30 years ago today, audiences were treated again to the utterly watchable pair of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Kid, Part II opened in theaters on June 20, 1986.
In the sequel, released two years after the original film, Daniel”s wax on, wax off early training days are behind him, and he”s impressively slicing through six blocks of ice. The boy and his mentor travel together to Mr. Miyagi”s home village in Okinawa, Japan.
Sparks fly between Daniel and Kumiko, the niece of Mr. Miyagi”s childhood girlfriend, to the synthesizer-tastic tune of “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera. The song hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 later that summer and got an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
Other notable June 20 happenings in pop culture history:
• 1948: The Ed Sullivan Show – then titled Toast of the Town – premiered on CBS. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed in that first episode, along with Broadway composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, debuting their score for their upcoming musical, South Pacific.
• 1960: At the 12th Primetime Emmy Awards, Art Carney Special won the top comedy award, while Playhouse 90 took the top drama statuette. Ingrid Bergman was honored for for her guest role in Startime, making her an Emmy-, Oscar-, and Tony-winner. She never ventured into Grammy territory, though, so she is not part of the exclusive EGOT club.
• 1969: David Bowie recorded “Space Oddity” at Trident Studios in London with future Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman playing the Mellotron. The song was released the following month.
• 1975: Jaws opened in theaters.
• 1978: Foreigner album Double Vision, featuring the single “Hot Blooded,” was released.
• 1980: The Rolling Stones released their album Emotional Rescue.
• 1986: The Karate Kid Part II opened in theaters.
• 1998: The final episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy aired on PBS.
• 2003: Lionel Richie was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 2008: Disney Channel premiered Camp Rock, their TV movie starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato. With 8.9 million viewers tuning in, it was the network”s most-watched original movie, behind only High School Musical 2.
• 2009: Dave Matthews Band hit the top of the U.S. album chart with their seventh studio album, Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King, the group”s first release after the death of saxophonist LeRoi Moore – his band nickname was “GrooGrux.”
Birthdays: Moulin Rouge! actress Nicole Kidman (turns 49 today), Roseanne actor John Goodman (64), Ed Wood actor Martin Landau (88), Sweet Home Alabama actor Josh Lucas (45), Superbad actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse (27), R&B singer Lionel Richie (67), Machete director Robert Rodriguez (48), Duran Duran bassist John Taylor (56), Back to the Future actor James Tolkan (85), Don”t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 actress Dreama Walker (30), Game of Thrones actor Thomas Wlaschiha (43), The Beach Boys singer-songwriter Brian Wilson (74)