Sunday, June 14, 2026

1969 -- Posted June 14, 2026

Locator: 50974BOOKS.

It's impossible for me to "let go" of 1969. It is impossible to "let go" of 1969 just like it's impossible to "let go" of Stanford.

I recently posted a lead-in to 1969, a flashback, 1967 - 1968.

Query:

What were the major events in 1969 to follow the major events from 1965 to 1968, perhaps the most influential period in the US since WWII.  

Reply:

I recently posted a long review of the events from 1965 - 1968; link here.

Now I'm reading The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Holywood, Sam Wasson, c. 2020.

Part 1: Justice.

So far, all about Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate.

But so much name-dropping. 

I hate the writing. But, wow, what a story. I think it's a necessary for someone trying to understand Hollywood in the 1960s and 1970s. 

  • Sharon Tate murder: August 8, 1969
  • Chinatown released: 1974
  • me
    • graduated from high school, spring, 1969; Sharon Tate murder? I barely recall;
    • graduated from college, spring, 1973;
    • first year graduate school, completed, 1974; never saw the movie; I don't recall seeing many movies that year; major movies released.

Movies: the era is renowned for groundbreaking storytelling, legendary performances, and major genre-defining classics.  

Major movies released, January 1, 1973, through May 1, 1974 (some somewhat later):

  • The Exorcist, Dec 1973)
  • The Sting, Dec 1973
  • The Godfather Part II, Dec 1974
  • American Graffiti, Aug 1973
  • The Conversation, Apr 1974
  • Chinatown, Jun 1974
  • Serpico, Dec 1973
  • Blazing Saddles, Feb 1974
  • Young Frankenstein, Dec 1974
  • several others

Events, 1969 

Sharon Tate murdered, August 8, 1969. And that was just the beginning. But all we remember: Sharon Tate and Charlie Manson. See Jay Sebring.