Hulce (left) as Mozart, and Abraham as Salieri
September 19, 1984: The film Amadeus premieres, directed by Miloš Forman, and based on the 1979 play by Peter Shaffer. In the play, Simon Callow, best known in America as Gareth in Four Weddings and a Funeral, played the laughing lunatic but genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791); and Paul Scofield, who played Sir Thomas More in the film version of A Man for All Seasons, played Italian composer Antonio Salieri (1750-1825).
It's the movie, far more than the play, that brought Mozart back to the public mind as the greatest composer of all time, with the comic strip Peanuts having raised Mozart's -- and Salieri's -- former student, Ludwig van Beethoven, to a higher point up until then.
But it's also the film that gave the public a story about Mozart and Salieri that is mostly bogus. And not even original: Alexander Pushkin had written the play Mozart and Salieri in 1830, and Nikoali Rimsky-Korsakov turned it into an opera in 1897.
This was a musical biopic in which the title character is not really the main character. F. Murray Abraham -- he added the F., as a stand-in for his father's name, Frederick -- played Salieri, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, which he won. As Mozart, Tom Hulce was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Dr. Haing S. Ngor for The Killing Fields.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
For the record, there was no contemporary evidence of Mozart and Salieri having anything resembling a rivalry; there were no contemporary accounts that Mozart's death at age 36 was due to anything other than illness; and the idea that Salieri was responsible is completely ridiculous. It would be like somebody suggesting today that John Lennon was shot by Cliff Richard. But it makes a great story. (The parts about Mozart having daddy issues and a fascination with ribaldry, especially with human solid waste, those have been documented as being true.)
Despite his brief life, Mozart was incredibly prolific. He wrote 41 symphonies. His operas The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787, the same year he wrote A Little Night Music) and The Magic Flute (1791, just 2 months before his death) made him a legend in his own time.
In a 2013 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, "Nice" Peter Shukoff played Mozart, while "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist played electronic "musician" Sonny "Skrillex" Moore.
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September 19, 1984 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Yankee Stadium. Joe Cowley outpitched Mike Boddicker. Mike Pagliarulo hit a home run. Don Mattingly went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs, while Dave Winfield did not play.
* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 13-5 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Steve Carlton was the winning pitcher, while Ron Darling didn't get out of the 2nd inning. Jeff Stone and Von Hayes each had 4 hits. For the Mets, Kelvin Chapman went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Reds player-manager Pete Rose went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-4 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Jack Morris outpitched knuckleballer Tom Candiotti. Nelson Simmons went 3-for-4. Robin Yount went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Paul Molitor did not play. The Tigers clinched the American League Eastern Division title the day before, and went on to win the World Series.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos, 1-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Danny Cox pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Steve Rogers.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 3-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Garry Templeton attempted a bunt, bunt Giant catcher Bob Brenly threw it away, allowing Eddie Miller to score.
* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Bobby Grich singled Rick Burleson home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with 2 walks. Rod Carew did not play.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 8-7 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
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