows in the 70s
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1987 - 21 Jump Street Premiered on FOX
* Ran 5 Seasons with 103 Episodes
Starring Johnny Depp, Richard Grieco and Holly Robinson
Space Shuttle Columbia
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April 12th in 80s History
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1986 - Soul Train Aired its 500th Episode
In Other News
(On April 12th)
1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt Died While in Office From a Massive Intracerebral Hemorrhage
* Vice President Harry S. Truman Became President
1955 - The Polio Vaccine Was Developed by Dr. Jonas Salk
* Declared Safe and Effective
Soul Train's 500th Episode
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CBS Employees Shot
1992 - Euro Disneyland Opened in Paris
* Now Called Disneyland Paris
On April 12, 1981 Space Shuttle Columbia Was Launched For the First Time
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Other Notable Birthdays
Beverly Cleary (Writer)
April 12, 1916 - March 25, 2021
Passed Away in Her Retirement Home at Age 104
One of the Most Successful Authors of All-Time With Over 91 Million Copies Sold
1927 - Alvin Sargent (Screenwriter)
April 12, 1927 - May 9, 2019
Passed Away at Age 92 (Natural Causes)
Won 2 Academy Awards For Best Adapted Screenplay
Julia (1977)
Ordinary People (1980)
Tom Clancy (Novelist)
April 12, 1947 - October 1, 2013
Passed Away at Age 66 From Heart Failure
Had 17 Bestsellers With Over 100 Million Sold
David Cassidy (Singer)
April 12, 1950 - November 21, 2017
Passed Away at Age 67 From Kidney and Liver Failure From Heavy Drinking
Became a Teen Idol From His Role in the Partridge Family
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Former U.S. President)
January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945
Passed Away at Age 63 While in Office From a Massive Intracerebral Hemorrhage
32nd President of the United States
Joe Louis (Boxing)
May 13, 1914 - April 12, 1981
Passed Away at Age 66 From Cardiac Arrest
Considered as the Greatest and Most Influential Boxers of All-Time
* Has the Record With 25 Title Defenses
Sugar Ray Robinson (Boxing)
May 3, 1921 - April 12, 1989
Passed Away at Age 67 From Alzheimer’s Disease
Considered Pound for Pound the Greatest Boxer of All-Time
Charlie Murphy (Actor and Comedian)
Passed Awayat Age 57 From Leukemia
Best Known For His Roles on the Dave Chappelle's Show
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1980 - Mad Max
Director: George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson as "Mad" Max Rockatansky, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Tim Burns and Roger Ward
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $100 Million (Worldwide)
1985 - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Director: Alan Metter
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Helen Hunt, Lee Montgomery, Jonathan Silverman, Ed Lauter and Shannen Doherty
Budget: $4.9 Million
Box Office: $6.3 Million
1985 - LadyHawke
Director: Richard Donner
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, and Michelle Pfeiffer
Budget: $20 Million
Box Office: $18.4 Million
1985 - Cat’s Eye
Director: Lewis Teague
Starring: Drew Barrymore, James Woods, Alan King, Robert Hays and Candy Clark
Budget: $7 Million
Box Office: $13.1 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1983 - Final Episode of Ace Crawford, Private Eye
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 5
Starring Tim Conway
1984 - Duck Trouble Premiered on NBC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
Starring Jim Carrey
1986 - Soul Train Aired Its 500th Episode
Dance Songs
"Do It To Me Good (Tonight)" by Michael Henderson
"Another Night" by Aretha Franklin
"I'm Not Gonna Let You (Get The Best Of Me)" by Colonel Abrams
Performers
Zapp ("Computer Love" & "Itchin' For Your Twitchin'")
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam ("All Cried Out")
Meli'sa Morgan ("Do Me Baby" & "Do You Still Love Me?")
Soul Train Line Dance
"Crush On You" (The Jets)
Scramble Word
“William Gray” (Prince Song)
1986 - Oprah Winfrey Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: Joe Jackson
1987 - 21 Jump Street Premiered on FOX
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 103
Starring Johnny Depp, Richard Grieco and Holly Robinson
1988 - Final Episode of My Sister Sam
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 44
Staring Pam Dawber From Mork & Mindy
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1980 - One Eighty
Ambrosia (4th Album)
Billboard Charts: #25
1982 - American Fool
John Cougar (5th Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
* Featuring “Hurts so Good” and “Jack & Diane”
1983 - Murmur
R.E.M. (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #36
1984 - Grace Under Pressure
Rush (10th Album)
Billboard Charts: #10
1988 - Even Worse
“Weird Al” Yankovic (5th Album)
Billboard Charts: #27
* Featuring “Fat”
1988 - Lap of Luxury
Cheap Trick (10th Album)
Billboard Charts: #16
Singles Released
1988 - “Dirty Diana”
Michael Jackson
#1 Song in America from July 2 - 8
* Also Hit #1 in Belgium
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - Cecil Cooper and Don Money Hit Grand Slams For the Milwaukee Brewers Against the Boston Red Sox
* The Brewers Beat the Red Sox 18 - 1 at County Stadium in Milwaukee
Attendance: 16,962
Fun Fact!
Don Money Was 4-time All-Star (1974, 1976, 1977, 1978) With the Milwaukee Brewers
1980 - The US Olympic Committee Pushed to Boycott of the Summer Olympic in Moscow Because of the Soviet Union's Invasion of Afghanistan
* The United States Ended Up Boycott the Olympics
1980 - The Wild Samoans Beat Ivan Putski and Tito Santana For the WWF Tag Team Championship
1981 - Tom Watson (USA) -8 Won the Masters
1987 - Larry Mize (USA) -3 Defeated Seve Ballesteros (Spain) and Greg Norman (Australia) on the 2nd Hole of Playoffs to Win the Masters
1988 - Frank Robinson Was Named Manager of the Baltimore Orioles
* Replaced Cal Ripken, Sr.
The Orioles Lost a Major League Record 0 - 21 to Start the Season
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In Other 80s News
1980 - Terry Fox (Amputee) Began His Marathon of Hope Run
* First Amputee to Finish the New York Marathon
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On April 12, 1982 3 CBS Employees Were Shot to Death in a New York City Parking Lot When They Stumbled Upon an Abducted Woman on the Rooftop of a Parking Lot
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1987 - Larry Mize Beat Seve Ballesteros (Spain) and Greg Norman (Australia) on the 2nd Hole of Playoffs to Win The 51st Masters
Winning Prize: $162,000
Runner Up Prize: $79,200
Location: Augusta, Georgia
1983 - Harold Washington Was Elected as the First Black Mayor of Chicago
#1 Songs in America
(April 12th)
1980 - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II
Pink Floyd
3/22 - 4/18
1981 - "Kiss on My List"
Hall & Oates
4/11 - 5/1
1982 - "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
3/20 - 5/7
1983 - "Billie Jean"
Michael Jackson
3/5 - 4/22
1984 - "Footloose
Kenny Loggins
3/31 - 4/20
1985 - "One More Night"
Phil Collins
3/30 - 4/12
1986 - "Rock Me Amadeus"
Falco
3/28 - 4/18
1987 - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
Starship
4/4 - 4/17
1988 - "Get Out of Dreams, Get Into My Car"
Billy Ocean
4/9 - 4/22
1989 - "The Look"
Roxette
4/8 - 4/14
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
Headlines
(April 12th)
1981 - Tom Watson Beat Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus by 2-Strokes to Win The 45th Masters
Winning Prize: $60,000
Runner Up Prize: $30,500
Location: Augusta, Georgia
This Was the First Masters With Bentgrass Greens
* Used to be Bermuda and Ryegrass