1980: Let the Games Begin! - Spcl. Gst. Ed

Topics: Pac-Man & the start of the "Gaming" culture, Zapp, Fame (1980 Film), Eddie Murphy. (Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound) 1980 1. Jimmy Carter President 2. Jan – The comic strips The Far Side debuts in newspapers 3. Feb – The XIII Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.[1] 4. Feb – The United States Olympic Hockey Team defeats the Soviet Union in the medal round of the Winter Olympics, in the Miracle on Ice. 5. Feb - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. 6. Apr – Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation. 7. Apr – Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon, but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her award 8. May – A Miami, Florida court acquits four white police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, provoking three days of race riots. 9. May – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage. 10. May – The Empire Strikes Back is released. 11. May – Pac-Man, the best-selling arcade game of all time, is released. 12. May – Vernon Jordan is shot and critically injured in an assassination attempt in Fort Wayne, Indiana by Joseph Paul Franklin (the first major news story for CNN). 13. Jun – The Cable News Network (CNN) is officially launched. 14. Jun – In Los Angeles, comedian Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine. 15. Jun – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs Proclamation 4771, requiring 19- and 20-year-old males to register for a peacetime military draft, in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 16. Jul – The Unemployment Rate peaks at 7.8%, the highest in four years. 17. Nov – United States presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger and former Governor Ronald Reagan of California defeats incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter, exactly one year after the beginning of the Iran hostage crisis. 18. Nov - Millions of viewers tune into the U.S. soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J. R. Ewing. The "Who shot J. R.?" event is a national obsession. 19. Dec - John Lennon is shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. 20. Open Comments: 21. Popular Music Scene 22. Top 3 Singles 23. 1 - "Call Me", Blondie 24. 2 - "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II", Pink Floyd 25. 3 - "Magic", Olivia Newton-John 26. Record of the Year: Michael Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for "Sailing" 27. Album of the Year: Michael Omartian (producer) & Christopher Cross for Christopher Cross 28. Song of the Year: Christopher Cross for "Sailing" 29. Best New Artist: Christopher Cross 30. Open Comments: 31. Popular Movies 32. Top 3 Grossing Movies 33. 1 - The Empire Strikes Back 34. 2 - 9 to 5 35. 3 - Stir Crazy 36. Open Comments: 37. Notables: 38. Airplane!, starring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 39. American Gigolo, directed by Paul Schrader, starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Héctor Elizondo 40. The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins 41. The Blues Brothers, directed by John Landis, starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, Henry Gibson 42. Caddyshack, directed by Harold Ramis, starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, Bill Murray 43. Coal Miner's Daughter, starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones 44. Flash Gordon, directed by Mike Hodges, starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Chaim Topol 45. Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Harry Crosby 46. Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty 47. The Shining, directed by Stanley Kub