Happy 80s Birthdays
1936 - Robert Redford (Actor)
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California
1950 - Dennis Elliott (Drummer) Foreigner
Birthplace: Peckham, London, England
1955 - Bruce Benedict (Baseball)
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama
1958 - Madeleine Stowe (Actress) Stakeout
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
1964 - Kenny “Sky” Walker (Basketball)
Birthplace: Roberta, Georgia
1969 - Christian Slater (Actor) Heathers
Birthplace: New York City
Fun Fact!
Kenny “Sky” Walker Won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1989
* Walker Was the 5th Overall Pick in the 1986 Draft by the New York Knicks
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Other Notable Birthdays
Marshall Field (Entrepreneur)
August 18, 1834 - January 16, 1906
Birthplace: Conway, Massachusetts
Passed Away at Age 71 From Pneumonia
* Caught Pneumonia After Playing Golf with Abraham Lincoln’s Oldest Son Todd
Founded Marshall Fields Department Store in Chicago, Illinois in 1852
Shelley Winters (Actress)
August 18, 1920 - January 14, 2006
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Passed Away at Age 85 From Heart Failure
* Winters Career Spanned Over 7 Decades
Won an Academy Award For For Her Role as Mrs. Petronella Van Daan in the 1959 Film The Diary of Anne Frank and as Rose-Ann D'Arcey in A Patch of Blue (1965)
Marge Schott (American Businesswoman)
August 18, 1928 - March 2, 2004
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
Passed Away on March 2, 2004 at Age 75 From Breathing Problems
* Known to be a Heavy Smoker
Owner of the Cincinnati Reds From 1984 to 1999
Marge Schott Was Banned From Running the Team by Major League Baseball in 1993 and Again From 1996 to 1998 For Racist Comments
Roberto Clemente (Baseball)
August 18, 1934 - December 31, 1972
Birthplace: Barrio San Antón, Carolina, Puerto Rico
Passed Away at Age 38 in a Plane Accident While On a Humanitarian Trip to Nicaragua to Deliver Emergency Relief
MLB Seasons: 18 (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Position: Right Field
Career Hits: 3000
All Star: 15
Gold Gloves: 12
NL MVP: 1966
Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973
The First Latin American Player Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame
Patrick Swayze (Actor)
August 18, 1952 - September 14, 2009
Birthplace: Houston, Texas
Passed Away at Age 57 From Pancreatic Cancer
* Diagnosed in January 2008
Best Known For the 1987 Film Dirty Dancing and Roadhouse (1989)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Actor)
August 18, 1970 - July 20, 2025
Birthplace: Jersey City, New Jersey
Passed Away at Age 54 From an Accidental Asphyxia by Submersion (Drowning)
* Drowned On Vacation in Playa Cocles in Limón Province, Costa Rica While Learning to Surf
Best Known For Playing Theo Huxtable on the Cosby Show
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Passed Away
(On this Day)
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 on June 6, 1925 in Detroit Michigan
Ben Cross (Actor)
December 16, 1947 - August 18, 2020
Birthplace: London, England
Passed Away at Age 72 From Cancer
* Unknown Type of Cancer
Played Harold Abrahams in the 1981 Film Chariots of Fire (Won Best Picture)
Phil Donahue (Talk Show Host)
December 21, 1935 - August 18, 2024
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
Passed Away at Age 88 After Battling a Long Illness
* Passed Away in His Upper East Side of Manhattan Home
The Host of the Phil Donahue Show From 1967 to 1996
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1989 - Casualties of War
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, John C. Reilly and John Leguizamo
Budget: $22.5 Million
Box Office $18.6 Million
1989 - Sex, Lies and Videotapes
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giacomo
Budget: $1.2 Million
Box Office $36.7 Million
1989 - Eddie and the Cruisers II
Director: Jean-Claude Lord
Starring: Michael Pare, Marina Orsini, Bernie Coulson, Matthew Laurance, Michael Antunes, Anthony Sherwood, David Matheson, Harvey Atkin and Kate Lynch
Budget: $5 Million
Box Office $536,000
1989 - Blood Red
Director: Peter Masterson
Starring: Eric Roberts, Giancarlo Giannini, Dennis Hopper, Burt Young and Julia Roberts
Budget: N/A
Box Office $15,000
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80s Television
(On This Day)
No 80s TV Premiered or Finales On This Day
Fun Fact!
Michael J. Fox Won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series 3 Years in a Row (1986, 1987, 1988)
Click Here For More TV Fun Facts and Awards
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1980 - Drama
Yes (10th Album)
Billboard Charts: #18
* #2 in the UK
1980 - No More Dirty Deals
Johnny Van Zant (Debut Solo Album)
1981 - Dark Continent
Wall of Voodoo (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #177
1983 - White Feathers
Kajagoogoo (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #38
* Hit #1 in Japan
1986 - Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi (3rd Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
* Also #1 in Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand
Over 12 Million Copies Sold Worldwide
1986 - ABBA (Live Album)
ABBA
* Reached #49 in Sweden
1986 - Kicking Against the Pricks
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (3rd Album)
* Reached #89 in the UK and #1 in UK Independent Albums
1986 - Silk & Steel
Five Star (2nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #80
1986 - True as Steel
Warlock (3rd Album)
1987 - Out of the Blue
Debbie Gibson (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #7
* Featuring “Shake Your Love” and “Only In My Dreams”
Over 5 Million Copies Sold Worldwide
1989 - Dig?
Bill Bruford's Earthworks (2nd Album)
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1982 - Pete Rose Set a Major League Record With 13,941 Career Plate Appearances
* Pete Rose Still Holds the Record with 15,890
#2 Carl Yastrzemsk 13,992
#3 Hank Aaron 13,941
1982 - Jack Clark (6) and Jeffrey Leonard (5) Combined for 11 RBI’s
* The San Francisco Giants Beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 16 - 9 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on a Wednesday Night
Attendance: 14,205
1986 - Jim Kelly Signed a 5-Year $75 Million Contract With the Buffalo Bills
* Kelly Led the Bills to 4 Super Bowls (Lost All 4)
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Other Notable Dates
(On August 18th)
1903 - German Engineer, Karl Jatho “Allegedly” Flew His Airplane 4 Months Before the Wright Brothers
1920 - Women Received the Right to Vote in the United States
* The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
1923 - The Very First British Track Championship For Women Was Held in London
1965 - The First Major Ground Battle of the Vietnam War Began
* Called Operation Starlite
Featured in the 2002 Film, We Were Soldiers Starring Mel Gibson
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Fun Fact!
The First Female to Have the #1 Album in America Was Dorothy Shay in 1947
Album: “Dorothy Shay Sings”
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1986 - Bon Jovi Released Their 3rd and Most Successful Album Slippery When Wet
Billboard Charts: #1
Also #1 in Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand
* Went 12x Platinum
Featuring "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer"
Fun Fact!
Bon Jovi Formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey
#1 Songs in America
(August 18th)
1980 - "Magic"
Olivia Newton-John
8/2 - 8/29
1981 - "Endless Love"
Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
8/15 - 10/16
1982 - "Eye of the Tiger"
Survivor
7/24 - 9/3
1983 - "Every Breath You Take"
The Police
7/9 - 9/2
1984 "Ghostbusters"
Ray Parker, Jr.
8/11 - 8/31
1985 - "Shout"
Tears for Fears
8/3 - 8/23
1986 - "Papa Don't Preach"
Madonna
8/16 - 8/29
1987 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
U2
8/8 - 8/21
1988 - "Roll With It"
Steve Winwood
7/30 - 8/26
1989 - "Right Here Waiting"
Richard Marx
8/12 - 9/1
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
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1983 - Hurricane Alicia Hit the Greater Houston Area, Killing 21 People
Highest Winds: 115 MPH
Damage: $3 Billion
August 18th in 80s History
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Bon Jovi Released Slippery When Wet
1987 - Debbie Gibson Released Her Debut Album Out of the Blue
Billboard Charts: #7
* Went 5x Platinum
Featuring "Shake Your Love" and “Only In My Dreams”
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Headlines
(August 18th)
1982 - Four Streets in England Were Named After The Beatles in a Liverpool Housing Project
John Lennon Drive
Paul McCartney Way
George Harrison Close
Ringo Starr Drive
Fun Fact!
The Houses on the Streets That Are Named After the Beatles Sell 12% Higher Than Others