3/7 - What '80s Cult Classic Was Written As a Film Class Project?
Plus trivia on The Birdcage, Des'ree, Joe Versus the Volcano, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
March 7th, 2025 • Issue 246
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
March 7th
1982 - The NCAA’s Selection Sunday was broadcast live on TV for the first time.
1983 - The TNN cable network launched.
1985 - We Are the World was released.
1986 - Highlander hit theaters.
Highlander was written by a college student for a screenwriting class.
Gregory Widen wrote the movie, which he called Shadow Clan, for an undergraduate screenwriting class at UCLA. He was 20 years old at the time.
His professor suggested that he send it to an agent, and the script sold for $200,000.
1987 - Mike Tyson became the youngest boxing world heavyweight champion.
1987 - Bruce Willis’s only hit single, Respect Yourself, peaked at number five.
1989 - Milli Vanilli’s debut album Girl You Know It’s True was released.
1994 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parody falls under fair use.
1995 - Dr. Dre’s single Keep Their Heads Ringin’ was released.
1997 - Howard Stern’s movie Private Parts hit theaters.
1999 - Stanley Kubrick passed away.
March 8th
1983 - President Ronald Reagan referred to the U.S.S.R. as an “evil empire”.
1987 - The series finale of The A-Team aired on NBC.
1991 - New Jack City hit theaters.
1993 - Beck’s single Loser was released.
1993 - Beavis and Butt-Head premiered on MTV.
1994 - Coolio’s single Fantastic Voyage was released.
1996 - The Birdcage hit theaters.
The Birdcage’s writer and director were a successful comedy duo in the ‘50s and ‘60s who reunited for the film.
Elaine May wrote The Birdcage and Mike Nichols was the director.
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, they were an improv comedy duo called Nichols and May — and they had three of their comedy albums reach the Billboard Top 40.
The Birdcage was their first collaboration ever on a movie, and their first collaboration in anything in almost 20 years.
After The Birdcage, they also collaborated on Primary Colors in 1998.
1996 - Fargo hit theaters.
1996 - Celine Dion’s album Falling Into You was released.
1999 - Joe DiMaggio passed away.
March 9th
1984 - Splash hit theaters.
1985 - REO Speedwagon’s single Can’t Fight This Feeling hit number one.
1987 - Rags to Riches premiered.
1987 - U2’s album The Joshua Tree was released.
1990 - Joe Versus the Volcano hit theaters.
Joe Versus the Volcano is the first of three romantic ‘90s comedies with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
Their next two are Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.
https://www.storyscreenpresents.com/post/meaning-and-mortality-joe-versus-the-volcano-at-30
1990 - House Party hit theaters.
1991 - Mariah Carey’s single Someday hit number one.
1995 - Arizona and Tampa were granted MLB expansion teams.
1996 - George Burns passed away.
1996 - Oasis’s Wonderwall peaked at number eight, the band’s only top 40 hit in the U.S. (believe it or not).
1997 - Notorious B.I.G. was killed in Los Angeles and his murder remains officially unsolved.
1998 - Dr. Dre signed Eminem.
March 10th
1980 - Willard Scott became the weatherman on the Today show.
1988 - Prince’s album Lovesexy was released.
1989 - Police Academy 6: City Under Siege hit theaters.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege was the film debut of Dean Norris (of Breaking Bad, among many others, fame).
Dean Norris has played a ton of cop roles in his career. The first was an uncredited role in Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, where he played a cop at the gym.
1989 - The series finale of Webster aired, as did the series finale of game show Finders Keepers.
1992 - Jodeci’s single Come and Talk to Me was released.
1997 - The first PalmPilot was released.
1998 - Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place premiered on ABC.
1998 - Fastball’s album All the Pain Money Can Buy was released.
March 11th
1986 - Popsicle announced plans to switch from two-sticks to a one-stick version.
1986 - The NFL adopted instant replay, although they’d drop it six years later.
1988 - Stand and Deliver and Vice Versa hit theaters.
1989 - COPS premiered on FOX.
1993 - H-Town’s single Knockin’ Da Boots was released.
1993 - “Last Exit to Springfield”, often called the best Simpsons episode ever, premiered on FOX.
1994 - Four Weddings and a Funeral hit theaters.
1995 - Des’ree’s one hit, You Gotta Be, peaked at number five.
Des’ree has sued both Janet Jackson and Beyonce for lifting her music — and won one of two.
Des’ree sued Janet Jackson in 1997, claiming Jackson’s song Got ‘til It’s Gone used too much of Des’ree’s song Feel So High without permission. She won the suit, and was added as a writer on the Jackson song.
Ten years later, Des’ree sued Beyonce. Beyonce covered Des’ree’s Kissing You for the album B’Day without permission. The suit was dismissed, but some editions of B’Day containing the cover were pulled from sale.
1996 - Steve Austin debuted his new Stone Cold gimmick at a WWF Monday Night Raw taping.
1997 - Paul McCartney was knighted.
March 12th
1987 - Les Miserables opened on Broadway for the first time.
1988 - Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
1990 - The eternally-filled-with-wanderlust Raiders announced they were returning to Oakland from Los Angeles.
It took the Raiders five years to move back to Oakland after they announced their plans.
Though the Raiders’ owner, Al Davis, announced he would be returning to Oakland on March 12th, 1990, the team did not relocate until the start of the 1995 NFL season.
The reason Davis wanted to return to Oakland was because the L.A. Memorial Coliseum refused to add luxury suites — and the Oakland Coliseum agreed to do so.
But it took that long for those suits to be in place — so the move took five years to happen.
1991 - R.E.M.’s album Out of Time was released.
1993 - Ace of Base’s song The Sign hit number one.
1994 - The most famous Loch Ness Monster photo in history turned out to be a hoax.
1996 - Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was suspended by the NBA for not coming out of the locker room for the national anthem.
2002 - The Shield premiered on FX.
2002 - The Undeclared series finale aired on FOX.
March 13th
1982 - William Shatner’s show T.J. Hooker premiered on ABC.
T.J. Hooker gave Leonard Nimoy one of his first major directing credits.
Leonard Nimoy — William Shatner’s Star Trek co-star, of course — directed an episode in season two of T.J. Hooker. It was one of his first directing credit on a major TV show.
After that, his directing career had it’s biggest boom — with Nimoy directing the next two Star Trek movies as well as Three Men and a Baby.
1986 - Microsoft had its initial public offering.
1987 - The first cassette single went on sale nationwide in the U.S.
1992 - My Cousin Vinny hit theaters.
1993 - The underrated CB4 hit theaters.
1993 - Snow’s classic Informer hit number one.
1998 - Bryce Drew of Valparaiso hit a famous March Madness buzzer beater.
1999 - Cher’s single Believe hit number one.
2002 - Celebrity Boxing premiered on FOX.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Everybody Loves Raymond is looking into doing a Friends-style reunion next year.
The SWAT reboot has been canceled by CBS (for the third time; they’ve un-canceled it the two times before).
David Duchovny will host a “real life” X-Files show for the History Channel.
Get Your Book-It Stickers Here
Recommended articles about ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, and never knew existed
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The Ringer released its “guy cry movie canon” — movies that are most successful in making you cry.
Check out Buzzfeed’s list of famous actors who had unexpected music careers before hitting it big.
Have a great week!
-Sam