5/24 - What Co-Star Hated Kissing Julia Roberts Due to Her "Big Mouth"?
Plus trivia on Ghost Town DJs, Thelma and Louise, You Can't Do That on Television, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
May 24th, 2024 • Issue 205
Be Kind, Rewind
What happened on this day in the ‘80s and ‘90s — plus lots of bonus trivia
May 24th
1980 - Rock Lobster by the B-52s peaked at number 56 on the Billboard chart.
1984 - Vince McMahon Sr., father of WWF owner Vince McMahon, died of cancer.
1985 - A View to a Kill hit theaters.
1988 - John Moschitta set the world record for fast talking at 586 words per minute.
1991 - Thelma and Louise hit theaters.
The production team on Thelma and Louise only had three chances to get the shot of the car flying off the cliff.
For the final shot of the movie, the team wanted a shot of Thelma and Louise’s car flying off the cliff — not just tumbling down the side.
But they only had three 1966 Ford Thunderbirds available — and obviously, once they sent one off the cliff, it was destroyed.
The first car tumbled down. But the second car flew, exactly as they were hoping for. So they never had to crash the third car.
1994 - Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, was released.
1995 - Braveheart hit theaters.
1996 - Leslie Nielsen’s movie Spy Hard hit theaters.
1997 - Tim Allen was arrested for drunk driving.
1997 - Hanson’s single MMMBop hit number one.
1999 - The series finales aired of Mad About You and Melrose Place.
2000 - Mission: Impossible II hit theaters.
May 25th
1977 - Star Wars hit theaters.
1979 - Alien hit theaters.
1981 - A guy called Spider Dan scaled the Sears Tower.
1983 - Return of the Jedi hit theaters.
1985 - The Wham! single Everything She Wants hit number one.
1986 - Hands Across America took place.
1988 - Crocodile Dundee II and Rambo III hit theaters.
1990 - The series finale aired of You Can’t Do That on Television.
The slime on You Can’t Do That on Television was originally rotten food.
Once the cast — rightfully — complained, the slime became a mixture of lime Jell-O, oatmeal, and water.
1991 - Mariah Carey’s single I Don’t Wanna Cry hit number one.
1991 - LaTour’s one hit, People Are Still Having Sex, peaked at number 35.
1993 - John Starks of the New York Knicks posterized Michael Jordan with a baseline dunk.
1994 - Beverly Hills Cop III hit theaters.
1996 - Brad Nowell of Sublime died from an overdose.
1999 - The series finale aired of Home Improvement.
2001 - The first blind climber reached the summit of Mount Everest.
2001 - Pearl Harbor hit theaters.
May 26th
1978 - The first casino in Atlantic City opened.
1984 - Deniece Williams’s single Let’s Hear It for the Boy hit number one.
1987 - Larry Bird had a famous steal in the NBA playoffs.
1990 - The series finale aired of The Tracey Ullman Show.
1992 - Mariah Carey’s single I’ll Be There was released.
1993 - Menace II Society hit theaters.
1993 - A home run bounced off Jose Canseco’s head and his career was never the same.
1994 - Bob Barker admitted to groping Price Is Right model Diane Parkinson.
1995 - Casper hit theaters.
1996 - Ghost Town DJs’ single My Boo was released.
My Boo peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1996… then surpassed that mark two decades later.
My Boo was a hit in 1996, but not a huge one. It peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer.
But then… in 2016, the song went viral as part of the social media “Running Man Challenge.” And with that, My Boo re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 — this time peaking at number 27.
1998 - The Supreme Court ruled Ellis Island is mostly in New Jersey.
2002 - Robert Horry hit a game-winning buzzer beater for the Lakers.
2002 - Eminem’s album The Eminem Show was released.
May 27th
1986 - Dragon Quest, the first notable RPG, was released in Japan.
1988 - The series finale aired of Punky Brewster.
Punky Brewster was named after a real person — and she got royalties for the use of her name.
Brandon Tartikoff, who was the head of NBC during the development of Punky Brewster, pushed for the character to be named after a girl he’d known in school. (He says “It was no crush” but who knows.)
Her name was Peyton (Punky was her nickname), and she wound up receiving royalties for the use of her name.
She also filmed a cameo in the show, playing Punky’s teacher.
1991 - The Chicago Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons as Michael Jordan went to his first NBA Finals.
1994 - The Flintstones movie hit theaters.
1994 - The series finale aired of the Arsenio Hall Show.
1995 - Christopher Reeve was paralyzed after falling off a horse.
1996 - Savage Garden’s single I Want You was released.
1996 - Scott Hall made a surprise appearance on WCW Monday Nitro to kick off the Monday Night Wars.
1997 - Puff Daddy’s single I’ll Be Missing You, LeAnn Rimes’s single How Do I Live, and Matchbox 20’s single Push were released.
1998 - Charlie Sheen was hospitalized after a drug overdose.
May 28th
1982 - Rocky III hit theaters.
1983 - Irene Cara’s single Flashdance... What a Feeling hit number one.
1987 - Whitney Houston’s album Whitney was released.
1988 - George Michael’s single One More Try hit number one.
1991 - Jodeci’s album Forever My Lady and NWA’s album N* 4 Life were both released.
1993 - Cliffhanger hit theaters.
1993 - The live-action Super Mario Bros. Movie hit theaters.
1995 - The series finale aired of Tiny Toon Adventures.
1998 - Phil Hartman was murdered.
1999 - Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper went on display in Italy after 22 years of restoration.
1999 - Notting Hill hit theaters.
Hugh Grant says he did not like kissing Julia Roberts in Notting Hill because “she has a very big mouth.”
He said in an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show, “Literally, physically, she has a very big mouth. When I was kissing her I was aware of a faint echo.”
He also disagreed when Oprah said Julia Roberts was “one of the nicest people I ever met.” Grant said, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
May 29th
1980 - Larry Bird was named NBA Rookie of the Year, beating Magic Johnson.
1987 - George Michael’s single I Want Your Sex was released.
1989 - Soul II Soul’s single Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) was released.
Back to Life was literally about coming back to life after a near-death experience.
Though Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) was a dance song, it was written by singer Caron Wheeler to describe an actual near-death experience she had.
She says, “I nearly died and literally came back to life and I was mad, because where I had gone in between that was so wonderful… I was mad, I was like, ‘Why do you want me here? However do you want me? What do you need from me?’ I was talking to my creator, but it sounds like a party song.”
1990 - Rickey Henderson set MLB’s all-time career stolen base record.
1992 - Sister Act hit theaters.
1992 - The Apple Newton was announced.
1993 - Jose Canseco was injured after convincing his manager on the Texas Rangers to let him pitch.
1995 - TLC’s single Waterfalls was released.
1998 - Jeff Buckley drowned while swimming.
1998 - Hope Floats and Almost Heroes hit theaters.
May 30th
1982 - Cal Ripken’s record-breaking consecutive games streak began.
1986 - Barry Bonds made his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1987 - The Rockers made their WWF debut.
1989 - Bobby Brown’s single On Our Own was released.
1994 - Kim Jong-Il shot a 38 under par with 11 holes-in-one in a round of golf.
1995 - Vanessa Williams’s single Colors of the Wind was released.
1997 - INOJ’s single Love You Down was released.
INOJ got her name from the backwards spelling of her secondary nickname.
INOJ is really Ayanna Porter, who was nicknamed Yanni as a kid. She decided to evolve and stylize that nickname and spell it Joni.
INOJ is “Joni” backwards, and is supposed to be pronounced “I know J.”
2003 - Finding Nemo hit theaters.
2003 - The Italian Job hit theaters.
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Check out the official trailers for…
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which comes to theaters on September 6th.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, which is on Netflix on July 3rd.
And Brats, Andrew McCarthy’s documentary about the Brat Pack. It comes out June 13th on Hulu.
Jeff Daniels says his agents told him not to take the Dumb and Dumber role — and Daniels himself was worried his toilet scene in the movie could end his career.
According to Michael Richards, in 1991, Jason Alexander threatened to quit Seinfeld when an episode (“The Pen”) didn’t include him.
Melissa Joan Hart says she feels “really guilty” about taking Britney Spears to her first club in 1999.
Kevin Costner says he remembers meeting Ben Affleck and Matt Damon when they were extras at Fenway Park during Field of Dreams. Sure he does.
Get Your Book-It Stickers Here
Recommended articles about ‘80s and ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, and never knew existed
Check out this deep dive into Clarissa’s bedroom on Clarissa Explains It All — and how it was the ideal ‘90s bedroom in every way.
Entertainment Weekly’s list of the 30 best dark comedies of all time has a strong ‘80s and ‘90s presence.
Did you know Leonardo DiCaprio starred in a Bubble Yum commercial in the late ‘80s. He did. This one. (Well, the second one in the linked video.)
Have a great week!
-Sam