The Baby Boom Years: 1950

BORN

• Stevie Wonder,
• Gary Larsen
• Mark Spitz
• Bill Murray

MUSIC

• Nat King Cole crosses over from jazz to pop selling millions.
• Muddy Waters marries county blues and big city dance dynamism begetting Chicago Blues.

FASHION

• Full skirts, rounded soft shoulders, an almost pinched waist, a pointed bosom and spike heels are hallmarks of women’s fashion this year.

SPORTS

• Florence Chadwick swims the English Channel in 13 hrs, 23 mins., a record.
• A Drivers World Championship is established.
• The NY Yankees defeat the Philadelphia Phillies to win their thirteenth World Series.

WORLD

• Communist Chinese forces invade Tibet.
• Korean War begins when North Korean Communist forces invade South Korea.
• India becomes the world’s largest democracy.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS

• What percentage of US households had TVs in 1950?

a. 9% b. 16% c. 24% d. 31%

• Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo. Although literally hundreds of films have been adapted from this enchanting fairy tale, this 1950 animated feature is a bone fide classic. Name the hit Disney movie nominated for 3 Academy Awards, which featured the voice of Ilene Woods in the title role, and that of Verna Felton as the fairy.
• Created in 1950, the first lunch box to bear an image featured this TV Western star.

a. Gene Autry b. Roy Rogers c. Hopalong Cassidy d. Davy Crockett

• True or False? American involvement in Vietnam began in 1950.
• What popular doughnut shop was founded in 1950?

a. Krispy Kreme b. Winchell’s Donut c. Mister Donut d. Dunkin’ Donuts

R.I.P.

• Al Jolson
• George Bernard Shaw
• George Orwell
• Elsie de Wolfe

Billboard Top 10 Pop Hits:

1. Daddy’s Little Girl — Mills Brothers
2. Mona Lisa — Nat King Cole
3. Music! Music! Music! — Teresa Brewer
4. The Tennesse Waltz — Patti Page
5. A Bushel and a Peck — Perry Como and Betty Hutton
6. Rag Mop — Ames Brothers
7. If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d Have Baked A Cake — Eileen Barton
8. Harbor Lights — Sammy Kaye
9. Goodnight, Irene — Gordon Jenkins and the Weavers
10. I Wanna Be Loved —The Andrews Sisters