April 1977 - Annie Hall, Dover Demon

Enjoy April 1977, You Dancing Queen!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in April 1977 was 'Dancing Queen' by Abba.

April 2 - The Eagle Has Landed movie premieres.

April 4 – Grundy, Virginia experienced a major flood that caused around $15 million in damages to 228 residential and commercial structures.

April 6 - Audrey Rose movie premieres, starring Anthony Hopkins.

April 8 - Demon Seed movie premieres.

April 18 - Alex Haley is awarded a Pulitzer Prize Special Award in Letters for the novel Roots:  The Saga of an American Family.

April 20 - Annie Hall movie premieres, starring Woody Allen.

April 21 – Residents of Dover, Massachusetts report sightings of the "Dover Demon".  There were 3 separate sightings, all by teenagers.  Police wrote it off as a hoax.

April 21 – Gummo Marx, vaudeville performer and last surviving Marx brother, dies. (b. 1893)

April 21 - Annie debuts on Broadway.

1977 Ford Pinto:

Star Mission pinball toy (released 1977):

Super Friends comic from April:

Playboy playmate of the month, Lisa Sohm, and Playgirl man for April, Geoffrey Kane:

Nielsen top 10 shows for the week ending April 10th:  1 Something for Joey (CBS Wednesday movie); 2 Jesus of Nazareth (conclusion); 3 Laverne and Shirley; 4 Happy Days; 5 Three's Company; 6 Bugs Bunny; 7 (tie) Little House on the Prairie and Easter Beagle; 9 Barney Miller; 10 People's Command Performance.

Albums released in April (album / artist):

Phyllis Hyman / Phyllis Hyman
Ask Rufus / Rufus
The Clash / The Clash
Sin After Sin / Judas Priest
Love You / The Beach Boys
Clear Air Turbulence / Ian Gillan Band
Lace and Whiskey / Alice Cooper
Caught Live + 5 / The Moody Blues

'Oliver's Story' by Erich Segal moves to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list.

Christopher Street magazine for April:

Jet magazine for April:

MAD Magazine for April:

Peanuts comic strip from April 1977:

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

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'.