Grew up in the Valley and have tons of great memories.
The best was watching summer movies at the Van Nuys Drive-In. We'd borrow dad's pickup and pile blankets and cushions in the back and take all our friends. Saw many of the classics like Goonies, Return to OZ, Temple of Doom, Bloodsport.
Favorite restaurant was Shakey's Pizza Parlor. We'd get the large pizza, fried chicken and the famous mojo potatoes with large pitcher of coke. The booths had these old-time 1800's newspaper ads covering the tops which you would read while waiting for your order. They also had a few arcade games. I particularly remember one called "Midway" we always played.
One of our friends lived in a townhouse complex that had a pool in the center of the property. We swam there for years and no one ever used sunscreen or even had adult supervision! It was a major safety hazard though as there was no safety gate surrounding it. So basically the pool was on average 3 feet from the entrance to each unit. I imagine moving big stuff like Fridge/Washer/Dryers was risky as hell.
Saturdays hanging out at the Northridge Mall (loved the little stores that sold posters, KB Toys was pure envy, there was a store that sold pizza -sized chocolate chip cookies that smelled incredible. Wilson's leather, Radio Shack, and there was this cool A/V store at the mall that had all the latest televisions and laser disc/ home theater stuff. They used to play the laser disc version of The Dark Crystal on a loop. It was awesome.
On a few occasions we went to the Go Carts/Arcades, but those were expensive. Mainly shared Atari 2600 games between us. Loved flipping through album covers at Tower Records. Pigging out at Tommy's burgers, and the $1 whoppers at Burger King and Mcdonalds really tasted way better back then.
Even TV was amazing. Though, you would only watch the channels that actually came in clearly. I remember Friday Night Videos that used to come on at around 1am on NBC. No one had cable and MTV. Sometimes there were WWF main events on Saturday Nights and re-runs of The Benny Hill Show which exposed us to British slapstick comedy as well as the appreciation of the female form. We watched all the popular 80's shows, yet also a ton of reruns from the 60's and 70's.
Renting movies became popular at that time and we would go to this great little store and get them for 50 cents each. Great price, although it was hit or miss as we usually would base our selection on the box cover. So aside from the popular titles of that time, we saw so many low budget crappy horror flicks, but hit gold with the Gallagher Comedy Specials.
Ironically, one thing that I truly hated about the 80's back then were the SHOWTIME LAKER GAMES!
The reason for that is that it meant that the usual re-runs that were on KCAL channel 9 would not be shown because of the game. So with the few channels we had available, that kind of sucked.
Yet, my Laker fandom began several years later with the Nick Van Exel / Eddie Jones / Cedric Ceballos Lakers. I would channel surf (now had 25 cable channels) and would see Chick Hearn going crazy with excitement calling the game and it drew me in and made me a fan all these years.
I remember Friday Night Videos that used to come on at around 1am on NBC. No one had cable and MTV. Sometimes there were WWF main events on Saturday Nights
Yes, Saturday Night's Main Event they were called. Iirc, they would air at 10pm. It was hard to stay awake to 10-12 for me at least mid decade because they were on late. That was past my bedtime. When I hit pubes, I was there. I remember not making one of them in 86. I was fighting to stay awake, but fell out. And that was even w/ a friend over and my brother. I recall Friday Night Videos. My mom used to watch that. They were more eclectic than MTV was, imo. I have a VHS somewhere of FNV taped in 1985. It's got Tears For Fears and such. 85 music. It's nostalgic.
The VCR phenom seemed to explode in 85. That's when we got our first VCR after renting decks from the video store. They used to rent players to get people into the buying mood. First vids we got were mostly selected by me. We got Silver Bullet, Thunderdome, and Pee Wee's Big Adventure (Silver Bullet and Pee Wee I had seen at the cinema at the time). I remember having to see a double feature w/ my older sis of Jagged Edge and then Pee Wee. She wanted to see Jeff Bridges. He was a handsome killer. Oh, the other one was Wrestlemania 1. I remember that vividly to this day, first batch we got. First VHS movie I ever saw in my life was Karate Kid 1 when it was brand new. My older sister's boyfriend brought his fam's VCR over to show my sisters that and I sat on the edge trying not to get shooed away. I'm a youngest child, sucks. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Last edited by non-player zealot on Mon Jun 06, 2022 1:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
Godfather's Pizza
Straw Hat Pizza
USA Up All Night
Anchor Blue Jeans
The Wild Pair
Chess King
Cabbage Patch Dolls
Garbage Pail Kids
Dianetics
I still got 1st series deck of GPK's in a little hard plastic card-sized box, good condition, missing 1-2 cards. They were nonexistent when those becae popular by Series 3 because they had limited production and not a lot of kids bought them. So when you saw a 2nd Series, that was a thing. Series 1 was like holy grail territory. But by Season 3 in 86, teachers were taking them away because so many kids, including me, had them as distractions. We had a Godfather's nearby, never went. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90307 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 1:54 pm Post subject:
No mention of the Solid Gold dancers? _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Oh Solid Gold with Dionne Warwick! I remember that. There was another show on a different network that was similar. For the life of me I can't remember it. _________________ KOBE
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90307 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 3:51 pm Post subject:
All those detective/private operative shows:
Stingray
Knight Rider
Riptide
A-team
Jake and the Fat Man
Hardcastle and McCormick
The Equalizer
Magnum PI
Hunter
Fall Guy
Cover Up
Simon and Simon
Etc… _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Before cable TV there was ON TV. Local TV didn't broadcast Laker home games back then (only road games). But you could watch a few of them on ON TV. Revolutionary at the time.
Oh Solid Gold with Dionne Warwick! I remember that. There was another show on a different network that was similar. For the life of me I can't remember it.
Before cable TV there was ON TV. Local TV didn't broadcast Laker home games back then (only road games). But you could watch a few of them on ON TV. Revolutionary at the time.
I have some of those on my chan. No Prime Ticket til 85/86. Can't recall the announcing crew. The main guy was a major local football announcer. One good unicorn thing I managed to get was the 1982 home game vs Philly which was so big a thing that KHJ actually broadcasted it so Chick/Keith could narrate it.
Oh Solid Gold with Dionne Warwick! I remember that. There was another show on a different network that was similar. For the life of me I can't remember it.
Dance Fever.
The host, Deney Terrio, taught John Travolta to dance for Saturday Night Fever. You're welcome.
Stingray
Knight Rider
Riptide
A-team
Jake and the Fat Man
Hardcastle and McCormick
The Equalizer
Magnum PI
Hunter
Fall Guy
Cover Up
Simon and Simon
Etc…
Lol at Hardcastle and McCormick. How did that not last with a name like that? And Miami Vice. MacGyver. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Oh Solid Gold with Dionne Warwick! I remember that. There was another show on a different network that was similar. For the life of me I can't remember it.
Dance Fever.
The host, Deney Terrio, taught John Travolta to dance for Saturday Night Fever. You're welcome.
Ahh. The genius. Travolta was the sh in Sat Nite Fever. Ain't gonna front. He looked legit. And thin. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Before cable TV there was ON TV. Local TV didn't broadcast Laker home games back then (only road games). But you could watch a few of them on ON TV. Revolutionary at the time.
I have some of those on my chan. No Prime Ticket til 85/86. Can't recall the announcing crew. The main guy was a major local football announcer. One good unicorn thing I managed to get was the 1982 home game vs Philly which was so big a thing that KHJ actually broadcasted it so Chick/Keith could narrate it.
Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 52657 Location: Making a safety stop at 15 feet.
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:07 pm Post subject:
cheapedy wrote:
On a few occasions we went to the Go Carts/Arcades,
Malibu Grand Prix for the win!!! _________________ You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
Forgot to add the Dodgers 88 World Series win and the Gibson homerun and the 49ers dominance.
The Dodgers were in the NLCS in 4 out of 8 years from 1981-1988. Beat the Yankees and A’s in the World Series. Valenzuela and Hershiser had their best years in the 80’s.
Lakers beat the Celtics finally and won 2 out of 3 in the Finals.
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90307 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 5:12 pm Post subject:
William Peterson had his first act in two gritty, fantastic films, Manhunter and To Live and Die in LA. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Oh Solid Gold with Dionne Warwick! I remember that. There was another show on a different network that was similar. For the life of me I can't remember it.
Dance Fever.
The host, Deney Terrio, taught John Travolta to dance for Saturday Night Fever. You're welcome.
Man, just hearing the name brings back a flood of memories. _________________ KOBE
In 1985, Gregory introduced the Slim-Safe Bahamian Diet, a powdered diet mix.[54] He launched the weight-loss powder at the Whole Life Expo in Boston under the slogan "It's cool to be healthy." The diet mix, if drunk three times a day, was said to provide rapid weight loss. Gregory received a multimillion-dollar distribution contract to retail the diet.[55]
In 1985, the Ethiopian government adopted, to reported success, Gregory's formula to combat malnutrition during a period of famine in the country.[56] Gregory's clients included Muhammad Ali.[57]
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144472 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 6:41 pm Post subject:
Steve007 wrote:
aprevo15 wrote:
Forgot to add the Dodgers 88 World Series win and the Gibson homerun and the 49ers dominance.
The Dodgers were in the NLCS in 4 out of 8 years from 1981-1988. Beat the Yankees and A’s in the World Series. Valenzuela and Hershiser had their best years in the 80’s.
Lakers beat the Celtics finally and won 2 out of 3 in the Finals.
I loved the O’Malley Dodgers, I caught at least one game when they came to St. Louis. Who themselves went to the World Series in 1982, 1985 and 1987 once they brought in trader Whitey. Prior to the 1982 season there were a couple of days that they had both Bruce Sutter and Rollie Fingers.
That World Series win was special. My mom was a secretary at an elementary school and former MLB umpire Bill Haller’s son was in her school. The morning of game 7 against the Brewers he asked mom if she knew anyone who needed 2 tickets. Needless to say my roommate and I drove home from college and went to the game and it was one of the most amazing nights I have ever had. _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 52657 Location: Making a safety stop at 15 feet.
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 7:18 pm Post subject:
jonnybravo wrote:
DaMuleRules wrote:
cheapedy wrote:
On a few occasions we went to the Go Carts/Arcades,
Malibu Grand Prix for the win!!!
Finally! Mentioned it earlier and no one seemed to remember it. Did you go to the one in City of Industry?
We used to go to the one in Northridge. There was also a waterslide there that we used to go to meet girls. Funny story about that place. One time me and a buddy skateboarded and took the bus there. We just went in our board shorts. On the very first slide, i came off the mat and hit a seam in the slide's tubes and tore my shorts right down the seam in the back leaving my backside exposed, which I didn't know right away until I got off the slide and some girls were laughing behind me and pointed it out _________________ You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
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