Timeline: 1981 - What Happened In the Year 1981?

Video Statistics and Information

Video
Captions Word Cloud
Reddit Comments

Excellent program! Think 🤔 they r up 2 ‘85 on YouTube. Weird History

👍︎︎ 1 👤︎︎ u/Exeter-Perth 📅︎︎ Aug 07 2020 🗫︎ replies
Captions
1981, early into the decade and things were moving fast. OK, Eunice, travel plans. I need to be in New York on Monday, LA on Tuesday, New York on Wednesday, LA on Thursday, New York on Friday. Got it? Got it. Got it. Well, maybe not that fast. Just a year into the budding '80s, 1981 would see a slew of new heroes. So I'm sure to get most the vitamins I need. Iconic catch phrases-- Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon? And some of our most important cultural discoveries. What did you say this was, again? Today, we're chronicling 1981, from January to December, and talking about the news, culture, sports, and entertainment, and all that was weird in the year. This is TIMELINE. ['80s MUSIC PLAYING] Today, it's all 1981. But before we get going, be sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel and let us know in the comments below your favorite '80s memory. Now, are you ready to get on to 81? It's fattening. This is 1981. On January 12, Dynasty premiered. And America was introduced to the Carrington's. A filthy-rich family from Denver, Colorado. Good evening, Mrs. Carrington. And how has your day been? Dynasty was created to counter another show about filthy-rich people with a wildly successful Dallas on CBS. Flash forward to December 4, CBS would counter ABC's counter with Lorenzo Lamas and the show Falcon Crest. A show about filthy-rich people, but this time there in Napa Valley. Chase is of the opinion that vineyard is his to keep. You know you gotta let me handle this. On January 16, while claiming he was walking out of a Detroit bar, ex-heavyweight champion, Leon Spinks was jumped and cold cocked by robbers. Police say Spinks reported his assailants left him naked. When Leon regained his senses, he found out the muggers had stolen, not only $45,000 of jewelry, but also his gold teeth. We're not sure if they got the fillings as well. Sticking with boxing, three days later on January 19, the Greatest of All Time might apply to Muhammad Ali's non-boxing life, when on January 19, the ex-heavyweight champ, literally, talked a man off the ledge. It was in Los Angeles when a despondent man threatened to jump off a high-rise building. Ali drove down to the building and talked to the man. Telling him, you're my brother. I love you. And I couldn't lie to you. Soon after, Ali put his arm around the man and guided him back inside. We'll see Ali again by the end of the year. On January 20, Iran released 52 Americans, who had been held hostage for 444 days. Just minutes after the presidency had been passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan the hostages were placed on a plane in Tehran, as Reagan delivered his inaugural address. Some of the hostages are physically and mentally tired. Two of them are said to be having difficulty walking. With gold-wing doors and a stainless steel body the DeLorean was probably the most '80s car ever. The DeLorean gold-wing doors rise effortlessly beckoning you inside. The car would be forever etched in our pop-culture hearts when Dr. Emmett Brown transformed the DeLorean into a time machine. When Back to The Future premiered on July 3, 1985. 88 miles per hour! [MUSIC PLAYING] February proved that life is indeed a stage, as the Canadian power rock trio, Rush, released Moving Pictures on the 12th. After this, air drumming would never be the same. As the SNL cast took the main stage for their goodnight on February 21, Charlene Tilton asked Charlie Rocket how he felt being shot. It was a callback to an earlier Dallas skit during the show, where Rocket played the recently assassinated JR Ewing. I'll get that Charlie Rocket if it's the last thing I ever do. Rocket told Tilton-- No, man it's the first time I've ever been shot in my life. I bet you don't [BLEEP] mean it. [LAUGHING] Uh, whoops. Rocket was fired before the season finale. [SLOW ROCK MUSIC] [YELLING] On March 30, in an attempt to impress actress Jodie foster, John F. Hinckley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan. [GUN SHOTS] Reagan was shot in the left lung with a bullet just missing his heart. In the melee, Hinckley also shot a Secret Service agent, as well as Press Secretary, James Brady, who was hit in the head and critically wounded. James Brady's injury would eventually turn into law. 12 years ago, my life was changed forever by a disturbed young man with a gun. On November 30 of 1993, President Bill Clinton, signed the Brady Bill into law. Don't tell me this bill will not make a difference. That is not true. On April 13, The Washington Post's Janet Cooke was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for a feature she wrote titled, Jimmy's World. It was the harrowing profile of the life of little Jimmy, an eight-year-old heroin addict. She described the needle marks freckling the baby smooth skin of his thin brown arms. Shocking, yes. It would have been, if it was true. Two days after the prize had been awarded, the Post admitted they were duped. Cooke resigned and returned her Pulitzer. AAA baseball teams, the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, played the longest game in professional baseball history. The pitching duel went 33 innings and lasted 8 hours and 25 minutes. Over 32 innings were played. By 4:00 AM, the players were delirious from exhaustion. With 19 fans left in the bleachers at 4:07 AM, the game was stopped. The 33rd and final ending was played several months later. Pawtucket won the game 3 to 2, on June 23, 1981. On April 24, the Center for Disease Control records that Ken Horne, resident of San Francisco, had Kaposi's sarcoma. Later in 1981, the CDC would go back and correct Horne's medical records, retroactively identifying him as the first patient of the AIDS epidemic in the US. On May 1, Billie Jean King didn't so much come out of the closet as she was kicked out by the woman she had a 10-year romantic relationship with while she was married to a man. King-- already a world-class tennis champion with five Wimbledon titles under her belt-- when on May 2, Marilyn Barnett filed a palimony lawsuit for lifetime support. But I would never out somebody. Oh my god, that's just horrible. On May 1, American Airlines was the first-- (SINGING) We're American Airlines, doing what we do best. When they launched American Airlines Advantage. The first frequent flyer loyalty program. [MUSIC BEGINS] "Money can't buy life," were Bob Marley's last words to his son Ziggy. Marley passed from skin cancer. The melanoma had spread from under his toe, a symptom of already existing cancer, not by an injury during a football match as the incorrect reports first stated. Marley was only 36 years old when he passed. Flash forward to three years later on May 8 of 1984, when Bob Marley's Legend would be released, which would end up in just about every college students music collection ever. On May 13 in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Mehmet Ali Agca attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II. The pope was struck four times, suffering severe blood loss. Agca was immediately apprehended. Willing to turn the other cheek, the pope visited Agca in the prison cell he was to spend the rest of his life. They spoke privately for some time and the pope said they became friends. The pope later requested Agca's pardon in 2000, which Italian officials granted. He said this week that he'd applied for Polish citizenship, but had been turned down. Originally written in 1974 for Rod Stewart, "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, would hit number one on May 16 and stay in the charts for the next nine weeks. (SINGING) You'll find McRib in the middle is swimming in sauce. It's McRib. Very few fast-food culinary creations have quite the lore around them as the McRib. A creation of both an animal scientist and a fine-dining chef, the McRib is the fast-food white whale, appearing seemingly at random and disappearing just as quickly. McRib would go on to be on-and-off McDonald's menu for years. First vanishing in 1985-- And only here for a limited time. [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] But returning in 1994. This May, its McDonald's McRib sandwich. [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] Then doing farewell tours in 2005. It's McRib time. [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] 2006-- McRib is back. [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] And 2007-- It's back! The McRib-- it's hard to be sad about something that's gone when it's never really left. A daredevil by the name of Daniel Goodwin climbed the Sears Tower in Chicago, all while wearing a spiderman costume on May 25. Goodwin was able to climb the 1,400 and 54 foot, 110-story building, not from being bitten by a radioactive spider but by using suction cups and hooks. After he triumphantly reached the summit of Sears, Goodwin was greeted with handcuffs. Spiderman was charged with misconduct, criminal trespass, and criminal damage to property. Dan Goodwin has captured the imagination of the public, as well as Sears. The month of June featured a mix of famous media moments. Goodnight, everybody. Sometimes I feel I'm scared to live. Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes? You cannot be serious! That ball was on the line! The shot blew up! The Solar Challenger succeeded in completing the 165-mile flight across the English Channel on July 7. It was the world's first solar-powered airplane to do so. Oh, how sweet it is. Because on the same day, artificial sweetener, or aspartame, was approved by the FDA. Two Days later on July 9, the barrel-throwing gorilla, Donkey Kong, made his debut appearance in arcades across America. Creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, was tasked with redesigning a game called Radar Scope, based on the love triangle between Popeye, Olive Oil, and Bluto. Nintendo couldn't get the rights to the character, so that game was repositioned as a gorilla, a carpenter, and his girlfriend. Flash forward to 1982, when Donkey Kong Junior debuted. The carpenter would be changed to a plumber. And his name was switched to Mr. Video, then Jump Man, and, finally, Mario. Extra fun fact, Mario was named after Mario Segale-- the landlord of the Nintendo warehouse in the Seattle area. [DRAMATIC MUSIC] Kurt Russell stars as Snake Plissken in John Carpenter's science fiction action-classic -- Escape From New York. On July 17, 1981, two walkways collapsed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri-- one directly above the other. They crashed onto an event with approximately 1,000 guests, which was being held in the hotel's lobby, killing 114 people and injuring 216 others. [WEDDING MARCH BEGINS] The OG Royal wedding on July 29, was between Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles, which was watched by a global TV audience estimated around 750 million people. This storybook franchise would last until-- [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] --August 28, when Di and Charles's divorce settlement was finalized. Tragedy would strike almost a year to the day later, when Di perished in an automobile accident in Paris in late August of 1997. The Mercedes 600, carrying the princess her Egyptian-companion, Dodi Al Fayed, emerged from the tunnel a complete crumpled wreck. If any network defined the '80s, it was MTV. This is it. Welcome to MTV, Music Television. On August 1, they began their run. Back when they actually featured music videos, the network debuted the appropriately titled video, "Video Killed the Radio Star." [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC] Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Endless Love. [MUSIC PICKS UP] On August 3, 1981, the air traffic controllers union declared a strike. Reagan declared their strike a peril to national safety and ordered them back to work. And if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated. Only 1,300 of the nearly 13,000 controllers returned. How did Reagan respond? Two days later, on August 5, Reagan fired the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order and banned them from federal service for life. The great communicator indeed. Staying with Reagan, one day later on August 4, 1981, Oliver North was assigned to the White House's National Security Council where he served as a lobbyist focusing his efforts on Central America. We may hear back from Oliver in the coming years. (SINGING) Foreshadowing-- [TECHNO MUSIC] The IBM personal computer-- commonly known as the IBM PC-- was introduced on August 12, 1981. IBM made its personal computer to help a person be more productive. If your family owned one in the '80s, you were considered a neighborhood legend. Now, who knows? It may be the world's biggest backyard fence to talk over before too long. The first woman to the highest court in the United States-- Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Reagan on August 19. The only significant opposition has come from abortion opponents. The subject of abortion is a valid one in my view for legislative action, subject to any constitutional restraints or limitations. Hanna-Barbera, who shaped America's animated lives with Yogi Bear, the Jetsons, and Hong Kong Phooey, struck blue gold with the introduction of Papa Smurf, Brainy, and Smurfette on September 12, 1981. [SINGING "SMURFS" THEME] La, la, la la-la-la la, la-la-la la. Now, try to get that out of your head. I'll get you. I'll get all of you, if it's the last thing I ever do! [EVIL LAUGH] Oops! Switching channels, two days later, on September 14-- What you are witnessing is real. The People's Court. The honorable Judge Joseph Wapner. If you had the dog on a leash. Rusty, his faithful bailiff. I have seen a lot of bull in court. And mild-mannered announcer, Doug Llewelyn-- Don't resort to taking the law into your own hands. --were the debut lineup for the long-running People's Court. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and rookie-phenom, Fernando Valenzuela, threw his eighth shutout of the season, tying a 68-year-old record set in 1913 by Reb Russell of the Chicago White Sox. Recorded by Olivia Newton-John and released as a single on September 28, "Physical," not only flew to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, it stayed there for 10 weeks-- an '80s record. Sticking with music, a relatively unknown multi-instrumentalist by the name of Prince was the opener for the Rolling Stones at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. The sun-baked Stones audience was rowdy, booing Prince off the stage, pelting him with bottles, fruit, coins, and food. [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] Flash forward to June 25, 1984, when Purple Rain would debut. The album would go on to sell over 17 million copies throughout the '80s. On October 20, the Weather Underground Organization-- commonly known as, The Weather Underground-- had three of its members arrested after the robbery of a Brinks armored car at the Nanuet Mall in Nanuet, New York. The trio stole 1.6 million in cash, killed a Brinks guard, two police officers, and wounded several bystanders. [ROCK MUSIC] Although Lars Ulrich met James Hetfield five months earlier, when he answered an ad the drummer placed in The Recycler looking for other metal musicians to jam with, Metallica became a band on October 28, 1981. The band would play its first gig on March 14, 1982, at Radio City in Anaheim, California. A couple months later, after they recruited Dave Mustaine as the lead guitarist. On November 16, 1981, soap opera, General Hospital, presented the marriage of Luke and Laura, which was watched by 30 million viewers and remains the highest rated hour in American daytime soap opera history. [RECESSIONAL WEDDING SONG] We go to a yacht, off the coast of Catalina Island, where on November 29 actress, Natalie Wood, was on a yacht with her husband, actor Robert Wagner, her friend, actor, Christopher Walken, and the yacht's captain, when she mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night. Wood's body was found a mile away the next morning. And her death was ruled an accidental drowning, despite a litany of suspicious facts and contradictory accounts from her three companions. Now, we've said from the beginning, that we don't think she was knocked unconscious when she went in the water. The LA County coroner ruled, Natalie Wood's death-- That it was an accidental drowning. [ZOOM SOUND EFFECT] However, when the case was reopened in 2011, the new report could not conclude whether or not Wood's injuries were accidental. Wagner and Walken have always maintained they don't know what happened. Her cause of death was changed from accidental drowning to undetermined. More true crime-- after spending nearly five months on the run, adult film star, John Holmes, was arrested in Florida, on December 4, 1981, for his involvement in the June 29, home invasion, armed robbery, and murder, of a small gang of big time drug dealers-- which would become known, as the Wonderland Murders. It was on December 11, Muhammad Ali's days as a boxer ended with a loss to Trevor Berbick. It was estimated that the Champ-- who was already showing signs of Parkinson's in 1981-- had absorbed 200,000 hits during his career. Unanimous decision for Trevor Berbick! As far as Trevor Berbick goes, we'll see his part in the boxing record books later. But, that's for another year. We're going to 1982 next. Where a future of sports icon would get his first shot on the biggest stage, a weather man from Indiana would change late-night TV, and America would start dancing to zombies. Until then, this has been, Weird History's TIMELINE. Got a deal. Good. I'm putting you down to deal with Dick. Dick, what's the deal with the deal? Are we dealing? We're dealing. Dave it's a deal with Don, Dr. Dick. So what do you think? What was your favorite memory of 1981? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, check out some of these other, Only About the 1980s videos from our Weird History.
Info
Channel: Weird History
Views: 1,398,686
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: 1981 Timeline, the year 1981, 1981 retrospective, 1981 nostalgia, what happened in 1981, weird history, weird history 1980s, timeline, biggest news stories 1981, the 80s, 1980-1989, 1980s retrospective, 1981 music hits, 1981 events, ronald reagan shot, pope john paul II shot, 1981 year in review, 1981 movies, 80s nostalgia, 1981 commercials, top songs of 1981, remember 1981, the smurfs, memories of 1981, i love the 80s, raiders of the lost ark, vh1 - i love the 80s, vh1, 81
Id: o2F-N42Ufo4
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 18min 50sec (1130 seconds)
Published: Sun Jul 19 2020
Related Videos
Note
Please note that this website is currently a work in progress! Lots of interesting data and statistics to come.