Leuzinger High School Class of 1981 - 1981 in Review
Here are significant events that occurred during our four years at Leuzinger High School
A time capsule of the movies, music, and events that rocked our world...
Entertainment: 1977
Events:
1) The TV miniseries Roots draws an audience of 130 million.
2) Star Wars hits theaters--for the first time--and will go on to be the second highest-grossing film of all time.
3) Saturday Night Fever sparks the disco inferno and the popularity of movie soundtracks.
4) Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, his Memphis, Tenn. home. He was 42.
Movies:
Saturday Night Fever, Star Wars, Annie Hall, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Julia
Music:
Various artists, Saturday Night Fever soundtrack
Sports: 1977
Super Bowl
Oakland d. Minnesota (32-14)
World Series
NY Yankees d. LA Dodgers (4-2)
NBA Championship
Portland d. Philadelphia 76ers (4-2)
Stanley Cup
Montreal d. Boston (4-0)
Wimbledon
Women: Virginia Wade d. B. Stove (4-6 6-3 6-1)
Men: Bjorn Borg d. J. Connors (3-6 6-2 6-1 5-7 6-4)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Seattle Slew
U.S. Statistics: 1977
President: James Earl Carter, Jr.
Vice President: Walter F. Mondale
Population: 220,239,425
Life expectancy: 73.3 years
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 50.8
Property Crime Rate (per 1,000): 46.0
Entertainment: 1978
Sony introduces the Walkman, the first portable stereo.
The Deer Hunter, Midnight Express, Heaven Can Wait, Coming Home were movies we couldn't wait to see!
Record of the Year: 'Hotel California,' Eagles
Album of the Year: Rumours, Fleetwood Mac (Warner Bros.)
Song of the Year: 'Love Theme From A Star Is Born' (Evergreen), Barbra Streisand and Paul Williams, songwriters
Sports: 1978
Super Bowl
Dallas d. Denver (27-10)
World Series
NY Yankees d. LA Dodgers (4-2)
NBA Championship
Washington Bullets d. Seattle (4-3)
Stanley Cup
Montreal d. Boston (4-2)
Wimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. C. Evert (2-6 6-4 7-5)
Men: Bjorn Borg d. J. Connors (6-2 6-2 6-3)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Affirmed
U.S. Economics: 1978
US GDP (1998 dollars): $2,291.40 billion
Federal spending: $458.75 billion
Federal debt: $776.6 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars): $15,064
Consumer Price Index: 65.2
Unemployment: 6.1%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.13 ($0.15 as of 5/29/78)
World Events: 1978
Pope Paul VI , dead at 80, mourned (Aug. 6); new Pope, John Paul I, 65, dies unexpectedly after 34 days in office (Sept. 28); succeeded by Karol Cardinal Wojtyla of Poland as John Paul II (Oct. 16).
'Framework for Peace' in Middle East signed by Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin after 13-day conference at Camp David led by President Jimmy Carter (Sept. 17).
Jim Jones's followers commit mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana (Nov. 18).
Entertainment: 1979
Events:
The Sugar Hill Gang releases the first commercial rap hit, 'Rapper's Delight,' bringing rap off the New York streets and into the popular music scene.
Movies:
Apocalypse Now, All That Jazz, Kramer vs. Kramer, Breaking Away
Music:
The Sugar Hill Gang, 'Rapper's Delight'
Books:
Penelope Fitzgerald, Rites of Passage
Stephen King, The Dead Zone
Norman Mailer, The Executioner's Song
Jayne Anne Phillips, Black Tickets
William Styron, Sophie's Choice
Tom Wolfe, The Right Stuff
Sports: 1979
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh d. Dallas (35-31)
World Series
Pittsburgh d. Baltimore (4-3)
NBA Championship
Seattle d. Washington Bullets (4-1)
Stanley Cup
Montreal d. NY Rangers (4-1)
Wimbledon
Women: Martina Navratilova d. C. Evert Lloyd (6-4 6-4)
Men: Bjorn Borg d. R. Tanner (6-7 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Spectacular Bid
Science: 1979
Three Mile Island, site of a nuclear power plant 10 mi (16 km) south of Harrisburg, Pa. On Mar. 28, 1979, failure of the cooling system of the No. 2 nuclear reactor led to overheating and partial melting of its uranium core and production of hydrogen gas, which raised fears of an explosion and dispersal of radioactivity. Thousands living near the plant left the area before the 12-day crisis ended, during which time some radioactive water and gases were released. A federal investigation, assigning blame to human, mechanical, and design errors, recommended changes in reactor licensing and personnel training, as well as in the structure and function of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The accident also increased public concern over the dangers of nuclear power and slowed construction of other reactors.
The first human-powered aircraft flies across the English Channel: Bryan Allen pilots the Gossamer Albatross from Folkestone, England, to Cap Gris-Nez, France (June 12).
The accidental release of anthrax spores at a Soviet bioweapons facility in Sverdlovsk kills several hundred.
Television: 1979
Americas Top 20 TV Favorites
1 ) 60 Minutes
2 ) Three's Company
3 ) That's Incredible
4 ) Alice
5 ) M*A*S*H
6 ) Dallas
7 ) Flo
8 ) The Jeffersons
9 ) The Dukes of Hazzard
10 ) One Day at a Time
11 ) WKRP in Cincinnati
12 ) Goodtime Girls
13 ) Archie Bunker's Place
14 ) Taxi
15 ) Eight Is Enough
16 ) Little house on the Prairie
17 ) House Calls
18 ) Real People
19 ) CHiPs
20 ) Happy Days
Emmy Awards
Drama
Best Drama - Lou Grant (CBS)
Best Actor - Ed Asner, Lou Grant
Best Actress - Barbara Bel Geddes, Dallas
Supporting Actor - Stuart Margolin, The Rockford Files
Supporting Actress - Nancy Marchand, Lou Grant
Comedy
Best Comedy - Taxi (ABC)
Best Actor - Richard Mulligan, Soap
Best Actress - Cathryn Damon, Soap
Supporting Actor - Harry Morgan, M*A*S*H
Supporting Actress - Loretta Swit, M*A*S*H
Best Variety- IBM Presents Baryshnikov on Broadway (ABC)
World Events: 1979
Shah leaves Iran after year of turmoil (Jan. 16); revolutionary forces under Muslim leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, take over (Feb. 1 et seq.).
Conservatives win British election; Margaret Thatcher becomes new prime minister (May 3).
Carter and Brezhnev sign SALT II agreement (June 14).
Iranian militants seize US embassy in Teheran and hold hostages (Nov. 4).
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan stirs world protests (Dec. 27).
Entertainment: 1980
Events
John Lennon of the Beatles shot dead in New York City.
Ted Turner launches CNN, the first all-news network.
Mark Morris establishes the Mark Morris Dance Group in New York and is widely received as the most promising modern-dance choreographer of his generation.
Movies
Raging Bull, Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Elephant Man, Tess
Music
Grammys awarded in 1980
Record of the Year: 'What a Fool Believes,' Doobie Brothers
Album of the Year: 52nd Street, Billy Joel (Columbia)
Song of the Year: 'What a Fool Believes,' Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, songwriters
Sports: 1980
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh d. La Rams (31-19)
World Series
Philadelphia Phillies d. Kansas City (4-2)
NBA Championship
LA Lakers d. Philadelphia 76ers (4-2)
Stanley Cup
NY Islanders d. Philadelphia (4-2)
Wimbledon
Women: Evonne Cawley d. C. Evert Lloyd (6-1 7-6)
Men: Bjorn Borg d. J. McEnroe (1-6 7-5 6-3 6-7 8-6)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Genuine Risk
NCAA Basketball Championship
Louisville d. UCLA (59-54)
NCAA Football Champions
Georgia (12-0-0)
U.S. Events : 1980
Six U.S. embassy aides escape from Iran with Canadian help (Jan. 29).
F.B.I.'s undercover operation “Abscam” (for Arab scam) implicates public officials (Feb. 2).
U.S. breaks diplomatic ties with Iran (April 7).
Eight U.S. servicemen are killed and five are injured as helicopter and cargo plane collide in abortive desert raid to rescue American hostages in Teheran (April 25).
Supreme Court upholds limits on federal aid for abortions (June 30).
Shah of Iran dies at 60 (July 27).
Anastasio Somoza Debayle, ousted Nicaragua ruler, and two aides assassinated in Asunción, Paraguay capital (Sept. 17).
Iraq troops hold 90 square miles of Iran after invasion; 8-year Iran-Iraq war begins (Sept. 19).
Ronald Reagan elected president in Republican sweep (Nov. 4).
Three U.S. nuns and lay worker found shot in El Salvador (Dec. 4).
U.S. Economics: 1981
US GDP: $3,115.90 billion
Federal Spending: $678.25 billion
Federal Debt: $994.8 billion
Median Household Income: $19,074
Consumer Price Index: 90.9
Unemployment: 7.6%
Cost of a first class stamp: $0.15 ($0.18 as of 11/01/81)
Sports: 1981
Super Bowl
Oakland d. Philadelphia (27-10)
World Series
LA Dodgers d. NY Yankees (4-2)
NBA Championship
Boston d. Houston (4-2)
Stanley Cup
NY Islanders d. Minnesota (4-1)
Wimbledon
Women: Chris Evert Lloyd d. H. Mandlikova (6-2, 6-2)
John McEnroe d. B. Borg (4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Pleasant Colony
NCAA Basketball Championship
Indiana d. North Carolina (63-50)
NCAA Football Champion
Clemenson (12-0-0)
Entertainment: 1981
Events
MTV goes on the air running around the clock music videos, debuting with 'Video Killed the Radio Star'.
The Supreme Court rules to allow television cameras in the courtroom.
Pacman-mania sweeps the country.
Movies
Raiders of the Lost Ark, Chariots of Fire, On Golden Pond, Reds, Atlantic
53rd Academy Awards
The Oscars presented on March 31, 1981
Best Picture: Ordinary People
Best Actor: Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
Best Actress: Sissy Spacek, Coal Miner's Daughter
Best Supporting Actor: Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People
Best Supporting Actress: Mary Steenburgen, Melvin and Howard
Best Director: Robert Redford, Ordinary People
1980-1981 Emmy Awards
Drama: Hill Street Blues (NBC)
Comedy: Taxi (ABC)
Mini-series: Shogun (NBC)
Game Show: The $20,000 Pyramid (ABC)
Music: 1981
Grammys Awarded in 1981
Record of the Year: 'Sailing' Christopher Cross
Album of the Year: Christopher Cross, Christopher Cross (Warner Bros)
Song of the Year: 'Sailing' Christopher Cross, songwriter
Top 40 Hits of 1981
1 BETTE DAVIS EYES, Kim Carnes
2 ENDLESS LOVE, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3 LADY, Kenny Rogers
4 STARTING OVER, John Lennon
5 JESSIE'S GIRL, Rick Springfield
6 CELEBRATION, Kool and the Gang
7 KISS ON MY LIST, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8 I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT, Eddie Rabbitt
9 9 TO 5, Dolly Parton
10 KEEP ON LOVING YOU, REO Speedwagon
11 GREATEST AMERICAN HERO, Joey Scarbury
12 MORNING TRAIN, Sheena Easton
13 BEING WITH YOU, Smokey Robinson
14 QUEEN OF HEARTS, Juice Newton
15 RAPTURE, Blondie
16 A WOMAN NEEDS LOVE, Ray Parker Jr.
17 THE TIDE IS HIGH, Blondie
18 JUST THE TWO OF US, Grover Wasington Jr. with Bill Withers
19 SLOW HAND, The Pointer Sisters
20 I LOVE YOU, The Climax Blues Band
21 WOMAN, John Lennon
22 SUKIYAKI, A Taste of Honey
23 THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL, Abba
24 MEDLEY: Sugar, Sugar/No Reply/I'll Be Back, The Stars on 45
25 ANGEL OF THE MORNING, Juice Newton
26 LOVE ON THE ROCKS, Neil Diamond
27 EVERY WOMAN IN THE WORLD, Air Supply
28 THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE, Air Supply
29 GUILTY, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
30 THE BEST OF TIMES, Styx
31 ELVIRA, The Oak Ridge Boys
32 TAKE IT ON THE RUN, REO Speedwagon
33 There's NO GETTIN' OVER ME, Ronnie Milsap
34 LIVING INSIDE MYSELF, Gino Vanelli
35 WOMAN IN LOVE, Barbra Streisand
36 BOY FROM NEW YORK CITY, The Manhattan Tranfer
37 URGENT, Foreigner
38 PASSION, Rod Stewart
39 LADY You Bring Me Up, The Commodores
40 CRYING, Don McLean
