- Jan 11 ABC premiere of fact-based "Evil in Clear River"
- Jan 15 NFL analyst Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes several questionable comments about African Americans during a lunchtime interview on CBS' NFL Today; fired the next day
- Jan 16 4th Soap Opera Digest Awards - Days of Our Lives wins
- Jan 16 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder fired from CBS for racial remarks
"I'm Not Rappaport"
Jan 17 Herb Gardner's stage comedy "I'm Not Rappaport", starring Judd Hirsch and Cleavon Little, closes at the Booth Theatre, NYC, after 891 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
- Jan 19 "48 Hours" premieres on CBS-TV
3rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Jan 20 3rd Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Beach Boys; The Beatles; The Drifters; Bob Dylan; The Supremes; Woody Guthrie; Leadbelly; Les Paul; and Berry Gordy, Jr.
45th Golden Globes
Jan 23 45th Golden Globes: The Last Emperor, Michael Douglas, & Sally Kirkland win
- Jan 23 Bob Benoit bowls 1st 300-pt game in a televised title match
- Jan 24 1st WWF Royal Rumble - Jim Duggan wins
- Jan 24 4th Sundance Film Festival: "Heat and Sunlight" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- Jan 24 NBC premiere of fact based "The Murder of Mary Phagan"
Rather and Bush Clash
Jan 25 US Vice President George H. W. Bush and Dan Rather famously clash on "CBS Evening News" as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in Iran-Contra affair
Phantom of the Opera
Jan 26 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart's musical "Phantom of the Opera", directed by Hal Prince and starring Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC ; runs for 13,981 performances, winning 7 Tony Awards, and becoming Broadway's longest-running shows
André the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan
Feb 5 1st prime-time wrestling match in 30 yrs, André the Giant defeats Hulk Hogan
- Feb 12 38th Berlin International Film Festival: "Red Sorgum" wins the Golden Bear
- Feb 28 British television programme "That's Life!" surprises guest Nicholas Winton with an audience full of grown-up children that he saved from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, bringing them to safety in the UK
- Mar 1 Courtney Gibbs Eplin, 21, (Texas), crowned 37th Miss USA
Film & TV History
Mar 7 Howard Stern's 1st pay-per-view "Underpants & Negligee Party"
Appointment of Interest
Mar 9 Actress Audrey Hepburn is appointed a UNICEF Special Ambassador (Goodwill Ambassador 1989)
- Mar 13 14th People's Choice Awards: Michael Douglas & Glenn Close win (Motion Picture) and Bill Cosby & Cybill Shepherd win (TV)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Mar 25 "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas is released
Sports History
Mar 25 Robin Givens demands full access to husband Mike Tyson's money
- Mar 27 WrestleMania IV, Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, NJ: Randy "Macho Man" Savage beats Ted DiBiase for WWF Heavyweight title
- Apr 4 Last broadcast of British soap opera "Crossroads" on ITV
- Apr 10 8th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Leonard Part 6" wins
- Apr 11 60th Academy Awards: "The Last Emperor", Michael Douglas & Cher win
Warm All Over
Apr 18 Barbra Streisand records "Warm All Over"
- Apr 21 Barbra Streisand records "You'll Never Know"
- Apr 25 American news program "Nightline" goes on location to Jerusalem Israel
Film & TV History
May 15 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams & Tracey Ullman
Music History
May 21 Weird Al Yankovic's "Fat" (a parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad") hits #99
Big
Jun 3 "Big" film directed by Penny Marshall, starring Tom Hanks premieres in US
Music Concert
Jun 11 Freedom Fest: Anti-apartheid benefit & Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert addresses his continued imprisonment; performers include Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder, Tracy Chapman, Hugh Masekela & Miriam Makeba, Youssou N'Dour, Peter Gabriel, Al Green, Joan Armatrading; Jessye Norman, and The Eurythmics at Wembley Stadium, London; broadcast to 67 countries with estimated audience of 600 million
- Jun 17 Givens' Family reports Mike Tyson beats his wife Robin Givens
- Jun 20 NYC WABC-AM becomes flagship radio station of NJ Devils
- Jun 20 Price is Right model Janice Pennington is knocked out by a TV camera
- Jun 25 Roger Rabbit Cartoon Character debuts in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
Daytime Emmy Awards
Jun 29 Emmy 15th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 9th time
Film & TV History
Jun 30 Brooklyn, New York dedicates a bus depot honoring Jackie Gleason and his role as bus driver Ralph Kramden in "The Honeymooners"
- Jun 30 Sitcom "Sledge Hammer!" last airs on ABC-TV
Die Hard
Jul 15 "Die Hard" directed by John McTiernan and starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman is released in the US
Radio Premiere
Aug 1 Rush Limbaugh begins his national radio show.
- Aug 4 21st San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Omni Hotel
Theater Premiere
Aug 10 Alan Ayckbourn's play "Man of the Moment" premieres at Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough
- Aug 12 Movie "Last Temptation of Christ" is released
- Aug 22 NBC premieres "Later" with Bob Costas (1st guest Linda Ellerbee)
- Aug 28 40th Emmy Awards: Thirtysomething, The Wonder Years & Richard Kiley win
- Aug 29 45th Venice Film Festival: "The Legend of the Holy Drinker" directed by Ermanno Olmi wins Golden Lion
Human Rights Now!
Sep 2 Amnesty International's "Human Rights Now!" tour begins in Wembley Stadium, London; performers include: Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, and Youssou N'Dour
Telethon
Sep 5 Jerry Lewis' 23rd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $41,132,113
- Sep 10 Gretchen Elizabeth Carlson (Minnesota), 22, crowned 62nd Miss America 1989
- Sep 16 Jury awards Valerie Harper $1.6 M in dispute over TV series
- Sep 17 13th Toronto International Film Festival: "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" directed by Pedro Almodovar wins the People's Choice Award
Theatrical Finale
Sep 25 Neil Simon's stage play "Broadway Bound", starring Linda Lavin, Jonathan Silverman, and Jason Alexander, closes at the Broadhurst Theatre, NYC, after 756 performances
- Sep 30 Robin Givens and Mike Tyson appear on Barbara Walter's Show
- Oct 7 WNBC 660 final transmission, WFAN moves from 1050 to 660 & WUKQ begins on 1050 at 5:30 PM (NYC radio)
- Oct 10 NBC premieres tele-biopic, "Winnie", starring Meredith Baxter and based on life of [Gwyanna] Winifred Sprockett
- Oct 17 Rockin Robin beats "Sensational" Sherri Martel for WWF woman's title
Roseanne
Oct 18 "Roseanne" TV comedy starring Roseanne Barr, John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf premieres in the US on ABC
Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground
Oct 22 "Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground" TV special hosted by Geraldo Rivera screens on NBC
- Oct 25 ABC News reports on potbellied pygmy pigs' popularity as pets
- Oct 27 "ET" released to home video (14 million presold)
- Nov 3 Talk-show host Geraldo Rivera's nose is broken as Roy Innis brawls with skinheads at TV taping
- Nov 5 "Kokomo" single by The Beach Boys from the film "Cocktail" goes to #1
- Nov 5 "Kokomo", single by the Beach Boys from the film "Cocktail" tops the charts, their first hit in 20 years, and to date their latest
- Nov 9 Don Sebesky and Gloria Nissenson's musical "Prince of Central Park", starring Jo Anne Worley opens at Belasco Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances
- Nov 14 Sitcom "Murphy Brown" starring Candice Bergen premieres on CBS
- Nov 16 Robin Givens sues Mike Tyson for $125 million for libel
- Nov 17 Linda Petursdottir of Iceland, 18, crowned 38th Miss World
- Nov 17 Neil Simon's "Rumors" premieres in NYC
- Dec 1 NBC bids a record $401 million to capture television broadcasting rights for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games
- Dec 2 "Naked Gun" movie based on TV's "Police Squad" premieres
- Dec 2 ESPN airs its 10,000th edition of 'Sports Center', making it the most televised cable program in history
- Dec 4 Actor Gary Busey critically injured in motorcycle crash
- Dec 9 NY Yankees sign 12-year television contract with MSG for $500M
- Dec 9 Premiere of fact based crime drama film "Mississippi Burning"
Rainman
Dec 12 "Rainman" directed by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise premieres in New York (Best Picture 1989)
- Dec 14 CBS' $1.1 B bid wins exclusive 1990-94 major-league baseball rights
"Working Girl"
Dec 20 "Working Girl" premieres directed by Mike Nicols, starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford and Sigourney Weaver
- Dec 20 NBC signs lease to stay in NYC, 33 more years
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