On this day in movie history - Moonstruck (1988):

Moonstruck

directed by Norman Jewison,

written by John Patrick Shanley,

was released in the United States on January 15, 1988.

Music by Dick Hyman.

Cast:

Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Vincent Gardenia, Danny Aiello, Julie Bovasso, Louis Guss, John Mahoney, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Anita Gillette, Leonardo Cimino, Paula Trueman, Nada Despotovich, Joe Grifasi, Gina DeAngeles, Robin Bartlett, Helen Hanft, David S. Howard, Robert Weil.

On this day in movie history - Talk Radio (1988):

Talk Radio

directed by Oliver Stone,

written by Eric Bogosian and Oliver Stone,

based on the play: Talk Radio, by Eric Bogosian and Ted Savinar,

and the book: Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg by Stephen Singular,

was released in New York City, on December 23, 1988.
Music by Stewart Copeland.

Cast:

Eric Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley, John Pankow, Michael Wincott, Zach Grenier, Anna Levine, Robert Trebor, Linda Atkinson, Allan Corduner, Bruno Rubeo, Bill Johnson, Rockets Redglare.

Recommended reading - Dances with Wolves (1988):

Dances with Wolves

By Michael Blake.

Paperback.

First published 1988.

Published by Ballantine Books.

ISBN 13: 9780449000755

ISBN 10: 0449000753

ASIN: 0449000753

Description:

Ordered to hold an abandoned army post, John Dunbar found himself alone, beyond the edge of civilization. Thievery and survival soon forced him into the Indian camp, where he began a dangerous adventure that changed his life forever.

Relive the adventure and beauty of the incredible movie, DANCES WITH WOLVES. Set in 1863, the novel follows Lieutenant John Dunbar on a magical journey from the ravages of the Civil War to the far reaches of the imperiled American frontier, a frontier he naively wants to see "before it is gone". His posting to a desolate and deserted outpost is the springboard for contact with the lords of the southern plains... the Comanche. Though he does not speak their language, has no know-ledge of their customs, and is considered a trespasser, Lieutenant Dunbar finds himself intrigued by the exotic and alien culture of the buffalo-hunting people of the plains. A simple desire to know more about his wild neighbors ignites a great adventure of transformation that culminates with the emergence of a different kind of man... a man called Dances With Wolves.

On this day in movie history - Last Rites (1988):

Last Rites

directed and written by Donald P. Bellisario,

was released in the United States on November 18, 1988.
Music by Bruce Broughton.

Cast:

Tom Berenger, Daphne Zuniga, Chick Vennera, Anne Twomey, Dane Clark, Paul Dooley, Vassili Lambrinos, Adrian Paul, Deborah Pratt, Tony DiBenedetto, Christine Poor, Al Rodrigo, Jack Hallett, Louis Gigante, Ibi Kaufman, Frank Patton III, Maurizio Benazzo, Roberto Corbo, Leslie Arnett, Ernesto González, Mary Diveny, Julie Kenyon, Lynda Jordan, Tony Lip, Damien Leake, Phil Neilson, Peter J. Blanck, Shawn Gold, Ricky Rojas, Frank Simpson, Anthony Bishop, Tony Montana, Chelsea Berenger, Lisa Berenger, Troian Bellisario, Michael Bellisario, Kristin Andersen, Fernando Ramírez Romero.

On this day in television history - Murphy’s Law (1988 - 1989):

Murphy’s Law

created by Lee David Zlotoff,

based on the Trace and Digger series of novels by Warren Murphy,

was released in the United States on November 2, 1988 and ran for one season until March 18, 1989.
Theme music by Steve Kipner.

Cast:

George Segal, Maggie Han, Josh Mostel, Sarah Sawatsky, Charles Rocket, Kim Lankford, Walter Marsh, Lynne Randall, Julia Sweeney, Elizabeth Savage, Robert Thurston, Valerie Mahaffey, Christine Belford, Carolyn Seymour, Patrick Macnee, Clyde Kusatsu, David Spielberg, Linda Darlow, Leslie Carlson, Gerard Christopher, Andi Matheny, Bill Morey, Robert Thurston, Alan Robertson, Steve Peterson, Joan Severance, Will Estes, Reni Santoni, Judy Landers, Jennifer Hetrick, Norman Fell, Garwin Sanford, John Standing, Jack Bannon, Bruce Gray, Richard Foronjy, Ronnie Claire Edwards, Jeffrey Byron, Ken Swofford, Joseph Cali, David Byrd, Marvin Kaplan, Tom O'Rourke, Diana Bellamy, Robin Mossley, Richard Roat, Jerry Potter, Sheelah Megill, Jano Frandsen, Nancy Isaak, Brian Knox McGugan, A.J. Freeman, Serge Houde, Frank Slaten.

On this day in movie history - John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick (1988):

John Huston: The Man, the Movies, the Maverick

documentary directed by Frank Martin,

written by Frank Martin and Charles Degelman,

was released at the Chicago International Film Festival in the United States on October 24, 1988.

Festival held from October 24, 1988 – November 6, 1988.

Music by Steve Goldstein.

Cast:

John Huston, Robert Mitchum, Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Evelyn Keyes, Lesley Black, Arthur Miller, Marietta Tree, Michael Fitzgerald, Tom Shaw, Walter Huston, Anjelica Huston, Michael Caine, Oswald “Ossie” Morris, Danny Huston, Zoe Sallis, Jennifer Jones, Humphrey Bogart, Lady Hemphill, Lord Hemphill, Darryl F. Zanuck, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Sue Lyon, Deborah Kerr, Assi Dayan, Marlon Brando, Robert Forster, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Burgess Meredith.

On this day in music history - Eponymous, by R.E.M. (1988):

The album Eponymous,

by R.E.M.,

was released on October 17, 1988.

On this day in movie history - Alien Nation (1988):

Alien Nation

directed by Graham Baker,

written by Rockne S. O'Bannon,

was released in the United States on October 7, 1988.
Music by Curt Sobel.

Cast:

James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp, Kevyn Major Howard, Leslie Bevis, Peter Jason, Conrad Dunn, Jeff Kober, Roger Aaron Brown, Tony Simotes, Michael David Simms, Ed Krieger, Tony Perez, Brian Thompson, Francis X. McCarthy, Keone Young, Don Hood, Earl Boen, William E. Dearth, Robert Starr, Bobby Sargent, Bebe Drake, Edgar Small, Thomas Wagner, Abraham Alvarez, Harri James, Frank Collison, Tom DeFranco, Angela O'Neill, Seth Marten, Kendall Conrad, Brian Lando, Tom Morga, Regis Parton, Jessica James, Tom Finnegan, Doug MacHugh, Lawrence Kopp, Alec Gillis, Shuko Akune, Stephanie Shroyer, Frank Wagner, Clarence Landry, Van Ling, Mark Murphey, Kirsten Graham, George Robotham, Debra Seitz, James De Closs, Douglas Cameron, Jasper Cole, Lorenzo Gaspar, Eric Kay, Dee Giffin Scott.

On this day in movie history - Dead Ringers (1988):

Dead Ringers

directed by David Cronenberg,

written by David Cronenberg and Norman Snider,

was released in the United States on September 23, 1988.
Based on the novel Twins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland,

inspired by the true story of the identical twin gynecologists Stewart and Cyril Marcus (June 2, 1930 – July 1975).
Music by Howard Shore.

“Oh, doctor … you’ve cured me!”

– Geneviève Bujold, as Claire.

Cast:

Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, Heidi von Palleske, Barbara Gordon, Shirley Douglas, Stephen Lack, Nick Nichols, Lynne Cormack, Damir Andrei, Miriam Newhouse, David Hughes, Richard W. Farrell, Warren Davis, Jonathan Haley, Nicholas Haley, Marsha Moreau, Denis Akiyama, Dee McCafferty, Susan Markle, Murray Cruchley, Jane Luk, Tita Trevisan, Jacqueline Hennessy, Jill Hennessy, David Walden, Liliane Stillwell, Denise McLeod, Bob Bainborough, Nicholas Rice, Joe Matheson, Hadley Kay, Cynthia Eastman, Nora Colpman, Rena Polley, Madeleine Atkinson, John Bayliss, Graham Evans, David Cronenberg, Alan Gough, Jordan-Patrick Marcantonio, Julian-Peter Marcantonio, Greg Van Riel.

Recommended reading - The Dime Detectives (1988):

The Dime Detectives

By Ron Goulart.

Published by Mysterious Press.

Published 1988.

First Edition.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0892961910

ISBN-13: 978-0892961917

Description:

A comprehensive history of the detective fiction pulps.

Traces the history of detective fiction pulp magazines from their origins in the nineteenth-century dime novels to their heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, profiling many pulp writers who went on to achieve greater fame.

On this day in music history - New Jersey, by Bon Jovi (1988):

The album New Jersey,

by Bon Jovi,

was released on September 19, 1988.

On this day in music history - Watermark, by Enya (1988):

The album Watermark,

by Enya,

was released on September 19, 1988.

On this day in movie history - Freeway (1988):

Freeway,

directed by Francis Delia,

written by Darrell Fetty and Francis Delia,

based on the novel by Deanne Barkley,

was released in the United States on September 2, 1988.
Music by Joe Delia.

Cast:
Darlanne Fluegel, James Russo, Billy Drago, Richard Belzer, Michael Callan, Joe Palese, Steve Franken, Brian Kaiser, Kenneth Tobey, Julianne Dallara, Laurie Foshay, Gloria Edwards, Deem Bristow, Toby Anderson, Kimberly Hall, Robert Lane, Jesse Shapiro, Genevieve Anderson, Ivan E. Roth, Charles Conable, Richard Chavez, Ann Shalla, Robert Harvey, Jim Wilkey, George Fisher, Tony Winters, Gene LeBell, Michael Leopard, Roy Clark, Alice Ferris, Jeff St. Joseph, Clint Howard.