Happy 80s Birthdays
1940 - Tom Jones (Singer)
Birthplace: Tereforest, Wales
1952 - Liam Neeson (Actor)
Birthplace: Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
1953 - Colleen Camp (Actress) Clue (The Maid)
Birthplace: San Francisco, California
1955 - William Forsythe (Actor)
Birthplace: New York City
1965 - Mick Foley
Birthplace: Bloomington, Indiana
1966 - Eric Kretz (Drummer) Stone Temple Pilots
Birthplace: San Jose, California
Fun Fact!
Tom Jones Made His Las Vegas Debut in 1967 at The Flamingo
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Other Notable Birthdays
Jessica Tandy (English Actress)
June 7, 1909 - September 11, 1994
Birthplace: Stoke, Newington, England
Passed Away on September 11 1994 at Age 85 From Ovarian Cancer
* Won an Academy Award, 4 Tony Awards, BAFTA Award, Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award
Won an Academy Award For Best Actress For Her Role as Daisy in the 1989 Film Driving Miss Daisy
Dean Martin (Singer)
June 7, 1917 - December 25, 1995
Birthplace: Steubenville, Ohio
Passed Away at Age 78 From Acute Respiratory Failure
* Caused by Lung Cancer
Best Known For the Comedy Team of Martin and Lewis Formed in 1946
Fun Fact!
Became Part of the Rat Pack in 1956
* Known as the “King of Cool”
Thurman Munson (Baseball)
June 7, 1947 - August 2, 1979
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio
Passed Away at Age 32 in a Plane Accident
MLB Seasons: 11 (New York Yankees)
Position: Catcher:
All-Star: 7
AL MVP: 1976
World Series Champion: 2 (1977,1978)
Became the Captain of the New York Yankees in 1976
Howard Finkel (Ring Announcer)
June 7, 1950 - April 16, 2020
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey
Passed Away at Age 69 From a Stroke
* Considered the Greatest Pro Wrestling Ring Announcer of All-Time
Elected to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009
Prince (Singer)
June 7, 1958 - April 21, 2016
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Passed Away at Age 57 From a Fentanyl Overdose
Albums Released: 39
* Best Known For Purple Rain
Considered One of the Greatest Musician of His Generation
Fun Fact!
Prince Taught Himself to Play 27 Different Instruments
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Bill France Sr. (American Race Car Driver)
September 26, 1909 - June 7, 1992
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Passed Away at Age 82 From Alzheimer’s Disease
* Died in His Ormond Beach, Florida Home
Founded NASCAR in 1948 in Daytona Beach, Florida
Christopher Lee (English Actor)
May 27, 1922 - June 7, 2015
Birthplace: Chelsea, London, England
Passed Away at Age 93 From Heart Failure
* Acting Career Spanned Over 7 Decades
Best Known For Portraying Count Dracula in 7 Hammer Horror Films
The Iron Sheik (Wrestler)
March 15, 1942 - June 7, 2023
Birthplace: Damghan, Semnan, Imperial State of Iran
Passed Away at Age 81 From Cardiac Arrest
* Beat Bob Backlund For the WWF Heavyweight Championship in 1983
Elected to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1985 - The Goonies
Director: Richar Donner
Starring: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan and John Matuszack as Sloth
Budget: $16 Million
Box Office: $124 Million ($60 Million Domestic)
1985 - Perfect
Director: James Bridges
Starring: John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis
Budget: $20 Million
Box Office: $12.9 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1986 - Final Episode of Star Wars: Droids
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1982 - Chicago 16
Chicago (13th Album)
Billboard Charts: #9
Featuring “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”
1982 - Battle Hymns
Manowar (Debut Album)
1982 - Built for Speed (Compilation Album)
Stray Cats
Billboard Charts: #2
1982 - Screaming Blue Murder
Girlschool (3rd Album)
1988 - Strictly Business
EPMD 12 (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #80
* #1 in Top R&B
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - Eddie Maple Won the Belmont Stakes Aboard Temperence Hill
Trainer: Joseph B. Cantey
Owner: Loblolly Stable
1980 - Chris Evert Won the French Open
Runner Up: Virginia Ruzici (Romania)
Match: 6-0, 6-3
1981 - Björn Borg (Sweden) Won His 4th Consecutive French Open
Runner Up: Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia)
Match: 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
1982 - Shawon Dunston (Thomas Jefferson High School) Was the #1 Overall Pick in the Major League Draft by the Chicago Cubs
Other Notable Draft Picks
Dwight Gooden #5 Overall
Team: New York Mets
High School: Hillsborough High School
1982 - Major League Umpire Lou DiMuro Was Hit by a Car While Crossing a Street in Arlington, Texas
* Died the Next Day
Major League Baseball Retired His Umpire Number 16
1986 - Jeff King (University of Arkansas) Was the #1 Overall Pick in the Major League Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates
1986 - Chris Evert Won Her 7th and Final French Open
Runner Up: Martina Navratilova
Match: 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
1986 - Chris McCarron Won the Belmont Stakes Aboard Danzig Connect
Trainer: Woody Stephens
Owner: Henryk de Kwiatkowski
* Woody Stephens Trained the Belmont Winner 4 Consecutive years from 1982 - 86
1987 - Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia) Won His 2nd Consecutive French Open
Runner Up: Mats Wilander (Sweden)
Match: 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7-3)
1989 - Wayne Gretzky Won His 9th MVP Award
All-Time Leaders
Wayne Gretzky (9)
Gordie Howe (6)
Eddie Shore (4)
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In Other 80s News
(On This Day)
1989 - Surinam Airways Flight 764 Crashed on Approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Suriname Killing 176 of the 187 Passengers
* Proved to be the Pilots Fault
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1982 - Shawon Dunston Was the #1 Overall Pick in the Major League Draft by the Chicago Cubs
High School: Thomas Jefferson High School
Position: Shortstop
MLB Seasons: 18
All-Star: 2
Considered One of the Strongest Arms in Baseball
Fun Fact!
Barry Bonds (39th Overall), Bo Jackson (50), Barry Larkin (51), Randy Johnson (89), Will Clark (90) and Rafael Palmeiro (189) Were All Drafted in 1982 But Didn't Sign
1985 - The Goonies Premiered in Theaters
Director: Richar Donner
Starring: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan and John Matuszack as Sloth
The 9th Highest Grossing Movie From 1985
#1 Back to the Future
#2 Rambo: First Blood Part II
Headlines
(June 7th)
1982 - Elvis Presley’s Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee Was Opened to the Public
Acres: 13.8
* Over 650,000 Visitors Annually
The Bathroom Where Elvis Presley Died Was Off Limits
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#1 Songs in America
(June 7th)
1980 - "Funkytown"
Lipps Inc.
5/31 - 6/27
1981 - "Bette Davis Eyes"
Kim Carnes
5/16 - 6/19
1982 - "Ebony and Ivory"
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
5/15 - 7/2
1983 - "Flashdance... What a Feeling"
Michael Sembello
5/28 - 7/8
1984 - "Let's Hear It for the Boy"
Deniece Williams
5/26 - 6/8
1985 - "Everything She Wants"
Wham!
5/25 - 6/7
1986 - "Live to Tell"
Madonna
6/7 - 6/13
1987 - "You Keep Me Hangin' On"
Kim Wilde
6/6 - 6/12
1988 - "One More Try"
George Michael
5/28 - 6/17
1989 - "Rock On"
Michael Damian
6/3 - 6/9
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
June 7th in 80s History
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1986 - "Live to Tell" by Madonna Hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Charts
* #1 Song in America from June 7 - 13
Also Hit #1 in Canada, Italy and Greece
Fun Fact!
Madonna is the Best-Selling Female Recording Artist of All-Time by the Guinness World Records
* Also Currently the Highest-Grossing Solo Touring Artist of All-Time With Over 2 Billion in Ticket Sales
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"Live to Tell" Became the #1 Song in America
In Other News
(On June 7th)
1862 - The United States and the United Kingdom Agree on the Lyons-Seward Treaty
* An Agressive Push to End the African Slave Trade
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