Go Joe Go!

When I was a little kid I had hours of fun with my G.I. Joes. They’d play right along with my Six Million Dollar Man and Zira and Cornelius from ‘The Planet of the Apes’. In 1977 and 1978 Hasbro introduced a sort of sci-fi Joe series called the Super Joe Adventure Team. They’d battle super foes like Gor and Terron.

The Super Joes had a ‘1-2 Punch’ that would cause their arms to extend when a button on their backs was pressed. Electronics were even integrated into the toys. When a Super Joe would punch Gor, his ‘Destructo Ray’ (a red light on his chest) would flicker. The Joe’s power vest also interacted with the moveable Terron, stopping him in his tracks!

Fun stuff!

Where Were They Then

I thought it would be fun to see what some of the biggest stars of today were doing in 1978, the heart of the Disco Years. Interesting how several of them were right on the cusp of success...

Meryl Streep was already well on her way to a successful career in 1978, with the release of 'The Deer Hunter', for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. She was also in 'Holocaust'...remember that mini-series? She married sculptor Don Gummer in September of that year.

Mel Gibson hadn't yet made it big in 1978. He'd done some TV and extra work . . . but was only a year away from 'Mad Max'. Still living in Australia, he did a good bit of theatre work for the South Australian Theatre Company, including ‘Oedipus’ and ‘Henry IV’. Pretty high-brow for the future ‘Lethal Weapon’ star, huh?

Robert De Niro was already a big star in 1978, most well known for the phenomenon 'The Godfather', which was released a few years earlier. He'd even participated in a version of 'The Godfather' developed for television the prior year (which I'd never heard of) before scoring another hit in 1978 with 'The Deer Hunter'...co-starring Ms. Streep, of course. Unfortunately, in his private life, he divorced singer-actress Diahnne Abbott that year.

Anthony Hopkins was already a busy actor, working a good deal in TV movies before moving on to theatrical movie roles. He'd had some successes in 1977, including 'Audrey Rose' which I highly recommend. In 1978 he starred in 'International Velvet' and 'Magic'. 'Magic' is totally creepy...he received a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination for his work in that.

Sigourney Weaver was on the verge of her breakout role as Ripley in 'Alien'...one of the scariest movies ever! She was still toiling away, though she did land a small part in ‘Annie Hall’... her only credit in 1978 was 'Madman'.

Bad Stuff

Kinda morbid, but here are some of the biggest tragedies of the Disco Years . . .

Hurricane David. A 1979 category 5 hurricane that claimed over 2000 lives in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the southern U.S.

The Chicago Blizzard of 1979/New York Blizzard of 1978. Over 18 inches in one day in Chicago! It brought northern Illinois and northwest Indiana to its knees and caused dozens of deaths. There was also a huge blizzard in New York and the Northeast U.S. in January of 1978 that took over 100 lives.

Jonestown. In November of 1978, cult leader Jim Jones leads a mass murder-suicide of 918 people in Guyana. Truly a sick story. Check out the mini-series starring Powers Boothe.

Evansville Basketball Team Plane Crash. In December of 1977, the entire 14-member University of Evansville basketball team, along with 11 team supporters and 2 crew, were killed when their plane crashed into a hillside.

Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire. In 1977, the huge fire in Southgate, Kentucky killed 165.

Serial Killers. Son of Sam in New York, Hillside Strangler in Los Angeles, John Wayne Gacy in Chicago and Ted Bundy were all ‘active’ in the Disco Years. Yuck.