May 25, 1979 was the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. For me it was the first paid holiday of my working life as I had begun my career in advertising just six weeks earlier (at New York ad agency Scali McCabe Sloves). I was going out to Hicksville on Long Island to spend the holiday weekend with a friend. As I was on my way to Penn Station after leaving the office I saw the headlines of the New York Post and Daily News reporting a plane crash in Chicago a few hours earlier. American Airlines Flight 191 crashed less than a minute after take-off from O'Hare Airport. All 279 on board were killed, making it the deadliest air crash in U.S. aviation history.
What made this disaster even more chilling was the fact that there were photos of the plane as it crashed and exploded. This was less than a year after another deadly plane crash was photographed, the mid-air collison between a Southwest Pacific passenger jet and a private plane over the skies of San Diego on September 25, 1978. And in later years there were a number of crashes captured on video, e.g. the crash landing in July 1989 of United Flight 231 in Sioux City, Iowa, and the deliberate crashing of United Flight 175 into the south tower of the World Trade Center on 9-11, an event witnessed by millions on live TV.
Another tragedy also occurred on May 25, 1979. That morning 6-year old Etan Patz vanished while walking to school alone in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood. He was never seen again and his disappearance hung heavily on New Yorkers for the rest of the year. But as the 33rd anniversary of this unsolved case approached there were indications that a resolution might finally be at hand.
Johnny Carson's final week as host of the Tonight Show in May 1992 coincided with me packing and moving into the Greenwich Village apartment where I still live. My official move-in date wasn't until June 1 but the apartment had been vacant for a number of months so I was permitted to move in early. While packing during the first half of the week I tuned in to Tonight and watched a stream of honored celebs pay tribute to Johnny. On the penultimate telecast, and the first night living at my new address, I watched Bette Midler sing her charming version of You Made Me Watch You to Johnny while she sat on his desk.
These episodes were more uplifting than the last somewhat somber telecast that simply had Johnny reminiscing - with no guests. Not surprisingly, it delivered a stupendous (for the Late Night time period) Nielsen household rating of 28 and a 63 share of viewing; 41 million persons tuned in (compared to a typical 6.7 million).
After Johnny left it was almost as if he had died as he largely disappeared from public view until his death died in 2005. the Tonight Show's Jay Leno era began three days later on May 25. (An enjoyable book about Carson's Tonight Show reign is Here's Johnny: 30 Years as America's Favorite Late Night Entertainer.)
Three other notable TV events occurred that week in May. First, Vice President Dan Quayle castigated actress Candice Bergen's Murphy Brown character for having a baby without the benefit of marriage in the show's last episode of the season (Monday, 5/18).
The following day the names Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher became part of the nation's zeitgeist after 17-year old Amy (aka "The Long Island Lolita") shot Buttafuoco's wife Mary Jo in the face at the front door of her home. This tawdry affair was made into three TV movies that aired within weeks of each other at the end of the year (one starred 18-year old Drew Barrymore). Finally, on Thursday MTV premiered The Real Worldwhich started TV's "reality" craze.
One more thing I remember about this week is that New York experienced an early heat wave - including a sizzling 93 degrees on the day of Carson's last show. It turned out to be one of the few hot spells during an unseasonably mild summer - apparently the result of the cooling effect of clouds of ash from the eruption of the Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines the year before.
Final episodes of long-running shows often get high ratings but rarely do they have memorable storylines. For instance, the final episode of Seinfeld was notorious for being such a disappointment (especially considering the hype surrounding it). And although they delivered huge ratings does anyone remember much that was memorable about the last episodes of M*A*S*H, Cheers or Friends? The final episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show was an exception - as was the sendoff for Newhart which aired tonight in 1990.
Earlier that afternoon I had attended ABC-TV's "upfront" presentation. (I worked in TV research for ad agency NWAyer so attending it was part of my job.) The big news was about Twin Peaks, which had become a sensation the previous month. It was renewed for next season and was scheduled on Saturday at 10:00 (what a different world it was back then). At the party held afterwards I had my photo taken with one of the show's stars, Madchen Anick.
After taking my leave from the raw bar I rushed home to watch Newhart. I was taken completely by surprise by the delightful ending in which Bob (after being hit in the head with a golf ball) wakes up in bed with his wife Emily from his classic Bob Newhart Show from the 1970's - it turned out the Newhart Show was a dream! This topped the episode's other surprise when the silent brothers "Darrell and the other Darrell" finally spoke. The telecast posted an 18.9 household rating/29 share (7 share points above the series' season average).
Twenty-two years later Bob Newhart is still with us at the age of 83. Sadly, cast members Mary Frann, Suzanne Pleshette and Tom Poston have all passed away. As have the careers of Julia Duffy and Peter Scolari.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died the night of May 19, 1994 at her Manhattan apartment. Cause of death was non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which had been made public a few months earlier. Her death came one month after the death of former president Richard Nixon (who JFK defeated for president in 1960). Jackie's death is particularly memorable for me because it coincided with the death of my father.
Dad sufferred from a rare degenerative disease of the brain known as supranuclear palsy for about 10 years - the same condition actor Dudley Moore sufferred from. On Mother's Day he was hospitalized for a mild heart attack and two weeks later I visited him and my mother for the weekend. (Up until this hospital stay my mother had taken care of my father at home.)
I heard the news about Jackie's death (at the age of 64) during the 11:00 news while packing for my trip and I read more about it the next morning while waiting to board my flight to Pittsburgh at Newark Airport. On the last day of my visit Mom, Dad and I watched some of her funeral from Dad's hospital room. The next day, May 24, Dad died unexpectedly, two months shy of his 70th birthday. I returned to Pittsburgh the following day to help my brother, sister and mother with funeral preparations.
Of all the natural disasters that wrack our planet a volcanic eruption seems the most exotic, something I expect in the Andes or Pacific islands (or Pompeii) - but not in the U.S. of the 20th century. But on the morning of May 18, 1980 Mount St. Helens, a largely inactive volcano straddling the border of Oregon and Washington erupted. And although it was a frightening occurrence for those living in the Pacific Northwest I don't think many of us living in the East appreciated how serious a disaster the eruption was. One photo etched in my memory showed a young boy who had been asphyxiated lying face-up in the back of a pickup truck covered in ash. In total more than 60 people died from the eruption.
My memory of the disaster is linked to my first visit to Provincetown, a largely gay resort at the tip of Cape Cod. It was Memorial Day weekend and I drove there with my boyfriend Gordon. We left from Poughkeepsie (he lived there and I took the train up from NYC after work) and drove there on Friday night. This holiday trip was memorable because it was the first time I tried marijuana - and it wasn't a pleasant experience.
Rather than smoke it Gordon put the pot in a Pepperidge Farm chocolate sandwich cookie (which I don't think they make anymore). I became paranoid, which wasn't a nice feeling, especially in unfamiliar surroundings. I remember thinking that two female friends of Gordon's were witches. (Alas, because of how I reacted I never became a regular user.) The trip back on Monday afternoon was stressful because of heavy traffic on the only road off the Cape. Throughout the weekend the news reported on the effects of the eruption of the volcano.
Until today the biggest event to occur on my birthday was in 1967 when Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run. And in 1981 I feared the pope might die on my birthday after being shot the day before (happily, he survived.) Then on May 14, 1998 two big pop culture events occurred: the final episode of Seinfeld and the death of Frank Sinatra.
I watched the disappointing one-hour finale (from a mostly dissatisfying last season) with my friends Matthew and Gary at Matthew's apartment on West 57th St. Although it was my birthday they were oblivious to the fact, so when our Chinese take-out arrived I felt odd saying "hey, it's my birthday, are you expecting me to contribute?", so I kept quiet. (A week earlier I figured I'd be spending this day with my boyfriend but that relationship suddenly unraveled during a rainy weekend out at Fire Island.) When I woke up the next morning is when I heard the news that Frank Sinatra had died the previous evening.
This episode of Seinfeld telecast delivered a 41.3 household rating/58 share making it the second highest rated show of the season (behind the Super Bowl). A powerhouse performance for sure, but it was 9% below the last episode of Cheers five years earlier.
Other shows that aired their final episodes on my birthday include Family Ties (1989);West Wing (2004); and Moonlighting (1990). However, only Family Ties had much of a ratings sendoff (20.8 rating/35 share).
In addition to Sinatra, some other notable deaths on May 14 were those of Billie Burke (Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz) in 1970; Hugh Beaumont (the father in Leave it to Beaver) in 1982; and 1940's va-va-voom actress Rita Hayworth in 1987.
It was a mild but sort of hazy day. Rather than take the bus home from school (7th grade at Sto-Rox Middle School) I walked because I stopped by Frank's barbershop for a haircut. When I got home I saw that morning's paper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on the hassock in the living room.
On the front page was a photo (now iconic) of an overwrought young girl kneeling over the body of a student shot dead the day before at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard. The shootings occurred during an anti-war demonstration protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia at the end of April. Guardsmen opened fire on students, killing four (pictured) and wounding nine. Although it was in neighboring Ohio, I had never heard of the university.
Perhaps because I was just 12 at the time (and somewhat preoccupied by the onset of puberty) I don't recall there being much talk about this incident among schoolmates or teachers, and at home we usually didn't discuss news events at the dinner table. But the constant coverage of the Vietnam War was plenty worrisome for my parents since my brother Darrell was nearing draft age. (A lasting memory of the war was hearing the weekly casualty report on the radio while I was getting ready for school.)
Once the protest song Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young became popular during the summer the incident had more resonance with me. The song begins with the line: "Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming. Four dead in Ohio." (The CD Steal This Record provides a collection of some other notable protest songs from the 1960's). By the time I turned 18 in 1975 the U.S. was out of Vietnam (the fall of South Vietnam to the Communists occurred two weeks before my birthday) and teen boys were no longer required to register for the draft.
With our lease up for renewal at the end of May 1992 my roommate Todd had decided to move in with his boyfriend and take a new apartment. I didn't want another roommate situation, but couldn't afford to keep the apartment on my own, so I decided to look for a new apartment. On April 29, a Wednesday, I left work at 4:00 to see two apartments, one a garden apartment on Christopher St. and the other a small 1-bedroom in the Sheridan Square area of Greenwich Village, both a few short blocks from where I lived. Largely because of the amount of light it got (it was on the top floor) I decided to take the 2nd apartment (where I still live).
After seeing the apartments I got a haircut and then arrived home shortly before 6:00. I switched on the evening news and heard the breaking story that the LAPD officers involved in last year's Rodney King beating had been acquitted. The verdict was met with frightening fury by L.A.'s Black community and rioting began shortly thereafter.
Later that evening a news-copter showed a truck driver being pulled from the cab of his semi at an intersection in South Central L.A. He was kicked repeatedly in the head and bashed with a cinder block. Like the beating of King this video clip was aired endlessly. Two days later an overwrought Rodney King addressed the media and delivered one of the decade's most quotable lines, "Can't we all just get along?"
Two days later was Friday and that morning I signed my new lease. Then later in the day as I was walking back to work after lunch it seemed that everyone from my office (ad agency NWAyer, located at Worldwide Plaza) was walking in the opposite direction. It turned out the office (like many others) had closed early because of wild stories of looting and transit disruptions.
These rumors turned out to be untrue (e.g. Macy's was being looted, the Brooklyn Bridge had been blocked by rioters), but since no one knew it at the time the trip home on the subway was made with trepidation as riders wondered what might be occurring above ground. Indeed, some of the stores in my neighborhood were closed and a few had boarded up their windows.
Later that afternoon I was curious to see if there had been any further problems in my neighborhood so I went for a run but found nothing out of the ordinary except for a larger police presence. That night President Bush addressed the nation to assess the situation and assure viewers that calm would prevail and justice served.
The inconvenience suffered by New Yorkers on that day paled by comparison to Angelenos who struggled through nearly a week of unrest. More than 50 persons were killed, thousands were injured or jailed and damage was close to $1 billion. Since the turmoil threatened to spread to affluent neighborhoods some residents there stood on rooftops with guns. Sporting events were cancelled, freeway and air traffic was disrupted and restricted. It was the worst rioting in the U.S. since the assassination of Martin Luther King 24 years earlier.
This unrest coincided with the final episode of the Cosby Show on Thursday. NBC considered postponing the telecast until the following week but Cosby was against the idea because he felt airing it as scheduled would maintain a semblance of normalcy. (He asked NBC if he could address viewers in L.A. to plead for calm.) The episode posted a 28 household rating/45 share (nearly double its season average), making it the 6th highest rated telecast of the 1991/92 season.
April 23, 1985 was a Tuesday and I had taken the day off from work (ad agency Young & Rubicam) because I was having a chest of drawers, platform bed and bookcase delivered from The Door Store to my new apartment in the West Village. That morning, as I waited for the delivery truck, I heard on the radio about Coke introducing a new formulation for its flagship brand.
I grew up drinking Pepsi - there was a Pepsi bottling plant in my hometown with a huge illuminated bottle cap on its roof and as a child I thought it was Pepsi's headquarters. However, I was still curious and bought a can of New Coke the next day. I didn't detect much of a difference in the taste. (The idea behind the change was to make it closer in taste to Pepsi). However, the reaction by Coke drinkers was swift and furious. Because of this backlash "Classic" Coke was brought back during the summer.
Despite my longstanding preference for Pepsi I found my affinity weakening as we entered the 21st century. I was a longtime diet soda drinker (ever since reading Sugar Blues in 1982) but rarely drank diet Coke because I thought it tasted more artificial compared to other brands. However, Coke began dabbling in line extensions that piqued my interest.
An array of flavors were introduced, e.g. lime and cherry,that to my taste buds masked the artificial taste, so I found myself drinking diet Coke more frequently. (By the way, whatever happened to Vanilla Coke and Coke Blak?) Then the introduction of Coke Zero a couple of years ago reeled me in further as I found it tasted very similar to regular Coke. While I still occasionally drink diet Pepsi I think Coke Zero is by far the best tasting diet soda on the market.
I was visiting my mother in Pittsburgh for Easter when little Elian Gonzalez was forceably removed from his relatives' Miami home by an INS SWAT team. 6-year old Elian had become an innocent, and adorable, political football ever since he was rescued from a piece of flotsam off the coast of Florida during Thanksgiving weekend in 1999. He, his mother and twelve others set off from Cuba but their boat capsized and Elian was just one of three to survive (his mother died). Elian's U.S. relatives wanted custody of him but his father in Cuba demanded his return - and he was backed by the U.S. judicial system. The little boy's relatives, however, resisted and put up countless legal challenges.
Finally, having lost patience with the family's willful ignoring of court orders to turn him over, the Justice Department took action the day before Easter. In the pre-dawn hours an INS SWAT team swiftly and forceably removed Elian from the relatives' home in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood and reunited him with his father, who had been allowed into the U.S.
Justified as this action was, I found it a bit jarring coming as it did during Christianity's most sacred time of year. And as we dyed Easter eggs it was hard to get the above image (seen on the front page of every newspaper) out of my mind. A few months later, after more legal attempts by his unreasonable relatives were exhausted, he and his father quietly returned to Cuba.
From the time of this incident Florida has regularly been the center of various controversies. Later that same year it was the focus of the disputed presidential election. Then in 2002 Rosie O'Donnell brought attention to the state's gay adoption ban. 2005 saw the political grandstanding over the pulling of the plug on comatose Terri Schiavo. After the nation's financial meltdown in 2008 Florida was one of the states hit hardest by foreclosures. And then just a few months ago the Trayvon Martin shooting caused a nationwide uproar followed recently by a backlash by Cuban Americans after Ozzie Guillen, the new manager of the Miami Marlins baseball team, made pro-Castro comments.
