1978

Obituaries: Faith Baldwin, Edgar Bergen, Charles Boyer, Ruth Etting, Hubert Humphrey, Margaret Mead, Golda Meir, Jack Oakie, Pope Paul VI, John D. Rockefeller III, Norman Rockwell, Robert Shaw, Gene Tunney, Jack Warner.

Awards:

The Oscars:
Best Picture: The Deer Hunter.
Best Actor: John Voight, Coming Home.
Best Actress: Jane Fonda, Coming Home.

Nobel Prizes:
Literature: Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Peace: Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin.

Pulitzer Prizes:
Commentary: William Safire.
General Non-Fiction: Carl Sagan.

The Grammies:
Record: Billy Joel, Just the Way You Are.
Album: The Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever.
Male Vocalist: Barry Manilow, Copacabana.
Female Vocalist: Anne Murray, You Needed Me.

Entertainment:

• Other Films of 1978: National Lampoon's Animal House, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Jaws II, Heaven Can Wait, Every Which Way but Loose, The Greek Tycoon, Superman, California Suite, Interiors, Grease.

• Top 10 TV Series, Fall, 1978: Three's Company, Laverne & Shirley, Mork and Mindy, Happy Days, Angie, 60 Minutes, M*A*S*H, The Ropers, Charlie's Angels, All in the Family.

• Top Miniseries of 1978: Holocaust.

• Best Seller: John Irving's The World According to Garp.

• The Stuttgart Museum paid the highest price ever for a book: a $2 million Gutenberg Bible.

• After more than a century, the Chicago Daily News ceased publication.

• Biggest Broadway Hit: Ain't Misbehavin'.

• The first U.S. casino outside of Nevada opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

• Space Invaders introduced the age of video games.

Sports:

• The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII.

• Pro football increased its season from 14 to 16 games.

• Earl Campbell of Houston was voted NFL Rookie of the Year.

• Billy Sims of Oklahoma won the Heisman Trophy.

• Notre Dame beat Texas, 38-10, in the Cotton Bowl.

• Leon Spinks won a decision over Muhammad Ali to become Heavyweight champ.

• Affirmed became the 11th horse to win racing's Triple Crown.

• Chris Evert won her 4th consecutive U.S. Open tennis title; Jimmy Connors won the Men's Singles.

• The University of Kentucky defeated Duke, 94-88, for the NCAA basketball title.

• The Washington Bullets were the NBA champions.

• Pete Rose got his 3,000th base hit.

• The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games to win the World Series.

Other Events of 1978:

• On the orders of cult leader Jim Jones, more than 900 people died in a mass suicide in Guyana.

• President Carter deferred production of the neutron bomb.

• The $100 million Tellico Dam construction project was halted to protect the snair darter.

• The New York Stock Exchange set a new trading record of 63.5 million shares.

• The Senate ratified two treaties which would give control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999.

• Pioneer Venus I began orbiting Venus and sending back data.

• Rhodesia began the transfer of power to the black majority.

• Love Canal in New York state was officially declared a disaster area.

• Red Brigade terrorists in Italy kidnapped and executed former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

• The U.S. returned the Crown of St. Stephen to its home nation of Hungary.

• The first test tube baby was born in England.

• David Berkowitz, better known as the "Son of Sam," was sentenced to life in prison.

• The Volkswagen plant in Germany manufactured its last Beetle.

• William Webster was appointed director of the FBI.

• The Supreme Court ruled that Allan Bakke had been unjustly denied admission to the University of California medical school through reverse discrimination

• Californians approved Proposition 13, which would reduce property taxes by 57%.

• A small moon was discovered orbiting Pluto.

• The U.S. Marine Corps appointed its first female general.

• The federal government guaranteed $1.65 billion in bonds to New York City.

• The retirement age was raised from 65 to 70.

• The U.S. established diplomatic relations with nationalist China.

SMU in 1978:

• Dallas Hall included in the National Register of Historic Places.

• Business School is named Edwin L. Cox School of Business in honor of its benefactor.

• Mustang Mania launched.

• The Meadows Foundation and SMU establish the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts in honor of Mr. Meadows.

JCPenney in 1978:

• Donald Seibert was Chairman; Walter Neppl was President.

• Sales exceeded $10 billion for the first time.

• There were 1,683 stores in operation.

• James Cash Penney and 17 other Americans were selected as the century's outstanding achievers.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger made a promotional appearance at the Taylor, Michigan, store.

• The Company unveiled its new advertising campaign with the theme, "This Is JCPenney."

• The JCPenney Television NEtwork went into operation.

• JCPenney merchandise was given away on The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune and Hollywood Squares.

• The store in Monroeville Mall near Pittsburgh was used as a location for the filming of Dawn of the Dead.

• The first JCPenney Golf Classic was held.

• The Company Newspaper, Penney News, published an edition in French dedicated to JCPenney's operation in Belgium.

• In a 10-day period, the Aurora, Colorado store sold 912 pet crabs.

• The location of Mr. Penney's original store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, was declared a national historic site.