1977 in the United States

1977 in the United States
Events from the year 1977 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Gerald Ford (R-Michigan) (until January 20), Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia) (starting January 20)
Vice President: Nelson Rockefeller (R-New York) (until January 20), Walter Mondale (D-Minnesota) (starting January 20)
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger (Minnesota)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Carl Albert (D-Oklahoma) (until January 3), Tip O'Neill (D-Massachusetts) (starting January 4)
Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D-Montana) (until January 3), Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) (starting January 3)
Congress: 94th (until January 3), 95th (starting January 3)
Events
January
January
The world's first personal computer, the Commodore PET, is demonstrated at the winter Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.
The Coalition of Free Men is founded in Columbia, Maryland, in order to create a unified voice in addressing issues concerning men and boys. The organisation would later become the National Coalition for Men, America's oldest men's rights organization.
January 3 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
January 9
Super Bowl XI: The Oakland Raiders defeat the Minnesota Vikings 32–14 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Rock band Toto is founded by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro in Van Nuys, Los Angeles.
January 17 – In the first execution after the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States, Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah.
January 19
Snow falls in Miami, Florida (despite its ordinarily tropical climate) for the only time in its history. Snowfall has occurred farther south in the United States only on the high mountains of the state of Hawaii.
President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (aka “Tokyo Rose”).
January 20 – Jimmy Carter is sworn in as the 39th president of the United States, and Walter F. Mondale is sworn in as the 42nd vice president.
January 21 – President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.
January 23 – Roots begins its phenomenally successful run on ABC.
January 28 – The Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 hits Buffalo, New York.
January 1 to 31:
The contiguous US average monthly minimum temperature of is the coldest for any month since nationwide records were first compiled in 1895.
In contrast to the contiguous US, Alaska had to that point its warmest January on record with a mean of being warmer than the 1925 to 1974 average and warmer than Alaska's previous record warmest January 1937.
February
February 4
Fleetwood Mac's Grammy Award-winning album Rumours is released.
Eleven CTA commuters are killed when an elevated train derails from the Loop in central Chicago.
February 12 – Actress Christa Helm is fatally stabbed on a sidewalk in West Hollywood. The perpetrator is never identified.
February 18 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle goes on its maiden "flight" while sitting on top of a Boeing 747, at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
March
March 9 — Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Movement Muslims take over three buildings in Washington, D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends two days later.
March 11 — Walt Disney Productions' 22nd feature film, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, is released. It is the studio's most critically well-received film in years and the last in the Disney canon in which the late Walt Disney was involved with in any capacity.
March 18 — United States lifts its ban on travel by U.S. citizens to Cambodia, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam.
March 15 — Tenor Luciano Pavarotti and the PBS opera series Live from the Met both make their American television debuts. Pavarotti stars in a complete production of Puccini's La Boheme.
March 26 — The fundamentalist organization Focus on the Family is founded by Dr. James Dobson.
March 28 — The 49th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Richard Pryor, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda and Warren Beatty, is held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. John G. Avildsen's Rocky receives ten nominations, winning Best Picture and Best Director for Avildsen. Rocky is tied with Sidney Lumet's Network for the most nominations, while the latter film and Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men both won four awards each. The late Peter Finch becomes the first posthumous actor Oscar winner, winning for Best Actor.
April
April 4 – Grundy, Virginia, experiences a major flood that causes around $15 million in damages to 228 residential and commercial structures.
April 5 – Beginning of demonstrations in 10 cities across the U.S., the longest being the 3.5 week sit-in the San Francisco Federal Building to persuade President Jimmy Carter to implement the first Federal civil rights law for people with disabilities, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, without reinstituting the "separate but equal" doctrine.
April 7
The Toronto Blue Jays play their first game of baseball against the Chicago White Sox.
The Seattle Mariners play their first-ever game of baseball against the California Angels.
April 21 – Residents of Dover, Massachusetts, report sightings of the so-called "Dover Demon".
May
May 4 – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops rule that divorced Catholics, including those who remarried outside the Church, are no longer automatically excommunicated and can still attend Mass but if they remarry without obtaining a Church annulment, cannot receive Holy Communion and confession.
May 8 – Suzanne Lacy's extended performance piece about rape, Three Weeks in May begins in Los Angeles and continues until May 24.
May 14 – The Montreal Canadiens sweep the Boston Bruins in four games to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
May 16 – A 20-passenger S-61L helicopter topples sideways at takeoff from the roof of the Pan Am Building in Midtown Manhattan. Four passengers are killed by the turning rotors and a woman at street level is fatally struck by a fallen blade.
May 17 – Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre first opens in San Jose, California.
May 25 – The movie Star Wars, directed by George Lucas is released as the first film in the Star Wars Saga and the first in the Original Trilogy. It is premiered in 32 movie theaters across the United States before reaching other cinemas nationwide. Critics who had previewed the film gave it good reviews, with Time magazine dubbing it "the year's best movie". Charles Champlin called it "the year's most razzle-dazzling family movie, an exuberant and technically astonishing space adventure". Gene Siskel commented that "'Star Wars' is not a great movie in the sense that it describes the human condition. It simply is a fun picture," with "spectacular visual effects, the best since Stanley Kubrick's 2001. Some hated the film, with one calling it "frequently boring with its fairy-tale plot", "relentlessly childish", and "no more sophisticated or believable than an old Spider Man comic book." Star Wars would go on to break the record for highest-grossing film (surpassing Jaws, The Godfather and The Sound of Music)
May 26 – George Willig climbs the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
May 27 – Space Mountain opens at Disneyland and will become one of the park's most popular attractions.
May 28 – The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside.
May 29 – Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt becomes the first driver (to date) to win a record four times.
June
June 4–5 – Humboldt Park riot in Chicago.
June 5 – The Portland Trail Blazers defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 109–107 to win the NBA finals 4–2. Bill Walton is named series MVP.
June 7 – After campaigning by Anita Bryant and her anti-gay "Save Our Children" crusade, Miami-Dade County, Florida voters overwhelmingly vote to repeal the county's gay rights ordinance.
June 10 – Assassin James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. He is recaptured on June 13.
June 16 – Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California as Software Development Laboratories (SDL) by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
June 20 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules that states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions.
June 22 – Walt Disney Productions' 23rd feature film, The Rescuers, is released to box office success and positive critical reception.
June 25 – American Roy Sullivan is struck by lightning for the 7th time.
June 26
Some 200,000 protesters march through the streets of San Francisco, protesting Anita Bryant's anti-gay remarks and the murder of Robert Hillsborough.
Elvis Presley performs his final concert, in Indianapolis, Indiana's Market Square Arena. Two previous performances were filmed in Omaha, Nebraska (June 19th) and Rapid City, South Dakota (June 21st) for the TV Special "Elvis In Concert." This special was not televised until October 3 of that year on CBS.
June 30 – Women Marines disbanded; women are integrated into regular Marine Corps.
July
July 13 – The New York City blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours, resulting in looting and disorder.
July 19-20 – Flooding in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, caused by massive rainfall, kills over 75 people and causes billions of dollars in damage.
July 24 – Led Zeppelin plays their last U.S. concert in Oakland, California at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. A brawl erupts between Led Zeppelin's crew and promoter Bill Graham's staff, resulting in criminal assault charges for several of Led Zeppelin's entourage including drummer John Bonham.
July 28 – The first oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska.
August
August 3 – United States Senate hearings on MKULTRA are held.
August 4 – President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
August 9 – Hulk Hogan debuts as The Super Destroyer for Championship Wrestling from Florida when he is defeated by Don Serrano at John Carroll Catholic High School's gym in Fort Pierce, Florida
August 10 – David Berkowitz is captured in Yonkers, New York, after over a year of murders in New York City as the Son of Sam.
August 12 – The NASA Space Shuttle, named Enterprise, makes its first test free-flight from the back of a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).
August 15 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "WOW!" signal for a notation made by a volunteer on the project.
August 16 – Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, dies in his home in Graceland at age 42. 75,000 fans lined the streets of Memphis for his funeral, which occurred on August 18, but wasn't televised until August 20.
August 20 – Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
September
September – Evangelical pastor Oral Roberts publishes plans to build the 'City of God Hospital' in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The towers are completed in 1981 for $120m ($299m, in 2012)
September 4 – The Golden Dragon Massacre takes place in San Francisco, California.
September 5 – Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.
September 7 – Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The U.S. agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century.
September 13 – Soap debuts on ABC and launches the career of Billy Crystal.
September 18 – Courageous, skippered by Ted Turner, sweeps Australia in the 24th America's Cup yachting race.
September 19 – Nicaraguan drug cartels rise to power in New Jersey. Pablo Escobar as facilitating drug lord.
Under pressure from the Carter administration, President Anastasio Somoza Debayle lifts the state of siege in Nicaragua.
Closure of steelworks in Youngstown, Ohio, is announced.
September 21 – A nuclear non-proliferation pact is signed by 15 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union.
September 23 – Jazz-rock group Steely Dan releases their sixth studio album Aja; it becomes their highest charting album at No. 3 and goes on to win a Grammy Award.
September 29
Singer-songwriter Billy Joel releases his fifth studio album The Stranger; it becomes the first of several hit albums, spawning five hit singles, going 10× platinum in the US, and later ranking at No. 70 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The modern Food Stamp Program begins when the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is enacted.
September 30 – A series of partial government shutdowns occur, finally ending in December.
October
October 1
Energy Research and Development Administration part of Department of Energy.
Pelé plays his final professional football game as a member of the New York Cosmos.
October 6 – Irish American mobster Danny Greene is murdered with a car bomb by the Cleveland crime family in Lyndhurst, Ohio.
October 12 – The passage of the Community Reinvestment Act.
October 14 – Anita Bryant is famously pied by four gay rights activists during a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. This event resulted in her political fallout from anti-gay activism.
October 18 – Newly acquired and flamboyantly charismatic slugger Reggie Jackson hits three home runs to lead the New York Yankees to their first World Series championship victory since 1962 over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1977 World Series in six games.
October 20 – Three members (lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his older sister Cassie Gaines, band's backup singer) of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a charter plane crash outside Gillsburg, Mississippi, three days after the release of their fifth studio album Street Survivors.
October 21 – Rock singer Meat Loaf (real name Marvin Lee Aday) releases the album Bat Out of Hell.
October 24 – A new Peanuts special, It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, airs on CBS. It shows and names "Heather", the Little Red-Haired Girl, thereupon ending the 'mystery'.
November
November 6 – The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39.
November 8 – San Francisco elects City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official of any large city in the U.S.
November 13 – The comic strip Li'l Abner ends its 43-year run in newspapers.
November 22 – British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service.
November 27 – The Rankin/Bass animated film The Hobbit premieres on NBC in the United States.
November 28 – Jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp records "On Green Dolphin Street", the first digitally recorded album to be released commercially in the USA.
December
December 1 – Pinwheel debuts on Channel C-3 (now Nickelodeon).
December 11 – After losing 26 games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the US National Football League record their very first win; against the New Orleans Saints.
December 12 – The Lockheed's top-secret stealth aircraft project, designated Have Blue, precursor to the U.S. F-117A Nighthawk, makes its first flight.
December 13 – Crash of Air Indiana Flight 216: A DC-3 charter plane carrying the University of Evansville basketball team crashes in rain and dense fog about 90 seconds after takeoff from Evansville Dress Regional Airport. Twenty-nine people die in the crash, including 14 members of the team and head coach Bob Watson.
December 16 – Mikhail Baryshnikov's 1976 production of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker comes to CBS a year after premiering onstage at the Kennedy Center. This adaptation will become the most popular television production of the work.
December 19–21 – The Great Bakersfield Dust Storm hits the Southern San Joaquin Valley, in California; resulting in three deaths and $40 million in damages.
Undated
Polish-American mathematician Antoni Zygmund authors his major work Measure and Integral.
Feature films released in 1977 include: Star Wars, Annie Hall, Saturday Night Fever, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, A Bridge Too Far, Exorcist II: The Heretic, The Turning Point, New York, New York, Smokey and the Bandit
John Travolta's role in Saturday Night Fever inspired young Americans to wear Flare jeans, an updated version of Bell-bottoms.
Atari 2600, released in October, popularized the use of microprocessor based hardware and cartridges containing game code.
The coldest winter for fifty-nine years in the Ohio Valley region and a record dry year throughout the West, especially the Pacific Northwest, creates heating fuel and water shortages plus extended freezing of the Great Lakes and freezing of the Mississippi River as far as Cairo, Illinois.
Ongoing
Cold War (1947–1991)
Détente (c. 1969–1979)
1970s energy crisis (1973–1980)
Births
January
January 1 – Abdihakem Abdirahman, Olympic long-distance runner
January 3 – A. J. Burnett, baseball player
January 4
Solon Bixler, musician and guitarist
Graham Elliot, chef, restaurateur and television personality
Ozell Wells, Dominican-American basketball player, coach, and scout
January 7
Dustin Diamond, actor (d. 2021)
John Gidding, architect and television host
January 8 – Amber Benson, actress
January 9 – Scoonie Penn, basketball player
January 10 – Clark Haggans, football player (d. 2023)
January 11
Devin Ratray, actor
Nadia Turner, singer
January 12
DeJuan Alfonzo, football player
DJ Paul, DJ, record producer, and rapper for Three 6 Mafia
January 17 – Kevin Thorn, wrestler
January 18
Lloyd Ahlquist, youtuber
Lazo Alavanja, soccer player
Allison Alderson, actress, host, and beauty queen
January 19 – Taliesin Jaffe, actor
January 20 – Sid Wilson, turntablist for Slipknot
January 21
Reggie Austin, football player
Jerry Trainor, actor, comedian and musician
January 24
Johann Urb, Estonian-born actor
Chad Hurley, webmaster and businessman, co-founder of YouTube
January 26
Vince Carter, basketball player
Justin Gimelstob, tennis player and coach
January 28
Daunte Culpepper, football player
Antonio Delgado, politician, 79th Lieutenant Governor of New York
Joey Fatone, singer and member of 'N Sync
Lyle Overbay, professional baseball player
January 29
Dion Basco, actor
Justin Hartley, actor
Sam Jaeger, actor
January 30
Dan Hinote, ice hockey player and coach
Dwight Johnson, football player
January 31
Wheeler Antabanez, writer
Bobby Moynihan, actor and comedian
Kerry Washington, actress
February
February 1
Lari Ketner, basketball player (d. 2014)
Candace Smith, lawyer, actress, television personality, life coach, and author
Robert Traylor, basketball player (d. 2011)
February 3 – Maitland Ward, actress
February 4
Shedrack Anderson III, actor
Gavin DeGraw, musician and singer-songwriter
February 5
Adam Everett, baseball player
Ahmad Merritt, football player
February 6
Brendan Boyle, politician
Josh Stewart, actor
February 7 – Hillary Wolf, child actress and judoka
February 8
Dave Farrell, bassist for Linkin Park
Barry Hall, footballer
February 10 – Kris Jordan, politician (d. 2023)
February 11 – Mike Shinoda, singer, rapper, and emcee for Linkin Park
February 12 – Melissa Beck, television personality and comedian
February 13 – Randy Moss, football player
February 15 – Brooks Wackerman, drummer for Avenged Sevenfold and Bad Religion (2001-2005)
February 16 – Paul Brittain, actor and comedian
February 17 – Bennie Anderson, football player
February 18
Ike Barinholtz, actor and comedian
Sean Watkins, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter
February 19 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, journalist, author, columnist, and producer
February 20
Gail Kim, Canadian-born wrestler
Stephon Marbury, basketball player
February 21
Jonathan Safran Foer, author
Steve Francis, basketball player
Kevin Rose, internet entrepreneur
February 24
Julie E. Adams, politician
Bronson Arroyo, baseball player and singer
Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxer
February 26
Jeremy Aldrich, soccer player
Greg Rikaart, actor
February 28
Aaron Aguilera, wrestler and actor
Jason Aldean, country singer
Lance Archer, wrestler
Steven Fulop, politician, mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey
March
March 1 – Adam Huss, actor, producer, and writer
March 2
Steve Armas, soccer player
Heather McComb, actress
March 4 – Jeremiah Green, drummer for Modest Mouse (d. 2022)
March 5
Daniel Alarcón, Peruvian-born novelist, journalist, and radio producer
Jennifer Anson, American-born Palaun judoka
Bryan Berard, ice hockey player
Mike MacDougal, baseball player
Wally Szczerbiak, Spanish-born basketball player and sportscaster
March 6 – Bubba Sparxxx, rapper
March 8 – James Van Der Beek, actor
March 9
Lydia Mackay, voice actress
Shannon Miller, gymnast
Robin Thicke, American-born Canadian singer
March 10 – Bree Turner, actress
March 11
Miguel Almaguer, journalist
Becky Hammon, basketball player
March 15
Brian Tee, Japanese-born actor
Joe Hahn, musician, DJ, director and visual artist for Linkin Park
March 16 – Richard Swift, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and short-film maker
March 17 – Tamar Braxton, singer
March 18 – Devin Lima, singer and member of LFO (d. 2018)
March 19
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, actor
Jorma Taccone, actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician
March 22
Joey Porter, football player and coach
David Portnoy, media personality
Tom Poti, ice hockey player
Lon Symensma, chef
March 23 – Sammy Morris, football player
March 24
Ubusuku Abukusumo, soccer player
Jessica Chastain, actress and producer
March 26 – Bianca Kajlich, actress
March 27 – Roger Velasco, actor
March 28 – Annie Wersching, actress (d. 2023)
April
April 1
Harold Arceneaux, basketball player
Paul Kalanithi, neurosurgeon and writer (d. 2015)
April 3 – Aiden Leslie, singer/songwriter
April 4 – Adam Dutkiewicz, musician and guitarist for Killswitch Engage and Times of Grace
April 5 – Lee Eisenberg, screenwriter and producer
April 6 – Teddy Sears, actor
April 9 – Gerard Way, singer and frontman for My Chemical Romance
April 10 – Stephanie Sheh, voice actress
April 11 – Ron Nirenberg, politician, mayor of San Antonio, Texas (2017-present)
April 12 – Sarah Jane Morris, actress
April 14
Hameen Ali, football player
Nate Fox, basketball player (d. 2014)
Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress
Chandra Levy, intern (d. 2001)
Rob McElhenney, actor
David Valadao, politician
April 15 – Matt Holt, heavy metal singer (d. 2017)
April 16
Jordan Allen-Dutton, writer, producer, and director
Hayes MacArthur, actor, producer, and screenwriter
April 21 – Bodhraj Acharya, Nepalese-born scientist
April 22 – Owen Ashworth, musician
April 23
Kal Penn, actor
John Cena, wrestler
Eric Edelstein, actor
Jaime King, actress and model
John Oliver, comedian
April 25 – Ricardo Aleman, author and comedian
April 26
Jason Earles, actor
Leonard Earl Howze, actor
Tom Welling, actor
April 27
Courtney Alexander, basketball player
Kunimi Andrea, singer and actress
Samantha Nugent, politician
April 29
Matt Bachand, guitarist for Shadows Fall
Titus O'Neill, wrestler
David Sullivan, actor
April 30 – Alexandra Holden, actress
May
May 3
Ben Olsen, footballer
Eric Church, country music singer
Jeffrey Garcia, stand-up comedian, actor and voice actor
May 5 – Tudor Dixon, businesswoman, political commentator, and political candidate
May 6 – Brian Aldridge, politician
May 9 – Maggie Dixon, basketball player and coach (d. 2006)
May 11 – Sal Alosi, strength and conditioning coach
May 12 – Rebecca Herbst, actress
May 13
Tom Cotton, politician
Pusha T, rapper, songwriter, and record executive
Brian Thomas Smith, actor and comedian
May 14 – Roy Halladay, baseball player (d. 2017)
May 16 – Lynn Collins, actress
May 17
Joaquin Arambula, politician
Welles Crowther, investment banker (d. 2001)
May 18 – Ken Amato, football player
May 19
Larry Abney, basketball player
Brandon Inge, baseball player
May 20
Tiger Tyson, gay pornographic film actor, model, and gay porn film director
Chad Muska, skateboarder
May 21 – Alicia Albe, gymnast
May 23 – Heather Wahlquist, actress
May 26 – Mark Hunter, singer and frontman for Chimaira
May 27
Henry Aquino, politician
David Toland, politician, 52nd Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
May 28 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, talk show host
May 29
Rory Albanese, comedian, comedy writer and television producer
Kevin Arbouet, director, writer, and producer
May 31
Guma Aguiar, Brazilian-born businessman and industrialist (missing since 2012)
Eric Christian Olsen, actor
June
June 1
Sarah Wayne Callies, actress
Danielle Harris, actress and director
June 2
Zachary Quinto, actor
A.J. Styles, wrestler
June 3
Travis Hafner, baseball player
Az-Zahir Hakim, football player
June 5
Kristin Gore, author and screenwriter
Christian Martucci, singer/songwriter and guitarist for Black President, The Strychnine Babies, Stone Sour, and The Chelsea Smiles
June 6 – Matt Heinz, doctor and politician
June 7 – Joe Horgan, baseball player
June 8 – Kanye West, recording artist
June 11
Darnell Alford, football player
Ryan Dunn, television personality (d. 2011)
June 12 – Kenny Wayne Shepherd, singer-songwriter and guitarist
June 13 – Erin Toughill, boxer and mixed martial artist
June 14
Rashard Anderson, football player (d. 2022)
De'Adre Aziza, actress and singer
Chris McAlister, football player
June 16
Rich Attonito, mixed martial artist
Kerry Wood, baseball player
June 19 – Peter Warrick, football player
June 20
Ronnie Gene Blevins, actor
Stephanie White, basketball player
June 23 – Jason Mraz, singer/songwriter
June 25
Jon Akin, soccer player
Tim Anderson, musician, songwriter, and producer
June 27 – Dan Andriano, bassist for Alkaline Trio and The Damned Things
June 28 – Blair Butler, comedian
June 29
Jeff Baena, screenwriter and director
Bradley Stryker, actor
June 30
Lyndon Amick, stock car racing driver
Colton Dunn, actor, writer, and producer
July
July 1
Pamela Rogers Turner, teacher and child rapist
Liv Tyler, actress
Lovely Warren, politician, mayor of Rochester, New York (2014-2021)
July 4 – Stephen Rannazzisi, actor and comedian
July 5 – Steven Sharp Nelson, cellist
July 7
Tori Alamaze, singer
Jessica Chobot, host and writer
Dan Whitesides, drummer for The Used
July 8 – Milo Ventimiglia, actor
July 10 – Cary Joji Fukunaga, director, writer, and cinematographer
July 11 – Edward Moss, impersonator
July 12
Steve Howey, actor
Brock Lesnar, wrestler and mixed martial artist
July 13
Michael Alan, artist
Ashley Scott, actress
Kari Wahlgren, voice actress
July 15
Lana Parrilla, actress
Ray Toro, musician
July 16 – Brian Cook, bassist
July 17 – Brandon Ash, stock car racing driver
July 19 – Danny Roberts, television personality and recruiter
July 21 – Heather Armbrust, bodybuilder
July 26 – Markwayne Mullin, politician
July 27
Martha Madison, actress
Jason Zimbler, actor
July 28
Travis Alexander, murder victim (d. 2008)
Dexter Jackson, football player and sportscaster
Chris Samuels, football player and coach
July 29 – Balamurali Ambati, Indian-born ophthalmologist, educator, and researcher
July 30 – Jaime Pressly, actress
July 31 – Tim Couch, football player
August
August 2
Julián Alonso, Spanish-born tennis player
Edward Furlong, actor
Marc Rizzo, guitarist for Soulfly and Ill Niño
Jill Underly, politician
August 3
Karen Alloy, comedian
Tom Brady, football player and entrepreneur
August 4 – Dada 5000, Bahamian-born mixed martial artist and internet personality
August 6 – Ashlie Atkinson, actress
August 7 – Jamey Jasta, singer and frontman for Hatebreed and Kingdom of Sorrow
August 8
Michael Chernus, actor
Lindsay Sloane, actress
August 11 – Pablo Lucio Vasquez, murderer executed by lethal injection (d. 2016)
August 12 – Plaxico Burress, football player
August 13 – Karine Jean-Pierre, French-born White House Press Secretary
August 14
Kyle Abraham, choreographer and dancer
Al Shearer, actor
August 15 – Nicole Paggi, actress
August 19
T. J. Holmes, journalist and television personality
Will Hurd, politician and CIA officer
August 23
Chris M. Allport, filmmaker, actor, singer, and symphonic composer
Nicole Bobek, figure skater
August 24 – John Green, author, vlogger, and editor
August 26 – Morris Peterson, basketball player
August 28
G. T. Bynum, politician, mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma (2016-present)
Ginger D. Anders, lawyer and politician
August 29 – John Hensley, actor
August 30
Jon Adkins, baseball player
Shaun Alexander, football player
Elden Henson, actor
Félix Sánchez, Olympic track-and-field athlete
August 31 – Jeff Hardy wrestler
September
September 1
Jerry Azumah, football player
Adrienne Wilkinson, actress
September 2 – Playa Fly, rapper
September 3
DJ Envy, radio host
Jason Andersen, football player
September 4
Ian Grushka, bassist for New Found Glory
Kia Stevens, wrestler and actress
Timothy "Yogi" Watts, drummer for Demon Hunter
September 5 – Sin Cara, wrestler and luchador
September 6 – N.O.R.E., rapper and podcaster
September 7
Chinedu Achebe, football player
Molly Holly, wrestler
September 9 – Soulja Slim, rapper (d. 2003)
September 10 – Anita Allen, Army medic and Olympic pentathlete
September 11
Jackie Buscarino, voice actress, writer and producer
Josette Bynum, wrestler
Ludacris, rapper and actor
September 12 – 2 Chainz, rapper
September 13
Brandt Andersen, activist, director, writer, and producer
Fiona Apple, singer
September 15
Kenny Blank, actor and musician
Marisa Ramirez, actress
Jason Terry, basketball player
September 17 – Andrea Anderson, Olympic sprinter
September 18 – Sara Haines, television host
September 19 – Erica Ash, actress, comedian, singer, and model
September 21
Feda Almaliti, autistic activist (d. 2020)
Hank Fraley, football player
September 23 – Brent Abernathy, baseball player
September 24
Elizabeth Bogush, actress
Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, football player
September 25
Clea DuVall, actress
Robbie Jones, actor
Joel David Moore, actor
September 26 – Sirena Irwin, actress
September 27 – Michael C. Maronna, actor
September 29 – Heath Bell, baseball player
October
October 6
Melinda Doolittle, 3rd place finalist on American Idol (season 6)
Francis Suarez, politician, mayor of Miami, Florida (2017-present)
October 10 – Tom Ashworth, football player
October 11
Matt Bomer, actor
Rhett McLaughlin, youtuber
October 12 – Bode Miller, Olympic skier
October 13
Paul Pierce, basketball player
Quincy Carter, American football player
Kiele Sanchez, actress
October 14
Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphonist and composer
Kelly Schumacher, American-born Canadian basketball and volleyball player
October 15 – Jeff Sutphen, actor and producer
October 16
John Mayer, singer/songwriter and record producer
Stephen Richards, singer and frontman for Taproot
October 17
Alimi Ballard, actor
Bryan Bertino, filmmaker
October 18
Chris McKenna, actor
Peter Sohn, animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and film director
October 27 – Mat Lucas, voice actor
October 20
Steve Anthony, wrestler
Jennifer Hall, actress
Sam Witwer, actor and musician
October 22 – Jocelyn Benson, politician
October 23 – Matt Allen, football player
October 25 – The Alchemist, record producer, DJ, rapper, and songwriter
October 26 – Jon Heder, actor and voice actor
October 29 – Jon Abrahams, actor
November
November 2 – Randy Harrison, actor
November 3
Philip Amelio, actor and teacher (d. 2005)
Greg Plitt, fitness model, actor, and former Army Ranger (d. 2015)
November 4 – Larry Bigbie, baseball player
November 5 – Sherry Argov, French-born author
November 8
Bucky Covington, singer
Nick Punto, baseball player
November 10
Josh Barnett, mixed martial artist
Brittany Murphy, actress (d. 2009)
Lea Moreno Young, actress
November 11 – Scoot McNairy, actor
November 14 – Brian Dietzen, actor
November 15
Jon Hurwitz, screenwriter, director, and producer
Sean Murray, actor
Robaire Smith, football player
Logan Whitehurst, singer/songwriter and drummer for The Velvet Teen (d. 2006)
November 16 – Maggie Gyllenhaal, actress
November 19
Reid Scott, actor
Markuann Smith, actor, producer, and director
Kerri Strug, Olympic gymnast
November 20 – Josh Turner, country music singer
November 21 – Jonas Jennings, football player
November 22
David Clinger, road racing cyclist
Tim Keller, politician, mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico (2019-present)
November 24 – Colin Hanks, actor
November 27
Adam Archuleta, football player
Cheryl Bogart, music industry veteran and spinal cord injury awareness advocate
Veronica Portillo, television personality
Alex Wagner, journalist
November 28 – DeMya Walker, basketball player
November 29
Jason Alfaro, baseball player
Andy Beshear, politician, 63rd Governor of Kentucky
November 30
Steve Aoki, DJ, record producer, music programmer, and record executive
Nelsan Ellis, actor and playwright (d. 2017)
December
December 1 – Brad Delson, lead guitarist for Linkin Park
December 2
Sadie Alexandru, actress and model
Robert Garcia, politician
Lamin Swann, politician (d. 2023)
December 3 – Troy Evans, football player
December 4 – Nancy Mace, politician
December 6
Edward Barbanell, actor and comedian
Lindsey Alley, actress and singer
December 7
Chris Chalk, actor
Fernando Vargas, boxer
December 8 – Ryan Newman, stock car racing driver
December 10
Acid Betty, drag queen
Spencer Allen, baseball player and coach
December 12
Troy Andrew, football player
Orlando Hudson, baseball player
December 13 – Nikki Fried, politician
December 18
Maria Brink, singer and lead vocalist for In This Moment
Vanessa Trump, model
December 21
Michel Abboud, Lebanese-born artist and architect
A. J. Bowen, actor and producer
Mark Dice, author and conspiracy theorist
Kevin Miller, voice actor
Gregory Siff, visual artist, designer, writer and actor
December 22
Dai Andrews, performance artist
Michael Watson, politician
December 23 – Alge Crumpler, American football player
December 24 – Michael Raymond-James, actor
December 27 – Erin Aldrich, Olympic high jumper and volleyball player
December 28
John Jairo Bedoya Jr., wrestler (d. 2020)
Michael Spears, actor
December 29
Laveranues Coles, American football player
Katherine Moennig, actress
December 30
Jimmy Alapag, basketball player
Laila Ali, boxer
Aesha Ash, ballerina
Kenyon Martin, basketball player
December 31 – Donald Trump Jr., businessman and TV personality, son of Donald Trump
Full date unknown
Faisal Alam, gay rights activist
Rumaan Alam, writer
Cecilia Alemani, Italian-born curator
Kate Ali, artist
Hannah Allam, journalist and reporter
Francis Allen-Palenske, businessman and politician
Charles Allen, politician
Paul Coy Allen, filmmaker, producer, and director
Ilkay Altintas, Turkish-born data and computer scientist
Bill Anderson, politician
Holly Andres, photographer
George Arison, Georgian-born businessman
Brad Ascalon, industrial designer
Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, journalist
Joe Asselin, blues musician
Amanda Auchter, writer, professor, and editor
Kristoffer Polaha, actor and author
Kris Roe, singer/songwriter, guitarist, and frontman for The Ataris
Erica Tazel, actress
Deaths
January
January 2 – Erroll Garner, jazz pianist (b. 1921)
January 5 – Onslow Stevens, American actor (b. 1902)
January 6 – William Gropper, American artist (b. 1897)
January 14 – Peter Finch, English-born actor (b. 1916)
January 17 – Gary Gilmore, criminal (b. 1940)
January 23 – Toots Shor, proprietor (b. 1903)
January 28 – Burt Mustin, American actor (b. 1884)
January 29 – Freddie Prinze, actor and comedian (b. 1954)
February
February 3 – Pauline Starke, American actress (b. 1901)
February 4 – Brett Halliday, mystery writer (b. 1904)
February 12 – Henry Jordan, American football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (b. 1935)
February 20 – Ralph Hungerford, American naval officer, 33rd Governor of American Samoa (b. 1896)
February 21 – John Hubley, American animator (b. 1914)
February 27 – Allison Hayes, American actress (b. 1930)
March
March 3 – Percy Marmont, American actor (b. 1883)
March 8 – Henry Hull, American actor (b. 1890)
March 10 – E. Power Biggs, English-American organist (b. 1906)
March 11 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893)
March 14 – Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights activist (b. 1917)
March 19 – William L. Laurence, Jewish Lithuanian-American journalist (b. 1888)
March 29 – Charles Nicoletti, American gangster (b. 1916)
April
April 21 – Gummo Marx, vaudeville performer (b. 1893)
April 23 – Charles D. Herron, United States Army general (b. 1877)
May
May 9 – James Jones, author (b. 1921)
May 10 – Joan Crawford, actress (b. 1904)
June
June 16 – Wernher von Braun, German, later American, aerospace engineer and space architect (b. 1912 in Germany)
July
July 9 – Alice Paul, suffragist (b. 1885)
August
August 1 – Francis Gary Powers, American U-2 spy plane pilot (b. 1929)
August 3 – Alfred Lunt, American actor (b. 1892)
August 5 – Waldo L. Schmitt, American biologist (b. 1887)
August 9 – George Kenney, World War II United States Army Air Forces general (b. 1889)
August 14 – Ron Haydock, actor (b. 1940)
August 16 – Elvis Presley, American actor, musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1935)
August 17 – Delmer Daves, American screenwriter and director (b. 1904)
August 19 – Groucho Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1890)
August 22 – Sebastian Cabot, English actor (b. 1918)
August 29 – Jean Hagen, American actress (b. 1923)
September
September 1 – Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (b. 1896)
September 2 – Stephen Dunne, American actor (b. 1911)
September 8 – Zero Mostel, American actor (b. 1915)
September 16 – Maria Callas, Greek soprano (b. 1923)
September 24
Sherm Lollar, American baseball player and coach (b. 1924)
Frederick Merk, American historian (b. 1887)
September 26 – Ernie Lombardi American baseball player and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1908)
September 29 – Robert McKimson, American animator and director (b. 1910)
October
October 2 – Joseph William Woodrough, American federal judge (b. 1873)
October 3 – Tay Garnett, American film director (b. 1894)
October 6 – Danny Greene, Irish American mobster (b. 1933)
October 8 – Joe Greenstein, Polish-born American strongman (b. 1893)
October 11 – MacKinlay Kantor, American writer, Pulitzer Prize winner (b. 1904)
October 12 – Dorothy Davenport, American actress (b. 1895)
October 14 – Bing Crosby, American pop singer and actor (b. 1903)
October 20 – Three members of American rock group, Lynyrd Skynyrd, killed in plane crash:
Ronnie Van Zant, lead singer (b. 1948)
Cassie Gaines, lead singer (b. 1948)
Steve Gaines, lead singer and guitarist (b. 1949)
October 27 – James M. Cain, American writer (b. 1892)
November
November 3 – Florence Vidor, silent film actress (b. 1895)
November 5 – Guy Lombardo, bandleader (b. 1902 in Canada)
November 8 – Bucky Harris, baseball player and manager (b. 1896)
November 9 – Gertrude Astor, film character actress (b. 1887)
November 16 – José Acosta, baseball starting pitcher (b. 1891)
November 21 – Richard Carlson, actor and screen director (b. 1912)
December
December 5 – Rahsaan Roland Kirk, American jazz multi-instrumentalist (b. 1935)
December 10 – Ethel Roosevelt Derby, youngest daughter of Theodore Roosevelt (b. 1891)
December 15 – Wilfred Kitching, 7th General of the Salvation Army (b. 1893)
December 19 – Nellie Tayloe Ross, 13th Governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927 and director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953; first female state governor in the U.S. (b. 1876)
December 25 – Charlie Chaplin, British-born actor (b. 1889)
See also
1977 in American soccer
1977 in American television
List of American films of 1977
Timeline of United States history (1970–1989)
Notes
References
External links
1970s in the United States
United States
United States
Years of the 20th century in the United States