Other Notable Birthdays
Walter Chrysler (American Businessman)
April 2, 1875 - August 18, 1940
Birthplace: Wamego, Kansas
Passed Away at Age 65 From a Cerebral Hemorrhage
* Had Suffered a Stroke
Founded the Chrysler Corporation
Buddy Ebsen (Actor)
April 2, 1908 - July 6, 2003
Birthplace: Belleville, Illinois
Passed Away at Age 95 From Respiratory Failure
* Played Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies
Marvin Gaye (Singer)
April 2, 1939 - April 1, 1984
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Shot and Killed by His Father at Age 44
* Happened During an Argument
Best Known For the 1966 Hit Song "I Heard it Through the Grapevine"
Don Sutton (Baseball)
April 2, 1945 - January 19, 2021
Birthplace: Cito, Alabama
Passed Away at Age 75 From Kidney Cancer
Position: Pitcher
MLB Seasons: 23 (16 With the Los Angeles Dodgers)
All-Star: 4
ERA Leader: 1 (1980)
Career Wins: 324 Wins
Career Losses: 256
ERA: 3.26
Strikeouts: 3,574
Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 (5th Ballot)
Rodney King (Motorist)
April 2, 1965 - June 17, 2012
Birthplace: Sacramento, California
Drowned in His Swimming Pool at Age 47
* A Victim of Police Brutality
Caught on Film Getting Brutally Assaulted by Police in 1991
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Samuel Morse (American Inventor)
April 27, 1791 - April 2, 1872
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Passed Away at Age 80
* Unknown Cause of Death
Invented the Morse Code
Pope John Paul II (Catholic Church Leader)
May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005
Birthplace: Wadowice, Poland
Passed Away at Age 74 From Heart Failure
* Caused by Septic Shock
Pope John Paul II Was the Head of the Catholic Church of the Vatican City State From 1978 to 2005
Edwin Starr (Singer)
January 21, 1942 - April 2, 2003
Birthplace: Nashville, Tennessee
Passed Away at Age 61 From a Heart Attack
* Best Known For the 1969 Anti-Vietnam War Song "War"
Estelle Harris (Actress)
April 22, 1928 - April 2, 2022
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away in Her Home on April 2, 2022 at Age 93
* Unknown Cause of Death
Best Known For Playing Mrs. Costanza on Seinfeld
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1982 - Some Kind of Hero
Director: Michael Pressman
Starring: Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder and Ray Sharkey
Budget: $8 Million
Box Office: $23.6 Million
1982 - Silent Rage
Director: Michael Miller
Starring: Chuck Norris
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $10.5 Million
1982 - A Little Sex
Director: Bruce Paltrow
Starring: Tim Matheson, Kate Capshaw and Edward Herrmann
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $2.3 Million
1982 - Cat People
Director: Paul Schrader
Starring: Nastassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, John Heard and Annette O'Toole
Budget: $12.5 Million
Box Office: $21 Million
1982 - Penitentiary II
Director: Jamaa Fanaka
Starring: Leon Isaac Kennedy, Mr. T and Ernie Hudson
Budget: $365,000
Box Office: $3.1 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1981 - Strike Force Premiered on ABC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 20
1984 - Final Episode of Automan
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
Network: ABC
Starring Desi Arnaz, Jr
1987 - Nothing in Common Premiered on NBC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 7
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1987 - Incognito (French)
Celine Dion (8th Album)
* Hit #1 in Canada
Fun Fact!
Celine Dion Released Her First English Album on April 2, 1990
Album: Unison
Singles Released
1982 - Rio (US Release)
Duran Duran
Reached #14 on the US Billboard Charts
* Released in the UK on November 1, 1982
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - Wayne Gretzky Scored His 50th Goal of the Season
* First Teenager to Score 50 Goals in a Season
1982 - Oakland A's Manager Billy Martin Told Pitcher Steve McCatty to Use a "Toy Bat" to Protest Disallowing of the Designated Hitter
* It Was a Spring Training Game
1983 - NCAA Men’s Final 4 Began in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Location: The Pit in Albuquerque
#6 Seed NC State Beat #4 Seed Georgia 67 - 60
#1 Seed Houston Beat #1 Seed Louisville 94 - 81
NC State Beat Houston 54 - 52 in the Championship Game
Head Coach: Jim Valvano
Most Outstanding Player: Akeem Olajuwon (Houston)
1984 - Georgetown Beat Houston 84 - 75 to Win the NCAA Men’s National Championship
1987 - New York Mets Pitcher Dwight Gooden Entered Drug Rehab For His Cocaine Addiction
1988 - NCAA Men’s Final 4 Began in Kansas City
Location: Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri
#6 Seed Kansas Beat #2 Seed Duke 66 - 59
#1 Seed Oklahoma Beat #1 Seed Arizona 86 - 78
Kansas Beat Oklahoma 83 - 79 in the Championship Game
Head Coach: Larry Brown
Most Outstanding Player: Danny Manning
1989 - WrestleMania V Aired Live on Pay-Per View
Location: Trump Plaza in Atlanta City, New Jersey
Rick Rude Beat the Ultimate Warrior For the WWF Intercontinental Championship
1989 - Tennessee Beat Auburn 76 - 70 to Win the NCAA Women’s National Championship
1989 - The Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams) Beat The Road Warriors to Win the NWA Tag Team Championship
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In Other 80s News
(On This Day)
1980 - United States President Jimmy Carter Signed the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act
* A Higher Tax Rate on Oil Profits
1986 - Alabama Governor George Wallace (Former Segregationist) Announced That He Will Not Seek Another Term and Will Retire at the End of His Term in January 1987
* Wallace is Best Known For the "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door"
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80s Headlines
(April 2nd)
1984 - Georgetown Beat Houston to Win the NCAA National Championship
Venue: The Kingdome
City: Seattle, Washington
Head Coach: John Thomspon
Most Outstanding Player: Patrick Ewing
Top Scorer: Roosevelt Chapman (Dayton)
John Thompson Became the First African-American Head Coach To Win the NCAA Tournament
Fun Fact!
Patrick Ewing Was the #1 Overall Pick in the 1985 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks
* Won Rookie of the Year
All-Star: 11
1989 - Wrestlemania V
Venue: Trump Plaza
City: Atlantic City, New Jersey
Notable Matches
Hulk Hogan Beat Randy Macho Man Savage to Win the WWF Heavyweight Championship
“Ravishing” Rick Rude Beat The Ultimate Warrior to Win the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship
Demolition Defended Their Tag-Tag Championship Against The Powers of Pain (The Warlord and The Barbaran) and Mr. Fuji
1956 - As the World Turns and The Edge of Night Premiered on CBS
* First Daytime Soaps to a Have a 30-Minute Format
1972 - Actor Charlie Chaplin Returned to the United States For the First Time Since Getting Kicked Out of the Country in the 50s
* Labeled a Communist
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April 2nd in 80s History
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Georgetown Hoyas Won the NCAA National Championship
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#1 Songs in America
(April 2nd)
1980 - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II
Pink Floyd
3/22 - 4/18
1981 - "Rapture"
Blondie
3/28 - 4/10
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 - "Lean on Me"
Club Nouveau
3/21 - 4/3
1988 - "Man in the Mirror"
Michael Jackson
3/26 - 4/8
1989 - "Eternal Flame"
The Bangles
4/1 - 4/7
1989 - Tennessee Beat Auburn 76 - 70 to Win the Women’s NCAA National Championship
Location: Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington
Head Coach: Pat Summitt
Most Outstanding Player: Bridgette Gordon
Fun Fact!
“Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers Was Awarded the First WWE Heavyweight Champion On April 11, 1963
* Called the WWWF Then
Lost the Belt to Bruno Sammartino on May 17, 1963
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Other Notable Dates
(On April 2nd)
1902 - The Very First Movie Theater in the United States Opened in Los Angeles
* The “Electric Theater”
Happy 80s Birthdays
1930 - Roddy Maude-Roxby (Actor) Plenty
Birthplace: London, England
1942 - Roshan Seth (Actor) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Birthplace: Patna, Bihar, British, India
1945 - Linda Hunt (Actress) The Year of Living Dangerously
Birthplace: Morristown, New Jersey
1945 - Reggie Smith (Baseball)
Birthplace: Shreveport, Louisiana
1949 - Pamela Reed (Actress) Best of Times
Birthplace: Tacoma, Washington
1949 - David Robinson (Drummer) The Cars
Birthplace: Malden, Massachusetts
1954 - Gregory Abbott (Singer) “Shake You Down”
Birthplace: New York City
1954 - Donald Petrie (Actor) Mystic Pizza
Birthplace: New York City
1961 - Keren Woodward (English Singer) Bananarama
Birthplace: Bristol, England
1964 - Pete Incaviglia (Baseball)
Birthplace: Pebble Beach, California
1966 - Bill Romanowski (Football)
Birthplace: Vernon, Connecticut
1978 - Deon Richmond (Actor) The Cosby Show (Kenny)
Birthplace: Washington Heights, New York
Fun Fact!
Linda Hunt Won an Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor For Her Role as Billy Kwan in the 1982 Film The Year of Living Dangerously
On April 2, 1982 Some Kind of Hero Starring Richard Pryor Premiered in Theaters
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1986 - The 3-Pointer Was Adopted by the NCAA
* The Southern Conference Had Been Using the 3-Pointer Since 1980
Fun Fact!
Ronnie Carr (Western Carolina) Became the First Player to Make a 3-Point Shot on November 29, 1980
Some Kind of Hero
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