1970's Archives - Page 7 of 21 - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Get Dad an 8-Track Player!

There was a time when a trip to Radio Shack felt like walking into the future — even if you only needed batteries, a fuse, a connector, or one little part nobody else carried.

For many of us, Radio Shack was where we first saw CB radios, scanners, stereo gear, remote-control toys, electronic kits, and eventually computers like the TRS-80. The shelves were packed with gadgets, wires, adapters, and things we did not fully understand but still wanted.

And who remembers giving your name, address, and phone number just to buy a pack of batteries?

Do you miss Radio Shack?

Lotsa Luck

One of my family’s favorite shows starring Dom DeLuise only lasted one season, but we never forgot it.

Lotsa Luck starred Dom as Stanley Belmont, a good-hearted working guy stuck supporting his mother, sister, and unemployed brother-in-law. It was loud, silly, and very much built around Dom DeLuise’s lovable, frustrated comedy style.

It may not have lasted long, but if your family watched it, chances are you still remember it.

Did you watch Lotsa Luck?

ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons 1971

This is what Saturday mornings looked like when the cereal bowl was full, the TV was warm, and the whole morning belonged to cartoons. ABC’s 1971 lineup brought together a wild mix of animated favorites, spooky fun, music, adventure, and live-action weirdness that only the early ’70s could deliver.

Did you watch ABC on Saturday mornings, or were you switching between channels?

Nanny and the Professor-Were You A Fan?

Nanny and the Professor premiered on ABC on Wednesday, January 21, 1970, and ran until December 27, 1971. It starred Juliet Mills as the mysterious Phoebe Figalilly, better known as Nanny, and Richard Long as widowed Professor Harold Everett.

The show had a gentle Mary Poppins feel, with Nanny always seeming to know a little more than everyone else. Was she magical, psychic, or just very clever? That was part of the fun.

For many kids, it fit perfectly into ABC’s family lineup, especially when it aired on Friday nights near The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. It was sweet, quiet, and very much of its time.

Did you watch Nanny and the Professor? Did you think Nanny was magical?

K-Tel Records

K-Tel records filled in the gap of the 45 single hits not on our Columbia House Records!

Ba-Ba-Ba-Barbarino!

Before Saturday Night Fever, before Grease, and before John Travolta became one of the biggest movie stars of the 1970s, he was Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter.

One of his great early TV moments came in the episode “The Telethon,” which aired on February 12, 1976. In the episode, the Sweathogs try to raise money for much-needed school supplies, and Travolta gets to show off the charm that was already making him the breakout star of the show.

His bit was a goofy little number sung to the tune of “Barbara Ann,” turning it into “Ba-Ba-Ba-Barbarino.” It was silly, self-centered, and completely Vinnie — exactly the kind of moment that made kids repeat his lines at school the next day.

Welcome Back, Kotter had only premiered in September 1975, but Travolta was already becoming the one everyone was watching. Vinnie Barbarino gave him his first big break on television, and by 1976 the fan mail and attention were building fast. Within just a couple of years, he would jump from Sweathog heartthrob to full-blown superstar with Saturday Night Fever and Grease.

Looking back, this clip is fun because you can already see it: the grin, the timing, the swagger, and that Travolta confidence before the rest of the world completely caught up.

Ba-ba-ba… Barbarino!

Henry Fonda, Jodie Foster and Peter Brady Selling View-Master?

This is one of those commercials that makes you stop and say, “Wait… is that who I think it is?”

In 1971, GAF ran a View-Master commercial starring Henry Fonda, of all people, giving the toy a grandfatherly stamp of approval. Sitting with the kids is a very young Jodie Foster, years before Taxi Driver, Freaky Friday, The Accused, and Silence of the Lambs. Some postings also identify one of the boys as Christopher Knight, better known to TV kids as Peter Brady.

The ad is pure early ’70s View-Master magic: kids gathered around, clicking through those little reels, while Henry Fonda explains the wonder of seeing pictures in 3-D. Before home video, before tablets, before YouTube, this was how a kid could “visit” Disney, see TV characters, travel the world, or look at dinosaurs from the living room floor.

A fun fact: View-Master had been around since 1939, long before it became mostly thought of as a children’s toy. Under GAF, the reels leaned more into kid-friendly subjects like cartoons, TV shows, and entertainment tie-ins.

Another fun fact: Jodie Foster was already a seasoned child performer by this point. She began working as a child model and actress in the 1960s, so this commercial came before her big teen fame in the mid-1970s.

Ho Ho Ho… Green Giant!

Some commercials you don’t just remember — you can still hear them. The Jolly Green Giant made vegetables feel bigger than life with that booming “Ho Ho Ho!”

The Green Giant character first appeared in advertising in 1928, but he wasn’t always the friendly leafy giant we remember. In 1935, ad man Leo Burnett helped reshape him into the smiling Jolly Green Giant.

The TV version most of us remember really took off around 1961, when “Ho Ho Ho” became his signature line and “Good Things from the Garden” became part of the campaign. The deep voice belonged to Len Dresslar, a Chicago singer whose laugh became one of the most famous sounds in advertising.

The Giant later got a young helper, Little Green Sprout, in the early 1970s. The campaign faded in and out over the years, but it never really disappeared. Even if he wasn’t always in the commercials, he stayed right there on the package.

Ho Ho Ho… Green Giant!

Before Snoopy Was Shaving Ice, There Was Ice Bird

Before the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine became the one everyone remembers, Kenner had Ice Bird, a 1974 toy that promised kids they could make their own icy treats at home.

The idea was simple and very 1970s: put in the ice, shave it down, pack it into little balls, and pour on the flavored syrup. Suddenly, you weren’t just eating a frozen treat. You were running your own little snowball stand from the kitchen table.

The commercial made it look easy, clean, and exciting, which is exactly what a good toy commercial was supposed to do. But like a lot of food-making toys from that era, the big question is whether it worked as well in real life as it did on TV. Did the ice shave smoothly? Did the syrup go everywhere? Did you end up with a perfect treat, or just a sticky mess?

Still, Ice Bird had that great kid-powered appeal. It took something ordinary, ice from the freezer, and turned it into something that felt special. And for a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, “make your own ice balls” sounded like a pretty big deal.

Did you have Ice Bird? And did it live up to the commercial?

When Even Toilet Paper Had Style

Today, designers tell us how to fluff a couch, karate chop a throw pillow, stack coffee table books, and make a room look “curated.”

But somehow, we lost designer toilet paper.

Back in the 60s and 70s, bathrooms had personality. Pink sinks, blue tubs, avocado tile, fuzzy toilet lid covers, and yes, toilet paper that matched. You could buy pastel rolls and even printed patterns to go with the bathroom decor.

Nobody needed a TV designer to explain it. Mom knew. Grandma knew. The toilet paper matched the room.

Then colored toilet paper faded away. Concerns over dyes, perfumes, septic systems, the environment, and cost helped make plain white the standard.

Now everything in the house can be designer, except the one thing that used to quietly tie the whole bathroom together.

Maybe the 70s had it right after all.