1984
HISTORY & POLITICS

Bell System divestiture breaks AT&T into 24 independent units.

Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk.

Pop star Michael Jackson's scalp is seriously burned by pyrotechnics during filming of a Pepsi television commercial.

A deadly F5 tornado nearly destroys the town of Barneveld, Wisconsin, killing 9 people, injuring nearly 200, and causing over $25,000,000 in damage.

In San Ysidro, California, 41-year-old James Oliver Huberty sprays a McDonald's restaurant with gunfire, killing 21 people before being shot and killed.

Vanessa Lynn Williams becomes the first Miss America to resign when she surrenders her crown, after nude photos of her appear in "Penthouse" magazine.

The first MTV Video Music Awards are held in Radio City Music Hall, New York City on Sept. 14th.

U.S. presidential election, on Nov. 6th: Ronald Reagan defeats Walter F. Mondale with 59% of the popular vote, the highest since Richard Nixon's 61% victory in 1972.

Four African-American youths (Barry Allen, Troy Canty, James Ramseur, and Darrell Cabey) board an express train in The Bronx borough of New York City. They attempt to rob Bernhard Goetz, who shoots them. The event starts a national debate about urban crime, which is a plague in 1980s America.

Crack, a smokeable form of cocaine, is first introduced into the Los Angeles area and soon spreads across the United States in what came to be known as the Crack Epidemic.

MUSIC

When Doves Cry - Prince & The Revolution
What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner
Say Say Say - Paul McCartney / Michael Jackson
Footloose - Kenny Loggins
Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) - Phil Collins
Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker, Jr.
Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters
Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) - Billy Ocean Listen
Wake Me up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
Let's Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer - Elmo & Patsy
99 Luftballons - Nena
Pass The Dutchie - Musical Youth
We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister
All I Need - Jack Wagner

TELEVISION

Transformers [cartoon]: The Autobots and Decepticons, during the great Cybertronian War, crash landed on earth. Millions of years later, geological activity revives the warring factions - the Decepticons want to strip the earth of its vast energy resources, and the Autobots seek to protect the inhabitants of earth from that fate. And so an endless battle begins.
 
Miami Vice: Starring: Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Olivia Brown, Saundra Santiago, & Edward James Olmos
Detective James "Sonny" Crockett and detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, of the Miami-Dade police department's organized crime bureau vice unit, work deep undercover as seedy criminals to infiltrate and bring down the various criminal enterprises of southern Florida.
   
Kids Incorporated: The show portrayed kids in a rock band, performing at a teen-dance club, & dealing with problems such as a being too shy to ask someone on a date or having a friend that likes Shakespeare while you only want to listen to rock and roll.
 
Who's the Boss?: Starring: Tony Danza, Judith Light, Alyssa Milano, Danny Pintauro, & Katherine Helmond
Former major-leaguer Tony Micelli and his daughter Samantha arrive at the Connecticut household of executive Angela Bower, where Tony has taken a job as live-in housekeeper. The Bowers are an interesting family, to say the least. Angela is uptight and obsessed with her work. Her son Jonathan is shy and lacks self-esteem, and her mother, Mona, is a man-hungry vixen. Tony soon wins them over with his laid back style, and the Bowers begin to loosen up.
 
Hunter: Starring: Fred Dryer & Stepfanie Kramer
L.A.P.D. Sgt. Rick Hunter is a tough-minded, Dirty Harry-type policeman who can't stand the creeps, thieves, rapists, and especially murderers who prowl the streets of Los Angeles. Unfortunately his method of doing things doesn't sit well with his precinct captains, which lead to their efforts to get rid of him. Because of his heavy-handed approach, he is unable to keep partners for any significant time frame, and is assigned to Sgt. Dee Dee 'The Brass Cupcake' McCall. The two find themselves up against the slimiest criminals Los Angeles has to offer.

MOVIES

Beverly Hills Cop:  Starring: Eddie Murphy & Judge Reinhold
A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
   
Ghostbusters: Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, & Rick Moranis
Three unemployed parapsychology professors set up shop as a unique ghost removal service.
   
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Starring: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, & Jonathan Ke Quan
After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees, and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace. 
 
The Karate Kid: Starring:  Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, & Martin Kove
A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.
 
Police Academy: Starring: Steve Guttenberg & Kim Cattrall
A group of good-hearted but incompetent misfits enter the police academy, but the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks.
 
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, & Nichelle Nichols
Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock's body.
 
Amadeus: Starring: Tom Hulce & F. Murray Abraham
The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback mode by Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.
 
The Natural: Starring: Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, & Barbara Hershey
An overage baseball player comes out of seemingly nowhere to become a legendary player with almost divine talent.

The Terminator: Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, & Michael Biehn
A cyborg assassin called "The Terminator" is sent back through time to 1984 to kill the seemingly innocent Sarah Connor-a woman whose unborn son will lead the human race to victory in a bitter future war with a race of machines. If the Terminator succeeds, mankind is doomed. Sarah's only hope is a soldier from that post-apocalyptic war, who has chased the Terminator back through time. The future of the human race depends on which one finds her first.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: In the dreams of his victims, a spectral child murderer stalks the children of the members of the lynch mob that killed him.
 
Oh, God! You Devil!: Starring: George Burns
George Burns is back as God, but oops, here he is as Satan, too. A young rock star is ready to sell his soul to Satan, and Satan is all too happy to oblige. Oops! Seems the fellow was watched over by God as a baby, so now the almighty and his nemesis have to duke it out over the soul.


SPORTS

The 1984 Winter Olympics were held in Sarajevo.

At the 1984 Winter Olympics the British ice dancers, Torvill and Dean, became the highest scoring figure skaters of all time (for a single program) receiving 12 perfect 6.0s, including artistic impression scores of 6.0 from every judge.

The longest game in Major League Baseball history begins at 7:30 PM between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago White Sox. The game will be played over the course of 2 days, lasting 25 innings, with a total time of 8 hours and 6 minutes.

Richard Petty wins his 200th career NASCAR victory at the Firecracker 400 in Daytona, Florida.

The 1984 Summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles, California. The Soviet Union boycotts it.

Swale wins the Kentucky Derby with a time of 2:02.40.

Laurent Fignon (France) wins the Tour de France.

PEOPLE WHO DIED

Johnny Weissmuller (b. 1904) - Swimmer/Actor - one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s winning 5 Olympic gold medals & 1 bronze medal. He went on to portray the most well-known Tarzan in 12 Tarzan films.
Ethel Merman (b. 1908) - Singer/Actress - often hailed as "The Queen of the Broadway stage." Her stage performances included: Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, & Hello, Dolly!
William Powell (b. 1892) - Actor - as Nick Charles in the Thin Man films, as Godfrey in My Man Godfrey, & Clarence Day Sr. in Life with Father
Count Basie (b. 1904) - Jazz musician (pianist), bandleader, & composer - Regarded as one of the most important jazz bandleadres of his time. - He was known for the songs "One O'Clock Jump," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," & "April in Paris."
Richard Burton (b. 1925) - Actor - The Robe, Becket, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Anne of the Thousand Days, Equus, & My Cousin Rachel. Also married Elizabeth Taylor twice.
Jon-Erik Hexum (b. 1957) - Actor/model - best known as Phineas Bogg on the sci-fi series Voyagers!
Waite Hoyt (b. 1899) - Professional baseball player - one of the dominant pitchers of the 1920s & the winningest pitcher of the New York Yankees during that decade.

PEOPLE WHO WERE BORN

Olivia Wilde - Actress - as Alex Kelly the bisexual bartender on The O.C., Jenny Reilly on The Black Donnellys
Julia Mancuso - American alpine skier - Won Gold in the Giant Slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Mandy Moore - Singer with hits "Candy" & "I Wanna Be With You" and Actress as Jamie Sullivan in A Walk to Remember, Hilary Faye in Saved!, & Sally Kendoo in American Dreamz
Prince Harry of Wales - 2nd son of Princess Dianna & Prince Charles
Ashlee Simpson - Singer/actres and younger sister of Jessica Simpson - songs include "Pieces of Me," "Shadow," & "La La"
Sasha Cohen - American figure skater - Won silver in Ladie's singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Kelly Osbourne - Singer and daughter of Ozzy Osbourne
LeBron James - Basketball player for the Miami Heat and formerly for the Cleveland Cavaliers