The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
June 18, 2021 • Issue 52
This week in nostalgic history
June 18th
28 years ago, on June 18th, 1993 - Last Action Hero hit theaters.
Every once in a while, Hollywood genuinely believes a movie is going to be a massive hit and just totally whiffs. Last Action Hero was one of those whiffs. After all, with Arnold Schwarzenegger starring in (what was believed to be) a razor sharp action comedy fresh off the heels of T2, how could things go wrong?
Well, things went wrong. Last Action Hero was a critical and commercial bomb, not just for the film itself but for all who did tie-ins (and bet their summer promotions on it) including Burger King and Mattel. And Last Action Hero joined the pantheon with movies like Waterworld, King Kong (2005), Evan Almighty, Hancock, and recently Cats as movies with gilded expectations that fell drastically short.
Also on June 18th: Sally Ride became the first American woman in space (1983)… Rick Astley’s single Together Forever hit #1 (1988)… Bryan Adams’ single Everything I Do, I Do It for You, from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack, was released (1991)… Beck’s album Odelay was released (1996)… Disney bought a 43 percent stake in the search engine Infoseek (1998)… Run Lola Run was released (1999)… Disney’s Tarzan hit theaters (1999)… The Fast and the Furious hit theaters (2001)
June 19th
43 years ago, on June 19th, 1978 - The Garfield comic strip debuted in newspapers.
In a matter of three panels, the first Garfield comic strip managed to convey its entire thesis for the next four decades and counting. (Even if it didn’t squeeze in Mondays or lasagna.)
The comic strip makes it clear the human thinks he’s in charge, Garfield thinks he’s in charge, and those conflicting agendas will be enough to produce thousands of comic strips, three TV shows, five movies, and even a shortly-lived food brand called GarfieldEATS.
Garfield is still running today and, at this point, might outlive newspapers.
Also on June 19th: Superman II hit theaters (1981)… Michael Jordan was selected 3rd in the NBA Draft (1984)… Roxanne hit theaters (1987)… Ben & Jerry’s announced Cherry Garcia ice cream (1987)… Michael Jackson performed in divided Berlin (1988)… Pablo Escobar surrendered to police (1991)… Barney & Friends premiered (1992)… Batman Returns hit theaters (1992)… Mulan hit theaters (1998)
June 20th
33 years ago, on June 20th, 1988 - Price Is Right model Janice Pennington was knocked out by a TV camera.
Janice Pennington had a long, but tough, run as a model on The Price Is Right; her 29 years (!) in the job were punctuated by a series of rough moments. Her husband Fritz died in 1975 while mountain climbing; in 1976, she ran off the Price Is Right stage crying when then-host Dennis James unknowingly referred to the mountain climber in Cliff Hangers as “Fritz.” She abruptly disappeared from the show in 2000, after which she sued for wrongful termination and received a settlement, one condition of which was she not ever speak about Bob Barker.
And in between, there was what happened on this day in 1988, when she was hit by a camera on set and knocked unconscious. She needed collarbone surgery which left her scarred, after which she no longer wore bathing suits on the show. She sued the show and received a $1.3 million award from a jury.
I couldn’t find much information about Janice today, other than she’s now 78 years old and living in her hometown of Seattle. The Price Is Right still uses models today, but now they’re co-ed, not called “Beauties,” and they wear microphones and talk.
Also on June 20th: Jaws hit theaters (1975)… the controversial movie Blue Lagoon was released as was the Blues Brothers (1980)… the record was set for the song with the longest title ever to hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (1981)… Karate Kid 2 hit theaters (1986)… Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s single Head to Toe hit number one (1987)… the video game Bionic Commando was released (1988)… Bobby Brown’s album Don’t Be Cruel, featuring My Prerogative and Every Little Step, was released (1988)… the B-52’s single Love Shack was released (1989)… Prince’s soundtrack to Batman was released (1989)… Mariah Carey’s single I’ll Be There was released (1992)… the Chicago Bulls won their third consecutive title, defeating the Phoenix Suns (1993)… O.J. Simpson plead innocent (1994)… Batman and Robin hit theaters, as did My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
June 21st
36 years ago, on June 21st, 1985 - Chef Boyardee passed away.
Unlike, say, Mr. Peanut or The Noid, Chef Boyardee was both a brand mascot and a real person. His name was Ettore Boiardi, and he emigrated to the U.S. from Italy at age 16. He worked his way up to become the head chef at the Plaza Hotel, then moved to Cleveland to open his first restaurant, and eventually started premium canning his sauce for mass distribution. Somehow, that eventually turned into canning cheap pasta for real mass distribution.
On this day in 1985, he passed away at age 87 from natural causes… with a net worth of around $60 million. And, of course, the Chef Boyardee brand is still going as strong as ever today. It even got a little boost of popularity during the early days of the pandemic thanks to those delightful scamps we called hoarders.
Also on June 21st: Cocoon hit theaters (1985)… Bo Jackson officially became a two-sport pro athlete when he signed with the Kansas City Royals (1986)… the L.A. Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons to win the NBA championship (1988)… Jon Bon Jovi had his only solo #1 bit with Blaze of Glory (1990)… the finale of the first season of Seinfeld aired (1990)… The Rocketeer hit theaters (1991)… Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame hit theaters (1996)… Bob Carlisle’s one hit, Butterfly Kisses, peaked at #10 (1997)… the WNBA debuted as the New York Liberty defeated the L.A. Sparks (1997)
June 22nd
27 years ago, on June 22nd, 1994 - The Houston Rockets won the NBA Championship over the New York Knicks.
I’ve talked about some of the more mainstream NBA conspiracy theories over this year of writing The Retro, like Michael Jordan’s mysterious mid-career hiatus and the potentially-rigged first NBA Draft Lottery. Today in 1994 we saw another of the ‘80s and ‘90s NBA conspiracies: The John Starks point shaving conspiracy.
The 1994 NBA Championship series went the full seven games, and while Patrick Ewing was the clear MVP for the Knicks throughout the playoffs and the series, the Knicks’ shooting guard, John Starks, was a close second. Starks had a great series... for six games. On this day, in game seven, Starks shot just 2-for-18, including 0-for-10 in the fourth quarter and 0-for-11 on three-pointers. He ended the game with eight points, less than half of his average for the series, and the Knicks lost the game by six — and lost the championship to the Rockets.
So how was Starks so bad? Did he succumb to game seven nerves… or was there something else at play? Point shaving rumors bubbled, but never really went anywhere and remained a low level ‘90s NBA conspiracy. Starks continued to bounce around the NBA until 2002… and the Knicks still haven’t won an NBA Championship since 1973.
Also on June 22nd: John McEnroe gave his famous “You cannot be serious” rant (1981)… the Karate Kid hit theaters (1984)… Bryan Adams’ single Heaven hit number one (1985)… Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” led Argentina past England in the World Cup (1986)… Who Framed Roger Rabbit? hit theaters (1988)… Florida banned thong bikinis (1990)… Adam Sandler joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1990)… Cypress Hill’s single Insane in the Brain was released (1993)… the U.S. upset Colombia for its first World Cup win since 1950 (1994)… the video game Quake was released (1996)… K-Ci and JoJo’s album It’s Real and Christina Aguilera’s single Genie in a Bottle were released (1999)
June 23rd
30 years ago, on June 23rd, 1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog was released for Sega Genesis.
Sonic the Hedgehog was, essentially, Sega’s attempt at a Poochie Mario. Everything about the character feels like it was created around a board room table in a half-step-shy-of-desperate attempt to make the coolest possible kid-friendly signature video game character.
But… in a rare case of bureaucratic cool think actually working, Sonic was a hit. Sonic the Hedgehog would never hit the Mario level; that was impossible. But kids did immediately accept Sonic as Sega’s headline character, buying up almost one million copies of the game by Christmas of 1991 and nearly two million by March of 1992.
There have now been more than 25 Sonic games — including a franchise centered around the Olympics which features both Sonic and his one-time aspirational rival Mario. There was also a surprisingly successful Sonic movie last year, with a sequel to come next year.
Also on June 23rd: The Knack’s single My Sharona was released (1979)… David Letterman’s short-lived daytime talk show debuted (1980)… Duran Duran’s single The Reflex hit number one (1984)… Batman hit theaters, as did Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)… New Kids on the Block trashed their hotel room (1989)… Lorena Bobbit lopped off her husband, John Wayne Bobbit’s, genitalia (1993)… the third season of MTV’s The Real World, set in San Francisco, debuted (1994)… the Nintendo 64 debuted in Japan (1996)… “Stone Cold” Steve Austin gave his career-launching “Austin 3:16” promo (1996)… Matchbox 20’s single Real World was released (1998)
June 24th
24 years ago, on June 24th, 1997 - Shawn Colvin’s ultra-successful one hit, Sunny Came Home, was released.
The ‘90s had plenty (plenty!) of one-hit wonders. But as far as I can tell, Shawn Colvin was the only one-hit wonder of the ‘90s — and maybe the only one-hit wonder ever — whose one hit dominated the Grammys.
Sunny Came Home, the fictional story of a woman who burns down her house as a way of conquering the demons of her past, was a commercial and critical success. The song made it to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and then went on to win the two major song awards at the Grammys: Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
It beat out a few other one-hit wonders, including Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? by Paula Cole and MMMBop by Hanson, along with other songs like No Doubt’s Don’t Speak, R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly, and LeAnn Rimes’s How Do I Live.
And then, when Shawn Colvin went on stage to accept her award for Song of the Year, she was interrupted by Ol’ Dirty Bastard storming the stage to complain that Wu-Tang Clan lost to Puff Daddy earlier in the night.
It just fits in with nothing about the rise of Sunny Came Home making that much sense.
Shawn Colvin’s career continued (and continues to this day), although she never had another hit song. She was nominated for another Grammy though; in 2009, her Shawn Colvin Live album was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Also on June 24th: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled a president cannot be sued for their actions in office (1982)… Porky’s III hit theaters (1983)… the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL folded (1987)… Spaceballs hit theaters (1987)… Richard Marx’s single Satisfied hit number one (1989)… New Kinds on the Block’s Donnie Wahlberg fell through a trap door on stage (1990)… Shaquille O’Neal was the number one pick in the NBA Draft (1992)… Wyatt Earp hit theaters (1994)… Nicki French’s cover of Total Eclipse of the Heart peaked at #2 (1995)… the New Jersey Devils won their first Stanley Cup (1995)… Sister Hazel’s single All For You was released, as was 98 Degrees’ single Invisible Man (1997)… the U.S. Air Force released a report unequivocally denying aliens or UFOs at the mysterious Area 51 (1997)… Michael Olowokandi was infamously the number one pick in the NBA Draft (1998)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
There’s a new Spice Girls EP called Wannabe25 coming out next month in honor of the 25th anniversary of Wannabe. It will feature a new song with all five original Spice Girls.
There’s a Perfect Strangers reboot in the works at HBO Max.
John Cleese was almost cast as King Richard for a cameo at the end Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. (Sean Connery ultimately got the role.)
Kevin Bacon will play the bad guy in the Toxic Avenger reboot.
John Stockton went viral yesterday (possibly literally) for starring in a trailer for an anti-COVID vaccine/anti-mask documentary. So that’s what’s going on with John Stockton these days.
Highway to Heaven is being rebooted by Lifetime.
Throwbacks and recommendations
Salon.com posted a tribute to Mel Brooks and History of the World, Part 1 in honor of the movie’s 40th anniversary.
There’s a new fan edit of the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie featuring 20 minutes of lost footage that supposedly makes the movie better. (I haven’t watched, but you can read all about it.)
Spotify revealed its most played TV soundtracks and most played TV theme songs. Although it’s kinda cheating when the theme song is a real song. Like… I’m pretty sure Carry On Wayward Son hasn’t been streamed 363 million times because people just love the opening credits of Supernatural.
Here’s the strange story from the ‘80s of when Peter Falk had to give a speech to the people of Romania to promise more episodes of Columbo were coming to stop an uprising.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam