February 1978 - Roman Polanski, Ted Bundy

Stayin' Alive in February 1978!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in February 1978 was 'Stayin' Alive' by the Bee Gees.

Cost of Living in 1978
Median yearly income (all families) $17,640
Minimum wage (per hour) $2.65
Average cost of a new home $62,667
Postage stamp $0.15
Gas (1 gallon) $0.67
Gold (1 oz.) $193.40
Movie ticket $2.34

February 1 – Hollywood film director Roman Polanski flees to France to avoid sentencing after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.

February 2 - The Boys in Company C movie premieres.

February 2 - Fashion designer Calvin Klein's 11-year-old daughter, Marci, is abducted on her way to school in New York City and held for a $100,000 ransom. Her former babysitter and two accomplices carried out the kidnapping before being caught and pleading guilty. 

February 5 - ABC celebrates its silver anniversary with a retrospective special.  Celebrities appearing include Julie Andrews, Robert Blake, James Brown, The Captain & Tenille, The Carpenters, Characters from Sid & Marty Krofft, Charo, Dick Clark, Chuck Connors, Howard Cosell, John Denver, Barbara Eden, Lola Falana, John Forsythe, Jodie Foster, Annette Funicello, Billie Hayes, Kate Jackson, Gabe Kaplan, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, Cheryl Ladd, Hal Lindon, Fred MacMurray, Barry Manilow, Penny Marshall, Kristy McNichol, Nick Nolte, Vincent Price, Robert Stack, Jaclyn Smith, Peter Straus, Marlo Thomas, John Travolta, Leslie Uggams, Brenda Vaccaro, Ben Vereen,  Abe Vigoda, John Wayne, Lawrence Welk, Adam West, Billy Dee Williams, Robert Young and Henry Winkler.

February 5–7 – The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 hits the New England region and the New York metropolitan area, killing about 100 and causing over $520 million in damage.

February 8 – United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.

February 10 - The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2 movie premieres.

February 12 - How the West Was Won debuts on CBS.

February 15 – Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Pensacola, Florida.

February 15 - Coming Home movie premieres.

February 16 - The Hillside Strangler, a serial killer prowling Los Angeles, claims a 10th and final victim.

February 16 - The first computer bulletin board system (CBBS) is created in Chicago.

February 16 – Edward Lindberg, Olympic track athlete, dies. (born 1886)

February 18 – Maggie McNamara, actress, dies. (born 1928)

February 19 - Project U.F.O. tv series debuts on NBC.

February 22 - C. Paul Jennewein, sculptor, dies. (born 1890 in Germany)

February 23 - The 20th Annual Grammy Awards are held.  Record of the Year is Hotel California by The Eagles.  Album of the Year is Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.  Songs of the Year are Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born) by Barbra Streisand and You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone.  Best New Artist is Debby Boone.

Archie comic for February:

1978 Chevrolet Caprice:

Puppet Love Theatre toy (released 1978):

Playboy playmate of the month, Janis Schmitt, and Playgirl man for February, Scott Dutton:

Albums released in February (album / artist):
Earth / Jefferson Starship
It Begins Again / Dusty Springfield
Stained Class / Judas Priest
Van Halen / Van Halen
The Kick Inside / Kate Bush
Macho Man / Village People

Nielsen top 20 shows for the week ending February 19th:  1 Laverne and Shirley; 2 Happy Days; 3 Three’s Company; 4 Charlie’s Angels; 5 Eight is Enough; 6 Little House on the Prairie; 7 Grammy Awards Show; 8 ABC Sunday Movie-Live and Let Die; 9 How the West was Won; 10 NBC Movie-The Awakening Land Part 3; 11 All in the Family; 12 Alice; 13 Starsky and Hutch; 14 NBC Movie-The Awakening Land Part 2; 15 Fantasy Island; 16 60 Minutes; 17 M-A-S-H; 18 A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur’s Court; 19 Soap; 20 Project UFO.

Ladies Home Journal for February:

Travel and Leisure magazine for February:

After Dark magazine for February:

Peanuts comic strip from February 1978:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in February 1978, check out this really good site:  ultimate70s.com

January 1978 - Fantasy Island, Hubert Humphrey

Deeply in Love with January 1978!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in January 1978 was 'How Deep Is Your Love' by the Bee Gees.

Federal Government in 1978
President: Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia)
Vice President: Walter Mondale (D-Minnesota)
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger (Minnesota)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Tip O'Neill (D-Massachusetts)
Senate Majority Leader: Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
Congress: 95th

Januray 2 - 64th Rose Bowl game is played. The Washington Huskies, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the two touchdown-favored Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 27–20.

January 6 – The Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as the Crown of St. Stephen) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II.

January 6 - Coma movie premieres.  Based on a Robin Cook novel, Julie Christie and Farrah Fawcett were both considered for the lead ultimately played by Genevieve Bujold.

January 14 – Kurt Gödel, mathematician, dies. (born 1906 in Austria-Hungary)

January 14 - Fantasy Island debuts on ABC.

January 14–15 – The body of former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda, following his death from cancer.

January 15 - Super Bowl XII airs on CBS, the first time the NFL's championship event is played and telecast at night.  Nice highlights video on YouTube:
Super bowl XII Highlights

January 19 – Federal Appeals Court Judge William H. Webster is appointed Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

January 23 - Roots One Year Later, a special examining the impact and influence of the miniseries, airs on ABC.

January 25–27 – The Great Blizzard of 1978 strikes the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes, causing 51 deaths in Ohio.

January 28 – Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", is arrested.

Battleground playset (released 1978):

1978 Dodge Aspen:

Flash comic for January:

Mandate magazine for January:

Mademoiselle magazine for January:

New York magazine for January:

Playboy playmate of the month, Debra Jensen, and Playgirl man for January, Dennis Durrell:

Albums released in January 1978 (album / artist):
Excitable Boy / Warren Zevon
Pastiche / The Manhattan Transfer
City to City / Gerry Rafferty
Infinity / Journey

Nielson top 10 shows for the week ending January 8th:  1 Happy Days; 2 Fish; 3 Three's Company; 4 60 Minutes; 5 ABC Theatre; 6 Orange Bowl; 7 Alice; 8 All in the Family; 9 Bob Hope special; 10 One Day at a Time.

Peanuts comic strip from January 1978:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in January 1978, check out this really good site:  ultimate70s.com

December 1977 - Evansville, Bakersfield Dust Storm

Your Eyes are Brown...It's December 1977!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in December 1977 was 'Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue' by Crystal Gayle.

December 13 – A charter plane carrying the University of Evansville basketball team to Nashville, TN, crashes.  Twenty-nine people die in the crash, including 14 members of the team and head coach, Bob Watson.

December 14 - Saturday Night Fever movie, starring John Travolta, premieres.  The album had successfully debuted the month before.

December 19–21 – The Great Bakersfield Dust Storm hits the Southern San Joaquin Valley in California resulting in 3 deaths and $40 million in damages.

December 19 – Nellie Tayloe Ross, 13th Governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927 and director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953 and first female state governor in the U.S. dies. (b. 1876)

December 25 – Charlie Chaplin, actor, dies. (b. 1889)

Batman comic for December:

1977 Dodge Tradesman:

Sears Christmas catalog for 1977:

Star Wars Land Speeder toy (released 1977):

Playboy playmate of the month, Ashley Cox, and Playgirl man for December, Mark Gartman:

Nielsen top 10 shows for the week ending December 18th: 1 Laverne and Shirley; 2 Happy Days; 3 Three's Company; 4 Eight Is Enough; 5 Six Million Dollar Man; 6 Alice; 7 Soap; 8 (tie) All in the Family and Charlie Brown Christmas; 10 The Tiny Tree.

Albums release in December  (album / artist):

Draw the Line / Aerosmith

Taken by Force / Scorpions

The Belle Album / Al Green

Running on Empty / Jackson Browne

ABBA: The Album / ABBA

Blue Lights in the Basement / Roberta Flack

Don Juan's Reckless Daughter / Joni Mitchell

Harper's Bazaar for December:

Country Music magazine for December:

 Movie Life magazine for December:

Soap Opera Serials magazine for December:

Peanuts comic strip from December 1977:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in December 1977, check out this really good site:  ultimate70s.com

November 1977 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Light Up Your Life with November 1977! 

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in November 1977 was 'You Light Up My Life' by Debby Boone.  This song held the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks and topped Record World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record thirteen weeks.

November 3 - Pete's Dragon movie premieres.

November 4 - Heroes movie premieres.

November 6 – The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39.

November 8 – San Francisco elects City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official of any large city in the U.S.

November 8 - Ed Koch is elected mayor of New York City.

November 13 – The comic strip Li'l Abner ends a 43-year run in newspapers.

November 14 - The Turning Point movie premieres.

November 16 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind movie premieres.

November 18 - Semi-Tough movie premieres.

November 22 – British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.

November 27 – The Rankin/Bass animated film The Hobbit premieres on NBC.

November 30 - Commentator Eric Sevareid completed his final two-minute segment on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, after 48 years at CBS News.

November 30 - The Goodbye Girl movie premieres.

1977 Mercedes Benz 450SL:

Avengers comic for November:

Hardy Boys wristwatch (released 1977):

Playboy playmate of the month, Rita Lee, and Playgirl man for November, Paul Vonderlin:

Nielsen top shows for the week ending November 13th: Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days, Love Boat, Three's Company, Big Event "The Godfather" Sunday installment, Little House on the Prairie, Eight is Enough, 60 Minutes, NBC Monday Movie "Aspen", Rhoda, Welcome Back, Kotter, Big Event "The Godfather" Saturdav installment, All in the Family, NFL Monday Night Football, What's Happening, On Our Own, Soap, ABC Sunday Movie "The Poseidon Adventure", Donny and Marie. 

Albums released in November (album / artist):
Foot Loose and Fancy Free / Rod Stewart
Rocket to Russia / The Ramones
I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight / Neil Diamond
Death of a Ladies' Man / Leonard Cohen
Saturday Night Fever / Bee Gees et al.
Thankful / Natalie Cole
Broken Blossom / Bette Midler
All 'n All / Earth, Wind and Fire
Chic / Chic
Slowhand / Eric Clapton

Better Homes and Gardens for November:

National Lampoon for November:

Sport magazine for November:

Peanuts comic strip from November 1977:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in November 1977, check out this really good site:  ultimate70s.com