On This Day May 23rd in 80s History

Other Notable Birthdays

Scatman Crothers (Singer and Actor)
May 23, 1910 - November 22, 1986
Birthplace: Terre Haute, IA
Passed Away at Age 76 From Lung Cancer
* Diagnosed in 1985
Played Dick Hallorann in the 1980 Film The Shining

Charles Kimbrough (Actor)
May 23, 1936 - January 11, 2023
Birthplace: St. Paul, Minnesota
Passed Away at Age 86
* Unknown Cause of Death
Nominated For an Emmy Award For His Role as Anchorman Jim Dial in Murphy Brown

“Marvelous” Marvin Hagler (Boxer)
May 23, 1954 - March 13, 2021
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey
Passed Away at Age 66 From Natural Causes
* Died in His Bartlett, New Hampshire Home
The Middleweight Champion From 1980 to 1987

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Passed Away
(On This Day)

John D. Rockefeller (Philanthropist)
July 8, 1839 - May 23, 1937
Birthplace: Richford, New York
Passed Away on May 23, 1937 at Age 97 From Arteriosclerosis (Clogging of the Arteries)
* Founded Standard Oil
Considered the Wealthiest Man of All-Time

Owen Hart (Wrestler)
May 7, 1965 - May 23, 1999
Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Passed Away at Age 34 From Internal Bleeding From Blunt Force Trauma
* Fell From the Rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri During His Entrance at WWF's Over the Edge Event

Fun Fact!

Owen Hart Was a 2x WWE Intercontinental Champion and a 4x WWE Tag Team Champion

* Twice With Yokozuna, Once With the British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith and One With Jeff Jarrett
Also Won King of the Ring in 1994

Sam Snead (Golf)
May 27, 1912 - May 23, 2002
Birthplace: Ashwood, Virginia
Passed Away at Age 89 From a Stroke
* Tied With Tiger Woods With Most PGA Wins With 82
A 7x Major Champion
The Masters: 1949, 1952, 1954
PGA Championship: 1942, 1949, 1951
The British Open: 1946

Roger Moore (Actor)
October 14, 1927 - May 23, 2017
Birthplace: Stockwell, London, England
Passed Away at Age 89 From Lung and Liver Cancer
* Died in His Crans-Montana, Switzerland Home
Played James Bond in 7 Films From 1973 to 1985

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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)

1980 - The Shining
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers and Danny Lloyd
Budget: $19 Million

Box Office: $44.4 Million

1980 - The Gong Show Movie
Director: Chuck Barris
Starring: Chuck Barris and Robin Altman
Budget: N/A

Box Office: $6.6 Million

1982 - Pink Floyd - The Wall
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Bob Geldof
Budget: $12 Million

Box Office: $22.2 Million

1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Capshaw and Jonathan Ke Quan
Budget: $28.2 Million

Box Office: $333 Million ($179 Million Domestic)

1986 - Cobra
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni and Brian Thompson
Budget: $25 million

Box Office: $160 million ($49 Million Domestic)

1986 - Poltergeist II
Director: Brian Gibson
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams and Heather O'Rourke
Budget: $19 Million

Box Office: $40.9 Million

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80s Television
(On This Day)

1981 - Final Episode of Eight is Enough
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 112
Network: ABC

Ralph Macchio Was Part of the Cast in 1980 and 1981

1986 - Final Episode of Joker’s Wild Aired

* Returned in 1990

1987 - Dennis Hopper Hosted the Season 12 Finale of Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: Ray Orbison

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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)

1980 - Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel (3rd Album)
Billboard Charts: #22

* Hit #1 in the UK and France

1980 - Flesh and Blood
Roxy Music (7th Album)
Billboard Charts: #35

* Hit #1 in the UK

1980 - The Up Escalator
Graham Parker (5th Album)

1983 - Confrontation (Compilation Album)
Bob Marley and the Wailers
Billboard Charts: #55

1986 - Every Beat of My Heart
Rod Stewart (14th Album)
* Reached #5 in the UK

1986 - Look What the Cat Dragged In
Poison (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #3
Ranked #2 on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time

1987 - Keeper of the Seven Keys, Pt. 1
Helloween (2nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #104

1988 - Out of Order
Rod Stewart (15th Album)
Billboard Charts: #20

Over 2 Million Copies Sold in the US

1988 - Up Your Alley
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (6th Album)
Billboard Charts: #19
* Featuring “I Hate Myself For Loving You"

"I Hate Myself For Loving You" Was Reworked as the Theme for Sunday Night Football

1989 - The Warmer Side of Cool
Wang Chung (4th Album)
Billboard Charts: #123

Singles Released

1980 - “Magic”
Olivia Newton-John
#1 Song in America from August 2 - 29
* Also Hit #1 in Canada

1987 - “Shakedown”

Bob Seger
#1 Song in America from August 1 - 7
* Also Hit #1 in Canada
The Theme Song For Beverly Hills Cop II

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80s Sports
(On This Day)

1982 - The Philadelphia 76ers Beat the Boston Celtics 4 Games to 2 to Advance to the NBA Finals
* Andrew Toney aka ‘The Boston Strangler” Scored 34 Points For the 76ers

1984 - The Detroit Tigers Tied a Major League Record With Their 16th Straight Road Win
* The Tigers Beat the Angels 4 - 2 at Anaheim Stadium
Attendance: 41,205

1985 - The Edmonton Oilers Beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3 - 1 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia to Tie the Series 1 - 1 in the Stanley Cup Finals

1985 - Mike Tyson Knocked Out Don Halpin in the 4th Round to Improve His Professional Record to 3 - 0

1988 - Karl Malone and Magic Johnson Were on the Cover of Sports Illustrated
Title: “LA’s BIG SCARE”

1989 - The Calgary Flames Beat the Montreal Canadiens 3 - 2 at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary to Go Up 3 - 2 in the Stanley Cup Finals
* Calgary Won the Next Game 4 - 2 to Win the Stanley Cup Finals

1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Premiered in Theaters

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Cate Capshaw and Jonathan Ke Quan

The 3rd Highest Grossing Movie From 1984

#1 Beverly Hills Cop

#2 Ghostbusters

View The Highest Grossing Movies From 1984

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1986 - Cobra Premiered in Theaters

Director: George P. Cosmatos
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni and Brian Thompson

Headlines

(May 23rd)

1980 - The Shining Premiered in Theaters

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers and Danny Lloyd

Did You Know?

To Keep Jack Nicholson in a Very Agitated Mood, He Was Only Fed Cheese Sandwiches For 2 Weeks Straightt

* He Hates Cheese Sandwiches

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Fun Fact!

King Cobra's Biggest Predator is the Mongoose

* The Mongoose Has Developed a Resistance to the Cobra's Venom

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Happy 80s Birthdays

1933 - Joan Collins (Actress) Dynasty
Birthplace: Paddington, London, England
1956 - Buck Showalter (Baseball)
Birthplace: DeFuniak Springs, Florida
1957 - Mark Arnold (Actor) Teen Wolf (Mick)
Birthplace: Broomall, Pennsylvania
1958 - Lea Delaria (Comedian)
Birthplace: Belleville, Illinois

Fun Fact!

Lea Delaria Was the First Openly Gay Comic to Appear on a Lat Night Talk Show
* Appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1993

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Premiered in Theaters

In Other News

(On May 23rd)

1788 - South Carolina Became the 8th US State
* Population Was 245,000
Now Over 5 Million

1905 - Armenia National Day Was First Celebrated
* The Recognition of the Armenians as a Separate Ethnic and Linguistic Group in the Ottoman Empire

1934 - Bank Robbers, Bonnie and Clyde Were Ambushed and Killed by Police in Bienville Parish, Louisiana
* Committed Bank Robberies in the Central United States During the Great Depression

1945 - Nazi General,Heinrich Himmler, Head of the Schutzstaffel Committed Suicide While in Allied Custody

* The Most Powerful Man in Nazi Germany Behind Adolf Hitler

1995 - The First Version of the Java Programming Language Was Released

* Designed by James Gosling and Developed by Oracle

2014 - Seven People Including the 22-Year Old Perpetrator Elliot Rodger Were Killed During a Killing Sprees at the University of California, Santa Barbara

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