1980 Year
in Review...
Message Board
In the year 1980...
U.S. News and Beyond
Six US embassy aides escape from Iran with Canadian help on January 29 in the continuing Iran Hostage affair.
Winter Olympics are held in Lake Placid, New York and begin on February 12.
The U.S. Olympic Hockey Team defeats the USSR in the semifinals of the XIII Winter Olympics in the Miracle on Ice.
The World Health Organization announces worldwide eradication of smallpox on May 8.
Mount St. Helens, which had been a dormant volcano since 1857 erupted on May 18. Find out the events leading up to this event from USGS.
Summer Olympics begin in Moscow on July 19, U.S. boycotts event in protest of the December 1979, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
CNN is launched...all news all the time.
Walter Cronkite retires from the "CBS Evening News."
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for devoting his life for human rights.
Ronald Reagan elected President of the U.S. on November 4, 1980.
Tensions in the Middle East have long been around. Iran and Iraq were at war from 1980 - 1988.
It was a year for Presidential elections and there were two political debates with Jimmy Carter/Ronald Reagan and Ronald Reagan/John Anderson.
Fun Facts7-Eleven introduces the "Big Gulp".
Sony introduces the Sony Walkman in July.
Brooke Shields whispers "You know what comes between me and my Calvin's? Nothing." The ad was banned.
Brooke Shields also won the very first Razzie Award for her terrible acting in Blue Lagoon (1980).
Post It Notes are introduced by 3-M.
The television show That's Incredible coins the phrase, “Don’t try this at home.”
Cost of a movie ticket was $2.69, while gas is $1.19 a gallon. A first class stamp is .15.
The Rubik's Cube hits U.S. toy stores.
Comedian Eddie Murphy joins the cast of "Saturday Night Live."
The television shows debut: "Solid Gold," "Strawberry Shortcake," "Bosom Buddies," "That's Incredible!," " 3-2-1- Contact," "Too Close for Comfort," and "Magnum, P.I."
Warner Communications' Atari releases the Centipede, while Namco releases Pac-Man.Fashion
I suppose it could have been worse, however Disco and Western wear were both major fashion forces in mainstream women's and men's clothing.
Music
Hit songs:
"All Out of Love" -- Air Supply
"Ace of Spades" - Motörhead
"Another One Bites The Dust" - Queen
"Call Me" - Blondie
"Don't Stand So Close To Me" - The Police
"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" - Joy Division
"Turning Japanese" - The Vapors
"You Shook Me All Night Long" - AC/DC
"Games without Frontiers" - Peter GabrielThe most shaking music news events of the year was the assassination of beloved Beatle John Lennon, who was killed on December 8, 1980 by gunman Mark Chapman.
Christopher Cross Sails Away with Five Grammy's.
The Number One album charts according to Billboard magazine for 1980: Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was on the top 40 chart for 15 weeks.
"Rappers Delight" by Sugarhill Gang was first rap act to have huge International hit.
Led Zeppelins drummer, John Bonham, dies of asphyxiation after drinking binge.
February 19th 1980 lead singer Bon Scott (Ronald Belford ) of AC/DC dies of alcohol poisoning.Films
Some great films were released in 1980 including Raging Bull, Empire Strikes Back, Caddyshack and more. Top Grossing Films:
$290,158,751 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
$108,200,000 Superman II (1980)
$103,290,500 Nine to Five (1980)
$101,300,000 Stir Crazy (1980)
$83,400,000 Airplane! (1980)
$79,900,000 Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
$70,700,000 Any Which Way You Can (1980)
$69,847,348 Private Benjamin (1980)
$66,100,000 Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
$65,000,000 The Shining (1980)
Academy Awards (March 31, 1981 for movies made in 1980)Best Picture
Winner: Ordinary People (1980)Best Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Robert De Niro - Raging Bull (1980)Best Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Sissy Spacek - Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)Best Director
Winner: Robert Redford - Ordinary People (1980)
Popular Television Programs
Dallas
60 Minutes
The Dukes of Hazzard
Private Benjamin
M*A*S*H
The Love Boat
The NBC Tuesday Night Movie
House Calls
The Jeffersons
Little House on the Prairie
The Two of Us
Alice
Real People
Three's Company
The NBC Movie of the Week
One Day at a Time
To Close for Comfort
Magnum P.I.
Diff'rent Strokes
NFL Monday Night Football
Lou Grant
Taxi
Soap
The Hollywood Squares
$20,000 Pyramid
Donahue
The Miracle Worker (mini-series)
Famous DeathsJohn Paul Satre - essayist, novelist, playwrite and the grandfather of "Experimentalism" passed away at the age of 75.
Mae West - writer, comedianne and actresses passed away at the age of 88.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock - director, writer producer passed away at the age of 81.
Shah of Iran - U.S. ally and leader of Iran from 1941 - 1979. Pivotal in the modernization of Iran and social reforms, which was not in line with many of the fundamentalist religious leaders.
Erich Fromm - psychoanalst and author who broke away from the Freudian theories which focussed on unconscious motivations. He believed rather that humans are products of the cultures in which they are bred.Other famous deaths included Steve McQueen, Jimmy Durante, Jesse Owens, Henry Miller, Peter Sellers, Dorothy Stratten, and Ian Curtis.
