Looking At Stuff

Looking at My 1965 Christmas List

2010-10-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

Translating from six-year-old penmanship:
Mattel's Power Shop
Cat and Mouse Game
Pike's Peak Hill Climb
Secret Sam
Marble Raceway
James Bond 007 Road Race
Jack and the Beanstalk
Duffy's Daredevil
Winnie the Pooh Game
Eldon's Thrill Drivers
Monkeys and Coconuts
Shenanigans
Camp Granada
Daredevil Trick Track
Hamilton's Invaders
Hands Down
Operation
Motorific Torture Track
Fish Bait
Union Station
Time Bomb
Hands Up Harry
Getaway Chase Game
Smackaroo
Gilbert Chem Lab
Rock'em Sock'em Robots
Thingmaker
Bats in Your Belfry
Battle Action
James Bond Set

Mattel's Power Shop
Well, no wonder I didn't get this: sander, drill, lathe, jigsaw. Plus it cost $17.99, a lot of money in those days.

Cat and Mouse Game
"It's magnetic...fun...fast...and tricky. Cat chases mouse around walls and obstacles in enclosed plastic house. Mouse enters 1 of 3 holes to score, cat scores if he nabs him...6 scores win." I didn't get this one either.

Pike's Peak Hill Climb
I didn't get this either. But don't worry--Santa redeems himself later in the list. The catalog page shows what looks like part of a Brady Bunch-type blended family, with each parent having one child who looks just like them and nothing like the other parent. It also looks like Mom's been sharing her makeup with both kids.

Secret Sam
Secret Sam doesn't appear in the 1964 Sears Christmas catalog (which I have on CD) or the 1966 edition (which I have in old-fashioned paper), so it must have been a one-year wonder. There was a Secret Sam attache case, which contained a dismantled gun and other goodies--I assume this is what I was asking for. I didn't get it, but I did get a Secret Sam Sixfinger gun, a hollow plastic finger...well, here, I found a picture online (thanks to whoever's site I got it from):

Marble Raceway
"Line up colorful marbles, watch them pass on curves, collide and race for the lead position. Player whose marble finishes first, wins the game." I didn't get this one either.

James Bond 007 Road Race
This is another item I couldn't find in the 1964 or 1966 catalogs, so thanks again to the Internet for its kindness in providing this picture. $34.95!? Wow. No, I didn't get it.

Jack and the Beanstalk
Another one that I had to search for online. I don't remember it at all, but it looks like something I would like.

Duffy's Daredevils
Another one that apparently only was in the catalog for the one year, and which I didn't get, and which I don't remember, and which I can see why I wanted it...

Winnie the Pooh Game
My sister got this one, which was fine, since I got to play it.

Eldon's Thrill Drivers
It's hard to tell from the box picture, but this was a slot car set. I never had a slot car set (other than Motorific, which isn't quite the same thing), and don't remember ever playing with one at anyone elses's house either.

Monkeys and Coconuts
Your monkey goes around the board and collects coconuts which look more like rabbit pellets. Didn't get this one either.

Shenanigans
Santa brought me this one. It was based on a Saturday morning children's game show, where two child contestants would go around a giant game board and perform stunts at each square they landed on. The show was more interesting than the game, though we played the game a lot.

Camp Granada
This one I played at somebody else's house and fell in love with, though I never had it myself--until a few years back I got it on eBay. Didn't really hold up for me though.

Daredevil Trick Track (actually Daredevil Trik-Trak)
I got this--in fact I had two different Trik-Trak sets. I think the other one was just plain "Trik-Trak" and I probably got that the year before. The car is gear-driven!

Hamilton's Invaders
Those bug/monster things look very familiar. I never got it though.

Hands Down
My sister got this one. Doesn't seem like we played it very much, though.

Operation
Well, everyone knows Operation--I don't see any point in posting a picture of it. My sister had it.

Motorific Torture Track
More specifically, this was the Motorific Giant Detroit Torture Track, one of the varieties of Motorific Torture Track. This is the one I got, and still have. I got a similar Motorific Racerific set later, probably the next Christmas, and even though I had bad luck as far as the cars actually running, I used to set up elaborate layouts, often intersecting with train tracks and other components to make up settings for my sister and me to play with Disneykins, Matchbox cars, Winnie-the-Pooh erasers and various other pieces in a game of make-believe that may have gone on for weeks at a time and involved dozens of characters and their extended-family relationships.

Fish Bait
I got this one. It was the sequel to Mouse Trap and Crazy Clock, both of which I also had. All three were lost in the Great Garage Sale Disaster of '73, but all have been reacquired. Best games ever.

Union Station
I haven't been able to figure out what this was. Some kind of train set, maybe.

Time Bomb
A classic toy. I never had it, but I can remember playing with it at someone's house once. It seems like you wouldn't get much use out of it before it would break...

Hands Up Harry
This looked great in the commercials. If you shot him in the belt his pants fell down. I never got it.

Getaway Chase Game

This and the Rock'em Sock'em Robots were the things I asked for every year but never got. I'm not sure why--I certainly got plenty of other things. It still looks really cool.

Smackaroo
I don't remember this at all. It looks confusing. But you can play baseball, bowling, smack-it, and many other wonderful games.

Gilbert Chem Lab
I couldn't find a picture of this specific chemistry set, but needless to say I didn't get it.

Rock'em Sock'em Robots
As I said above, this was a perennial on my lists. I probably asked for it for my birthdays as well. They brought it back in the 80s in a larger size and I bought it then. Several years ago I saw that it was back again, smaller this time.

Thingmaker
The Thingmaker was the heating unit, and there were various sets of molds that went with it. I got the Creepy Crawlers set, and later I got Fright Factory and Mini-Dragons. Plastigoop was the liquid you poured into the molds.

Bats in Your Belfry
I don't remember this one, but I'm not at all surprised I wanted it.

Battle Action
Apparently Ideal had an entire line of Battle Action playsets, usually with something that blew up, like a bridge or a tank. I don't think I ever had one.

James Bond Set
There were a number of James Bond sets--I'm guessing this is the one I had in mind.

Here we have my sister on Christmas morning, 1965--I'm not sure what she's doing. At left is her new toy range, front left is my Motorific Torture Track, and next to her is a Trik Trak set. (Behind her is Dad's chair, with a towel draped over it to protect it from his Brylcreem.) The item at far right says "Teeny Tiny Tales," but I'm not sure what it is.

And here I am playing with Fish Bait, with my sister's Bash game and my box of Lincoln Logs nearby. I don't know why there's an alarm clock on the end table--maybe Dad slept on the couch, with the alarm set to wake him up to put out the presents.

Looking at My 1964 Christmas List

2010-10-23T16:57:00.001-07:00

This has to be from 1964, when I was five--I don't think it could have been any earlier, and the subsequent ones are accounted for. Even then I wanted records. I can't imagine what "horsefilm" referred to. "Play cat"? "Ball ball"? "Dragon gun puppet"--is that one item, or two, or three?

Here are the Uncle Wiggily and Red Riding Hood games (neither of which Santa elected to bring me):

And here's Odd Ogg, which I didn't get either:
And here's the aftermath of that Christmas morning:
That's our new puppy, Jill, in the center of the picture. My High Gear game is on the coffee table, along with a book that seems to be called "Fun With Paper and Pencil"--I don't remember it, but it must have been mine, since my sister was two years old. Also on the table is what looks like a cement mixer truck. I can't tell what the open box on the couch is. Other photos show that I got a King of the Hill game and my sister got a toy iron and ironing board.

Looking at a Page From the Seattle P-I Entertainment Section, 5-12-67

2010-09-01T00:23:00.001-07:00

At the Rod & Reel, now appearing at the piano table nightly, fantastic ballad singer Ted Dore.
At the Sounds Cellar, the newest "18 and over" night club, 2 top bands every Friday and Saturday.
At the New Warling's, where your hosts are Jim Anas and Geo. Serpanos, coming Monday is Janie Tucker, with Woody Drake at the piano (Wonderful duo! Don't miss this!).
At Mr. Mike's Steak House, live Dixie nightly, with Dug Davis and the Uncalled Four.
At the Marine Room at the Olympic Hotel, island mood music from Sterling Mossman and Company, plus Ronnie Eastman.
At the Golden Door Restaurant, the continuous entertainment nightly includes, every Friday and Saturday, two fabulous shows from Tani and the South Sea Islanders.
At the Wharf, at Fisherman's Terminal, Suzie and Franc are playing their last two nights, to be followed by Ukie Sherin.
At Casa Villa, in their charming dining room, now playing is the Bob Winn Quartet featuring Patti Summers.
At the Avalon Ballroom, there's dancing every Sunday with Charlie Cannon's Music.
At the Meet & Mix Dance, held Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at an unnamed building at 1512 6th Avenue, there's a 5-piece orchestra.
At Piccadilly Corner at the Olympic Hotel, if you're not interested in the island mood music in the Marine Room, Percy Franks holds forth nightly with a repertoire of old favorites.
And at the Islander on Mercer Island, Charlie Ross, the well known organist, is now appearing nightly.
I don't really have any comments about any of this, except to say: I wonder what these people sounded like? All those musical acts, all presumably lost to posterity--I don't imagine that video, or even audio, exists of any of them (nowadays they'd all be on YouTube). What did well known organist Charlie Ross sound like? What was in Percy Franks' repertoire of old favorites? What the hell did Ukie Sherin do? (Did he play the ukulele?) What top bands played at the Sounds Cellar? I hate that I don't know...

Looking at a Page From the Seattle P-I Entertainment Section, 9-9-66

2010-08-17T17:22:00.001-07:00

Years ago I made copies of a large number of KJR playlists from microfilm of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which had published them in its entertainment section from 1964-74. Almost as interesting to me, though, as the playlists are the other items on the pages. In this example, we see an ad for "Mike and Brian," now playing at the Bavarian Haus in the heart of Seattle--I wonder what their act was? Did they sing? Play twin pianos? Were they comedians? Their performances lasted 5 hours, 4 on Saturdays--what did they do for that long? Was there anything Bavarian about it?

To the left of that ad is one for the Trade Winds Restaurant at 1st and Wall, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner "at popular prices," and "cocktails of course." Nightly from 8 PM they have Cor Du Mee, "a real 'show stopper,'" "entertaining nightly in the Continental manner at the piano table"--with go-go girls. To the left of that, partially cut off by the scanner, is an ad for Nisco's, which "presents the lyrical piano styling of Jack Brownlow." What did he sound like? How was he different from Cor Du Mee? Apparently he was less Continental, and didn't have go-go girls.

Just above the Nisco's ad you can see the tail end of the following news blurb:

Silent Film Star Dies at Age of 90
MIDDLETOWN, Conn.--(UPI)--Mrs. Anna Zadina, star of the early silent film here, died Tuesday night at the age of 90.
Mrs. Zadina, billed as "the emotional Bohemian actress" by a Czech theater prior to her screen career, turned to pictures in 1910.

I don't know what her name was before she got married, but I got nowhere searching for "Anna Zadina."

Getting back to Seattle lounges, 1966, the bottom right shows that Harry Taylor, "America's smartest supper club star," was playing the Legend Room at the Bon Marche at the Northgate Mall--I was wondering if his act consisted of solving differential equations, but a Google search tells me that he was a risque humorist. Above that we see that at the Drift Inn at 5th and Pike you could "dance to Western Music by Leo Ball and the Fireballs featuring Mary Regis." Above that is an ad for Seattle's Finest Ballroom, the Encore Ballroom at 1214 East Pike, where you could "hear the Grandiose Orchestra under the leadership of Alice Nadine Morrison the famous composer." (Another internet search reveals that Alice did have some successful songs going back to 1920, and that in 1966 she was in her mid-70s.) The ad goes on to say that admission was $1, "same program as usual." Sounds like they were in a bit of a rut.

Just to the left of the Encore Ballroom ad is an ad for the Penthouse at 1st and Cherry, where they actually had some big-time jazz artists: Shelly Manne and His Men, plus Ruth Price, with Ahmad Jamal due in September 22. But my favorite piece on the page is just up and to the right, a short announcement whose headline is partially cut off, leaving only the last two words: "Spastic Children." The text reads:

The Magnolia Kiwanis Club will hold its sixth annual spastic children's fishing derby on Sunday at the Canyon Park Trout Farm, north of Bothell, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Club members will provide transportation for 35 handicapped youngsters and their parents, then will help the youngsters fish. After the fishing is over there will be entertainment and refreshments.

Well. Now, I'm not exactly sure how to translate this into 21st century English--was that a catch-all term referring to anyone with a physical handicap, or did it refer to a specific condition that we now call something different? And do people still take them fishing?

Looking at the Best TV Cartoon Theme Songs

2010-01-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

I know what you’re thinking, that you can’t look at a song unless you’ve got the sheet music or you’re on LSD, but I’m going to provide videos for you, so stop your whining. By a strange coincidence, all the best TV cartoon theme songs are from the 60s, when I was a kid.

10.Spider-Man
“Is he strong? Listen, bud, he’s got radioactive blood.” Yeah, but is he STRONG?

9.The Beagles
This is a show that I used to feel like nobody but me remembered, but I found a copy of the soundtrack LP in the 80s so I knew I hadn’t imagined it. It was one of my favorite shows while it lasted.

8.Super Chicken
This was always my favorite segment of the George of the Jungle show.

7.Beany & Cecil
One of my earliest TV memories. It was many years later that I learned it had originally been a puppet show. Egomaniacal Bob Clampett had himself written into the song and depicted in the animation. “Lovable, gullible, armless, harmless, ten foot tall and wet.”

6.Jonny Quest
The only instrumental in the countdown. Here are the opening and closing versions.

5.Linus the Lionhearted
This had separate opening and closing themes and they were both great. Linus appeared on boxes of Crispy Critters cereal, and the other cartoon segments on the show were also cereal tie-ins, most notably Sugar Bear. Linus is not to be confused with King Leonardo from “The King and Odie”—which was a better cartoon but didn’t have as cool a song. (The video here includes the opening and closing themes, but has some other segments in between.)

4.The New Casper Cartoon Show
I’ve discussed this here before, but this is not “Casper, the friendly ghost, the friendliest ghost you know” from the 1950s theatrical cartoons. This is a new song (actually two new songs, opening and closing, again both great) that was written for the television show.

3.The Mighty Hercules
“With the strength of ten ordinary men.” “Softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs.” Written and sung by Johnny Nash.

2.The Bugs Bunny Show
Also used for “The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour,” “The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show,” and possibly other combinations. What could be more rousing than “Overture, curtain, lights, this is it, our night of nights” and then the march of the cast across the stage? (For this one I had to go with a link rather than an imbedded video.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdVseljx2UU

1.Underdog
“When criminals in this world appear and break the laws that they should fear and frighten all who see or hear the call goes out both far and near for Underdog!” “Speed of lightning, roar of thunder, fighting all who rob or plunder, Underdog!” Other than some well-used “oohs,” that’s all the words they needed. So concise it’s like haiku!

Looking at Disney Nature Films Where the Title includes the Main Character’s Name, What Kind of Animal it is, and a Modifier

2009-11-18T22:55:00.000-08:00

The April 30, 1961, episode of “Walt Disney Presents” was entitled “Flash, the Teenage Otter,” and was the story of a figuratively teenaged otter whose name was Flash. Presumably it was considered a success, as six months later, by which time the program had been retitled “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color,” there was an episode called “Chico, the Misunderstood Coyote.” Three months after that, it was “Sancho, the Homing Steer.” This formula was so successful that January 1976’s “Twister, Bull From the Sky” was the 25^th of these to air on the Disney weekly television show (which had become “Wonderful World of Disney” in 1969). Two of them, “Chandar, the Black Leopard of Ceylon” and the best-remembered one, “Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar,” had been released originally as theatrical features before airing on television. Here’s the complete list, with original TV air date (and please keep in mind that I’m not making any of these up):

Flash, the Teenage Otter 4-30-61

Chico, the Misunderstood Coyote 10-15-61

Sancho, the Homing Steer 1-21-62

Sammy, the Way-Out Seal 10-28-62

Greta, the Misfit Greyhound 2-3-63

The Ballad of Hector, the Stowaway Dog 1-5-64

Ida, the Offbeat Eagle 1-10-65

Concho, the Coyote Who Wasn’t 4-10-66

Joker, the Amiable Ocelot 12-11-66

Brimstone, the Amish Horse 10-27-68

Pancho, the Fastest Paw in the West 2-2-69

Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar 11-2-69

Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt 9-13-70

Lefty, the Dingaling Lynx 11-28-71

Chango, Guardian of the Mayan Treasure 3-19-72 [okay, this doesn’t exactly fit my parameters, since the title doesn’t tell you that Chango was a spider monkey]

Nosey, the Sweetest Skunk in the West 11-19-72

Chandar, the Black Leopard of Ceylon 11-26-72

Salty, the Hijacked Harbor Seal 12-17-72

Chester, Yesterday’s Horse 3-4-73

Carlo, the Sierra Coyote 2-3-74

Ringo, the Refugee Raccoon 3-3-74

Shokee, the Everglades Panther 9-29-74

Stub, the Best Cow Dog in the West 12-8-74

Deacon, the High Noon Dog 3-16-75

Twister, Bull From the Sky 1-4-76

Did I mention that these are all real? My inclination was to make fun of these by thinking up even sillier-sounding ones, but I’m not sure that’s possible—half of these sound like jokes already. I mean, after “Joker, the Amiable Ocelot” and “Brimstone, the Amish Horse” there’s really no way to take it any further…

(Let me make it clear that I’m not ridiculing the programs themselves, just the titles—I have very fond memories of “Charlie, the Lonesome Cougar” and like to imitate Rex Allen’s narration when I have a cold and my voice gets nice and resonant, and I’ve probably seen most of the others even though I don’t remember them.)

Looking at Pictures of Mother Goose Land, Lolo MT

2009-08-09T15:54:00.001-07:00

My parents grew up in Montana, and when I was a kid every summer we would drive back (from the Seattle area) to visit the grandparents. For my sister and me, the highlight of the segment of the trip that was spent visiting Mom's mother in Missoula was the day we would drive out to Lolo to visit Cousin Neva. This was the highlight partly because Neva lived on a farm, but mostly because we would get to go to Mother Goose Land. This was a roadside attraction where you would follow a winding path through the woods and see displays based on nursery rhymes. As best I remember, at a couple of points in the route there would be a clearing with maybe a swingset, a pop machine, a picnic table and a couple of animals.

I see no trace of a kettle.

The displays varied as far as how much effort seemed to have gone into them; sometimes it was just an old doll.

I remember the suckers-on-clothespins tree--I think it was right next to the gift shop at the beginning/end of the circuit. Up to now, the pictures are from postcards obtained through the miracle of eBay; from here on they are family photos from I believe 1966 and 1967.

My sister approaches an unidentified display.

I don't remember a nursery rhyme about a hobo riding a rocket...

As the years went by the place got more and more run down. I think it went out of business in the early 70s or so.

This is me, reunited with my separated-at-birth twin.

Pretty sure this is Old King Cole.

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater.

Thinking about Mother Goose Land has reminded me of the roadside attraction we would pass every year but NEVER got to stop at...the Deer Farm & Snake Pit at State Line, Idaho, which had signs along I-90 seemingly for hundreds of miles in both directions...

Looking at "Jeri of Hollywood" Ads

2009-05-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

One of the regular advertisers in Archie comics in the 60s was “Jeri of Hollywood.” “Hi! I’m Jeri Lawrence—Jeri of Hollywood!” the ads read. “Let me be your photo scout! I’ll send direct from Hollywood to you!—Free Star Photos! Not just one, but TWO DIFFERENT PHOTOS of each star you select! NO LIMIT! Pick as many stars as you like!” “Choose from these 100 TOP STARS, or any others! See instructions below.” Underneath the list of 100 Top Stars, the instructions were: “1.Print the names of your favorite stars (even if not listed above) on a sheet of paper. 2.For each name you select, enclose 10c to cover mailing and handling costs; for extra-quick special service, please enclose 25c extra. 3.Print your own name and address clearly.” The interesting thing to me, though, is the list of 100 Top Stars, and how it changed as time went by, with some stars (or “stars”) falling out of favor as others reach the ranks of the top 100. The list as it appears in Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals #33, Summer 1965, is:

Nick Adams, Paul Anka, Ann-Margret, Frankie Avalon, Max Baer Jr., Lucille Ball, Brigitte Bardot, Gene Barry, Beatles together, Ringo alone, George alone, John alone, Paul alone, Dan Blocker, Pat Boone, Peter Brown, Edd Byrnes, Angela Cartwright, George Chakiris, Dick Chamberlain, Gary Clarke, Chuck Connors, Robert Conrad, Gary Conway, Bobby Crawford, Johnny Crawford, Tony Curtis, James Darren, Doris Day, James Dean, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, Dion, Donna Douglas, James Drury, Patty Duke, Clint Eastwood, Vincent Edwards, Everly Brothers, Shelley Fabares, Fabian Forte, Connie Francis, James Franciscus, Robert Fuller, James Garner, John Gavin, Lorne Greene, Clu Gulager, Ty Hardin, Robert Horton, Rock Hudson, Jeff Hunter, Tab Hunter, Will Hutchins, David Janssen, Rick Jason, Danny Kaye, Linda Kaye, Michael Landon, Jerry Lewis, Gary Lockwood, Robert Logan, Carol Lynley, Sue Lyon, George Maharis, Jayne Mansfield, Doug McClure, Peter McEnery, Gardner McKay, Steve McQueen, Scott Miller, Hayley Mills, Sal Mineo, Marilyn Monroe, Mary Tyler Moore, Vic Morrow, Rick Nelson, Paul Newman, Paul Petersen, Suzanne Pleshette, Elvis Presley, Debbie Reynolds, Cliff Richard, Jeannine Riley, Pernell Roberts, Bobby Rydell, John Smith, Roger Smith, Connie Stevens, Inger Stevens, Elizabeth Taylor, Dick Van Dyke, Clint Walker, Deborah Walley, John Wayne, Guy Williams, Natalie Wood, Pat Woodell, Loretta Young, Efrem Zimbalist.

Several of these people I had to look up. Peter Brown had been the sidekick on a show called “Lawman” from 1958-62, made some movies and some TV guest appearances for a few years, and was about to star in “Laredo” from 1965-67. Gary Clarke had been a regular on “The Virginian” from 1962-64. Bobby Crawford was the older brother of Johnny Crawford and had had a recurring role on “Laramie” (not to be confused with “Laredo” or “Lawman”) from 1959-61, with some TV guest spots after that. Ty Hardin had starred in “Bronco” from 1958-62, then made some movies. Rick Jason was one of the stars of “Combat” from 1962-67. Linda Kaye, later known as Linda Kaye Henning, was the original Betty Jo on “Petticoat Junction.” Robert Logan had replaced Edd “Kookie” Byrnes as the parking lot attendant on “77 Sunset Strip,” ending in 1963. Peter McEnery was a British actor who hadn’t done much; he was probably best known to Archie readers from the Hayley Mills movie “The Moon-Spinners.” Gardner McKay had been the star of “Adventures in Paradise” from 1959-62, but did very little afterward. Scott Miller was sometimes known as Denny Miller and had played Tarzan in 1959; from 1961-64 he had been a regular on “Wagon Train.” John Smith (not his real name) had had a lot of credits in the 50s, then had been a regular on “Laramie” from 1959-63. And Pat Woodell was the original Bobbie Jo on “Petticoat Junction,” and was married to Gary Clarke.

Our next version of the ad comes from Reggie and Me #23, April 1967. The following have dropped out of the 100 Top Stars list (which is now a Top 93 Stars list): Nick Adams, Paul Anka, Max Baer Jr., Gene Barry, Edd Byrnes, Gary Clarke, Bobby Crawford, Troy Donahue, Dion, Clint Eastwood [a flash in the pan], Vincent Edwards, Everly Brothers, Shelley Fabares, Connie Francis, James Franciscus, James Garner, John Gavin, Clu Gulager, Ty Hardin, Jeff Hunter, Tab Hunter, Will Hutchins, Rick Jason, Linda Kaye, Robert Logan, Carol Lynley, Sue Lyon, George Maharis, Jayne Mansfield, Steve McQueen, Scott Miller, Sal Mineo, Suzanne Pleshette, Pernell Roberts, Bobby Rydell, John Smith, Roger Smith, Deborah Walley and Loretta Young.

Replacing them on the list are Julie Andrews, Richard Basehart, Batman (Adam West), Randy Boone, Sean Connery, John Erickson, Linda Evans, Mia Farrow, Sally Field, Anne Francis, Annette Funicello, Mark Goddard, Robert Goulet, Luke Halpin, David Hedison, Chris Jones, Marta Kristen, Jeri Lawrence [nice attempt at self-promotion there, Jeri—I wonder if anyone ever actually ordered her pictures? I mean, that’s like an autograph dealer trying to sell people his own autograph], Brenda Lee, June Lockhart, Richard Long, Lee Majors, Roger Mobley, Elizabeth Montgomery, David McCallum, Ryan O’Neal, Robin (Burt Ward), Bill Smith, Elke Sommer, Shirley Temple [hot new star], Robert Vaughn and Debbie Watson. Randy Boone had been a regular on “The Virginian” from 1963-66, and was about to become a regular on “Cimarron Strip,” which would last just one season. Mark Goddard was on “Lost in Space,” as was Marta Kristen. Roger Mobley was starring in a recurring segment of “Wonderful World of Disney” as Gallagher the teenage detective. And Bill Smith was just finishing up two years as a regular on “Laredo.”

The next version of the ad comes from Archie and Me #19, Feb 1968 (and appeared again in the June 1968 Betty and Veronica Spectacular). Now gone are Frankie Avalon, Pat Boone, George Chakiris, Chuck Connors, Gary Conway, Johnny Crawford, Tony Curtis, James Dean, Sandra Dee, Fabian Forte, Robert Horton, Rock Hudson, Danny Kaye, Gary Lockwood, Gardner McKay, Marilyn Monroe, Mary Tyler Moore, Paul Petersen, Debbie Reynolds, Cliff Richard, Jeannine Riley, Inger Stevens, Elizabeth Taylor, Dick Van Dyke, Natalie Wood, Pat Woodell, Randy Boone, Mia Farrow, Mark Goddard, Brenda Lee and Debbie Watson.

Troy Donahue and Will Hutchins, both of whom had been on the 1965 list but not the 1967 list, made comebacks. And new this time are: Bill Cosby, Robert Culp, Phyllis Diller, Dino, Desi & Billy, Barbara Eden, Ron Ely, Roger Ewing, Noel Harrison, Herman’s Hermits [being added in 1968?!], Steven Hill, Martin Landau, John Leyton, Trini Lopez, Cheryl Miller [a big crush of mine, from “Daktari”], Monkees together, David alone, Micky alone, Mike alone, Peter alone, Leonard Nimoy, Stefanie Powers, Bob Random, William Shatner, Nancy Sinatra, Barbara Stanwyck, Yale Summers [also from “Daktari”], Roy Thinnes, Van Williams and Robert Wolders. Roger Ewing had a recurring role on “Gunsmoke” from 1965-67. Steven Hill was a regular on “Mission: Impossible” in 1966-67, then left acting for several years. John Leyton was a British singer/actor who had had several hit records in the UK from 1961-64, then was a regular on a short-lived (half a season) US TV series called “Jericho” in 1966-67. Bob Random had been making TV guest appearances and occasional movies since 1964; I’m not sure what got him into this list. And Robert Wolders had been a regular on “Laredo” in 1966-67.

The final version I have appeared in Archie and Me #26, February 1969, and again in Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals #53, August 1969. Dropped from the list are Brigitte Bardot, Dan Blocker, Peter Brown, Dick Chamberlain, Doris Day, Troy Donahue [for the second time], Donna Douglas, Robert Fuller, Will Hutchins [for the second time], Vic Morrow, Rick Nelson, Connie Stevens, Clint Walker, John Erickson, Anne Francis, Robert Goulet, Roger Mobley, Bill Smith, Shirley Temple, Roger Ewing, Steven Hill and Trini Lopez. Debuting are Brendon Boone, Chris Cary, Larry Casey, Cesare Danova, Henry Darrow, James Doohan, Chris George, Ron Harper, Jonathan Harris, Sajid Khan, Deforest Kelly, Walter Koenig, Cameron Mitchell, Billy Mumy, Tom Nardini, Nichelle Nichols, Jay North, Gary Raymond, Mark Slade, Rudi Solari, Justin Tarr and Robert Wagner. Brendon Boone, Chris Cary, Cesare Danova, Ron Harper and Rudi Solari had been the cast of “Garrison’s Gorillas,” a TV series that lasted just one season, 1967-68—their presumed popularity among young people buying photos apparently didn’t translate into ratings high enough to keep the show on the air. Henry Darrow was a regular on “High Chaparral” from 1967-71. Tom Nardini was another Bob Random; he had been making TV guest appearances and occasional movies since 1964 and I don’t know what got him onto the list. Gary Raymond had been a regular on “The Rat Patrol” from 1966-68, as had been Justin Tarr. And Mark Slade was a regular on “High Chaparral” from 1967-70.

I don’t know if the Jeri ads continued after 1969, or if there had been other versions in between these ones or before 1965—these are all the ones I was able to find.

Looking at Harvey Comics

2009-04-06T00:07:00.000-07:00

The first comic books I ever owned were a stack of early 60s mostly Dells and Gold Keys, given to me by my babysitter Sandy, which included a few Harvey Baby Hueys and Caspers, including a classic Casper involving a defective electronic brain. After I started buying comics in 1967 I only rarely bought a Harvey—Casper, Spooky, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Baby Huey or Little Lotta. Never Sad Sack; I think the several Sad Sack titles were invisible to me on the comics spin rack, much like Charltons or romance comics.

Sad Sack—He was an incompetent little Army private with a huge nose. I do remember reading Sad Sacks at the barber shop (they were on the lower shelf by the cash register, not the higher shelf--that’s where the Playboys are!). Then in junior high I found out that a guy I knew in the neighborhood collected comics, so we started lending them to each other—his were mostly Sad Sacks. It’s weird to think that World War II soldier Sad Sack lasted into the 1980s, essentially unchanged.

Casper—Everyone remembers Casper from the original 1950s theatrical cartoons, in every one of which Casper is ostracized by the other ghosts for wanting to make friends, sets off to find a friend, inadvertently scares a few humans/animals/inanimate objects with would-be hilarious results, then meets a human or animal child who is too young and/or spectrally naïve to be afraid of him. After an interval of happiness, something occurs to reveal Casper’s ghostliness to the young human or animal, but Casper quickly proves himself by saving the youth from some danger. Much better were the early-60s TV cartoons, which were also much closer to the comic books: Casper is a valued part of a forest society that includes the Ghostly Trio, Wendy the Good Witch and her witch aunts, Nightmare the ghost horse, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, and assorted fairy tale and folklore characters. Some sort of problem arises, like a prince is turned invisible and can’t figure out how to reverse it or a friendly giant develops Tourette’s syndrome, and Casper is instrumental in solving it. The 1960s version also had a much better theme song—everyone can sing the 1950s one, “Casper the friendly ghost/The friendliest ghost you know” etc, but the TV show had the classic

Come along now and join the party
Come along now and have some fun
We are a lot of friendly people
And the fun has just begun

But of course, I’m talking about the comic books, not the cartoons.

Richie Rich, the Poor Little Rich Boy—I never got why they called him The Poor Little Rich Boy. All the stories were about how wonderful his life was—I don’t remember any where he was suffering from deep existential angst, or even any with a “money can’t buy happiness” message. He always seemed pretty damn happy. At any rate, there must have been more comic book stories featuring Richie Rich than any other comic book character (with the possible exception of some character from a foreign country—as if those are real comic books anyway). The original Richie Rich title started in 1960, followed closely by Richie Rich Millions, then Richie Rich Dollars & Cents in 1963 and Richie Rich Success Stories in 1964. The first Richie Rich explosion occurred in 1972-73 (fueled by the recession?), when new titles Richie Rich Fortunes, Richie Rich Riches, Richie Rich Diamonds, Richie Rich Money World, Richie Rich Bank Books, Richie Rich Jackpots, and Richie Rich & Jackie Jokers were added. 1974-75 saw new titles Richie Rich & Casper, Richie Rich Cash, Richie Rich Gems, Richie Rich Billions, Richie Rich Profits, Richie Rich Vaults of Mystery (really), Richie Rich Gold & Silver, and Super Richie (which only lasted four issues). Richie Rich Zillionz was added in 1976, then in ’77 there was Richie Rich & Dollar the Dog, Richie Rich & Gloria, Richie Rich & Cadbury, Richie Rich Best of the Years, Richie Rich Digest Stories, Richie Rich Inventions, Richie Rich Vacations Digest and Richie Rich Digest Winners. Two more titles were added in 1979: Richie Rich & His Girlfriends, and Richie Rich & His Mean Cousin Reggie. Meanwhile many of Harvey’s non-RR books had been canceled, so by 1980 they were publishing very few comics that did not have “Richie Rich” in the title. In 1982 Harvey folded their comics line (Casper, Hot Stuff, Sad Sack, Sad Sack & the Sarge, and about 25 Richie Rich books), though in 1986 they came back with just a few titles and lasted to the mid-90s.

Spooky, the Tuff Little Ghost—Spooky was Casper’s cousin, but unlike Casper he liked to scare people (and animals, and inanimate objects). This would seem to make him simply a typical ghost, and not a particularly tuff little one, but he had freckles, a derby hat, and an accent that caused him to call the hat a “doiby” and his girlfriend “Poil,” so you can see how tuff he was.

Hot Stuff, the Little Devil—Hot Stuff was a bright red child devil, with horns, pointy ears, a pitchfork, and for some reason a white diaper. He was clearly not meant to be an infant devil or even a toddler devil, so I never understood why he wore a diaper. Are diapers worn by devils of all ages, because of some colon condition inherent to the species? Anyway, his personality and character were similar to Spooky’s, without the accent, but with the bonus of burning or melting anything he touched. If you can call that a bonus.

Little Lotta—Unlike Little Audrey or Little Dot, Little Lotta was not at all little, so I’m not sure whether the name referred to her youth or was ironic. She was a big, stocky girl whose stories generally revolved around her super-strength, her weight, and her enormous appetite. Sometimes she would pretend to be a superhero named Leapin’ Lotta, but since she was essentially a superhero already, that seemed pointless.

Little Dot—Little Dot was one of the most psychologically troubled comic book characters ever created. She was obsessed with dots. Everything she owned was covered with dots. Any round object was to her a dot and therefore desirable. While an intervention or rehab would seem to be in order, her parents grudgingly enabled her.

Little Audrey, AKA Playful Little Audrey—I guess she was fairly playful, but in this group of characters that’s an awfully vague characteristic on which to hang plot points. She had a friend/rival named Melvin.

Wendy, the Good Little Witch—Wendy was very similar to Casper, a female non-dead Casper with a magic wand, living with three aunts instead of Casper’s three, well, whatever they were.

Baby Huey—Baby Huey was another character whose animated cartoons generally had only one plot: the other duck children won’t play with him, so he finds someone else to play with who turns out to be the fox in disguise, and Huey somehow saves the other duck children from the fox, so then they’ll play with him. The comics didn’t follow this formula and were better. Some of the stories featured a cousin of Huey’s named Dimwit, which is kind of like Donald Duck having a cousin named Angry; Dimwit seemed older than a child but younger than an adult, so I guess he was a teenage boy hanging out with a preschooler.

You know, now that I think about it, Archie has very possibly been in more comic book stories than Richie Rich…

Looking at The Complete Peanuts 1969-1970, and Peppermint Patty’s neighborhood

2009-02-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

In this, the latest volume of the series, things really start to shift, and we can see hints of the sad Peanuts of the 1980s and 1990s: Shermy, Patty and Violet barely appear, and Pig-Pen doesn’t appear at all; Woodstock gets his name; Peppermint Patty becomes a regular; and Snoopy really begins to dominate—becoming an ice skater, searching for his mother, staying with Lucy and Linus while the Browns are on vacation, beginning his novel, being summoned before the Head Beagle, becoming the Head Beagle, giving a speech at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, selling some land to the airport, wearing a copper bracelet to cure his arthritis, trying to help Woodstock go south for the winter, and escorting Peppermint Patty to a school dance. This is also when Peppermint Patty, who had always lived on the other side of town, appearing in the strip only occasionally, begins to just be there, without explanation.

In June of 1965, Charlie Brown went to summer camp and met a boy named Roy. Roy next appears a year later, when Linus goes to camp and also meets him. On August 22, 1966, Roy’s friend Peppermint Patty makes her first appearance, looking over Roy’s shoulder as he writes a letter to Linus. The next day, Roy mentions Charlie Brown and his horrible baseball team, and Peppermint Patty urges Roy to call him and tell him that she’ll be coming to help him out. Over the next two weeks, she heads “across town,” meets the team (establishing the recurring jokes of her calling Charlie Brown and Lucy “Chuck” and “Lucille” and thinking Snoopy is human), takes over as pitcher, gets discouraged with the ineptitude of the team (except Snoopy) and goes back home. In October Peppermint Patty receives a letter from Linus about the Great Pumpkin, reads it to Roy, then calls Linus, who sets off across town (with Snoopy) to enlighten her further. After Linus and Snoopy return home, she buys some pumpkins at a fruit stand to simulate a pumpkin patch, Roy accuses her of hypocrisy, she calls Linus for religious advice, then on Halloween sits in her “pumpkin patch” until after midnight without result. We next see her in a stand-alone strip in December where she is writing a letter to Santa that could just have easily been written by Charlie Brown, Linus or Sally—but apparently Schulz, who was obviously smitten with his new character, wanted to move her into a spot in the regular cast.

She next appears in March 1967, when she calls Charlie Brown to tell him she’s found him a great new player, secondbaseman Jose’ Peterson. They come over and join the team, but the next week they decide to go back home and form a team in their own neighborhood. On Sunday, April 23, Roy appears in line at a movie theater with Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Shermy and Pig-Pen—perhaps the theater was in the center of town. In June, Charlie Brown goes back to summer camp, this time with Snoopy, and runs into both Roy and Peppermint Patty. On Sunday, September 24, Peppermint Patty is one of a series of characters—the others are Snoopy, Violet, Linus, Schroeder and Charlie Brown—whom Lucy asks to sign a document absolving her of all blame. In November, Charlie Brown calls Peppermint Patty to ask if she’s interested in making a trade between their teams; she offers him five players for Snoopy and he agrees, but then he feels guilty and tears up the contract, as meanwhile the five players tell Peppermint Patty that “they ‘d give up baseball before they’d play on your team!”

In 1968, she makes a single-strip appearance in March, telling Charlie Brown that their teams are scheduled to meet twelve times in the coming season. On Sunday, June 16, she and Roy appear in a Father’s Day strip. Then, starting the next day, she begins her first extended sequence as the central character, as she says goodbye to Roy and heads off to summer camp. Other than a brief appearance by Snoopy at the end of the two-week story, the only other characters are new, the girls in Peppermint Patty’s tent—one of whom is a prototype for Marcie named Clara. In July, Charlie Brown goes to the beach and meets Franklin, who will later be part of Peppermint Patty’s “other side of town” group. In October Franklin comes to Charlie Brown’s neighborhood for a visit, but is scared off by the odd characters he encounters; then on Sunday, October 20, he appears in a movie line strip, along with Charlie Brown, 5’s sisters 3 and 4 (who have been immortalized in the Charlie Brown Christmas dance scene), Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, Sally and Schroeder. Then, in December, there is a week of Peppermint Patty strips, during which she calls Charlie Brown for his address, walks to school with Roy, sits in class with Roy, and feeds a bird in the snow.

Which brings us to the 1969-70 volume. In January 1969 Peppermint Patty runs into Snoopy at a frozen pond and becomes his ice-skating partner, as he plans their entry in the North American Championships. In February, Charlie Brown and Linus are seen as members of the same class at school, contradicting the previously-established fact that Linus was younger than his sister Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the others (does this mean Lucy is now older than the rest of the kids?). On April 22, Peppermint Patty arrives at the baseball field and tells Charlie Brown that her team is going to have to forfeit the game to his team because too many of her players are sick. The next day, Franklin calls Charlie Brown and tells him that his team has to forfeit too. The day after that, Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown are talking at the field and she tells him that she could have beat his team all by herself but she “didn’t want to make a fool of you.” We next see her in September, when she’s sitting on the curb with Charlie Brown and suggests that he get a football team together to play her team. Charlie Brown has some trouble getting a team together, but Snoopy and some birds show up to play Peppermint Patty’s team (which includes Roy, Franklin, and Jose’ Peterson) and beat them, with Peppermint Patty not only thinking Snoopy is human but the birds as well. Over the weekend of November 1-2, she wonders what to do with her pumpkin after Halloween, and tries to give it to Franklin and Roy before calling Charlie Brown on the phone. A week later she appears in three unrelated strips: On Monday, she and Roy are walking home from school; on Wednesday, she and Franklin are sitting in class; and on Friday she and Charlie Brown are walking and talking. Still in November, there’s one strip with Franklin and Roy talking as they walk to the movies; and in December, Peppermint Patty appears solo in one strip, set in class.

In January 1970, Snoopy is sent for by the head beagle, and on his way he passes Peppermint Patty on the street but walks right past because he has “no time for girls.” A few weeks later there are eight straight days of Peppermint Patty strips—she sits with Franklin in class, is sent for by the principal, comes back to class, from home calls Charlie Brown to ask for advice (she’s been told she can’t wear sandals to school anymore), and talks about it (in person) to Snoopy and Linus; then, after a Sunday bird-feeding interlude, comes to class on Monday in shoes and talks to Franklin. Starting in mid-February there is an extended sequence where Snoopy is named head beagle, then comes to regret taking the job; on March 6 he disappears, and when Linus and Lucy wonder where he could have gone, Charlie Brown calls Peppermint Patty and we see that Snoopy is with her. Charlie Brown takes a letter for Snoopy to her house, where Snoopy reads it and finds that he has been replaced as head beagle, after which he goes back home. We next see Peppermint Patty on Sunday, April 26, when she, Snoopy and Woodstock (about two months before he receives his name) are walking in the rain with umbrellas. She appears just once in May, when Charlie Brown catches her telling Snoopy and Woodstock scary vampire stories. On June 1, she calls Charlie Brown to ask if one of her players can borrow his glove; he agrees, and Sally asks him, “You’re going to walk clear across town to lend someone your baseball glove?” When he gets there, Peppermint Patty gives the glove to Thibault, a short, sullen, sideburned kid, and after winning the game Thibault refuses to return it, saying, “I know your kind! You come around here thinking you’re better than us!”—this makes Charlie Brown feel so good that he lets him keep the glove. After a June Sunday movie theater strip where Franklin is in line with Patty (original Patty, not Peppermint), Violet, Linus, Sally and Snoopy, we don’t see anyone from that side of town until a late-September Sunday strip with Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown talking. The following Sunday, Peppermint Patty calls Charlie Brown to come over and see her birthday present from her dad, and the day after that Snoopy comes upon her sitting on the ground, looking sad, and he kisses her. Then, in late October, there are two days of Peppermint Patty in school, one of them with Franklin. Two weeks later, a sequence begins with Snoopy where Woodstock is having trouble flying south for the winter, so Snoopy decides to walk south with him. Peppermint Patty sees them walking past her house and calls Charlie Brown—now she recognizes that Woodstock is a bird but still thinks Snoopy is a person. They get lost and a strange girl finds Snoopy and ties him up; he starts howling and Charlie Brown and Linus hear him—it seems he had only gotten two blocks from home, which suggests that Peppermint Patty no longer lives “clear across town.” Next comes a Sunday strip on November 22, where Peppermint Patty is watching TV and first Charlie Brown and then Snoopy walk into the room (there was a long history in Peanuts of the kids seemingly making themselves at home in each other’s houses, and frequently it was unclear whose house they were in). The next day Peppermint Patty and Franklin are in school, and the following Monday a week-long sequence begins with Peppermint Patty inviting Snoopy to a school dance; there is no indication whether it is the same school that Charlie Brown and the others go to, but no other familiar characters appear in these strips. Sunday, December 6, is another Peppermint Patty and Franklin in school strip, which is the last appearance of the year for them.

At this point Schulz was still keeping Peppermint Patty and her friends separate from the other characters when at school, but otherwise he used her however he saw fit; eventually she and Charlie Brown would start being seen in the same classroom and her move across town would be complete.

Looking at the December 15 1962 Seattle TV Guide

2008-12-27T12:30:00.000-08:00

These days if you’ve got even basic cable you can pretty much watch Christmas programs 24 hours a day from Thanksgiving onwards. So I thought it might be interesting to look at a week of December television programming from Seattle’s six-channel days (4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13) with an eye toward Christmas.

Saturday, December 15
8:00 AM, Channel 5:
Telaventure Tales
The Book Explorers from the Magnolia Library discuss “Best Christmas” by Kingman.
9:00 AM, Channel 7:
Captain Kangaroo
Jean Jacques Perrey, today’s guest, performs on a musical instrument he invented—the ondioline. Musical numbers: “Santa’s Toy Shop” and “March of the Christmas Toys.” (60 min.)
12:00 PM, Channel 7:
Highways—Discussion
12:30 PM, Channel 7:
All America Wants to Know
12:45 PM, Channel 5:
Industry on Parade
1:00 PM, Channel 7:
Youth Speaks Out
1:30 PM, Channel 4:
Dentistry Today
3:00 PM, Channel 11:
Box 11, R.F.D.—Farm News
3:30 PM, Channel 4:
University Research
Prof. Peter Misch, geologist, guests.
3:30 PM, Channel 11:
These Are Yours—Education
[Just a sample of the excitement of Saturday afternoon programming.]
7:30 PM, Channel 7:
Jackie Gleason—Variety
Joe the Bartender and Crazy (Frank Fontaine) discuss the evils of Christmas shopping. In another segment, Jackie and Frank pantomime men who come into a house to lay new linoleum. June Taylor dancers, Sammy Spear. (60 min.)
[Linoleum pantomime! All right! Maybe next week there'll be a puppet show about plumbers or a monologue about furnace installation!]
9:00 PM, Channel 4:
Lawrence Welk--Music
Christmas music is featured tonight. Highlights include “Silver Bells,” “Susie Snowflake,” “Winter Wonderland,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and “Raggedy Ann Doll Dance.” Lennon Sisters, Jim Roberts, Norma Zimmer, Dick Dale, Bob Burgess, Barbara Boylan, Jo Ann Castle, Larry Hooper, Aladdin and the Lawrence Welk orchestra. (60 min.)

Sunday, December 16
8:30 AM, Channel 7:
Look Up and Live—Religion
“How Jesus Came,” Part 3 of “Children and Christmas,” is rerun.

Monday, December 17
11:00 AM, Channel 4:
Jane Wyman—Drama
“The Night After Christmas.” Marley: John Dehner. Secretary: Bartlett Robinson.
3:00 PM, Channel 5:
Christmas Tree Ceremony
SPECIAL President Kennedy lights the White House Christmas tree and offers a brief Yuletide message. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall introduces the President. Providing Christmas music is the U.S. Marine Band.
8:00 PM, Channel 9:
Shepherds and the Magi
SPECIAL Students from St. Martin’s College in Olympia present a 13th-century liturgical Christmas drama.

Tuesday, December 18
7:15 PM, Channel 9:
Triptych For Christmas
1.An angel tells the story of the shepherds through the paintings of Peiro della Francesca. 2. The Nativity is illustrated. 3. Van der Goes’ view of the Wise Men.
7:30 PM, Channel 5:
Magoo’s Christmas Carol
SPECIAL COLOR “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol,” an animated version of the Dickens classic. For details see the Close-up below. (60 min.)
“Laramie” will not be seen tonight.
[This was the first showing of what is undeniably the greatest of all Christmas television specials, featuring the saddest song ever written, “All Alone in the World.” (A hand for each hand was planned for the world/Why don’t my fingers reach/Millions of grains of sand in the world/Why such a lonely beach/Where is the voice to answer mine back/Where are two shoes to click to my clack/I’m all alone in the world…)]
8:00 PM, Channel 7:
Lloyd Bridges—Drama Lloyd Bridges’ eight-year-old daughter Cindy makes her acting debut in tonight’s drama. As Christmas draws near, little Cathy O’Connell hears “The Sound of Angels” and she delights everyone with her story of their heavenly music. Adam and Fred: Lloyd Bridges.
Guest Cast
Cathy…………..Cindy Bridges
Julie……………...Nancy Gates
[Lloyd played Adam AND Fred? Or one character named “Adam and Fred”?]

Wednesday, December 19
3:00 PM, Channel 5:
Wunda Wunda—Children
“Why Santa Chose Reindeer.”
8:00 PM, Channel 9:
Christmas Paintings
The struggles of an artist who is commissioned to paint Christmas.
8:30 PM, Channel 7:
Dobie Gillis—Comedy
“Will the Real Santa Claus Please Come Down the Chimney.” Maynard still believes in Santa Claus, and Dobie and his folks decide to cure him of his childish outlook. Dobie: Dwayne Hickman. Herbert: Frank Faylen. Maynard: Bob Denver.
9:00 PM, Channel 5:
Perry Como—Variety
COLOR Joining Perry for a Christmas songfest are Burr Tillstrom, Fran Allison and puppets Kukla, Ollie and Beulah Witch. Also on hand are the wives and children of Perry and the whole staff. (60 min.)

Thursday, December 20
7:00 PM, Channel 11:
Cimarron City—Western
“Cimarron Holiday.” The townspeople of Cimarron City get together to produce a Western version of Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol.” Matt: George Montgomery. Avery: Tim Hovey. (60 min.)

Friday, December 21
9:30 PM, Channel 7:
Fair Exchange—Comedy
“’Twas the Fortnight Before Christmas.” Tommy and Eddie decide—simultaneously—to surprise each other with a transatlantic trip. Eddie: Eddie Foy jr. Dorothy: Audrey Christie. Patty: Lynn Loring. Larry: Flip Mark. Tommy: Victor Maddern. Sybil: Diana Chesney. Heather: Judy Carne. Neville: Dennis Waterman. (60 min.)
10:00 PM, Channel 5:
Jack Paar—Variety
COLOR Jack’s guests include singer Sally Ann Howes and comedians Buddy Hackett and Vaughn Meader. Jack narrates films showing celebrations of Christmas Eve around the world. (60 min.)
[So, no made-for-TV Christmas romantic comedies, only one animated special, a few Christmas episodes of regular series, and some oddball public television (Channel 9).]

Looking at the KJR Fabulous 50, August 4, 1967

2008-09-22T01:02:00.000-07:00

On August 3, 1967, my eighth birthday, I got a transistor radio. As I remember it, my dad said, “Here, I’ll turn it to a station you’ll like” and tuned it to 1300 KOL—in retrospect I’m not sure why he chose them over KJR, the giant of Seattle radio. (But I don’t have the KOL survey for that week.) Also as I remember it, I didn’t touch that dial for about two years, until I became obsessed with Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue,” started searching the dial because KOL wasn’t playing it often enough for me, and ended up on KAYO, beginning my country phase. Anyway, here's KJR's Fab 50 for the week of August 4:

1.Come Back When You Grow Up—Bobby Vee
Bobby Vee descended into teen idol irrelevance in 1964 and this was his big comeback. Things changed so quickly in the 60s that ’64 and ’67 were about a decade apart (and ’63 and ’67 were about two decades apart). Is the music, or pop culture in general, of 2008 noticeably different from that of 2005? Doesn’t seem like it to me, but then I’m a bit out of the loop.

2.Ode to Billie Joe—Bobbie Gentry
I remember counting the number of times I heard this song (on KOL) in one day, and it seems like it was ten.

3.All You Need is Love/Baby You’re a Rich Man—The Beatles
I’m very glad, to the point of smugness I suppose, to have been born when I was and to have gotten into music/TV/etc at an early age. I particularly enjoy the fact that I can remember hearing new music by the Beatles on the radio.

4.Pleasant Valley Sunday—The Monkees
Another one of my birthday presents that year was the Monkees' Headquarters album, which is still one of my all-time favorites. It didn't contain any singles, though, and this song appeared on their next album.

5.Light My Fire—The Doors
This, #2 and #40 are the songs I associate most with listening to the radio during this period.

6.Carrie-Anne—The Hollies
The most trebly kinds of music I can think of are bluegrass and the Hollies.

7.Silence is Golden—The Tremeloes
The Four Seasons released this as a b-side in 1964, and that’s the more familiar version for me, thanks to it appearing on the LP The Four Seasons Story, which I bought in high school.

8.Brown-Eyed Girl—Van Morrison
If I keep trying to think of something to write about every song I'll never finish this.

9.Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie—Jay & the Techniques

10.Little Bit o’ Soul—The Music Explosion

11.I Was Made to Love Her—Stevie Wonder

12.Happy and Me—Don & the Goodtimes
I think of this as “The Little Dog Death Song,” due to its opening lyrics, “Remember when your little dog died/And upon my shoulder you cried.” Nationally, this record peaked at #98 (in Billboard magazine), but at #11 at KJR. The group was from Portland, Oregon.

13.Fakin’ It—Simon & Garfunkel

14.Try, Try, Try—Jim Valley
This one didn’t make the Billboard Hot 100 at all, coming up just short at #106 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart. Jim “Harpo” Valley was a Seattle boy, a member of local group the Viceroys, then joining Don & the Goodtimes and then, briefly, Paul Revere & the Raiders. This was around the time he left the Raiders.

15.A Girl Like You—The Young Rascals

16.Lovely Rita—The Beatles (LP)
Usually Top 40 stations only played songs released as singles, but sometimes exceptions were made, especially for Beatles or Monkees songs.

17.White Rabbit—Jefferson Airplane
My mom hates this song.

18.I Thank the Lord For the Night Time—Neil Diamond

19.Let the Good Times Roll—Bunny Sigler

20.Soul Finger—Bar-Kays
I’m not sure which finger is the soul finger. The song is an instrumental, other than a bunch of kids yelling “soul finger!,” so it doesn’t really help.

21.Lovin’ Sound—Ian & Sylvia
#101 in Billboard, #17 at KJR (facts like that fascinate me). They were Canadian.

22.The World We Knew (Over and Over)—Frank Sinatra

23.To Love Somebody—Bee Gees

24.Omaha—Moby Grape
The word “Omaha” does not actually appear in the song, which a lot of people probably thought was called “Listen My Friends.”

25.Reflections—Diana Ross & the Supremes
This was the record where they changed from “The Supremes” to “Diana Ross & the Supremes.”

26.San Francisco—Scott McKenzie
You know, the flowers in your hair and the gentle people there.

27.Baby I Love You—Aretha Franklin

28.Can’t Take My Eyes Off You—Frankie Valli
Frankie had kind of a double career going on at this time—while the Four Seasons were trying to keep up with what was going on in rock music, he was also going in the opposite direction with more easy-listening-leaning solo records. Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders did something similar a couple years later.

29.Mercy, Mercy, Mercy—The Buckinghams
I love the Buckinghams.

30.Windy—The Association

31.You’re a Very Lovely Woman—The Merry-Go-Round
#94 Billboard, #17 KJR. I don’t think things like that happen anymore; that is, it seems like the hits in one city are the same as in another, unless one city has a sports team that makes a rap record or something.

32.San Franciscan Nights—Eric Burdon & the Animals
This is the one where the cop’s face is filled with hate, but it’s an American dream that includes Indians too.

33.Society’s Child—Janis Ian
When Janis Ian was 24 years old, she had her second big hit record, “At Seventeen,” which was about having been an unpopular, ugly loser as a teen. But when she was seventeen she had already had her first big hit record, this one. I always thought that was kind of weird.

34.Anything Goes—Harper’s Bizarre
#43 Billboard, #9 KJR.

35.There is a Mountain—Donovan
First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is. The lock upon my garden gate’s a snail, that’s what it is. Caterpillar sheds his skin to find the butterfly within. Oh Juanita, I call your name. The snow will be a blinding sight to see as it lies on yonder hillside.

36.Cold Sweat—James Brown
On the other hand, this was #7 Billboard, #35 KJR.

37.You Know What I Mean—The Turtles

38.Don’t Sleep in the Subway—Petula Clark

39.I Dig Rock & Roll Music—Peter, Paul & Mary
It never occurred to me at the time, but this is obviously an anti-rock & roll song. Just listen closely! They even come right out and tell us they’re being sarcastic—“But if I really say it/The radio won’t play it/Unless I lay it between the lines.” But radio either didn’t get it or didn’t care, and neither did the fans. But listen!

40.The Letter—The Box Tops
How many other songs have contained the word "aeroplane"?

41.It’s the Little Things—Sonny & Cher

42.Run, Run, Run—The Third Rail
Vocal by Joey Levine, who also sang the Ohio Express hits (“Yummy Yummy Yummy,” “Chewy Chewy,” etc.), “Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)” by Reunion, and two early 80s commercial jingles I remember well:

Wanna have some fun, here’s an aisle of candy bars
So many flavors good to eat
Wanna have some fun, here’s a fountain of Slurpees
Flowing icy cold and sweet
Wanna have some fun, something something
Something something something
Wanna have some fun, wanna have some fun
At Seven-Eleven fun is waiting for you!

And

Orange you smart
For drinking orange juice
Pure refreshment every taste [or something like that]
Hey orange you smart
For drinking to your body’s content
A taste that only nature could invent
Hey! Orange you smart!

43.You Were on My Mind—Crispian St. Peters

44.Things I Should Have Said—The Grass Roots

45.Cry Softly Lonely One—Roy Orbison
It may seem kind of funny to see Roy Orbison on the charts in the summer of ’67, but he had been hanging on with a string of (generally pretty cool) minor hits ever since his last big one, “Oh, Pretty Woman” in 1964. This one hit #52 in Billboard and #42 at KJR, and was his last appearance in the Hot 100 until his 80s comeback.

46.Heroes and Villains—The Beach Boys
I’ve been in this town so long that back in the city I’ve been taken for lost and gone and unknown for a long long time.

47.Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead—The Fifth Estate

48.More Love—Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

49.In the Chapel in the Moonlight—Dean Martin

50.Out & About—Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

Looking at Lois Lane #38, January 1963, Part Three

2008-04-28T00:16:00.001-07:00

“The Girl Who Refused to Marry Superman!”
Art: Kurt Schaffenberger
It’s February 14 and Superman is visiting the Daily Planet offices. As Lois and Jimmy look on, Perry shows him a mound of thousands of St. Valentine’s Day cards that were sent to him in care of the Planet. “Gosh, Perry! This is embarrassing!” he objects, but Lois isn’t having it: “Tush! MY card is in there, and I’m sure Lana Lang didn’t forget you, either! So, suppose you start reading them! It’s the least you owe the people who sent them!” “Well…er…okay, Lois!” he stammers, his tail between his legs. Suddenly there’s someone else in the room, a guy with a receding hairline, horn-rimmed glasses and a bow tie, who looks a little like Bill Cullen or maybe Bennett Cerf, looking straight at the reader, pointing at Superman with his thumb, and exclaiming, “Holy cats! He’s reading 1,000 CARDS a second!” Bill/Bennett vanishes as quickly and mysteriously as he appeared, with seemingly no one else in the story having noticed him. “Here’s the card YOU sent, Lois! Also Lana Lang’s!” says Superman. “But I wonder if you both are any different from these female admirers who know me only as SUPERMAN, the great, glamorous hero!” “What do you mean, SUPERMAN?” frowns Lois. “Just this! These girls don’t know the real ‘me,’ the person I am when I’m not wearing my colorful costume! [And Lois and Lana do?] Would they be attracted to me if they knew me only as an ordinary American? I’ve often wondered whether you or Lana would care for me if I were not SUPERMAN…”

But SUPERMAN cuts himself off in mid-sentence, thinking, “Gasp! I-I feel a tingling sensation, which means the onset of a RED KRYPTONITE reaction! One of the RED HEARTS on these cards must contain some grains of RED KRYPTONITE which must have accidentally mixed with the red ink!” [Not again!] He quickly makes an excuse (“important matters to attend to”) and flies out the window. “Seriously, Lois, SUPERMAN raised a good question!” points out Perry. “You and Lana have been mad about SUPERMAN for years! But would either of you still love him if he weren’t the greatest super-hero of all time?” [What if he were, say, Aquaman?] “Of course I would, Perry!” objects Lois, while thinking, “But…honestly…WOULD I? I wonder…”

Superman, meanwhile, has decided that the red kryptonite tingling was only a false alarm. He spots two crooks fleeing a bank robbery, and one of them, who looks like he should be named “Rocky,” pulls a hand grenade out of his pocket and flings it at him. The other one, who looks like a “Muggsy” or maybe a “Lefty,” sneers, “You fool! What good is a grenade against SUPERMAN? His body is INDESTRUCTIBLE!” But, after a “KABOOOM!” and a “YEOOWWW!”, Superman falls to the sidewalk with an “OHHHHH!” and a “KRUMMPPP!”

Next we see Superman on a stretcher in Metropolis Hospital, with bandages on his head, face, chest and arm. “W-Wait! That hand-grenade…my face…I-I remember falling! Where am I?” “In a hospital, my good man, getting a blood transfusion!” answers the doctor. “What’s the big idea of masquerading as SUPERMAN?” “Masquerading? Are you mad? I AM SUPERMAN! I…groan…Ohh, my legs! My arms! They hurt so…” “Take it easy, mister, and lie still! You’ve got broken bones and we’ve taken a dozen grenade splinters out of your body…which proves you’re NOT SUPERMAN! If you were SUPERMAN, your skin would be penetrable [I think he means impenetrable…] and we couldn’t give you a blood transfusion! Now come clean! Who are you? Why were you wearing a SUPERMAN costume?” “Great Kryptonite!” Superman thinks as he lifts his broken arm to his bandaged temple in a typical “Great Kryptonite!” gesture. “I know what’s wrong! The RED KRYPTONITE reaction! It robbed me of my super-powers just as I was about to stop those crooks! I became instantly transformed into a normal human being…” Give the doctor credit for open-mindedness, though, because despite the obvious non-invulnerability of his patient, he sends for Perry White to come and question the man: “He’ll know whether he’s a faker or not!”

That evening, Perry arrives at the hospital room and promptly lights his cigar. Lois and Jimmy, of course, have come with him. “If you really are SUPERMAN, tell me what you gave me for my birthday last month!” he challenges. “That’s easy…I gave you that cigar lighter you’re using. It contains a fuel from another world, so that you don’t have to refill it for TEN YEARS!” [Since it’s from another world, it follows that you wouldn’t have to refill it for ten years.] “There’s no doubt of his being SUPERMAN! Only SUPERMAN and I know about this unique lighter!” Perry tells the doctor. “Then SUPERMAN has actually LOST his powers! What a blow!” observes the doctor, who actually looks pretty blasé about the whole thing. “Now the whole universe will be at the mercy of the menaces SUPERMAN alone used to handle.” Lois sits on the edge of the bed and tries to console him. “This is terrible! SUPERMAN is now an ordinary person!” she says, coming up a bit short in the good cheer department. “Here’s the signal-watch you gave me, SUPERMAN! I-I guess I won’t be needing it any more!” is Jimmy’s contribution, which seems like adding insult to injury. “No, Jimmy! It looks like I…uh…won’t be much use to you now!” responds Superman, who then muses on the fact that the others don’t realize that this can’t last more than 48 hours. “Two days from now all my wounds will automatically heal and I’ll be my old self again! But what an opportunity this situation gives me to learn something that’s puzzled me for years! Whether Lois and Lana are in love with my GLAMOR or ME!”

The next day Lois and Lana enter the hospital room simultaneously; Lois with candy, fruit and books, and Lana with a transistor radio, a phonograph and a stack of records. “Now what shall I read to you…Shakespeare or a mystery?” asks Lois. “And after I fluff up your pillows, I’ll play your favorite records!” counters Lana. “What’ll it be…Beethoven or bop?” Superman asks them not to make a fuss, and reminds them that he’s nobody special now, just an ordinary man, but they each kiss him and swear that it doesn’t make any difference.

The next scene occurs “days later,” according to the caption, but 48 hours after the injuries, according to Lois. The doctor removes Superman’s head bandages and asks him what he sees—even though the bandages were never over his eyes in the first place. It must not yet be 48 hours after the grenade explosion, as Superman finds that he can’t even tell the difference between Lois and Lana, standing right in front of him. “It’s shocking, Lana!” confides Lois. “He can’t see—but only 48 hours ago he had microscopic vision, telescopic, and x-ray vision!” “Shh, Lois…SUPERMAN may hear you!” “You forget SUPERMAN no longer has super-hearing! The glamorous super-hero we once knew is no more! Now he’s just an invalid!” Perry, also in the room [though Jimmy vanished from the story as soon as Lana appeared—coincidence?], gives Superman a tape recorder so that he can dictate his memoirs for the Planet and earn a living like everybody else. Perry plugs it in and suggests, “Why don’t you begin by relating how you always kept an eye on your best friends? Like the many times you rescued Jimmy Olsen, Lois, Lana, and me?” Superman starts by remembering saving Lana from a dinosaur when she got “trapped in the prehistoric past” and Lois from savage aliens when Luthor had abandoned her in outer space. Soon he tells Perry that he’s too weak to continue. “Isn’t it awful, Lana?” asks Lois. “SUPERMAN can never come to our rescue again!” “You’re right! Our whole lives will change now that SUPERMAN is no longer “super’!” [What an inconvenience for the two of them.]

The next day, Lois and Lana are pushing Superman in a wheelchair in what looks like a park. “The doctors said it may take a year before you’ll be all right, SUPERMAN!” says Lana. “But you can count on Lois or me to be around!” “You mean…both of you STILL care for an invalid like me?” he whines pathetically. “Invalid…bosh!” replies Lois as she and Lana exchange worried looks behind his back. “Nothing…uh…could change our feelings toward you!” Unbeknownst to them, Superman is smirking and thinking, “Hmm…it won’t be long now before the RED KRYPTONITE wears off! [This is getting to be a very long 48 hours!] So tonight won’t be too soon to learn how these girls really feel about me! But I must lay my plans carefully!”

That night, Lois and Lana, both in dripping wet raincoats from a thunderstorm, are talking in Superman’s room, as he seems to be asleep. “But I’ve been wondering something, Lana!” says Lois. “Mind if I speak frankly to you…about SUPERMAN?” But he’s not asleep, he’s thinking: “That’s it, girls! Start talking! I can’t make out your voices or see you clearly, but the tape recorder volume is turned up to catch your every word!” Unfortunately, the reader can’t see which is which, as the following exchange occurs:

LL#1: Well, as you know, SUPERMAN isn’t super any more! He’s just ordinary now! This changes everything for me…”
LL#2: I can understand YOUR change of heart and why YOU’D never marry SUPERMAN now. But I’D marry him even if he were deaf, dumb and blind!”
LL#1: Then I wish you luck, because I’M dropping out of the picture! I guess I was always in love with the super-hero, not the man beneath the costume!”

But when they leave and Superman plays back the tape, he hears: “SQUAAWW! I won’t marry SUPERMAN now that he isn’t super any more! SQUAAWW! KRAA!” He doesn’t conclude that they were being attacked by crows, but instead thinks, “Gasp! I can’t make out who’s talking! The storm must have affected the mechanism and ruined the sound! One says she’ll marry me! One says she WON’T! But I can’t tell whether it’s Lois or Lana!”

Suddenly, Superman finds himself outside, in mid-air, grabbing Rocky and Muggsy by the collars. “See? Didn’t I tell you that grenade wouldn’t stop him? Now he’s got us!” nags Muggsy. “G-GOT them? But that grenade injured me! I-I lost my super-powers! I was hospitalized and I was testing Lois and Lana to see which one truly loved me!” thinks Superman. “GREAT KRYPTON! Now I know what happened! The RED KRYPTONITE didn’t affect my powers at all! But for one split second, it gave me a hallucination about Lois and Lana’s feelings about me! Between the time of the grenade burst and now I only experienced a SUPER-SPEED DREAM!”

The story ends with Superman still deep in thought, as now the press, the mobile TV camera unit, and Lois and Lana have arrived at the scene. “What’s the matter, SUPERMAN?” asks Lois. “You’re staring at me so strangely!” “And at me, too! What’s wrong?” asks Lana. “Why…er…nothing!” is all he can say, as he thinks, “Hmm…Even in a momentary hallucination I couldn’t learn which one would marry me for myself! I wonder…which of the two girls said ‘NO’…which one said ‘YES’??” And a final caption asks: “Readers—can you guess? Give us your reasons and we’ll print the best letters!”

The issue then ends with a 2/3 page Henry Boltinoff “Jerry the Jitterbug” gag—how out-of-date was that in 1963? Henry could at least have re-named him “Twistin’ Tim”…

Looking at Lois Lane #38, January 1963, Part Two

2008-04-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

“Lois Lane’s Signal Watch!”
Art: Kurt Schaffenberger
“One day, at a criminal hideout in METROPOLIS…” a man who looks like a shady barber is removing bandages from another man’s face. “For Pete’s sake, Boss, that plastic surgery operation,” says the subject patient as he eyes a looking-glass mirror, “made me look like SUPERMAN! What’s the big idea?” “Relax, ‘Muscles’! That’s just who you’re supposed to look like!” replies the boss, the nattily-dressed, double-chinned Kimbo. Kimbo pays the “doctor” the first installment of his fee, then begins tutoring Muscles: “Right now I want you to study these pictures of SUPERMAN’S friends and learn to recognize them on sight! I also want you to practice imitating his voice from some records I have!” [Kimbo’s collection includes all of Superman’s biggest hits.]

“Days later, in the office of the Daily Planet,” Lois suddenly realizes that it’s been five years since racket king Bugs Gorcey vanished, which means it’s time they opened the sealed letter he left for her. Perry, instantly pulling out the letter, points out that the five years will actually be up at 3 o’clock the day after tomorrow—apparently it’s been on his mind. “I once rushed Bugs to a hospital when a rival gang shot him! He said he’d repay me some day! I wonder…” wonders Lois. Perry, who looks younger, slimmer and more handsome when drawn by Schaffenberger than in the Swan story, continues the exposition: “Rumors say that Gorcey had a million-dollar smuggling deal cooking when he vanished! Maybe that letter tells you where to locate the mysterious loot! Gorcey meant to repay you with a scoop! But your life may be in danger if you learn the location of that loot! Why not notify SUPERMAN?” Lois, as could be expected, replies that Superman is on a mission in Kandor and that she wants to handle this scoop of a lifetime on her own. They agree to open the envelope at 3PM on the appointed day, right after Lois covers a ship arrival that morning. However, a hidden microphone and radio inside a picture frame are broadcasting this conversation to Kimbo, Muscles and the “Doctor,” who is enthusiastically twiddling knobs on a huge radio receiver. “I always suspected Gorcey gave Lois Lane the location of his loot before he disappeared! That’s why I had the PLANET office wired!” explains Kimbo. “All right, Muscles, try this costume on for size! In two days you’re going on your first mission—as SUPERMAN!”

“Two days later, on the METROPOLIS waterfront,” Muscles-as-Superman approaches Lois, explains that he just got back from Kandor, and presents her with a signal watch like Jimmy’s. “Ohhh, SUPERMAN! What a thrilling gift!” gushes Lois, touched to finally be on a par with Jimmy in Superman’s heart. “Lois, my super-hearing detected your conversation with Perry about Gorcey’s hidden loot! Promise me you’ll signal me if you get in a jam!” explains Muscles. Lois agrees, thinking “CHOKE! I never realized how much he worries about me!” Muscles dives off the pier into the water, saying that he needs to help test the escape hatch on a new atomic submarine and telling Lois not to mention the watch to anyone. “Goodbye, SUPERMAN, dear!” Lois coos, thinking, “That watch shows how much he cares for me! Oh, joy! Perhaps some day soon he’ll be giving me a RING!” [Sorry, Lois, but it hasn’t worked out that way for Jimmy—who, unlike you, doesn’t have to keep his watch a secret.] Under another pier, Kimbo helps Muscles into a rowboat while the “Doctor,” now wearing a suit and tie instead of his barber smock, sits holding the oars. “It worked like a charm, Boss!” says Muscles. “The Lane dame will be wearing that signal watch 24 hours a day!” “Good work, ‘Muscles’!” replies Kimbo. “With that watch, which signals only US, Lois Lane will lead us right to Gorcey’s million-dollar loot!”

Back at the Planet, Lois runs into Jimmy, who has a bandaged head and his right arm in a sling--an arm that appears to be missing its hand. “That’s right, Lois…I stopped a runaway horse in the park! I tried to signal SUPERMAN, but I forgot he was in KANDOR!” says Jimmy, gesturing with the hand he has left. “But, Jimmy, I spoke to him and he even gave…er…maybe you’re right! I was mistaken!”says Lois, thinking “I mustn’t mention my watch! SUPERMAN asked me NOT to…ULP…that is, if it WAS SUPERMAN!” Kimbo and the boys, listening in, begin to worry that Lois is getting wise. Lois and Perry open Gorcey’s envelope. “Geronimo! You were right, Perry! This letter tells exactly where to find the loot that Gorcey hid!” blurts Lois with a greed-crazed look on her face. “Hmm! But that hiding place is a dilly! You’ll need special equipment to reach it! I’ll order it for you at once!” responds Perry, looking over her shoulder.

Perry makes the arrangements and gives Lois the address where she can pick up the equipment. Listening in, Kimbo hears Lois say that she’ll take a taxi and gets an idea: “So she’s going to take a TAXI, eh? Boys, I think I know how to prove to Lois Lane that she really saw SUPERMAN today! Doc—put on these dark glasses—you’re about to become a taxi driver!” An hour later, Lois steps out of the Planet building and Doc, in cab driver disguise with dark glasses and a cap with his suit and tie, immediately pulls up. “Soon, as the taxi races down a steep incline,” Doc cries out: “EEEYOW! My brakes just failed! The taxi’s out of control!” “ULP! What a spot! I’d better call SUPERMAN! GULP! That is, if this signal-watch works!” thinks Lois. As soon as the “ZEEE! ZEEE!” comes out of the watch, Doc starts using the brakes and the cab slows. “Hey, Miss, look! It was SUPERMAN who stopped us!” yells Doc, thinking, “CHUCKLE! It’s really ‘Muscles’ in disguise! He was waiting here at this pre-arranged spot!” As a relieved Lois relaxes in the back seat, Doc thinks, “Now it’s up to ‘Muscles’ to fake SUPERMAN’s ‘flight’ away from this phoney rescue!” Muscles is behind a tree, thinking “Ha! Ha! As soon as this compressed helium inflates this rubber balloon of SUPERMAN, it’ll rise in the air, and that Lane dame will think it’s her dream boy flying away!” Unlikely as this sounds, it works, with Lois saying, “He didn’t even wait for our thanks! Isn’t he just wonderful?”

Lois prudently has the cab drop her off blocks from her destination, the Acme Industrial & Safety Equipment Co. at the edge of Metropolis, where a long green Daily Planet station wagon is parked, loaded with the things Perry had obtained for her. She drives to “Old Bat Grotto,” where she changes into a miner’s outfit—apparently the “special equipment” consists of coveralls, a helmet, and a rope. Once inside the cave, she tilts a stalagmite as instructed by Gorcey’s letter. This opens a hidden door in the rock formation, revealing a hidden chest. “Good grief! It’s loaded with diamonds!” thinks Lois. “Now I remember! There was a big robbery of industrial diamonds in Europe about six years ago! Gorcey must have smuggled the stolen goods into this country! I’ll have to call SUPERMAN to help me with that chest!” “ZEEE-ZEEE,” goes the signal watch, and the signal is received by a helicopter hovering nearby. “There’s your supersonic signal, Kimbo! It seems to be coming from that cave!” “HA! Lois thinks she’s signaling SUPERMAN! Is she due for a surprise when she learns her watch is so fixed that its signal reaches only OUR SPECIAL RADIO!”

The three crooks enter Old Bat Grotto and Kimbo starts shooting. “Stand where you are, Miss Lane, “ he orders, “or my next bullets will be aimed right at you!” Lois ducks for cover, but Kimbo’s shots cause several stalactites to land on her. She is trapped, though “miraculously uninjured,” thinking, “I’m pinned down here! But why doesn’t Superman answer my signal? Hmm…the watch was damaged by the falling stalactites, but I’ll try it again!” Muscles appears in his Superman costume and sneers, “Forget the watch, girlie! It’s a PHONEY! I gave it to you myself while pretending to be SUPERMAN!” “Oh, no!” gasps Lois. Suddenly, into Old Bat Grotto flies Supergirl, whose “amazing heat vision melts the stalactites and stalagmites into a barrier,” which the crooks run smack into. “OUCH…my nose!” yells Muscles. Supergirl seals them in a cage made of more stalactites and stalagmites, as Muscles pouts, “CHEE! You broke my nose, SUPERGIRL!” “Gosh, I’m sorry, ‘Superman’! -CHUCKLE!- But I thought you were as invulnerable as I am!” laughs Supergirl.

Back in Perry’s office, Lois asks, “But if the signal watch was a phoney, how did you manage to find me, SUPERGIRL?” As Jimmy, still bandaged, eyes her warily, Supergirl explains, “When the falling stalactites struck the watch, they CHANGED the frequency of the signal! By a freak twist, the NEW frequency was tuned to MY super-hearing, just as the frequency of Jimmy’s watch is tuned only to SUPERMAN’s hearing! Then, with my telescopic vision, I traced the course of the supersonic alarm, and…” In a flashback panel, Supergirl thinks, “It’s Lois Lane! Those crooks have her trapped in Old Bat Grotto! I’d better hurry!” Later, when they’re alone, Supergirl says to Lois, “I’m sorry that signal-watch was a fake! But between us girls, perhaps some day soon you may get a GENUINE signal-watch!” Lois, nearly overcome with emotion, replies, “Oh, SUPERGIRL, do you think it will really happen some day?” A final caption asks, “How about it, readers? Do you think Lois ought to have her own signal-watch? Write and tell us your view!”

The story is followed by the letters page, Letters to Lois, which contains eight letters, including this one from Joe Pedecino of Marietta, Georgia:

Dear Editor: I think Lana Lang would make a much better wife for SUPERMAN than Lois Lane for the following reasons: She is prettier than Lois…She is not as inquisitive as Lois…She is not as jealous as Lois…She does not get into as much trouble as Lois…She knows SUPERMAN longer than Lois, ever since he was SUPERBOY back in Smallville.
(We think you are overlooking several of Lois’ qualifications. She is a better reporter than Lana…she has offered to sacrifice her life to save SUPERMAN on many occasions…she has proved to be more generous than Lana, and often does good deeds anonymously, without wanting credit. However, to sum it up, both girls have virtues which far outweigh their faults—so, let the best girl win!—Ed.)

Looking at Lois Lane #38, January 1963 (Part 1)

2008-04-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

Cover by Kurt Schaffenberger, illustrating the issue’s third story, “The Girl Who Refused to Marry Superman!”—-Superman sits in a wheelchair in his hospital room, with a broken leg, broken arm and bandaged head, saying, “Lois and Lana…a freak accident has taken away my super-powers and made me an invalid! Now that I’ll be an ordinary man for life, I’m sure neither of you will want to marry me!” The two women have their faces covered by black squares, and one is saying, “You’ll never be ordinary to ME! You’ll always be YOU, the man I love! I’LL marry you!” while the other says, “I’ll be honest with you, SUPERMAN! Without your super-powers, I wouldn’t dream of marrying you!” The caption: “Featuring a modern “Lady or the Tiger” puzzle! Can you guess who is…”The Girl Who Refused to Marry Superman!”

First story: “The Invisible Lois Lane”
Pencils: Curt Swan, inks: George Klein
In the splash panel, Clark Kent changes to Superman in the shadows alongside a building, while an invisible Lois thinks, “WOW! At last I’ve got PROOF that SUPERMAN and Clark Kent are one and the same person! After this temporary invisibility wears off, I’m going to have some fun! For a long, long time SUPERMAN’s been laughing at me secretly, but…ha, ha, ha…now I’M going to have the LAST LAUGH!”

As the story begins, eccentric Professor Potter is showing Lois his latest batch of discoveries. When he points out a short-term invisibility serum, Lois has an Olsenesque flash of inspiration and guzzles it down. “Oh, no!” cries the professor, “You swallowed the serum! You’re…fading from view!!—-Foolish girl! I started to tell you that any human drinking it will suffer unpleasant side effects...such as strange hallucinations!” “It’ll be WORTH it!!” thinks Lois.

After nearly being hit by a van, Lois spots Clark Kent leaving the Daily Planet building for lunch and follows him, hoping to catch him turning into Superman. In a stroke of luck, a machine-gun-wielding man is running out of a jewelry store with a satchel. “Moments later, in the alley…” the scene foreshadowed by the splash panel takes place, with Clark peeling back his shirt as see-through Lois thinks, “Great Scott! Clark took off his glasses and now he’s removing his outer garments, revealing a SUPERMAN costume underneath! My hunch was right. Meek, mild, shy Clark is secretly dynamic SUPERMAN!!”

Lois watches Superman make short work of the robber (“Gaaa! M-my machine-gun bullets bounce right off your jaw!” yells the hood, obviously new in town) and change back into Clark clothes. “Shall I tell him I’m wise to his jealously-guarded secret?—-No! Wait!” she muses, as she becomes visible again. “SUPERMAN must have had loads of laughs pulling the wool over my eyes all these years [well, yes…]…But here’s where the worm turns! Now I’M going to have some secret laughs at HIS expense!” She walks around a corner to run into Clark, and they go to lunch together, a safe almost landing on Clark as they walk down the sidewalk. When they get back to work, Perry White asks Clark to count the bags of coins sent in by readers as contributions to the Metropolis Orphans’ Fund. Lois sabotages the coin-counting machine and hangs around to help Clark count the coins by hand, thereby preventing him from counting at super-speed. “Getting impatient, SUPERMAN? Ha, ha! You must be sizzling!” she thinks, as Clark says, “$487.56…$487.57…$487.67…” [It might be easier, Clark, if you separated the coins by denomination first…]

The next evening Lois is waiting for Clark at an amusement park. She watches the operator of the ol’ hammer & bell strength-tester game and thinks, “I get it! The owner is pressing a button, so a hidden, powerful spring makes the ball shoot up so that his accomplice wins a prize…thus attracting more business!—-hm-mm…” When Clark arrives, she wheedles him into trying it, and presses the button so that he rings the bell despite trying to swing the hammer lightly—-winning him the rating of “superman” and a transistor radio, and flustering him further.

The day after that, “Lois and Clark visit a warehouse owned by a friend who was robbed of furs.” The friend says, “I’m closing, now. Take these keys and lock up when you leave! I hope you find a clue to the identity of the crooks who stole three mink coats from our fur vault!” Of course, when Clark walks into the fur storage freezer Lois locks him in. “Awp!” he thinks, nearly losing his composure. “An ordinary man would soon freeze to death in here! I could force open the thick steel door easily…but doing so would reveal the fact that I’m SUPERMAN! Wh-what’ll I do??” Lois lets him stew for a while, thinking, “If Clark bursts out, he’ll expose himself as SUPERMAN. And if he remains inside, with no ill effects from the zero temperature, that’ll unmask him, too! Ha, ha! He can’t escape THIS little trap!” When she finally opens the door, pretending that she’s been looking for him, he has wrapped himself in mink coats to justify not being dead.

The next day, Lois has come up with yet another sadistic little ruse [does she ever actually write an article? For that matter, does Clark? Presumably the Daily Planet comes out daily—-is there any news in it?]—-she tells Clark that she’s discovered that Perry White is Superman, and leads him into Perry’s office. While Perry dozes at his desk, Lois opens his closet door and shows Clark a Superman costume, Superman masks, and padding for making one appear fat. When Clark says he doesn’t believe it, Lois picks up a handgun from Perry’s desk (“Ha! This toy weapon is filled with BLANKS! It was used by the “Toy Gun Bandit” in a holdup! I painted the gun with lead paint so Clark’s x-ray vision won’t be able to look inside and discover the ‘bullets’ are harmless!”) and points it at Perry. But before Clark can confess to keep her from shooting, Perry wakes up. “Hey! Put down that toy gun!” he says, grabbing it with one hand while the other holds something up to one eye. As it turns out, Perry has a black eye from bumping into a door; “I took some pills to ease the pain, and I guess they made me fall asleep!” he explains. Lois is forced to admit that black-eye-sporting, pain-pill-popping Perry can’t be Superman, and she and Clark leave the room in stony silence, Clark thinking, “I awakened Perry by giving him a ‘hot foot’ with my HEAT VISION! I knew he had a black eye and I figured that when Lois saw it, she would have to admit he couldn’t possibly be invulnerable!”

Later, Lois sees a story on the news wire and the following exchange takes place:
L: This news bulletin says a ship’s sinking at sea! Hundreds of lives may be lost! Go save it, at once!
C: Me save the ship? What can I possibly do, Lois?
L: You know very well how you can save it! YOU’RE SUPERMAN, THE MAN OF STEEL! Now stop pretending and take off!
C: Lois—-what’s got into you? I’m no more SUPERMAN than you are—-JACQUELINE KENNEDY!

Lois then grabs a pair of scissors and is shocked to find that Clark’s hair cuts easily; then she rips open his shirt and finds there is no costume underneath. “Whatever gave you the wild idea that I, of all people, am SUPERMAN?” asks Clark, as if this has never come up before. Lois sputters and Clark leaves, “to take care of some personal business.” Lois calls Professor Potter, who assures her that when she saw Clark change into Superman it was just a hallucination caused by the serum. Superman, observing from above the clouds, reflects on the real explanation—-it seems that when Lois started acting strangely (or more so than usual) he deduced that she had discovered his identity and was toying with him. So, naturally he went looking for amnesia victims of his own size and build, and found one at Metropolis Hospital, a test-pilot named Roy Wilkins who lost his memory in a crash. Superman coerced him to agree to put on a mask and play Clark Kent by promising to restore his memory afterwards, and meanwhile Superman saved the sinking ship. Flashback over, he meets amnesiac Roy behind the Daily Planet building and kills him so he can’t talk. No, not really—-he picks him up and flies loops with him, causing Roy to remember everything up until his accident (“After their memories return, “ Superman thinks as he flies away, “former amnesia victims can’t recall what happened DURING their period of amnesia!”). The story ends at a celebrity style show where Lois is modeling, as she says to Clark, “To think I almost froze you to death in that fur vault…! I promise never again to try and prove you’re SUPERMAN!”

The story is followed by a one-page “Varsity Vic” by the ubiquitous Henry Boltinoff.

Looking at the October 7 1961 Seattle TV Guide

2008-04-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

I was only two years old in 1961 and I don't know how much TV I was watching, and I'm sure I was a few years away from becoming the avid TV Guide reader that I became, but let's take a look at what we could have been watching on Saturday morning, October 7, 1961:

7:45 Channel 5 is the first to sign on the air, with Davey and Goliath (in COLOR--only Channels 4 and 5 have any color programming at this point). "Davey puts on his 'New Skates' and slides out onto thin ice."
8:00 Channel 5 continues with Telaventure Tales, which I don't remember ever watching but do remember seeing it in TV Guide. Apparently it consisted of Ruth "Wunda Wunda" Prins reading books. For the first ten minutes of the show it was still the only show in town, but then at 8:10 Channel 4 signed on with Farm Report (15 minutes) followed by News, Weather (5 minutes), while Channel 7 came on at 8:15 with Light Time, whatever the hell that was.
8:30 A tough choice, between Channel 4's Agriculture Unlimited (today's episode: "Animal Disease Laboratory"), Pip the Piper on Channel 5 (today's episode: "Lost Horse Day"), and Channel 7's Christie Comedies (listed as cartoons, but actually, I assume, silent shorts). Stations often had farm programming in the mornings, but it seems like all the farmers should have been out working before 8:30.
8:45 Channel 11 signs on with News, Sports, Weather--topping Channel 4's News, Weather. At this point in time Channels 11 and 7 were both CBS affiliates, as if people in Tacoma couldn't pick up Channel 7.
9:00 Channel 5 has Shari Lewis in COLOR, and 7 and 11 have Captain Kangaroo, but I think I'd choose Channel 4's Adventure Today. TV Guide categorized it as "Children," and that's the only scrap of information I have about this show, and probably ever will--it's not like I can find it on Youtube or anything. Apparently it was an hour long.
9:30 Adventure Today and Captain Kangaroo continue, while Channel 5 has 15 minutes of To Be Announced before Game 3 of the World Series at 9:45. Was it actually a pre-game show? The listings then show Video Village starting at 9:45 on 7 and 11, but I think it's a typo and it actually started at 10:00, making Captain Kangaroo an hour and VV half an hour, rather than 45 minutes each. Video Village was a kids' game show hosted by Monty Hall and based on an adult version which starred Jack Narz.
10:00 Opposite the World Series and Video Village, Channel 4 has Western Theater. This week's movie is Bob Steele in "Oklahoma Cyclone" from 1930.

One thing I like is how every movie slot had its own name. Some of us remember "Nightmare Theater" or "Owl Theater" or "Nightcap Theater," but in 1961 everything had a name:

Saturday
10 AM, Channel 4: Western Theater
11 AM, 11: Adventure Theater
2 PM, 5: Midday Matinee
2:30 PM, 7: Alan Ladd Theater
4 PM, 13: Western Theater
5:30 PM, 13: Feature Film Fair
8 PM, 13: Movie 13
10 PM, 11: Who-Done-It?
11 PM, 4: Major Studio Preview
11 PM, 7: Big 7 Movie
11 PM, 11: Nightmare

Sunday
10:30 AM, 11: Sunday Showcase
11:30 AM, 7: Sunday Show
2 PM, 5: Armchair Theater
3 PM, 4: Sunday Matinee
4:30 PM, 13: Sunday Cinema
6 PM, 13: Feature Film Fair

Monday-Friday
9:30 AM, 4: Movietime on 4
11 AM, 13: Jerry's Club Matinee (10 AM on Friday)
7:30 PM, 13: Early Show (except Thursday)
11:30 PM, 4: Fourmost Movie (11:35 PM Tuesday & Thursday)
11:30 PM, 11: All Star Movie (listed as All Star Theater Monday)

Monday
8 PM, 11: Early Show
9:30 PM, 11: Gold Star Theater

Tuesday
11:30 PM, 7: Masterpiece Theater

Wednesday
9:30 PM, 11: Showroom
11:30 PM, 7: Masterpiece Theater

Friday
11:30 PM, 7: Masterpiece Theater

But back to Saturday morning:
10:30 The World Series and Western Theater continue, while Channel 7 has Mighty Mouse Playhouse. "A special feature today is a short film about the work of UNICEF, the United Nations relief organization, does around the world called 'Mighty Mouse Tells Where Your Pennies Go.'" Channel 11 is not listed.
11:00 The World Series continues. Channel 4 has On Your Mark, a children's quiz show, while Channel 7 has The Magic Land of Allakazam, one of my earliest TV memories. "Mark Wilson and Nani Darnell find an old pirate chest with a map and will left by Dreadful Darnell, Nani's swashbuckling ancestor." Mark and Nani were a husband-and-wife magician-and-assistant team. Channel 11 diverges from the CBS schedule with Adventure Theater; this week's film is "Pacific Adventure," from 1947, starring the immortal Ron Randell, Muriel Steinbeck and Margaret Tremmel.
11:30 The World Series and Adventure Theater continue. Channel 4 has Magic Ranch, which seems to have been ABC's answer to Allakazam. Today, "Peter Borger, 13, shows how to make hamsters invisible." Channel 7 has Roy Rogers.
12:00 Now it's time to go outside and play.

And where were Channels 9 and 13 all morning? Channel 9 didn't broadcast on the weekends, and Channel 13 didn't sign on until 4 PM on Saturday.