Remembering 1976: The Bicentennial year brought us 'Charlie's Angels,' 'Rocky,' 'A Chorus Line,' lots more

As America marks its semiquincentennial, we have no idea what pop culture from 2026 will resonate 50 years from now. So instead lets take the sure thing and look back at the Bicentennial in 1976 and the movies, theater, TV and music that captivated us during that glorious year:

MOVIES

"All the President's Men"

Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman) bring down President Richard Nixon in Alan J. Pakula’s bracing drama. Still the best explainer of Watergate, and why the ensuing years felt the way they did.

"Silver Streak"

Arthur Hiller’s comedy-thriller about a runaway train was one of the year’s most entertaining flicks, largely due to the first-time pairing of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. They subtly eased our national racial tension — if only for two hours — and forged a chemistry that would sustain them over another three movies.

"A Star Is Born"

Every generation or two, Hollywood remakes this romantic weeper using the day's big stars; Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson took their turn under director Frank Pierson. The result: an $80 million hit, multiplatinum soundtrack and an Oscar for Streisand’s original song "Evergreen" (co-written by Paul Williams).

"The Bad News Bears"

Few comedies captured the feral childhoods of Generation X better than this one, from director Michael Ritchie ("The Candidate"). Starring Walter Matthau as the boozy coach for a bunch of Little League miscreants, it’s filled with cruel insults, racial slurs, drinking, smoking, sexual vulgarity — you know, kid stuff. And underneath it all, it’s got a heart.

"The Omen"

The year’s biggest horror hit featured Old Hollywood legend Gregory Peck as a family man whose son might literally be Satan. Critics shrugged, but audiences — still hopped up from 1973’s "The Exorcist" — flocked to see it.

"Taxi Driver"

Martin Scorsese’s drama about the making of an American sociopath (Robert De Niro) rang alarm bells at the time that haven't stopped since. It earned four Oscar nods, including one for a 12-year-old Jodie Foster.

"Grey Gardens"

This Maysles brothers' documentary about two faded aristocrats living in a rotting Hamptons manse generated mostly art-house buzz at the time. Steadily, it became a wider cultural touchstone ( that spawned a Broadway musical and an Emmy-winning HBO movie.

"Network"

A troubled news anchor goes bonkers on live TV ("I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!") and ratings go through the roof. The suits upstairs have just one question: Can he go even crazier? Sidney Lumet’s definitive media satire, written by Paddy Chayefsky, feels truer every year. Co-stars Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway won Oscars.

"Rocky"

The story of a no-name boxer who gets a shot at the big time mirrored the story of its star, Sylvester Stallone, a Hollywood nobody who turned his screenplay into a $225 million hit. It also won three Oscars, including best picture. — RAFER GUZMAN

THEATER

"A Chorus Line"

This show about aspiring dancers auditioning for their big break truly was one singular sensation thanks to a talented cast, memorable songs by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban, and Michael Bennett’s show-stopping choreography. It swept the Tony Awards with nine wins including best musical and still ranks as No. 7 among Broadway’s longest-running shows.

"The Wiz"

Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion eased on down the road in this clever reimagining of "The Wizard of Oz" that nabbed seven Tony Awards in 1975 and ran for four years on Broadway. And if ever oh ever a wiz there was, it was André de Shields.

"Chicago"

With choreography and direction by Bob Fosse, songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb, and the star power of Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera and Jerry Orbach, how could this show about rival murderesses not slay audiences? "Chicago" ran for two years and the 1996 Broadway revival is still going strong 30 years later.

"Godspell"

Long before "Wicked," Roslyn Heights-raised Stephen Schwartz cast a spell on Broadway with his songs in this modern retelling of parables from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Schwartz's score, which included the hit "Day by Day," earned a Tony nod.

"Guys and Dolls"

The 1950 Frank Loesser musical based on Damon Runyon's stories about gamblers and missionaries in 1920s Manhattan was revived on Broadway, with an all-Black cast that included future "Soap" star Robert Guillaume as smooth-talking Nathan Detroit. Audiences loved it a bushel and a peck.

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

Ben Gazzara and Colleen Dewhurst chewed up (or Woolfed down) the scenery in this revival of Edward Albee's drama about the ultimate dysfunctional marriage. The two stars earned Tony nominations for their performances.

"The Belle of Amherst"

Julie Harris won raves — and a Tony — for this one-woman show set in the Amherst, Massachusetts, home of poet Emily Dickinson. Harris played Dickinson and 14 other characters in the play, which made use of Dickinson's work, diaries and letters It was directed by Charles Nelson Reilly of "Match Game" fame.

Special events

Concert shows were all the rage, including "An Evening With Diana Ross,, "Barry Manilow on Broadway" and "Bing Crosby on Broadway," Finally, there was "Shirley MacLaine," — a blend of cabaret and dance. . — DANIEL BUBBEO

TELEVISION

"Charlie's Angels"

 Few shows changed pop culture as much as this one. In a blazing instant, Farrah Fawcett-Majors was the most famous person on the planet, with her castmates Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith not all that far behind.

"Happy Days"

While 1976 marked the fourth season, "Happy Days" was about to explode thanks to Henry Winkler's The Fonz. In '76 everyone seemed to be saying "sit on it," or "correcta-mundo."

Barbara Walters joins ABC News

It was the TV news gig for the ages, or at least the gig that changed television news (forever): A woman becomes co-anchor of an evening network newscast (ABC), earning $1 million for the privilege. Of course, her transition from  "Today" " to a nightly news program was far from smooth.

"Saturday Night Live"

In the second season, breakout star Chevy Chase was gone by the end of October, off to Hollywood and big screen stardom, leaving "SNL" to figure a way forward. It had no trouble: Jane Curtin became "Weekend Update" anchor; Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi and Gilda Radner became superstars; and Bill Murray joined in early '77.

"The Jeffersons"/"Good Times"

While "The Jeffersons" arrived in 1975, and "Good Times" the year before, their cultural impact was pervasive in '76. From "All in the Family," George (Sherman Hemsley) and Louise (Isabel Sanford) had moved on up to the East Side, on the sitcom was on its way to becoming a huge hit. Meanwhile, "Good Times" gave the culture a memorable catchphrase J.J.'s (Jimmie Walker): "Dy-no-MITE ..."

"Family Feud"/"The Gong Show"

TV game shows had been around since the dawn of TV but there'd been no TV games like this wild and wooly pair. Both the Richard Dawson-hosted "Feud" and Chuck Barris's "Gong Show" dropped that summer, and the TV game show would never be the same again.

"Laverne and Shirley"

One of TV's most successful spinoffs (from "Happy Days") focused those two lovable bottle-cappers at a Milwaukee brewery, played by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams. "L & S" instantly became the second most-watched show on TV, after "Happy Days."

"Rich Man, Poor Man"

Arriving early January, this splashy, hugely popular ABC network miniseries — based on the Irwin Shaw novel about a pair of brothers, one rich (Peter Strauss), the other poor (played by a young and soon to be famous Nick Nolte) — launched a new TV genre.

— VERNE GAY

MUSIC

"Night Moves" (Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band)

This Motor City man took off into the stratosphere with his ninth studio album, which spawned three hits ("Rock and Roll Never Forgets," "Mainstreet," the title track) and went multiplatinum.

"Disco Duck" (Rick Dees)

Disco,  which began in New York clubs in the early ‘70s and would go mainstream in 1977 with "Saturday Night Fever," was picking up steam in '76. Memphis dj Rick Dees parodied the phenomenon with his single featuring a Donald Duck-style vocal over a generic disco background track. It soared to No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

"Destroyer" (KISS)

Hailed as the makeup-faced foursome’s greatest work, the album produced by Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd) brought the band into the Billboard top 10 with tender ballad, "Beth," sung by drummer Peter Criss. Other KISS classics were born on this double-platinum album:“Detroit Rock City," "God of Thunder" and "Shout It Out Loud."

"December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” (Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons)

Although this song was released at the end of 1975, it reached the top of the Billboard chart for three consecutive weeks in March 1976 and was the group’s final No. 1 hit.  

“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper" (Blue Öyster Cult)

Coming from the band’s biggest album, "Agents of Fortune," the song, written by Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, who grew up in Smithtown, got to No. 12 on the Billboard chart. In 2000, Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken took the song to the next level on "Saturday Night Live" with their "More Cowbell" skit.

"Dancing Queen" (ABBA)

The lead single off the Swedish band’s fourth album, "Arrival" became an international sensation topping the charts in the U.S. and 15 other countries. The sound is a blend of disco meets Europop would have many journalists putting it on their lists as one of the 20th century's greatest songs.  

"Turnstiles"(Billy Joel)

Many hard-core fans cite this album as the moment when Billy Joel became Billy Joel. The Piano Man moved back to New York and formed the classic Billy Joel Band. The self-produced record features three signature Joel songs: "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)," "Angry Young Man" and "New York State of Mind."

"Songs in the Key of Life" (Stevie Wonder)

Fourteen years after his debut album, Stevie Wonder came into his own at age 26 with this album, which contained  career-defining hits such as "Sir Duke" and "Isn’t She Lovely." It won Album of the Year at the Grammys and sold over 19 million copies.

"Hotel California" (Eagles)

 Guitarist/singer Joe Walsh (James Gang) joined the band, combining with guitarist Don Felder for this masterpiece, which has sold over 28 million copies and spawned five classic rock staples: "Life in the Fast Lane," "New Kid in Town," "Victim of Love," "Wasted Time" and the title track.

"Evergreen" (Barbra Streisand)

 The love theme from "A Star Is Born" won an Oscar for Best Original Song, became one of Streisand’s most identifiable numbers and hit the top of the Billboard chart.

"Boston" (Boston)

This self-titled album was one of the biggest debuts in music history. Songs like "More Than a Feeling," "Peace of Mind," "Foreplay/Long Time," "Rock & Roll Band" and "Smokin’ ” are still regularly played on Classic Rock radio.

— DAVID J. CRIBLEZ