Figures and Personalities

During the 80s, certain people or types of people either made their mark on history, maintained their highest level popularity or fame, or departed after years of notoriety. This section is to honor the great men and women, remind ourselves of the personalities, and to remember those who died. These people are listed in two subsections: Figures and Personalities (We apologize ahead of time of listing great men who made history, like President Reagan, with mere celebrities of pop culture, like Joe Piscopo or Corey Haim, in the same list) and Obituaries.

  1. Scott Baio
  2. Mikhail Baryshnikov
  3. Brat Pack
  4. Tawana Brawley
  5. [Vice] President George Bush
  6. Charo
  7. Chevy Chase
  8. Gary Coleman
  9. Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen
  10. Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards - the awkward, goofy British plasterer who became a media sensation as Great Britain's first and only Olympic ski jumper in the 1988 Winter Olympics
  11. Mike Eruzione - shot the winning goal against the Soviet hockey team in the 1980 Winter Olympics
  12. Jim and Tammy Faye Baker
  13. Corey Feldman
  14. Michael J. Fox
  15. Mikhail Gorbachev
  16. Florence "Flo-Jo" Griffith-Joyner - flamboyant track-and-field athlete. She won a silver medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics and two gold medals in 1988, as well as setting world records.
  17. Corey Haim
  18. Anthony Michael Hall
  19. Fawn Hall
  20. Scott Hamilton
  21. Gary Hart
  22. Leona Helmsley
  23. Pee Wee Herman
  24. Hulk Hogan
  25. Paul Hogan - "Crocodile Dundee"
  26. Michael Jackson
  27. Jamaican bobsledders - Four Jamaican athletes who, despite living in a country with 80 degree weather, went to the 1988 Winter Olympics as the first Jamaican bobsled team.
  28. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak - Apple gurus
  29. Ayatollah Khomeini
  30. Emmanuel Lewis
  31. Carl Lewis
  32. Traci Lords - infamous underage porn star from the 80's.
  33. Greg Louganis
  34. Jim McMahon
  35. Shigeru Miyamoto - Nintendo mastermind behind biggest video games, such as Donkey Kong, Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros., etc.
  36. Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro
  37. Joe Montana
  38. Eddie Murphy
  39. Ollie North
  40. William "The Refrigerator" Perry
  41. Joe Piscopo
  42. Richard Pryor
  43. punks
  44. Muammar Qaddafi - or however you choose to spell it
  45. President Ronald Reagan
  46. Mary Lou Retton - enthusiastic, 15 year old gymnast who won five medals at the 1984 Olympics, the most won by any athlete that year.
  47. Donna Rice
  48. Molly Ringwald
  49. Ricky Schroeder - before he insisted on being called "Rick". He'll always be "Ricky" at From the Eighties!
  50. Reverend Al Sharpton
  51. Yakov Smirnoff
  52. Bruce Springsteen
  53. Mr. T
  54. Donald Trump
  55. valley girls (a.k.a. vals) - vacuous teenage girls who swarmed the malls, particularly the Sherman Oaks Galleria, of the San Fernando Valley.
  56. Ryan White
  57. yuppies