Friday, December 14, 1984

1984: Howard Cosell retired from Monday Night Football




Like many of my generation, I grew up with Howard Cossell, Frank Guiford and Dan Meredith of ABC Monday Night Football.

It was the biggest game of the week and something that all of us looked forward to.  The ratings were huge as I recall.

On this day in 1984, Howard Cosell retired from the broadcast.

There were many great games and moments.

On December 8, 1980, New England and Miami were playing an important division game.

I don't recall exactly when but I fell asleep and missed the bulletin about John Lennon's shooting.   It was read on the air by Howard Cossel, who knew Lennon personally.    

Here is the link of that fateful moment:


   
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Thursday, October 04, 1984

We remember Charlton Heston (1923-2008)



The great Charlton Heston was born in Illinois on this day in 1923.    He died in 2008.    He was in so many movies that it's hard to count.   However, my guess is that most people remember him for "The Ten Commandments”.

After Hollywood, he worked with the NRA and was a political activist.   He was also a great human being.

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Saturday, August 11, 1984

August 1964: The Beatles were suddenly movie stars!


Image result for the beatles a hard day's night images

(My new American Thinker post)

It was August 1964, and our family was waiting in Jamaica for our "papers" to fly to the U.S.  Over in downtown Kingston, I saw a big sign about a new movie by The Beatles.  My father did not know who the group was, and we kept walking, doing our errands.

Why didn't my father know who the band was?  We had just left Cuba, and we never got them in the island.  Think about it.  The world was full of "Beatlemania," and all we heard was Fidel Castro's speeches.  Do you understand now why I'm so grateful to my parents for getting us out of that communist island?

Later I learned that The Beatles were suddenly screen stars as well as the top band in the world!  The movie, A Hard Day's Night, was released in the U.K. in July and in the U.S. in August.  We heard all about their music when we finally landed in the U.S.

As someone said, the movie didn't have much of a plot, but lots of people paid to see it.  The theaters were full from coast to coast.

The plot was sort of like a day in the life of the group.  We saw The Beatles running around from concerts to studios to interviews, and there was one funny old man (Wilfrid Brambell) playing Paul's grandfather.

In retrospect, the movie was very funny.  It was full of crazy comedy and some great dialogue that sounds better with age:

In Richard Lester's kinetic and influential, cinema verite music-video documentary about Beatlemania — the first Beatle film about a "day in the life":

the opening montage scene of the Beatles being besieged by a stampede of frenzied schoolgirl fans on their travels from their hometown of Liverpool to London to perform in a TV broadcast, and their retreat to a train station

Paul's meeting and encounter with an unimpressed, middle-aged gentleman (his fictional "Grandfather" John McCartney) (Wilfred Brambell), who was on their London-bound train in the first-class cabin; Paul told John: "He's very clean" (an oft-repeated line) and described him as "a villain, a real mixer"

the scene in the train compartment when proper, commuting city business-man Johnson (Richard Vernon) complained about their loud radio — with John's coo-ed line to him as he leaned over: "Give us a kiss!"; Johnson asserted: "I fought the war for your sort" — John impudently joked back: "I'll bet you're sorry you won"

the group's dry, dismissive one-liners when interviewed by the press with nonsensical questions: 

John Lennon's answer about how he found America: ("Turned left at Greenland"); 

Ringo's answers to questions: "Are you a mod or a rocker?" "Uh, no, I'm a mocker"; and "What do you call that collar?" "A collar"; 

and George's answers: "Has success changed your life?" "Yes" and "What would you call that hairstyle you're wearing?" "Arthur"

Ringo's solitary misadventures, and "walkabout" wanderings around London as he snapped pictures — into a clothing store, strolling alongside a canal, in a pub; and along the way, the comic scene of Ringo offering his coat to cover muddy puddles for a lady to cross over, only to discover that the third puddle was a deep hole; he was apprehended by police for "wandering abroad, malicious intent, acting in a suspicious manner, conduct liable to cause a breach of the peace — you name it, he's done it"

I liked it, and I continue to like it a lot!  Maybe life was simpler, or grandfather jokes appeal to me now that I have three of those little ones called grandchildren.

The soundtrack was great, such as the title song "A Hard Day's Night," also released as a 45 with "I Should Have Known Better" as the B-side.  There were two great ballads: "And I Love Her" plus the beautiful "If I Fell."

We remember that there were two L.P.s issued, one for the U.S. and the other for the U.K.  The U.S. version had several George Martin instrumentals, such as "This Boy: Ringo's Theme."  As I heard in a George Martin interview, they issued two L.P.s for contractual reasons.

It was really a fun movie and a recess from all the mad stuff on the news.  Catch it, and I'm sure you'll like it.  We'll have plenty of time next week to talk about everything else.

1984: Reagan and the joke about bombing Russia


Image result for reagan jokes about outlawing the soviet union images
On this day in 1984, President Reagan was testing his microphone for a Saturday radio speech and said this:  
“My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”    
The reaction was predictable.   The Democrats thought that it was so “un-presidential”.    (Where have we heard that before?)
We thought that it was funny!  
In the end, the missiles were not fired and President Reagan carried 49 states in November 1984. 

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Wednesday, June 06, 1984

1984: President Reagan and the D-Day speech that every kid should read


Image result for president reagan D-Day imagesWe recall D-Day 1944, or the invasion of Europe that put thousands of US and allied young men on the beaches of Normandy.  They liberated Paris a few months later and Hitler was eventually defeated the next spring.

It all started on D-Day.    You can watch "Saving Private Ryan" for an all "too real" memory of that day.  It is not really suitable for young ones because the violence is very real.  

Or you can try "The Longest Day", a PG version of the story.   It seems like every Hollywood actor was on this movie, from John Wayne to Richard Burton.

Both movies are great and tell the story of one of the most significant days of the 20th century!

Some of us are old enough to remember this Pres Reagan speech from June 1984.  Frankly, it gets better with age.  It was Pres Reagan at his best:

"We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved and the world prayed for its rescue. Here, in Normandy, the rescue began. Here, the Allies stood and fought against tyranny, in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, two hundred and twenty-five Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs.
Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here, and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs, shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only ninety could still bear arms.
And behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. And these are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your "lives fought for life and left the vivid air signed with your honor."
I think I know what you may be thinking right now -- thinking "we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day." Well everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren't. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.
Lord Lovat was with him -- Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, "Sorry, I'm a few minutes late," as if he'd been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he'd just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles, who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold; and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a roll call of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore; The Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland's 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots' Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England's armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard's "Matchbox Fleet," and you, the American Rangers.
Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief. It was loyalty and love.
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead, or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.
You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought -- or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4:00 am. In Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying. And in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.
Something else helped the men of D-day; their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer, he told them: "Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do." Also, that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.
When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together. There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall Plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall Plan led to the Atlantic alliance -- a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.
In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. The Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They're still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost forty years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as forty years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose: to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.
We in America have learned bitter lessons from two world wars. It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent. But we try always to be prepared for peace, prepared to deter aggression, prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms, and yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.
It's fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II. Twenty million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.
We will pray forever that someday that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.
We're bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we're with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
Strengthened by their courage and heartened by their value [valor] and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.
Thank you very much, and God bless you all."

It was one of the greatest presidential speeches ever.  

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Pres Reagan at D-Day 1984


Image result for reagan at D'Day images

We post often about Pres Reagan.   He died in 2004, or the 60th anniversary of D-Day. 

Today, we remember one of Pres Reagan's greatest speeches, the 40th anniversary of D-Day.

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Thursday, May 24, 1984

1984: The Tigers and the 35-5 start






Back in 1984, the Detroit Tigers got off to a 35-5 start.    That's winning 87% of your first 40 games.

The Tigers ended up with 104 wins.   They beat KC in the ALCS and defeated San Diego in 5 games in the World Series.   

Great team.

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Tuesday, May 08, 1984

We remember President Truman (1884-1972)




We remember President Harry S. Truman who was born in Lamar, MO, on this day in 1884.   


Truman assumed the presidency following the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in April 1945.    Truman made the decision to drop two atomic bombs against Japan.  He helped rebuild postwar Europe, worked to contain communism and led the United States into the Korean War (1950-1953). 

Truman left the presidency with very low ratings.   However, he has risen over time and most see him today as a very consequential president.

President Truman died in 1972.    

A few years ago, David McCullough wrote a wonderful book about President Truman.

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Sunday, April 01, 1984

1984: Marvin Gaye was killed in LA


Marvin Gaye caught my attention when he recorded those great duets with the late Tammi Tarrell.  

A few years later, he recorded "I heard it through the grapevine" and his career  took off to historic levels.

It does not seem possible but Marvin Gaye was killed on this day in 1984.

It happened in Los Angeles and he was just 44.  Very sad!


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Tuesday, January 10, 1984

1984: Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew, and Don Drysdale elected to the Hall of Fame

Image result for aparicio killebrew drysdale images
On this day in 1984, Luis Aparicio, Harmon Killebrew and Don Drysdale, were elected to The Hall of Fame.

Aparicio was a great shortstop born in Venezuela in 1934:  .262 batting average, 2,677 hits and 506 stolen bases in 2,599 games.  He was an excellent defensive shortstop.

Killebrew was born in Idaho in 1936 and became one of the best power hitters of our generation:  573 HR, 1,584 RBI, AL MVP 1969 and several HR titles. 

Drysdale was born in California in 1936 and played his entire career with the Dodgers:   209 wins, 167 complete games and a 2.95 ERA.  In 1968, he pitched 58 straight scoreless innings including six straight shutouts.

They were great.

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