You are here -> HOME – RETROVILLE – 1959
Welcome to Retroville! It’s 1959!
IN THE NEWS:
- Cuban President Batista resigns and flees when Castro takes over in a military coup
- Tibet’s Dalai Lama escapes into India and remains in exile
- St. Lawrence Seaway opens allowing ships to reach the Midwest from the Atlantic Ocean
- Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th United States
- Food Stamps Program begins
- Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce invent the microchip
- Wilson Greatbatch invents the internal pacemaker
- COBOL (computer language) developed by Grace Hopper
- Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Chicago White Sox in the World Series
- George Reeves (Superman) is murdered
ON THE RADIO:
- Bob and Ray
- Couple Next Door
- Eternal Light
- Gunsmoke
- Have Gun Will Travel
- NBC Radio Theatre
- Smokey the Bear and the Sons of the Pioneers
- Suspense
ON TELEVISION:
- Rawhide
- Bonanza
- Twilight Zone
- The Untouchables
FADS & FASHION:
- Barbie dolls
- Troll dolls
- Risk
- Chatty Kathy dolls
- Game of Life
- Roller Derby Skate Board game
- Princess telephones (available in five colors)
WHAT THINGS COST:
- Car: $2,200
- Gasoline: 30 cents per gallon
- House: $18,500
- Bread: 20 cents per loaf
- Milk: $1.01 per gallon
- Postage Stamp: 4 cents
- Average Annual Salary: $5,500
- Minimum Wage: $1.00 per hour
ACADEMY AWARD – BEST PICTURE:
- Ben Hur – an action drama by William Wyler starring Charleton Heston and Jack Hawkins
TONY AWARD – BEST MUSICAL:
- Redhead – based on the book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, music by Albert Hague, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, choreographed by Bob Fossee, starring Pat Ferrier, William La Massena, and Cynthia Latham
PULITZER PRIZES:
- The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor (fiction)
- J.B. by Archibald MacLeish (drama)
- The Republican Era by Leonard D. White and Miss Jean Schneider (history)
- Woodrow Wilson: American Prophet by Arthur Walworth (biography)
- Selected Poems by Stanley Kunitz (poetry)
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE:
- Philip John Noel-Baker, Great Britain, 1889-1982, Member of Parliament, campaigner for international cooperation and peace
TOP SONGS:
- Venus by Frankie Avalon
- Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin
- Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton
- Stagger Lee by Lloyd Price
- Lonely Boy by Paul Anka
- Come Softly to Me by The Fleetwoods
- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by The Platters
- Heartaches by the Number by Guy Mitchell
- Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny
- The Happy Organ by Dave “Baby” Cortez
- A Teenager in Love by Dion and The Belmonts
- I Only Have Eyes for You by The Flamingos
- There Goes My Baby by The Drifters
- Sea of Love by Phil Phillips
- Sea Cruise by Frankie Ford
- Put Your Head on My Shoulder by Paul Anka
- I Kissed You by The Everly Brothers
- I Ran All the Way Home by The Impalas
- Poison Ivy by The Coasters
- Misty by Johnny Mathis
- Running Bear by Johnny Preston
- El Paso by Marty Robbins
