This is a timeline of major news events and popular culture happenings that took place during the years CED was on the market. Mixed in with the news and pop culture events are links to RCA press releases and lists of CED titles as they were released. Some of the news items and many of the pop culture items relate in some way to CED, and these are marked with the blue CED letters. A picture is provided for a major news event during each month of the timeline. The number one songs are also playable in MIDI format.
Presently listed are the first three years of this timeline, as I'm building it one week at a time in conjunction with the "20 Years Ago in CED History" column that is sent out once a week as part of CED Digest. This page will only be updated at the end of each year, so to have access to the timeline on a weekly basis, subscribe to CED Digest. The timeline starts at the beginning of 1981, which coincides with RCA's splashy introduction of CED at the Consumer Electronics Show and will end in 1986, the year the last CED's were pressed and RCA ceased to exist as a distinct corporate entity. The news and cultural events chronicled in this historical timeline are derived from a dozen different encyclopedia Year Books.
Timeline Quick Index:
1981:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
1982:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
1983:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
1984:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
1985:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
1986:
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
June
January 1, 1982:
* Clemson defeats Nebraska 22-15 in the Orange Bowl in Miami for the National Collegiate Football Championship.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR JANUARY 1982:
Back Roads
Bells Are Ringing
Big Red One, The
Brigadoon
Coma
Cousin Cousine
Day at the Races, A
No Nukes: The Muse Concert
Rio Lobo
Sunshine Boys, The
Treasure Island [1934]
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Body and Soul.
January 2, 1982:
* Ahmed Fuad Mohieddin is named premier of Egypt by President Hosni Mubarak.
January 3, 1982:
* President Chun Doo Hwan of South Korea dismisses Prime Minister Nam Duck Woo and five other cabinet members. Yoo Chang Soon is named as Nam's successor.
January 4, 1982:
* Richard Allen resigns as White House national security advisor, climaxing a scandal over his acceptance of a questionable payment from a Japanese magazine. William F. Clark, Jr. is named his successor.
January 5, 1982:
* A federal judge overturns an Arkansas law requiring the teaching of creation science in classes where evolution is taught.
January 6, 1982:
* Archbishop Jozef Glemp, the Roman Catholic primate of Poland, tells a congregation in Warsaw's St. John's Cathedral that those who signed oaths renouncing Solidarity were coerced by the government and the oaths have no validity.
January 7, 1982:
* Presidential counselor Edwin Meese III reads a statement that reverses President Reagan's pre-election stand against the registration of 18-year-old males for a possible future military draft.
* The Winter 1982 Consumer Electronics Show begins in Las Vegas, Nevada. While a year earlier the RCA VideoDisc system had been one of the most prominent introductions, at the 1982 show the VHD VideoDisc holds the spotlight with a large display space sporting the slogan "There's More to See on VHD." Other notable video-related introductions include the Technicolor CVC mini-cassette VCR system, the first tubeless consumer video camera, and the first Pioneer LaserDisc player with CX noise reduction.
January 8, 1982:
* Spokesmen for the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) and the U.S. Department of Justice announce the settlement of a seven-year-old antitrust case which will result in AT&T divesting itself of 22 telephone companies, effectively breaking up the monopoly.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Four Friends.
January 9, 1982:
* A frigid blast of arctic air arrives in the United States bringing with it a week of record low temperatures.
January 10, 1982:
* The late Liu Shao-chi, China's discredited former chief of state, is restored to favor as government authorities allow his memoirs to go on sale in Beijing.
* Actor Paul Lynde dies at age 55. He provided voices in the CED titles Journey Back to Oz and Charlotte's Web.
January 11, 1982:
* The Reagan Administration announces that it will continue to help Taiwan produce F-5E fighter planes, but will not sell more advanced models. China issues a strong protest.
* In Brussels, at the first emergency meeting ever held by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), foreign ministers of 14 member countries issue a communique denouncing the Soviet Union of its active support of repression by the martial law regime in Poland.
January 12, 1982:
* To counter a serious recession, Canada creates a Ministry of State for Economic Development and reorganizes other federal agencies.
January 13, 1982:
* An Air Florida jetliner taking off from Washington National Airport hits the crowded 14th Street bridge and crashes into the Potomac River resulting in 78 deaths. Five passengers are rescued from the icy water of the river.
January 14, 1982:
* Adil Carcani is nominated to become premier of Albania. He will succeed Mehmet Shehu, who reportedly had committed suicide in 1981 after being premier since 1954.
January 15, 1982:
* Spain announces successors to four top military commanders who retired the day before. The Defense Ministry explains that the changes were necessary before Spain negotiates its entry into NATO.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: One From the Heart.
January 16, 1982:
* The Vatican and Great Britain re-establish full diplomatic relations, ending
a rift that occurred when King Henry VIII broke with Roman Catholicism in 1532.
January 17, 1982:
* Record low temperatures are recorded in a number of US cities. The day is later nicknamed "Cold Sunday."
January 18, 1982:
* Voters in Finland elect Mauno Koivisto president succeeding Urho Kekkonen who resigned in October 1981.
January 19, 1982:
* A one-day general strike in India, called by eight national trade unions to protest the labor policies of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, halts industry and public services throughout the country.
January 20, 1982:
* Montreal's 6,800 public transit employees vote to end an illegal six-day strike.
January 21, 1982:
* Defying union management, about 55 percent of Great Britain's nearly 250,000 coal miners vote to accept a 9.3 percent wage increase.
January 22, 1982:
* Eduardo Frei Montalva, president of Chile from 1964 to 1970, dies at age 71.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: On Golden Pond.
January 23, 1982:
* Over U.S. objections, France agrees to buy 282.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the Soviet Union every year for 25 years.
January 24, 1982:
* The San Francisco 49ers win Super Bowl XVI, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21. Highlights of the game can be seen on the CED title NFL'81 Official Season Yearbook.
January 25, 1982:
* Mikhail A. Suslov, Russia's chief ideologist, dies at age 79.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA 'SelectaVision' VideoDiscs And Monarch Entertainment To Develop Music Video Programming
January 26, 1982:
* In his first State of the Union message to the U.S. Congress, President Reagan reaffirms his support for supply-side economics and proposes a massive but gradual shift of federal social programs to the states. Reagan calls the bold concept "new federalism."
January 27, 1982:
* Honduras ends nine years on military rule with the installation of Roberto Suazo Cordova as president. During his inaugural address, Suazo pledges that officials of his administration will be "servants of the people and not beneficiaries of the state."
* Mauno Koivisto is elected president of Finland with 167 of the 301 votes cast by members of the electoral college. He replaces President Urho Kekkonen who had resigned for health reasons after 25 years in office.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Offers Eight New Video Disc Titles in February
January 28, 1982:
* U.S. Brigadier General James L. Dozier is rescued from his Red Brigades kidnappers when Italian anti-terrorist forces carry out a carefully planned raid on an apartment Padua. Three men and two women are captured. Dozier is described as tired but otherwise in good health after his 42 days of captivity.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
'Airplane!' Leads RCA's VideoDisc Hit Parade
January 29, 1982:
* "The Bulletin" ceases publication in Philadelphia after 134 years.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Shoot the Moon.
January 30, 1982:
* According to a Warsaw radio report, more than 200 people are arrested in Gdansk after violent clashes with Polish police. The local military council responds by tightening curfew restrictions and suspending all sports activities and public entertainment.
I Can't Go For That (CED) by Hall & Oates becomes the No. 1 U.S. single, replacing Physical (CED) by Olivia Newton-John, which had been No. 1 since November 21, 1981, a record for the 1980's.
* 39TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS:
Best Director - Motion Picture
Warren Beatty, Reds (CED)
Best Foreign Language Film
Chariots of Fire, Great Britain (CED)
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
East of Eden (tie), Mace Neufeld Prod./Viacom/ABC
Bill (tie), Alan Landsburg Prods./CBS
Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
Arthur, Orion (CED)
Best Motion Picture - Drama
On Golden Pond, Universal & AFD Corp. (CED)
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do), Arthur (CED)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Mickey Rooney, Bill
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
Dudley Moore, Arthur (CED)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Henry Fonda, On Golden Pond (CED)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
John Gielgud, Arthur (CED)
Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical
Alan Alda, M*A*S*H (CED)
Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama
Daniel J. Travanti, Hill Street Blues
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Jane Seymour, East of Eden
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
Bernadette Peters, Pennies From Heaven (CED)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman (CED)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture
Joan Hackett, Only When I Laugh (CED)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television-Series - Comedy/Musical
Eileen Brennan, Private Benjamin (CED)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television-Series - Drama
Linda Evans (tie), Dynasty
Barbara Bel Geddes (tie), Dallas
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Ernest Thompson, On Golden Pond (CED)
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
John Hillerman, Magnum P.I.
Best Supporting Actress in Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Valerie Bertinelli, One Day At A Time
Best Television -Series - Drama
Hill Street Blues, NBC
Best Television-Series - Comedy/Musical
M*A*S*H, CBS (CED)
Cecil B. DeMille Award
Sidney Poitier.
Historic Award: Best Television Special - Variety/Musical
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration
Historic Award: New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture - Male or Female
Pia Zadora, Butterfly (CED)
January 31, 1982:
* The Israeli government signals its acceptance of France, Great Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands as part of a peace force that will patrol the Sinai after Israel's withdrawal in April.
February 1, 1982:
* The first "Late Night with David Letterman" show is broadcast.
* Senegal and Gambia, two West African nations, unite in a confederation called Senegambia. Abdou Diouf, president of Senegal, becomes president of the confederation and Sir Dauda Jawara, president of Gambia, becomes vice-president. Under the agreement, Senegal and Gambia will remain sovereign nations, but the countries will be united for military and economic purposes.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR FEBRUARY 1982:
Annie Hall
Big Fights, Vol. 2: Heavyweight Champions' Greatest Fights
Charlie Brown Festival, Vol. 2
Disney Cartoon Parade, Vol. 2
Dressed to Kill
Great Muppet Caper, The [monophonic]
Return of the Pink Panther, The
Three Days of the Condor
February 2, 1982:
* Belgium's Senate grants the government power to enact reforms by decree to deal with the country's economic crisis.
* Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek arrives in Washington for two days of talks with President Reagan. Mubarek declares that resolving the "Palestinian problem" is the key to peace and stability in the Middle East. He also asserts "both sides have an inherent right to exist and function as a national unity."
February 3, 1982:
* The Eastman Kodak Company introduces a compact new camera called the "Kodak Disc" that uses a film disc instead of roll film. Kodak says the new system should improve the quality of amateur photography.
* The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that severe snowstorms and record cold have led to more than 300 deaths across the United States in January.
February 4, 1982:
* President Reagan suggests the elimination of all nuclear missiles in Europe, countering the 2/3 reduction proposal of Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev.
February 5, 1982:
* Great Britain imposes economic sanctions against Poland and Russia in a protest against martial law in Poland.
* Bolivia devalues the peso and announces other measures to alleviate its economic problems.
* Laker Airways, a British company that had inaugurated cut-rate transatlantic passenger service in 1977, declares bankruptcy.
* The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution condemning Israel for its annexation of the Golan Heights in December 1981. Israel had occupied the Golan Heights since 1967, when it captured the region from Syria.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Wrong Is Right.
February 6, 1982:
* President Reagan releases a budget message for fiscal year 1983 that calls for a substantial increase in military spending and substantial cuts in such benefit programs as welfare, food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and subsidized housing. The projected deficit is $91.5 billion.
Freeze Frame (CED) by the J. Geils Band becomes the No. 1 U.S. album, while the song Centerfold from the album becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
February 7, 1982:
* Lius Alberto Monge is elected president of Costa Rica succeeding Rodrigo Carazo Odio, who had been president since 1978.
February 8, 1982:
* Fire in the top two floors of the luxury Hotel New Japan in Tokyo kills at least 30 people and injures 60.
February 9, 1982:
* Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos's son-in-law, Tommy Manotoc, is reported to have been rescued from leftist guerillas the previous day. Manotoc, who mysteriously disappeared 41 days earlier, had angered the president and his wife by secretly marrying their daughter, Imee, on December 4, 1981.
* The Kampuchean government, under the domination of Vietnam, appoints Chan Sy premier, replacing Pen Sovan who had earlier been removed "for reasons of health," but who is rumored to be under house arrest.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Video Disc Households Owning Players Over Eight Months Now Have Average of Almost 23 Albums, RCA Survey Shows
February 10, 1982:
* According to a report by a food scientist at the University of Wisconsin, deep-fat frying generates fewer mutagens - chemicals that can alter the genetic structure of cells - than other methods of cooking in which the same high temperatures are reached.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Introduces New VideoDisc Player with Optional Retail Price of $349.95
February 11, 1982:
* France nationalizes five groups of major industries and 39 banks.
February 12, 1982:
* Pope John Paul II begins a visit to West Africa in his first trip abroad since the May 1981 attempt on his life.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Seduction.
February 13, 1982:
* A U.S. military advisor in El Salvador is ordered home after being seen on film carrying an M-16 rifle in violation of regulations.
* A civil court judge in El Salvador orders five former national guardsmen held for further investigation of the murders of three Roman Catholic nuns and a lay co-worker in December 1980.
February 14, 1982:
* The leaders of 11 member nations of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) conclude four days of talks in Nairobi. The conflicts in Western Sahara and Chad were the main topics of discussion.
* Bobby Allison, driving a Buick, wins $927,625 at the Daytona 500 in Florida.
February 15, 1982:
* The offshore oil rig Ocean Ranger sinks about 175 nautical miles off Newfoundland, killing all 84 crew members.
February 16, 1982:
* In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin, President Reagan denies charges that the U.S. is drifting from its policy of full support from Israel. Begin had sent Reagan a letter of protest over statements made in Jordan by U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger suggesting that the U.S. would sell advanced antiaircraft missiles and fighter planes to that country.
* More than 30 seamen are lost when the Soviet freighter Mekhanik Tarasov sinks in a storm off Newfoundland.
February 17, 1982:
* Mexico withdraws support of the peso in international exchange markets resulting in a plunge of value within a week to 41 cents against the U.S. dollar.
* Polish-born acting teacher Lee Strasberg dies at age 80. He introduced method acting and trained such stars as Marlon Brando, James Dean, Rod Steiger, Anne Jackson, Shelly Winters, Paul Newman, and Robert DeNiro.
February 18, 1982:
* The Iranian government announces that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini will eventually be replaced by a four- or five-man elected council. Concurrent reports that Khomeini is seriously ill are denied by the government as "imperialist and Zionist lies."
February 19, 1982:
* The DeLorean Motor Company of Belfast, Northern Ireland goes into receivership after the British government announces it can no longer provide money to the ailing manufacturer of the deluxe stainless steel sports car. The receivers, aware of the high unemployment rate in Northern Ireland, express hope that $90 can be raised to keep the company operating.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Vice Squad.
February 20, 1982:
* The New York Islanders win a record 15th straight game in the National Hockey League.
February 21, 1982:
* Interior Secretary James Watt, in a policy shift, announced he would ask Congress to bar mining and drilling in wilderness areas until the year 2000.
* Mexican president Jose Lopez Portillo, during a visit to Nicaragua, declares his willingness to act as a mediator to lessen tensions in Central America and the Caribbean.
February 22, 1982:
* Syria admits for the first time that intense fighting is taking place against the rebel Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Hama.
February 23, 1982:
* The Japanese government announces that it will grant no new credits to Poland until it lifts martial law. Japan, however, promises to fulfill its earlier commitments of economic aid.
February 24, 1982:
* President Reagan, in an address to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., warns that "new Cubas will arise from the ruins of today's conflicts" in Central America unless something is done to prevent it from happening.
* Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers breaks the National Hockey League season-scoring record of 76 goals. By the end of the season he has set a new mark of 92 goals.
* 24TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS:
Record of the Year "Bette Davis Eyes" Kim Carnes
Album of the Year "Double Fantasy," John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Song of the Year "Bette Davis Eyes" (CED) Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, songwriter
Best New Artist Sheena Easton (CED)
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Breakin Away," Al Jarreau
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music Live On Broadway,' Lena Horn
Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal "Boy From New York City" Manhattan Transfer
Best Pop Instrumental Performance "The Theme From Hill Street Blues" Mike Post featuring Larry Carlton
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male "Jessie's Girl" Rick Springfield
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female "Fire and Ice" (CED) Pat Benatar
Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (CED) Police
Best Rock Instrumental Performance "Behind My Camel" Police
Best Rhythm and Blues Song "Just the Two of Us" Bill Withers, William Salter and Ralph MacDonald, songwriter
Best Rhythm and Blues Performance, Male "One Hundred Ways" James Ingram
Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Female "Hold On I'm Comin'" Aretha Franklin
Best Rhythm and Blues Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal "The Dude," Quincy Jones
Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance "All I Need Is You" David Sanborn
Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male "Blue Rondo a la Turk" Al Jarreau
Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female "Digital III at Montreux," Ella Fitzgerald
Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group "Until I Met You" Manhattan Transfer
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist "Bye Bye Blackbird," John Coltrane
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group "Chick Corea and Gary Burton in Concert," Zurich, October 28, 1979, Chick Corea and Gary Burton
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, "Big Band Walk on the Water," Gerry Mulligan and His Orchestra
Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental "Winelight," Grover Washington, Jr
Best Country Song "9 to 5" (CED) Dolly Parton, songwriter
Best Country Vocal Performance, Male (There's) "No Gettin' Over Me" Ronnie Milsap
Best Country Vocal Performance, Female "9 to 5" (CED) Dolly Parton
Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal "Elvira" Oak Ridge Boys
Best Country Instrumental Performance Country, "After All These Years," Chet Atkins
Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary or Inspirational "Priority," Imperials
Best Gospel Performance, Traditional "The Masters V," J.D. Sumner, James Blackwood, Hovie Lister, Rosie Rozell, and Jake Hess
Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary "Don't Give Up," Andrae Crouch
Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional "The Lord Will Make a Way," Al Green
Best Latin Recording "Guajira Pa la Jeva" Clare Fischer
Best Inspirational Performance "Amazing Grace," B.J. Thomas
Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere," B.B. King
Best Arrangement of an Instrumental Recording "Velas" Quincy Jones and Johnny Mandel, arrangers
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) "Ai No Corrida" Quincy Jones and Jerry Hey, arrangers
Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" Gene Puerling, arranger
Best Instrumental Composition "The Theme From Hill Street Blues" Mike Post, composer
Best Cast Show Album Lena Horne: "The Lady and Her Music Live on Broadway," various composers and lyricists
Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special "Raiders of the Lost Ark," John Williams, composer (CED)
Best Classical Album "Mahler, Symphony No. 2 in C Minor," Sir Georg Solti conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Best Classical Orchestral Recording "Mahler, Symphony No. 2 in C Minor," Sir Georg Solti conducting Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Best Chamber Music Performance "Tchaikovsky, Piano Trio in A Minor," Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell and Vladimir Ashkenazy
Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (With Orchestra) "Isaac Stern 60th Anniversary Celebration," Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman; Zubin Mehta conducting New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Best Classical Performance, Instrumental Soloist(s) (Without Orchestra) "The Horowitz Concerts 1979/80," Vladimir Horowitz
Best Opera Recording "Janacek, From the House of the Dead," Sir Charles Mackerras conducting Vienna Philharmonic; solos: Zahradnicek, Zitek and Zidek
Best Choral Performance (Other Than Opera) "Haydn, The Creation," Neville Marriner conducting Chorus of Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Best Classical Vocal Soloist Performance "Live From Lincoln Center, Sutherland-Horne-Pavarotti," Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne and Luciano Pavarotti
Best Comedy Recording Rev. "Du Rite," Richard Pryor
Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording "Donovan's Brain," Orson Welles
Best Recording for Children "Sesame Country," Muppets, Glen Campbell, Crystal Gayle, Loretta Lynn, Tanya Tucker; Jim Henson
Best Album Package "Tatoo You," Peter Corriston, art director
Best Album Notes Erroll Garner, "Master of the Keyboard," Dan Morgenstern, annotato
Best Historical Album "Hoagy Carmichael: From "Star Dust" to "Ole Buttermilk Sky"
Video of the Year "Michael Nesmith in Elephant Parts" (CED) Michael Nesmith
Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) Quincy Jones
Classical Producer of the Year James Mallinson
February 25, 1982:
* The U.N. Security Council votes 13-0 to increase its 6,000 man peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon by an additional 1,000 troops.
* An article in the Wall Street Journal points out that the recently named GRID or gay-related immunodeficiency disease also occurs in women and heterosexual men.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Will Expand Its Video Disc Catalog in March with Eight Entertainment and Educational Albums
February 26, 1982:
* Hungarian-born guitarist Gabor Szabo dies at age 45. His unique style combined jazz with traditional Hungarian folk music.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Venom.
February 27, 1982:
* Wayne B. Williams, a 23-year-old photographer and talent promoter, is convicted of murdering 2 of the 28 black children and young adults whose bodies were found in Atlanta, Georgia over a two-year period.
* The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company goes out of business after presenting Gilbert and Sullivan operettas for more than 100 years.
February 28, 1982:
* The Israeli Cabinet announces that if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek "refuses to visit Jerusalem during the course of his visit to Israel, we would have to do without this important visit." The Israeli demand effectively ends any hope that Mubarek will visit Israel in the near future.
March 1, 1982:
* Two unmanned Russian space probes land on Venus and begin transmitting information back to Earth.
March 2, 1982:
* At the conclusion of a two-day visit to Moscow, Polish Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski pledges closer ties with the Soviet Union and a continuation of efforts to stop "in the most resolute manner" uprisings against Communist rule in Poland.
March 3, 1982:
* French President Francois Mitterrand arrives in Israel on the first visit to that country by a European head of state.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Demonstrates 'Next Generation' VideoDisc Player at ITA
March 4, 1982:
* President Reagan names General John W. Vessey, Jr. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
* The American Petroleum Institute announces that U.S. refineries are operating at 63.9% of capacity because imports of crude oil have reached a seven-year low. The decline is attributed to conservation, the use of alternate fuels, and economic recession.
March 5, 1982:
* Comedian and actor John Belushi dies of a drug overdose at age 33. He appears on the CED titles Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Neighbors, and Saturday Night Live Volumes 1 and 2.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Evil Under the Sun.
March 6, 1982:
In Cairo, five defendants are sentenced to death and seventeen others receive prison terms for involvement in the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
* Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agree to cut their aggregate output of oil by more than one million barrels a day to shore up sagging oil prices.
* "Beauty and the Beat" by the Go-Go's (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.
March 7, 1982:
* General Angel Anibal Guevara outpolled three other candidates in Guatemala's presidential election making him the likely successor to President Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia.
March 8, 1982:
* The Dow Jones industrial average dips to 795.47, its lowest level since April 23, 1980.
* The Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress approves sweeping changes in the structure of the government, including a reduction of vice-premierships from 13 to 2.
March 9, 1982:
* Ireland's Dail (Parliament) elects Charles J. Haughey prime minister by a vote of 86-79. He replaces Garret FitzGerald.
March 10, 1982:
* The Reagan administration places an embargo on oil imported from Libya and on exports to Libya of certain high technology products. The embargo means Libya will lose a market worth $2 billion - about a quarter of its total annual oil revenues.
March 11, 1982:
* Senator Harrison Williams of New Jersey resigns from the U.S. Senate when it appears certain his colleagues will vote for his expulsion over his 1981 conviction of bribery and conspiracy in connection with the Abscam scandal.
March 12, 1982:
* The U.S. Department of Labor announces a drop of 0.1 percent in producer prices during February 1982, the first such decline in six years.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Parasite.
March 13, 1982:
* Elain Zayak and Scott Hamilton, both from the United States, win the women's and men's singles titles at the World Championship Ice Skating competition in Copenhagen, Denmark.
March 14, 1982:
* Mexico is authorized by the Reagan administration to make proposals for renormalizing U.S. relations with Cuba and Nicaragua.
March 15, 1982:
* Daniel Ortega Saavedra, coordinator of Nicaragua's ruling junta, proclaims a month-long state of siege and suspends the nation's constitution for one day after anti-government rebels destroy two bridges near the Honduran border.
March 16, 1982:
* Russia announces a halt in its deployment of new nuclear missiles in Western Europe.
* In a highly publicized trial at Newport, Rhode Island, socialite Claus von Bulow is found guilty on two counts of attempting to murder his wealthy wife, Martha (Sunny) von Bulow.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Video Disc Owners Buying an Average 30 Albums in First Year of Video Disc Ownership
March 17, 1982:
* Four members of a Dutch television crew, filming a report in an area of El Salvador controlled by leftist guerrillas, are killed by government troops during a 40-minute firefight.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA and KVC Complete Home Video Production of Jane Fonda's 'Workout' Exercise Program
March 18, 1982:
* More than 60 persons are reported injured and 240 arrested during riots that broke out at an election rally in Indonesia.
March 19, 1982:
* All 27 aboard a National Guard jet tanker die in a crash 50 miles northwest of Chicago.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Porky's.
March 20, 1982:
* An oil production cut of 700,000 barrels per day is announced by OPEC.
I Love Rock and Roll by the Joan Jett and the Blackhearts becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
March 21, 1982:
* The U.S., the U.K., and other Western countries condemn the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan on this day, the start of the Afghan new year, which is proclaimed Afghanistan Day by the West. At the same time, the U.S.S.R. declares its intention of staying in Afghanistan until the Kabul government is secure. The Soviet media criticized the proclamation of Afghanistan Day as part of a "slanderous campaign" against the Soviet presence in the country.
March 22, 1982:
* The U.S. space shuttle "Columbia" is launched into orbit on mission STS-3, the third orbital flight of the reusable vehicle.
March 23, 1982:
* President Reagan sends Congress a plan to revitalize urban areas by offering businesses attractive incentives to invest in designated "enterprise zones." The inducements include tax breaks and a relaxation of government regulations.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Honors Eubie Blake Whose Music is Featured on Stereo Video Disc of Broadway Musical, 'Eubie!'
March 24, 1982:
* Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev states Russia is willing to resume border talks with China.
* Lt. General Hussain Mohammed Ershad Overthrows the government of Abdus Sattar, president of Bangladesh. Ershad says he seeks to end corruption and reestablish democracy.
March 25, 1982:
* A court in Verona, Italy sentences 17 Red Brigades terrorists for their roles in the kidnapping of U.S. Brig. General James Dozier on December 17, 1981. The terrorists receive prison sentences ranging up to 27 years.
March 26, 1982:
* Three of the space shuttle Columbia's four communications links to earth fail, but project officials state backup systems are adequate for the mission to continue.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Beach Girls.
March 27, 1982:
* Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, the American author of nearly 200 children's books, dies at the age of 89. Adams wrote many of the Nancy Drew stories under the pen name Carolyn Keene. Using other pen names, she also wrote many books in the Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins series.
March 28, 1982:
* Five right wing parties win a majority in national elections to El Salvador's constituent assembly.
* LA Tech beats Cheney 76-62 in the first Women's NCAA Basketball Championship.
March 29, 1982:
* The University of North Carolina wins the 44th Men's NCAA Basketball Championship with a 63-62 score against Georgetown University.
* 54TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS (WINNERS IN ALL CAPS):
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Paul Newman, Absence of Malice (CED)
Dudley Moore, Arthur (CED)
Burt Lancaster, Atlantic City (CED)
HENRY FONDA, ON GOLDEN POND (CED)
Warren Beatty, Reds (CED)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
JOHN GIELGUD, ARTHUR (CED)
Ian Holm, Chariots of Fire (CED)
James Coco, Only When I Laugh (CED)
Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Ragtime (CED)
Jack Nicholson, Reds (CED)
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Susan Sarandon, Atlantic City (CED)
Meryl Streep, The French Lieutenant's Woman (CED)
KATHARINE HEPBURN, ON GOLDEN POND (CED)
Marsha Mason, Only When I Laugh (CED)
Diane Keaton, Reds (CED)
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Melinda Dillon, Absence of Malice (CED)
Jane Fonda, On Golden Pond (CED)
Joan Hackett, Only When I Laugh (CED)
Elizabeth McGovern, Ragtime (CED)
MAUREEN STAPLETON, REDS (CED)
ART DIRECTION
The French Lieutenant's Woman, Assheton Gorton (CED)
Heaven's Gate, Tambi Larsen (CED)
Ragtime, John Graysmark, Patrizia Von Brandenstein, Anthony Reading (CED)
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, NORMAN REYNOLDS, LESLIE DILLEY (CED)
Reds, Richard Sylbert (CED)
BEST PICTURE
Atlantic City, Denis Heroux, John Kemeny (CED)
CHARIOTS OF FIRE, DAVID PUTTNAM (CED)
On Golden Pond, Bruce Gilbert (CED)
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Frank Marshall (CED)
Reds, Warren Beatty (CED)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Excalibur, Alex Thomson (CED)
On Golden Pond, Billy Williams (CED)
Ragtime, Miroslav Ondricek (CED)
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Douglas Slocombe (CED)
REDS, VITTORIO STORARO (CED)
COSTUME DESIGN
CHARIOTS OF FIRE, MILENA CANONERO (CED)
The French Lieutenant's Woman, Tom Rand (CED)
Pennies from Heaven, Bob Mackie (CED)
Ragtime, Anna Hill Johnstone (CED)
Reds, Shirley Russell (CED)
DIRECTING
Atlantic City, Louis Malle (CED)
Chariots of Fire, Hugh Hudson (CED)
On Golden Pond, Mark Rydell (CED)
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Steven Spielberg (CED)
REDS, WARREN BEATTY (CED)
DOCUMENTARY (Feature)
Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey, Suzanne Bauman, Paul Neshamkin, Jim
Burroughs
Brooklyn Bridge, Ken Burns
Eight Minutes to Midnight: A Portrait of Dr. Helen Caldicott, Mary Benjamin,
Susanne Simpson, Boyd Estus
El Salvador: Another Vietnam, Glenn Silber, Tete Vasconcellos
GENOCIDE, ARNOLD SCHWARTZMAN, RABBI MARVIN HIER
DOCUMENTARY (Short Subject)
Americas in Transition, Obie Benz
CLOSE HARMONY, NIGEL NOBLE
Journey for Survival, Dick Young
See What I Say, Linda Chapman, Pam LeBlanc, Freddi Stevens
Urge To Build, Roland Hallé, John Hoover
FILM EDITING
Chariots of Fire, Terry Rawlings (CED)
The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Bloom (CED)
On Golden Pond, Robert L. Wolfe (CED)
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, MICHAEL KAHN (CED)
Reds, Dede Allen, Craig McKay (CED)
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Boat Is Full, Switzerland
Man of Iron, Poland
MEPHISTO, HUNGARY
Muddy River, Japan
Three Brothers, Italy
GORDON E. SAWYER AWARD (Scientific and Technical Award)
JOSEPH B. WALKER
HONORARY AWARD (Acting)
BARBARA STANWYCK
IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD
ALBERT R. BROCCOLI
JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD
DANNY KAYE
MAKEUP
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, RICK BAKER (CED)
Heartbeeps, Stan Winston
MUSIC (Original Score)
CHARIOTS OF FIRE, VANGELIS (CED)
Dragonslayer, Alex North (CED)
On Golden Pond, Dave Grusin (CED)
Ragtime, Randy Newman (CED)
Raiders of the Lost Ark, John Williams (CED)
MUSIC (Original Song)
ARTHUR, BURT BACHARACH, CAROLE BAYER SAGER, CHRISTOPHER CROSS, PETER ALLEN
[SONG: ARTHUR'S THEME] (CED)
Endless Love, Lionel Richie [Song: Endless Love] (CED)
For Your Eyes Only, Bill Conti, Mick Leeson [Song: For Your Eyes Only] (CED)
The Great Muppet Caper, Joe Raposo [Song: The First Time It Happens] (CED)
Ragtime, Randy Newman [Song: One More Hour] (CED)
SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Academy Award of Merit)
FUJI PHOTO FILM COMPANY, LTD.
SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Scientific and Engineering Award)
Camera, Richard Edlund, Industrial Light And Magic, Incorporated
Laboratory, Eastman Kodak Company , Leonard Sokolow , Howard T. Lazare, Edward
J. Blasko, Dr. Roderick T. Ryan
Photography, Nelson Tyler
Special Photographic, Richard Edlund, Industrial Light And Magic, Inc.
SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL AWARD (Technical Achievement Award)
Camera, Continental Camera Systems, Inc. , Oxford Scientific Films Image Quest
Division, Ernst F. Nettmann , Peter D. Parks
Special Photographic, John Demuth , Hal Landaker , Ruxton, Ltd., Richard J.
Stumpf, Universal City Studios, Daniel R. Brewer, Alan D. Landaker, Universal
City Studios Production Sound Department, Bill Hogan, Bill Taylor
Stage Operations, Industrial Light And Magic, Incorporated , Dr. Louis
Stankiewicz, H.L. Blachford, Dennis Muren, Stuart Ziff
SHORT FILM (Animated)
CRAC, FREDERIC BACK (CED)
The Creation, Will Vinton
The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin, Janet Perlman
SHORT FILM (Live Action)
Couples and Robbers, Christine Oestreicher
First Winter, John N. Smith
VIOLET, PAUL KEMP, SHELLEY LEVINSON
SOUND
On Golden Pond, Richard Portman, David Ronne (CED)
Outland, John K. Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass, Jr., Robert M. Thirlwell, Robin
Gregory (CED)
Pennies from Heaven, Michael J. Kohut, Jay M. Harding, Richard Tyler, Al
Overton (CED)
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, BILL VARNEY, STEVE MASLOW, GREGG LANDAKER, ROY CHARMAN
(CED)
Reds, Dick Vorisek, Tom Fleischman, Simon Kaye (CED)
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (Sound Effects Editing)
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, BEN BURTT, RICHARD L. ANDERSON (CED)
VISUAL EFFECTS
Dragonslayer, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Ken Ralston, Brian Johnson (CED)
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, RICHARD EDLUND, KIT WEST, BRUCE NICHOLSON, JOE
JOHNSTON (CED)
WRITING (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium)
The French Lieutenant's Woman, Harold Pinter (CED)
ON GOLDEN POND, ERNEST THOMPSON (CED)
Pennies from Heaven, Dennis Potter (CED)
Prince of the City, Jay Presson Allen, Sidney Lumet (CED)
Ragtime, Michael Weller (CED)
WRITING (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)
Absence of Malice, Kurt Luedtke (CED)
Arthur, Steve Gordon (CED)
Atlantic City, John Guare (CED)
CHARIOTS OF FIRE, COLIN WELLAND (CED)
Reds, Warren Beatty, Trevor Griffiths (CED)
* 2nd Annual Golden Raspberry Awards ("Winners" in all caps):
WORST PICTURE
Endless Love (CED)
Heaven's Gate (CED)
Legend of the Lone Ranger (CED)
MOMMIE DEAREST (CED)
Tarzan, The Ape Man (CED)
WORST ACTOR
Gary Coleman - On the Right Track
Bruce Dern - Tattoo (CED)
Richard Harris - Tarzan, The Ape Man (CED)
Kris Kristofferson - Heaven's Gate (CED)
KLINTON SPILSBURY - LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER (CED)
WORST ACTRESS
BO DEREK - TARZAN, THE APE MAN (tie) (CED)
FAYE DUNAWAY - MOMMIE DEAREST (tie) (CED)
Linda Blair - Hell Night
Brooke Shields - Endless Love (CED)
Barbra Streisand - All Night Long
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
STEVE FORREST - MOMMIE DEAREST (CED)
Billy Barty - Under the Rainbow
Ernest Borgnine - Deadly Blessing (CED)
James Coco - Only When I Laugh (CED)
Danny DeVito - Goin' Ape
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Rutanya Alda - Mommie Dearest (CED)
Farrah Fawcett - Cannonball Run (CED)
Mara Hobel - Mommie Dearest (CED)
Shirley Knight - Endless Love (CED)
DIANA SCARWID - MOMMIE DEAREST (CED)
WORST DIRECTOR
MICHAEL CIMINO - HEAVEN'S GATE (CED)
John Derek - Tarzan, The Ape Man (CED)
Blake Edwards - S.O.B. (CED)
Frank Perry - Mommie Dearest (CED)
Franco Zeffirelli - Endless Love (CED)
WORST SCREENPLAY
Endless Love (CED)
Heaven's Gate (CED)
MOMMIE DEAREST (CED)
S.O.B. (CED)
Tarzan, The Ape Man (CED)
WORST NEW STAR
Gary Coleman - On the Right Track
Martin Hewitt - Endless Love (CED)
Mara Hobel - Mommie Dearest (CED)
Miles O'Keefe - Tarzan, The Ape Man (CED)
KLINTON SPILSBURY - LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER (CED)
WORST SONG
"BABY TALK" - PATERNITY (CED)
"Hearts, Not Diamonds" - The Fan
"The Man in the Mask" - Legend of the Lone Ranger (CED)
"Only When I Laugh" - Only When I Laugh (CED)
"You, You're Crazy" - Honky Tonk Freeway
WORST SCORE
Heaven's Gate - David Mansfield (CED)
LEGEND OF THE LONE RANGER - JOHN BARRY (CED)
Theif - Tangerine Dream
Under the Rainbow - Joe Renzetti
Zorro, the Gay Blade - Ian Fraser (CED)
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
RONALD REAGAN
March 30, 1982:
* The space shuttle Columbia completes its third and longest test flight, landing at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico after eight days in space. This alternate landing site is used because heavy rain at Edwards Air Force Base made the ground too soft.
*RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA and Warner Home Video in Video Disc Agreements
March 31, 1982:
* In a televised news conference, President Reagan rejects a mutual freeze at current levels of U.S. and Soviet nuclear forces, but he states he would seek to negotiate a dramatic reduction in nuclear arms by both sides.
April 1, 1982:
* Heavy storms sweep across the United States from California to the North East and South East producing winds, tornadoes, hail, snow and rain resulting in 64 deaths over the week-long period.
April 2, 1982:
* Argentina seizes the Falkland Islands, a British dependency in the South Atlantic Ocean, at the same time seizing the nearby South Georgia Island and South Sandwich Islands. The several thousand Argentine troops easily overrun the 84 British marines guarding the islands.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Diva.
April 3, 1982:
* British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher orders a large naval force on an 8000 mile journey to the Falkland Islands and announces the freezing of Argentine assets in Great Britain.
* American character actor Warren Oates dies of a heart attack at age 53. He appears in the CED titles Major Dundee, In the Heat of the Night, The Wild Bunch, Stripes, Dillinger, Tom Sawyer, and posthumously in Blue Thunder.
April 4, 1982:
* Suriname's President and Prime Minister Henk R. Chin A Sen resigns. The country's armed forces take control of the government.
April 5, 1982:
* Lord Carrington resigns as British foreign secretary because of the Falklands crisis. Francis Pym, leader of the House of Commons, is named to replace him.
April 6, 1982:
* The White House suspends efforts to formulate a plan for transferring welfare and food stamp programs to the states.
* Egypt's U.N. Ambassador Ahmad Esmat Abdel Meguid outlines a peace plan for the Middle East during a meeting of regional countries in Kuwait. Meguid, adhering closely to a plan proposed earlier by Saudi Arabia, calls for recognition of Israel and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza within the boundaries existing prior to the 1967 war. Algeria, Yemen, Syria, and the Palestine Liberation Organization immediately reject the proposal.
April 7, 1982:
* President Reagan begins a five-day "working holiday" in the Caribbean during which he meets leaders of Jamaica, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Kitts-Nevis.
* U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig begins a series of intense diplomatic discussions with leaders in Britain and Argentina in an effort to resolve the growing crisis over Argentina's seizure of the Falkland Islands on April 2. Hopes for a peaceful settlement dim as Argentina refuses to meet British demands that it withdraw its troops as a precondition for negotiations.
April 8, 1982:
* In response to the Hama uprising that began in February, Syria closes its border with Iraq, shutting off the pipeline carrying Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Howard Ballon Named Director of Marketing for RCA "SelectaVision" VideoDiscs
April 9, 1982:
* General Motors workers narrowly ratify a contract including major pay concessions to management.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Diner.
April 10, 1982:
* The Iranian government confirms that Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, who became Iran's foreign minister shortly after the seizure of the U.S. embassy in November 1979, was arrested on April 7 for plotting to assassinate Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
April 11, 1982:
* Alan Harry Goodman, a 37-year-old U.S.-born Israeli soldier, runs amok in Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock, one of Islam's most sacred shrines. Two people are killed and a number wounded before Goodman is subdued by Israeli policemen and border guards.
* Craig Stadler wins the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.
April 12, 1982:
* The British Navy begins enforcing a blockade around the Falklands, threatening to sink any Argentine ship within 200 miles of the islands.
April 13, 1982:
* King Khalid of Saudi Arabia asks Moslems to strike in protest of the Dome of the Rock attack on April 11.
April 14, 1982:
* The U.S. and Nicaragua agree to try lessening tensions between their two countries, but no time or place for formal discussions is announced.
April 15, 1982:
* The two military men and three civilians convicted by a military court of assassinating former President Anwar Sadat are executed with the approval of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who rejects their final pleas for clemency.
April 16, 1982:
* Keeping a campaign promise, President Reagan announces a proposal for tuition tax credits for families who send their children to private elementary or secondary schools.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Sword and the Sorcere.
April 17, 1982:
* Canada loses the last vestiges of legal dependence on Great Britain when Queen Elizabeth II proclaims the first formal Canadian constitution. Canada, which had been governed for more than a century by the British North America Act of 1967, retains the British monarch as its official head of state.
* "Chariots of Fire" soundtrack by Vangelis (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.
April 18, 1982:
* Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA CPC International golf tournament, her 82nd victory since 1962.
April 19, 1982:
* The United States, charging Havana with subversion in Central America, announces a ban on U.S. tourist and business travel to Cuba.
* Alberto Salazar wins the Boston Marathon with a course record of 2 hr 8 min 51 sec, just two seconds ahead of Dick Beardsley.
* Two Australian Cabinet ministers resign in the wake of a customs scandal.
April 20, 1982:
* Biologists find life flourishing on volcanic energy 8,600 feet under the sea off the coast of California.
* American poet and playwright Archibald MacLeish dies in Boston at age 90.
April 21, 1982:
* Israeli fighter planes attack Palestinian-controlled villages in southern and coastal Lebanon, breaking a nine-month-old cease-fire between Israel and the PLO.
April 22, 1982:
* Ending rumors of a serious illness, Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev appears in a rally in Moscow marking the 112th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin.
* During the first national congress of the Social Democratic Party since 1979, West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt wins a major political battle when his party votes down a nuclear freeze motion.
* Roberto d'Aubuisson, an extreme right-wing leader, is elected president of El Salvador's Constituent Assembly.
April 23, 1982:
* The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that consumer prices declined in March for the first monthly decline in almost 17 years; consumer prices rose in the first quarter of 1982 by only 1 percent annually, the lowest quarterly rate since 1965.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Amateur.
April 24, 1982:
* Vietnam reshuffles its Cabinet, apparently because of economic problems.
April 25, 1982:
* In a simple but significant ceremony, Egypt regains control over the eastern portion of the Sinai as had been stipulated in the peace treaty signed with Israel in 1979. The Israeli withdrawal follows days of turmoil in the northern settlement of Yamit, the stronghold of militant nationalistic and religious opposition to the pullout. Israel had occupied the territory since seizing it during the 1967 war.
* British troops recapture the principal port on South Georgia, the island also occupied by Argentina and located some 500 miles to the East of the Falkland Islands.
April 26, 1982:
* The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service begins a week-long roundup of illegal aliens working in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, New York, and San Francisco. Of the 5,635 persons taken into custody, a few are able to produce proper documentation and return to work, but more than 4,000 agree to leave the country voluntarily.
* The trial of John Hinckley for the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan begins in Washington, D.C.
April 27, 1982:
* China proposes a new constitution that would radically alter the structure of the national government.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA To Offer 'On Golden Pond' On Video Disc In May
April 28, 1982:
* Poland's Military Council of National Salvation announces that 800 detainees will be released outright and an additional 200 granted "conditional leave" as part of a program to relax martial law. Lech Walesa, the leader of Solidarity, is not among those freed.
April 29, 1982:
* El Salvador's 60-member Constituent Assembly elects Alvaro Alfredo Magana Borjo provisional president of the country, thereby ending a month of partisan political strife that followed in the wake of elections for the assembly on March 28.
April 30, 1982:
* Corporate sponsors announce that they are delaying for two years construction of the U.S. segment of the 4800 mile Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline that will carry gas from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska into Canada and then into the lower 48 states. Canada had already completed part of its work on the pipeline.
* Ending eight years of diplomatic bargaining, delegates to the UN Law of the Sea Conference overwhelmingly approve a comprehensive treaty on the use and exploitation of the world's seas. However, U.S. opposition raises questions about the treaty's effectiveness.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: If You Could See What I Hear.
May 1, 1982:
* The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee. The theme of the fair is "Energy Turns the World." Most of the countries, states, and corporations that have pavilions at the fair devote their exhibitions to energy- how to obtain it, conserve it, and use it.
* The 108th Kentucky Derby is won by Gato del Sol ridden by jockey Ed Delahoussaye in a time of 2:02.4.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR MAY 1982:
Coming Home (2)
Disney Cartoon Parade, Vol. 3
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex
Eyes of Laura Mars
Great Cities: London, Rome, Dublin, Athens
On Golden Pond
Some Like It Hot
Time Bandits [monophonic]
Wimbledon 1981/A Century of Greatness
You Only Live Twice [RCA]
May 2, 1982:
* Casualties in the war over the Falkland Islands dramatically increase when the Argentine cruiser "General Belgrano" is sunk by a British submarine with the loss of 321 lives.
* Actor Hugh Marlowe dies at age 71 after 13 years in the role of Jim Matthews on the daytime TV serial "Another World." Prior to his TV career he appeared in the CED titles Twelve O'Clock High, Elmer Gantry, Birdman of Alcatraz, and Seven Days in May.
May 3, 1982:
* Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, speaking to the Knesset, declares that Israel will assert sovereignty over the West Bank at the end of the five-year transitional period specified in the Camp David peace accords.
May 4, 1982:
* The federal trial of 26-year-old John Hinckley, Jr. for shooting President Reagan and three others gets under way in Washington, D.C.
* In the wake of violent protests in several cities on the May Day holiday, the Polish government reimposes tough martial law restrictions, which it had lifted only a few days earlier.
* An Argentine missile heavily damages the British destroyer "Sheffield," forcing the ship to be abandoned with the loss of 20 lives.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Will Offer 10 New Diverse Video Disc Titles In May
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Home Entertainment Saga
May 5, 1982:
* The Canadian Wheat Board announces that it has signed a contract to sell China between 3.5 and 4.2 million metric tons of wheat each year for the next three years. It is the largest long-term grain deal between the countries since they initiated such trade in 1961.
May 6, 1982:
* President Reagan formally endorses a constitutional amendment authorizing organized prayer in public schools.
May 7, 1982:
* The United States and Canada announce April unemployment rates of 9.4 and 9.6 percent, respectively. The rates were the highest since monthly reports were begun in each country after World War II.
* Evangelist Billy Graham arrives in Moscow to attend a religious leaders conference on nuclear disarmament. He later states he saw no evidence of religious repression in the country.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Paradise.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Breaks Ground For $19 Million Manufacturing Facility To Supply Key 'CED' Video Disc Material
May 8, 1982:
* Canadian formula one racer Gilles Villeneuve is killed in an accident during qualifying at Zolder in Belgium. He was the winner of the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix and the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix featured on the CED Title "Start to Finish."
Chariots of Fire by Vangelis (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
May 9, 1982:
* In a commencement address at Eureka College, his alma mater, President Reagan proposes that the United States and Russia reduce the number of their nuclear warheads by one-third.
* U.S. Vice President George Bush completes a two-week tour of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and China.
May 10, 1982:
* Federal epidemiologists report at least 335 cases, including 136 fatal cases, of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
May 11, 1982:
* South Korea announces the arrests of Lee Chul Hi and his wife, Chang Yong Ja, for alleged fraudulent transactions on Seoul's unregulated curb market. Chang is related by marriage to the wife of President Chun Doo Hwan. The fraud creates panic on the stock market and severely damages the financial structures of several corporations.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Retailers Report Strong Demand For RCA Video Discs
May 12, 1982:
* During a candlelight procession at the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, a Spanish priest attempts to assault Pope John Paul II with a bayonet. The priest is identified as Juan Fernandez Krohn, an ultraconservative living in France. He reportedly opposes the reforms of Vatican Council II and calls the pope an "agent of Moscow."
* South Africa unveils a plan that would give voting rights to citizens of Asian and mixed-race descent, but not to blacks.
May 13, 1982:
* Braniff International Corp. becomes the largest major U.S. airline to file for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal Bankruptcy Act. Burdened with debts and mounting losses, the nation's eighth largest carrier cancels all its flights on May 12 and terminates 8,000 employees.
May 14, 1982:
* Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos swears in 15 members of the newly constituted Supreme Court four days after demanding and receiving the resignations of all 14 members of the former court. All but three of the new justices served on the former court.
* The Abscam conviction of former U.S. Representative Richard Kelly is upset by a federal judge.
* Actor Hugh Beaumont dies at age 72. He is best known for the role of Ward Cleaver, the understanding father in the television series "Leave It to Beaver," a hit for seven years in the late 1950's and early 1960's.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Conan the Barbarian.
May 15, 1982:
* "Asia" by Asia (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. album, entering the charts at the top spot.
Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
* Jack Kaenel at age 16 becomes the youngest winner of a Triple Crown race at the Preakness Stakes. He rides Aloma's Ruler to victory in a time of 1:55.4.
May 16, 1982:
* Salvador Jorge Blanco, a member of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, is elected president of the Dominican Republic with something less than half of the popular vote. President Antonio Guzman Fernandez did not run, but it was largely due to his efforts that the Army was depoliticized and played no significant role in the electoral process.
* The New York Islanders win professional hockey's Stanley Cup for the third consecutive year, defeating Vancouver.
May 17, 1982:
* President Reagan meets with Prime Minister J. Malcolm Fraser of Australia in Washington, a few weeks after Vice President George Bush had made a trip to Australia.
May 18, 1982:
* A crisis develops in the European Community when seven member nations vote to increase farm prices by 10.7 percent over Great Britain's forceful objections. Britain also resents the apparent disregard of a well-established tradition that requires unanimous approval of any measure that affects a "vital national interest" of any member nation.
* Russia's Leonid Brezhnev terms Ronald Reagan's arms proposals "absolutely one-sided," and calls for an immediate nuclear freeze.
* South Korean evangelist Sun Myung Moon is found guilty of tax evasion by a U.S. federal court.
May 19, 1982:
* Film star Sophia Loren returns to Naples, Italy to begin a month long jail term for tax evasion. She says the sentence is preferable to a life in exile from her homeland.
May 20, 1982:
* Great Britain rejects further participation in the UN talks aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Falklands crisis.
* Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi expels former vice-president Oginga Odinga from the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party for "divisive and destructive propaganda against the government."
May 21, 1982:
* British forces launch a major offensive against East Falkland Island and within a few days are in control of about sixty square miles along the west coast.
* California's parole board revokes a 1984 parole date scheduled for Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Road Warrior.
May 22, 1982:
* George Wallace announces he will seek a fourth term as governor of Alabama.
* Bahrains highest court convicts 73 Shi'ah Muslims on charges of planning acts of sabotage against the conservative government of Emir Isa ibn Sulman al-Khalifah, whose family and supporters are mostly Sunni Muslims.
May 23, 1982:
* Under heavy Iranian attack, Iraqi forces begin a retreat from the key port city of Khorramshahr. Iraq won the fierce battle for control of Khorramshahr in late September 1980 but never succeeded in conquering nearby Abadan, especially important because of its huge oil refinery.
May 24, 1982:
* Yuri Andropov, head of Russia's intelligence and security agency and mentioned as a possible successor to Brezhnev, is named to the powerful ten-member Secretariat of the Communist Party Central Committee. He replaces Mikhail A. Suslov, who died in January.
May 25, 1982:
* The state Supreme Court of New Jersey upholds mandatory sex education in public schools.
May 26, 1982:
* The 1982 Cannes Film Festival ends in France. The CED title "Missing" is co-winner of the Palme d'Or award.
May 27, 1982:
* Japan announces the elimination of tariffs on 96 industrial goods, including machine tools and computers, and a reduction of import duties on 121 other items.
May 28, 1982:
* British troops driving toward the Falkland capital of Port Stanley, capture the towns of Darwin and Goose Green.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Rocky III.
May 29, 1982:
* Highlighting a six-day visit to Great Britain, the first ever by a pontiff, Pope John Paul II joins with Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Robert Runcie, in an emotional religious service that ends 450 years of division between the Church of Rome and the Church of England.
* "Tug of War" by Paul McCartney (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.
May 30, 1982:
* Spain formally becomes a member of NATO following ratification by each of the other 15 member nations. Spain stipulated, as did Norway and Denmark before it, that no nuclear weapons would be based on its soil.
* Gordon Johncock wins the Indianapolis 500 auto race by a margin of 0.16 seconds, the closest finish ever.
May 31, 1982:
* Belisario Betancur Cuartas, a member of the Conservative Party, is elected to a four-year term as president of Colombia. He replaces President Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, who is not permitted to run for a second term.
June 1, 1982:
* Success is reported by British researchers in the use of artificially made interferon to protect humans against a cold virus.
June 2, 1982:
* The U.S. Open Golf Championship is won by Tom Watson at Pebble Beach GL in Pebble Beach, California. He collects a $60,000 purse for the victory.
June 3, 1982:
* The U.S. House of Representatives approves a bill forbidding the identification of current U.S. intelligence agents, informers, or sources of information, even if such information is available in public records.
* Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to Great Britain, is shot and seriously wounded outside a London hotel.
* Lina Wichser, a 28-year-old American who had been teaching in Peking, is released from government detention and given 48 hours to leave China. She is charged with violating China's law by stealing "secret information."
June 4, 1982:
* The leaders of seven major industrialized democracies begin their eighth annual economic summit in Versailles, France.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
June 5, 1982:
* The 114th Belmont Stakes is won by Conquistador Cielo ridden by Laffit Pineay, Jr. in a time of 2:28.
June 6, 1982:
* Israel carries out previous warnings by invading Lebanon by land, sea, and air. The announced objective is to destroy strongholds of the PLO. The U.N. Security Council demands that Israel withdraw its troops, but Israel rejects the demand.
* The economic summit concludes in Versailles, France. The official communique, signed by Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the U.S., and West Germany, declares that the participating nations have come closer together on such economic issues as currency exchange rates, aid to developing countries, and export credits to the U.S.S.R.
* 36TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS (WINNERS IN ALL CAPS):
PLAY OF THE YEAR
Crimes Of the Heart
The Dresser (CED, movie version)
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
"Master Harold" ...And the Boys
MUSICAL OF THE YEAR
Dreamgirls
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
NINE
Pump Boys and Dinettes
REVIVAL
Medea
My Fair Lady (CED, movie version)
OTHELLO
A Taste Of Honey
LEADING ACTOR - PLAY
Tom Courteney in The Dresser (CED, movie version)
Milo O'Shea in Mass Appeal
Christopher Plummer in Othello
ROGER REES IN THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
LEADING ACTOR - MUSICAL
Hershel Bernardi in Fiddler On the Roof (CED, movie version)
Victor Garber in Little Me
BEN HARNEY IN DREAMGIRLS
Raul Julia in Nine
LEADING ACTRESS - PLAY
ZOE CALDWELL IN MEDEA
Katharine Hepburn in The West Side Waltz
Geraldine Page in Agnes Of God (CED, movie version)
Amanda Plummer in A Taste Of Honey
LEADING ACTRESS - MUSICAL
JENNIFER HOLLIDAY IN DREAMGIRLS
Lisa Mordente in Marlowe
Mary Gordon Murray in Little Me
Sheryl Lee Ralph in Dreamgirls
FEATURED ACTOR - PLAY
Richard Kavanaugh in The Hothouse
ZAKES MOKAE IN "MASTER HAROLD" ...AND THE BOYS
Edward Petherbridge in The Life and Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
David Threlfall in The Life and Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
FEATURED ACTOR - MUSICAL
Obba Babatunda in Dreamgirls
CLEAVANT DERRICKS IN DREAMGIRLS
David Allen Grier in The First
Bill Hutton in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
FEATURED ACTRESS - PLAY
Judith Anderson in Medea
Mia Dillon in Crimes Of the Heart
Mary Beth Hurt in Crimes Of the Heart
AMANDA PLUMMER IN AGNES OF GOD (CED, movie version)
FEATURED ACTRESS - MUSICAL
Karen Akers in Nine
Laurie Beechman in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
LILIANE MONTEVECCHI IN NINE
Anita Morris in Nine
DIRECTOR - PLAY
Melvin Bernhardt for Crimes Of the Heart
JOHN CAIRD, TREVOR NUNN FOR THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
Geraldine Fitzgerald for Mass Appeal
Athol Fugard for "Master Harold" ...And the Boys
DIRECTOR - MUSICAL
Michael Bennett for Dreamgirls
Martin Charnin for The First
Tony Tanner for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
TOMMY TUNE FOR NINE
BOOK OF A MUSICAL
DREAMGIRLS
The First
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Nine
SCORE
Dreamgirls
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Merrily We Roll Along
NINE
SCENIC DESIGN
Dreamgirls
THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY
Medea
Nine
COSTUME DESIGN
Dreamgirls
The Life and Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Medea
NINE
LIGHTING DESIGN
DREAMGIRLS
The Life and Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Medea
Nine
CHOREOGRAPHY
DREAMGIRLS
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Little Me
Nine
REGIONAL THEATRE
The Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, Minnesota
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
The Actors Fund Of America
Radio City Music Hall
Warner Bros. Communications
* The Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens in Chicago, Illinois. RCA introduces the stereo CED system at the show. Other notable introductions include the VHS-C tape format, the Vectrex Arcade system, and over 180 new cartridge titles for various video game systems.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Unveils its Stereo Video Disc Player and Catalog at Consumer Electronics Show
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Sales of CED Video Disc Players and Discs Exceeded $90 Million in First 12 Months
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Video Discs Feature Dual Sound Tracks
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR JUNE 1982:
California Suite
Deep, The
Dirty Harry
Eubie!*
Family Entertainment Playhouse, Vol. 2
Horse Soldiers, The [RCA]
Jazz Singer, The [1980]**
Joni Mitchell- Shadows and Light*
Kids Are Alright, The**
Modern Times
Neil Young: Rust Never Sleeps**
Paul McCartney & Wings Rockshow*
Paul Simon In Concert*
Pink Floyd at Pompeii*
Pippin*
Popeye*
Producers, The
Rod Stewart: Live at the Los Angeles Forum*
Superman -- The Movie (2)
Tess (2)
June 7, 1982:
* In a civil war in Chad, the rebel forces of former Prime Minister Hissene Habre capture the capital of Ndjamena and overthrow the government of President Goukouni Oueddei.
* The U.N. opens a special session on disarmament.
June 8, 1982:
* In the first address by a U.S. president to a joint session of the British Parliament, Ronald Reagan predicts that Marxism-Leninism will wind up "on the ash heap of history."
* Leroy "Satchel" Paige, the American baseball pitcher who was one of the heroes of the old Negro Leagues, dies at age 75. His career began in 1924 and lasted until 1965.
* The Los Angeles Lakers win the National Basketball Association championship, defeating the Philadelphia '76ers by four games to two.
June 9, 1982:
* Brig. General Efrain Rios Montt dissolves Guatemala's three-man military junta. It is then announced that the Army has appointed Rios Montt president of the country and commander in chief of the armed forces.
* Israel's air force destroys Syrian surface-to-air missile sites in eastern Lebanon.
June 10, 1982:
* By a 219-206 vote, the US House of Representatives approves a budget for fiscal 1983. The measure, which is considered a victory for President Reagan, awaits approval by a Senate-House conference.
* In the Bahamas, the ruling Progressive Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lynden O. Pindling wins a new five-year mandate in parliamentary elections.
June 11, 1982:
* 32-year-old heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes knocks out 25-year-old Gerry Cooney in the 13th round of their title bout in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is Holmes' 12th straight successful defense of his heavyweight title. The gross gate receipts of $50 million are the highest to date in history.
* President Reagan concludes a ten-day visit to Western Europe, his first overseas tour as President of the United States.
* Pope John Paul II meets with President Leopoldo Galtieri at the beginning of a two-day visit to Argentina.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Grease II.
June 12, 1982:
* A massive parade and peace rally, organized by religious and secular groups, is held in New York City to coincide with a special UN session on disarmament. The crowd is estimated to be about 750,000, making it the largest protest rally in US history. A "No Nukes" concert is held in conjunction with the rally, similar to the one on the CED title "No Nukes: the Muse Concert."
* In parliamentary elections in Mauritius, the opposition - the Militant Mauritian Movement and its ally, the Mauritian Social Democratic Party - is overwhelmingly victorious. Aneerood Jugnauth succeeds Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who had been prime minister since the island became an independent nation in 1968.
June 13, 1982:
* King Khalid, who has ruled Saudi Arabia since 1975, dies of a heart attack. He is succeeded by 59-year-old half-brother Crown Prince Fahd Ibn Abdulaziz al Saud, the country's foreign minister.
June 14, 1982:
* Israeli troops and tank units encircle Beirut, Lebanon, trapping PLO leaders and thousands of guerrillas.
June 15, 1982:
* The Falklands war ends when Argentine troops, surrounded in Stanley, the capital, surrender to the British. Great Britain later reports that 255 of its soldiers and civilians lost their lives in the fighting. Argentina's loses are believed to be three or four times heavier.
* The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a Texas law that permitted local school districts to either bar children of illegal aliens from public schools or charge them tuition. The ruling means that children of undocumented aliens must be granted free public education.
June 16, 1982:
* Cuban Vice President Carlos Rafael Rodriguez tells the U.N. General Assembly, gathered in special session to discuss disarmament, that his country has nearly doubled its military might during the preceding year by acquiring "huge quantities of modern and sophisticated weapons." He states Cuba has also increased its military manpower by 500,000 men. Rodriguez states that the buildup was necessary because the US had adopted a "philosophy of plunder."
* A panel of the National Academy of Sciences issues a list of dietary recommendations to reduce the risk of cancer. They include eating less fat and very little salt-cured, pickled or smoked food, and more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, in particular those rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, a chemical precursor of vitamin A.
June 17, 1982:
* Following public protests by Argentines over their nation's defeat in the war with Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri resigns as president, commander in chief of the army, and member of the ruling junta. Ten weeks of fighting had come to an end with a June 15 surrender by Argentina and a cease-fire.
* Federal epidemiologists investigating the immune system disorder AIDS report evidence linking the illness to an unknown infectious agent.
June 18, 1982:
* The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approves renewal of the 1965 Voting Rights Act for an additional 25 years. Five days later the House of Representatives unanimously accepts the Senate version of the bill.
* President Reagan widens a ban on sales of US oil and gas equipment to Russia, which is building a gas pipeline from Siberia to Central Europe. Pultizer Prize winning author John Cheever dies at age 70.He is best known for "The Swimmer," made into a movie starring Burt Lancaster.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Firefox.
June 19, 1982:
* Two white men beat to death Chinese-American Vincent Chin outside a club in Highland Park, Michigan. The men attacked Mr. Chin because they thought he was Japanese and blamed Japanese competition for the plight of the U.S. auto industry.
June 20, 1982:
* Iraq's president Saddam Hussein announces that Iraqi troops have begun withdrawing from Iran.
June 21, 1982:
* A federal jury finds John W. Hinckley, Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity of shooting President Reagan and three others on March 30, 1981. Hinckley is committed to a Washington, D.C. hospital for an indefinite period.
* President Reagan and Israel's Prime Minister Menahem Begin meet at the White House to discuss the Lebanon crisis.
* Buckingham Palace announces that a son has been born to Prince Charles and Lady Diana, the prince and princess of Wales. The child, named William Arthur Phillip Louis, is second in line to the British throne.
June 22, 1982:
* The U.S. Department of Justice charges 18 Japanese with conspiring to steal industrial secrets from IBM. Most of those charged are employees of Hitachi Ltd., which allegedly paid $622 million for classified information about IBM technology. The defendants are accused of paying the money to an undercover FBI agent who posed as a "Silicon Valley" businessman.
* New Zealand announces a 12-month freeze on prices and wages.
* Maj. General Reynaldo Antonio Bignone is named president of Argentina.
June 23, 1982:
* A compromise budget of $769.82 billion, with a deficit of $103.9 billion for fiscal year 1983, is given final approval by Congress.
June 24, 1982:
* The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that no president can be sued for damages connected with actions taken while serving as the nation's chief executive.
* Soyuz T-6 is launched from the Soviet Space Center. Jean-Loup Chretien, a French Air Force colonel, joins Soviet cosmonauts Col. Vladimir A. Dzhanibekov and Aleksandr S. Ivanchenkov aboard the spacecraft.
June 25, 1982:
* President Reagan announces the resignation of Alexander M. Haig, Jr., as U.S. Secretary of State over a foreign policy dispute. George P. Shultz, who held a cabinet post in the Nixon administration, is nominated as Haig's successor.
* Future CED titles in widespread theatrical release: The Thing, Blade Runner, Megaforce.
June 26, 1982:
* The US vetoes a U.N. resolution for limited withdrawal from Beirut by the PLO and Israel.
June 27, 1982:
* Space Shuttle Columbia mission STS-4 takes off for its fourth and final test mission with a two-person crew. The spacecraft, carrying its first military and commercial payloads is piloted by Capt. Thomas K. Mattingly of the Navy, while the commander, Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., is a civilian.
June 28, 1982:
* Special prosecutor Leon Silverman declares that "there was insufficient credible evidence to warrant prosecution" of Raymond J. Donovan for alleged crimes the Secretary of Labor may have committed while he was an executive of a New Jersey construction company.
* Canadian Finance minister Allan MacEachen proposes a new federal budget providing for higher taxes, investment incentives, and wage restraints, aimed at pulling Canada out of a severe economic crisis.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Columbia Pictures And RCA Form New Joint Venture to Market Home Video Programs in U.S. and Canada
June 29, 1982:
* A federal judge in Miami, Florida rules that "it would not be just or equitable" to continue holding Haitian refugees in detention camps even though they entered the US illegally. In ordering the parole of most of the 1,900 refugees, the judge stipulates that each Haitian have a written agreement from both a voluntary resettlement agency and an individual sponsor stating that they will abide by the terms of the release.
* Strategic arms reduction talks (START) between the United States and Russia begin in Geneva, Switzerland.
June 30, 1982:
* Efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution end in failure when legislators in three additional states cannot be persuaded in sufficient numbers to vote approval of the measure before the midnight deadline.
July 1, 1982:
* A mass ceremony conducted by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church in New York City's Madison Square Garden weds more than 2,000 couples.
* Starch blocker diet pills are declared to be "unapproved new drugs" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are ordered off the market.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR JULY 1982:
10
Adventures of Robin Hood, The [RCA]
Baseball Fun and Games/Greatest World Series Ever
Blazing Saddles
Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, The
Dr. No [RCA]
Jane Fonda's Workout
Last Tango in Paris (2)
Love At First Bite
Pirate, The
Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, The
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Stripes
Tarzan, The Ape Man
Three Musketeers, The [1974]
Tom & Jerry II
Viva Las Vegas
Westworld
White Lightning [RCA]
July 2, 1982:
* The U.S. Supreme Court overturns a Mississippi Supreme court decision that held the NAACP liable for damages that resulted from a business boycott organized in Port Gibson. In another ruling, the Court declares child pornography is not automatically entitled to First Amendment protection.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Secret of NIMH.
July 3, 1982:
* In Tel Aviv, Israel, 100,000 Israelis march for peace.
* Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert Lloyd to win the women's singles title at the Wimbledon tennis championship. The following day Jimmy Connors defeats John McEnroe for the men's singles title.
Don't You Want Me by The Human League becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
July 4, 1982:
* Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado of the Institutional Revolutionary Party is elected president of Mexico with about 75 percent of the popular vote.
* President Antonio Guzman Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was reportedly depressed after discovering that some of his most trusted aides had been stealing government funds. Vice President Jacobo Majluta Azar succeeds him.
* The U.S. space shuttle Columbia completes the last of four scheduled test flights.
* Independence Day celebrations take place in the United States. Deely Bobbers, the summer fun fashion of 1982, are worn on the heads of many participants.
July 5, 1982:
* Federal regulators declare the Penn Square Bank of Oklahoma City, OK insolvent because of huge losses it has sustained on loans to small oil and gas companies whose collateral only partially covered the amounts they borrowed.
July 6, 1982:
* President Reagan announces conditional agreement to the use of U.S. troops in an international peacekeeping force in Beirut, Lebanon.
* An estimated 90 people are killed in an Aeroflot jetliner that crashes shortly after takeoff near Moscow.
July 7, 1982:
* Private Western bankers try in vain to work out a settlement with Polish officials on that nation's multi-billion-dollar debts. Poland wants new credits to cover its 1982 interest payments of deferment of both interest and principal payments until the following year.
July 8, 1982:
* During a meeting with Canadian Finance Minister Allan MacEachen, representatives of many of the country's major businesses indicate a willingness to support Prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau's effort to limit wage increases to 6% in 1982.
* Health officials in five states report 34 cases of GRID, 10 of them fatal, in Haitian immigrants who all said they were not homosexuals.
July 9, 1982:
* An intruder breaks into Great Britain's Buckingham Palace and enters the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen talks to him for 10 minutes before being able to summon a footman when the intruder requests a cigarette.
* A Pan American World Airways 747 jetliner, after taking off from New Orleans International Airport in a rainstorm, crashes in nearby Kenner, killing 153 people.
* President Reagan announces that the United States will not sign the treaty adopted by the United nations Law of the Sea Conference, because of the treaty's restrictions on seabed mining.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: TRON.
July 10, 1982:
* Ministers of OPEC end an emergency two-day meeting in Vienna still divided over prices and production quotas. Iran, which along with Libya and Nigeria is accused of exceeding quotas agreed to in March, challenges Saudi Arabia's leadership.
* A 30-day box-office record of $102.6 million is set by the motion picture "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial."
July 11, 1982:
* In Madrid, Spain, Italy wins the World Cup soccer championship, defeating West Germany 3-1. This is Italy's first victory in 44 years.
July 12, 1982:
* Zail Singh, a close friend of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, is elected president of India to replace N. Sanjiva Reddy, whose five-year term expires on July 25. Gandhi's nomination of a Sikh for the largely ceremonial post is seen by some as an attempt to pacify Sikhs in the state of Punjab who are clamoring for independence.
* Peruvian President Fernando Belaunde Terry suspends constitutional rights in three of the country's southern provinces and orders 100 specially trained policemen into the area to quell violence instigated by a Maoist organization called Sendero Luminoso.
* Australia announces a record current account deficit of $9.3 billion for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 1982.
* Debate on a proposed constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget begins in the U.S. Senate.
* In Tuscon, Arizona, Miguel Vazquez performs the first quadruple flip in a trapeze act.
July 13, 1982:
* Iranian troops cross the border into Iraq for the first time during their 22-month war despite earlier protestations that the purpose of Iran's spring offensive is limited to recapturing the territory it lost in the early stages of the war. Iranian troops move towards Basra, Iraq's second largest city and site of a major oil refinery. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini appears determined to keep Iranian forces fighting until Iraqi President Saddam Hussein at-Takriti is overthrown.
July 14, 1982:
* Composer George Tremblay, notable for his innovations with the twelve tone row, dies at age 71.
July 15, 1982:
* Geoffrey Arthur Prime, a former employee of Britain's highly sensitive Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, is arraigned on an espionage charge.
* Bolivia's President Celso Torrelio Villa and his Cabinet resign.
July 16, 1982:
* George P. Schultz, who held a Cabinet post in the Nixon administration, is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State.
* A U.S. federal judge in New York City sentences the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Korean founder of the Unification Church, to 18 months in prison for tax fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
* Future CED titles in widespread theatrical release: Young Doctors in Love, Six Pack.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Begins Early Shipments of New Stereo Video Disc Player
July 17, 1982:
* A model of the Galileo Probe is successfully tested at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The working probe will eventually be dropped into the atmosphere of Jupiter by the Galileo Orbiter.
July 18, 1982:
* A strike by British railway workers comes to an end as rail engineers accept a management plan for a flexible workday.
July 19, 1982:
* The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 14 percent of the population had an income below the official poverty level in 1981, the highest rate since 1967.
* Bolivia announces that the resignations of President Celso Torrelio Villa and his Cabinet have been accepted. A military junta composed of the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force takes over the government.
* Patrick Jenkins, Great Britain's Secretary of State for Industry, tells the House of Commons that the government plans to sell a majority share in British Telecom, the state-owned telephone company.
July 20, 1982:
* IRA terrorist bombs explode in two London parks, killing 11 soldiers and wounding 59 soldiers and civilians.
July 21, 1982:
* In Poland, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski announces the release of more than 1,200 persons detained under martial law and the easing of travel and communications curbs.
* The British government announces that "serious errors and omissions" by the police permitted an intruder to enter the Buckingham Palace bedroom of Queen Elizabeth II on July 9.
* Gen. Guido Vildoso Calderon, the army chief of staff, is installed as the president of the ruling junta in Bolivia following the resignation of Pres. Celso Torrelio Villa two days earlier.
July 22, 1982:
* The White House announces the resignation of Murray L. Weidenbaum as chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors.
* France orders French licensees of U.S. firms to honor all contracts for the Siberian gas pipeline.
* Michele Sindona, already serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. for banking fraud, is indicted in Milan, Italy on charges of fraudulent bankruptcy, falsification of records, and violations of Italian finance laws. The charges are related to the 1974 bankruptcy of Banca Privata Italiana.
July 23, 1982:
* Actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed in a helicopter accident during the filming of a Vietnam War scene in the CED title Twilight Zone - the Movie. Vic Morrow also appears in the CED title The Bad News Bears.
* The International Whaling Commission votes to ban all commercial whaling, effective in 1986.
* At least 307 people are killed by monsoon rains, floods, and mud slides on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
* Future CED titles in widespread theatrical release: The Challenge, Zapped.
July 24, 1982:
* Researchers announce that a new drug called vermectin can be used to treat onchocerciasis (river blindness), a tropical parasite disease.
* Bernard Hinault wins his fourth Tour de France bicycle race.
Eye of the Tiger (CED) by Survivor becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
July 25, 1982:
* Zail Singh, a loyal ally of Prime Minister Gandhi, is installed as the seventh president of India, a largely ceremonial post.
* The U.S. Women's Open with a purse of $27,315 is won by Janet Anderson at the Del Paso CC in Sacramento, California.
July 26, 1982:
* Actress Betty Walker dies at age 54. She appeared in the CED title Exodus.
* Karen Dianne Baldwin of Canada is crowned the 31st Miss Universe.
July 27, 1982:
* Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi arrives in the U.S. for her first visit in 11 years. During the visit Gandhi and President Reagan agree to a compromise solution over nuclear fuel for India's Tarapur power plant. The agreement prevents India from producing plutonium that could be used for nuclear weapons.
* The Reagan administration sends a 48-page document to Congress certifying that El Salvador is making tangible progress on human rights and the implementation of economic and political reforms. Certification every six months is a condition for continued U.S. military aid to El Salvador.
* GRID is officially named AIDS by the Center for Disease Control.
July 28, 1982:
* San Francisco becomes the first U.S. city to ban handguns.
July 29, 1982:
* It is announced that "The Gallery of the Louvre," an 1832 painting by Samuel F. B. Morse, has been sold for $3.25 million, the highest price to date for an American work of art. Morse had been a well-known artist before he invented the Morse code and telegraph.
* A South African judge sentences 42 white mercenaries found guilty of air piracy after an unsuccessful coup in the Seychelles in November 1981.
July 30, 1982:
* Panama's President Aristides Royo Sanches resigns and Vice President Ricardo de la Espriella, Jr. succeeds him.
* William Tavoulareas, president of Mobil Oil Corporation, wins a $2 million libel suit against The Washington Post.
* Vladimir Zworykin dies at age 92. He invented the Iconoscope and Kinescope in the 1920's, which later made broadcast TV possible, and maintained an office at RCA Laboratories until the time of his death.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: An Officer and A Gentleman.
July 31, 1982:
* Yugoslavia imposes a six-month freeze on prices.
* A bus collision on a rainswept road near Beaune in the Burgundy region of France kills 44 camp-bound children and nine adults.
August 1, 1982:
* Israeli planes bomb West Beirut for 14 hours in the most extensive attack against Palestinian guerrillas in Lebanon since June 6, when Israel sent its troops across the border.
* Army troops loyal to Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi suppress an antigovernment revolt organized by members of the Air Force. About 3,000 persons are arrested, including all 2,100 members of the Air Force.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR AUGUST 1982:
42nd Street
And Justice For All
Bananas
Bob Welch and Friends: Live from the Roxy*
Brubaker (2)
Buddy Buddy
Cannery Row
Charlie Brown Festival, Vol. 3
Dot and the Kangaroo
First Barry Manilow Special, The*
Hansel and Gretel [RCA]
In Praise of Older Women
Key Largo
Murder on the Orient Express (2)
Neighbors
NFL'81 Official Season Yearbook Featuring Superbowl XVI
Omen, The
Pretty Baby
Revenge of the Pink Panther [RCA]
Rich and Famous
Searchers, The
Semi-Tough
Star Wars**
Stranger Is Watching, A
Straw Dogs
Swept Away
Tom Jones (2)
Tommy**
True Confessions
Wholly Moses!
August 2, 1982:
* Michael Somare succeeds Julius Chan as prime minister of Papua New Guinea following parliamentary elections.
August 3, 1982:
* New York Yankees manager Gene Michaels is replaced by Clyde King.
August 4, 1982:
*Israeli planes, gunboats, and artillery stage a major attack across West Beirut, Lebanon. Casualties are said to be "in the hundreds."
* Panama's Supreme court invalidates an order that closed down eight daily newspapers on July 30. Brig. Gen. Ruben Dario Paredes, commander of the National Guard, reportedly ordered the closedown to stifle criticism of government officials.
August 5, 1982:
* The antiarthritic drug Oraflex is withdrawn from the market by its manufacturers, Eli Lilly & Company, after preliminary reports link the drug to 72 deaths in the United States and Britain.
* A nuclear freeze resolution is rejected by the U.S. House of Representatives.
August 6, 1982:
* Lebanon announces that the Palestine Liberation Organization has agreed to terms for the peaceful withdrawal of its forces from the country.
* Italian authorities order the liquidation of Milan's Banco Ambrosiano, Italy's largest privately owned bank. Roberto Calvi, head of operations at Banco Ambrosiano, was found dead in London in June, an apparent suicide. His bank had allegedly made unsecured loans amounting to $1.4 billion.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Pirate Movie.
August 7, 1982:
* Armenian gunmen attack the airport at Ankara, Turkey. At least 9 persons are killed and 72 are reported injured in the terrorist incident, which the Armenians called a protest against the "Turkish fascist occupation of our land."
* The year-old government of Italy led by Premier Giovanni Spadolini resigned after the Socialist Party quits the coalition.
* "Mirage" by Fleetwood Mac (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.
August 8, 1982:
* New Jersey passes a bill permitting the death penalty by lethal injection.
* The PGA Championship is won by Ray Floyd at the Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
August 9, 1982:
* A federal judge finds that there is "clear and convincing evidence" that presidential assailant John W. Hinckley, Jr., is mentally ill and dangerous, and orders him to a mental hospital for an indefinite period.
* A White House spokesman confirms that the Reagan administration will not submit its new federalism plan to Congress until 1983. After six months of debate and negotiations, the governors of the states and federal representatives have been unable to reach agreement on several major issues.
August 10, 1982:
* Syria announces it is willing to accept all Palestinian guerrillas being forced to withdraw from West Beirut.
August 11, 1982:
* South Africa reports that its forces operating in Angola have in two days killed more than 300 guerrillas opposing South African control of Namibia.
August 12, 1982:
Actor Henry Fonda dies at age 77 in Los Angeles. He appeared in a number of CED titles including On Golden Pond, Clarence Darrow, Fail-Safe, The Longest Day, 12 Angry Men, Mister Roberts, The Grapes of Wrath, and Jezebel.
* The European Community (EC) rejects President Reagan's embargo on the use of U.S. technology for construction of the Soviet-Western Europe natural gas pipeline. The EC protests that the ban violates international law and that failure to participate in the construction would severely injure EC industries.
* Israeli jets bomb West Beirut for 11 hours. President Reagan says the attacks caused "needless destruction and bloodshed."
August 13, 1982:
* Major U.S. banks begin lowering their prime interest rate from 15 to 13.5 percent.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
August 14, 1982:
* Irish actor Patrick Magee dies at age 58 in London. He appeared in the CED titles Chariots of Fire and A Clockwork Orange.
* Phillies baseball star Pete Rose sets an at bat record of 12,365 surpassing Hank Aaron's previous record.
August 15, 1982:
* Beth Daniel wins the LPGA WUI Golf Classic.
August 16, 1982:
* Salvador Jorge Blanco is inaugurated as president of the Dominican Republic.
August 17, 1982:
* China and the U.S. announce an agreement whereby the U.S. will gradually decrease its arms sales to Taiwan. China pledges to seek reunification with Taiwan by peaceful means.
* The U.S. Senate approves a new immigration bill that would grant permanent resident status to illegal aliens who arrived in the Unites States before 1977. Illegal aliens who arrived in the U.S. after December 31, 1979 would be subject to deportation.
* Federal District Judge James C. Turk of Roanoke, Virginia sentences 20-year-old Enten Eller to at least 250 hours of public service and places him on three years' probation for refusing to register for a possible future military draft.
August 18, 1982:
* France bans the radical Direct Action group after it claims responsibility for several anti-Semitic attacks.
August 19, 1982:
* Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate approve a $98.3 billion increase in tax revenues. President Reagan urged passage of the bill, saying it was "80 percent tax reform" and not, as some suggested, the largest tax increase in history. The bill's bipartisan support is unprecedented in an election year.
* Svetlana Savtiskaya, a Russian test pilot, becomes the second woman to go into space, following Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited Earth in June 1963.
August 20, 1982:
* U.S. Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block announces that the Soviet Union has accepted President Reagan's offer of a one-year extension of the grain sales agreement.
* The U.S. offers a multibillion-dollar plan to help Mexico pay debt and emerge from its financial crisis.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Beastmaster.
August 21, 1982:
* King Sobhuza II of Swaziland dies at the age of 83. Sobhuza, who became king at the age of 1, was the world's longest reigning sovereign.
* About 400 members of the PLO leave Lebanon by ship, the first step in what is planned to be the total evacuation of Guerrillas from West Beirut within the next two weeks.
August 22, 1982:
* Israel's Defense Minister Ariel Sharon urges Palestinians to discuss a peaceful coexistence.
August 23, 1982:
* The Exxon Corporation announces it will close 850 service stations in the Northeast and Midwest because it sees no prospect for an upswing in the declining demand for gasoline.
* Giovanni Spadolini forms Italy's 42nd post-World War II government; it has the same makeup as the one that fell August 7.
* Bashir Gemayel, a Maronite Christian, is elected president of Lebanon despite efforts by Muslims in the National Assembly to deprive the assembly of the quorum needed for such an election.
August 24, 1982:
* British unemployment is reported to have reached 13.8 percent of the work force in August.
August 25, 1982:
* U.S. Marines land in Lebanon to join the peacekeeping force.
* U.S. Rep. Frederick W. Richmond pleads guilty to tax evasion and two other charges and agrees to resign.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA to Present A Video Translation of the Bible by the Genesis Project on its Video Disc System
August 26, 1982:
* At the conclusion of their annual meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada's ten provincial premiers call for a special conference with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to draft a comprehensive plan for the nation's economic recovery.
August 27, 1982:
* King Juan Carlos of Spain acceding to the wishes of Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, formally dissolves Parliament so that general elections can be held in late October.
* Leroy Williams, a former congressional page, admits that he lied when he asserted in March that he had had homosexual liaisons with members of Congress.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Class of 1984.
August 28, 1982:
* U.S. Army Pfc. Joseph T. White of St. Louis, MO, defects to North Korea while on duty at the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Kor
