Wednesday, August 10, 2005

"I am the Son of Sam"...

That being said, postal employee David Berkowitz, the self-proclaimed "Son of Sam" was arrested in Yonkers, New York on this date in 1977. Responsible for six random slayings and seven woundings, Berkowitz meekly surrendered to police...

The summer of '77 brought us your typical New York City heatwave along with the beginning of the bottled water craze, roller disco, mopeds, health foods and Farah Fawcett posters. People were outraged when coffee prices surged to a quarter a cup from 15 cents. The music was benign with Andy Gibb topping the charts with "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". What wasn't benign was the crime wave. The 70's was a jittery time for most New Yorkers and "The Son of Sam's" killing spree created self-imposed curfews by worried parents. The NYPD would also impose curfews in areas where David Berkowitz had already struck. New Yorkers breathed a sigh of relief with his capture on August 10, 1977...

David Berkowitz is now serving six consecutive terms of 25 years to life in state prison...

More August 10 Memories...

1945) Following their second nuclear bombing, Japan announces they will surrender to the U.S...

1948) Channel 7 in New York signs on as WJZ-TV. It will become WABC-TV in 1953...

1948) "Candid Microphone" which becomes "Candid Camera" one year later, debuts on WJZ-TV...

1966) "Summer in the City" tops the charts for The Lovin' Spoonful...

1968) The Who release "Magic Bus"...

1969) The LaBianca's are found murdered by the Charles Manson Family...

1977) The Son of Sam is captured (feature story)...

1984) Mary Decker trips on the heel of Zola Budd in the Olympics with an outsider winning the race and a gold medal...

1986) Madonna is #1 with "Papa Don't Preach"...

1986) Billy Martin Day is held at Yankee Stadium, his #1 uniform is retired...

1993) Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as the second female Supreme Court justice...

1994) President Bill Clinton claims presidential immunity in the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones...

1995) Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are charged with 11 counts in the Oklahoma City bombing...

Happy Birthday to...

1922) Al (Four Aces) Alberts...

1923) Rhonda Fleming...

1928) Singer and sausage king Jimmy Dean...

1928) Eddie Fisher...

1943) Ronnie Spector...

1947) Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson...

1959) Rosanna Arquette...

1960) Antonio Banderas...

1967) Riddick Bowe...

1972) Angie Harmon...

Commentary...

What I remember most about 1977 and the 70's in general was the instability of the times. Having returned to New York from Boston in '72 I had come from the high of seeing anti-war demonstrations begin, waver and finally die to an unsettling and jittery New York City. That feeling was highlighted by the rampage of "The Son of Sam". Crime was a problem and we needed a Rudy Giuliani who was cutting his legal teeth at a law firm in the 70's...

The capture of David Berkowitz may have been the catalyst we needed to stop the crime and turn this city around. Things only got better from that day on...