January 22, 1984: Just after halftime of the broadcast of Super Bowl XVIII on CBS, Apple airs a commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, tying in with George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and fears that, now that calendar year 1984 had arrived, such a world might be happening.
"Big Brother" was played by English actor David Graham. He was best known for voicing the Daleks in Doctor Who, and later voiced Grandpa Pig on the British cartoon Peppa Pig. The narrator was Edward Grover, best known for playing Lieutenant Hal Brubaker on Baretta.
The hammer thrower was English athlete Anya Major, cast not for her appearance, but because she was the only woman who auditioned who could properly throw the hammer. She later played the title role in the video for Elton John's song "Nikita." Contrary to her appearance in the ad, she was never a Hooters waitress.
Two days later, on January 24, Apple held a press conference, at which Steve Jobs introduced their Macintosh 128K computer.
Yes, kids, this young guy with the long hair and no beard is Steve Jobs.
What would inevitably be abbreviated as "The Mac" was the first successful mass-market all-in-one desktop personal computer with a graphical user interface (GUI), built-in screen and mouse. It was pivotal in establishing desktop publishing as a general office function.
Edward Grover lived until 1986, Steve Jobs until 2011. Contrary to urban legend, as of January 22, 2022, Anya Major is alive and well, 56 years old, and living in England, married with 3 children. David Graham and Ridley Scott are also still alive. (UPDATE: Graham died in 2024, at the age of 99.)
In a 2012 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, "Nice" Peter Shukoff played Steve Jobs, against "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist as Bill Gates.
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January 22, 1984 was a Sunday -- obviously, since the Super Bowl was being played. The Los Angeles Raiders beat the defending Champions, the Washington Redskins, 38-9.
Baseball was out of season. Bowing to the reality of TV viewing, the NBA scheduled only one game for the day: The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-98 at the Boston Garden.
Likewise, there was only one game in the NHL, and it's an All-Canadian matchup, giving people of that country something to watch instead of a Super Bowl between the teams from America's entertainment and governmental capitals: The Winnipeg Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-4 at the Winnipeg Arena.
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