Today in 80s history! What happened on August 23rd 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
Rick Springfield ("Jessie's Girl," General Hospital) - 77
August 23, 1949
Shelley Long (Diane Chambers on Cheers) - 77
August 23, 1949
Richard Sanders (Les Nessman on WKRP in Cincinnati) - 86
August 23, 1940
Julio Franco (Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers) - 68
August 23, 1958
Rik Smits (Indiana Pacers) - 60
August 23, 1966
REMEMBERING
River Phoenix (Chris Chambers in Stand by Me)
August 23, 1970 - October 31, 1993 (Age 23)
Gene Kelly (Singin' in the Rain, Xanadu)
August 23, 1912 - February 2, 1996 (Age 83)
Terry Funk (NWA, ECW, Road House)
June 30, 1944 - August 23, 2023 (Age 79)
TODAY IN 80S MUSIC
80s Music Released on August 23rd
1983 - Ratt (EP)
Artist: Ratt (Debut EP)
Billboard Charts: #111
Note: Self-released on a tiny label and sold at Sunset Strip shows. It got them signed to Atlantic, and Out of the Cellar followed seven months later with "Round and Round." Guitarist Robbin Crosby's birthday was August 4.
1988 - Nothing's Shocking
Artist: Jane's Addiction (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #103
Note: Nine major chains refused to stock it because of the cover sculpture Perry Farrell made himself. It barely charted and it is one of the two or three most influential American rock records of the decade.
TODAY IN 80S MOVIES
80s Movies Released On August 23rd
Teen Wolf (1985)
Release Date: August 23, 1985
Director: Rod Daniel
Starring: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton and Susan Ursitti
Budget: $4 Million
Box Office: $33 Million Domestic, $80 Million Worldwide
Note: Shot before Back to the Future and released six weeks after it, so audiences went in already sold. Fox hated it enough to skip the sequel. Twenty times its budget.
Better Off Dead (1985)
Release Date: August 23, 1985
Director: Savage Steve Holland
Starring: John Cusack, Diane Franklin, Curtis Armstrong and David Ogden Stiers
Box Office: $10.3 Million
Note: Loosely autobiographical — Holland really was dumped for a skier. Cusack reportedly walked out of a screening and told Holland he'd never work with him again, then did One Crazy Summer the next year. "I want my two dollars."
TODAY IN 80S TV
No 80s TV News for today in the 80s!
TODAY IN 80S SPORTS
1989 - The Dodgers Beat the Expos 1-0 in 22 Innings
Event: MLB
Details: Started Wednesday night, finished Thursday morning, and settled by a Rick Dempsey home run in the top of the 22nd. Alfredo Griffin went 0-for-9.
1982 - Gaylord Perry Was Ejected for Throwing a Spitball
Event: MLB
Details: The first ejection of his 21-year career for the pitch everyone knew he'd been throwing since the sixties. Joe Niekro's emery board came on August 3 and Kevin Gross's sandpaper on August 10 — August is a bad month for pitchers with secrets.
1980 - Charlie Finley Sold the Oakland A's
Event: MLB
Details: $12.7 million to Walter Haas Jr. of Levi Strauss, ending the reign of the man who gave baseball white shoes, orange baseballs, a mule mascot and three straight World Series titles.
TODAY IN OTHER 80S NEWS
No other news in the 80s today!
