Hot l Baltimore (a neon sign Hotel Baltimore with "e" burnt out) premiered January 24, 1975 on ABC. It was produced by Norman Lear and became the first series to feature a gay couple in a recurring role. It also included primary characters who were prostitutes, one of whom was an illegal immigrant.
It starred Lee Bergere and Henry Calvert as a middled-aged gay couple. James Cromwell was the desk clerk and Conchata Ferrell as a prostitute. Charlotte Rae appeared as Mrs. Bellotti.
Unfortunately, the series never gained an audience and was canceled after just 13 episodes.
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, born May 2, 1975 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, went into space in 2010. She graduated from Fort Collins High School and attended Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, graduating in 1997.
She was selected by NASA in 2004. She went into space aboard Discovery (STS-131) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in April 2010. She returned to Earth after 15 days in space.
Sergey Prokopyev, born February 19, 1975 in the former Soviet Union, has been in space twice, spending over 567 days in space.
His first mission was aboard Soyuz MS-09 as commander to the International Space Station in June 2018. He remained on board, participating in Expeditions 56 and 57, before returning to Earth in December 2018.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz MS-22 as commander in September 2022 to the ISS. He participated in Expeditions 67-69, spending a year in space, before returning to Earth in September 2023 aboard Soyuz MS-23.
Francisco "Frank" Rubio, born December 11, 1975 in Los Angeles, California, went in to space aboard Soyuz MS-22, in September 2022 to the International Space Station. While on board he participated in Expeditions 67-69. His mission was scheduled to last about six months, but damage to the spacecraft extended his mission. He returned to Earth on Soyuz MS-23 in September 2023, spending almost 371 days in space. He is the first American to spend more than a year in space.
The king of cult movies, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, was released into US theaters September 26, 1975, after opening in the UK the month prior. Written by Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien, who played Riff-Raff, the movie is based on the 1973 musical stage production about an engaged couple whose car breaks down near a spooky castle. They go there to call for help and strange antics ensue.
The movie starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and Meat Loaf. It was a failure when it was initially released, but over the years has grown into one of the largest movie franchises. It is still shown around the country at midnight showings, making it the longest theatrical release in history.
In 2005, it was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
KC and the Sunshine Band's first #1 hit Get Down Tonight reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 August 30, 1975. It was released on their second album KC and the Sunshine Band in February of that year. It also reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles, Cash Box, and Record World.
Jolene Blalock, born March 5, 1975 in San Diego, California, is best known for her role as T'Pol in the Star Trek series Enterprise. She began her career as a model, but then turned to acting when she began to appear in commercials.
In 2002, she won two Saturn Awards (Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films) for Best Supporting Actress andCinescape Genre Face of the Future Award for her work on Star Trek: Enterprise.
MFSB released their biggest hit, TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) February 6, 1974. It is an awesome instrumental disco song with strings and horns. The Three Degrees provide background vocals. It was written by Gamble and Huff to be the theme song for Soul Train.
It was the first television theme song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
MFSB won the Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance at the 17th Grammy Awards held March 1, 1975.
Spooky and controversial thriller, The Stepford Wives, was released in US theaters February 12, 1975. Based on Ira Levin's 1972 novel of the same name, it is the story about a woman who relocates with her husband and children to a picturesque, idyllic town in Connecticut, where the women are the "perfect wives". By 'perfect', they mean 'completely submissive'.
Katharine Ross, Paula Prentiss, and Tina Louise appear as some of the wives in Stepford.
Feminist groups were not pleased with the movie for its misogynistic tones, but many applaud it for its satire of domestic homelife, where men only want women with big breasts, frequent sex, and delicious meals.
Katharine Ross won a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films for Best Actress. The Stepford Wives was nominated for a Saturn for Best Science Fiction Film but lost to Rollerball.
My girls showed up again on the Carol Burnett Show February 8, 1975. This time they are the panel for the game show Up Your Income as the Shana-Nana-Noonie Sisters. Ruth, Bonnie, and Anita appeared in the skit.
Watch Stella Toddler and the Pointer Sisters in Up Your Income!
I've always liked Raquel Welch. Though I'm not familiar with much of her work, my favorite movies of hers are The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, which unfortunately her character does not survive.
But the movies let her showcase her talent and it worked. Ms. Welch won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for her work as Constance Bonacieux in The Three Musketeers. She had some stiff competition for the award. Lucille Ball, Helen Hayes, and Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein).
The Three Musketeers was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. I'm a little shocked that these were the only two nominations this movie received. Faye Dunaway was nominated for her work in Chinatown, but got snubbed for her work on The Three Musketeers.
I could not find an image or a clip of her accepting her win, so I settled for a still from the movie and the catfight between her and Faye Dunaway.
Robert Hines, born January 11, 1975 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is a NASA astronaut and went into space aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom. He piloted Freedom and docked with the International Space Station in April 2022 and remained there with the rest of the crew until they returned to Earth in October, after spending over 170 days in space.
Hey, I'm a child of the seventies, back when disco was king! These are the songs we cranked up loud whenever they came on the radio. KC and the Sunshine Band's single That's the Way (I Like It) reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 22, 1975. It stayed at #1 for a week, then got replaced by Silver Convention's Fly, Robin, Fly the following week. Three weeks later, That's the Way (I Like It) reached #1 for a second time for a week.
It was released June 10, 1975 from their second studio album KC and the Sunshine Band.
One of my favorite episodes of Isis, No Drums, No Trumpets, first aired November 15, 1975. I like it because the climax isn't Isis saving a dopey teenager from doing something stupid. That's actually how the episode begins, which is a strange but welcome turn. The episode ends with Isis actually using her powers to fight crime. Watch the episode below!
JoAnna Cameron appears as the goddess Isis, with Brian Cutler, and Joanna Pang. Mark Lambert plays the sore loser of the high school's science fair. Actress Christopher Norris, who had a supporting role in the episode, would appear in another superhero show. She appeared in the final episode of the first season of Wonder Woman.
SS Edmund Fitzgerald, the largest ship on the Great Lakes at the time, sank in Lake Superior during a storm, November 10, 1975, resulting in the loss of her entire crew of 29. She left Superior, Wisconsin on November 9 under the command of Capt. Ernest McSorley, en route to Zug Island, near Detroit, Michigan.
The National Weather Service tracked a storm, but predicted it would pass south of Lake Superior. The next day, the NWS altered its forecast and reported that gale force winds were expected for Lake Superior.
Just after 3:30pm on Nov 10, Capt. McSorley radioed the Arthur M. Anderson, another cargo ship about 10 miles behind them, to say they were taking on water and they had developed a list. Winds of over 50 knots (58 mph) were observed as were waves up to 25 feet.
Arthur M. Anderson notified McSorley at about 7:10pm and the captain replied "We are holding our own." It was the last message heard from the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Four days later, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was located about 15 miles west of Deadman's Cove, Ontario, at a depth of 530 feet. She lay in two pieces with scattered wreckage around. Although the wreck has been extensively researched, there has not been a definitive reason given as to why she sank.
Gordon Lightfoot wrote and composed The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1976 and made it to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
DC's mightiest heroine Wonder Woman, based on the character developed by William Moulton Marston,debuted on television November 7, 1975, with the incomparable, beautiful Lynda Carter in the title role. The pilot episode featured Lyle Waggoner (Steve Trevor), the amazing Cloris Leachman (Queen Hippolyta), Red Buttons, Stella Stevens, Fannie Flagg, Henry Gibson, Anne Ramsey, and Kenneth Mars.
The pilot episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences.
The series ran for three seasons from 1975 until 1979.
Tang Hongbo, born in October 1975, is an astronaut for the People's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps (PLAAC) in China. He went into space as part of the crew aboard Shenzhou 12, which launched in June 2021, to the space station Tiangong. He conducted an EVA with Liu Boming which lasted for nearly 7 hours. He spent over 92 days in space.
My girls the Pointer Sisters appeared on the Carol Burnett Show October 25, 1975, performing How Long? They appeared in a sketch with Harvey Korman playing a Wolfman Jack character called Sheep-man, which he plays hilariously. The finale was a song and dance arrangement of Get Me to the Church On Time, with Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence. The Pointer Sisters showed off their extraordinary talents and beautiful vocals to the upbeat, uplifting performance. I miss them so much!
Hector Ayala, aka White Tiger, is the first main character Latin-American superhero in America comics. His first appearance was in Marvel Comics' Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19 in December 1975. He was created by Bill Mantio and George Perez.
Hector Ayala was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico but grew up in the Bronx. He gained his powers hen he discovered tiger amulets that were thrown away by the Sons of the Tiger. When he put on all three, he transformed into White Tiger.
In the Marvel comic books, Hector died after being wrongfully convicted of murder. He was killed trying to escape right before evidence proving his innocence was uncovered. His niece Angela Del Toro inherited the amulets. She was killed and then resurrected.
Hector's teenaged sister Ava Ayala has now appeared as the new White Tiger.
Viking 2, the second spacecraft of NASA's Viking program to Mars, was launched September 9, 1975. It reached the Red Planet in August 1976, and the lander was separated from the orbiter on September 3. The orbiter worked until July 1978 when it was turned off. It made 706 orbits of Mars and returned almost 16,000 images.
The lander touched down we Utopia Planitia and operated on the surface for almost 4 years. Viking 2 was turned off in April 1980, when its batteries failed.
