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

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.

Professionally Speaking, Meet the Ajax Man

We just told you about Madge the Manicurist. How about our favorite, or possibly only, professional dishwasher?

Actor Eugene Roche became television’s Ajax Man in the early 1970s, playing a no-nonsense restaurant dishwasher who knew exactly how to make greasy dishes “squeaky clean.” After washing a plate with Ajax dishwashing liquid, he would run his fingers across it to produce that memorable squeak.

His familiar sales pitch was, “Professionally speaking, you’ve got to try Ajax.” Roche’s everyday appearance and serious delivery made him seem like a genuine restaurant employee offering advice from years behind the sink.

Colgate-Palmolive ran the campaign through the Norman, Craig & Kummel advertising agency. Roche appeared as the Ajax Man from around 1971 through at least 1977, making him one of the decade’s most familiar commercial characters.

Roche later became a successful character actor, appearing as Pinky Peterson on All in the Family and Luther Gillis on Magnum, P.I.

Do you remember the Ajax Man making that plate squeak?

Madge and the Palmolive Soak

Madge worked at the fictional Salon East Beauty Parlor, where nearly every manicure ended with the same surprise. After listening to a customer complain about dry or rough hands, Madge would calmly reveal that her fingers were already soaking in Palmolive dishwashing liquid.

The famous line, “You’re soaking in it,” first became part of the campaign in 1966. Actress Jan Miner’s perfect delivery helped turn a simple product demonstration into one of television advertising’s most recognizable catchphrases.

Madge became so well known that A&W later parodied the commercials. Instead of Palmolive, she soaked her hand in a mug of root beer, proving just how deeply the character had become part of popular culture.

Did anyone ever try soaking their own hands in Palmolive after watching Madge?