Today in 80s history! What happened on August 20th in the 80s? Find out what happened today in 80s Movies, 80s Music, 80s TV Shows, and 80s Sports! Also find out about celebrity birthdays for the legends, icons and characters we grew up with in the 80s!
TODAY'S 80S BIRTHDAYS
Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers) - 78
August 20, 1948
KRS-One (Boogie Down Productions) - 61
August 20, 1965
Ke Huy Quan (Data in The Goonies, Short Round in Temple of Doom) - 55
August 20, 1971
Joan Allen (Peggy Sue Got Married, Manhunter) - 70
August 20, 1956
Connie Chung (Journalist) - 80
August 20, 1946
Al Roker (Weatherman) - 72
August 20, 1954
Graig Nettles (New York Yankees) - 82
August 20, 1944
Don King (Boxing Promoter) - 95
August 20, 1931
REMEMBERING
Jerry Lewis (The Nutty Professor, the MDA Telethon)
March 16, 1926 - August 20, 2017 (Age 91)
Phyllis Diller (Comedian)
July 17, 1917 - August 20, 2012 (Age 95)
Isaac Hayes (Shaft, Escape from New York)
August 20, 1942 - August 10, 2008 (Age 65)
TODAY IN 80S MUSIC
80s Music Released on August 20th
1986 - Fore!
Artist: Huey Lewis and the News (4th Album)
Billboard Charts: #1
Note: The follow-up to Sports, with five top-ten singles including "Hip to Be Square" — a song about conformity that America took completely at face value, and that Bret Easton Ellis later handed to Patrick Bateman.
TODAY IN 80S MOVIES
80s Movies Released On August 20th
The Beastmaster (1982)
Release Date: August 20, 1982
Director: Don Coscarelli
Starring: Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, Rip Torn and John Amos
Budget: $9 Million
Box Office: $14.1 Million
Note: From the director of Phantasm, in the sword-and-sorcery gold rush that followed Conan. It underperformed in theaters and then ran on HBO and TBS so relentlessly that people joked the initials stood for "Beastmaster."
TODAY IN 80S TV
1989 - Saved by the Bell Premiered
Event: Series Premiere
Network: NBC
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 86
Note: It had already existed as Good Morning, Miss Bliss on the Disney Channel, with Hayley Mills as the teacher. NBC kept Zack, Screech, Lisa and Mr. Belding, moved the whole thing to Bayside and built Saturday mornings around it for four years.
TODAY IN 80S SPORTS
985 - Dwight Gooden Reached 200 Strikeouts in Consecutive Seasons
Event: MLB
Details: The first National League pitcher to do it in his first two seasons. Gooden was 20, and finished 1985 at 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and the Cy Young.
1989 - Howard Johnson Joined the 30-30 Club
Event: MLB
Details: Thirty home runs and thirty steals in the same season for the Mets, the second time HoJo had done it. Only a handful of players have managed it twice.
TODAY IN OTHER 80S NEWS
No other news in the 80s today!
