Happy 80s Birthdays
1945 - Vince McMahon (Wrestling)
Birthplace: Pinehurst, North Carolina
1952 - Mike Shanahan (Football Coach)
Birthplace: Oak Park, Illinois
1956 - Gerry Cooney (Boxing)
Birthplace: New York City
1957 - Jeffrey Daniel (Singer) Shalomar
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
1958 - Steve Guttenberg (Actor) Police Academy (Mahoney)
Birthplace: New York City
1960 - Cal Ripken, Jr. (Baseball)
Birthplace: Havre de Grace, Maryland
1965 - Marlee Matlin (Actress) Children of a Lesser God
Birthplace: Morton Grove, Illinois
1965 - Reggie Miller (Basketball)
Birthplace: Riverside, California
1973 - Barret Oliver (Actor) The Neverending Story (Bastian)
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Fun Facts!
Marlee Matlin Won an Academy Award for Best Actress for Her Role as Sarah Norman (Deaf Woman) in the 1986 Film Children of a Lesser God
* Marlee Matlin is Deaf in Real Life
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Other Notable Birthdays
Rocky Johnson (Wrestler)
August 24, 1944 - January 15, 2020
Birthplace: Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada
Passed Away at Age 75 From a Pulmonary Embolism
* Won the Tag Team Championship in 1983 With Partner Tony Atlas to Become the First WWE African-American Champions
Elected to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008
Fun Fact!
Rocky Johnson is the Father to The Rock Dwayne Johnson
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Passed Away
(On this Day)
Mike Flanagan (Baseball)
December 16, 1951 - August 24, 2011
Birthplace: Manchester, New Hampshire
Passed Away on August 24, 2011 at Age 59 From a Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
MLB Seasons: 18
Position: Pitcher
Career Record: 167 - 143
ERA: 3.90
All-Star: 1978
Won the American League Cy Young Award in 1979
Jay Thomas (Actor)
July 12, 1948 - August 24, 2017
Birthplace: Kermit, Texas
Passed Away on August 24, 2017 at Age 69 From Throat Cancer
* Made His TV Debut as Remo on Mork & Mindy
Best Known For Playing Carla's Husband Eddie LeBec on Cheers
Robin Leach (TV Personality)
August 29, 1941 - August 24, 2018
Birthplace: London, England
Passed Away on August 24, 2018 at Age 76 in a Las Vegas Hospice Care
* Suffered a Stroke on November 20, 2017
The Host of the TV Show Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous
Charlie Watts (English Drummer)
June 2, 1941 - August 24, 2021
Birthplace: Bloomsbury, London, England
Passed Away at Age 80 From Unknown Causes
* Keith Richards Announced Later He Had Cancer
The Drummer For The Rolling Stones
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1984 - Oxford Blues
Director: Robert Boris
Starring: Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Amanda Pays and Julian Sands
Budget: $1.8 Million
Box Office: $8.7 Million
1988 - Crossing Delancey
Director: Joan Micklin Silver
Starring: Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, Jeroen Krabbe and Sylvia Miles
Budget: $4 Million
Box Office: $16 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1986 - Final Episode of Code of Vengeance
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 4
Network: NBC
Knight Rider Spinoff
1989 - Final Episode of The Equalizer
Seasons: 4
Click Here For More TV Fun Facts and Awards
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1981 - Tattoo You
The Rolling Stones (18th Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
* Also Hit #1 in Canada, France, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand”
Sold Over 4 Million Copies in the US
1983 - Bent Out of Shape
Rainbow (7th Album)
Billboard Charts: #34
1987 - The Lonesome Jubilee
John Cougar Mellencamp (9th Album)
Billboard Charts: #6
* Also Hit #1 in Canada
1989 - The Man Is Back!
Barry White (17th Album)
Billboard Charts: #143
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1983 - Pete Rose’s 745 Consecutive Games Played Was Snapped
* Currently #12 All-Time
1985 - The Dream Team, Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine, Beat The U.S Express, Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo, For the WWF Tag Team Championship
1985 - Miss Elizabeth Made Her WWF Debut as Randy "Macho Man" Savage's Manager
1989 - Pete Rose Received a Lifetime Ban From Baseball For Gambling
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Other Notable Dates
(On August 24th)
1932 - Amelia Earhart Became the First Woman to Fly Across the United States
* Flew From Los Angeles to Newark
1950 - Edith Sampson Became the First Black Delegate to the United Nations
* Also the First Woman to Earn a Master of Law Degree
College: Loyola University in Chicago
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev Resigned as Head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
1995 - Windows 95 Was Released to the Public
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Fun Fact!
The First Baseball Player to Receive a Lifetime Ban Was George Bechtel (Louisville Grays) in 1876
* Banned For Conspiring With His Teammates to Lose a Game For $500
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August 24th in 80s History
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1985 - The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine) Beat The U.S Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo) For the WWF Tag Team Championship
Headlines
(August 24th)
1981 - John Lennon's Killer, Mark David Chapman Was Sentenced 20 Years to Life
* Chapman Admitted He Killed Lennon For “Self Glory”
Did You Know?
After Chapman Murdered Lennon He Sat Down and Read Catcher in the Rye Until the Police Arrived
1989 - Pete Rose Received a Lifetime Ban From Major League Baseball For Betting on Baseball
* Rose Said He Only Bet on the Reds to Win
Pete Roses' Major League Records
Games Played: 3,562
Career At-Bats: 14,053
Career Plate Appearances: 15,890
Hits: 4,256
Singles: 3,215
1985 - “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News Became the #1 Song in America
* #1 Song in America from August 24 - September 6
Also Hit #1 in Canada, Australia and Japan
Fun Fact!
"The Power of Love" Was the Theme Song For Back To The Future
Pete Rose Was Banned From Major League Baseball
#1 Songs in America
(August 24th)
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 - "The Power of Love"
Huey Lewis and the News
8/24 - 9/6
1986 - "Papa Don't Preach"
Madonna
8/16 - 8/29
1987 - "Who's That Girl"
Madonna
8/22 - 8/28
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