5/17 - What '90s Movie Heist Made the FBI Question Its Screenwriter?
Plus trivia on Janet Jackson, Beverly Hills 90210, Pac-Man, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
May 17th, 2024 • Issue 204
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
May 17th
1977 - The first Chuck E. Cheese opened.
1980 - Peter Criss left KISS.
1986 - Whitney Houston’s single Greatest Love of All hit number one.
1990 - Kelsey Grammer received a 30-day jail sentence for driving while intoxicated.
1991 - What About Bob? hit theaters.
1993 - Intel’s Pentium processor was released.
1993 - Alan Jackson’s single Chattahoochee was released.
1994 - Lisa Loeb’s single Stay was released.
1997 - Freak Nasty’s one hit, Da Dip, peaked at number 15.
2000 - The Eagles sued Hotel California restaurant in Texas.
2000 - The series finale aired of Beverly Hills, 90210.
Less than half of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 cast were still cast members by the series finale.
Of the 11 main cast members when 90210 premiered in 1990, only five were left by the finale: Jennie Garth (Kelly), Ian Ziering (Steve), Luke Perry (Dylan), Brian Austin Green (David), and Tori Spelling (Donna).
2000 - In a very Web 1.0 era story, Terra Networks and Lycos merged.
2002 - About a Boy hit theaters.
May 18th
1980 - Mount St. Helens exploded.
1985 - Simple Minds’ single Don’t You (Forget About Me) hit number one.
1991 - The Divinyls’ one hit, I Touch Myself, peaked at number four.
1991 - Hi-Five’s single I Like the Way (The Kissing Game) hit number one.
1992 - Sister Souljah’s controversial quote about killing white people appeared in the Washington Post.
1993 - Janet Jackson’s album janet. was released.
Janet Jackson’s new record deal before janet. made her the highest-paid recording artist in the world… until Michael Jackson signed a bigger contract a few days later.
Janet Jackson’s contract with Virgin Records was for an estimated $40 million, which made her the highest-paid artist.
But… her brother Michael broke that record a few days later, when he signed a $60 million contract with Sony Music Entertainment.
1994 - Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married.
1995 - The Orlando Magic eliminated the Chicago Bulls from the NBA Playoffs.
1996 - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s single Tha Crossroads hit number one.
1998 - The series finale aired of Murphy Brown.
1999 - The Backstreet Boys album Millennium was released.
2001 - Moulin Rouge hit theaters.
2001 - Shrek hit theaters.
2002 - Wrestler Davey Boy Smith (aka the British Bulldog) died at age 39.
May 19th
1980 - The Apple III was introduced.
1986 - Peter Gabriel’s album So was released.
1989 - Road House hit theaters.
1990 - Nelson’s single Love and Affection was released.
1990 - Madonna’s single Vogue hit number one.
1991 - WCW aired its first SuperBrawl pay-per-view.
1992 - Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco.
1992 - Dan Quayle criticized unwed mothers and Murphy Brown.
1992 - Billy Ray Cyrus’s debut album Some Gave All was released.
1994 - Jackie Kennedy Onassis passed away.
1994 - The series finale aired of L.A. Law.
1994 - The series finale aired of In Living Color.
1995 - Die Hard with a Vengeance hit theaters.
The screenwriter of Die Hard with a Vengeance was questioned by the FBI because he seemed to know a little too much about the Federal Reserve’s vaults and how to rob them.
Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh says the NYPD vetted the script… and “one day I got a call from the FBI. They were extremely concerned about how I knew so much about the Federal Reserve, and how the Federal Reserve’s vaults were really close to a subway spur, and logistically about the aqueduct tunnel.”
Hensleigh told them he know so much about the Federal Reserve is “because they let us down there… [and] they showed us the plans and the layout.”
1995 - Forget Paris both hit theaters.
1996 - The series finale of Murder She Wrote aired.
1996 - The Sundance Channel debuted.
1996 - The “curtain call” happened, when four WWF wrestlers broke character to hug after a match as two were leaving the company.
1997 - Marv Albert was accused of biting a lady.
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park hit theaters.
1998 - DMX’s debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot was released.
1998 - Monica and Brandy’s single The Boy Is Mine was released.
1999 - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace hit theaters.
2000 - Road Trip hit theaters.
2000 - Disney’s Dinosaur hit theaters.
2001 - The first Apple stores opened.
2001 - The series finale aired of Walker, Texas Ranger.
2002 - The series finale aired of The X-Files.
May 20th
1983 - The Police’s single Every Breath You Take was released.
1987 - Beverly Hills Cop II hit theaters.
1988 - Willow hit theaters.
Willow hired more little people as actors than The Wizard of Oz.
There were 124 little people hired as munchkins for The Wizard of Oz.
Willow hired more than 200 little people to play members of the Nelwyn village.
1989 - The series finale aired of Small Wonder.
1989 - Paula Abdul’s single Forever Your Girl hit number one.
1989 - Gilda Radner passed away.
1989 - “Toonces the Driving Cat” debuted on Saturday Night Live.
1991 - Bonnie Raitt’s single Something to Talk About was released.
1991 - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s single Summertime was released.
1993 - The series finale aired of Cheers.
1994 - Maverick hit theaters.
1995 - The series finale of the original Star Search aired.
1996 - The series finale aired of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
1997 - The series finale aired of Roseanne.
1997 - Meredith Brooks’ single Bitch was released.
2000 - The Portland Trailblazers debuted the Hack-a-Shaq technique.
2000 - Macy Gray’s only hit, I Try, peaked at number five.
May 21st
1980 - The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters.
1982 - Annie hit theaters.
1983 - David Bowie’s single Let’s Dance hit number one.
1985 - Marvin Gaye’s final album, Dream of a Lifetime, was released.
1988 - E.U.’s one hit, Da Butt, peaked at number 35.
Da Butt was a hit single off a movie soundtrack.
The song appeared on the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s film School Daze.
It was the only Billboard hit off that album.
And it got the group E.U. (which stands for Experience Unlimited) a record deal with Virgin Records. They were never able, however, to surpass or match the success of their first single.
1989 - The series finale aired of Miami Vice.
1990 - The series finale aired of Newhart.
1992 - The Real World premiered on MTV.
1992 - The series finale aired of MacGyver.
1994 - All-4-One’s single I Swear hit number one.
1995 - The season finale of The Simpsons ended on a cliffhanger of who shot Mr. Burns.
1996 - Metallica’s single Until It Sleeps was released.
1996 - Toni Braxton’s single You’re Makin’ Me High was released.
1997 - The series finale aired of Wings.
1998 - Microsoft and Sega announced they were working together on a video game system, which would turn out to be the Dreamcast.
1999 - Susan Lucci finally won a Daytime Emmy after 18 years of losses.
1999 - Notting Hill hit theaters.
May 22nd
1980 - “Puck Man” the video game was tested in Japan.
The name “Puck Man” was changed to “Pac-Man” because the North American distributor worried about vandals changing the “P” to an “F” on arcade cabinets.
Because it was so easy to turn Puck into, well, you know, Namco America pushed for a different name.
The game’s creator went with Pac-Man.
1985 - Rambo: First Blood Part II and Brewster’s Millions hit theaters.
1988 - The NBA had its famous Bird/Dominique duel.
1990 - North Yemen and South Yemen merged into just Yemen.
1990 - Windows 3.0 was released.
1990 - Madonna’s album I’m Breathless was released.
1992 - Encino Man hit theaters.
1992 - Johnny Carson hosted his final episode of The Tonight Show.
1993 - The series finale aired of Saved by the Bell.
1994 - The Toronto NBA franchise announced it would be called the Raptors and revealed its logo.
1995 - The series finales aired of The Critic and Blossom.
1995 - The Laverne & Shirley 20th anniversary reunion special aired.
1996 - The first Mission: Impossible film hit theaters.
1998 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas hit theaters.
1999 - Fatboy Slim’s only hit, Praise You, peaked at number 36.
May 23rd
1980 - The Shining hit theaters.
1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom hit theaters.
1991 - The famous/infamous Chinese restaurant episode of Seinfeld premiered.
1994 - The series finale aired of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
1994 - Pulp Fiction was named the best film at the Cannes Film Festival.
1995 - The series finale aired of Full House.
1995 - Luniz single I Got 5 on It was released.
1997 - The Lost World: Jurassic Park hit theaters.
Vince Vaughn got a role in The Lost World: Jurassic Park when Steven Spielberg had to watch an early screening of Swingers.
Spielberg had to watch Swingers to decide whether to give the movie permission to use the Jaws theme.
He liked Vince Vaughn’s performance so much that he decided to cast him in the sequel to Jurassic Park. (And he did give Swingers the go-ahead to use the Jaws music.)
1998 - Mariah Carey’s single My All, which I have zero memory of, hit number one.
1999 - WWF wrestler Owen Hart was killed during a pay-per-view event due to a stunt gone wrong.
1999 - The series finale aired of Sister, Sister.
2000 - Eminem’s third album, The Marshall Mathers LP, was released.
2002 - Netflix went public.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
The I Know What You Did Last Summer revival just got a release date of July 18, 2025. That’s the same scheduled release date for the Naked Gun reboot.
Netflix has made it official: There’s going to be a Happy Gilmore 2.
Amazon announced there will be a sequel to their Road House reboot with Jake Gyllenhaal.
Meryl Streep says her favorite “sex scene” is when Robert Redford shampoos her hair in 1986’s Out of Africa (a scene that involves, notably, no sex). “It’s a sex scene in a way, because it’s so intimate,” she said.
Dabney Coleman, of 9 to 5, Tootsie, and many others, died this week at age 92.
Get Your Book-It Stickers Here
Recommended articles about ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, and never knew existed
Here’s the history of “snap[ping] into a Slim Jim” — and how it became an ‘80s and ‘90s sensation.
What were the 40 best album covers of the ‘90s? I assumed the iconic Nevermind cover was a slam dunk pick for number one — it’s actually only eighth in these rankings. Number one is, surprisingly, a much more inspired choice.
In the ‘90s, Nintendo created some of the first add-on content for games, which they offered in Japan through a satellite modem. Through the use of a VCR and AI, someone was able to rescue some of the lost content from that service, specifically a bunch of tracks for the Super Nintendo game F-Zero.
Have a great week!
-Sam