The Eighties: A Retrospective

POLITICS

1. At the end of one of his cabinet meetings open to the press, many reporters distinctly heard Ronald Reagan mutter "sons o' bitches" into a live microphone. When pressed on the matter later, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said the press had misheard Reagan. What did Speakes claim the Gipper actually said?

2. According to his father, what was Gary Hart's nickname when he was a child? (Remember, he was Gary Hartpence then.)
   "Gary Hotpants."

3. "The Monkey Business" was the name of the ship that Hart and Donna Rice sailed out to the Bahamas on. What was the name of the ship that it met at the Bahamas, where Hart spent the night?

4. According to Nancy, what were the Reagans doing when NBC declared them the winners of the 1980 election?

SPORTS

5. Who won the Olympic 1600 meter race in which Zola Budd tripped up Mary Decker? What country was she from?
   Gabriella Dorio, Italy (it's actually a 1,500-meter race; the relays are 1,600).

6. Believe it or not, the U.S. Lake Placid Olympic hockey team did not have a perfect record in Olympic competition. What was their one blemish, and who was it against?

7. Doug Flutie got his Heisman mostly from The Pass. Who caught the ball? Who was the opposing quarterback?
   Gerald Whelan; Bernie Kosar...... and Flutie had some phenomenal passing records before that play, so don't you be going dissing li'l Dougie!

8. Why, according to the New York Times, did Tim Raines slide into bases headfirst?
   To avoid damaging the cocaine he kept in his back pockets.

9. The year was 1986. It was the bottom of the tenth inning, two outs, and the Red Sox were up by three runs over the New York Mets in Game 6 of the World Series. The Yawkeys were waiting outside the Sox locker room with champagne to celebrate. NBC had already named its most valuable player of the Series. Who was it?
   Bruce Hurst. (Incidentally, the Red Sox were only up by two runs.)

MOVIES

10. What classic 1980s movie featured a cameo appearance by Kevin Costner's forehead, and why?
    "The Big Chill"-- Costner played Alex the dead friend, but was cut out of the film (except for the opening funeral parlor sequence).

11. What was Michael J. Fox's first movie? What other first was it?

12. Who was the only actor/actress this decade to win both the Best Actor/Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Academy Award for the same movie? What was the movie?

13. Who was originally cast by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to be Indiana Jones?
    Tom Selleck.

14. Every March, before the Academy Awards, the Golden Raspberries are presented, to honor the worst in motion pictures. Who was named worst actor of the decade by this prestigious organization? Worst actress?

MUSIC

15. The eighties spawned corporate rock. Which group had the first corporate sponsor for its tour? What product was the sponsor?

16. OK, everybody remembers that Band-Aid was the name of the all-star British group that recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and that USA For Africa was the name of the all-star American band that recorded "We Are the World." But, what was the name of the all-star heavy metal group that recorded a famine relief song in 1985?
    Hear'N Aid.

17. Every "Love Boat" fan (and we know you're out there) is familiar with the Jack Jones recording of "The Love Boat Theme." BUT, Jack did not sing it the last year the show ran (which was, unbelievably enough, in 1986). What pop star did sing the theme that year?
    Dionne Warwick.

18. Who did Madonna dedicate her "Like a Virgin" album to?

TELEVISION

19. Who was the first guest on "The David Letterman Show"?
    Bill Murray.

20. Ken Olin is now known as the star of "thirtysomething." This was not, however, his first continuing role in a 1980s TV show. What other classic 1980s show did Olin have a feature role in for a spell?
    "Hill Street Blues" if they're being sincere; "Falcon Crest" if they're not.

21. What's the real name of the Church Lady?
    Enid Strict.

22. For a brief period in early 1984, Clara Peller skyrocketed to fame with her famous line, "Where's the beef?" in a Wendy's commercial? What was the name of the restaurant in the commercial?

23. Of the "M*A*S*H" crew, who was the last to leave Korea, and why?
    Klinger, because he'd married a South Korean woman.

MEDIA

24. Who graced the first cover of "Life" this decade? The last?

25. What's the name of the 35,000-year-old spirit that J.Z. Knight claims to "channel"? What's the name of the spirit that Boopsie of "Doonesbury" claims to channel?
    Ramthar; Gorto.

ACTORS AND POLITICIANS

26. Ronald Reagan was not the only former television actor (he was the host of "General Electric Theater") to burst into politics this decade. Name the two former actors who are now U.S. representatives, their roles on TV, and the states they represent.
    Fred "Gopher" Grandy and George "Goober" Lindsey; you do the rest.

27. Ronald also wasn't the only member of his family to act this decade. Two of his children actually had regular roles on soap operas. Name the children and the soap operas.

28. How did Lady Di screw up her wedding vows to Prince Chuck? (Be specific.)
    Well, that she said them at all surely qualifies. But the answer is that she said, "I Diana, take you, Phillip Charles....", reversing his first two names.

COMICS

29. "Bloom County" (1980-89, RIP) ended in 1989. Still, the major characters did get jobs elsewhere in the comics industry. Where did Milo, Oliver, Portnoy, Hodge-Podge, and Steve Dalls find work?
    Steve Dallas -- Cathy; Oliver -- Family Circus

JEOPARDY

30. Birch Bayh
    Who is the Senator who lost his 1980 campaign to a freckle-faced lad named Daniel Quayle, thereby launching the political career of the age?

31. Kristin Shepard (or Mary Crosby)
    "Who shot J.R.?"

32. Gregory Cousins

33. "Stern" magazine
    What brave publication broke the exclusive story of the Secret Hitler Diaries?

34. Suzette Charles
    What upstanding woman filled in as Miss America, after Vanessa Williams' nude photos surfaced in "Penthouse," thus making many Americans upstanding?

35. August 16, 1987

36. Marilyn Barnett

THEY SAID IT

37. "So many religions look after the poor. Leave the rich to me!"

38. "No one really knows what's going on with all these numbers."
    David Stockdale, explaining the intricate U.S. budget process.

39. "Why is the world so upset about this minor affair? It's a small police action. We have a few soldiers guarding roads and bridges, that's all."

40. "Every good Christian ought to kick Falwell in the ass."

41. "When you help the shepherd, you're helping the sheep."
    The Rev. Jim Bakker, explaining why he needed to get Biblical with a semi-drugged Jessica Hahn.