Week of August 21, 1981

The Defense Department says two

Navy F-14’s shot down two Libyan

fighters over the Mediterranean Sea.

Launched from the aircraft carrier

“Nimitz” the planes came under

unprovoked attack 60 nautical miles

off the Liberian coast and responded

by launching heat-seeking

Sidewinder missiles that sent the

Soviet-built Libyan planes plummeting into the sea. Libyan leader Moammar

Kadafi claimed that its planes shot down one of the American fighters and that

Navy helicopters had been seen in the area of the wreckage. The claim was

denied by the Defense Department and that no U.S. plane was lost.

Right of passage - Although most nations claim a territorial jurisdiction over

waters within 12 miles of their coastlines (U.S. is three miles), Libya says the Gulf

of Sidra, where the plane attack took place, belongs in their territory - but the

U.S. says the 12-mile limit was accepted by Libya in principal when the Law of

the Sea conference began a decade ago. The U.S. maintains a right of passage

in the Gulf.

Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life

in prison for fatally shooting Beatle John Lennon on the

evening of December 8, 1980. Before sentencing, his

defense lawyer introduced expert psychiatric testimony

that his client was a paranoid schizophrenic who

believed the devil made him kill Lennon. Chapman,

clutching a copy of “Catcher In The Rye,” stood

impassive as the sentence was read.

King E. Bell (30) who is described as a “religious

fanatic” is arrested for the murders of his four children,

their mother and grandmother. The youngsters, ages 1 to 6, were found in a

basement bedroom, lined-up in bed and slain execution-style. The two woman

were found gunned-down in another house. Police say the shootings apparently

were precipitated by a domestic quarrel. A boyfriend of the mother was wounded.

OPEC fails to reach agreement on a unified oil price and Saudi Arabia

announces that it will freeze its price at the present $32 a barrel, currently the

lowest on the world market, until the end of 1982.

Week of August 21, 1981

As the Voyager 2 spacecraft leaves the planet Saturn, something goes wrong

with the platform supporting its cameras and three other key instruments. The

camera can no longer swing around in a full circle. Engineers at JPL are hard at

work trying to determine the cause of the problem.

Doctors perform their 4th surgery on White House Press Secretary James Brady

since he was shot in the March 30 assassination attempt against President

Reagan. More bullet fragments and some damaged bone were removed.

Singer B.J. Thomas gets inducted into the Grand Ol’ Opry...

The Carpenters come out of their commercial hit-

making slump over the last few years with “Touch

Me When We’re Dancing.” With their new hit, they

have a 6th television special planned for the fall and

they’ll tour next year. The Carpenters latest album

is “Made in America.”

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform

in a downpour at the outdoor Red Rocks

Amphitheater in Denver. At intermission - “The

Boss” asked the crowd if they wanted to pack it in

for the night and have the band repeat the whole

concert the next night indoors. The fans voted

overwhelmingly to keep going. There was concern

of electrical injury to the band, but they kept playing.

Ted Turner’s Turner Broadcasting System agrees to buy

two TV channels on the Galaxy 1 communications satellite

now being built by Hughes Aircraft Co. The channels or

transponders on the satellite are being offered by Hughes to

selected customers for $15 million to $20 million each.

Later in the week, it’s learned that Turner may be using those

transponders to launch a new channel - a second national

cable news channel by January 1st. The announcement

came just eight days after Westinghouse and ABC said they would start two

cable news channels by early next year. Says Turner “They’re in for the fight of

their lives.” The new channel will be called CNN-2 and is budgeted at

approximately $1 million to $1.25 million a month. It will function as a headline

service offering quickly updated news briefs on a 30-minute “newsclock” rotation.

Week of August 21, 1981

The “newsclock” format was perfected by 1010-WINS Radio in New York City in

the 60’s. The channel will include five-minute local news segments that will be

programmed by local cable TV systems.

Passing - Jessie Matthews (74) - once rated

among the biggest stars of musical motion pictures

in Britain and beyond. Although she never made a

film outside Britain, by 1936 she ranked ahead of

Shirley Temple, Bing Crosby and Joan Crawford at

the world’s box offices.

John Hale (37) a veteran Hollywood stuntman dies

in an 80-foot fall from a cliff in Bronson Canyon -

Hollywood. The rural area is famous for its many

films and television shows and the crew for “The

Sword and The Sorcerer” filmed him falling from a cliff, when he missed a huge

air bag by two feet. Hale had recently doubled for Tom Sellick on “Magnum P.I.”

and worked in such films as “Airplane,” and the television shows “Kojak,” and

“McCloud.”

Marries - lyric writer Alan Jay Lerner (62) marries Liz Robertson (26). It’s his

eighth marriage. They met two years ago when she played the lead role in the

London revival of “My Fair Lady.”

Bestsellers -

Glitter Dome - Joseph Wambaugh

The Third Deadly Sin - Lawrence Sanders

Noble House - James Clavell

Goodbye Janette - Harold Robbins

Night Probe - Clive Cussler

Cujo - Stephen King

The White Hotel - D.M. Thomas

The Cardinal Sins - Andrew M. Greeley

The Last Days of America - Paul Erdman

The Beverly Hills Diet - Judy Mazel

How To Make Love To A Man - Alexandra Penny

Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life

The Lord God Made Them All - James Herriot

The Cinderella Complex - Colette Dowling

The Hite Report on Male Sexuality - Shere Hite

Living Alone and Liking It - Lynn Shahan

Week of August 21, 1981

A visit to a video star finds this ... purchase these movies outright in either Beta

or VHS formats ...$30.95 for the Beta version or $46.50 for the VHS version:

Alien

Blue Hawaii

Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid

The Fog

MASH

Muppet Movie

Notorious

The Producers

Saturn 3

Silver Streak

Raise the Titanic

Straw Dogs

The Graduate

The African Queen

Norma Rae

Get “Raging Bull” starring Robert De Niro - $61.95-Beta or VHS!

Ringo Starr signs with Neil Bogart’s “Boardwalk

Entertainment Co.” His first album “Stop and Smell the

Roses” will be released in October. In it, he’ll perform

songs written and produced by Paul McCartney,

George Harrison, Ron Wood, Harry Nilsson and

Stephen Stills. Bogart says that Boardwalk is

developing a major advertising and marketing

campaign to promote the record, which was begun last

year before the December death of John Lennon.

Lennon was to contribute to the album and was

scheduled to join Ringo in the studio in January.

Friday Night Television -

CBS Special-Good Evening Captain, Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas

NBC - Harper Valley, PTA, Comedy Theater, Movie

ABC - Baseball, Benson

PBS - MacNeil-Lehrer Report, Washington Week In Review, Wall Street Week

Good Evening Captain - A salute with comedy and music to Captain Kangaroo

starring Bob Keeshan.

Week of August 21, 1981

Dallas - Donna and Ray marry and the cold war between Ellie and Jock

escalates.

Pop music this week in 1981 -

Endless Love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross

Queen of Hearts - Juice Newton

Slow Hand - The Pointer Sisters

Theme From “The Greatest American Hero” - Joey Scarbury

The Stroke - Billy Squier

Jessie’s Girl - Rick Springfield

Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

I Don’t Need You - Kenny Rogers

Urgent - Foreigner

There’s No Gettin’ Over Me - Ronnie Milsap

Boy From New York City - The Manhattan Transfer

Lady (You Bring Me Up) - Commodores

It’s Now Or Never - John Schneider

Time - The Alan Parsons Project

Touch Me When We’re Dancing - The Carpenters

Fire and Ice - Pat Benatar

Jessie’s Girl - Rick Springfield

Hearts - Marty Balin

In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins

Feels So Right - Alabama

You’re My Girl - Frankie & The Knockouts

Double Dutch Bus - Frankie Smith

Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through - Jim

Steinman

Top Albums -

4 - Foreigner

Escape - Journey

Long Distance Voyager - Moody

Blues

Don’t Say No - Billy Squier

Bella Donna - Stevie Nicks

Precious Time - Pat Benatar

Street Songs - Rick James

The One That You Love - Air

Supply

Share Your Love - Kenny Rogers

Week of August 21, 1981

Working Class Dog - Rick Springfield

Other albums -

The Turn Of A Friendly Card - The Alan Parsons Project

A Woman Needs Love - Ray Parker

Jr. and Raydio

The One That You Love - Air

Supply

Love All The Hurt Away - Aretha

Franklin

Hot! Live and Otherwise - Dionne

Warwick

Mistaken Identity - Kim Carnes

Dedication - Gary U.S. Bonds

Sheena Easton - Sheena Easton

Balin - Marty Balin

Soundtrack - For Your Eyes Only

Wild West - Dottie West

Killers - Iron Maiden

As Far As Siam - red Rider

Juice - Juice Newton

The Complete Backward Principle -

The Tubes

At the movies -

Superman II - Alexander Salkind, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned

Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine,

Susannah York, Terence Stamp

The Empire Strikes Back - Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee

Williams, Anthony Daniels

Chu Chu And The Philly Flash - Alan Arkin, Carol Burnett, Jack Warden, Ruth

Buzzi

Raiders Of The Lost Ark - Harrison Ford

Arthur - Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli

An Eye For An Eye - Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree, Mako,

Matt Clark

First Monday In October - Walter Matthau, Jill Clayburgh, Barnard Hughs, Jan

Sterling, James Stephens

An American Werewolf In London - David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin

Dunne, John Woodvine

Honky Tonk Freeway - Beau Bridges, Hum Cronyn, Beverly d’Angelo, William

Devane, George Dzundza, Teri Garr, Joe Grifasi, Howard Hessman, Paul

Jabara, Geraldine Page, Jessica Tandy