WGN Channel 9 - Nightbeat with Marty McNeeley "A Nightbeat New Year" (Part 2, 1983)

Here's Part 2 of Nightbeat with Marty McNeeley on WGN Channel 9. Also featuring Muriel Clair and Robert Jordan. Includes:

A yellow cab driver, 30-year-old Harry Savalas (sp?), shot and seriously wounded after an incident on New Year's Eve at 7421 South Harvard Street; he is being treated for wounds to the chest at St. Bernard's Hospital.

A report from Muriel Clair at 600 West Washington about a New Year's Eve Day tradition dating back 125 years, a dinner party for hundreds of Chicago's homeless and needy, hosted by the St. Vincent DePaul Society; its president, John Luft, explains how the tradition got started and how it was being celebrated this year, and three of the homeless at the dinner are interviewed.

Robert Jordan reports on Elmer Tucker, whose streak of being first in line for a permit for a picnic at the Cook County Forest Preserve (dating back to 1972) was broken this New Year's Eve; the man who broke his streak, 33-year-old part-time bartender and Commonwealth Edison employee Jim Murphy, is interviewed; he had been at Daley Center since 4:45pm on Thursday (the 30th) and will be there over three days; his permit will be for the Antler Dancer's Sportsmans Club, to be held on June 4th.

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Howard Ryan about to reach a decision on a recount of the state gubernatorial race between Democrat Adlai Stevenson III and Republican James Thompson that had been held on November 2nd, with the margin of victory for Thompson 5,074 votes at this point; the ruling will be announced no earlier than next Tuesday (the 4th).

Another Robert Jordan report, this one on several cast members of the soon-to-end TV series M*A*S*H (Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, David Ogden Stiers and William Christopher) objecting to the selling of a vodka bearing the "M*A*S*H" name and what the cast members branded its manufacturer's "insensitivity" to the harm brought about by alcohol abuse in this country. Arnie Schusterman of Skokie, IL-based Hawkeye Distilling Co. is interviewed about the product. Jordan notes the "M*A*S*H" vodka sells for $21.99, as opposed to an average $7.00 per bottle for regular bottle.

Marty introduces a last look at the major events of 1982, courtesy Independent Network News, including the following clips (set to a synthesized rendition of the first movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, courtesy Warner Bros. Records):

- President Ronald Reagan speaking of a program to reduce unemployment, juxtaposed with footage of people looking for work and standing in line in such places as Chicago and Los Angeles
- Footage of floods and people walking on wet grounds
- Shots of major snowstorms, with cars stuck in snow and people digging out their cars
- A woman stuck in the water during an ice storm being rescued by an overhead helicopter, with Reagan speaking of him as a hero
- An Italian held captive by Red Brigades, holding up a sign
- Shots of the video game Pac-Man being played, interspersed with miscellaneous clips
- A clip of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd performing as The Blues Brothers
- A Xeroxed still of John W. Hinckley
- A video of an electric chair
- Footage of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and from the Falkland Islands war
- Prince Charles and Princess Diana holding their newborn, Prince William
- Alexander Haig resigning as Secretary of State and George Shultz being sworn in to replace him
- Anti-nuclear and anti-war demonstrations
- Pro-ERA demonstration
- Sophia Loren arrested in Rome on tax evasion charges
- Unification Church rally led by Rev. Sun Myung Moon
- Space shuttle Columbia's third launch
- Scene from "E.T." (?)
- Clips from various Henry Fonda films and photos of Fonda
- Clips of fighting in Beirut, Lebanon, including a still of Yasser Arafat with Pope John Paul II
- Clip from Moscow, followed by shot of tear gas being fired on protesters in Poland, and clips of Solidarity leader Lech Walesa
- Footage of Ingrid Bergman in "A Woman Called Golda," interspersed with clips from her other films (including "Casablanca")
- Vintage clips and photos of Grace Kelly (a.k.a. Princess Grace of Monaco)
- Clips of Tylenol bottles (relating to tampering scandal)
- Reagan and key aides riding on horses
- Pictures of Leonid Brezhnev shown at a gathering in Moscow
- Shot of Vietnam Veterans War Memorial

Marty reads the Illinois Lottery winning numbers for December 31st which are also shown on the screen:
- Daily Game: 207
- Pick-Four Game: 0894

Commercial: Furniture Clearance Center, G.I. Furniture and Modern Age Furniture - Going Out of Business sale (after failure of a proposed merger) - bargains on modular groups, occasional tables, 5-piece dinettes, and numerous brands - Open nights and Sundays (Daily 10 to 9, Saturday and Sunday to 6pm) - credit arranged

Commercial: One Stop Supermarkets - sales on 5 lb. box of fancy chicken wings, 8 16-ounce loaves of Country Delight White Bread, and Miller Beer (regular or Lite) in either one or five cases of 24 12-ounce cans - "Buy the Can or Buy the Case" (voiceover by Jack Taylor)

This aired on local Chicago TV early Saturday, January 1st 1983.

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