History & Politics | Music | Television | Movies | Sports
1994 was all about action, comedy and breakouts. The action came from both the big screen and real life drama. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock got our hearts racing in Speed while O.J. Simpson had as glued to the TV for his white Ford Bronco low-speed chase and subsequent trail for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Comedy in 1994 brought us Friends, the sitcom that would help define the decade, as well as three ssssmokin’ Jim Carrey flicks: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask, and Dumb and Dumber. I think it’s time for a little song … "Mock. Yeah! Ing. Yeah! Bird. Yeah! Yeah. Yeah!"
Breakouts for the year came from both the music and film industries. Sheryl Crow showed us how to have some fun when she hit the scene with the single "All
I Wanna Do." Green Day and Soundgarden found widespread success with their albums Dookie and Superunknown. And, Notorious B.I.G. released his debut album, Ready to Die, which featured the hit "Juicy." Other breakouts came from directors Quentin Tarantino with Pulp Fiction and Kevin Smith with Clerks.
1994 definitely proved not to be a "Loser" year and had us saying "Stay," I want more.
• American and Russian nuclear missiles are for the first time no longer pointed at each other’s countries, thanks to the signing of the Kremlin Accords. This marks the most significant thawing of Cold War relations in decades. • A massive earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale shakes up southern California and kills 61 people just before dawn. • The biggest spying trial of the decade begins with CIA employee Aldrich Ames being arrested and charged with espionage on behalf of the former Soviet Union. • The Rwandan genocide begins in Africa. Close to 1 million people would be slaughtered in a 100 day period in one of the worst incidents of ethnic cleansing in the 20th century. • The Channel Tunnel, an undersea rail link between England and France, opens for passengers for the first time. It is the longest sub-oceanic tunnel in the entire world. • OJ Simpson is arrested for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her male companion Ronald Goldman, sparking a media frenzy over the most controversial trial since the Rodney King beating. • Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese doomsday cult, released sarin nerve gas in the city of Matsumoto at night, killing seven people and hospitalizing hundreds more. • The Provisional Irish Republican Army, a terrorist organization focused on Irish independence, announces a ceasefire that will last almost 2 years. • Close to 50 members of the Order of the Solar Temple, a religious cult, are found dead by their own hand in Switzerland and Quebec, Canada. • Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan goes public with the fact that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. • Kansai International Airport, located on an artificial island constructed in Osaka Bay, Japan, goes into operation. The airport took 7 years to construct. |
Aldrich Ames, a CIA employee, is tried for being a Soviet spy. OJ Simpson is arrested for murder. |
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My So-Called Life |
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Party of Five |
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Due South |
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Chicago Hope |
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Touched By An Angel |
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ER |
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Friends |
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Inside The Actors Studio |
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Forrest Gump |
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Speed |
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The Flintstones |
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The Lion King |
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Dumb and Dumber |
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True Lies |
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The Mask |
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Interview with the Vampire |
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Pulp Fiction |
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Clerks |
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Four Weddings and a Funeral |
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Natural Born Killers |
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Junior |
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Maverick |
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Once Were Warriors |
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The Shawshank Redemption |
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The Santa Clause |
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Clear and Present Danger |
• It’s two in a row for Dale Earnhardt as he walks away with his seventh NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Newcomer Jeff Gordon would win the inaugural Brickyard 500 and attract attention as one of the sport’s rising stars. • A player’s strike prematurely ends the Major League Baseball season and precludes the playing of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. • Michael Schumacher wins his first Formula 1 driver’s championship but the sport loses two popular drivers when Roland Ratzenberger and 3-time champion Ayrton Senna are killed in the San Marino Grand Prix. • The New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks in a best of seven series to win their first Stanley Cup since 1954. • In tennis, Conchita Martinez takes the Wimbledon Women’s championship while Pete Sampras claims it for the men. • George Foreman shocks the world and proves he’s still got it at 45 years of age when he wins the heavyweight boxing title by knocking out Michael Moorer. • The Indy 500 sees its checkered flag taken by Al Unser, Jr. for the second time in his career. • The Houston Rockets win their first NBA championship, defeating the New York Nicks. • The Buffalo Bills lose their fourth Super Bowl in a row, this time dropping the game to the Dallas Cowboys. • Nick Price wins the British Open, the PGA Championship and is the overall Tour money leader in professional golf. • Tabasco Cat wins two of the Triple Crown races but Go for Gin prevails at the Kentucky Derby. |
Senna & Ratzenberger are killed during the San Marino Grand Prix. George Foreman, at 45 years old, knocks out Michael Moorer. Go for Gin wins the Kentucky Derby. |