The 1980s-- it was
a totally rad decade that was filled
with neon yuppies and a whole lot of Aquanet. Welcome to Fantasy Island. We're going to talk about
the news, culture, sports, and entertainment, and all
that was weird in the '80s. This is Timeline. [MUSIC PLAYING] We're starting at the
beginning with the year 1980. But before we get moving, be
sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel and let us
know, in the comments below, your favorite '80S memory. OK, then-- are you ready
to relive 1985, '6, '7, '8, schlemiel, schlimazel,
hasenpfeffer incorporated. We're going to do it now. [MUSIC PLAYING] (SINGING) Gonna boogy
all through the night. Gonna boogy all
through the night. Coming out of the
disco-filled '70s, the US economy was sagging. Americans were being
held hostage in Iran. And the minimum wage was $3.10. But this new decade started
off with some promise. Gary Larson's "The Far Side"
made its debut the day before, on New Year's Eve. The year ahead for 1980 would
feature many new additions and changes to the culture. The world was about to
see its first Hot Pocket, the rise of the Rubik's
Cube, and the dawn of a new political era. We shall seek new
friendships, but we shall not do so by breaking our
word or casting aside old friends and allies. This is 1980. The decade wouldn't start off so
great for Beatle Paul McCartney when he was arrested
January 16 in Japan for marijuana possession. [NON-ENGLISH] It was a big mistake. McCartney would stay in a
Tokyo jail for nine whole days. And it was January 25 when
Paul was finally released and then quickly deported. I'd like to say, sorry
about the mistake there, and hope we can
come back some time, and not disappoint you next
time, and have a good time. Staying with the music theme,
Pink Floyd's 11th album The Wall hit number one
on the Billboard charts and would go on to sell over 1.2
million copies in the first two months. The album would eventually
sell over 30 million copies, which made it the best
selling double album ever. The movie for The
Wall wouldn't be released for another
two and a half years, until August 13, 1982,
where At the Movies critics Siskel and Ebert
gave the film two thumbs up. The Rams had two defensive backs
covering Swann and a linebacker blitzing Bradshaw. And still, they could not damage
the throw or prevent the catch. The Pittsburgh Steelers are
the champions of the National Football League. 1980 did ignite what
would eventually become a decade-long
rivalry of wanting to beat the Soviets at anything. America rose to the challenge
at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New
York in late February, when the underdog US men's
hockey team took out our Cold War foe, the not quite
evil empire, USSR, beating them 4 to 3. Do you believe in miracles? Yes! Unbelievable! [CROWD CHEERS] That term "evil empire"
wouldn't be coined until 1983 by Ronald Reagan. That's an extra bonus
fun fact for you Rage Against the Machine
fans and/or New York Yankee haters out there. But no matter what we're
calling the Soviets, the budding US/USSR sports
rivalry would have to wait. What you talking about, mister? Well, Arnold, that's
because the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. And president Jimmy
Carter declared the USA would not participate
in the summer Olympics, which were being held conveniently
in Moscow on July 19, 1980. [RUSSIAN], comrade, [RUSSIAN]. In between all this
Cold War tit for tat, some more chilly news as snow
fell in Florida in March. This is also notable
because this is probably the least weirdest thing ever to
happen in the state of Florida. Now for some weird true crime-- in mid-march, John Favara's
life took a sad turn when he accidentally struck and
killed a boy on a mini bike. This is significant
because that boy happened to be Frank Gotti, son
of reputed mobster boss John Gotti. Flash forward to
later on in the year, on July 28, when
Favara disappeared, never to be seen again. It would be reported later
that one of Gotti's henchmen took Favara out. Not only did they
whack the poor guy, but also pulled a
Walter White on him, allegedly dissolving
Favara in a vat of acid. Yikes. What did you get
me a guitar for? Cause I like the way you sing. He dragged her from the radio
station to record shop-- I don't even know where
I am half the time. --from honky-tonk bars
to the Grand Ole Opry. Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones-- Going bigger if
it wasn't for you. --Coal Miner's Daughter. Now playing at a
theater near you. '80s TV loved their
season-ending cliffhangers. And none were as big as the
episode of Dallas entitled, "A House Divided," where
America's favorite jerk, JR Ewing, was shot by a
mysterious assailant. [GUN BANGS] The country would have
to wait to find out who shot JR until eight
months later, on November 21. 83 million people watched
the episode "Who Done It." Jr had a lot of enemies. We found out it was--
uh, spoiler alert-- dastardly Kristin
who had done it. Get me the police. I knew it. This episode of Dallas was the
most watched regular season TV episode ever. Switching to the
radio dial, April 21, Howard Stern's voice
first makes itself heard, hitting the airwaves
on station WWWW in Detroit, Michigan. Give me a break. My wife will want
to have a baby. All I'm asking for is a gig. If you stop listening,
I'm in big trouble-- big trouble. We go on the same day to Boston. And, hey, congratulations. And cool that Rosie Ruiz won
the 83rd running of the Boston Marathon. All is fine and dandy
until Rosie is later disqualified when it's
discovered that she only ran the very last mile
out of the 26-mile race. It's not fair. Not cool, Rosie. Not cool. Three days later, on April
24, we go to the Middle East. During military
operation Eagle Claw, a rescue mission intended on
freeing American hostages held in Iran, three of the
eight rescue helicopters had mechanical problems,
and the mission was aborted. During the withdrawal,
one helicopter collided with a plane, killing
eight American soldiers. With the help of
doctored lottery balls, Nick Perry, the host of the
Pennsylvania lottery scandal, helped rig the TV drawing. The numbers 666 were picked,
giving a record payout of $3.5 million
which $1.2 million went to those in on the scam. April showers not only
bring may flowers, but also some new weird historic slang. Chicago magazine would be the
first to introduce the word "yuppie" into our culture, which
appeared in print in their May publication. Hello? Friday the 13th-- you
may only see it once. [GRASS SHATTERING] We all remember this
part on Goodfellas. Police! Freeze! Don't you move,
you mother [BLEEP].. I'll blow your brains out. That's because, on May 11, the
real Henry Hill was arrested for trafficking narcotics. This arrest would prove to be
pivotal because, Hill would turn rat, becoming
an FBI informant and narcing out his mob buddies
and, well, eventually end up with a movie about it. Thank god, too,
because Goodfellas is a really good movie. It's been a learning experience. But I enjoy challenges. And it's a challenge tonight
to see what I can do. It's mid-May. Los Angeles Laker rookie point
guard, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, stepped in to play center
when starting center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was too
banged up to play in game six of the NBA Finals. The 6 foot 9 inch Magic would
eventually play every position in that game, all while scoring
42 points, grabbing 15 bounds, and dishing out seven assists,
helping the Lakers win the NBA championship, 4 games to
2, over the Philadelphia 76ers. What do you have that
makes you perform like this in these championship games? Well, I don't know. I just-- I love to win. The city of Philadelphia would
get some redemption later in the year. As far as Kareem goes,
we'll see him in a minute. Them Duke boys were about
as popular as cat's tail in a room full of
rocking chairs. Their show was the
second highest rated show on television in 1980. Yip, yip, yee,
hee, hee, hee, haw. We next land in the Northwest
in Skamania County, Washington, some 70 miles north of
Portland where, on May 18, Mount St. Helens
erupted, making it the most disastrous volcanic
eruption in US history. Ash was blown as
far as 10 miles up into the sky, which
then fell back down and blanketed 11 US states
killing crops, creating road closures, as well as blackouts. Video games in pop culture
can mark this point when Pac-Man was first
released in Japan on May 22. Our little yellow
buddy would go on to inspire merchandise,
sequals, a Saturday morning cartoon, an NFL
nickname, and of course, since it is the '80s,
a delicious and sugary Pac-Man breakfast cereal,
which was basically Kix, but with marshmallows--
very clever. Flash forward two
years to March, 1982. We are fever pitch Pac-Man. The game is so popular
the song "Pac-Man Fever" made it all the way up to number
nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1982. The single sold over 1
million copies in '82 alone for a song about Pac-Man. The '80s-- weird times. Weird times, indeed. Late May of 1980 would feature
some now iconic movies. I am your father. Here's Johnny. [SCREAMS] June would be the birth
of the 24/7 news cycle as CNN hit the airwaves
for the first time. Good evening. I'm David Walker. And I'm Lois Hart. Now here's the news. CNN's dominance of cable would
spawn an array of sibling news channels, as well
as competitors, and change our media
landscape and the way we would consume news forever. I have no intention of
running for president. Oh, such innocent times. CNN would have covered this. Legendary comic Richard
Pryor, while free basing drugs and drinking 151-proof
rum, maybe accidentally set himself on fire after
running around the streets literally in fuego. Pryor was subdued by police
and rushed to the hospital. Flash forward two years. On March 24, Pryor would use
this as material for his comedy concert film Live
on the Sunset Strip. I remember this one. I'm going to strike the
match like this now. Whats that? Richard Pryor running
down the street. [LAUGHTER] It would be the highest
grossing concert film for almost the entire decade-- almost. We'll see you in a minute
who upset Jo Jo Dancer. It's 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas,
half a pack of cigarettes. It's dark. And we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it. You would think this would
have happened decades, if not a century, earlier. But the national
anthem of Canada officially became "O Canada." We stand on guard for thee. LA departure frequency, 123.9er. Ah, there's Kareem again. Roger. Huh? Clear for vector 324. We have clearance, Clarence. Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor? Our radio clearance. Over. To San Diego, on July 2, when
jam band Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart
witnessed police arresting a fan for possession
of marijuana, the two were not so
dead chilled seeing this and caused such a ruckus that
they, along with their manager Danny Rifkin, were
arrested and booked for suspicion of
inciting a riot. Paulie D. of Jersey Shore
was born on this date-- July 5, 1980. No reason. We just really wanted
to let you know. Your folks were
always saying how much harder things used to be. That might be true
for thunderstorms because, on July 15, one
massive storm crushed Western Wisconsin. Emergency government
officials have now finalized property damage
estimates from the storm, and the figures
are overwhelming. Racking up, for $250 million
in damage, we go to Australia. It's August when
Lindy Chamberlain's nine-week-old baby,
Azaria, was allegedly dragged away from a family
campsite by a dingo. However, Lindy and her
husband, Michael Chamberlain, were both initially convicted
for their child's death. The case made global headlines
and was an unintentional creation of '90s humor when we
flash forward to November 27, 1991, and the
dingo-ate-your-baby episode of Seinfeld titled
"The Stranded," and becoming part of
the pop culture lexicon. Come on, fiancee. I am looking for him. [LAUGHS] I have lost my
fiancee, the poor baby. [LAUGHTER] Maybe the dingo ate your baby. [LAUGHTER] The former Rockets center
was born on this day. Good news for his mother,
he wasn't born 7 foot 6". In late September, it
was a sad day for rock. Following a day where John
Bonham, Led Zeppelin's wonder drummer and notorious
party animal, downed a reported 40 measures
of vodka in 12 hours, the famed percussionist
went and passed out, only to never wake up again. Bonham went on to play that
great drum solo in the cosmos, perishing from asphyxiation,
from choking on his own vomit. Flash forward to
two months later, on December 4, when surviving
band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones
decided Zeppelin without Bonham just wouldn't be Zeppelin. The cosmos is all it is or
ever was or ever will be. And it's a story about us-- how we achieved our present
understanding of the cosmos, how the cosmos has shaped our
evolution and our culture, and what our faith may be. It's September 28, and sex
therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer's radio show Sexually Speaking
hit airwaves in New York City. (SINGING) Hi, New York. I have a question. Yeah. I'm having a relationship
with a cousin of mine. Do you use contraceptives? By 1983, Dr. Ruth's show
was the top-rated radio show in the Big Apple. And by 1984, The Dr. Ruth Show
would mark it's syndication starting point. My show-- the only one
that touches him is me. Way to rebound and win, Philly. This team is just an
unbelievable baseball team right now. We can beat anybody
in the world. It's hard to mention the '80s
and not talk about The Gipper. Former Western actor and star
of Bedtime for Bonzo, Ronald Reagan became
President-elect Reagan after defeating incumbent
president Jimmy Carter. As you'll see in
some coming videos, Reagan's jellybean-stained
fingerprints will be all over
the decade to come. Mexico is showing the
world this new way of fighting cancer through
non-specific metabolic therapies. God bless you all. Steve McQueen. He died this morning in
another Mexican clinic. His heart stopped
beating after doctors removed one of the tumors. McQueen was just 50. For all the extreme
sports fans, we go to West Virginia at the
New River Gorge Bridge, which was the starting
point of base jumping. Parachutists first jumped
off the 876-foot bridge then, presumably, landed
gently in the new river. We go now to the
Superdome in New Orleans. It's round seven of their second
bout between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. A frustrated Duran,
unable to keep up with a faster,
craftier Sugar Ray, simply turned around and
threw in his own towel, saying the now iconic, no mas,
stunning the boxing world. Sugar Ray has quit! Roberto Duran has quit! There can be no
other explanation! Leonard was a winner by TKO. America's dad Tom Hanks
got his big chance on the sitcom Bosom
Buddies, a show about two men dressing
up like women in order to save money on rent. The biggest movie
star and comedian of the '80s, a then
19-year-old Eddie Murphy, was featured on Saturday
Night Live's Weekend Update for the first time. Eddie would quickly become
a regular cast member the following year in 1981. This turkey had the same amount
of nutrition as a T-bone steak. But if you compare the
two packages like I did, you'll see the steak
fits under your clothes a whole lot easier. [LAUGHTER] In 1988, Eddie Murphy's
Raw would go on to top Richard Pryor's
Live On the Sunset Strip for highest-grossing
concert film. Lennon was shot and killed
at about 11:00 last night outside his apartment building. December would be a punch in
the gut to the world's soul when Beatle John Lennon was
gunned down outside the Dakota Hotel in New York City. Lennon's album Double Fantasy
came out two weeks prior. Lennon had actually signed
a copy of that album to his assailant, Mark David
Chapman, just hours earlier. The world mourned. Flash forward to 1985
when a memorial for Lennon called Strawberry Fields
made its debut on October 9. That date would
have also celebrated Lennon's 45th birthday. [MUSIC PLAYING] I'm sorry. These aren't my working clothes. No. No, it's not that. It's just that I was
expecting something-- I mean someone a
little different. It's December 12. A California-based
company, Apple, made its initial public offering
on the US stock market, which started trading at $22 a share. You're getting married. Leave the young girls for me. There's no way I'm going down. I don't go down for nobody. [GRUNTING] Listen, why did you have to
make it so hard on yourself? And that's how 1980 ended-- in with a smoking Beatle,
out with a Raging Bull. 1981 was just around the corner. And it would be a year
filled with deadly events, high-profile marriages, and the
emergence of the video game. That's for next time. Good night, John-Boy. Good night, John-Boy. Good night, Jim-Bob. Good night, Jim-Bob. Good night, Jim-Bob. So what do you think? What was your fondest
memory of 1980? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're at it,
check out some of these other only-about-the-1980s videos. Until then, this has been
Weird History's Timeline.
Ahh the year I was born. The 80's were an amazing time to be a child.
This whole series is great.
Ok watched the entire series and loved it all.