Beetlejuice is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tim Burton, produced by the Geffen Company. The plot revolves around a recently deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who become ghosts haunting their former home, and devious poltergeist named Betelgeuse from the Netherworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants (Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Winona Ryder). Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, grossing US $73.7 million from a budget of US $15 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup, and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney.
On this day, thirty-three years ago, Whitney Houston’s “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” was the number-one song in the United States. It was the fourth single from her sophomore release, Whitney and became her seventh consecutive number-one single. Once released, Houston would hold the title of having the most number-one songs in the history of the Billboard popular music chart. Previously this record was held by both The Beatles and the Bee Gees; Whitney Houston has the honor of still holding this title to this day. Ironically, while this song put her over the edge of this victory, she hated this song for having inauthentic lyrics with “zero meaning.”
The second annual Kids Choice Awards was held in April of 1988. While the first ever Nickelodeon awards show was held in April of 1987, this would be the first year the ceremony would be titled the “Kids Choice Awards.” This ceremony was hosted by celebrities Tony Danza, Debbie Gibson, and Nickelodeon producers Brian Robinson and Dan Schneider. Eddie Murphy won the category of “Favorite Movie Actor,” for his performance in Beverly Hills Cop II, which also won the award for “Favorite Movie.” Whoopi Goldberg won “Favorite Movie Actress” for her performance in Fatal Beauty. While it didn’t win any categories, The Cosby Show was nominated for “Favorite Television Show.”
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired on Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC. The Cosby Show spent five seasons as the number-one rated show on television. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born April 27, 1988, known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter. She was born in Michigan Detroit, she then moved to Houston Texas, then from there moved to Minneapolis where she started her recording career. She attained mainstream success with the release of her third studio album, Cuz I Love You in 2019, which peaked inside the top five of the US Billboard 200.
On April 25th, 1988, radical feminist Valeria Solanas passed away from pneumonia at the Bristol Hotel, near San Francisco. An atypical activist, Solanas is most remembered for her assassination attempt on pop artist Andy Warhol. Prior to the attempt, she lived a fairly tragic life. As a child she was sexually abused by her father; after her parents’ divorce, she had an arduous relationship with her mother and stepfather. She was highly progressive for her time, having publicly come out as a lesbian in the 1950’s, and writing the absolutist SCUM Manifesto (1967). This writing contained extreme rhetoric which argued for the “eliminat[ion] of the male sex.” As for the assassination attempt on Andy Warhol, that conflict stemmed from various interactions they had in the 1960’s. Solanas tried to convince Warhol to produce a play she had written; later on, she accused him of trying to steal her work. As one does, she purchased a gun and shot him at his studio, on June 3rd 1968. Afterwards, Solanas turned herself into the police. She was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, pleading guilty to “reckless assault with intent to harm.” As captivating and tragic as this story is, it is a crucial reminder about the importance of mental health awareness. Such treatment for her childhood abuse wasn’t available as it is today; the progressions made in the field of mental health research has greatly benefited our society, and Valerie Solanas is a prime example of how far we’ve come since this period.
Writers: Micah Borrelli & Lucas Hydock
Miners Pub 