April 1978 - Panama Canal, Neutron Bomb, WAC

I Caught Night Fever in April 1978!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in April 1978 was 'Night Fever' by the Bee Gees.

April 2 – The CBS soap opera Dallas is launched.

April 3 – The 50th Academy Awards are held with Annie Hall winning Best Picture.  Best actor is Richard Dreyfuss for Goodbye Girl, best actress is Diane Keaton for Annie Hall, best supporting actor is Jason Robards for Julia, best supporting actress is Vanessa Redgrave for Julia.  Richard Dreyfuss became the youngest man to win an Oscar for best actor.  This was Bob Hope's 19th, and final, time hosting the event.

April 3 - Pass the Buck game show debuts on NBC.  Hosted by Bill Cullen, four contestants competed to give a list of items that fit into a specific category announced at the beginning of each round (e.g., first names with exactly five letters, things that make people laugh). 

April 5 - Pretty Baby movie premieres.

April 7 – Jimmy Carter decides to postpone production of the neutron bomb – a weapon which kills people with radiation but leaves buildings relatively intact.

April 8 - The Ted Knight Show debuts on CBS.

April 9 - Rabbit Test movie premieres.

April 10 – Volkswagen becomes the second (after Rolls-Royce) non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States, commencing production of the Rabbit, the North American version of the Volkswagen Golf, at the Volkswagen Westmoreland Assembly Plant near New Stanton, Pennsylvania.

April 16–19 - Holocaust, starring James Woods and Meryl Streep, first airs on NBC.

April 18 – The senate votes 68–32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31, 1999.

April 20 - Dawn of the Dead movie premieres.

April 21 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, civil rights activist, biologist and educator; first African American to receive a doctorate from Cornell, dies. (born 1877)

April 22 - The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

April 24 - Card Sharks game show debuts on NBC.

April 26 - F.I.S.T. movie premieres.

April 25 - Vega$ tv series debuts on ABC.

April 28 - FM movie premieres.  Some AM radio stations played an edited version of the movie's title song in which an overdubbed "A" was substituted for the "F" of FM.

April 28 – WAC abolished; women integrated into regular Army.

1978 Dodge Magnum XE:

Star Wars comic for April:

Superman pinball game (released 1978):

Playboy playmate of the month, Pamela Jean Bryant, and Playgirl man for April, Brian Dawson:

Albums released in April (album / artist):
For You / Prince
Heavy Horses / Jethro Tull
Almighty Fire / Aretha Franklin
Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture / Various Artists
Come Get It! / Rick James
Bad Boy / Ringo Starr
Showdown / The Isley Brothers

Nielsen top 10 for the week ending April 16th: 1 Three's Company; 2 Laverne and Shirley; 3 M-A-S-H; 4 Holocaust Part I; 5 Happy Days; 6 One Day at a Time; 7 Charlie’s Angels; 8 Baby I'm Back; 9 Amazing Spider Man; 10 60 Minutes.

Cool YouTube video of some commercials from April 1978:  
1978 Commercials

Teen Beat for April:

Us magazine for April 18th:

Vogue magazine for April:

Peanuts comic strip from April 1978:

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

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 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