It's time for the April 2023 edition of "This Month in YesterYear History!"
In this series, we take a brief look back at the "best" or "top" of popular culture from the past 20 (2003), 25 (1998), and 30 (1993) years ago!
Below, you'll find a little time capsule of what was significant in our lives during those days. Hopefully, as you read these brief synopses of the past, you'll begin to remember the who, when, and where of your memories from that time.
That's why I post to this site, after all!
So, let's get into those time machines, my friends! We're headed back to Twenty, Twenty-Five, and Thirty years ago!
POINTS OF REFERENCE
2003: Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez becomes baseball's youngest player (27) to hit 300 home runs on April 2nd. On April 7, American troops captured the city of Baghdad. On the 9th, Saddam Hussein's regime falls, "ending" the War in Iraq. On April 16, Michael Jordan, now playing with the Washington Wizards, plays in his final basketball game. He receives a 3-minute long standing ovation. On the 22nd, Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy plays in his last NHL game. On the 23rd, Beijing closes all schools and businesses for two weeks due to an outbreak of the SARS virus. This "coronavirus" spread to 29 countries before it was "stopped." On April 28, Andre Aggasi regained the top spot in tennis, becoming the oldest player to rank first in the sport at only 33 years old.
1998: On April 1, Opie and Anthony claimed on air that the Mayor Tom Menino of Boston died in a car crash as an April Fools prank gone wrong. Because Menino was on a plane when this prank aired, nobody could reach him to see if he was alive, causing some panic in Boston. Opie and Anthony were fired two days later, where they moved to New York and became nationwide sensations. On the 5th, the Arizona Diamondbacks win their first-ever game after starting the season 0-5. On April 18, the Indianapolis Colts drafted a quarterback from Tennessee in the first round named Peyton Manning. On April 22, the 33rd Country Music Awards gives Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, and George Strait top honors. That same day, Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom opened for the first time. On April 27, Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert was held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Madonna, Billy Joel, Joe Cocker,
1993: On April 1, the reigning NASCAR Champion, Alan Kulwicki, dies in a private plane crash on the way to race in Bristol, Tennessee. Mark Price of the Cleveland Cavaliers has his free-throw streak end at 77 on the 2nd. Wrestlemania 9, from Cesar's Palace in Las Vegas, sees the returning Hulk Hogan dethrone Yokozuna, who beat Bret Hart for the title earlier that night. On the 9th, the Colorado Rockies play their first-ever home game, winning 11-4 over the Montreal Expos. On the 10th, the Pittsburgh Penguins win a record 17th straight game. On the 11th, 450 prisoners begin a riot for over ten days in Lucasville, Ohio. "Bill Nye, the Science Guy" debuts on television on April 13. On April 19, the Governor of South Dakota is killed when his airplane crash-lands in Iowa. On the 21st, "Walker, Texas Ranger" debuted on CBS. On the 24th, Farm Aid 6 is held in Ames, Iowa; performers include Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Martina McBride, and Dwight Yoakam. On the 25th, Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President. April 30 sees CERN release the World Wide Web to the public, making the internet available to everyone.
TOP MOVIES
2003: "Anger Management" - Anger Management is a "buddy comedy" film directed by Peter Segal that stars Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson alongside Marisa Tomei, Luis Guzmán, Woody Harrelson, and John Turturro.
The film tells the story of a businessman (Adam Sandler) sentenced to an anger management program under a renowned therapist (Jack Nicholson) with unconventional methods.
Columbia Pictures released Anger Management in theaters in the United States on April 11, 2003. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $195 million against a $75 million budget.
1998: "Lost In Space" - Finally dethroning Titanic, Lost In Space is a science-fiction adventure film starring William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, and Heather Graham. The plot is adapted from the 1960s CBS television series of the same name (itself inspired by the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss). Several actors from the original TV show make cameo appearances.
The film focuses on the Robinson family, who undertake a voyage to a nearby star system to begin large-scale emigration from a soon-to-be uninhabitable Earth but are thrown off course by a saboteur and must try to find their way home.
Lost in Space received negative reviews from critics and grossed $136.2 million worldwide with an $80 million budget.
1993: "Indecent Proposal" - Indecent Proposal is an erotic-drama film based on the 1988 novel by Jack Engelhard. The movie stars Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.
A young couple, struggling financially, has their marriage disrupted when a stranger offers $1 million to spend one night with the wife. That one night winds up costing them everything.
It received negative reviews from critics but was a box-office success, grossing over $266 million worldwide off a meager $38 million budget.
TOP SONGS
2003: "In Da Club" by 50 Cent
1998: "All My Life" by K-Ci and JoJo
1993: "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston
TOP TV NEWS
2003: On the 1st, General Hospital celebrates its 40th Anniversary.
On the 5th, Giada De Laurentiis debuts "Everyday Italian" on Food Network, eventually becoming Food Network's most popular daytime cooking show.
On the 12th, a spinoff of Nickelodeon's Rugrats debuts called All Grown Up!
The first lesbian kiss on daytime television occurs on the ABC soap opera "All My Children" on the 22nd.
1998: The Teletubbies begins its run in the United States after a long run on British TV on April 6.
On the 9th, The Price is Right's 5,000th episode is broadcast. Every game was played for a new car. At the beginning of the broadcast, CBS announced that it as renamed Studio 33 (where Price is Right has been filmed since 1972) to The Bob Barker Studios.
On the 11th, The National Cable Television Association announced discontinuing the CableACE awards due to the Emmy Awards recognizing cable programming.
On the 18th, The Disney Channel celebrates its 15th anniversary by launching Toon Disney, a 24-hour-per-day channel dedicated to animated series and films. The first program to air is "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Toon Disney is now called Disney XD, targeting a slightly older audience with not-entirely animated content.
On the 24th, "Dallas: War of the Ewings" airs on CBS seven years after the original series ended.
1993: On April 18th, The Disney Channel celebrates its 10th anniversary.
On the 21st, CBS debuts "Walker, Texas Ranger."
On April 25, NBC chose Conan O'Brien, a writer for The Simpsons, to fill David Letterman's old seat following The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
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