Today in 80s history! What happened on August 25th 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
Gene Simmons (KISS) - 77
August 25, 1949
Rob Halford (Judas Priest) - 75
August 25, 1951
Tim Burton (Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman) - 68
August 25, 1958
Elvis Costello ("Everyday I Write the Book") - 72
August 25, 1954
Vivian Campbell (Dio, Def Leppard) - 64
August 25, 1962
Tom Skerritt (Viper in Top Gun, Alien) - 93
August 25, 1933
Blair Underwood (L.A. Law) - 62
August 25, 1964
Rollie Fingers (Oakland A's, Milwaukee Brewers) - 80
August 25, 1946
REMEMBERING
Sean Connery (James Bond, The Untouchables, Highlander)
August 25, 1930 - October 31, 2020 (Age 90)
Regis Philbin (Live with Regis and Kathie Lee)
August 25, 1931 - July 24, 2020 (Age 88)
Neil Armstrong (First Man on the Moon)
August 5, 1930 - August 25, 2012 (Age 82)
Art Rooney (Founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers)
January 27, 1901 - August 25, 1988 (Age 87)
TODAY IN 80S MUSIC
80s Music Released on August 25th
1986 - Graceland
Artist: Paul Simon (7th Solo Album)
Billboard Charts: #3
Note: Recorded in Johannesburg in defiance of the UN cultural boycott, which got Simon condemned by the anti-apartheid movement and eventually praised by many of the musicians he worked with. It won Album of the Year and has sold over 16 million copies.
1987 - Permanent Vacation
Artist: Aerosmith (9th Album)
Billboard Charts: #11
Note: The real comeback — newly sober, working with outside songwriters for the first time, and handed to MTV on a plate. "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" and "Rag Doll" put them back on the radio for another thirty years.
TODAY IN 80S MOVIES
80s Movies Released On August 25th
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Release Date: August 25, 1983
Director: Nagisa Oshima
Starring: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Takeshi Kitano
Box Office: $2.3 Million
Note: Bowie as a POW in a Japanese camp, opposite Sakamoto, who also wrote the score — that main theme has outlived almost everything else either of them did on film.
The Package (1989)
Release Date: August 25, 1989
Director: Andrew Davis
Starring: Gene Hackman, Tommy Lee Jones and Joanna Cassidy
Budget: $18 Million
Box Office: $10.6 Million
Note: A Cold War conspiracy thriller from the director who'd make The Fugitive four years later, with Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones on opposite sides.
TODAY IN 80S TV
No 80s TV News for today in the 80s!
TODAY IN 80S SPORTS
986 - Mark McGwire Hit His First Major League Home Run
Event: MLB
Details: Off Walt Terrell at Tiger Stadium, three days into his big league career. Number 39 came the following August 14 and broke the rookie record; number 583 was the last.
1985 - Dwight Gooden Became the Youngest 20-Game Winner
Event: MLB
Details: At 20 years old. He finished 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and the Cy Young, five days after reaching 200 strikeouts in consecutive seasons on August 20.
TODAY IN OTHER 80S NEWS
1981 and 1989 - Voyager 2 Reached Saturn, Then Neptune
Details: The same spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn on this date in 1981 and to Neptune on this date in 1989 — eight years apart to the day, and the only visit humanity has ever paid to Neptune.
