Happy 80s Birthdays
1939 - Mike Ditka (Football)
Birthplace:  Carnegie,, Pennsylvania
1949 - George Hendrick (Baseball)
Birthplace:  Los Angeles, California
1951 - Paw Dawber (Actress)  Mork & Mindy
Birthplace:  Detroit, Michigan
1952 - Jerry Royster (Baseball)
Birthplace:  Sacramento, California
1954 - Arliss Howard (Actor)  Full Metal Jacket “Cowboy”
Birthplace:  Independence, Missouri
1956 - Martina Navratilova (Tennis)
Birthplace:  Prague, Czechoslovakia
1956 - Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns (Boxer)
Birthplace:  Grand Junction, Tennessee
1960 - Jean-Claude Van Damme (Actor)  Bloodsport
Birthplace:  Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels-Capital, Belgium
1962 - Vincent Spano (Actor ) Rumble Fish
Birthplace:  Brooklyn, New York
1964 - Dan Lilker (Bassist)  Anthrax
Birthplace:  New York City
Fun Fact!
Martina Navratilova Won 18 Grand Slam Championships During Her Hall of Fame Career
Wimbledon:  (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990)
US Open:  (1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
French Open:  (1982, 1984)
Australian Open:  (1981, 1983, 1985)
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Other Notable Birthdays
Chuck Berry (Singer)
October 18, 1926 - March 18, 2017
Birthplace:  St. Louis, Missouri
Passed Away at Age 90 From Cardiac Arrest
* Best Known For the 1958 Hit Song “Johnny Be Good”
Nicknamed the “Father of Rock and Roll"
George C. Scott (Actor and Director)
October 18, 1927 - September 22, 1999
Birthplace:  Wise, Virginia
Passed Away at Age 71 From an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
* Had Suffered Several Heart Attacks
Won Academy Award For Best Actor For His Role as General Patton in the 1970 Film Patton
Keith Jackson (Sportscaster)
October 18, 1928 - January 12, 2018
Birthplace:  Roopville, Georgia
Passed Away at Age 89 From Unknown Causes
* Announcer For ABC From 1966 to 2006
Coined the Phrase "The Grandaddy of Them All" For the Rose Bowl
Peter Boyle (Actor)
October 18, 1935 - December 12, 2006
Birthplace:  Roopville, Georgia
Passed Away at Age 71 From Multiple Myeloma
* With Heart Disease Contributing
A 7x Emmy Nominee For His Role as Frank in Everybody Loves Raymond
Lee Harvey Oswald
October 18, 1939 - November 24, 1963
Birthplace:  New Orleans, Louisiana
Passed Away at Age 24 From a Gunshot Wound to the Stomach
* Was Shot by Dallas Nightclub Owner Jack Ruby
Oswald Shot and Killed Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy
Erin Moran (Actress)
October 18, 1960 - April 22, 2017
Birthplace:  Burbank, California
Passed Away at Age 56 From Complications of Stage Four Squamous Cell Carcinoma
* Throat Cancer
Played Joanie on Happy Days
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Thomas Edison (Inventor)
February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931
Birthplace:  Milan, Ohio
Passed Away in His New Jersey Home at Age 84 From Complications of Diabetes
* A Daily Tobacco Chewer
Invented the Lightbulb and the Motion Picture Camera
Bill King (Sportscaster)
October 6, 1927 - October 18, 2005
Birthplace:  Bloomington, Illinois
Passed Away at Age 78 From Blockage in the Arteries (Pulmonary Embolism)
* The Voice of the Oakland A's For 25 Years
The Baseball Hall of Fame Named King the Recipient of the 2017 Ford C. Frick Award, the Highest Honor For Baseball Broadcasters
Colin Powell (Army General)
April 5, 1937 - October 18, 2021
Birthplace:  New York City
Passed Away at Age 84 From Covid-19
* Was Getting Treated For Multiple Myeloma
The Joint Chief of Staff From 1989 to 1993 and the Secretary of State From 2001 to 2005
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1980 - Motel Hell
Director:  Kevin Connor
Starring:  Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack and John Ratzenberger
Budget:  $3 Million
Box Office:  $6.3 Million
1984 - Stop Making Sense
Director:  Jonathan Demme
Starring:  Talking Heads
Budget:  $1.2 Million
Box Office:  $5.1 Million
1985 - Re-Animator
Director:  Stuart Gordon
Starring:  Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Robert Sampson and Jeffrey Combs
Budget:  $900,000
Box Office: $2 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1986 - Malcolm-Jamal Warner Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest:  Run-DMC
1988 - Roseanne Premiered on ABC
Seasons:  10
Episodes:  231
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1980 - Triumph
The Jacksons (14th Album)
Billboard Charts:  #10
1981 - Sonic Attack
Hawkwind (11th Album)
* Reached #19 in the UK
1982 - In the Mood for Something Rude
Foghat (11th Album)
Billboard Charts:  #162
1983 - Rock 'n Soul Part 1 (Compilation Album)
Hall & Oates
Billboard Charts:  #7
* Hit #1 in New Zealand
1983 - Voice of the Heart
Carpenters (11th Album)
Billboard Charts:  #46
The Album Was Released After Karen Carpenter’s Death
* The Song “Now” Was Karen’s Last Recording
1984 - Them or Us
Frank Zappa (40th Album)
* Reached #53 in the UK
1985 - Love
The Cult (2nd Album)
Billboard Charts:  #87
* #4 in the UK
1988 - Big Thing
Duran Duran (5th Album)
Billboard Charts:  #24
1988 - Everything
The Bangles (3rd Album)
Billboard Charts:  #59
* #5 in the UK
Featuring “Eternal Flame”
1988 - Giving You the Best That I Got
Anita Baker (3rd Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
* The Album Won 3 Grammy Awards
1988 - Negotiations and Love Songs (Compilation Album)
Paul Simon
Billboard Charts:  #110
1988 - Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth (5th Album)
* Reached #99 in the UK
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - The Kansas City Royals Beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5 - 3 at Royals Stadium to tie the World Series 2 - 2
Attendance:  42,363
Willie Aikens 2-Run Home Run (4th Inning)
1986 - The Boston Red Sox Beat the New York Mets 1 - 0 at Shea Stadium (New York) in Game 1 of the World Series
Attendance:  55,076
Bruce Hurst (Red Sox) Pitched 8 Scoreless Innings
The Red Sox Scored on an Error by Mets 2nd Baseman Tim Teufel
1987 - The Minnesota Twins Beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8 - 4 at The Metrodome to take a 2-0 World Series lead
Attendance:  55,257
Gary Gaetti and Tim Laudner (Twins) Hit Home Runs
1987 - Seattle Seahawks Wide Receiver Steve Largent Had 15 Receptions For 261 Yards and 3 Touchdowns Against the Detroit Lions
* The Seahawks beat the Lions 37 - 14 at the Pontiac Silverdome (Detroit)
Spread
Seahawks -3
1987 - The Cleveland Browns Shutout the Cincinnati Bengals 34 - 0 at Riverfront Stadium
Spread
Browns -5
The Browns Defense Held the Bengals to 95 Yards of Offense
1988 - The Oakland A’s Beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2 - 1 at the Oakland Coliseum in Game 3 to Cut the World Series to 2 - 1
Attendance:  49,316
Mark McGwire Hit a Walk-Off Home Run off Jay Howell
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Other Notable Dates
(On October 18th)
1867 - The United States Took Possession of Alaska After Purchasing it From Russia For $7.2 million
* Celebrated Annually in Alaska as Alaska Day
1898 - The United States Took Possession of Puerto Rico From Spain
1922 - The BBC (British Broadcasting Company) Was Founded to Establish a Nationwide Network of Radio Transmitters to Provide a National Broadcasting Service
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<- October 17th            October 19th ->
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Roseanne Premiered on ABC
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1988 - Anita Baker Released Her 3rd Album
Title:  Giving You the Best That I Got
U.S. Billboard Charts:  #1
Platinum:  3x
Grammy Awards:  3
Fun Fact!
Anita Baker Gained Popularity in the Early 70s as the Lead Singer For Chapter 8
1988 - Roseanne Premiered on ABC
Seasons:  10
Episodes:  231
Top 5 Show in America 7 out of 10 Years (#1 in 1989)
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Headlines
(October 18th)
1985 - The Original Nintendo Entertainment System Was Released in the United States
Price:  $179.99
Came With Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt
Fun Fact!
The Nintendo Company Was Founded in 1889 as a Playing Card Company
October 18th in 80s History
1988 - Mark McGwire Hit a Walk-Off Home Run Against the Los Angeles Dodgers  in Game 3 of the World Series
* The Only Game the A’s Won in the Series
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#1 Songs in America
(October 18th)
1980 - "Another One Bites the Dust"
Queen
10/4 - 10/24
1981 - "Arthur's Theme"
Christopher Cross
10/17 - 11/6
1982 - "Jack & Diane
John Cougar Mellencamp
10/2 - 10/29
1983 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Bonnie Tyler
10/1 - 10/28
1984 - "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Stevie Wonder
10/13 - 11/2
1985 - "Oh Sheila"
Ready for the World
10/12 - 10/18
1986 - "When I Think of You"
Janet Jackson
10/11 - 10/24
1987 - "Lost in Emotion"
Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam
10/17 - 10/23
1988 - "Red Red Wine"
UB40
10/15 - 10/21
1989 - "Miss You Much"
Janet Jackson
10/7 - 11/3
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