Musical Finale
Jan 3 Musical revue "Oh, Coward!" featuring the songs of Noël Coward, closes at the Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, after 56 performances
- Jan 18 3rd Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
Second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Jan 21 Second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Coasters; Eddie Cochran; Bo Diddley; Aretha Franklin; Marvin Gaye; Bill Haley; B.B. King; Clyde McPhatter; Ricky Nelson; Roy Orbison; Carl Perkins; Smokey Robinson; Joe Turner; Muddy Waters; Jackie Wilson; Louis Jordan; T-Bone Walker; Hank Williams; Leonard Chess; Ahmet Ertegun; Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller; and Jerry Wexler
14th American Music Awards
Jan 26 14th American Music Awards: Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie & Alabama win
- Jan 26 Hart Foundation beat British Bulldogs for WWF tag team title
44th Golden Globes
Jan 31 44th Golden Globes: Platoon, Bob Hoskins, & Marlee Matlin win
Disqualified for Kneeling
Feb 15 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler is disqualified from Andy Williams Open for kneeling on a towel to make a shot
Radio History
Feb 24 American radio and television personality Larry King suffers a heart attack
Lethal Weapon
Mar 6 First "Lethal Weapon" film starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, directed by Richard Donner is released
- Mar 8 "A Team" last aired on NBC-TV after 4 years
People's Choice Awards
Mar 14 13th People's Choice Awards: Clint Eastwood & Meryl Streep win (Motion Picture) and Bill Cosby & Cybill Shepherd win (TV)
Musical Finale
Mar 15 Revival of Neil Simon, Cy Coleman, and Dorothy Fields' musical "Sweet Charity" starring Debbie Allen and Bebe Neuwirth, closes at the Minskoff Theater, NYC, after 368 performances and 4 Tony Award wins
- Mar 20 Soap opera "Capitol" final episode
- Mar 20 Soviet filmmakers arrive in Hollywood for an entertainment summit
Soul Train Music Awards
Mar 24 1st Soul Train Music Awards: Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross win
- Mar 29 7th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Howard the Duck" wins
WrestleMania
Mar 29 WrestleMania III: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI (93,173): Hulk Hogan successfully defends WWF Heavyweight title against André the Giant
Academy Awards
Mar 30 59th Academy Awards: "Platoon", Paul Newman & Marlee Matlin win
- Apr 5 Fox TV network premieres "Married... with Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show"
- Apr 6 Los Angeles Dodger's GM Al Campanis appears on TV program ABC News: Nightline saying Blacks may not be equipped to be in baseball management, sparking a racial controversy
- Apr 7 Al Campanis, Dodger executive for more than 40 years, resigns, after making racial remarks on "Nightline"
- Apr 12 CBS' premiere of fact-based World War II drama "Escape from Sobibor"
- Apr 15 "Barbara Cook: A Concert" opens at Ambassador, NYC; runs for 13 performances
Film & TV History
Apr 24 Howard Stern holds a free speech rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, NYC
Film & TV History
May 15 Last episode of "The Late Show with Joan Rivers" after the host is fired by the Fox network
Music History
May 16 Weird Al Yankovic performs live at 72nd National Orange Show
Film & TV History
May 19 1st American Comedy Award: Johnny Carson & Betty White
- May 19 40th Cannes Film Festival: "Sous le soleil de Satan" directed by Maurice Pialat wins the Palme d'Or
- May 20 Wrestler Jerry Lawler sues WWF & Harley Race for trademark name "king"
- May 26 Cecilia Bolocco, 22, of Chile, crowned 36th Miss Universe
- May 27 Christian evangelists Jim and Tammy Bakker appear on "Nightline" after PTL scandal
- May 29 Jury finds "Twilight Zone: The Movie" director John Landis innocent of involuntary manslaughter in death of actor Vic Morrow and 2 child actors during filming
- May 30 North American Philips Company unveils compact disc video
- Jun 5 "Nightline" presents its 1st "Town Meeting" the subject is AIDS and the show runs until 3:47 AM
Music History
Jun 5 Prince's Trust Rock Gala: Eric Clapton leads an all-star band including George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Phil Collins, and Jeff Lynne at Wembley Stadium, London
Daytime Emmy Awards
Jun 30 Emmy 14th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 8th time
Music History
Jul 13 Federal judge throws out Bette Midler's $10 million suit against Ford Motor Co, who used a sound alike voice for their TV commercials
Music History
Jul 14 American rocker Steve Miller's star is unveiled on Hollywood's Walk of Fame
Music History
Jul 15 Boy George barred from British TV show, he may be a bad influence
Music History
Aug 1 Music video channel MTV Europe launches, with Elton John throwing the switch; "Money For Nothing" Dire Straits is the first video presented
Film Release
Aug 21 "Dirty Dancing" film directed by Emile Ardolino, starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey opens in the US
- Aug 29 44th Venice Film Festival: "Au revoir les enfants" ("Goodbye, Children") directed by Louis Malle wins Golden Lion
Premiere of "Bad"
Aug 31 Michael Jackson's "Bad" video, directed by Martin Scorcese, premieres during TV special "Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns" on CBS
- Sep 2 Philips introduces CD-video
Telethon
Sep 7 Jerry Lewis' 22nd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $39,021,723
Fatal Attraction
Sep 18 Film thriller "Fatal Attraction" directed by Adrian Lyne, starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close is released
- Sep 19 12th Toronto International Film Festival: "The Princess Bride" directed by Rob Reiner wins the People's Choice Award
- Sep 19 Kaye Lani Rae Rafko (Mich), 24, crowned 61st Miss America
Emmy Awards
Sep 20 39th Emmy Awards: LA Law, Bruce Willis & Sharon Gless win
Full House
Sep 22 US TV series "Full House" starring Bob Saget and John Stamos debuts
Star Trek: The Next Generation,
Sep 28 "Star Trek: The Next Generation," starring Patrick Stewart debuts on syndicated TV
TV Show Appearance
Sep 28 Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson appear on TV game show "The $10,000 Pyramid"
- Sep 28 Star Trek: The Next Generation premieres with the episode 'Encounter at Farpoint'
- Sep 29 "thirtysomething" debuts on ABC-TV
Roy Orbison and Friends
Sep 30 Roy Orbison and friends (including James Burton; Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and k.d. lang) film performance at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles, California for Cinemax
The Last Emperor
Oct 4 "The Last Emperor" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring John Lone, Joan Chen and Peter O'Toole premieres at the Tokyo Film Festival (Best Picture 1988)
Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Oct 9 "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" documentary film directed by Taylor Hackford of 1986 concerts celebrating rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry is released
Sonny & Cher
Nov 13 Sonny & Cher perform together for the final time, singing "I Got You Babe" on 'Late Night with David Letterman' (NBC)
- Nov 21 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Hollywood Park; winners: Epitome, Ferdinand, Miesque, Sacahuista, Success Express, Theatrica, Very Subtle
- Nov 22 Two Chicago television stations are hijacked by an unknown pirate dressed as Max Headroom.
- Dec 10 "Nightline" is seen in USSR for 1st time
- Dec 11 "Wall Street" film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen is released
Nuts
Dec 11 Martin Ritt's dramatic film "Nuts", starring Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfus premieres
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