Happy 80s Birthdays
1945 - Don McLean (Singer)
Birthplace: New Rochelle, New York
1948 - Avery Brooks (Actor) Spenser: For Hire “Hawk”
Birthplace: Evansville, Indiana
1948 - Donna Karan (Fashion Designer)
Birthplace: New York City
1950 - Mike Rutherford (English Guitarist) Genesis
Birthplace: Chertsey, Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England
1951 - Sting (English Singer)
Birthplace: Wallsend, England
1955 - Philip Oakley (English Singer) Human League
Birthplace: Hinckley, Leicestershire, England
1956 - Freddie Jackson (Singer)
Birthplace: New York City
1957 - John Cook (Golf)
Birthplace: Toledo, Ohio
1958 - Robbie Nevil (Singer) "C'est la Vie"
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
1960 - Glenn Anderson (Hockey)
Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
1962 - Mark Rypien (Football)
Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1971 - Tiffany Darwish (Singer) “I Think We’re Alone Now”
Birthplace: Norwalk, California
Fun Fact!
Mark Rypien (Washington Redskins) Was the Super Bowl XXVI MVP (1991 Season)
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Other Notable Birthdays
Moses Gunn (Actor)
October 2, 1929 - December 16, 1993
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Passed Away at Age 64 From Complications of Asthma
* Nominated for a Tony Award in 1976 (The Poison Tree)
Played Carl on the TV Show Good Times
Steve Sabol (Filmmaker)
October 2, 1942 - September 18, 2012
Birthplace: Moorestown, New Jersey
Passed Away at Age 69 From Brain Cancer
* Founded NFL Films With His Father Ed
Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Rock Hudson (Actor)
November 17, 1925 - October 2, 1985
Birthplace: Winnetka, Illinois
Passed Away at Age 59 From Complications of AIDS
* One of the First Celebrities to Disclose His AIDS Diagnosis
One of the Most Popular Movie Stars From the 1950’s and 1960’s
Gene Autry (Actor)
September 29, 1907 - October 2, 1998
Birthplace: Tioga, Texas
Passed Away at Age 91 From Lymphoma
* Appeared in Over 93 Films
Nicknamed “The Singing Cowboy”
Fun Fact!
Gene Autry Founded and Owned the California Angels (MLB) From 1961 to 1997
Nipsey Russell (Actor and Comedian)
September 15, 1918 - October 2, 2005
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia
Passed Away at Age 87 From Cancer
* Unknown Type of Cancer
Played the Tin Man in the 1978 Movie The Wiz
Tom Petty (Singer)
October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017
Birthplace: Gainesville, Florida
Passed Away at Age 66 From Cardiac Arrest Caused by Mixed Drug Toxicity
* Best Known For the Hit Songs “American Girl” (1976) “Don’t Do Me Like That” (1979) “Don’t Come Around Here No More” (1985) and “Free Fallin” (1989)
One of the Best Selling Artists of All-Time With Over 80 Million Albums Sold
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1981 - Paternity
Director: David Steinberg
Starring: Burt Reynolds and Beverly D'Angelo
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $18.8 Million
1982 - Split Image
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Starring: Michael O'Keefe, Karen Allen, Peter Fonda, James Woods, Elizabeth Ashley, Brian Dennehy and Ronnie Scribner
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $263,635
1987 - Anna
Director: Yurek Bogayevicz
Starring: Sally Kirkland, Robert Fields, Paulina Porizkova, Steven Gilborn, Larry Pine, Sofia Coppola
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $1.2 Million
1987 - Like Father Like Son
Director: Rod Daniel
Starring: Dudley Moore, Kirk Cameron, Margaret Colin, Catherine Hicks, Larry Sellers and Sean Astin
Budget: $10.5 Million
Box Office: $34.4 Million
1987 - Slam Dance
Director: Wayne Wang
Starring: Tom Hulce, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Virginia Madsen, Harry Dean Stanton, Millie Perkins, Don Keith Opper, John Doe and Adam Ant
Budget: $4.5 Million
Box Office: $406,881
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1982 - Louis Gossett, Jr. Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: George Thorogood & the Destroyers
* Eddie Murphy’s Dad Made an Appearance
1982 - The Devlin Connection Premiered on NBC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
Starring Rock Hudson
1983 - The Yellow Rose Premiered on NBC
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 2
Starring Sam Elliot and Cybill Shepherd
1989 - Make the Grade (Game Show) Premiered on Nickelodeon
Seasons: 3
Episodes: 60
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1981 - Ghost in the Machine
The Police (4th Album)
Billboard Charts: #2
Hit #1 in the UK, Canada, Italy, Netherlands and Australia
* Featuring “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
Over 3 Million Copies Sold in the US
1981 - 7
Madness (3rd Album)
* Reached #5 in the UK
1982 - Restless and Wild
Accept (4th Album)
* Reached #98 in the UK
1984 - Bathory
Bathory (Debut Album)
1984 - Let It Be
The Replacements (3rd Album)
1986 - Whites Off Earth Now!!
Cowboy Junkies (Debut Album)
1989 - Freedom
Neil Young (17th Album)
Billboard Charts: #35
1989 - Hup
The Wonder Stuff (2nd Album)
* Reached #5 in the UK
Singles Released
(On This Day)
1987 - “Mony Mony”
Billy Idol
* #1 Song in America from November 21 - 27
Also Hit #1 in Canada
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - At Age 38 Muhammad Ali Came Out of Retirement to Fight Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes
* Ali’s Corner Threw in the Towel in the 10th Round
Location: Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas
1983 - The Green Bay Packers Beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 55 - 14 at Lambeau Field
* The Packers Scored 49 Points in the First Half (35 in the 2nd quarter)
Spread
Packers -6.5
O/U 42.0
1983 - The Final Day of the Regular Season in Major League Baseball
Final Standings
AL West
Chicago White Sox 99 - 63
AL East
Baltimore Orioles 98 - 64
NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers 91 - 71
NL East
Philadelphia Phillies 90 - 72
Batting Title
AL: Wade Boggs (Red Sox) .361
NL: Bill Madlock (Pirates) .323
Home Runs
AL: Jim Rice (Red Sox) 39
NL: Mike Schmidt (Phillies) 40
RBI’s
AL: Cecil Cooper (Brewers)
Jim Rice (Red Sox) 126
NL: Dale Murphy (Braves) 121
Wins
AL: LaMarr Hoyt (White Sox) 24
NL: John Denny (Phillies) 19
ERA
AL: Rick Honeycutt (Rangers) 2.42
NL: Atlee Hammaker (Giants) 2.25
Strikeouts
AL: Jack Morris (Tigers) 232
NL: Steve Carlton (Phillies) 275
1984 - Game 1 of the NLCS Between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs Was Played With Replacement Umps Due to a Strike by MLB umpires
* The Cubs Beat the Padres 13 - 0 at Wrigley Field
Attendance: 36,282
Gary Matthews (Cubs) 2 Home Runs
The First 4 NLCS Games were Played with Replacement Umpires
1986 - Houston Astros Pitcher Mike Scott Finished the Season With a Lead Leading 306 Strikeouts
1986 - Mets Pitcher Dwight Gooden Became the First Pitcher to Strikeout 200 in Each of His First 3 Seasons
1988 - The Final Day of the Regular Season in Major League Baseball
Final Standings
AL West
Oakland A’s 104 - 85
AL East
Boston Red Sox 89-73
NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers 94-67
NL East
New York Mets 100-60
Batting Title
AL: Wade Boggs (Red Sox) .366
NL: Tony Gwynn (Padres) .313
Home Runs
AL: José Canseco (Athletics) 42
NL: Darryl Strawberry (Mets) 39
RBI’s
AL: José Canseco (Athletics) 124
NL: Will Clark (Giants) 109
Wins
AL: Frank Viola (Twins) 24
NL: Orel Hershiser (Dodgers)
Danny Jackson (Reds) 23
ERA
AL: Allan Anderson (Twins)
Teddy Higuera (Brewers) 2.45
NL: Joe Magrane (cardinals) 2.18
Strikeouts
AL: Roger Clemens (Red Sox) 291
NL: Nolan Ryan (Astros) 228
1988 - The Minnesota Twins Became the First American League Team to Go Over 3 Million in Attendance
1988 - Lennox Lewis Beat Riddick Bowe to Win Gold at the Summer Olympics in Seoul
Division: Super-Heavyweight
* Lewis was Representing Canada
1988 - South Korean Boxer Park Si-Hun Beat American Roy Jones Jr. to Win Gold at the Summer Olympics in Seoul
Division: Light Middleweight
1989 - Randall Cunningham Threw for 401 Yards to Help the Philadelphia Eagles Beat the Chicago Bears 27 - 13 on Monday Night Football
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In Other 80s News
(On This Day)
1980 - Michael Myers Became the First Chamber of Commerce Member to be Expelled Since the Civil War
* Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Accepting a $50,000 Bribe
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Other Notable Dates
(On October 2nd))
1967 - Thurgood Marshall Was Sworn In as the First African-American Justice of the United States Supreme Court
1970 - The Wichita State Football Teams Airplane Crashed in Colorado
* Killed 31 of the 37 Passengers
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1982 - “Jack & Diane” by John Cougar Mellencamp Became the #1 Song in America
* #1 Song in America from October 2 - 29
Also Hit #1 in Canada
Fun Fact!
John Mellencamp Founded Farm Aid in 1985 With Willie Nelson and Neil Young
* Concerts to Help Raise Money For U.S. Family Farmers
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Headlines
(October 2nd)
1980 - Muhammad Ali Came Out of Retirement to Fight Heavyweight Champion Larry Holmes
Venue: Caesar’s Palace
City: Las Vegas
Ali’s Corner Threw In the Towel in the 10th Round
Fun Fact!
Muhammed Ali Fought One More Fight and Lost to Trevor Berbick in a 10 Round Unanimous Decision in 1981
#1 Songs in America
(October 2nd)
1980 - "Upside Down"
Diana Ross
9/6 - 10/3
1981 - "Endless Love"
Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
8/15 - 10/16
1982 - "Jack & Diane
John Cougar Mellencamp
10/2 - 10/29
1983 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Bonnie Tyler
10/1 - 10/28
1984 - "Let's Go Crazy"
Prince and the Revolution
9/29 - 10/12
1985 - "Money for Nothing"
Dire Straits
9/21 - 10/11
1986 - "Stuck With You"
Huey Lewis and the News
9/20 - 10/10
1987 - "Didn't We Almost Have it All"
Whitney Houston
9/26 - 10/9
1988 - "Don't Worry Be Happy"
Bobby McFerrin
9/24 - 10/7
1989 - "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You"
Millie Vanilli
9/23 - 10/6
Click Here For More 80s Music Fun Facts and Awards
Lennox Lewis Won Olympic Gold
1985 - Actor Rock Hudson Passed Away at Age 59 From AIDS Complications
1988 - Lennox Lewis (Canada) Beat Riddick Bowe (USA) in the Super Heavyweight Division to Win Gold at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea
* The Super Heavyweight Division Was Introduced in 1984
Fun Fact!
Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe Would Both Go Onto Be Undisputed Heavyweight Champions
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October 2nd in 80s History