December 1979 - The Who, Lee Iacocca

No One Wants to Escape December 1979!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in December 1979 was 'Escape (The Pina Colada Song)' by Rupert Holmes.

December 1 - The Movie Channel, a premium cable channel, begins broadcasting movies 24/7.

December 3 - Eleven fans are killed during a stampede for seats before The Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.

December 6 – The world premiere for Star Trek: The Motion Picture is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

blackgate.com

December 7 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, British-born astronomer and astrophysicist, dies. (b. 1900)

December 9 – Fulton J. Sheen, Roman Catholic bishop and venerable, dies. (b. 1895)

December 10 – Ann Dvorak, actress, dies. (b. 1912)

December 14 - 1941, Chapter Two and The Jerk movies premiere.

quotesgram.com

December 15 – Ethel Lackie, Olympic swimmer, dies. (b. 1907)

December 17 - House Calls tv series premieres on CBS.

December 19 - Being There, Kramer vs. Kramer and Roller Boogie movies premiere.

December 20 - All That Jazz movie premieres.  Originally, Bob Fosse thought of playing the lead himself, then Richard Dreyfuss was cast as the lead, but ultimately Roy Scheider played the role of  the womanizing, drug-using choreographer/director.

December 21 - The Black Hole, C.H.O.M.P.S., The Electric Horseman and Scavenger Hunt movies premiere.

December 21 – Chrysler receives government loan guarantees upon the request of CEO Lee Iacocca.

thelede.blogs.nytimes.com

December 22 – Darryl F. Zanuck, film producer, dies. (b. 1902)

December 23 - Peggy Guggenheim, art collector , dies.(b. 1898)

December 25 - Joan Blondell, actress, dies. (b. 1906)

December 27 - Knots Landing tv series premieres on CBS.

December 30 – Richard Rodgers, composer, dies. (b. 1902)

1979 Chrysler Cordoba:

Batman comic for December:

Hulk Rub n' Play (released 1979):

Sears Wish Book catalog for 1979:

Honey Nut Cheerios was a new product introduced in 1979:

Playboy playmate of the month, Candice Collins, and Playgirl man for December, Grahame White:

Albums debuting in December (album / artist):
London Calling / The Clash
September Morn / Neil Diamond
Adventures in Utopia / Utopia
Score / Carol Lloyd

Nielsen top shows for the week ending December 23rd:  1 Three's Company ABC; 2 Dallas (Thursday) CBS; 3 Dallas (Friday) CBS; 4 Taxi ABC; 5 M*A*S*H CBS; 6 60 Minutes CBS; 7

Dukes of Hazzard CBS; 8 NFL Monday Night Football ABC; 9 Alice CBS; 10 House Calls CBS; 11 Jeffersons CBS; 12 Trapper John, M.D. CBS; 13 One Day at a Time CBS; 14 Little House on the Prairie NBC; 15 Different Strokes NBC.

'Triple' by Ken Follett is at the top of the New York Times Fiction Best Seller list.

People magazine for December 24th:

Rolling Stone magazine for December:

Soap Opera Digest for December:

Garfield comic strip from December 1979:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in December 1979, check out this really good site:  ultimate70s.com

December 1978 - Superman

Please, No Flowers...It's December 1978!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in December 1978 was 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers' by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.

December 3 – The Southern Crescent passenger train derails at Shipman, Virginia, killing 6, injuring 60.

December 4 – Dianne Feinstein succeeds the murdered George Moscone, becoming San Francisco's first woman mayor.

December 8 - The Brink's Job, The Deer Hunter and Force 10 from Navarone movies premiere.

December 9 - The Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) plays its first game between the Chicago Hustle and the Milwaukee Does.  The league, the first for professional women's basketball, played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. 

December 10 – Ed Wood, American filmmaker, actor, writer, producer and director, dies. (born 1924)

December 15 – Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to go into default since the Great Depression, under Mayor Dennis Kucinich.

December 15 - Oliver's Story and Superman movies premiere.

December 20 - Every Which Way but Loose movie premieres.

December 22 – Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy is arrested.

December 22 - California Suite, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Moment by Moment movies premiere.

December 28 – Harry Winston, diamond dealer, dies. (born 1896)

December 31 - Ice Castles movie premieres.  For the Regional Championships competition scenes, real U.S. Figure Skating Association judges and music coordinators played themselves.

1978 Ford F-250:

Ghost Rider comic for December:

Luke Skywalker doll (released 1978):

New product introduced in 1978, Whatchamacallit candy bar.

Sears 1978 Christmas catalog:

Playboy playmate of the month, Janet Quist, and Playgirl man for December, Vaya Warren:

Better Homes and Gardens magazine for December:

Dynamite magazine for December:

Starlog magazine for December:

Albums released in December 1978 (album / artist):
Minute by Minute / The Doobie Brothers
Directstep / Herbie Hancock
Back to Earth / Cat Stevens
Here, My Dear / Marvin Gaye
Destiny / The Jacksons

Nielsen top ten shows for the week ending December 24: 1 Laverne and Shirley; 2 Happy Days; 3 M-A-S-H; 4 One Day At a Time; 5 Mork and Mindy; 6 (tie) Charlie Brown's Christmas and Night Before Christmas; 8 What's Happening!; 9 Barney Miller; 10 Fantasy Island.

Garfield comic strip from December 1978:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in December 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 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

December 1976 - A Star is Born, Jack Cassidy

Dy-no-mite December 1976!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in December 1976 was 'You Make Me Feel Like Dancing' by Leo Sayer.

December 1 - C.P.O. Sharkey, The McLean Stevenson Show and Sirota's Court tv series premiere.

December 5 - Bound for Glory movie premieres.

December 6 - The Feather and Father Gang tv show premieres on ABC.

December 8 - The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is established by the five Latinos in the United States Congress: Herman Badillo of New York, E. de la Garza and Henry B. Gonzalez of Texas, Edward R. Roybal of California, and the nonvoting Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, Baltasar Corrada del Rio.

December 8 - A Star Is Born movie premieres.

December 20 – Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago for 21 years, dies while in office.

December 12 – Jack Cassidy, actor and singer, dies in a fire.  Father to both David and Shaun Cassidy, Jack has over 75 acting credits to his name.  (born 1927)

December 13 - Double Dare game show premieres on CBS.

December 14 - Barbara Walters airs her first interview special for ABC, with guests Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Barbra Streisand, and Jon Peters.

December 15 - The Pink Panther Strikes Again movie premieres.

December 17 - At 1:00 p.m. (ET), Atlanta, Georgia station WTCG-TV begins satellite transmission of its regular programming to four cable systems, thus becoming the first superstation.

December 17 - The Shaggy D.A. and King Kong movies premiere.

December 24 - The Town That Dreaded Sundown movie premieres.

December 31 - President Gerald Ford presents the last of the Bicentennial Minutes on CBS, which had been airing nightly since July 4, 1974.

Albums released in December (album / artist):

Still Stills: The Best of Stephen Stills / Stephen Stills

Hotel California / Eagles

A Day at the Races / Queen

Wings over America / Wings

Wind and Wuthering / Genesis

Nielsen top 20 shows for the week of Dec 6-12:  Happy Days, Laverne

and Shirley,  Charlie's Angels and Six Million Dollar Man, all on ABC; M-A-S-H, CBS; The Carpenters, ABC; 60 Minutes, All in the Family, Johnny Cash Special and The

Waltons, CBS; ABC Monday Night Football; One Day at a Time, CBS; Sanford and Son and Chico and the Man, NBC, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Christmas in Disneyland and

Friday Movie, ABC; Phyllis, CBS; Little House on the Prairie, NBC; and

Rhoda, CBS

1976 Cadillac Coupe Deville:

JC Penney Christmas 1976 catalog:

Fisher-Price little people hospital (released 1976):

Playboy playmate of the month, Karen Hafter and Playgirl man for December, Ben Gallagher:

X-Men comic for December:

Jet for December:

Soap Opera Digest for December:

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine for December:

Peanuts comic strip from December 1976:

For detailed news/info on what happened each day in December 1976, check out this really good site: ultimate70s.com