Other Notable Birthdays
Levi Strauss (German Born American Businessman)
February 26, 1829 - September 26, 1902
Birthplace: Buttenheim, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Confederation
Passed Away at Age 73
* Unknown Cause of Death
The Founder of Levi’s Jeans
Buffalo Bill (Soldier)
February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917
Birthplace: Le Claire, Iowa
Passed Away at Age 70
* Unknown Cause of Death
Bill Was a Rider For The Pony Express at at 15
Fun Fact!
Buffalo Bill Founded the Buffalo Bill Wild West in 1883
John Harvey Kellogg (Inventor and Physician)
February 26, 1852 - December 14, 1943
Birthplace: Tyrone, Michigan
Passed Away at Age 90
* Unknown Cause of Death
Created Corn Flakes
Grover Cleveland Alexander (Baseball)
February 26, 1887 - November 4, 1950
Birthplace: Elba, Nebraska
Passed Away at Age 63
* Unknown Cause of Death
Wins Leader: 6
ERA Leader: 4
Strikeout Leader: 6
Career Wins: 373
Career Losses: 208
ERA: 2.56
Strikeouts: 2,198
3x Triple Crown Winner (Wins, ERA, Strikeouts)
Fun Fact!
Grover Cleveland Alexander Was a 3x Triple Crown Winner
* The Leader in Wins, ERA, and Strikeouts
Elected to the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938 (3rd Ballot)
Jackie Gleason (Actor)
February 26, 1916 - June 24, 1987
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away at Age 71 From Colon Cancer
* Best Known For Playing Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners
Tony Randall (Actor)
February 26, 1920 - May 17, 2004
Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Passed Away at Age 84 From Pneumonia
* Following Coronary Bypass Surgery
Won an Emmy Award in 1975 For His Role as Felix Unger on the The Odd Couple
Grammy Nominations: 6
Verne Gagne (Wrestling)
February 26, 1926 - April 27, 2015
Birthplace: Corcoran, Minnesota
Passed Away at Age 89 From Alzheimer's Disease
* Possibly Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Caused by a Career of Head Injuries
Founded AWA Wrestling
Johnny Cash (Singer)
February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003
Birthplace: Kingsland, Arkansas
Passed Away at Age 71 of Complication From Diabetes
* One of the Best Selling Artists of All-Time With Over 90 Million Albums Sold Worldwide
Inducted Into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Jef Raskin (Computer Science)
March 9, 1943 - February 26, 2005
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away at Age 61 From Pancreatic Cancer
* Haskin Was a Human-Computer Interface Expert
Created the Macintosh Project at the Apple, Inc. in the 1970’s
Judge Wapner (American Judge)
November 15, 1919 - February 26, 2017
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
Passed Away at Age 97 From Respiratory Failure
* Best Known For the Reality Show The People’s Court From 1981 to 1993
The People’s Court Was the First Reality Court TV Show
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1982 - Evilspeak
Director: Eric Weston
Starring: Clint Howard, R. G. Armstrong, Joseph Cortese and Claude Earl Jones
Budget: $1 Million
Box Office: N/A
1988 - Bloodsport
Director: Newt Arnold
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres and Bolo Yeung
Budget: $2 Million
Box Office: $65 Million
1988 - Frantic
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner
Budget: $20 Million
Box Office: $17.6 Million
1988 - Hairspray
Director: John Waters
Starring: Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono, Jerry Stiller, Leslie Ann Powers, Colleen Fitzpatrick and Michael St. Gerard
Budget: $2 Million
Box Office: $8.3 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1983 - Brothers Jeff and Beau Bridges Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: Randy Newman
1983 - Wizard and Warriors Premiered on CBS
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 8
Starring Jeff Conway
1984 - Star Wars Aired on CBS
* The First Time Star Wars Aired on Network Television
1985 - The 27th Annual Grammy Awards Aired on CBS
Host: John Denver
Location: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles
Awards
Record of the Year: “What's Love Got To Do With It”
Artist: Tina Turner
Album of the Year: Can't Slow Down
Artist: Lionel Richie
Song of the Year: “What's Love Got To Do With It”
Artist: Tina Turner
Best New Artist: Cyndi Lauper
1985 - Final Episode of Pink Panther and Sons (Animation)
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 26
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1981 - Point Entry
Judas Priest (7th Album)
Billboard Charts: #39
1982 - Set
The Thompson Twins (2nd Album)
* Reached #48 in the UK
In Other 80s Music News
1987 - The First 4 Beatles Albums Were Transferred to a CD (Compact Disc)
Please Please Me (1963)
With the Beatles (1963)
Introducing... the Beatles (1964)
Meet the Beatles! (1964)
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1981 - A Record 84 Penalties Were Given After a Brawl Between the Boston Bruins and the Minnesota North Stars
* Bruins Won 5 - 1
1987 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) Scored 58 Points Against the New Jersey Nets
* The Bulls Beat the Nets 128 - 113 in Chicago
Attendance: 14,008
1987 - The Washington Bullets Tied an NBA Record with 20 Blocks Against the Indiana Pacers
* The Bullets Beat the Pacers 100 - 94 in Washington
Manute Bol 15 blocks
Attendance: 10,187
1989 - The Dallas Cowboys Fired Tom Landry After 29 Seasons
* Replaced by Jimmy Johnson
Regular Season: 250 - 162 - 6
Post Season: 20 - 16
Super Bowl Appearances: 5
Super Bowl Wins: 2
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<- February 25th February 27th ->
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On February 26, 1988 Frantic Starring Harrison Ford Premiered in Theaters
February 26th in 80s History
Fun Fact!
The First Aerosol Hairspray Product Went on Sale in the United States in 1948 by Chase Products
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1989 -Hairspray Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono and Jerry Stiller
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Frantic
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Headlines
(February 26th)
1983 - Michael Jackson’s Thriller Became the #1 Album in America
* Also Hit #1 in the UK, Canada, France, Netherlands, Austria and Australia
Fun Fact!
Thriller is the Top Selling Album of All-Time With Over 70 Million Copies Sold Worldwide
#2 Back in Black (AC/DC) 50 Million
#3 The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston) 45 Million
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1988 - Bloodsport Premiered in Theaters
* Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme
#1 Songs in America
(February 26th)
1980 - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Queen
2/23 - 3/21
1981 - "9 to 5"
Dolly Parton
2/21 - 2/27
1982 - "Centerfold"
J. Geils Band
2/6 - 3/19
1983 - "Baby, Come to Me"
Patti Auston and James Ingram
2/19 - 3/4
1984 - "Jump"
Van Halen
2/25 - 3/30
1985 - "Careless Whisper"
Wham!
2/16 - 3/8
1986 - "How Will I Know"
Whitney Houston
2/15 - 2/28
1987 - "Livin' on a Prayer"
Bon Jovi
2/14 - 3/13
1988 - "Seasons Change"
Expose
2/20 - 2/26
1989 - "Straight Up"
Paula Abdul
2/11 - 3/3
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
Other Notable Dates
(February 26th)
1919 - The Grand Canyon Was Established as a National Park
Happy 80s Birthdays
1942 - Karen Grassle (Actress) Little House on the Prairie
Birthplace: Berkeley, California
1943 - Bill Duke (Actor) Predator
Birthplace: Poughkeepsie, New York
1953 - Michael Bolton (Singer)
Birthplace: New Haven, Connecticut
1958 - Greg Germann (Actor) Miss Firecracker
Birthplace: Houston, Texas
Fun Fact!
Michael Bolton’s First #1 Song Was the 1989 Song “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You”
1985 - The 27th Annual Grammy Awards Aired on CBS
Location: Shrine Auditorium
City: Los Angeles
Host: John Denver
Awards
Record of the Year: “What’s Love Got To Do With It” (Tina Turner)
Album of the Year: Can’t Slow Down (Lionel Richie)
Song of the Year: “What’s Love Got To Do With It” (Tina Turner)
Best New Artist: Cyndi Lauper
Prince and Tina Turner Won the Most Grammys With 4
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Thriller Became the #1 Album in America