Not a terribly good day if you were a popular Comedian or a President. News bulletins broke over the air on June 9, 1980 of an accident concerning Richard Pryor, which left him hospitalized in critical condition and with a 25-30% chance of survival. All because of, initially reported, an exploding Butane Lighter. A few raised eyebrows, to be sure. But later it was revealed Pryor was allegedly engaged in that recent phenomenon known as "Freebasing" - another new word to quickly enter our Lexicon of Popular Culture. Meanwhile, President Carter had his woes but certainly not of the pharmaceutical kind. His was an angry crowd in Miami, mostly blacks displaced by the recent riots. With tossed bottles and rocks at the motorcade as it left downtown Miami. Carter claimed unawares, although the photographer who was cold-cocked from a "things go better with" bottle claimed otherwise.
And not the least of the Carter woes came in the form of a foul up in speaker appearances in Seattle that threatened to put him on the same podium as Presidential Challenger Senator Ted Kennedy, causing ruffled feathers and egg smeared faces from the organizers. The Kennedy camp grimaced and said "thanks, but no thanks".
And meanwhile, the Middle East continued to be the Middle East with on-again/off-again/maybe/kind-of peace negotiations between all the usual suspects stopping and starting every other minute or so.
And so the World turned, albeit akimbo on this 9th day of June in 1980.
As reported by CBS Radio Hourly News.
