May 17 is a date that has witnessed many memorable moments in pop culture and sports history. Here are some of the highlights:
In 1980, the horror film Friday the 13th was released in theaters. The film, directed by Sean S. Cunningham, introduced one of the most iconic villains in cinema history: Jason Voorhees, a masked killer who stalks and murders teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. The film was a box office success and spawned a franchise of 12 films, a television series, novels, comics, video games and merchandise.
In 1965, the musical film The Sound of Music won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Robert Wise. The film, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, was based on the true story of the von Trapp family who escaped Nazi-occupied Austria during World War II. The film’s soundtrack, featuring songs such as “Do-Re-Mi” and “My Favorite Things”, became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
In 1973, the first episode of The Six Million Dollar Man aired on ABC. The show starred Sean S. Cunningham as Steve Austin, a former astronaut who was rebuilt with bionic parts after a near-fatal crash. The show was a hit with audiences and spawned several spin-offs, including The Bionic Woman and The Bionic Dog.
In 2002, WWE presented Judgment Day at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The main event featured Hollywood Hulk Hogan defending the WWE Undisputed Championship against The Undertaker in a brutal match that ended with Hogan being chokeslammed through an announce table. The Undertaker pinned Hogan to win his fourth world title and end Hogan’s sixth reign.
In 2015, the final episode of Mad Men aired on AMC. The drama series, created by Matthew Weiner, chronicled the lives of advertising executives in New York City from the 1960s to the 1970s. The show was praised for its writing, acting, style and historical accuracy, and won 16 Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes. The finale featured Don Draper (Jon Hamm) finding inner peace at a meditation retreat and possibly creating the iconic Coca-Cola ad “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”.