- Jan 10 Last broadcast of "Rockford Files" on NBC
Event of Interest
Jan 26 175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro
Frank Sinatra
Film and TV Awards
Jan 28 37th Golden Globes: "Kramer vs. Kramer", Dustin Hoffman & Sally Field win
Dustin Hoffman
Sally Field
Film and TV Awards
Mar 8 6th People's Choice Awards: Burt Reynolds & Jane Fonda win (Motion Picture) and Alan Alda & Carol Burnett win (TV)
Jane Fonda
- Mar 21 On TV show "Dallas", J.R. is shot
Iran Hostage Crisis
Mar 24 ABC's nightly Iran Hostage crisis program renamed "Nightline"
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- Apr 14 52nd Academy Awards: "Kramer vs Kramer", Dustin Hoffman & Sally Field win
- May 1 "Day in Hollywood, A Night..." opens at John Golden NYC for 588 performances
- May 9 Slasher horror film "Friday the 13th" is released in US cinemas
- May 15 Shawn Weatherly of South Carolina crowned 29th Miss USA, goes on to win Miss Universe
Event of Interest
May 17 Paul & Linda McCartney appear on "Saturday Night Live"
Lorne Michaels
Event of Interest
May 19 Ringo & Barbara Bach are involved in a car crash
Barbara Bach
Event of Interest
May 21 "Star Wars Episode V - Empire Strikes Back", produced by George Lucas opens in cinemas in UK and North America
George Lucas
John Williams
- May 23 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Neil Burton
Event of Interest
May 23 33rd Cannes Film Festival: "All That Jazz" directed by Bob Fosse and "Kagemusha" directed by Akira Kurosawa jointly awarded the Palme d'Or
Akira Kurosawa
- Jun 1 1st transmission of CNN, the Cable News Network
Music Concert
Jun 1 Barbra Streisand appears at an ACLU Benefit in California
Barbra Streisand
- Jun 3 ESPN begins televising college world series games
Event of Interest
Jun 9 Comedian Richard Pryor suffers burns from free basing cocaine
Richard Pryor
Event of Interest
Jun 12 Ronald Reagan says he will submit to periodic medical tests
Ronald Reagan
- Jun 14 Theme From NY, NY by Frank Sinatra hits #32
Television Debut
Jun 23 "David Letterman Show" debuts on NBC-TV daytime
David Letterman
- Jun 24 Affirmed wins $500,000 Hollywood Cup, 1st horse to win $2 million
- Jul 2 Comedy film "Airplane!" written and directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and starring Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty premieres
- Jul 7 Shawn Weatherly, of USA, crowned 29th Miss Universe
- Jul 7 Jineane Ford, (AZ) replaces S Weatherly (Miss Univ) as 29th Miss USA
- Jul 16 Ronald Reagan nominated for US President by Republicans in Detroit
- Jul 17 Ronald Reagan formally accepts Republican nomination for US president
- Jul 30 13th San Diego Comic-Con International opens at U.S. Grant Hotel
- Aug 19 Willy Russell's play "Educating Rita" premieres in London starring Julie Walters
- Aug 28 37th Venice Film Festival: "Atlantic City" directed by Louis Malle and "Gloria" directed by John Cassavetes jointly awarded Golden Lion (first since 1968)
Event of Interest
Sep 1 Jerry Lewis' 15th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $31,103,787
Jerry Lewis
Film Premier
Sep 17 "Divine Madness" starring Bette Midler, premieres
Bette Midler
Film Release
Sep 19 "Ordinary People" directed by Robert Redford and starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch is released (Best Picture 1981)
Mary Tyler Moore
Robert Redford
- Oct 4 ABC premiere of Saturday futuristic fantasy cartoon "Thundarr the Barbarian"
- Oct 14 Presidential nominee Ronald Reagan promises to name a woman to the US Supreme Court
- Oct 18 Brooke Alexander, 18, of Hawaii, crowned Miss World USA
- Oct 25 Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" album goes #1 for 3 weeks & her single "Woman In Love," goes #1 for 3 weeks
- Nov 4 Republican candidate Ronald Reagan is elected President of the United States, defeating incumbent Democrat US President Jimmy Carter by a landslide
- Nov 10 Dan Rather refuses to pay his cabbie, CBS pays $12.55 fare
- Nov 13 Gabriella Brum, 18, of West Germany crowned 30th Miss World; she resigns the next day because she wants to marry her 52 year old boyfriend
- Nov 14 Kimberley Santos, 19 of Guam, crowned 30th Miss World
- Nov 17 WHHM Television in Washington, D.C., becomes the first African-American public-broadcasting television station
Film Premier
Nov 18 "Heaven's Gate" film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Kris Kristofferson and Christopher Walken premieres - one of the biggest box office bombs ever
Christopher Walken
Event of Interest
Nov 19 CBS TV bans Calvin Klein jean ad featuring Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Calvin Klein
Film Premier
Dec 11 "Magnum P.I." starring Tom Selleck premieres on CBS
Tom Selleck
- Dec 16 President-elect Ronald Reagan announces Alexander Haig Jr. as 59th Secretary of State
Film Release
Dec 19 "Raging Bull", directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro as boxer Jake LaMotta and Cathy Moriarty as his wife, is released in the United States
- Dec 20 NBC broadcasts NY Jets' 24-17 win over Dolphins without audio
- Dec 22 US President-elect Ronald Reagan appoints J Kirkpatrick (UN) & James Watt (Interior)
- Dec 30 "Wonderful World of Disney" last performance on NBC-TV