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 Korea. White is the first U.S. soldier to voluntarily flee to North Korea since 1965 and only the fifth to do so since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
* A sharp increase in political killings in El Salvador during the past month is reported by U.S. embassy and Roman Catholic Church officials.
August 29, 1982:
* The first-ever Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) convention begins in Dallas, Texas and runs until September 3. Approximately 250 suppliers and retailers attend the event. The results of a Nielsen survey released at the event reveal that Beta is fading fast in the tape format war, with VHS capturing 72 percent of the market.
* Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish-born actress, dies from cancer at the age of 67. She won Academy Awards for her performances in Gaslight, Anastasia, and Murder on the Orient Express (CED). She also appears in the CED titles Cactus Flower, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Joan of Arc, Notorious, Spellbound, Casablanca, and Intermezzo.
* Mary Matossian, a historian at the University of Maryland, proposes in the journal American Scientist that the 1692 witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Mass., may have been caused by ergotism, the consumption of a fungus that grows chiefly on rye and causes convulsions and many other forms of bizarre behavior.
* American Ashby Harper, at age 65, becomes the oldest person to swim the English Channel.
August 30, 1982:
* PLO leader Yasir Arafat departs Beirut, Lebanon as the U.N. peacekeeping force becomes established.
* Bill Dunlop of Mechanic, Maine sets a new record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean from West to East in the smallest boat. His yacht, "Wind's Will," is only nine feet long. The voyage, which took 78 days, began in Portland, Maine, and ended in Falmouth, England.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Rapid Growth Of RCA VideoDiscs System Reflects Strong Support at Dealer Level
August 31, 1982:
* Polish police use tear gas, water cannons, and noise grenades to control moderate-sized crowds of demonstrators who defy government warnings against holding rallies on the second anniversary of the founding of Solidarity, the outlawed federation of trade unions.
September 1, 1982:
* In a televised address, President Reagan endorses "full autonomy" under Jordanian supervision for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; demands a freeze on Israeli settlements; and calls for negotiations leading to an undivided Jerusalem. The speech comes on the same day that the last Palestinian and Syrian fighters leave west Beirut.
* Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo closes all of the country's private banks so they can be "incorporated directly into the service of the nation." He also announces the imposition of a system of strict currency exchange controls.
* Robert Frederick, a former vice president of General Electric, is appointed President of RCA Corporation.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
'STAR WARS' to Highlight RCA Promotions for VideoDisc System this Fall
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR SEPTEMBER 1982:
Big Fights, Vol. 3: Sugar Ray Robinson's Greatest Fights
Carrie [RCA]
Don't Look Now
Doobie Brothers Live In Concert- Santa Barbara*
Every Which Way But Loose
Four Musketeers, The
Howling, The
In-Laws, The
Kenny Loggins Alive!*
La Cage Aux Folles
Marathon Man
Public Enemy, The
Ragtime (2)
Rebel Without A Cause
Rosemary's Baby (2)
Saturday Night Live, Vol. 2: Richard Pryor/Steve Martin
Shaggy Dog, The
Streetcar Named Desire, A
Tony Bennett Songbook, A*
What's Up, Doc?
September 2, 1982:
* Wladyslaw Gomulka, former Polish Communist leader, dies at the age of 78.
September 3, 1982:
* President Reagan signs into law a bill providing $98.3 billion in tax increases and $17.5 billion in spending reductions for the fiscal years 1983-85.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Incubus.
September 4, 1982:
* Twenty-four people are killed and 38 injured by a fire in a downtown Los Angeles apartment house.
Abracadabra by Steve Miller becomes the No. 1 U.S. single. The music video of this song appears on the CED title "Picture Music."
September 5, 1982:
* The shock wave of an extraordinarily powerful solar flare arrives at the outer magnetic field of the Earth causing spectacular auroras and briefly disrupting some electric power systems.
September 6, 1982:
* During a news conference organized by the Salvadoran Human Rights Commission, three women accuse government troops of indiscriminately killing 300 unarmed civilians during a seven-day antiguerrilla campaign in San Vicente Province.
September 7, 1982:
* The discovery is reported, by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health, of synthetic chemicals that fit brain cell receptors so well as to instantly turn on or off symptoms of extreme anxiety in monkeys.
September 8, 1982:
* President Reagan says he will not block a bill by Senator Jesse Helms to allow prayer in public schools.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Sugar Ray Robinson Makes Boxing History Again Through the Magic of RCA's Video Disc System
September 9, 1982:
* The U.S. House of Representatives votes 301-117 to override President Reagan's veto of a $14.1 billion supplemental appropriations bill. The following day, 21 Republican senators join 39 Democrats in voting 60-30 against the president. The override is the first major legislative defeat for Reagan since assuming office.
* Following a four-day conference in Fez, Morocco, the Arab League announces its unanimous approval of a peace plan for the Middle East. It calls for an independent Palestinian state and hints that such a move would bring about the formal recognition if Israel.
* William S. Paley, the founder and chairman of CBS, announces his retirement effective April 20, 1983.
September 10, 1982:
* Paul Schluter becomes Denmark's prime minister, heading a center-right coalition. Schluter succeeds Anker Henrik Jorgensen, who resigned September 3.
* Ariane, a rocket built by several European companies, plunges into the Atlantic ocean 14 minutes into its first operational mission.
* Argentina's navy and air force chiefs decide to reconstitute the three-man junta that was in effect dissolved when the two men announced in June that they would cooperate with the head of the army only in matters of national defense.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Pink Floyd: The Wall.
September 11, 1982:
* All 46 people aboard a U.S. Army helicopter, including a 38-member international parachuting team, are killed in a crash in Mannheim, Germany during an air show.
* "American Fool" by Jon Cougar becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.
Hard to Say I'm Sorry by Chicago becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
September 12, 1982:
* The Chinese Communist Party adjourns its 12th National Congress after adopting a new party constitution. The document restructures the party organization in several ways to preclude the type of "personality cult" that prevailed under former chairman Mao Ze-dong (Mao Tse-tung). The former premier and Communist Party chairman, Hua Kuo-feng (Hua Guofeng), is dropped by the ruling Politburo.
* Jimmy Connors defeats Ivan Lendl for his fourth U.S. Open Men's Tennis title. Chris Evert Lloyd defeats Hana Mandlikova for the Women's title.
September 13, 1982:
* A special U.S. prosecutor reports that he could find no evidence of illegal activity by Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan.
September 14, 1982:
* Bashir Gemayel, president-elect of Lebanon since August 23, is assassinated when a bomb demolishes the headquarters of the Lebanese Christian Phalangist party in East Beirut. At least eight others are also killed.
* Princess Grace of Monaco, the former actress Grace Kelly, dies at age 52 of injuries sustained in a car crash the day before. She received the Best Actress Academy Award in 1954 for The Country Girl (CED), and also appears in the CED titles Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, and High Noon.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Video Disc Owners Are Super Salesmen of RCA's Home Entertainment Product
September 15, 1982:
* Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, who became foreign minister of Iran shortly after U.S. hostages were seized in Tehran in November 1979, is executed by firing squad. He had been convicted of plotting to assassinate Ayatollah Khomeini and attempting to overthrow the government. As official spokesperson for Iran, Ghotbzadeh appeared on U.S. television many times during the hostage crisis.
* Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos arrives in the U.S. for an official state visit, his first in 16 years. Two days earlier five Democratic senators had sent President Reagan a letter protesting the visit, saying it could be interpreted "as a sign that your administration condones the repression of the Marcos government." During an appearance before a group of congressmen, Marcos asserts that "there was no such thing as human rights" in the Philippines until he imposed martial law.
* PLO leader Yasir Arafat meets at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II and in Rome with Italian government leaders.
September 16, 1982:
* Christian militiamen begin a day-long slaughter of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in West Beirut. Worldwide condemnation of the atrocity is accompanied by anger directed against Israel for permitting the militiamen, whose hatred of the Palestinians is common knowledge, to enter the camps.
September 17, 1982:
* British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arrives in Japan on the first leg of her first official visit to Asia. After her arrival in China, Thatcher and Chinese officials discuss a wide range of topics, but none so pressing as the future of the British crown colony of Hong Kong. China seems certain to claim sovereignty over Hong Kong but appears willing to make certain concessions to ensure its continued prosperity.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Tempest.
September 18, 1982:
* It is revealed that as many as 600 refugees may have died in the massacre that took place two days earlier in Lebanon.
September 19, 1982:
* Sweden's Social Democratic Party (SD) picks up 12 additional seats in elections for Parliament, enough to give it control of the government.
* The New York Cosmos defeat the Seattle Sounders 1-0 in Soccer Bowl '82.
* At the 34th annual Emmy awards, "Hill Street Blues" is chosen as the outstanding drama series and "Barney Miller" is voted the outstanding comedy series. "A Woman Called Golda," based on the life of the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, is voted the year's outstanding drama special. Ingrid Bergman, who starred in it, is posthumously named outstanding lead actress in a limited series or special.
September 20, 1982:
* Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi begins a week-long visit to the Soviet Union. Gandhi thanks the Soviet Union for "standing by" India but also, according to reports, makes it clear that her country counts itself among the nonaligned nations.
September 21, 1982:
* Players in the National Football League (NFL) go on strike against all the league's 28 teams. It is the first in-season strike in the history of the NFL.
* Amin Gemayel is elected president of Lebanon by Parliament. He is the elder brother of Bashir Gemayel, who was president-elect until being assassinated on September 14.
September 22, 1982:
* President Reagan signs legislation ending a four-day strike by 26,000 locomotive engineers which had shut down much of the nation's railroad system.
* Bolivian Finance Minister Alfonso Revollo reveals that his country is not able to pay $50 million in foreign debts that came due earlier in the month. The International Monetary Fund refused to comply with Bolivia's request for help.
September 23, 1982:
* Jimmy Wakely, singing star of numerous Westerns, dies at age 68. His hit songs include "Tennessee Waltz" and "Beautiful Brown Eyes."
September 24, 1982:
* Ending a lengthy takeover battle, Allied Corp. announces that it has acquired Bendix Corp. for some $1.9 billion.
* British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher agrees with leaders in Peking to hold formal talks on the future of Hong Kong.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Amityville II.
September 25, 1982:
* Twelve leftist guerrillas end their nine-day takeover of the Chamber of Commerce building in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. They had take 107 hostages and demanded the release of captured Salvadoran guerrilla leader Alejandro Montenegro and others.
* State prison guard George Banks kills 13 persons in a rampage at two houses in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
* The Las Vegas Grand Prix, the final race of the 1982 season, is won by Michele Alboreto. The overall season winner is Keke Rosberg of Finland, who won only one race, but finished high enough in other events for the top overall spot.
Abracadabra (CED) by the Steve Miller Band regains the No. 1 U.S. single spot for one week.
September 26, 1982:
* Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki arrives in Beijing for a six-day series of meetings with top Chinese officials. Development of China's oil and coal reserves and continued aid to revitalize China's factories are among the topics discussed at length.
September 27, 1982:
* John Palmer replaces Chris Wallace as host of the Today Show. Wallace (son of veteran newsman Mike Wallace) had replaced Tom Brokaw when he left the show in 1981. It was Brokaw who was host of the show for the introduction of both the SelectaVision VHS and SelectaVision CED systems.
September 28, 1982:
* Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin reverses his earlier stand and agrees to have an independent three-man board of inquiry investigate the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Beirut on September 16.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
H. J. Mendelsohn Named Division Vice President, Marketing for RCA VideoDiscs
September 29, 1982:
* U.S. Marines begin arriving in Beirut, Lebanon to join the reconstituted international peacekeeping force.
* Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin, succumbing to mounting international and domestic pressure, requests an independent judicial inquiry into the mid-month Palestinian massacre.
September 30, 1982:
* Over a two-day period, cyanide-laced capsules of the pain reliever Extra-Strength Tylenol kill seven people in the Chicago, Illinois area.
October 1, 1982:
* Epcot Center, an $800 Walt Disney theme park adjacent to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, opens for its first day of operation.
* Helmut Kohl, leader of the Christian Democratic Union, replaces Helmut Schmidt as chancellor of West Germany.
* A proposed constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget is defeated in the U.S. House of Representatives.
* Sony introduces the CDP-101, the first Compact Disc audio CD player on the market.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: My Favorite Year.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR OCTOBER 1982:
9 To 5
Alien**
All The Marbles
Amateur, The
American Werewolf in London, An
Born Free
Breaking Away
Cat Ballou
Charly
Cutter's Way
Diana Ross in Concert*
Elvis On Tour
Eyewitness
Fistful of Dollars, A
Godfather, Part II, The (2)
Heritage of the Bible, The
High Anxiety
Hooper
Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1956]
Junior Bonner
King of Hearts [CBS]
Kotch
Legend of the Lone Ranger, The
Lord of the Rings, The (2)
Making Love
Making of Star Wars/SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back
Midnight Express
Miss Peach of the Kelly School
Mister Roberts
Modern Problems
Music of Melissa Manchester, The*
Phantom Tollbooth, The
Poseidon Adventure, The
Quest For Fire
Raggedy Ann & Andy
Raise the Titanic
Red on Roundball
Rose, The (2)**
Silver Streak
South Pacific (2)
Spy Who Loved Me, The
Stunt Man, The (2)
Take the Money and Run
Tales From Muppetland, Vol. 2
Tattoo
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Time Machine, The
Towering Inferno (2)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The
Turning Point, The
Used Cars
Visitor, The [Mick Fleetwood]
West Side Story (2)** [FOX]
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Woodstock (2)*
Young Frankenstein
Zorro, the Gay Blade
October 2, 1982:
* A truck explodes in the central square of Teheran, Iran, killing 60 persons and injuring 700 others. A government spokesman blames "American mercenaries" for the explosion.
Jack and Diane by John Cougar becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
October 3, 1982:
* An industry report states that home video games are approaching the profitability of the film industry.
October 4, 1982:
* In a conciliatory move, President Amin Gemayel of Lebanon, a Christian Phalangist who was elected September 21 after the assassination of his brother, President-elect Bashir Gemayel, asks Chafiq al-Wazan, a Muslim, to stay on as prime minister.
* Canadian pianist Glenn Gould dies from a stroke at age 50. He was best known for his performances of the music of J.S. Bach.
October 5, 1982:
* The Lebanese Army commences a sweep through West Beirut to begin reestablishing the government's authority over the capital. The goals of the search are to disarm combatants, ferret out caches of arms, and round up illegal aliens and criminals.
* Hernan Siles Zuazo is chosen president of Bolivia by the nation's congress. He succeeds General Guido Vildoso Calderon. Siles Zuazo had previously been president from 1956 to 1960, with his return to leadership ending 17 years of military rule.
October 6, 1982:
* The second round of strategic arms reduction talks (START) between the United States and the Soviet Union opens in Geneva.
October 7, 1982:
* Trading on the New York Stock Exchange sets a one-day record when 147,070,000 shares exchange hands.
* Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Cats" opens on Broadway in New York City.
* Former Prime Minister Olof Palme of Sweden, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is sworn in as premier. Palme and the SDP won a solid victory in the September 19 general elections.
October 8, 1982:
* The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the national unemployment rate reached 10.1 percent in September, the highest monthly rate since 1940, with over 11 million people out of work.
* The Polish Parliament overwhelmingly votes to outlaw Solidarity and all other existing labor unions.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Split Image.
October 9, 1982:
* President Reagan, responding to Poland's outlawing of Solidarity, announces he will suspend its Most Favored Nation trading status.
October 10, 1982:
* Maksymilian Kolbe, a Polish priest, is declared a saint by Pope John Paul II. In 1941, Father Kolbe, held at the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp, volunteered to die in place of another man and was subsequently executed.
* Hernan Siles Zuazo is sworn in as president of Bolivia, ending 17 years of military rule. The national congress, reconvened after more than two years, elected him on October 5.
October 11, 1982:
* Four persons are killed and scores injured when radical Sikhs storm India's House of Parliament in New Delhi.
* The "Mary Rose," a British ship that sank in 1545 is brought to the surface off Portsmouth, England. The ship, which had been the pride of King Henry VIII's fleet, was first discovered by a diver in 1970.
* The Dow Jones industrial average closes at 1012.79, the first time the average has surpassed the 1,000 mark since April 1981, the first full month the CED system was on the market.
October 12, 1982:
* The prime rate, which major U.S. banks charge their best corporate customers, is cut to 12 percent. The prime rate had been as high as 16.5 percent in July 1982.
* King Hussein of Jordon and Pasir Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization conclude four days of talks on the proposed establishment of a Palestinian state confederated with Jordon.
* Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzaki, facing economic problems and strains within his party, announces his intention to resign.
* Thousands of workers at the Lenin shipyards in Gdansk, Poland are on strike to protest the Oct. 8 action by the Polish Parliament. Police use tear gas and percussion grenades to break up the demonstrations. The following day, all shipyard workers are drafted into military service, making them subject to court martial for disobedience.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA VideoDiscs and Berkley Books in Joint Promotion for 'James Bond'
October 13, 1982:
* President Reagan signs a job training bill that replaces the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) but does not provide for any public works jobs.
* Dutch Premier Andreas van Agt resigns suddenly during talks on forming a new coalition government.
October 14, 1982:
* President Reagan announces the "War on Drugs" - federal initiatives against drug trafficking and organized crime.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Planned 1983 European Introduction of 'CED' VideoDisc System
October 15, 1982:
* Halley's Comet is sighted for the first time since 1911. The comet will make its closest approach to the Sun in 1986.
* President Reagan announces a major U.S. offer to sell grain to the Soviet Union, with a conditional guarantee that deliveries will not be cut off by any possible trade embargo.
* President Suharto of Indonesia ends a five-day visit to the United States.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Sword and the Sorcerer.
October 16, 1982:
* U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz announces that the U.S. is withholding an $8.5 million payment to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency because it canceled Israel's credentials. The action was instigated by Arab nations that wanted to exclude Israel from all UN bodies.
* A Chinese Air Force pilot lands safely in South Korea in a MIG-19 fighter plane after successfully outrunning other Chinese jet fighters that pursued him.
* China announces that it has successfully fired a ballistic missile from a submarine. The event adds China's name to those of only four other countries that have developed such technology: France, Great Britain, the U.S., and the U.S.S.R.
October 17, 1982:
* Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first player to have two four-hit games in a World Series. Yount's outburst includes a home run and helps the Brewers defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4, to take a three-games-to-two lead in the Series.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Video Disc Sales To Top $200 Million in The United States Despite Economy
October 18, 1982:
* Bess Truman, the widow of former U.S. President Harry S. Truman, dies at the age of 97.
October 19, 1982:
* John De Lorean, whose company has been producing luxury sports cars in Northern Ireland, is arrested in Los Angeles and charged with possession of 59 pounds of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute it.
October 20, 1982:
* The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-3, in game 7 of the baseball's World Series.
October 21, 1982:
* Hissen Habre is sworn in as president of Chad. The new government replaces the Council of State that had ruled since Habre's overthrow of President Goukouni Oueddei in June.
* the United States and the European Community reach an accord limiting European steel exports to the United States.
October 22, 1982:
* A delegation of the Arab League headed by Morocco's King Hassan meets at the White House with President Reagan to discuss recent U.S. and Arab peace proposals for the Middle East.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Halloween III.
October 23, 1982:
* Noted Brazilian pianist Jacques Klein dies at age 52.
October 24, 1982:
* After 26 miles, just yards separated Alberto Salazar from Rodolfo Gomez in the New York Marathon. Salazar won his 3rd NY Marathon and Grete Waitz won her fourth women's title.
October 25, 1982:
* The first full season of the television series "Cagney & Lacey" begins on CBS.
October 26, 1982:
* About 50 unemployed Australian workers from Wollongong, New South Wales, fight their way into Parliament House in Canberra demanding to see Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. The group represents some 800 laid-off miners and steelworkers who insist that the government take steps to put them back to work. When Fraser sends word that he will meet with union heads to see what can be done, the workers depart.
* New Polish law calls for forced labor for "social parasites" who cannot prove they have gainful employment.
* The U.S. government reports a record budget deficit of $110.7 billion for fiscal 1982.
October 27, 1982:
A Chinese census reports a population of 1,008,175,288, nearly one fourth that of the entire world.
* Trade talks between Japan and the U.S. are cut short in Honolulu when the U.S delegation refuses to discuss any other topic except unrestricted Japanese importation of U.S. beef and citrus products.
* President Reagan suspends Poland's most-favoured-nation trading status because it has outlawed Solidarity and other free labor unions.
October 28, 1982:
* Felipe Gonzalez Marquez leads the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party to resounding victories in elections for the lower house of Parliament and the Senate. Gonzalez will be Spain's first left-wing head of government in half a century.
October 29, 1982:
* The sale of synthetic human insulin for human use is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This is the first substance made by gene-splicing techniques to be approved.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: It Came from Hollywood.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Red Auerbach and the Great Stars of the NBA Teach Basketball Basics on New RCA Video Disc
October 30, 1982:
* The constitution of Portugal is revised for the first time since it was ratified on April 25, 1976.
Who Can It Be Now? by Men At Work becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
October 31, 1982:
* Marguerite Bourgeoys, a French woman who moved to colonial Montreal in 1653 and set up the colony's first school, is declared a saint by Pope John Paul II. She becomes Canada's first female saint, joining more than 2,500 saints venerated by the Roman Catholic Church.
November 1, 1982:
* Ending the first talks between the two countries in 10 years, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India and President Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan agree to set up a permanent joint commission to resolve future disagreements.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 1982 (some titles delayed until December as CBS ramped up production at their Carrollton, Georgia plant):
39 Steps, The [1935]
Absence of Malice
All That Jazz
Author! Author!
Being There (2)
Billion Dollar Hobo, The
Black Orpheus
Bus Stop
Capricorn One
Carny
CATCH-22
Change of Seasons, A
Chu Chu and the Philly Flash
Compleat Beatles, The*
Damien Omen II
Death Hunt
Disney Cartoon Parade, Vol. 4
Dragonslayer**
Dumbo
Endless Love
Enter the Dragon
Final Conflict, The
For Your Eyes Only (2)* [MGM]
French Lieutenant's Woman, The
Game of Death
Getting of Wisdom, The
Great Movie Stunts and the Making of Raiders Lost Ark
Gus
Harry Chapin: The Final Concert*
Holocaust (4)
I Ought To Be In Pictures
James Taylor in Concert
John Curry's IceDancin'
Julia
Lenny
MegaForce
Moon Is Blue, The
Norma Rae
Notorious
Oh, God!
Paper Chase, The
Papillon (2)
Paternity
Playboy Video, Vol. 1*
RCA's All-Star Country Music Fair*
Return of the Street Fighter
Ring of Bright Water
Rocky III** [RCA]
Rush/Exit...Stage Left*
S.O.B. (2)
Sea Wolves, The (2)
Six Pack
Some Kind of Hero
Spiral Staircase, The
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan**
Star Trek: Vol.4, Space Seed/Changeling
Sybil (2)
TAPS
There's No Business Like Show Business
Ticket To Heaven
Totally Go-Go's*
True Grit (2)
Unmarried Woman, An
Victor/Victoria (2)**
Visiting Hours
November 2, 1982:
* U.S. voters go to the polls to elect 33 senators, 433 representatives, 36 governors, and thousands of local officials. Republicans retain their 54-46 majority in the U.S. Senate but suffer a net loss of 26 seats in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. Democrats win 27 of the gubernatorial races.
* A tunnel blast in Afghanistan kills hundreds of Russian soldiers and Afghan civilians.
November 3, 1982:
* Encouraged by the mid-term election, the Dow Jones industrial average gains a record 43.41 points and reaches its highest yet closing in history - 1,065.49.
November 4, 1982:
* A single-day record for volume of stock trading is set as 149.35 million shares change hands on the New York Stock Exchange.
* Health and Human Services Secretary Richard S. Schweiker approves regulations mandating tamper-resistant packaging for most non-prescription drugs, including Tylenol.
* Ruud Lubbers is sworn in by Queen Beatrix as prime minister of The Netherlands, replacing Andreas van Agt. The new Parliament is expected to support NATO's decision to deploy medium-range nuclear weapons in Europe.
November 5, 1982:
* The U.S. Social Security retirement fund borrows money for the first time.
* Some 10,000 Canadian members of the United Auto Workers go on strike for higher wages at six Chrysler plants in Ontario.
* President Reagan nominates Under Secretary of the Interior Donald Hodel as energy secretary, to replace James B. Edwards, who had resigned.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Man from Snowy River.
November 6, 1982:
* President Ahmadou Ahidjo of Cameroon resigns after 22 years in power, naming Prime Minister Paul Biya as his successor.
Up Where We Belong by Joe Cocker (CED) and Jennifer Warnes becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
November 7, 1982:
* Iran reports its troops have driven six miles into Iraq during a week-long offensive that forced the Iraqis out of a broad stretch of Iranian territory.
* The Upper Volta government of Col. Saye Zerbo is overthrown by Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, an army commander and medical doctor.
* Voters in Turkey approve by more than 90 percent a new constitution proposed by the military junta of Gen. Kenan Evren, who automatically becomes president for a seven-year term.
November 8, 1982:
* Auto maker John DeLorean pleads not guilty to cocaine charges in a Los Angeles court.
* Twenty-nine inmates die, and 61 persons are injured in a fire at the county jail in Biloxi, Mississippi.
* A meteorite about the size of a grapefruit crashes through the roof of a home in Wethersfield, Connecticut. The chances of more than one meteorite landing in the same town are just about nonexistent. Yet it was the second time in eleven years that a meteorite had crashed through a Wethersfield house.
November 9, 1982:
* Rank and file of the United Mine Workers elect 33-year-old Richard L. Trumka as union president, replacing Samuel Church.
* The West first learns of a massive tunnel explosion in Afghanistan a week earlier. It appears that the lead truck of a Soviet convoy collided with a fuel truck igniting many vehicles and filling the 1.7 mile long tunnel with toxic fumes. Soviet soldiers outside the tunnel mistakenly seal both ends thinking the explosion signals an attack by Afghan guerrillas.
* Pope John Paul II concludes the first ever papal visit to Spain after making public appearances in 16 cities throughout the country.
November 10, 1982:
* Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Russian Communist Party and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, dies of a heart attack at age 75. Brezhnev had been party leader since 1964 and chairman, or head of state, since 1977.
* Geoffrey A. Prime, a translator of Russian at Great Britain's Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham from 1976 to 1977, pleads guilty to having spied for the Soviet Union and is sentenced to 35 years in prison.
* New Zealand announces an agreement with Australia to phase out almost all tariffs and duties between the two countries.
November 11, 1982:
* Flight STS-5 (CED) of the space shuttle Columbia takes place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This first commercial flight of the space shuttle program places two communications satellites in orbit, but a planned space walk has to be canceled because the spacesuits malfunction.
November 12, 1982:
* The Communist Party Central Committee meets in emergency session and elects 68-year-old Yuri Andropov general secretary of the party, the most powerful position in the Soviet Union.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Conan the Barbarian.
November 13, 1982:
* About 15,000 Vietnam War veterans march down Constitution Avenue in Washington D.C. to the Mall for the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a crowd of 150,000 watch. The ceremony is the culmination of a five-day salute to Vietnam War veterans.
* President Reagan lifts his ban against the use of U.S. technology for the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Siberia to Western Europe.
* "Business As Usual" by Men At Work (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. album.
November 14, 1982:
* Lech Walesa, former head of Poland's outlawed Solidarity labor union, returns home after 11 months in internment.
* Soviet cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev aboard the Salyut 7 space station break the prior record of 185 days in space. The previous record had been set by two of their countrymen in 1980.
November 15, 1982:
* A federal district judge in Los Angeles rules that the U.S. draft registration law is invalid.
* The state funeral for Soviet leader Leonid Ilich Brezhnev is held in Moscow.
November 16, 1982:
* Astronauts Vance Brand, Robert Overmyer, William Lenoir, and Joseph Allen aboard flight STS-5 (CED) of the space shuttle Columbia return to Earth after its first operational mission.
* The National Football League Players Association and the owners of 28 teams reach a tentative agreement to end the strike that began on September 21. If the agreement is ratified by the players, each team will play only seven more regular season games. An expanded play-off series will involve 16 teams vying for a Super Bowl berth.
* Chinese Foreign Minister Huang Hua and his Soviet counterpart, Andrey Gromyko, meet for an hour and a half in Moscow following the funeral of Leonid I. Brezhvev. It was the first such high-level meeting between the two largest Communist countries since 1969.
November 17, 1982:
* Edwin P. Wilson, a member of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency from 1954 to 1970, is convicted by a federal jury on seven of eight counts of illegally transporting firearms to the Libyan government. The CIA denied his claim that he was part of a covert operation.
November 18, 1982:
* Twenty-two persons are killed and about 100 injured as a result of a stampede of fans in a soccer stadium in Cali, Columbia.
November 19, 1982:
* Lost manuscripts by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Richard Rodgers are found in a Warner Bros. warehouse in New Jersey.
* Wu Xueqian replaces China's Foreign Minister Huang Hua and Zhang Aiping replaces Defense Minister Geng Biao.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Last Unicorn.
November 20, 1982:
* South Africa backs down on a plan to install black rule in Namibia.
November 21, 1982:
* National Football League games resume following resolution of a 57-day player strike.
November 22, 1982:
* In a nationally televised address, President Reagan calls for the deployment of 100 MX missiles in the controversial "dense pack" basing mode. The missiles would be based in a cluster of silos near Cheyenne, Wyoming at an initial cost of $26.4 billion.
November 23, 1982:
* Hurricane Iwa, with 110 mile per hour winds, hits the islands of Kauai, Niihau, and Oahu in Hawaii, killing a sailor and causing an estimated 130 million in property damage. It is the first hurricane to hit the islands since 1959.
* The FCC drops limits on the frequency and duration of television advertisements.
November 24, 1982:
* Irish voters go to the polls to decide, in effect, whether Prime Minister Charles Haughey, representing the Fianna Fail Party, will remain in power or be replaced by former prime minister Garret FitzGerald, the leader of the Fine Gael Party. Neither major party gains an absolute majority.
November 25, 1982:
* Police in Rome, Italy, arrest an employee of the Bulgarian national airline, charging him with complicity in the May 1981 assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II.
* African leaders meeting in Tripoli, Libya, cancel a conference of the Organization of African Unity when it becomes evident that a dispute Between Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi and Chad's Hissen Habre cannot be amicably resolved.
November 26, 1982:
* The 60-member Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization issues a statement in Damascus, Syria, rejecting President Reagan's proposal that the Palestinians be given territory in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in association with Jordan. The terms of the rejection leave open hope for negotiation. Larry Holmes of Easton, Pennsylvania successfully defends his WBC heavyweight boxing title for the 13th straight time with a unanimous 15-round decision over Randy Cobb of Philadelphia.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Alone in the Dark.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA and MCA in Video Disc Deal for 20 Films
November 27, 1982:
* New Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, 64, and his 21-member cabinet are installed in office. Nakasone was elected in a special; session of the Diet the day before.
Truly by Lionel Richie (CED) becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
November 28, 1982:
* The "Pirates of Penzance" closes at the Uris Theater in New York City after a run of 772 performances.
November 29, 1982:
* The UN General Assembly, for the fourth time in three years, condemns the presence of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The vote, which calls for the "immediate withdrawal of foreign forces" from the country, is 114 to 21 with 13 abstentions.
* Representatives of 88 nations end a six-day meeting of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), held in Geneva. Though the conference was extended by three days, fundamental trade issues remained unresolved.
November 30, 1982:
* It is reported that the federal government is conducting more than 50 studies related to Agent Orange, the herbicide used in the Vietnam War and blamed by some for a host of health problems among veterans of the war.
December 1, 1982:
* Amintore Fanfani becomes premier of Italy. He succeeds Giovanni Spadolini, who had resigned in November after 17 months in office. It is the fifth time in his political career that Fanfani has been premier.
* On the first leg of a five-day, four-nation goodwill tour of Latin America, U.S. President Ronald Reagan extends $1.23 billion in short-term credit to Brazil.
* Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado is sworn in for a six-year term as president of Mexico.
* U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts) announces that he will not run for president in 1984.
RCA VIDEODISC RELEASES FOR DECEMBER 1982:
Arsenic and Old Lace [FOX]
Atlantic City
Black Sunday (2)
Blue Max, The (2)
Boston Strangler, The
Boys in the Band, The
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [FOX]
Comes A Horseman
Detective, The
Diner
Dodge City
Dr. Seuss Video Festival: Horton/Grinch Stole Xmas
Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, The
Elephant Man, The [1982]
Elvis: His 1968 Comeback Special
Exodus (2)
Exorcist, The
Eye of the Needle
Fantastic Voyage [CBS]
French Connection, The [FOX]
Gator
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Golden Era of College Football, A
Grapes of Wrath, The (2)
Hang 'Em High [FOX]
Hell in the Pacific
Hello, Dolly! (2)* [FOX]
Herbie Rides Again
Hombre
How to Marry a Millionaire
Hustler, The (2)
Jezebel [RCA]
King and I, The (2)*
Laura [CBS]
Little Caesar [RCA]
Longest Day, The (2) [FOX]
M*A*S*H [FOX]
Magnum Force
Man With the Golden Arm, The
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The
Moses (2)
Mr. Rogers Vol. 1: Helping Children Understand
My Bodyguard
Nutcracker, The* [1977]
One-Night Stand: A Keyboard Event**
Patton (2)*
Pennies From Heaven
Planet of the Apes [FOX]
Pumping Iron
Queen Greatest Flix*
Robe, The (2)
Sacred Music of Duke Ellington, The*
Saturn 3
Secret Policeman's Other Ball, The**
Seems Like Old Times
Seven Year Itch, The [FOX]
Shoot the Moon
Taxi Driver
Teddy Pendergrass: Live in London*
Thomas Crown Affair, The
Three Stooges VideoDisc, Vol. 1, The
Thunderball (2)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (2) [FOX]
Twelve O'Clock High (2)
World of Wildlife, Vol. 2: Penguin Summer/Kangaroo
World's Greatest Lover, The
Yankee Doodle Dandy
December 2, 1982:
* Barney Clark, a 61-year-old retired dentist, becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. In an operation at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, doctors replace Clark's dying heart with an artificial heart made of plastic named the Jarvik-7 after its creator, Dr. Robert Jarvik. The artificial heart is slightly larger than a human heart, but weighs about the same. It is connected by hoses to its power supply - a 375-pound external air compressor carried in a large cart.
December 3, 1982:
* U.S. Department of Labor statistics for November report a national, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 10.8 percent, a post-World War II high.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Frances.
December 4, 1982:
* The trial of 280 Egyptians, all accused of conspiring to overthrow the government, gets under way in Cairo. Most of the defendants are members of Al Jihad, an Islamic fundamentalist group bent on turning Egypt into an Islamic state.
* Leaders of 10 European Community (EC) nations conclude two days of discussions in Copenhagen on trade policy, economic cooperation, and East-West relations.
* President Reagan returns to the United States following a four-nation visit to Latin America that included the countries Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Honduras.
December 5, 1982:
* Pakistani President Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq arrives in the U.S. for his first state visit. His request for economic and military aid is supported by President Reagan, but Congress is still debating the details of a proposed $3.2 billion aid package. He tries to allay fears that Pakistan is seeking nuclear technology to develop nuclear weapons.
* The 5th Annual Kennedy Center Honors are held featuring the honorees George Abbott, Lillian Gish, Benny Goodman, Gene Kelly, and Eugene Ormandy.
December 6, 1982:
* A bomb explodes in a disco and bar in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing 17 people, including 11 British soldiers.
* During its 15-day annual session, the Chinese National People's Congress ratifies a new, 138-article constitution. Earlier in the congress, Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang unveiled the country's sixth economic five-year plan, covering 1981 through 1985.
December 7, 1982:
* Murderer Charles Brooks, Jr., is executed in Huntsville, Texas by lethal injection of anesthetics, the first such execution in U.S. history.
* The U.S. House of Representatives rejects President Reagan's request for $988 million to build and deploy the first five of 100 MX missiles. The 245-176 vote is a major setback for the president, who has said the MX is vital to the nation's security and an essential bargaining chip in disarmament talks with the Soviet Union.
December 8, 1982:
* Norman Mayer, a 66-year-old advocate of nuclear disarmament, is shot to death by police at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., after taking over the structure for 10 hours and threatening to blow it up.
* Donald P. Hodel becomes U.S. Secretary of Energy, succeeding James B. Edwards. Hodel, a lawyer and energy specialist, was Undersecretary of the Interior prior to the appointment.
* Country-western singer and composer Marty Robbins dies at age 57 of lung and kidney failure.
December 9, 1982:
* The federal Centers for Disease Control report a case of AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, in a child who had received a blood transfusion from an adult victim of the syndrome.
* Meeting near Frankfurt, West Germany, finance officials of the United States, Great Britain, West Germany, and France agree to increase the lending power of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by 50 percent.
December 10, 1982:
* Peruvial President Fernando Belaunde Terry announces that he has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Manuel Ulloa Elias. The president then announces that Fernando Schwalb Lopez Aldana will replace Ulloa in January.
* Representatives of 117 sovereign nations sign the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty during a conference held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Of the 23 nations that sent representatives to the meeting but do not sign, the U.S. is the most outspoken in its opposition to that part of the act calling for a global authority that would determine who could mine metals under the high seas and how much they could remove.
* Soviet cosmonauts Anatoly Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev land safely after a record 211 days in space.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Gandh.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Retail Exposure Plays Key Role In Motivating Video Disc Buyer
December 11, 1982:
* A chemical tank explodes in Taft, Louisiana forcing the evacuation of more than 20,000 local residents.
* Robbers take at least $9.9 million from a New York City armored car service, the largest robbery to date in U.S. history.
Mickey (CED) by Toni Basil becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
December 12, 1982:
* Employees of Chrysler Canada Ltd. vote to ratify a new contract, ending their 38-day strike.
December 13, 1982:
* A strong earthquake strikes Yemen (Sana). More than 2,800 persons are killed and many villages are destroyed.
December 14, 1982:
* Garret FitzGerald is elected prime minister of Ireland, after the Labor Party agrees to accept a coalition with his Fine Gael party.
* Spain opens its border to the British colony of Gibraltar, ending a 13-year blockade.
* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
At The Ronald McDonald House, Tony Bennett And Walt Disney Cartoon Heroes Bring Christmas Early to Afflicted Children
December 15, 1982:
* Teamsters Union President Roy L. Williams is found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to bribe U.S. Senator Howard W. Cannon and of defrauding the union's pension fund.
December 16, 1982:
* Anne Gorsuch, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) becomes the first cabinet-level officer ever to be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to submit documents requested by a House committee.
* An antigovernment rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina, organized by five of Argentina's largest political parties and sanctioned by the government, turns violent despite the precautions that had been taken to avoid confrontations with the police.
December 17, 1982:
* The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) publishes a report on unexplained immunodeficiency and opportunistic infections in infants born to IV drug users.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Dark Crystal.
December 18, 1982:
* The recently completed space shuttle Challenger is given a 20 second Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) of its main engines in preparation for a January 20, 1983 initial flight. The discovery of a hydrogen leak during the firing postpones the date of the first flight.
Maneater (CED) by Daryl Hall and John Oates becomes the No. 1 U.S. single.
December 19, 1982:
* Poland's Council of State announces that martial law will be suspended on December 31.
* Two oil and gas storage tanks explode near Caracas, Venezuela, killing at least 129 persons and injuring 500.
December 20, 1982:
* The EPA issues its "national priority list" of the 418 most hazardous toxic waste sites to be cleaned up under a federal law.
* Italian Defense Minister Lelio Lagorio tells a special session of the Chamber of Deputies that the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in May 1981 by the Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca was "an act of war" perpetrated by Bulgaria. The Bulgarians, he indicated, acted as puppets of the Soviet Union, which wanted the Pope killed because he had supported solidarity, the Polish labor federation.
* Artur Rubinstein, the American pianist, dies at age 95. Rubinstein, who was born in Poland, began playing the piano at the age of 3 and made his debut shortly thereafter. He became a widely acclaimed virtuoso, best known for his interpretations of Chopin.
December 21, 1982:
* Soviet Communist Party leader Yuri Andropov offers a proposal for the reduction of medium-range missiles in Europe. The United States, Great Britain, and France reject the plan.
December 22, 1982:
* Barney Clark, the first recipient of an artificial heart, takes his first steps following the surgical procedure that was performed on December 2.
December 23, 1982:
* The U.S. Senate passes, 54-33, a bill providing for a 5 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax to finance highway repairs and mass transit. After the vote, the 97th Congress adjourns, ending its 25-day lame duck session.
* The leading political opposition figure in South Korea, Kim Dae Jung, is freed from prison after serving two-and-a-half years of a 20-year sentence and leaves Seoul for the United States.
* Because of pollution by the extremely toxic chemical dioxin, federal health officials advise residents of Times Beach, Missouri not to return to their community after being driven from it by a flood.
December 24, 1982:
* Louis Aragon, French poet and World War II resistance leader dies at age 85.
* Twenty-three persons, including 3 American citizens, are killed in a fire aboard a Chinese airliner in Canton.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Kiss Me Goodbye.
December 25, 1982:
* President Ronald Reagan delivers his Saturday morning radio address, which this year falls on Christmas day. He comments on holiday greetings the White House has received from U.S. Marines performing peacekeeping duty in Beirut, Lebanon, and from a sailor aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise on station in the Indian Ocean.
December 26, 1982:
* On the third anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the White House issues a statement condemning the continuing aggression and pledging support to Pakistan and the Afghan rebels, with the hope that new leadership in the Soviet Union will end the conflict.
December 27, 1982:
* Continuing its record-breaking trend, the Dow Jones industrial average closes at a record 1,070.55.
December 28, 1982:
* Andrew L. Lewis, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, announces his resignation, effective February 1, 1983.
* Talks between Israel and Lebanon on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanese territory open in the coastal town of Khalde. The second session is to held in Kiryat Shemona, Israel.
December 29, 1982:
* After 323 wins, football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant concludes his career at Alabama.
* Movie producer Sol C. Siegel dies at age 79. He produced the CED titles Alvarez Kelly, There's No Business Like Show Business, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
December 30, 1982:
* In Finland, Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa reconstitutes his coalition government. The prime minister names members of his Social Democratic Party to the ministries of education, labor, and traffic.
December 31, 1982:
* Poland's "suspension" of martial law goes into effect, but many repressions still exist.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Best Friends.
* Video Magazine's Outstanding VideoDiscs of 1982 (both LaserVision and CED):
Best Disc of the Year:
LV: Olivia: Physical
CED: Viva Las Vegas
Best in Sight and Sound:
LV: Apocalypse Now
CED: Absence of Malice
Best Sound:
LV: Queen's Greatest Flix
CED: The Doobie Brothers Live in Concert - Santa Barbara
Best Educational Disc:
LV: The Master Cooking Course
CED: Jane Fonda's Workout
Best Transfer:
LV: The Bridge on the River Kwai
CED: The Pirate
Most Outrageous Disc (LV only):
LV: Oriental Dreams
* Video Magazine's Best VideoDisc Players of 1982:
"We still think that the Pioneer LD-1100 is the better videodisc player though we said the RCA SGT250 CED player is competitive. The Pioneer outperforms the CED player in both audio and video, whereas the SGT250 is strong on price and easy availability of programming."
"LaserVision had a problem with defective discs, but that seems to have disappeared now that all discs are being made in Japan. CED has gotten better in both picture and sound, which is now stereo. Both products deserve mention under best of the year."
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