The year of 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. As MAD Magazine pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the first "upside-up" year—i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down—since 1881.

Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including "Poor Little Fool", which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's then newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded nineteen additional top-ten hits, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.

Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky. In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, "Poor Little Fool", and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.

Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) on four teams, from 1957 through 1968. Maris hit a record 61 home runs during the 1961 season for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs in 1927. Maris' record stood for the next 37 years.

Maris appeared in seven World Series games. He was a two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) (1960–1961), seven-time All-Star (1959–62), and an AL Gold Glove winner in 1960. His accomplishment of 61 home runs in a season, which was greatly debated in its own time, came back to the forefront in 1998, when the record was broken by both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. On September 24, 2011, the 50th anniversary of Maris' home run record was celebrated in Yankee Stadium.

Roger Maris was the son of Croatian immigrants. He was born Roger Eugene Maras(he later changed his last name to Maris) in Hibbing, Minnesota. He grew up in Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota, where he attended Shanley High School. Maris, a gifted athlete, participated in many sports while in Fargo, and excelled at football and still holds the official high school record for most kickoff return touchdowns in a game, with four.

Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995) was an American baseball center fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Mantle was noted for his hitting ability, both for average and for power.^{[citation needed]} He won the Triple Crown in 1956, leading MLB in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI). He received three American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards and played in twenty All-Star games. Mantle appeared in 12 World Series, winning 7 of them. He holds the records for most World Series home runs (18), RBIs (40), runs (42), walks (43), extra-base hits (26), and total bases (123). He is also the career leader in walk-off home runs, with a combined thirteen, twelve in the regular season and one in the postseason.

Marlon Brando, Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Brando was one of only three professional actors, along with Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe, named by Time magazine as one of its 100 Persons of the Century in 1999.

Brando had a significant impact on film acting, and was the foremost example of the "method" acting style. While he became notorious for his "mumbling" diction and exuding a raw animal magnetism, his mercurial performances were nonetheless highly regarded, and he is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'." Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one." He was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest screen legend among male movie stars.