What Happened in December 1983

Historical Events

Marilyn: An American Fable

Dec 3 Musical "Marilyn: An American Fable", loosely based on life of Marilyn Monroe, starring Alyson Reed and Scott Bakula, closes at Minskoff Theatre, NYC, after 17 performances

Dec 4 David Shire & Richard Maltby, Jr.'s musical "Baby" opens at Barrymore Theater, NYC; runs for 241 performances

Amen Corner

Dec 4 Garry Sherman and Peter Udell's musical "Amen Corner", based on James Baldwin's drama "The Amen Corner", closes at Nederlander Theatre after 28 performances

Dec 4 NJ Devils 1st shut-out, beating Minnesota North Stars 6-0
Dec 4 US jet fighters strike Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon
Dec 5 12 killed by a car bomb shattering 9-story building in west Beirut
Dec 5 ICIMOD established and inaugurated with its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.
Dec 5 LA Dodger pitcher Steve Howe is suspended for 1 year for cocaine use
Dec 6 A bomb planted on a bus in Jerusalem explodes, kills 6 Israelis
Dec 7 2 jets collided at Madrid Airport killing 93
Dec 7 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
Dec 8 9th NASA Space Shuttle Mission: Columbia 6 lands at Edwards AFB
Dec 8 Richard Baker, Zen teacher, steps down from abbotship of San Francisco Zen Center

Reagan Aide on Soup Kitchens

Dec 9 Counselor to Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese says people go to soup kitchens "because food is free & that's easier than paying for it"

Author and US Attorney General Edwin Meese

Dec 9 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Dec 10 American cytogeneticist Barbara McClintock, aged 81, is the first woman to be solely awarded Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of genetic transposition in maize [1]

Navratilova Wins 8th Grand Slam

Dec 10 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins 8th career Grand Slam singles event; beats Kathy Jordan of the US 6-2, 7-6

Nobel Prize for Wałęsa

Dec 10 Danuta Walesa, wife of Lech Wałęsa, accepts his Nobel Peace Prize

Polish Politician and Labor Activist Lech Wałęsa

Dec 10 Last NFL game at Shea Stadium; Steelers beat NY Jets 34-7
Dec 10 Raul Alfonsin inaugurated as Argentina's 1st civilian president

First Lutheran Church Visit

Dec 11 1st visit to Lutheran church by a pope (John Paul II in Rome)

Wilander's 2nd Grand Slam

Dec 11 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander of Sweden wins 2nd career Grand Slam title; beats Ivan Lendl 6-1, 6-4, 6-4

Tennis Player and Seven-Time Major Champion Mats Wilander

Tennis Player and Eight-Time Major Champion Ivan Lendl

Dec 12 5th ACE Cable Awards: The VII International Tchaikovsky Competition by Robert Dalrymple and Ken Locker
Dec 12 A truck bomb explodes at US Embassy in Kuwait
Dec 13 9,655 see highest-scoring NBA game: Detroit 186, Denver 184 (3 OT)
Dec 13 Islander's Butch Goring scorings 4 goals against Oilers
Dec 13 KYA-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KOIT
Dec 13 Martha Layne Collins inaugurated as Kentucky's 1st female governor

Sikwood

Dec 14 Biographical drama film "Silkwood", directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher premieres

Peg

Dec 14 Peggy Lee's one-woman show "Peg" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC; runs for 5 performances

Dec 15 Last 80 US combat soldiers in Grenada withdrawn
Dec 15 MLB suspends 3 Kansas City Royals players - Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens, and Jerry Martin - due to cocaine usage
Dec 15 Space shuttle Columbia flies to Kennedy Space Center via El Paso, Kelly AFB

Isn't It Romantic

Dec 15 Wendy Wasserstein's play "Isn't It Romantic" premieres in NYC

Dec 16 Riverside, California judge denies cerebral palsy victim Elizabeth Bouviato request to starve herself to death in a county hospital
Dec 16 Spokesperson for rock band "The Who" announces the group is disbanding

Yogi Berra for NY Yankees

Dec 16 Yogi Berra named New York Yankees manager for 2nd time

Dec 17 Disco in Madrid catches fire; 83 die

Gretsky's 800th Point

Dec 17 In his 352nd NHL game, Wayne Gretzky scores a goal & 5 assists in 8-1 rout of Quebec Nordiques to record his 800th point and 500th assist; averages 2.27 points, 1.42 assists, 0.85 goals per game to start career

Dec 17 Peggy Lee's one-woman show "Peg" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC, after 5 performances
Dec 17 The Provisional IRA bombs Harrods department store in London, killing six people and injuring 90
Dec 18 NBA San Diego Clippers ends 29 game road losing streak
Dec 19 The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro
Dec 20 El Salvador adopts constitution

Lafleur Scores 500

Dec 20 Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens, becomes 10th NHLer to score 500 goals

Dec 20 NY Islanders score their most goals (11) vs Pitts Penguins

PLO Evacuate Lebanon

Dec 20 PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and 4,000 loyalists evacuate Lebanon

Dec 21 Musical "Tap Dance Kid" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 669 performances
Dec 21 NCAA rules rescinded last 2-minute men's basketball free throw rule
Dec 22 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak meets with PLO leader Yasser Arafat
Dec 22 Indiana Pacers win, 133-132 in Denver to end a 28 NBA game losing streak on the road
Dec 22 NHL NY Islanders score 3 shorthanded goals against Washington Capitols
Dec 23 Journal "Science" publishes 1st report on nuclear winter
Dec 25 1st live telecast of Christmas Parade at the EPCOT Centre, Disney World Florida
Dec 26 Test Cricket debut of Gregory Richard John Matthews, v Pakistan at the MCG
Dec 26 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

Ballon d'Or

Dec 27 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' French midfielder Michel Platini claims first of 3 trophies for Europe's best football player ahead of Liverpool midfielder Kenny Dalgleish and Vejle BK striker Allan Simonsen

Dec 27 Pope John Paul II pardons man who shot him (Mehmet Ali Agca)
Dec 27 Propane gas fire devastated 16 blocks of Buffalo
Dec 28 72nd Davis Cup: Australia beats Sweden in Melbourne (3-2)
Dec 28 US threatens to leave UNESCO after objecting to its domination by a coalition of third world and Soviet bloc nations
Dec 28 Warren Cromartie signs 3 year $2.5M contract with Yomiuri Giants
Dec 29 2nd College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 19-18 in Memphis
Dec 29 Australian cricket batsman Graham Yallop completes a painstaking 268 (716 mins) v Pakistan in the drawn 4th Test in Melbourne

Gavaskar Surpasses Bradman

Dec 29 Indian cricket opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar scores an unbeaten 236 in drawn 6th Test v West Indies at Chennai; his 4th Test double century and 30th century, surpassing Don Bradman's record of 29

Dec 29 US formally notifies UNESCO that it will withdraw from the organization on the Jan 1, 1985, in protest over perceived anti-Western bias, efforts to restrict press freedom and wasteful management methods

1st African American NY Police Commissioner

Dec 31 Benjamin Ward appointed 1st African American NY City Police Commissioner by Mayor Ed Koch

Congressman and Mayor of New York City Ed Koch

Dec 31 Brunei gains complete independence from Britain
Dec 31 Jose Happart installed as mayor of Voeren, Belgium
Dec 31 Nigeria's National Assembly dissolves after military coup

Nigeria's Shagari Overthrown

Dec 31 President Shagari of Nigeria is overthrown in a military coup and Major General Muhammadu Buhari is installed as Head of State

Events in 1983

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Kristen Kish, Korean-born American chef (2012 winner Top Chef), born in Seoul, South Korea
Dec 1 Rita Lavelle, American politician figure (as head of EPA convicted of perjury in "Sewergate" scandal), born in Portsmouth, Virginia

Aaron Rodgers (40 years old)

Dec 2 American NFL quarterback (NFL MVP 2011, 14; Super Bowl MVP 2010; Green Bay Packers), born in Chico, California

Dec 2 Chris Burke, Scottish soccer winger (7 caps; Rangers F.C., Kilmarnock), born in Glasgow, Scotland
Dec 3 Sherri DuPree-Bemis, American pop-rock singer-songwriter (Eisley), born in Tyler, Texas
Dec 3 Stephen Donald, New Zealand rugby union fly-half/centre (25 caps; Chiefs, Bath), born in Papakura, New Zealand
Dec 4 Chinx [Lionel Pickens], American rapper (Coke Boys), born in Queens, New York (d. 2015)
Dec 4 Jimmy Bartel, Australian Rules Football utility and broadcaster (Brownlow Medal 2007; Norm Smith Medal 2011 AFL Premiership 2007, 09, 11, Geelong FC), born in Geelong, Australia
Dec 6 Ashley Madekwe, English actress (Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Revenge), born in London, England
Dec 8 Liu Song, Chinese snooker player, born in Beijing, China
Dec 8 Neel Jani, Swiss racing driver, born in Rorschach, Switzerland
Dec 9 Dariusz Dudka, Polish footballer, born in Kostrzyn, Poland
Dec 9 Jermaine Beckford, Jamaican soccer striker (6 caps; Leeds United, Everton, Leicester City), born in London, England
Dec 10 Habib Mohamed, Ghanaian footballer
Dec 10 Katrin Siska, Estonian pop-rock singer and keyboard player (Vanilla Ninja - "Tough Enough"), born in Tallinn, Estonia
Dec 10 Patrick Flueger, American actor
Dec 10 Zé Kalanga, Angolan footballer
Dec 11 Yoh Miyamori, Japanese musician (Orange Range), born in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Dec 12 Katrina Elam, American country music singer, born in Bray, Oklahoma
Dec 13 Matt Deis, American rock bassist (All That Remains), born in Peterborough, New Hampshire
Dec 13 Otylia Jędrzejczak, Polish swimmer (Olympic gold 2004), born in Ruda Śląska, Śląskie, Poland
Dec 15 Brooke Fraser (Ligertwood), New Zealand singer-songwriter ("Something in the Water"), born in Wellington, New Zealand
Dec 15 Camilla Luddington, British-American actress (Grey's Anatomy - "Dr. Jo Wilson"), born in Ascot, England
Dec 15 René Duprée [Goguen], Canadian professional wrestler, born in Moncton, New Brunswick

Ronnie Radke (40 years old)

Dec 15 American punk-metal singer (Escape The Fate; Falling In Reverse), born in Las Vegas, Nevada

Dec 15 Wang Hao, Chinese table tennis player (World C'ship gold 2009; Olympic silver, 2004, 08, 12), born in Changchun, Jilin Province, China
Dec 16 Danielle Lloyd, English beauty queen, fashion model, and television personality, born in Liverpool, England
Dec 16 Joshua Roman, American classical cellist, born in Oklahoma
Dec 16 Kelenna Azubuike, Nigerian-American NBA basketball player, 2017-12 (Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks), born in London, England
Dec 18 Ady Barkan, American lawyer and activist (Medicare for all)
Dec 20 Adrián Varela, Mexican singer, born in Culiacán, Mexico
Dec 20 Darren Sammy, St. Lucian West Indies cricketer, born in Micoud Quarter, Saint Lucia

Jonah Hill (40 years old)

Dec 20 American actor (Superbad, Moneyball, The Wolf of Wall Street), born in Los Angeles, California

Dec 20 Lara Stone, Dutch model, born in Geldrop, Netherlands
Dec 20 Lucy Pinder, English model and actress, born in Hampshire, England
Dec 21 Steven Yeun, Korean American actor (The Walking Dead; Minari), born in Seoul, South Korea
Dec 22 Jennifer Hawkins, Australian Miss Universe, born in Holmesville, Australia
Dec 23 Hanley Ramírez, Dominican baseball player, born in Samaná, Dominican Republic
Dec 23 Michael Chopra, English footballer, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Alexander Wang (40 years old)

Dec 26 American fashion designer (Balenciaga), born in San Francisco, California

Dec 27 Cole Hamels, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 2007, 11, 12, 16; World Series MVP & NLCS MVP 2008 Philadelphia Phillies; pitched no-hitter 2015 Texas Rangers), born in San Diego, California
Dec 28 Mike He, Taiwanese actor, born in Taiwan, Taiwan
Dec 29 Jessica Andrews, American country music singer, born in Wynne, Arkansas

Kevin Systrom (40 years old)

Dec 30 American entrepreneur, computer programmer and co-founder of Instagram, born in Holliston, Massachusetts

Dec 30 Rachel & Ross Trudeau, twins of Jane Pauley & Gerry Trudeau

Born in 1983

Dec 22 American "Hardy Boys" actor Parker Stevenson (30) weds American actress Kirstie Alley (31); divorce in 1997

Johnny Depp

Dec 24 Actor Johnny Depp (20) weds Lori Anne Allison

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Leon Mirsky, Russian-British mathematician (Mirsky's theorem), dies at 64
Dec 2 Atholl Mckinnon, South African cricket spin bowler (8 Tests, 26 wickets), dies from a heart attack at 51
Dec 2 Fifi D'Orsay [Yvonne Lussier] Canadian-American vaudeville and film actress and singer known as the "French Bombshell" (The Life Jimmy Dolan; Dixie Jamboree), dies from cancer at 79
Dec 3 Al Watrous, American golfer (British Open 1926 runner-up), dies at 84
Dec 4 Bruce Drake, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Oklahoma 1938-55, 200-181), dies at 77
Dec 4 Estelle Omens, American actress (Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds), dies at 55
Dec 5 Robert Aldrich, American director and producer (The Dirty Dozen, Last Sunset), dies at 65
Dec 6 Lucienne Boyer, French singer (Parlez-moi d'amour), dies at 82
Dec 7 Edgar Graham, member of N Ireland Assembly, shot dead by IRA
Dec 7 Fanny Cano, Mexican actress (b. 1944)

Keith Holyoake (1904-1983)

Dec 8 26th Prime Minister of New Zealand (National: 1960-72), dies of a stroke at 79

Dec 8 Slim Pickens [Louis Burton Lindley Jr], American rodeo performer and actor (Dr Strangelove; Blazing Saddles), dies following surgery at 64
Dec 9 David Rounds, American actor (Terence-Beacon Hill, Alice, The Blue and The Grey), dies of cancer at 53
Dec 10 Dorothy Cummings, actress (Dancing Mothers), dies at 84
Dec 10 Patrick O'Moore, actor (Jungle Gents), dies at 74
Dec 11 Neil Ritchie, British General (commanded British Eighth Army in North Africa in WWII), dies at 86
Dec 11 Szymon Laks, Polish composer (head of prisoners orchestra at Auschwitz), dies at 82
Dec 13 Alexander Schmemann, Orthodox Christian priest and theologian (b. 1921)
Dec 13 Leora Dana, American actress (3:10 to Yuma, Pollyanna), dies at 60
Dec 13 Mary Renault [Challans], British author (King Must Die, Funeral games), dies at 78
Dec 13 Nichita Stanescu, Romanian poet (b. 1933
Dec 15 Jimmy McLin, American jazz banjo player, and guitarist (James P. Johnson; Willie "The Lion" Smith; The Ink Spots), dies at 75
Dec 15 “Big Chief” Russell Moore, Pima-American jazz trombonist (Lionel Hampton; Louis Armstrong), and composer ("Wounded Knee Chant"), dies at 70
Dec 16 Grigori Aleksandrov, Russian film director (Veselye Rebjata), dies at 80
Dec 16 Kusan Sunim, who found Milae Sa temple/Bulsung Sa Zen in Korea, dies at 74
Dec 17 Erik Christensen, NHL player
Dec 20 John Vivyan, American actor (Mr Lucky, Wrong Man, Imitation of Life), dies at 68
Dec 21 Paul de Man, Belgian literary critic, dies at 64
Dec 21 Rod Cameron [Nathan Roderick Cox], Canadian actor (City Detective, State Trooper, Trigger Trail), dies of cancer at 73
Dec 23 Colin Middleton, Northern Irish artist (b. 1910)
Dec 25 Joan Miro, Spanish painter and sculptor, dies at his home in Majorca at 90
Dec 26 Violet Carson, British actress (b. 1898)
Dec 27 Walter Scott, American singer (Bob Kuban), murdered at 40
Dec 28 Dennis Wilson, American drummer and singer (Beach Boys), drowns at 39

Jimmy Demaret (1910-1983)

Dec 28 American golfer (US Masters 1940, 47, 50), dies of a heart attack at 73

Dec 28 William Demarest, American actor (My 3 Sons), dies from pneumonia and prostate cancer at 91
Dec 31 Frank Link, actor (Burns & Schreiber Comedy Show), dies at 46

What Happened in 1983

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April 25, 1983

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