Week of February 8, 1990

The Soviet Communist Party, which has ruled for more than 70 years, decides to

give up its monopoly on power, clearing the way for a multi-party political system

in the country. President Mikhail S. Gorbachev sought the historic move as part

of his reforms.

Former President Reagan, forgoing his right to claim executive privilege, agrees

to testify on videotape as a defense witness in John M. Poindexter’s Iran-Contra

trial. The judge reserved the right to edit the tape to eliminate matters, which

should not be disclosed. The tape will be kept secret until it is played during

Poindexter’s trial. Poindexter, who was Reagan’s national security adviser, is

charged with five felony counts of obstructing Congress, making false statements

and conspiracy. Poindexter seeks to show that he was acting with presidential

approval, which Reagan has denied.

New era in South Africa - Black leader Nelson R.

Mandela (71) walks out of prison where he had been

since 1964. Mandela, hand in hand with his wife,

walked out of Victor Verster Prison near Cape Town

and was greeted by thousands of supporters. “I stand

here before you not as a prophet but as a humble

servant of you the people. Your tireless and heroic

sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here

today and I therefore place the remaining years of

my life in your hands.” Said South African President

Frederick De Klerk just before his release - “This will

bring us to the end of a long chapter. There can no

longer be any doubt about the government’s sincerity in seeking to create a just

dispensation based on negotiations.” Mandela was convicted in 1964 of

sabotage for launching the African National Congress’ armed guerrilla war

against Pretoria.

President Bush says he will not lift any sanctions against South Africa - despite

the release of Nelson Mandela and other signs of moderation, until Pretoria

meets all conditions set by U.S. law. “I’m bound by the law. What I do want to do

is discuss these provisions with Mr. Mandela and President De Klerk.” Bush

praised De Klerk for taking steps that “move South Africa down the road toward

racial equality.”

In Ottawa, The Soviet Union, Britain, France, United States and the two

Germanys agree to begin historic talks “shortly” to reunify Germany and to

discuss the security concerns of nearby states.

Week of February 8, 1990

In New York, mafia boss John Gotti is acquitted

of all charges in the shooting of a union leader. It

was the government’s third attempt to put the

mafia boss away behind bars. His new handle is

“Teflon Don.” A guilty verdict would have made

Gotti, a convicted killer and hijacker, a three-time

loser, and would have enabled the government to

ask a judge to declare Gotti a “persistent felon”

and sentence him to life behind bars.

Sen. Joseph Montoya of California, facing prison

for his conviction on political corruption charges,

resigns from the state Senate. He insists he

ultimately will be cleared on the counts against him.

Passing - songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen (77), best known

for the hit songs “Swinging on a Star,” “All the Way,” “High

Hopes,” and “Call Me Irresponsible.”

Computer news/Chip Breakthrough - IBM says it will

produce a 16 megabyte memory chip - four times the

capacity of today’s most advanced chips. The company

says it would be at least 18 to 24 months before this new

generation of (DRAM) dynamic random access memory chips, would be included

in its computers. IBM uses its own memory chips in all of the company’s

machines and does not sell to others.

Business news - Drexel Burnham Lambert “the house that junk bonds built”

begins to go out of business this week, as its parent company files for bankruptcy

court protection. The company was at the center of the junk bond universe during

the 1980’s merger mania with its junk bond financing. Drexel said it would

eventually case operations, with some businesses being sold.

After a Beverly Hills gala which raised more than $1 million for environmental

groups - Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley and Sting jam at the China Club in

Hollywood. Also featured in the 45-minute jam - Herbie Hancock, Bruce Hornsby,

Branford Marsalis and Joe Walsh. It’s the first time in 10 years that Henley and

Walsh, former Eagles - shared the stage.

Commits Suicide - Singer/songwriter Del Shannon (55) - best-known for his

early-mid 60’s hits “Runaway,” “Hats Off To Larry,” “Little Town Flirt.” and “Keep

Searchin.” He was found dead in the bedroom of his Santa Clarita, Calif home by

Week of February 8, 1990

his wife with a bullet hole in his head. A .22

caliber rifle was found next to his body. In

1963, The Beatles and Del Shannon came

out with the same record - “From Me To You”

but it was Shannon’s version which charted

higher in the United States (before

Beatlemania). In 1965, British duo Peter &

Gordon scored a hit with the Del Shannon

penned “I Go To Pieces.” He was born

Charles Westover in Grand Rapids, MI. (The

house was purchased shortly thereafter by

Carl Goldman of the Unistar Radio Network).

Major upset in boxing - James (Buster)

Douglas KO’s heavyweight champ Mike Tyson in the 10th round at the Tokyo

Dome. It’s probably the biggest upset in boxing history. Tyson was decked

with a five-punch combination to the head. He rolled over at the count of five and

reached for his mouthpiece. He was on his hands and knees when he was

counted out.

Bestsellers -

The Bad Place - Dean Koontz

Devices and Desires - P.D. James

A Ruling Passion - Judith Michael

Vineland - Thomas Pynchon

Clear and Present Danger - Tom Clancy

Daddy - Danielle Steele

Megatrends 2000 - John Naisbitt/Patricia Aburdene

Liar’s Poker - Michael M. Lewis

The Tempting of America - Robert H. Bork

Barbarians At the Gate - Bryan Burrough/John Helyar

It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It - Robert Fulghum

Wealth Without Risk - Charles J. Givens

Top Video Rentals

When Harry Met Sally

Licence to Kill

Lock Up

Road House

Weekend at Bernie’s

Turner and Hooch

Week of February 8, 1990

Singer/composer/songwriter Stevie Wonder testifies in

federal court that he got the idea for his hit song “I Just

Called to Say I Love You” in 1976 while being driven to

a hotel in Hollywood. He is being sued in a $25 million

Chiate. His attorney says Chiate and a partner, Lee

Garrett, composed a song called “Hello It’s Me, I Just

Called To Say” in 1976 and that song is “strikingly

similar” to Wonder’s hit. Garrett, an old friend of Stevie Wonder, who is also

blind, played a tape of the song in 1977, after Wonder stopped the depressed

Garrett from committing suicide. Asked about the meeting, Wonder said he

“honestly” could not remember what was discussed that day.

Perrier resumes bottling mineral water after being force to recall about 72 million

bottles in Canada and the United States. The company says they believe the

benzene contamination, which was caused by human error, was only in 13

bottles. But company officials say that all recalled bottles would be destroyed.

Perrier is produced in Paris.

Movie news - in a first - Walt Disney Co says it will stop showing its films in any

theater that runs on-screen advertising. The announcement came at the

ShoWest exhibitor’s convention in Las Vegas. Said Richard Cook, president of

Disney’s Buena Vista Distribution unit, on-screen advertising “Is a turn-off.

Audiences don’t like it. They hate it.” Some were not happy about the

announcement. Said one “We can’t keep raising ticket prices to offset increasing

costs. This is a very serious problem.” Disney says they are trying to preserve

the movie-going experience and that attendance levels for the last 10 years have

been flat. Ads are seen in at least 6,000 of the nation’s approximately 23,000

theater screens.

Donald Trump ends his 15-year marriage to his former

fashion-model wife , Ivana . He’ll be giving her a $20-$25

million share of his fortune, estimated at $1.7 billion and

custody of their three children. She’ll no longer manage

New York’s Plaza Hotel. She will also get a 45-room

mansion located in Greenwich, Conn.

CBS suspends “60 Minutes” humorist Andy Rooney for

three months without pay after confronting him about

racial remarks attributed to him by a gay magazine. “The

Advocate,” quoted Rooney as saying that “most people are born with equal

Week of February 8, 1990

intelligence, but blacks have watered down their

genes because the less intelligent ones are the ones

that have the most children. They drop out of school

early, do drugs and get pregnant.” The remarks were

made in a December CBS special “A Year With

Andy Rooney.”

Anchor Kathleen Sullivan leaves the “CBS

Morning News.” Co-anchored by Harry Smith, not a

word of her departure was made on the air. There

are reports that her successor will be Paula Zahn,

now anchorwoman of ABC’s “World

News This Morning.” Sullivan said

last year she was expected to be replaced if the show’s third

place ratings didn’t improve.

It’s announced that Garry Shandling will be host of the 32nd

annual Grammy Awards presentation on February 21.

Sports - Elvin Hayes, Earl Monroe and Dave Bing are elected

into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

Steffi Graf (20) - the world’s

top tennis player, splinters a bone in the thumb of

her playing hand during a skiing vacation in

Switzerland. Doctors say she’ll be out of action for

quite a while.

Wednesday Night Television

CBS - Grand Slam, Jake and the Fatman,

Wiseguy

NBC - Unsolved Mysteries, Night Court, Dear

John, Quantum Leap

ABC - Growing Pains, Doogie Howser, MD,

Anything But Love, China Beach

Fox - Movie (The Princess Bride)

PBS - Performance at the White House, American Playhouse

Lifetime - Moonlighting, Movie (I Take These Men)

Performance at the White House - Marilyn Horne, Patti LuPone, Gary Morris and

Jeffrey Osborne perform love songs and ballads.

Week of February 8, 1990

Quantum Leap - Sam becomes an American Indian who takes his ailing

grandfather from a nursing home to die on a reservation.

Late night talk -

The Pat Sajak Show (CBS) - Siskel & Ebert, Eddie Arnold,

comedian Bill Engvall

Johnny Carson (NBC) - John Larroquette, ocean explorer

Robert Ballard

Nightline with Ted Koppel - From South Africa - how the

nation is evolving: future of the African National Congress and the role of Nelson

Mandela.

TV Ratings -

The Cosby Show - 22.9

Roseanne - 22.8

A Different World - 21.9

America’s Funniest Home Videos - 21.4

The Golden Girls - 20.3

The Wonder Years - 20.1

Movie - Blind Faith - Part 1 - 19.9

Who’s The Boss - 18.9

60 Minutes - 18.7

Unsolved Mysteries - 18.4

Empty Nest - 18.2

L.A. Law - 17.9

Grand - 17.8

Murder, She Wrote - 17.1

Elvis (Tues) - 16.0

In The Heat of the Night - 16.0

Full House - 15.7

RoboCop - 15.4

Miracle landing - 15.1

Growing Pains - 14.9

Night Court - 14.7

Amen - 14.2

Head of the Class - 14.2

Knots Landing - 14.1

Family Matters - 13.9

Week of February 8, 1990

At the Movies

Hard To Kill - Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock

Loose Cannons - Dan Aykroyd, Gene

Hackman

Stella - Bette Midler, John

Goodman

Stanley & Iris - Jane Fonda, Robert

DeNiro

Heart Condition - Bob Hiskins, Denzel

Washington

Driving Miss Daisy - Jessica Tandy,

Morgan Freeman

Back To The Future II - Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd

Always - Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter

Internal Affairs - Richard Gere, Andy Garcia

The War of the Roses - Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner

Tango & Cash - Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell

Pop music this week in 1990 -

Opposites Attract - Paula Abdul

How Am I Supposed To Live Without You - Michael Bolton

Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic

Two To Make It Right - Seduction

Downtown Train - Rod Stewart

Everything - Jody Whatley

Janie’s Got A Gun - Aerosmith

All Or Nothing - Milli Vanilli

What Kind OF Man Would I Be? - Chicago

Just Between You And Me - Lou Gramm

I Remember You - Skid Row

Tell Me Why - Expose

Peace In Our Time - Eddie Money

Tender Lover - Babyface

Free Fallin’ - Tom Petty

I’ll Be Good To You - Quincy Jones with Ray

Charles/Chaka Khan

Was It Nothing At All - Michael Damian

Woman in Chains - Tears For Fears

Here We Are - Gloria Estafan

Roam - The B-52’s

No More Lies - Michel’le

Week of February 8, 1990

Top Country

Nobody’s Home - Clint Black

Top Albums -

Forever Your Girl - Paula Abdul

... But Seriously - Phil Collins

Cosmic Thing - The B-52’s

Girl You Know It’s True - Milli Vanilli

Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 -

Janet Jackson

Back On The Block - Quincy Jones

Dance! Ya Know It! - Bobby Brown

Full Moon Fever - Tom Petty

Storm Front - Billy Joel

Pump - Aerosmith

Stone Cold Rhymin’ - Young M.C.

Hangin’ Tough - New Kids on the Block