June 1979 - SALT II, Muppet Movie

So Hot in June 1979!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in June 1979 was 'Hot Stuff' by Donna Summer.

June 1 – The Seattle SuperSonics win the NBA Championship against the Washington Bullets.

June 1 – Jack Mulhall, actor, dies. (b. 1887)

June 1 - Phantasm movie premieres.

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June 2 - Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to visit a communist country, his native Poland.  The visit becomes known as '9 days that changed the world'.

June 3 - The 33rd Tony Awards is held.  The Best Play award went to The Elephant Man.  The Best Musical award went to Sweeney Todd:  The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

June 6 – Jack Haley, actor, dies. (b. 1898)

June 11 - John Wayne, actor and film director, dies of stomach cancer. (b. 1907)

June 15 - Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, The In-Laws, Prophecy, Rocky II and The Water Babies movies premiere.

June 18 – Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) II agreement in Vienna.

June 20 – A Nicaraguan National Guard soldier kills ABC TV news correspondent Bill Stewart and his interpreter Juan Espinosa. Other members of the news crew capture the killing on tape.

June 22 - Escape from Alcatraz, The Main Event, The Muppet Movie and Nightwing movies premiere.

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June 25 – Dave Fleischer, animator, dies. (b. 1894)

June 27 - The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again movie premieres.

June 29 - Bloodline, Meatballs, Moonraker and Up from the Depths movies premiere.

In June 1979, a man using the pseudonym Robert C. Christian approached the Elberton Granite Finishing Company on behalf of a mysterious organization and commissioned the controversial Georgia Guidestones.  The guidestones are intended to function as a compass, calendar, and clock and include 10 civilization re-establishment guidelines in case of a catastrophic event.

Battlestar Galactica comic for June:

Matchbox Build a Truck toy (released in 1979):

1979 Volkswagen Beetle:

Playboy playmate of the month, Louann Fernald, and Playgirl man for June, Ken DeRose:

Albums released in June 1979 (album / artist):
Back to the Egg / Wings
I Am / Earth, Wind and Fire
Labour of Lust / Nick Lowe
Repeat When Necessary / Dave Edmunds
Get the Knack / The Knack
Candy-O / The Cars
Mingus / Joni Mitchell
Communiqué / Dire Straits
Silent Letter / America
Unknown Pleasures / Joy Division
Mick Taylor / Mick Taylor
No Exit / The Angels

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Nielsen top shows for the week ending June 17th: 1 Three's Company ABC; 2 WKRP In Cincinnati CBS; 3 M*A*S*H CBS; 4 Lou Grant CBS; 5 Taxi ABC; 6 Barnaby Jones CBS; 7 Laverne and Shirley ABC; 8 Mork and Mindy ABC; 9 Charlie's Angels ABC; 10 Angie ABC; 11 All in the Family CBS; 12 One Day at a Time CBS; 13 Movie “Harry and Tonto” ABC; 14 Barney Miller ABC; 15 Carter Country ABC.

Better Homes and Gardens for June:

Cosmopolitan magazine for June:

Interview magazine for June:

Garfield comic for June 1979:

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

February 1979 - Hood Canal Bridge, Afghanistan

So Sexy in February 1979!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in February 1979 was 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?' by Rod Stewart.

Cost of Living in 1979
Average household income $19,553.86
Minimum wage (per hour) $2.90
Median cost of a new home $61,500
Postage stamp $0.15
Gas (1 gallon) $0.86
Gold (1 oz.) $459.00 (huge increase from 1978 because of high inflation due to oil prices and global political instability)
Movie ticket $2.52

February 1 - Makin' It tv series debuts on ABC.

February 2 – Sid Vicious, musician, dies. (b. 1957)

February 2 - The First Great Train Robbery movie premieres.

February 3 - The New Fred and Barney Show debuts on NBC.

Febraury 4 - Co-Ed Fever tv series debuts on CBS.  An attempt to imitate National Lampoon's Animal House, it's cancelled after this one episode is aired. 

February 7 - Supertrain tv series debuts on NBC.

February 8 - Angie tv series debuts on ABC.

February 9 - Agatha, Murder by Decree, The North Avenue Irregulars and The Warriors movies premiere.

February 11 - Forty-three million viewers watch Elvis, an ABC movie starring Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley.

February 13 – An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.

February 14 – In Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.

February 15 - The 21st Annual Grammy Awards are held.  Record of the Year was Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel.  Album of the Year was Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack.  Song of the Year was Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are.  Best New Artist was A Taste of Honey.

February 17 – William Gargan, actor, dies. (b. 1905)

February 18 - The Daytona 500 is broadcast live in its entirety for the very first time by CBS.  On the final lap, race leaders Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison collided with each other on the backstretch. Both drivers' races ended in the grass infield. The wreck allowed Richard Petty, then over one-half lap behind both, to claim his sixth Daytona 500 win.

February 18 - A snowstorm hits the Sahara!  

February 20 - This Old House tv series debuts on PBS.

February 23 - Fast Break movie premieres.

February 26 – A total solar eclipse occurred in North America.

February 26 - Billy and Flatbush tv series debut on CBS.

February 27 – The annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana is canceled due to a strike called by the New Orleans Police Department.

February 27 - Cliffhangers tv series debuts on NBC.

Butch and Sundance wagon toy (released in 1979):

1979 Mercury Cougar XR 7:

Spiderman comic for February:

Playboy playmate of the month, Lee Ann Michele, and Playgirl man for February, David Grant:

Albums released in February 1979 (album / artist):
Inflammable Material / Stiff Little Fingers
Spirits Having Flown / Bee Gees
Frenzy / Split Enz
George Harrison / George Harrison
Live (X Cert) / The Stranglers
Scared to Dance / The Skids
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle / Sex Pistols
Rickie Lee Jones / Rickie Lee Jones

Nielsen top 15 for the week ending February 18th:  1 Mork and Mindy ABC; 2 Three's Company (Tuesday) ABC; 3 Laverne and Shirley ABC; 4 Angie ABC; 5 Happy Days ABC; 6 “Gone With Wind” CBS; 7 Three's Company (Thursday) ABC; 8 Taxi (Tues.) ABC; 9 “Roots II” (Ep. I) ABC; 

10 60 Minutes CBS; 11 Eight Is Enough ABC; 12 Backstairs‐White House NBC; 13 Starsky and Hutch ABC; 14 Different Strokes NBC; 15 Charlie's Angels ABC.

Heavy Metal magazine for February:

Life magazine for February:

Vogue for February:

'War and Remembrance' by Herman Wouk is at the top of the New York Times Fiction Best Seller list.

Garfield comic strip from February 1979:

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

July 1978 - Test Tube Baby, Animal House

Missing You in July 1978!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in July 1978 was 'Miss You' by the Rolling Stones.

July 3 - Tic Tac Dough game show premieres on CBS.

July 5 - Hot Lead and Cold Feet movie premieres.  Although promotional material for this Western prominently featured Don Knotts, he was only fourth-billed and in a supporting role.

July 8 - 1978 Wimbledon Championships end.  Martina Navratilova won her first grand slam singles title at this event.  She defeated Chris Evert in the final, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5.

July 10 - The ABC Evening News gets a revamp and becomes ABC World News Tonight, employing a unique three-anchor setup (Frank Reynolds serving as lead anchor from Washington, Max Robinson presenting national news from Chicago, and Peter Jennings with international news from London).

July 14 - Foul Play, Hooper and The Swarm movies premiere.

July 18 – Claude P. Dettloff, photographer, dies. (born 1899)

July 19 - Revenge of the Pink Panther and International Velvet movies premiere.

July 20 – Alan Hirschfield is fired as president and CEO of Columbia Pictures. He is replaced by Francis T. Vincent.

July 21 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie premieres.

July 25 - The world's first test tube baby, Louise Brown, is born in the United Kingdom.

July 28 - Animal House movie premieres.

Superman's Action Comics for July:

1978 Mercury Cougar:

Incredible Hulk Pencil By Numbers set (released 1978):

Playboy playmate of the month, Karen Morton, and Playgirl man for July, Michael Montelbano:

Albums released in July (album / artist):
Under Wraps / Shaun Cassidy
Nightwatch / Kenny Loggins
Cheryl Lynn / Cheryl Lynn
Heartbreaker / Dolly Parton
Touchdown / Bob James
Can't Stand the Rezillos / The Rezillos
More Songs About Buildings and Food / Talking Heads

Nielsen top shows for the week ending July 16th:  1 Quincy NBC; 2 All‐Star Game ABC; 3 Alice CBS; 4 All in the Family CBS; 5 Happy Days ABC; 6 Switch CBS; 7 All‐Star Preview ABC; 8 Lou Grant CBS; 9 One Day at a Time CBS; 10 Charlie's Angels ABC; 11 The Love Boat ABC; 12 Death of Richie NBC; 13 (tie) Three's Company ABC and Barnaby Jones CBS; 15 Girl in Empty Grave NBC.

 People magazine for July 31st:

Rona Barrett's Hollywood for July:

Preview magazine for July:

'The Holcroft Covenant' by Robert Ludlam moves to the top of the New York Times Fiction Best Seller list.  Ludlum says the novel was inspired by a "what if" question. "What if Nazi children at the end of World War Two were being saved [secretly groomed] so that in the next generation they could revive the Third Reich?"

Peanuts comic strip from July 1978:

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

August 1979 - Coyote Lake Earthquake, Facts of Life

Definitely Good Times in August 1979!

A number one hit on the Cash Box Top 100 list in August 1979 was 'Good Times' by Chic.

August 1 - North Dallas Forty movie premieres.

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August 2 – Thurman Munson, baseball player, dies in a plane crash. (b. 1947)

August 3 - The Concorde...Airport '79 and More American Graffiti movies premiere.

August 6 – The 5.7 Mw Coyote Lake earthquake affected the South Bay and Central Coast areas of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing 16 injuries and $500,000 in damage.

August 9 – Walter O'Malley, baseball executive, dies. (b. 1903)

August 10 - Hot Stuff movie premieres.

August 15 - Apocalypse Now movie premieres.

August 21 – Stuart Heisler, movie and television director, dies. (b. 1896)

August 22 – James T. Farrell, novelist, dies. (b. 1904)

August 24 - The Facts of Life tv series debuts on NBC.

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August 17 - Monty Python's Life of Brian, The Prisoner of Zenda, Rich Kids and The Seduction of Joe Tynan movies premiere.

August 24 - Rock 'n' Roll High School movie premieres.

August 25 - Hart to Hart tv series debuts on ABC.

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August 25 – Stan Kenton, jazz pianist, dies. (b. 1911)

August 29 – A national referendum is held in which Somali voters approve a new liberal constitution, promulgated by President Siad Barre to placate the United States.

August 30  – Jean Seberg, actress, dies (body found on September 8).  (b. 1938)

August 31 – Sally Rand, dancer, dies. (b. 1904)

August 31 - City on Fire movie premieres.

1979 Ford F-150 Ranger:

Ken doll (released 1979):

Walt Disney comic for August:

Playboy playmate of the month, Dorothy Stratten, and Playgirl man for August, Edward Tombridge-Wells.  Dorothy would later be named playmate of the year.  She was an actress appearing in Fantasy Island and Buck Rogers before she was killed by her estranged husband.

Albums released in August (album / artist):
Fear of Music / Talking Heads
Off the Wall / Michael Jackson
Chicago 13 / Chicago
Drums and Wires / XTC
Slow Train Coming / Bob Dylan
In Through the Out Door / Led Zeppelin
The Rose / Bette Midler
Eve / The Alan Parsons Project
In the Heat of the Night / Pat Benatar
Big Fun / Shalamar

Nielsen top shows for the week ending August 19th:  1 Three's Company ABC; 2 WKRP in Cincinnati CBS; 3 Taxi ABC; 4 M•A•S•H CBS; 5 Detective School ABC; 6 Charlie's Angels ABC;

7 Happy Days ABC; 8 Lou Grant CBS; 9 Vega$ ABC; 10 The Jeffersons CBS; 11 “Joe Kidd” ABC; 12 60 Minutes CBS; 13 Alice CBS; 14 Carter Country ABC; 15 Barney Miller ABC.

Mademoiselle magazine for August:

Rona Barrett's Gossip magazine for August:

Sport magazine for August:

Garfield comic strip from August 1979:

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