What Happened in May 1988

Historical Events

  • May 1 "Romance/Romance" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC for 297 performances

Sports History

May 1 After scoring 50 points in Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference playoff series, Michael Jordan has 55 in Chicago Bulls 106-101 win vs Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2; first to score 50+ points in consecutive playoff games

  • May 1 Two IRA attacks in and near Roermond, Netherlands, kills 3 British servicemen and wounds 3 more
  • May 2 Baltimore Orioles sign a 15 year lease to remain in Baltimore and get a new park

Event of Interest

May 2 David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" premieres in NYC

Event of Interest

May 2 Jackson Pollock's "Search" sold for $4,800,000

Sports History

May 2 Reds manager Pete Rose is suspended for 30 days for pushing an umpire

  • May 3 4,200 kg Colombian cocaine in seized at Tarpon Springs Florida
  • May 3 Jasper Johns' painting "Diver" sells for $4,200,000
  • May 4 PEPCON chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada explodes killing 2 and injuring 372 causing damage within 10-mile (16 km) radius
  • May 4 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • May 5 Eugene A. Marino installed as 1st African American Catholic archbishop, in Atlanta, Georgia
  • May 6 Doughnutgate incident: NJ Devils' coach Jim Schoenfeld tells referee Don Koharski to 'eat another doughnut you fat pig!,' he is suspended
  • May 6 Graeme Hick scores 405 for Worcs v Somerset 35 fours 11 sixes
  • May 7 114th Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens on Winning Colors wins in 2:02.2
  • May 7 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
  • May 8 Amateur referees work NJ Devil-Boston Bruin playoff games, as NHL referees walk-off, due to a restraining order brought by Devils
  • May 8 Brazilian musical revue "Oba Oba" closes at Ambassador Theater, NYC, after 46 performances

Election of Interest

May 8 François Mitterrand elected President of France

Sports History

May 8 Mike Tyson crashes his $183,000 Bently on Varick St in New York City

Parliament House Opens

May 9 Australia's new parliament house is opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Canberra

  • May 9 Belgium: 8th government of Martens forms

Event of Interest

May 10 Edgar Degas' "Danseresje of 14" sold for $10,120,000

  • May 11 France performs nuclear test
  • May 11 KV Mechelen of Belgium win 28th European Cup Winner's Cup against Ajax of Netherlands 1-0 in Strasbourg
  • May 11 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1
  • May 12 "Carrie" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 5 performances
  • May 14 1st non-pitcher (Jose Oquendo) in 20 years to get a decision in a baseball game, he & St Louis Cards lose to Braves 7-5 in 19 inn
  • May 14 Carrollton bus collision: a drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. The crash and ensuing fire kill 27.
  • May 14 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Boston Bruins beat New Jersey Devils, 4 games to 3
  • May 15 "Gospel at Colonus" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 61 performances

Film & TV History

May 15 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams & Tracey Ullman

Carrie

May 15 Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford's musical "Carrie", based on Stephen King's novel, closes at Virginia Theater, NYC, after 5 performances

  • May 15 Michael Rupert and Jerry Colker's musical "Mail" closes at Music Box Theater, NYC, after 37 performances
  • May 15 USSR begins withdrawing its 115,000 troops from Afghanistan
  • May 16 US Supreme Court rules trash may be searched without a warrant
  • May 16 US Surgeon General C Everett Koop reports nicotine as addictive as heroin
  • May 18 In just Oakland's 39th of the season, pitcher Dave Stewart breaks record with his 12th balk en route to 16
  • May 19 Carlos Lehder Rivas, of Colombia's Medellin drug cartel, is convicted in Florida for smuggling more than 3 tons of cocaine into US
  • May 20 Howard Stern fans disrupt rival radio station WMMR's & DJ John DeBella's "Louie Louie" parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sports History

May 20 Philadelphia Phillies Mike Schmidt hits his 535th HR, moving into 8th place

  • May 21 "Da'Butt" by EU hits #35
  • May 21 113th Preakness: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard Risen Star wins in 1:56.2
  • May 21 New building for the National Gallery of Canada, designed by Moshe Safdie, opens in Ottawa, Ontario [1]
  • May 21 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Music History

May 21 Weird Al Yankovic's "Fat" (a parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad") hits #99

  • May 22 Károly Grósz succeeds party leader Janos Kádár in Hungary

LPGA Championship

May 22 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Sherri Turner birdies final 2 holes to win her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Amy Alcott

  • May 23 41st Cannes Film Festival: "Pelle erobreren" directed by Bille August wins the Palme d'Or
  • May 23 Maryland stops sale of cheap pistols on Jan 1, 1990
  • May 24 John Moschitta set record for fast talking: 586 words per minute
  • May 24 Porntip Nakhirunkanok, 19, of Thailand, crowned 37th Miss Universe
  • May 24 Power outage in Boston Garden in NHL's Stanley Cup finals
  • May 24 Section 28 passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality. Repealed 2001/2004
  • May 25 32nd European Cup: PSV Eindhoven beats Benfica (0-0, 6-5 on penalties) at Stuttgart
  • May 26 Stanley Cup Final, Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AL: Edmonton Oilers beat Boston Bruins, 6-3 for 4 game series sweep
  • May 27 Senate ratified a treaty eliminating medium-range nuclear missiles
  • May 29 Graeme Hick scores his 1,000th run of 1st-class cricket season
  • May 29 Indianapolis 500: Rick Mears claims his third-career Indy 500 victory; 50th victory in Championship racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing
  • May 29 Pakistan President Zia ul-Haq dismisses government and disbands parliament
1988 History

Famous Birthdays

  • May 1 Nicholas Braun, American actor (Succession), born in Bethpage, New York
  • May 1 Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier (Olympic silver individual sprint, bronze team sprint 2014), born in Umeå, Sweden
  • May 2 Lara Liang, Russian-Taiwanese-American singer (Nan Quan Mama), born in California

Adele (35 years old)

May 5 British pop-rock singer-songwriter ("Rolling In The Deep"; "Someone Like You"; "Chasing Pavements"), born in Tottenham, London

  • May 5 Brooke Hogan [Bollea], American pop singer (Undiscovered) and television personality, born in Tampa, Florida
  • May 5 Jessica Dubroff, American aviator (attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light utility aircraft across the United States), born in Falmouth, Massachusetts (d. 1996)
  • May 5 Skye Sweetnam, Canadian singer and songwriter (Sumo Cyco), born in Bolton, Ontario, Canada
  • May 7 Natalie Mejia, member of the American R&B/Pop group Girlicious, born in West Covina, California
  • May 9 John Ryan Fitzpatrick, Canadian race truck driver
  • May 9 Skye Regan, Canadian Actress and Writer
  • May 11 Ace Hood [Antoine McColister], American rapper, born in Port St. Lucie, Florida
  • May 11 Marek Pospieszalski, Polish avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer, born in Częstochowa, Poland
  • May 12 Marcelo [Vieira da Silva Júnior], Brazilian football player (Real Madrid, Brazil national team), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • May 14 Jessica Watkins, American geologist and NASA astronaut, born in Gaithersburg, Maryland
  • May 14 Nadine Sierra, American opera singer (Lucia di Lammermoor), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • May 15 Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (Hope Morrison-Home and Away, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2018)
  • May 17 Karrueche Tran, American model, actress and producer (The Bay), born in Los Angeles, California
  • May 17 Nikki Reed, American actress
  • May 18 Ksenija Sidorova, Latvian classical accordionist, born in Riga, Latvia
  • May 18 Ryan Cooley, Canadian television actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation), born in Orangeville, Ontario
  • May 18 Taeyang [Dong Young-bae], Korean singer (Big Bang), born in Uijeongbu, South Korea
  • May 20 Madeleine Humphries, Filipina-American actress and TV presenter, born in California
  • May 21 Jonathan Howson, English footballer, born in Morley, England
  • May 23 Morgan Pressel, American golfer (ANA Inspiration 2007), born in Tampa, Florida
  • May 24 Billy Gilman, American singer (One Voice), born in Westerly, Rhode Island
  • May 26 Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
  • May 28 David Perron, Canadian NHL ice hockey forward, 2007-present (St. Louis Blues, and 4 other teams), born in Sherbrooke, Quebec
  • May 29 Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast (Olympic gold female team 2008), born in Huangshi, Hubei
  • May 29 Steve Mason, Canadian NHL goaltender (Calder Memorial Trophy rookie of the year 2008-09), born in Oakville, Ontario
  • May 31 Hope Partlow, American pop and country singer, born in Drummonds, Tennessee
Born in 1988

Famous Weddings

  • May 21 American actress Jane Powell weds American "Our Gang" actor and publicist Dickie Moore
  • May 28 American "General Hospital" actress Genie Francis (26) weds American "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actor Jonathan Frakes in the chapel of St. Nicholas Church in Encino, California

Harry Reasoner

May 28 American journalist Harry Reasoner (65) weds American insurance executive Lois Harriett Weber(44) at the United Church of Christ in Humboldt, Iowa

Bernie Sanders

May 28 Vermont's US Senator Bernie Sanders (46) weds American social worker Jane O'Meara Driscoll (38) in Burlington, Vermont


Famous Deaths

  • May 1 Ben Lexcen, Australian yacht designer (Australia II 1983 America's Cup), dies of heart disease at 52
  • May 1 Carroll Righter, American columnist and astrologer to the stars, dies prostate cancer at 88
  • May 1 Paolo Stoppa, actor (Garibaldi, Visit, Freedom Fighters), dies
  • May 3 Johannes Driessler, German organist and composer, dies at 67
  • May 3 Lev Pontryagin, Russian mathematician, dies at 79
  • May 3 Paul Vario, U.S. Italian Mafia of the Lucchese Family, dies of lung cancer at 73
  • May 3 Walther Vanbeselaere, Flemish art historian, dies at 79
  • May 5 George Rose, British actor and singer (Beacon Hill; Holocaust), dies at 68
  • May 5 Michael Shaara, American author (Killer Angels), dies of a heart attack at 59
  • May 5 Tamara Pos, Suriname/Dutch activist
  • May 6 Paul Wilson, American doo-wop baritone singer (Flamingos, 1953-64 - "I Only Have Eyes For You"; "Lovers Never Say Goodbye"), dies at 53
  • May 8 Domingo Ortega, Spanish bullfighter (The Art of Bullfighting), dies at 82
  • May 8 Robert A. Heinlein, American sci-fi writer (Friday), dies of heart failure at 80
  • May 10 Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (Long River), dies at 85

Kim Philby (1912-1988)

May 11 British spy and Soviet mole who was a member of the "Cambridge Five", dies at 76

  • May 12 Paul Osborn, American playwright (Mornings at 7), dies at 86

Chet Baker (1929-1988)

May 13 American jazz trumpeter and vocalist ("My Funny Valentine"), falls to his death from an Amsterdam hotel balcony at 59

  • May 14 Willem Drees, Dutch statesman of the Labour Party (PvdA) and Prime Minister of the Netherlands, dies at 101
  • May 15 Andrew Duggan, American character actor (Secret War of Harry Frigg, Winds of War), dies of cancer at 64
  • May 15 Greta Nissen, actress (Ambassador Bill), dies
  • May 16 Charles Keeping, English illustrator (b. 1924)
  • May 16 Kay Baxter, American bodybuilder (NPC Gold's Classic 1981), dies in car crash at 42
  • May 16 Louise Wood, American director of Girl Scouts of USA (1961-72), dies at 78
  • May 18 David Moule-Evans, English composer and conductor, dies at 82
  • May 18 Daws Butler, American animation voice (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound), dies at 71
  • May 19 Virginia Farmer, actress (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies at 90
  • May 20 René Defossez, Belgian composer, composer, and pedagigue, dies at 82
  • May 21 Bruno Frei [Benedikt Freistadt], Austrian Marxist journalist, dies at 91
  • May 21 Dino Conte Grandi, Italian Fascist politician and delegate to league of nations (1925-32), dies at 92
  • May 21 Harry Babasin, American jazz bassist and cellist (Dodo Marmarosa Trio), and archivist (Los Angeles Theaseum), dies of emphysema at 67

Sammy Davis Sr. (1900-1988)

May 21 American vaudeville dancer (Mr. Wonderful), dies at 87

  • May 22 Giorgio Almirante, Italian fascist and MP (1948-87), dies at 73
  • May 23 David Schoenbrun, American journalist (CBS broadcast bureau head), dies at 73
  • May 24 James "Hamish" Hamilton, British publisher (Salinger/Mitford), dies at 87
  • May 24 Tom Burtt, New Zealand cricketer (NZ slow left-arm bowler in 11 Tests 1947-53), dies at 73
  • May 25 Ernst Ruska, German physicist (1986 Nobel Prize for Physics for work on electron optics, and design of the first electron microscope), dies at 81
  • May 26 José Muñoz Molleda, Spanish composer and politician, dies at 83
  • May 27 Florida Friebus, American actress (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ' Mrs. Gillis"; The Bob Newhart Show - "Mrs. Bakerman"), dies of a stroke at 79
  • May 27 Renato Salvatori, actor (Burn, Luna, 2 Women), dies
  • May 28 (Melvin) "Sy" Oliver, American jazz arranger, songwriter (Jimmie Lunceford; Tommy Dorsey - "Yes, Indeed!"), dies at 77 [1]
  • May 30 Ella Raines, American actress (Uncle Harry, Runaround, Impact, Brute Force), dies of throat cancer at 67