Steve, Author at Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures - Do You Remember

Every Girl Can Be Popular… According to Marcia Brady!

At the height of The Brady Bunch, Maureen McCormick was not just playing one of television’s most popular teenagers. She was also offering advice on how other girls could become popular too.

This early 1970s advertisement promoted Every Girl Can Be Popular!, a mail-order booklet credited to McCormick. It promised 60 tips on meeting boys, dating, grooming, clothing and gaining confidence in relationships.

Of course, the advice reflects its time. Much of the booklet focused on dressing properly, attracting boys and avoiding mistakes that might “turn boys off.” The advertisement even promised that Maureen’s self-improvement plan could surprise everyone, including the reader herself.

Teen magazines frequently used young television stars to sell beauty tips, dating advice, posters and fan merchandise. With Marcia Brady considered the ideal American teenager, Maureen was the perfect celebrity to convince readers that popularity could be learned.

Would you have ordered this booklet, or did you already think Marcia Brady was a little too perfect?

And Away We Went With Jackie Gleason

I remember sitting in the living room with the family to watch The Jackie Gleason Show. The dramatic introduction always confused me because I expected some action, not the June Taylor Dancers!

When the “Glea Girls” were shown waiting for their cue to say their lines, we all yelled, “Go!” or “You’re on!” We did not realize the show was being broadcast live.

The Glea Girls introduced segments and helped give the program its glamorous Miami Beach look. They were different from the June Taylor Dancers, the professional dance troupe that performed the show’s large, carefully choreographed production numbers.

Jackie Gleason moved his show from New York to Miami Beach in 1964, turning Saturday nights into a weekly television trip to Florida. The program featured Gleason’s comedy characters, Sammy Spear and his orchestra, the June Taylor Dancers, celebrity guests and Johnny Olson’s enthusiastic introductions.

Beginning in 1966, The Honeymooners returned in color with Art Carney once again playing Ed Norton. Sheila MacRae played Alice Kramden, while Jane Kean played Trixie Norton. Many of their Miami adventures became full musical productions with elaborate sets and original songs.

Gleason regularly promoted Miami Beach as the “sun and fun capital of the world.” He ended each show by declaring, “The Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!”

The Miami version continued until February 28, 1970. But what I remember most is sitting in the living room with my family, waiting for the show to begin and yelling cues at the Glea Girls, even though we knew the program had already been recorded.

Did your family ever talk back to the television just for the fun of it?

I Want My Maypo!

This wonderfully simple 1956 commercial begins with Marky refusing to eat his breakfast while wearing his cowboy hat. Uncle Ralph tries the old airplane-and-hangar trick, accidentally puts the spoon into his own mouth and discovers that he likes Maypo. When Uncle Ralph begins eating the entire bowl, Marky finally delivers the line remembered by generations: “I want my Maypo!”

Animation pioneer John Hubley created the commercial around recordings of his four-year-old son, Mark. Rather than giving the boy a polished script, Hubley followed him with a microphone and built the cartoon around his natural words, reactions and mispronunciations. The result felt more like a funny family moment than a commercial.

The campaign transformed a poorly selling maple-flavored oatmeal into a national favorite. Sales rose an average of 78 percent and climbed as high as 186 percent in some markets. Marky became so popular that he appeared on packaging and inspired a vinyl bank, although Hubley initially fought attempts to merchandise a character based upon his own child.

Later commercials featured major athletes including Mickey Mantle, Wilt Chamberlain, Johnny Unitas, Don Meredith and Oscar Robertson declaring that they wanted their Maypo. Marky received a modern makeover in 2001, but kept his familiar cowboy hat and kerchief.

Maypo remains available today, proving that Marky’s demand lasted much longer than anyone probably expected.

Did you eat Maypo, or did you simply run around the house shouting, “I want my Maypo!”

Wacky Races

Saturday mornings became much more dangerous when Wacky Races premiered on CBS on September 14, 1968. Eleven bizarre vehicles raced across the country while Dick Dastardly and his snickering dog, Muttley, stopped every few miles to set another trap.

Every car matched the personality of its driver. Penelope Pitstop had the beauty-salon-equipped Compact Pussycat, Professor Pat Pending drove the transforming Convert-a-Car, and the Gruesome Twosome traveled inside the monster-filled Creepy Coupe. The Ant Hill Mob raced in the Bulletproof Bomb, while lumberjack Rufus Ruffcut drove a wooden vehicle with circular saw blades for wheels.

The funniest part was that Dick Dastardly probably could have won by simply continuing to drive. Instead, he repeatedly stopped his speedy Mean Machine to build complicated traps that usually backfired, leaving him and Muttley behind everyone else. Across all 34 races, they never recorded a first, second or third-place finish.

The cartoon produced only 17 episodes, each containing two separate races, but its characters proved too entertaining to disappear. Penelope and the Ant Hill Mob returned in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, while Dick Dastardly and Muttley moved into airplanes for Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.

Which racer did you root for, and did anyone actually want Dick Dastardly to win?

Sea Hunt and the Shows We Watched With Dad

Sea Hunt was another show I watched with my dad. Combat!, The Rat Patrol and, heck, even Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. were shows many of us watched beside our fathers. We were entertained, but we also learned from them about courage, responsibility, loyalty and doing the right thing.

Lloyd Bridges starred as professional diver Mike Nelson, a former Navy frogman who took on dangerous underwater rescues, criminals, sabotage and sunken mysteries. Sea Hunt ran from January 4, 1958, through September 23, 1961, producing 155 episodes over four seasons.

The show never belonged to one major television network. It was sold directly to local stations through syndication, so families watched it on different nights and at different times depending on where they lived.

Bridges learned to scuba dive for the role and eventually performed many of his own underwater stunts. Since actors could not easily speak underwater, much of the action was explained through Mike Nelson’s narration. Many scenes were filmed in the clear waters of Silver Springs, Florida.

I do not want to sound old, even though I am, but there do not seem to be as many father-and-son bonding shows anymore. Maybe it was not only the programs that made those nights special. Maybe it was simply sitting beside Dad and sharing something together.

Did you watch Sea Hunt with your father, and what other shows brought the two of you together?

Faster Than Saturday Morning Television

Before Super Friends and decades before the live-action television series, Filmation brought the Flash racing onto Saturday-morning television. Beginning in 1967, Flash and Kid Flash appeared in short adventures during The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, battling giant creatures, robots and even another super-speedster. Only three solo cartoons were produced, but the Flash also appeared alongside the Justice League.

The animation was simple, with repeated running scenes, bright streaks and dramatic narration, but somehow that made the Flash seem even faster. Years later, Sheldon Cooper regularly wore Flash shirts and dressed as the character on The Big Bang Theory, helping make that familiar lightning-bolt symbol cool again. Sheldon probably would have watched these cartoons frame by frame, then complained that Barry Allen’s speed was scientifically inconsistent.

Friday Nights Belonged to The Flintstones

Before The Flintstones became a childhood favorite through daytime reruns, it was a genuine prime-time television show. The series premiered on ABC on Friday, September 30, 1960, at 8:30 p.m., when children and adults were expected to watch together.

This lively promo turns the show’s Friday-night time slot into a full Stone Age musical production. Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty and an assortment of prehistoric entertainers appear as the announcer reminds viewers where they should be on Friday night.

The first three seasons aired Fridays at 8:30. The show’s original opening music was the instrumental “Rise and Shine,” before “Meet the Flintstones” became the familiar theme during the third season.

Did your family watch The Flintstones at night, or do you remember it mostly from afternoon and Saturday-morning reruns?

Thanks Gumball _____________ what comes next?

My wife handed me something tonight, and I said, “Thanks for the gumball!” Before I could even finish, she immediately answered, “Mickey!”

It’s fun when you both connect at exactly the same time with an old commercial from your past. One little phrase can bring back a memory neither of you realized was still tucked away.

These Hasbro gumball banks combined three things kids loved: cartoon characters, candy and collecting pennies. The colorful gumballs filled the clear heads of Mickey Mouse, Bozo the Clown and Popeye, making each character look funnier with every refill.

You inserted a penny, received a gumball and heard the memorable line, “Thanks for the gumball, Mickey!” Decades later, that silly commercial is still bringing back memories and apparently finishing sentences in our house!

Did you have one of these gumball banks, or do you still quote the commercial?

The DeLorean: A Dream Car With a Wild Story

The DeLorean DMC-12 looked like it had arrived from the future, even before Doc Brown turned one into a time machine. With its gull-wing doors, stainless-steel body and low, sharp styling, nothing else on the road looked quite like it. Unfortunately, the performance did not match the appearance, and buyers discovered that the futuristic-looking sports car was not especially fast.

The company was also running out of money. In 1982, John DeLorean became involved in what appeared to be a plan to finance the company through a cocaine transaction. The deal was arranged with James Hoffman, a convicted drug smuggler working as a federal informant. DeLorean was arrested during a videotaped hotel-room sting, but his attorneys argued that the government had pressured a financially desperate businessman into committing a crime.

A jury agreed with the entrapment defense and acquitted DeLorean of all charges in 1984. By then, however, the company had collapsed and his reputation had been permanently damaged.

Was the DeLorean reliable? Early cars had electrical problems, weak alternators, troublesome power windows and inconsistent assembly. The V6 engine itself could be durable, but the car needed attentive maintenance and knowledgeable mechanics. A properly restored DeLorean can be dependable today, although owning one is still more of a passion project than ordinary transportation.

Did you dream of owning a DeLorean before Back to the Future, or did the movie make you want one?

I-Spy

I Spy premiered on NBC on September 15, 1965. Robert Culp played international tennis star Kelly Robinson, while Bill Cosby played his trainer, Alexander “Scotty” Scott. Their tennis careers were actually a cover for their dangerous work as American intelligence agents.

Unlike many spy programs filmed mostly on Hollywood backlots, I Spy took its stars around the world. Episodes were filmed in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Rome, Athens, Madrid, Mexico City and Morocco, giving viewers a colorful look at destinations many had never seen outside travel magazines.

The series also made television history. Cosby became the first Black actor to star in a leading role on a weekly American dramatic series. I Spy ran for three seasons from 1965 through 1968, producing 82 episodes. During each of those three seasons, both Cosby and Culp were nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Cosby won all three times.

What made the show especially enjoyable was the relaxed friendship between Robinson and Scott. They traded jokes and teasing remarks like old friends, but the stories could quickly turn serious. There were fewer fantastic gadgets than other television spies used, with more emphasis on danger, travel and the personal cost of espionage.

With its memorable Earle Hagen theme, international scenery and chemistry between its stars, I Spy became one of the most distinctive spy shows of the 1960s.