Best Friends

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​Other Notable Birthdays


Cal Ripken Sr. (Baseball)
December 17, 1935 - March 25, 1999
Passed Away at Age 63 from Lung Cancer

In 1987 Became the First and Only Manager to Manage 2 Sons Simultaneously 


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Passed Away

(On This Day)


Alaina Reed Hall (Actress)
Passed Away on December 17, 2009 at Age 63 from Breast Cancer

Best Known For Her Roles on Sesame Street and 227

Henry Heimlich (American Surgeon)
Passed Away on December 17, 2016 at Age 96 from a Heart Attack
Invented The Heimlich Maneuver


Fun Fact!

In 1976 Ronald Reagan Was Saved by the Heimlich Maneuver
* Reagan Was on a Plane Choking on Peanuts When Campaign Aide Mike Deaver Grabbed Him and Issued the Heimlich Maneuver


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80s Movies

(Released On This Day)


1980 - Any Which Way You Can
Director:  Buddy Van Horn
Starring:  Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith and Ruth Gordon
Budget:  $15 Million

Box Office:  $70.7 Million

1982 - Six Weeks
Director:  Tony Bill
Starring:  Dudley Moore, Mary Tyler Moore and Katherine Healy
Budget:  N/A

Box Office:  $6.7 Million

1982 - Tootsie
Director:  Sydney Pollack
Starring:  Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Gaynes, Geena Davis, Doris Belack and Sydney Pollack
Budget:  $21 Million

Box Office:  $177.2 Million

Jessica Lange Won an Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress

1982 - Best Friends
Director:  Norman Jewison
Starring:  Burt Reynolds, Goldie Hawn, Audra Lindley and Jessica Tandy
Budget:  $15 Million

Box Office:  $36.8 Million

1982 - Trail of the Pink Panther
Director:  Blake Edwards
Starring:  Peter Sellers, David Niven, Herbert Lom, Richard Mulligan, Joanna Lumley, Capucine, Robert Loggia and Harvey Korman
Budget:  $6 Million

Box Office:  $9.1 Million

1982 - The Year of Living Dangerously
Director:  Peter Weir
Starring:  Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt
Budget:  $6 Million

Box Office:  $10.3 Million

1982 - The Dark Crystal’ (Animation)
Directors:  Jim Henson and Frank Oz
Starring:  Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards and Barry Dennen
Budget:  $25 Million

Box Office:  $41.4 Million


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80s Television

(On This Day)


​1988 - Melanie Griffith Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest:  Little Feat

1989 - The Simpsons Premiered on Fox
Episode:  "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
* Still on the Air


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80s Music

(Albums Released On This Day)


No 80s Albums Released On This Day


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80s Sports

(On This Day)


1983 - Wayne Gretzky Recorded his 800th Point and 500th Assist

1984 - ABC Purchased a Majority Stake in ESPN

1986 - Wayne Gretzky Scored a Hat Trick in the First Period Against the Quebec Nordiques
* The Oilers beat the Nordiques 5 - 3 at Northlands Coliseum

1987 - Mookie Blaylock (Oklahoma) Tied His Own NCAA Basketball Record With 13 Steals in a Game
* Broke the Record Only a Week Before


Did You Know?

In 2013 Blaylock Was Charged With Vehicular Homicide
* Killed Monica Murphy, a Mother of 5
Was Driving on a Suspended License and Had an Outstanding Warrant on DUI and Drug-Related Charges
7 Previous DUI's
Served 4 Years in Jail


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<- December 16th            December 18th ->


Back To The 80s Home Page


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The Year of Living Dangerously

1989 - The Simpsons Premiered on Fox
* Still Airing
The First Episode Was Titled "Simpsons Roasting On an Open Fire​"


Fun Fact!

The Simpsons First Appeared as Short on the Tracy Ullman Show in 1987

On December 17, 1982 The Year of Living Dangerously Starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt Premiered in Theaters

1982 - Tootsie Premiered in Theaters
Starring Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray, Teri Garr and Jessica Lange

Jessice Lange Won an Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress


Fun Fact!

Tootsie Was the 2nd Highest Grossing Movie From 1982

* E.T. Was #1


View The Highest Grossing Movies From 1982

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1981 - American Brigadier, General James L. Dozier Was Abducted by an Italian Terrorist Group, The Red Brigades in Verona, Italy
* Rescued by Italian Special Forces 42 Days Later

#1 Songs in America

(December 17th)


1980 - "Lady"
Kenny Rogers
11/15 - 12/26

1981 - "Physical"
Olivia Newton-John
11/21 - 1/29

1982 - "Mickey"

Toni Basil

​12/11 - 12/17

1983 - "Say Say Say"

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson

12/10 - 1/20

1984 - "Out of Touch"
Daryl Hall and John Oates
12/8 - 12/21

1985 - "Broken Wings"
Mister Mister
12/7 - 12/20

1986 - "The Way It Is"
Bruce Hornsby & the Range
12/13 - 12/19

1987 - "Faith"
George Michael
12/12 - 1/8

1988 - "Look Away"
Chicago
12/10 - 12/23

1989 - "We Didn't Start the Fire"

Bill Joel

12/9 - 12/22


Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards

​​​​​​​​December 17th in 80s History

Headlines

(December 17th)


1980 - Any Which Way You Can Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Clint Eastwood

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On December 17, 1982 Best Friends Starring Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn Premiered in Theaters

Other Notable Dates

(On December 17th)


1892 - The First Issue of Vogue Was Published

1933 - The Chicago Bears Won the First NFL Championship

* Beat the New York Giants 23 - 21 at Wrigley Field in Chicago

Fun Fact!

The Chicago Bears Were Established in 1920

* The Halas Family Has Run the Bears Since 1921​ (The A. E. Staley Food Starch Company Owned it the First Season)

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Tootsie Premiered in Theaters

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Happy 80s Birthdays


1944 - Bernard Hill (Actor)  Gandhi
1945 - Ernie Hudson (Actor) 
Ghostbusters
1946 - Eugene Levy (Actor) 
Vacation, Splash
1948 - Jim Bonfanti (Drummer) 
Raspberries
1949 - Paul Rodgers (Singer)  
Bad Company
1953 - Bill Pullman (Actor) 
Ruthless People
1957 - Bob Ojeda (Baseball)
1958 - Mike Mills (Musician) 
REM
1961 - Sara Dallin (Singer) 
Bananarama​
1974 - Giovanni Ribisi (Actor) 
My Two Dads

Fun Fact!

Eugene Levy Won 2 Emmy Awards (2019, 2020) for Most Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for His Role as Johnny Rose on Schitt’s Creek​