Michael Fassbender, born April 2, 1977 in Heidelberg, Germany, has portrayed X-Men super-villain Magneto in four movies: X-Men: First Class; X-Men: Days of Future Past; X-Men: Apocalypse; and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. He has also appeared in the Alien franchise for which he received a Saturn nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Fassbender has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his performances in Steve Jobs and 12 Years a Slave. He has won 79 awards with a total of 161 nominations.
In 1977, Alan Bell, a black gay publisher, began publishing Gaysweek, the first gay and lesbian newspaper in the US. It started as an 8-page weekly tabloid, and when it ended in 1979 after 104 issues, it was a 24-page, two-color publication.
At the time, it was one of only three gay weeklies in the world.
A portion of the Gaysweek archives are kept at Cornell University Library, Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.
Harvey Milk, born May 22, 1930 in Woodmere, New York, graduated from New York State College for Teachers in Albany, majoring in mathematics. He joined the US Navy as a diving officer during the Korean War. He left the Navy in 1955, accepting an "other than honorable" discharge rather than being court-martialed for being gay.
He moved to the Castro area of San Francisco, where many gay men who had been expelled from the military had congregated.
Amid many scandals and trials, Milk was elected mayor of San Francisco November 8, 1977, winning over 16 other candidates. His swearing-in made national headlines since he was the first non-incumbent openly gay man in the US to win an election for public office.
He sponsored a bill that passed by a vote of 11-1 that banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in public accommodations, housing, and employment. Mayor George Moscone signed it into law.
On November 27, 1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a disgruntled former city supervisor who cast the only vote against Milk's bill.
Logan's Run, the futuristic sci-fi flick starring Michael York and Jenny Agutter in a utopian 23rd century, took home six Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror at the 4th annual ceremony held January 15, 1977.
It won Best Science Fiction Film, Best Art Direction for Dale Hennesy, Best Cinematography for Ernst Laszio, Best Costumes for Bill Thomas, Best Makeup for William Tuttle, and Best Set Direction for Robert De Vestel.
The haunted house movie Burnt Offerings won three awards. It won Best Horror Film, Best Director for Dan Curtis (of Dark Shadows fame), and Best Supporting Actress for Bette Davis. Burnt Offerings beat Carrie and The Omen for Best Horror Film.
Raja Chari, born June 24, 1977 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa, went into space aboard SpaceX Crew-3 to the International Space Station. He graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1999, and attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB in Enid, Oklahoma. In December 2020, he was selected for the Artemis Team, to help pave the way back to the moon.
He was commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 in the Endurance, launched November 11, 2021 to the ISS. He participated in Expeditions 66-67 and conducted 2 EVAs, lasting a total of almost 14 hours, during his stay. Chari returned to Earth in May 2022 after 174 days in space.
Tentacles, one of the first of many knock-offs of Jaws, was released in US theaters June 15, 1977. It focuses on another deep-sea creature run amok. In the fashion of It Came from Beneath the Sea, a giant octopus rises from the depths to terrorize a California seaside town.
It was an Italian production which starred Shelley Winters, Henry Fonda, and Claude Akins. Although it was a box office success at the time, grossing $3,000,000, but critics were not kind. It received a 0% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
I'm Your Boogie Man by KC and the Sunshine Band's fourth album Part 3, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 June 11, 1977. It was well received by music critics with John Rockwell saying, "another alluring, catchy, sleepily kinetic dance" and Record World stating that "it's poised to go all the way".
It reached #3 on the Billboard Soul Chart and Billboard ranked it as the #11 song of 1977. It is certified gold in the US.
Annie, which debuted on Broadway of April 1977, won seven Tony Awards at the 31st annual ceremony June 5, 1977. I've never seen the stage production, but I did see the movie version with Albert Finney, Anne Reinking, and Carol Burnett.
The 1977 Broadway version won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical for Thomas Meehan, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Dorothy Loudon (as Miss Hannigan), Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre for Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics), Best Choreography for Peter Gennaro, Best Scenic Design for David Mitchell, and Best Costume Design for Theoni Aldredge.
Annie had also been nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Reid Shelton (as Daddy Warbucks), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Andrea McArdle (as Annie), and Best Direction of a Musical for Martin Charnin.
Ella Fitzgerald, first lady of jazz, won her eight Grammy Award at the 19th annual ceremony, held February 19, 1977. She won Best Jazz Vocal Performance for Fitzgerald and Pass...Again, the second album of four she recorded with guitarist Joe Pass.
George Benson won Record of the Year for This Masquerade. It was in contention for Album of the Year and Song of the Year. I recognize every other album and song nominated in these three categories, and Benson's is the only one I do not know and, after listening to it just now, have never heard it before. I suppose his music did not get any airplay in my area back then.
Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder won Album of the Year, and Barry Manilow's I Write the Songs won Song of the Year.
Starland Vocal Band won Best New Artist, beating Brothers Johnson, Boston(!), and Wild Cherry. Unfortunately, they are best known for their only hit, Afternoon Delight, which won Best Arrangement for Voices (duo, group or chorus).
Natalie Cole won Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for her Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady).
Helen Hayes, with Henry Fonda, James Earl Jones & Orson Welles, won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording for Great American Documents. This win made Helen Hayes become the second person to become an EGOT, someone who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.
Raven Chacon, born 1977 in Fort Defiance, Arizona, is the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. In 2021, Chacon composed Voiceless Mass, written for the pipe organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. and it premiered there November 21, 2021. It was this composition that won him the award in 2022.
He has won numerous awards for his music, including the Berlin Prize by the American Academy in Berlin.
ABBA released Knowing Me, Knowing You, the third single from their fourth studio album Arrival February 14, 1977. It was one of their biggest hits and one of their best songs. Billboard ranked it #4 on its list of top 15 ABBA songs. Rolling Stone ranked it as #2 on their list of top 25 ABBA songs.
The Incredible Hulk, starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno as the titular character, debuted on November 4, 1977. Susan Sullivan appeared in the two-hour premiere. At one time three superhero series existed simultaneously. The Amazing Spider-Man premiered just two months prior and Wonder Woman debuted in 1975.
The Incredible Hulk ran for 5 seasons from 1977 to 1982. It was a ratings success, but was cancelled suddenly at the end of the fifth season. Throughout its run, it garnered three Primetime Emmy awards, winning one for Mariette Harley for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Series.
Matthew Lopez, born March 24, 1977 in Panama City, Florida, is the first Latino to win a Tony Award for Best Play. At the 74th Tony Awards held September 26, 2021 he took home the award for his play The Inheritance, which was nominated for 11 Tonys and won 4 of them.
Lopez was inspired by the E. M. Forster novel Howard's End for his play, which has also won an Olivier Award among many others for best play.
Alexander Misurkin, born September 23, 1977 in Russia, has been in space three times. He is a major in the Russian Air Force.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-08M as flight engineer in March 2013, to the International Space Station. He participated in Expeditions 35 and 36, returning to Earth in September, after more than 166 days in space.
His second trip was aboard Soyuz MS-06 as commander in September 2017, to the ISS. He participated in Expeditions 53 and 54, returning to Earth in February 2018, after over 168 days in space.
His third trip was aboard Soyuz MS-20 as commander in December 2021 to the ISS. This time he hosted two space tourists from Japan and only stayed in space just under 12 days.
Misurkin has performed 4 EVAs for a total time of 28 hours and 14 minutes, including setting the record for the longest Russian EVA - 8 hours, 13 minutes.
One of the sexiest actors on screen, Tom Hardy, born September 15, 1977 in London, England, has won numerous awards for his acting, including an Oscar nomination. He starred in Star Trek: Nemesis, Inception, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Venom. His performance in The Revenant is the role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The supernatural thriller, The Car, was released (Friday) May 13, 1977. It starred James Brolin, John Rubinstein, and Ronny Cox. It follows the story of a demon-possessed car that goes on a killing spree in a remote desert town.
I enjoyed this movie. It's pretty close to Stephen King's Christine, so I don't know which I like best.
Jim Henson's multi-award winning variety show The Muppet Show premiered April 23, 1977. It gained in popularity, but Jim Henson wanted to end the show on a high note. The last season had the highest Nielsen ratings ever.
It won four Primetime Emmy awards including one for Rita Moreno for her guest appearance.
Kermit the Frog and Waldorf appeared in all 120 episodes.
Dancing Queen, the mega-hit from the Swedish super-group ABBA, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 April 9, 1977. It was the only #1 song for ABBA in the US. It was the first single from their album Arrival, released in October 1976.
Dancing Queen topped the charts in more than a dozen countries. In Sweden, it spent 14 weeks at the top.
It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.
My girls the Pointer Sisters appeared on American Bandstand February 5, 1977. They sang You Gotta Believe, from the movie Car Wash. They appeared on American Bandstand's 25th anniversary special the night before.
Dick Clark interviewed them after their performance. I couldn't find a video of the song but here is the interview with Clark.
