6/21 - What Movie Mentioned the Soup Nazi 2 Years Before Seinfeld?
Plus trivia on Spaceballs, Bon Jovi, David Letterman, Labyrinth, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
June 21st, 2024 • Issue 209
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
June 21st
1985 - Cocoon hit theaters.
1985 - Chef Boyardee passed away.
1986 - Bo Jackson officially became a two-sport pro athlete when he signed with the Kansas City Royals.
1988 - The L.A. Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons to win the NBA championship.
1990 - Jon Bon Jovi’s single Blaze of Glory hit number one.
Blaze of Glory is Jon Bon Jovi’s “debut” solo single and his only solo number one hit.
Even though Jon Bon Jovi had plenty of hits with the band Bon Jovi, Blaze of Glory was his first solo release.
It’s his only solo number one hit.
1990 - The finale of the first season of Seinfeld aired.
1991 - The Rocketeer hit theaters.
1997 - The WNBA debuted as the New York Liberty defeated the L.A. Sparks.
1997 - Bob Carlisle’s one hit, Butterfly Kisses, peaked at #10.
2001 - Tough Enough premiered on MTV.
2002 - Lilo & Stitch, Minority Report, and most important, Juwanna Mann all hit theaters.
June 22nd
1981 - John McEnroe gave his famous “You cannot be serious” rant.
1984 - The Karate Kid hit theaters.
1985 - Bryan Adams’ single Heaven hit number one.
1986 - Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” led Argentina past England in the World Cup.
Diego Maradona did not admit his hand hit the ball for his “Hand of God” goal until 2005.
Nineteen years after Argentina’s win, Maradona confessed his goal was a handball on his Argentina-based TV talk show, La Noche del 10.
The confession created a minor controversy in the British press, which Maradona shut down by… not apologizing.
“The story is already written, nothing can change it… I don’t have to apologize… for what? To please whom?… At 47, I think that apologizing to the English is stupid.”
1988 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit? hit theaters.
1990 - Florida banned thong bikinis.
1990 - Adam Sandler joined the cast of Saturday Night Live.
1993 - Cypress Hill’s single Insane in the Brain was released.
1994 - The Houston Rockets won the NBA Championship over the New York Knicks.
1994 - The U.S. upset Colombia for its first World Cup win since 1950.
1996 - The video game Quake was released.
1999 - K-Ci and JoJo’s album It’s Real and Christina Aguilera’s single Genie in a Bottle were released.
2001 - The Fast and the Furious hit theaters.
June 23rd
1979 - The Knack’s single My Sharona was released.
1980 - David Letterman’s short-lived daytime talk show debuted.
David Letterman introduced “Stupid Pet Tricks” on the fourth episode of his daytime talk show.
Though David Letterman’s first talk show only lasted four months — his humor was not made for morning TV — it sparked much of the style he’d use in his subsequent late night shows.
In addition to Stupid Pet Tricks, Letterman also introduced “Small Town News” and “Viewer Mail” during his daytime show — and also developed his signature comedic style.
1984 - Duran Duran’s single The Reflex hit number one.
1989 - Batman hit theaters
1989 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids hit theaters.
1989 - New Kids on the Block trashed their hotel room.
1993 - Lorena Bobbit lopped off her husband, John Wayne Bobbit’s, genitalia.
1994 - The third season of MTV’s The Real World, set in San Francisco, debuted.
1996 - “Stone Cold” Steve Austin gave his career-launching “Austin 3:16” promo.
1998 - Matchbox 20’s single Real World was released.
2000 - Me, Myself and Irene hit theaters, as did Chicken Run.
June 24th
1982 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled a president cannot be sued for their actions in office.
1983 - Porky’s III hit theaters.
1987 - The Montreal Alouettes of the CFL folded. (They were re-established in 1996.)
1987 - Spaceballs hit theaters.
The working title for Spaceballs was “Planet Moron.”
Mel Brooks originally pitched his Star Wars parody with the title “Planet Moron.”
That remained the working title until 1985, when a movie called Morons from Outer Space came out.
After that, Mel Brooks and his team went back to the drawing board and came up with the title Spaceballs.
1989 - Richard Marx’s single Satisfied hit number one.
1990 - New Kids on the Block’s Donnie Wahlberg fell through a trap door on stage during a concert.
1992 - Shaquille O’Neal was the number one pick in the NBA draft.
1994 - Wyatt Earp hit theaters.
1995 - Nicki French’s cover of Total Eclipse of the Heart peaked at #2.
1995 - The New Jersey Devils won their first Stanley Cup.
1997 - Sister Hazel’s single All For You was released.
1997 - 98 Degrees’ single Invisible Man was released.
1997 - The U.S. Air Force released a report unequivocally denying aliens or UFOs at the mysterious Area 51.
1997 - Shawn Colvin’s ultra-successful one hit, Sunny Came Home, was released.
1998 - Michael Olowokandi was infamously the number one pick in the NBA Draft.
June 25th
1978 - The rainbow flag was flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
1982 - Blade Runner hit theaters.
1984 - The Purple Rain soundtrack was released.
1988 - Debbie Gibson’s single Foolish Beat hit number one.
1991 - Head of the Class aired its series finale.
1993 - Sleepless in Seattle hit theaters.
Sleepless in Seattle made a reference to the “Soup Nazi” two years before Seinfeld.
In Sleepless in Seattle, a character mentions the real-life New York restaurateur Al Yeganeh: “This man sells the greatest soup you have ever eaten, and he is the meanest man in America.”
Seinfeld introduced the character, also based on Yeganeh, in a November 1995 episode.
1993 - Julia Roberts married Lyle Lovett.
1993 - Kim Campbell became Canada’s first female prime minister.
1993 - The final episode of David Letterman’s Late Night on NBC aired.
1995 - Pearl Jam canceled its tour over its feud with Ticketmaster.
1996 - Jay Z’s debut studio album, Reasonable Doubt, was released.
1997 - Tim Duncan was the first pick of the NBA Draft.
1998 - Windows 98 was released.
1999 - The San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks to win the NBA Championship.
1999 - Big Daddy hit theaters.
2001 - The series finale aired of Xena: Warrior Princess.
June 26th
1977 - Elvis gave his final performance.
1987 - Full Metal Jacket hit theaters.
Full Metal Jacket is not the name of the book on which the movie is based — nor does that phrase appear anywhere in the book.
Full Metal Jacket is based on Gustac Hasford’s novel The Short-Timers.
Stanley Kubrick didn’t like that title. He got the phrase “Full Metal Jacket” from a gun catalog.
1990 - Nelson’s album After the Rain was released.
1991 - Larry Johnson was the top pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, by the Charlotte Hornets.
1992 - Red Shoe Diaries premiered.
1993 - The Real World, season 2 (Los Angeles) premiered on MTV.
1996 - Allen Iverson was the 1st pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, Kobe Bryant was 13th.
1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in the U.K.
1998 - Step by Step aired its series finale.
1999 - Doug aired its series finale.
June 27th
1972 - The company Atari was incorporated.
1986 - Labyrinth hit theaters.
The owl in the opening credits of Labyrinth is the first computer-generated animal in movie history.
The owl was made by Lucasfilm and marked the first attempt at a photo-realistic CGI animal in movie history.
1987 - Whitney Houston’s single I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) hit number one.
1988 - Mike Tyson quickly KO’d Michael Spinks.
1989 - The B-52s album Cosmic Thing was released.
1990 - Derrick Coleman was the number one pick in the NBA Draft, by the New Jersey Nets.
1994 - Anna Nicole Smith married an 89-year-old billionaire.
1994 - Aerosmith’s Head First became the first major label song available for digital download.
1996 - 112’s single Only You was released.
1997 - A movie that was even ridiculous by ‘90s standards, Face/Off, hit theaters.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
A Spaceballs sequel is in the works. Josh Gad is going to star in it and will produce it with Mel Brooks.
Sony is looking into making a sequel to St. Elmo’s Fire… if they can get the original cast members all to commit.
AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys says he wants to go by his name, Alex, now rather than AJ.
Finally, the story of how the famous “penis vagina” line in Kindergarten Cop came to be.
David Lynch says he really regrets not demanding final cut when he directed 1984’s Dune.
Cyndi Lauper says she regrets her ‘80s rivalry with Madonna.
Thomas Guiry, who was Smalls in The Sandlot, was arrested earlier this month in South Carolina for trashing a neighbor’s car.
Donald Sutherland passed away yesterday at age 88.
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Recommended articles about ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, and never knew existed
In 1996, Michael Jordan released his signature cologne. Here’s a modern look at this “phenomenal failure way ahead of its time.”
Apple is now allowing video game emulators in the App Store — meaning that if you can get digital versions of your classic games onto your phone, you can play them. Here’s the (admittedly convoluted) process to legally turn your old video games into ROMs.
Here’s an argument that in the wake of Ant-Man, Disney should reboot the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise.
Have a great week!
-Sam