COMET HALE-BOPP
In 1997, Comet Hale-Bopp rounded the sun and offered a spectacular evening light shows for several months. Don't expect to see Hale-Bopp again until the year 4397.






(see a larger version of the NASA photo)
(read more about Hale Bopp)
(watch a time-lapse video of Hale-Bopp)

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TITANIC
John Cameron's epic production of "TITANIC" is released in 1997 and picked up eleven Oscars the next year.  The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, ran 3-hours and 17-minutes and eventually becomes the highest grossing box office film of all time. It was the first motion picture to ever have a budget of $200,000,000.

(learn more about "TITANIC")
(read interesting trivia about "TITANIC")
(watch a music video of "TITANIC'S" theme)
(watch the theatrical trailer)

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THE DVD DEBUTS
1997 was the first year that DVD players became available in the United States. The first players sold for around $1,500-dollars and there were very few DVD discs available the first year. One of the first DVDs that was available was the Beatles movie "Help!" in glorious black and white.



(watch the "Help" music video)
(watch the theatrical trailer - colorized)

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MICHAEL JACKSON & 2nd WIFE DEBBIE ROWE
Once upon a time in a far-far away land called Wonderland Ranch, a handsome Prince was born. His name was Prince Michael and his mother was his dad's dermatologist's nurse, Deborah Jeanne Rowe. Sadly, they were divorced two years later.



(read the Astrology of Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr.)

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ELLEN DEGENERES
At 39, the star of her own ABC sitcom "Ellen," announced in a TIME Magazine interview that she was a Lesbian. Reverend Jerry Falwell, former head of the Moral Majority proclaimed to the world that her name should be changed to "Ellen Degenerate."



(read more about her coming-out)
(watch Ellen as she talks with John McCain about Gay Marriage)
(watch Ellen and Portia's wedding day)

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