online community focused on sharing and reminiscing about video, audio, and images that stir our memories of the past – old television, theme songs, commercials, print advertisements, the sights and sounds you remember
The Jeep, after proving itself as a reliable, go anywhere vehicle during World War II, the United States Postal Service used the Jeep CJ-3A two wheel drive Jeep Dispatcher from 1955 through 1964 and the DJ5 model which had a 4 wheel drive option. The last Jeep used was a Jeep Cherokee 4×4 in 2001.
Many of us remember the iconic red, white, and blue paint scheme for the carrier trucks and mailboxes. I remember someone saying the truck went from being primarily white and the mailboxes going to all blue as a cost saving measure since they only have to stock one color to paint them. However, I have not been able to confirm this at this writing. It was probably something I heard on the news.
The post office then switched to the Grumman LLV (Long Life Vehicles) trucks, these are the truck we see on the road at this writing (2021). It’s the same Northrop Grumman Corporation that manufactured the F-14 and F-18 fighter aircraft. These vehicles are coming to an end of their life cycle. There are many companies vying to replace the Grumman’s, many companies from overseas. Hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles are being considered. My mail carrier just started driving a white Dodge Ram van with a USPS sticker on the front doors.
Who remembers the Valentine cards we shared with our classmates in school? I remember being excited receiving one from the girl I had a crush on only to realize we had to exchange cards with everyone in the class. I wonder if they still allow kids to do this? I guess it depends from school system to school system.
In 1918 when this was posted in the Bridgeport Telegram (Connecticut) radio was yet to become popular. This was in essence an infomercial, a pretty big deal in it’s day. A visit to your town from the 20 Mule Borax Team with free entertainment, along with free samples of their laundry detergent, who could pass this up?
The Pacific Coast Borax Company adopted the the 20 mule team as it’s logo back in 1890 and the mule team was featured on the top of every box of soap flakes . Mules were used to extract the chemical borax from the mines of Death Valley between 1883 to 1889, this was before the train came to the west. Mules were used because they are less stubborn than donkeys and ate less than horses. Teams were often hitched in 80 foot chains hauling over 35 tons across 165 miles of the Mohave Dessert on less than ideal roads.
In 1916 the company sent the 20 mule team on a cross country trip promoting the brand. They started in California to Nevada. From there they were loaded on trains to Washington D.C. The team was even in the 1917 inaugural parade for Woodrow Wilson. Driving the team were colorfully name characters like Borax Bill or as in this advertisement Tarantula Pete usually reminiscing the ole west. You can still purchase their Borax 20 Mule Team to this very day!
In 1977, George Lucas broke box office sales records with Star Wars. While working on the sequel CBS suggested the idea of a holiday special. Lucas passed the project on to others. It’s Star Wars, how could it lose? We will find out after this.
In 1978, CBS approached George Lucas for a full length Star Wars Holiday Special. Lucas was busy with The Empire Strikes Back. CBS insisted that it be like a variety show, so the show was put in the hands of veteran variety show writers and producers.
George Lucas insisted that the show center around Chewbacca’s family but insisted on no subtitles to the unintelligible family.
So, we have guest hosts like Art Carney in a futuristic Ed Norton as an appliance salesman carrying the dialogue.
Before there was even a Food Network, Chewbacca’s wife watches a cooking show with an eight armed Harvey Korman doing his best impression of an alien Julia Childs.
Korman also plays a malfunctioning instructional video of what appears to be a Radio Shack 50 in 1 project kit.
The show was stretched for time with scenes like this futuristic Cirque du Soleil hologram to entertain the little Wookiee.
Grandpa then had his fantasies fulfilled, no, I’m not kidding, with sequinned dressed Diahann Carroll. I can’t believe this made it past the censors at the CBS Practices and Standards. Cher was actually offered the part but wisely turned it down.
The Wookiees Facetime with Mark Hamill and R2D2, as well as a scene from Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leia, with C3P0 in order to have a cameo for all the Star Wars stars.
In keeping with the variety show angle, Jefferson Starship of all groups appear to entertain and soften the spirits of the Imperial Patrol. In an interview with Vanity Fair, former lead singer for Starship said, “It was such a strange iteration of the original big-screen-movie concept and your regular variety-show, Carol Burnett vibe,” he says. “I was like tripping on it myself, man.”
Bea Arthur who was famous for the TV character Maude at the time wanted the public to be aware of her previous Broadway talents as a singer. After pouring drinks down Harvey Korman’s volcano head, she bursts into song with this number.
At the time, there were only three networks and the Star Wars Holiday Show came in second, being beat by Love Boat.
In the end, all character unite with globes, donned in red snuggies and walk into the sun while Carrie Fisher sings.
In the same Vanity Fair article George Lucas was quoted as saying that if he had the time and a hammer, he would personally “smash” every bootlegged copy of the special; otherwise he has yet to come clean on the matter.
Which just proves the old saying, if you want a job done right, do it yourself!
Born Julia Chalene Newmeyer we know her better as Catwoman in the Batman television series. She stared in 12 episodes. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Newmar appeared in several low-budget films. She also guest-starred on TV shows including The Love Boat, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Hart to Hart, CHiPs and Fantasy Island. She was seen in George Michael’s video clip Too Funky in 1992 as well as appearing as herself in a 1996 episode of Melrose Place. A legal altercation with her neighbor, Jim Belushi, ended amicably with an invitation to co-star with him on his sitcom According to Jim in an episode that poked fun at the feud. Not too bad for being 75 years old!
This holiday-themed tag appeared at the end of the I Love Lucy episode that aired on December 24, 1951. It became something of a tradition as it was aired in both 1952 and 1953 at the end of the episode that fell closest to Christmas day.
From October 1962 to September 1971, ABC aired a “highbrow series for children” called Discovery. Historical and cultural themes were emphasized in each program. In its first season it began as a 25-minute weekday series, but failed to attract much of an audience. In 1963 it switched to a Sunday morning timeslot where it remained for the duration of its run. Hosted by Virginia Gibson (later Bill Owen joined Gibson as a co-host), the show is fondly remembered by children of that era because it was, for years, the only network show that aired on Sunday mornings that was not an adult-oriented political or news panel show. Each year that Discovery aired it was followed by the last two digits of the year. He is the opening and closing of a Discovery ’68 episode.
Check out these bands playing in the Bay Area of California back in July 1976. An eye-opener is to look at the prices to see big-name entertainment. $8 a ticket was the highest ticket? I checked the same paper a decade later and the highest price was $16. The Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator says $1 is now worth $4.66 in 1976 dollars, so an $8 ticket would be $37.28 in today’s money. $1 in 1986 has $2.37 buying power in 2020. So a $16 ticket is the same at $37.28. When did ticket sales get outrageous? BC (Before Corona) concert tickets would be going for hundreds of dollars if you could get them. What happened?
So, does anyone have memories of seeing these groups in concert?
This is sort of a history of cereals we enjoyed as kids. Cereal actually started as a granola style concoction in the 1800’s that needed to be soaked in liquid to soften it up. Water made it soggy but the milk did the trick!
So which was your favorite as a kid? How about now as an adult? My all-time favorite is probably Lucky Charms. I also like Count Chocula from time to time. Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Wheaties have stood the test of time unlike fad cereals like Mr. T and CP3Os . But what about Crispy Critters? Wow, think about that!
In September 1993 still fresh off Johnny Carson’s retirement Fox Network wanted to get in the late-night talk show circuit. Dolly Parton was considered but her agent said no but recommended Chevy Chase who signs a $3 million contract. Chevy also secured the ownership right like Carson.
Fox was so confident
in the show’s success they even went so far as to spend $1 million
in renovating the old Aquarius Theater on Sunset Boulevard in Los
Angeles, then renaming it the Chevy Chase Theater.
Chase found it
difficult to connect with his guests but was comfortable with his
skits. The biggest issue was that he had trouble connecting with the
audience which was apparent with many of the skits falling flat with
them.
After five weeks or 29 shows, Fox pulled the plug. They promised sponsors 5-6 million viewers nightly but the average was fewer than 3 million. In the last week, it dropped below 2 million viewers.
Within 2 days of the show’s cancellation workers dismantled and painted over the Chevy Chase Theater sign. It is currently known as the Nickelodeon on Sunset and at the time of the writing, Google says it is permanently closed.
In an interview with A&E Biography interview “an entirely different concept than what was pushed on me. I would never do it again. What I wanted to have a whole different feel to it, much darker and more improv. But we never got there.”
