Happy 80s Birthdays
1945 - Joanna Cassidy (Actress) Blade Runner
1959 - Victoria Jackson (Actress) SNL
1959 - Apollonia Kotero (Actress and Singer) Purple Rain
Fun Fact!
Apollonia Kotero Was a Los Angeles Rams Cheerleader in the Early 80s
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Other Notable Birthdays
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (French Sculptor)
August 2, 1834 - October 4, 1904
Passed Away at Age 70 from Tuberculosis
Designed the Statue the Liberty
Carroll O’Connor
August 2, 1924 - June 21, 2001
Passed Away at Age of 76 from a Heart Attack
Played Archie Bunker in the TV Series, All in the Family
Fun Fact!
Carroll O'Connor, Michael J. Fox, Kelsey Grammer and Jim Parsons Have the Record with 4 Emmy Awards For Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Wes Craven (Director and Screenwriter)
August 2, 1939 - August 30, 2015
Passed Away at Age of 76 from a Brain Tumor
Produced and Directed the 1984 Film, A Nightmare on Elm Street
* Also the 1982 Film, Swamp Thing and Many Other Horror Films
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Alexander Graham Bell (Inventor)
Passed Away on August 2, 1922 at Age 75 from Diabetes (Complications)
Invented the Telephone
Fun Fact!
Alexander Graham Bell Made His First an Invention at Age 12, a Flour Mill Machine
Warren Harding
Passed Away on August 2, 1923 at Age 57 from Cardiac Arrest While in Office
29th President of the United States
Thurman Munson (Baseball)
Passed Away on August 2, 1972 at Age 32 in a Plane Accident
Played 11 Seasons With the New York Yankees (Captain)
* 7x All-Star
David Huddleston
Passed Away on August 2, 2016 at Age 85 from Kidney Disease
Played Santa Claus in the 1985 Film, Santa Claus: The Movie
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1984 - The Bostonians
Director: James Ivory
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Jessica Tandy, Vanessa Redgrave, Madeleine Potter and Linda Hunt
Budget: N/A
Box Office $1 Million
1985 - Weird Science
Director: John Hughes
Starring: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton and Robert Downey, Jr.
Budget: $7.5 Million
Box Office $38.9 Million
1985 - Fright Night
Director: Tom Holland
Starring: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys and Roddy McDowall
Budget: $8 Million
Box Office $24.9 Million
1985 - Follow That Bird
Director: Ken Kwapis
Starring: Big Bird
Budget: N/A
Box Office $13.9 Million
1989 - Parenthood
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen and Dianne Wiest
Budget: $20 Million
Box Office: $126 Million ($100 Million Domestic)
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80s Television
(On This Day)
No 80s TV Premieres or Finales On This Day
Fun Fact!
In 1983, the Final Episode of M*A*S*H Aired and Became the Most Watched
Non Sporting Event TV Episode of All-Time
* Over 105 Million Viewers
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1982 - Talking Back to the Night
Steve Winwood (3rd Solo Album)
Billboard Charts: #28
* #6 in the UK
1983 - Lawyers in Love
Jackson Browne (7th Album)
Billboard Charts: #30
1986 - Vinnie Vincent Invasion
Vinnie Vincent Invasion (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #64
1987 - Diesel and Dust
Midnight Oil (6th Album)
Billboard Charts: #21
* Hit #1 in Australia and New Zealand
Featuring “Beds Are Burning”
1988 - Cocktail (Soundtrack)
Various Artists
Billboard Charts: #2
* Hit #1 in Canada and Australia
Over 4 Million Copies Sold in the US
1988 - A Salt with a Deadly Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (2nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #38
1988 - Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room
Dwight Yoakam (3rd Album)
Billboard Charts: #68
* Hit #1 on the Country Charts
1988 - Greatest Hits (Live Album)
Carly Simon
Billboard Charts: #87
1989 - The Cinderella Theory
George Clinton (5th Album)
Billboard Charts: #192
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1982 - Oakland A’s Outfielder, Rickey Henderson Became the First Player to Steal 100 Bases in Back to Back Seasons
1984 - Jeff Blatnick Became the First American to Win Olympic Gold in Greco-Roman Wrestling
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Weird Science Premiered in Theaters
#1 Songs in America
(August 2nd)
1980 - "Magic"
Olivia Newton-John
8/2 - 8/29
1981 - "Jessie's Girl"
Rick Springfield
8/1 - 8/14
1982 - "Eye of the Tiger"
Survivor
7/24 - 9/3
1983 - "Every Breath You Take"
The Police
7/9 - 9/2
1984 - "When Doves Cry"
Prince
7/7 - 8/10
1985 - "Everytime You Go Away"
Paul Young
7/27 - 8/2
1986 - "Glory of Love"
Peter Cetera
8/2 - 8/15
1987 - "Shakedown"
Bob Seger
8/1 - 8/7
1988 - "Roll With It"
Steve Winwood
7/30 - 8/26
1989 - "Toy Soldiers"
Maltika
7/22 - 8/4
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
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August 2nd in 80s History
1986 - “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera Became the #1 Song in America
#1 Song in America from August 2 - 15
* Also Hit #1 in Sweden
The Theme Song for Karate Kid Part II
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1985 - Weird Science Premiered in Theaters
Starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith and Kelly LeBrock
Director: John Hughes
Did You Know?
Anthony Michael Hall Dropped Out of the Film, European Vacation to Star in Weird Science, Forcing Them to Cast to Other Actors to Play Russ and Audrey
1987 - Cincinnati Reds Outfielder, Eric Davis Joined the 30 - 30 Club (30 Home Runs and 30 Stolen Bases)
1987 - Kansas City Royals 3rd Baseman, Kevin Seitzer Had 6 Hits Against the Boston Red Sox
* The Royals Beat the Red Sox 13 - 5 at Royals Stadium on a Sunday Afternoon
Attendance: 29,154
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In Other 80s News
1985 - Delta Air Lines Flight 191 Crashed From a Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
* 137 People Died
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Other Notable Dates
( On August 2nd)
1776 - The Signing of the United States Declaration of Independence
* The Declaration of Independence Was Adopted on July 4, 1776 but the Official Signatured Took Place on August 2, 1776
1870 - The Tower Subway Opened in London
* The First Underground Railway
1918 - The First General Strike in Canadian History Took Place in Vancouver
* Workers Fighting for Higher Wages
1923 - US President Warren G Harding Died While in Office at Age 57 From Cardiac Arrest
* Vice President Calvin Coolidge became President
1934 - Adolf Hitler Became the Führer (Leader) of Germany
* President Paul von Hindenburg Passed Away at Age 86 From Lung Cancer
1937 - The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 Was Passed in America to Make Marijuana Illegal
1939 - Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard Wrote a Letter to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt Urging Him to Start the Manhattan Project to Develop the Atomic Bomb
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Headlines
(August 2nd)
1980 - “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John Became the #1 Song in America
* #1 Song in America from August 2 - 29
Also Hit #1 in Canada
1989 - Parenthood Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Keanu Reeves, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen and Dianne Wiest
Director: Ron Howard
The 9th Highest Grossing Movie From 1989