- Jan 3 Bryant Gumbel co-hosted his final "Today" show on NBC-TV
Music History
Jan 9 Heart attacks sends singer Frank Sinatra back to hospital
- Jan 10 4,000th episode of "Entertainment Tonight"
People's Choice Awards
Jan 12 23rd People's Choice Awards: Mel Gibson & Sandra Bullock win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Tim Allen & Oprah Winfrey win (TV)
Golden Globes
Jan 19 54th Golden Globes: The English Patient, Geoffrey Rush, & Brenda Blethyn win
- Jan 20 2nd Critics' Choice Movie Awards: Fargo wins Best Film
- Jan 26 13th Sundance Film Festival: "Sunday" wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- Jan 31 "Final Fantasy VII" is released by Square and Sony Computer Entertainment to PlayStation
- Feb 5 Brook Lee from Hawaii, crowned 46th Miss USA (en route to Miss Universe)
- Feb 8 28th NAACP Image Awards: "A Time to Kill" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
- Feb 9 11th American Comedy Award: Debbie Reynolds wins
Film & TV History
Feb 9 Fox cartoon series "The Simpsons" airs 167th episode; longest-running animated series in cartoon history
- Feb 10 13th Soap Opera Digest Awards - General Hospital wins
Berlin Film Festival
Feb 13 47th Berlin International Film Festival: "The People vs. Larry Flynt" wins the Golden Bear
Television Premiere
Mar 10 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" created by Joss Whedon and starring Sarah Michelle Geller premieres on WB Television Network
Film Release
Mar 21 Film "Selena" is released based on the life of singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, starring Jennifer Lopez in her breakthrough role, directed by Gregory Nava
Musical Finale
Mar 22 Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Christopher Hampton's musical "Sunset Boulevard", based on the film, and starring Glenn Close closes at Minskoff, NYC, after 977 performances and 7 Tony Awards
- Mar 23 "Mandy Patinkin in Concert" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC
- Mar 23 17th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Striptease" wins
- Mar 23 WrestleMania XIII, Rosemont Horizon, IL: Undertaker beats Sycho Sid for WWF Heavyweight title
Academy Awards
Mar 24 69th Academy Awards: "The English Patient", Geoffrey Rush and Frances McDormand win
Film & TV History
Apr 5 Steve Irwin's "The Crocodile Hunter" debuts
Film Premiere
Apr 15 Disaster film "Volcano" directed by Mick Jackson, and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche premieres in South Korea
- Apr 21 Ashes of Timothy Leary & "Star trek" creator Gene Roddenberry launched into space orbit
Music Concert
Apr 28 Ringo Starr's fourth All-Starr Band debuts in concert; members include: Peter Frampton, Jack Bruce, Gary Brooker, Simon Kirke, and Mark Rivera
- Apr 29 43rd British Academy Television Awards: "Only Fools and Horses" Best Comedy, "EastEnders" Best Drama
- Apr 29 50th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): "The English Patient" Best Film, Joel & Ethan Coen Best Director
Film & TV History
Apr 30 42 million watch Ellen DeGeneres publicly declare she is gay
Music Concert
Apr 30 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Lyle Lovett, Bobby McFerrin, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin and Zucchero
Film Release
May 2 "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery", starring Mike Myers and Elizabeth Hurley, is released
Film & TV History
May 2 Police arrest transsexual prostitute Atisone Seiuli with Eddie Murphy
- May 5 "Married With Children" final episode on Fox TV
Film Release
May 7 Science fiction film "The Fifth Element" written and directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich is released. Then the most expensive European film ever made.
- May 15 ABC News & Starwave Corp launch ABCNEWS.com
- May 16 Brandi Sherwood (Miss Idaho) replaces Brook Lee as Miss USA when Brook is crowned Miss Universe
- May 16 Brook Mehealani Lee, 26, of USA crowned 46th Miss Universe
- May 18 50th Cannes Film Festival: "Taste of Cherry" directed by Abbas Kiarostami and "Unagi" directed by Shohei Imamura jointly awarded the Palme d'Or
Film Premiere
May 19 "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Moore, premieres in the US
Daytime Emmy Awards
May 21 Emmy 24th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 17th time
- May 23 Mel Karmazin replaces Peter Lund as CEO of CBS TV
- Jun 1 1st NY Women Film Festival opens
Musical Finale
Jun 1 Revival of Mary Rodgers and Marshall Barer's musical comedy "Once Upon a Mattress", starring Sarah Jessica Parker, closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 188 performances
Film Premiere
Jun 12 "Batman and Robin" directed by Joel Schumacher, starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chris O'Donnell premieres in Los Angeles
Film & TV History
Jun 15 British model Naomi Campbell hospitalized due to drug overdose
Glastonbury Festival
Jun 27 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: The Prodigy, and Radiohead headline; other performers include Smashing Pumpkins, Ray Davies, Van Morrison, Sting, Beck, Phish, and Nanci Griffith
Film & TV History
Jul 25 Autumn Jackson, found guilty of trying to extort $40M from Bill Cosby
- Aug 4 "The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show" premieres on Fox TV
Film & TV History
Aug 4 William Ryan Holt and Michael Mischler are arrested for breaking into Elle MacPherson’s Los Angeles home
Music Concert
Aug 7 Garth Brooks performs a free concert in NYC's Central Park for HBO, later releasing it as Garth: Live from Central Park
Music Single
Aug 9 "Just to See You Smile" single released by Tim McGraw (Billboard Song of the Year 1998)
Television Debut
Aug 13 Animated TV sitcom "South Park" debuts on Comedy Central
- Aug 20 Shelly Moore, 18, of Tenn, crowned 15th Miss Teen USA
- Aug 27 54th Venice Film Festival: "Hana-bi" directed by Takeshi Kitano wins Golden Lion
- Aug 29 Netflix is founded by Marc Randolph and Reed Hasting in Scotts Valley, California as an online DVD rental business
- Sep 1 Cartoon Channel premieres in Japan
Telethon
Sep 1 Jerry Lewis' 32nd Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $50,500,000
Television Premiere
Sep 8 TV series "Ally McBeal" starring Calista Flockhart, created by David E. Kelley premieres on Fox in the US
- Sep 13 22nd Toronto International Film Festival: "The Hanging Garden" directed by Thom Fitzgerald wins the People's Choice Award
- Sep 13 Katherine Shindle (Ill), 24, crowned 71st Miss America 1998
- Sep 14 49th Emmy Awards: Law & Order, Frasier, Dennis Franz & Gillian Anderson win
- Sep 15 Oprah Winfrey announces she will continue her show through 2000
- Sep 25 Medical drama "ER" is performed live on TV
Film & TV History
Sep 28 Newscaster David Brinkley, 74, retires after 54 years in broadcasting
Film Premiere
Nov 1 "Titanic" directed by James Cameron, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet premieres at the Tokyo International Film Festival (Academy Awards Best Picture 1998)
Television Premiere
Nov 2 Rodgers & Hammerstein's television musical "Cinderella", starring Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, and Bernadette Peters premieres on ABC-TV
- Nov 3 British TV comedy "I'm Alan Partridge" starring Steve Coogan premieres on BBC Two
Film & TV History
Nov 5 French court orders producer Jacques Charrier, ex-husband of Brigitte Bardot, to pay the former screen star $8,300 in damages
Film Release
Nov 7 "Bean" film directed by Mel Smith and starring Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean opens in the US
Contract of Interest
Nov 11 CBS News anchor Dan Rather renews his contract to 2002
Music History
Nov 20 Revival of Anton Chekov's stage drama "Ivanov", starring Kevin Kline, opens at Vivian Beaumont Theater, NYC; runs for 51 performances
Music History
Dec 8 Revival of Neil Simon's comedy "The Sunshine Boys", starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randell, opens at Lyceum Theater, NYC; runs for 230 performance
Film Premiere
Dec 9 "Tomorrow Never Dies", 18th James Bond film starring Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh, premieres in London
- Dec 12 Fed judge sentences Autumn Jackson, who claims to be Bill Cosby's daughter, to 26 months for trying to extort $40 million from him
Theater Premiere
Dec 14 Revival of Arthur Miller's dramatic play "A View From the Bridge", starring Anthony LaPaglia, Allison Janney, and Brittany Murphy. opens at the Criterion Theater, NYC; runs for 239 performance, wins 2 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards
Film Premiere
Dec 15 "Spice World" movie directed by Bob Spiers and starring girl pop group the Spice Girls premieres in the UK
Film Release
Dec 23 "As Good as It Gets" film released written and directed by James L. Brooks, starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt
- Dec 25 For 1st time US movie box office receipts pass $6 billion
Television Finale
Dec 25 Jerry Seinfeld announces the final season of his TV show "Seinfeld" will air the following year