Week of February 8, 1983
The jobless rate edges downward to 10.4% a sign that President Reagan says,
“America is on the mend.” “I think it is a trend. I don’t think it will come up above
the high mark of 10.8% in recent months.”
Chief Justice
Warren Burger
warns that the U.S
Supreme Court’s swelling workload is approaching a
“disaster” level and calls for the creation of a new
national tribunal to decide all conflicts between
federal appeals courts. In his annual state of the
judiciary speech, the Chief Justice said - “We can no
longer tolerate the vacuous notion that we can get
along with the present structure because we have
always done it that way.” He said that the new court
would have a five-year life to provide “immediate
relief” while a commission Burger also proposed,
would work out longer term solutions to the “tidal
wave” of new cases that Burger says threatens to
engulf the Supreme Court.
In Beirut, a car laden with explosives blows-up in front of a building housing a
research center funded by the Palestine Liberation Organization - killing 15 and
wounding scores.
Business news -
John Jay Hooker
is now one-third
owner of MediaNews Corp - the company that operates
United Press International. Hooker has been around. He
was a confidante of the Kennedy’s in the 1960’s, an
unsuccessful candidate twice for the governorship of
Tennessee and once for the Tennessee seat in the
senate. He was head of STP Corp (the racer’s edge) and
founder of the now defunct Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken
chain.
MCI expanding - the long-distance company purchases
$200 million worth of satellite communication channels
from Hughs Aircraft on its Galaxy satellite. The purchase of the 24 channels plus
its new telephone cable network in the eastern U.S. will increase its voice and
data transmission capacity 50% by 1985.
Mickey Mantle takes a job with an Atlantic City hotel and casino as director of
sports promotions, but is told by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn that he must
Week of February 8, 1983
give up his part-time coaching position with the New York
Yankees. A spokesman for Kuhn said Mantle was “not being
banished or booted out of baseball” and could still play old-
timers games and make appearances on behalf of the Yanks.
Mantle said he is not bitter about Kuhn’s decision - “He’s the
commissioner and he does what he things is right and I have to
respect that.” Mantle says Kuhn asked him “Why couldn’t you do
like Reggie Jackson and do a Panasonic commercial.” Mantle’s
reply” “I’ve been out of baseball 14 years and I don’t have Panasonic and Mr.
Coffee knocking down my door” (Mr. Coffee is being endorsed by Joe DiMaggio).
Marina Verola - a stockbroker for E.F. Hutton is told by the company “resign or
be fired” because of continued publicity generated by her appearance in a six-
page Playboy Magazine spread. She use to work for Dean Whitter Reynolds, but
was let go after she told them she was to appear in the magazine. She never told
her current employer, who found out after the publishing date. She feels the firing
is “unwarranted and unjustified” and will remain a broker. (When E.F. Hutton
Talks, Everybody Listens).
Bestsellers -
2010: Odyssey Two - Arthur C. Clark
Master of the Game - Sidney Sheldon
The Valley of Horses - Jean M. Auel
Mistral’s Daughter - Judith Krantz
Emerald - Phyllis A. Whitney
Deadeye Dick - Kurt Vonnegut
Life Sentences - Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
Foundation’s Edge - Isaac Asimov
Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our
Lives - John Naisbitt
The One Minute Manager - Kenneth Blachard/Spencer
Johnson
Jane Fonda’s Workout Book - Jane Fonda
How To Win A Pullet Surprise - Jack Smith
Having It All: Love, Success, Sex, Money - Helen Gurley
Brown
And More By Andy Rooney - Andy Rooney
Living, Loving and Learning - Leo Buscaglia
Music news - Peter Frampton is dropped from the A & M record label after a
string of poor selling albums. Frampton was once on top with his “Frampton
Comes Alive” album of 1976.
Week of February 8, 1983
Bob Segar adds Old Grand Funk Railroad drummer Don Brewer to his new Silver
Bullet Band lineup.
Rick James
, angered by MTV’s restrictive program
policy, accuses the channel of racism. “I’ve sold 10
million albums over the past few years and I still can’t
get my videos played on MTV. It’s a terrible crime. I’m
a pop musician and so is Michael Jackson and Stevie
Wonder and Marvin Gaye and I don’t see MTV
playing any of our videos. Instead, every time I turn on
the station - and I’ve watched it a lot lately - I see all
these white groups I haven’t even heard of and who
certainly haven’t sold anywhere near as many records
as I have.” The channel says it does play some black
acts - notably “Musical Youth” and “The Bus Boys,”
but that black music has proved unpopular with its
audience. Says music program director Buzz Brindle -
“We don’t play Dolly Parton or Barbra Streisand
either. We’ve tested Prince, but frankly he’s not doing
well with our audience. The rock audience, which is the audience we’re after,
isn’t interested in hearing R&B or disco, which is how they define black music.”
Other video showcases for black artists include The syndicated Night Flight,
Music Video Channel; also HBO, Showtime and BET, which show music videos
with portions of their programming.
Passing - Singer/drummer
Karen Carpenter
(32)
- half the singing duo “The Carpenters.” She
collapsed at her parents’ home and was taken to the
hospital by paramedics. She died of a full cardiac
arrest. Battling anorexia for years, she weighed less
than 100 pounds. Ms Carpenter was married in 1980
to real estate developer Thomas J. Burns. They were
divorced last year.
Passing - Jim Ameche (68) - brother of actor Don
Ameche. He was first to play the radio role of “Jack
Armstrong.” He also acted on several other radio
shows and was the announcer for a while on the
“Amos and Andy” show. Jim later became a disc jockey for WHN Radio in New
York City.
Week of February 8, 1983
Computer news - in the Seattle area - a van operated by Pacific Science Center
brings the world of computers to area small businesses, students and
housewives. The van carries 15 home computers and two instructors for daylong
hands-on instruction for students in kindergarten through the 12th grade. Adults
can take classes at night. The courses teach students how a computer operates
and how to work a computer. The program is funded by high-tech companies in
the Seattle area.
Hollywood hot trends - posters for the movie
“Revenge of the Jedi.” That’s because the
upcoming movie has been renamed to “Return of
the Jedi” which is due out in May. The change was
made quietly in recent weeks by George Lucas.
Theaters began hanging “Revenge of the Jedi”
posters around Christmas to promote the film. If
you see one at a local theater, you might want to
cut a deal with the general manager.
Tom Selleck of “Magnum, PI” sues the National
Enquirer for $36 million for purportedly libeling him
in three articles last year. One linked him to
actress Victoria Principal of “Dallas.” He says it’s
not true whatsoever.
Saturday Night Live’s
Joe Piscopo
says he gets nervous
when he does his biting impersonations of Frank Sinatra. “I
certainly hope Frank has a sense of humor. I seem to get
more nervous doing him than anybody else ... In our
house; it was always the Pope first, then Frank. Unless it
was Frank and then the Pope ...”
Sports - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers
scores a tip-in to give him 29,000 points for his career.
Near Dublin, Ireland - two unidentified gunmen abduct
Shergar, one of the world’s most valuable race horses and
demand a ransom of $3.1 million. Shergar, winner of the
1981 English Derby Stakes and Irish Sweeps Derby, was
taken on a stud farm in County Kilare, 20 miles south of Dublin.
Week of February 8, 1983
Television news - This Saturday Night On ABC-
TV - William Shatner reunites with Leonard Nimoy
on T.J. Hooker. “They’re Best Friends ... Who
Become Bitter Enemies! A rape case sends them
in opposite directions! One to uphold the law... and
one to break it!
Television Ratings -
Winds of War - Part
1
-
39.1
Magnum, PI - 25.8
60 Minutes - 25.1
Dynasty - 24.3
Dallas - 24.0
Love Boat - 23.7
MASH - 22.6
Fall Guy - 21.4
Movie - Confessions of a Married Man - 20.7
Simon & Simon - 20.7
Newhart - 20.7
That’s Incredible - 20.6
NFL Pro Bowl - 20.2
Falcon Crest - 20.1
Shogun - part 1 - 19.6
Hill Street Blues - 19.3
Movie - Thursday’s Child -
19.3
Dukes of Hazzard - 19.2
Shogun - part 2 - 18.9
Hart to Hart - 18.4
Knots Landing - 18.4
Square Pegs - 18.4
Shogun part 4 - 18.3
Movie - The Kid With The 200 IQ - 18.1
Movie - The Scarlet and the Black - 18.0
T.J. Hooker - 17.6
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not - 17.3
Diff’rent Strokes - 17.1
Silver Spoons - 17.1
Three’s Company - 17.0
Week of February 8, 1983
Monday Night Television -
CBS - MASH, Newhart, Movie
NBC - Little House: A New Beginning, Special-Television’s Greatest
Commercials
ABC - Special-The Winds of War
PBS - MacNeil-Lehrer Report, Frontline, Great Performances, The Making Of
Gandhi, Mr. Attenborough & Mr. Gandhi
ARTS (Cable channel) - Dave Brubeck: Love at the Vineyards, New World Ballet,
Handmade in America
HBO - Fraggle Rock, Movie-National
Lampoon’s Animal House,
Simon and
Garfunkel: The Concert in Central
Park
USA - Pro Boxing From Madison Square
Garden, NHL Journal
MASH - Charles suddenly befriends Maj
Houlihan after she obtains a record
player.
The Winds of War - part 2 - Byron and
the Jastrows are set free and make their
way to Warsaw. Pug’s wife falls in love
with Palmer Kirby. Robert Mitchum, Polly
Bergen, Jan-Michael Vincent and Ali MacGraw star.
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - Charlie Osbourne, hiccup king is the
guest.
At the movies -
Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal
Best Friends
- Burt Reynolds, Goldie Hawn
Tootsie
- Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray,
Terri Garr
The Verdict
- Paul Newman
Sophie’s Choice
- Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter
MacNicol
Gandhi
- Ben Kingsley
48 Hours
- Eddie Murphy, Annette O’Toole
The Entity
- Barbara Hershey
Week of February 8, 1983
Videodrome -
Without A Trace
-
Frances -
Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Kim Stanley
The Road Warrior
- Mel Gibson
Motherlode -
Charlton Heston, Nick Mancuso, Kim Basinger, John Marley
Pop music this week in 1983 -
Down Under - Men At Work
Africa - Toto
Baby Come To Me - Patti Austin with James Ingram
Shame on the Moon - Bob Segar
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
Stray Cat Strut - Stray Cats
You and I - Eddie Rabbit with
Crystale Gayle
Rock The Casbah - The Clash
You Can’t Hurry Love - Phil Collins
Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth
The Other Guy - Little River Band
Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant
Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy -
Sammy Hagar
Heartbreaker - Dionne Warwick
The Girl Is Mine - Michael
Jackson/Paul McCartney
Heart to Heart - Kenny Loggins
Allentown - Billy Joel
Hand To Hold On To - John Cougar
You Got Lucky - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Love In A Store - Fleetwood Mac
Back on The Chain Gang - The Pretenders
Heart of the Night - Juice Newton
Shock The Monkey - Peter Gabriel
I Knew You When - Linda Ronstadt
All Those Lies - Glenn Frey
Shoot For The Moon - Poco
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Week of February 8, 1983
Top Albums -
Business As Usual - Men at Work
H2O - Daryl Hall and John Oates
Built For Speed - Stray Cats
Combat Rock - The Clash
Get Nervous - Pat Benatar
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Toto IV - Toto
Hello, I Must Be Going - Phil Collins
The Distance - Bob Seger & The
Silver Bullet Band
Long After Dark - Tom Petty & The
Heartbreakers
Coda - Led Zeppelin
More Albums -
Rio - Duran Duran
Frontiers - Journey
Quiet Lies - Juice Newton
Cut - Golden Earring
Too-Rye-Ay - Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Pyromania - Def Leppard
Records - Foreigner
Three Lock Box - Sammy Hagar
Pleasure Victim - Berlin
Forever Now - The Furs
The Other Side of the Rainbow - Juice
Newton
The Lexicon of Love - ABC
I Can’t Stand Still - Don Henley
Week of February 8, 1983
Music news -
A recent survey of 2,000 MTV viewers
conducted by Nielsen. Most of its
audience - 85% falls in the 12-34-age
range. When asked if there were artists
the viewer first heard of on MTV, 81%
said yes, up from 45% in January. 68%
said that MTV played the most important
role in their album-purchasing decisions.
Radio news -
Pete Salant, director of operations and
programming for WYNY, the NBC-FM station in New York, quits to open up his
own consultancy. His first client - WRCP/WSNI Philadelphia. He had joined
WYNY as program manager in 1980. Before that, he was operations manager at
WAVZ and WKCI New Haven.
Doubleday President Gary Stevens rehires former Doubleday Group program
director Bobby Hattrik as consultant to the nine-station chain.
WIFI Philadelphia is converting to Rick Carroll’s “Rock of the 80’s” format. The
station is between hot hits and hot A/C. Also, Rock Carroll adds 91X in San
Diego as a client.
KEZY Anaheim moves from oldies to all-news, becoming “Newscenter 12” after
its 1190 AM radio dial position. The lineup - Bill Cooper from KFWB does
mornings; Barbara Whitsides a former KFWB anchor follows, Mike Villani
afternoons and Boyd R. Britton in afternoon drive. CNN audio will be carried the
rest of the night.
Top Hits In Britain -
Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
Down Under - Men At Work
Change - Tears For Fears
Gloria - Laura Branigan
You Can’t Hurray Love - Phil Collins
Oh Diane - Fleetwood Mac
Wham Rap! - Wham
Week of February 8, 1983
Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
The Cutter - Echo & The Bunnymen
Hot Rock Album Cuts -
Twilight Zone - Golden Earring
Even Now - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
Separate wars - Journey
Goodbye to You - Scandal
Photograph - Def Leppard
Don’t Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger
Something To Grab For Ric Ocasek
Top Country -
Why Baby Why - Charley Pride
Faking Love - T.G. Sheppard & Karen Brooks
The Rose - Conway Twitty
Last Thing I Needed First thing this Morning - Willie Nelson
Still Taking Chances - Michael Murphey
If Hollywood Don’t Need You - Don Williams
Somebody’s Always saying Goodbye - Anne Murray
Velvet Chains - Gary Morris
I Wouldn’t Change You If I Could - Ricky Skaggs
