1960s television Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

Why The Green Hornet Never Quite Worked For Me

I remember as a kid getting excited about a new action hero, The Green Hornet. He had the mask, a cool partner, and a very cool car like every other action hero. But for me, the show was boring.

Here’s why.

It looked like it was going to be another fun superhero-type show, especially with the Green Hornet’s mask, Kato, and the Black Beauty. But once the episode started, it felt more like a straight crime drama than an action show. There was a lot of talking, a lot of newspaper office scenes, and not nearly enough of the cool stuff kids were waiting for.

The producers seemed to be trying hard not to make another Batman. While Batman was colorful, campy, and aimed right at kids and families, The Green Hornet tried to play things straighter and appeal more to adults. That may have made it more serious, but for a kid waiting for action, it also made the show feel slower.

Kato, played by Bruce Lee, was probably the most exciting part of the show, but even he was held back most of the time. When he finally got to fight, the show came alive. The problem was, those moments did not happen often enough.

The Black Beauty was another highlight. It had the look, the gadgets, and the mystery. But again, the show often seemed more interested in the crime story than in the hero, the car, or the action.

Maybe that is why The Green Hornet only lasted one season. It had all the ingredients: the mask, the partner, the car, and the theme. But compared to the colorful fun of Batman, The Green Hornet played it much straighter. As a kid, I wanted excitement. What I got felt more like homework with a cool car parked outside.

Did You See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet?

“See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet” was one of those ads that did more than sell a car. It sold the idea of getting out on the road.

The song became closely tied to Dinah Shore, who sang it on her Chevrolet-sponsored television shows in the 1950s. By the time she smiled into the camera and sang about seeing America from a Chevy, the line was already becoming part of American TV memory.

It worked because it was simple. A friendly singer, a catchy tune, a shiny Chevrolet, and the idea that the whole country was waiting for you. You did not need a complicated sales pitch. The song did the work.

The ad also fit the time. After World War II, more families had cars, highways were expanding, and road trips became part of American life. Chevrolet was not just saying “buy our car.” It was saying, “This is how you see America.”

For many viewers, the jingle stuck for decades. Even if you did not own a Chevrolet, you probably knew the tune. That is the sign of a great commercial: people remembered the song long after they forgot the model year.

The Rifleman

If you grew up on TV westerns, The Rifleman was one of the shows that stood out right from the opening.

The series premiered on ABC on Tuesday, September 30, 1958, and ran until April 8, 1963. It aired for five seasons, with 168 black-and-white episodes, starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark.

The story was set in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory, where Lucas McCain was a widowed rancher raising his son while also helping keep order when trouble came to town. He was not the sheriff, but with that specially modified Winchester rifle, he was usually the man everyone looked to when things got dangerous.

What made the show different was the father-and-son relationship. Yes, there were outlaws, gunfights, cattlemen, drifters, and plenty of western action, but at the center of it was Lucas trying to raise Mark with a strong sense of right and wrong. For a half-hour western, it often had a lot of heart.

And then there was that opening. Lucas McCain walking into the street and firing that rifle so fast it almost became the show’s signature before the story even began. If you watched it as a kid, that image stayed with you.

The Rifleman had the action kids wanted, but it also had a moral lesson built into many episodes. Lucas was tough, but he was also a father first. That gave the show something a little different from the usual shoot-’em-up western.

Did you watch The Rifleman when it first aired, or did you catch it later in reruns? And were you more interested in the fast rifle, or the way Lucas and Mark stuck together?

Here’s Lucy

Here’s Lucy kept Lucille Ball on Monday night TV with the same kind of physical comedy, celebrity guest stars, and family-style chaos that made her a television legend. This time, Lucy Carter was a widow working for her brother-in-law Harry, played by Gale Gordon, while her real-life children Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. played her kids.

The show had that familiar Lucy formula: a simple situation gets out of control, Lucy gets into trouble, Harry gets frustrated, and somehow the whole thing turns into comedy. It also became known for big guest stars, including classic Hollywood and TV names, which made each episode feel like a little variety-show surprise.

For fans, Here’s Lucy was not just another sitcom. It was Lucille Ball proving she could still carry a hit show after I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show, while bringing her own family into the act.

The Untouchables: Before There Was Airplane!

Before Robert Stack showed up in Airplane! as Rex Kramer, he was dead serious as Eliot Ness in The Untouchables.

The show aired on ABC from 1959 to 1963 and gave TV viewers a gritty trip back to Prohibition-era Chicago. Stack played Ness as the calm, tough, incorruptible federal agent leading his team against gangsters, bootleggers, and mob bosses.

It had tommy guns, raids, speakeasies, gangland hits, and that hard-boiled narration from Walter Winchell that made every episode feel like a crime file being opened.

And here’s a fun connection: Leslie Nielsen, who later co-starred with Stack in Airplane!, also guest-starred on The Untouchables in the episode “Three Thousand Suspects.” So before they helped make deadpan comedy history, they were both part of this very serious crime-drama world.

Looking back, The Untouchables helped shape the TV crime drama: sharp suits, mob danger, straight-faced lawmen, and the kind of dramatic seriousness that made Airplane! even funnier years later.

Pfft! You Were Gone Celebrity Edition!

“Pfft! You Were Gone” was originally written and recorded by Buck Owens in 1954, but it is most famously remembered as a recurring comedy sketch on Hee Haw, usually sung by Archie Campbell and Gordie Tapp, along with various celebrity guest stars.

The bit worked because it was simple, corny, and perfectly suited for Hee Haw’s country humor. One performer would sing a sad little setup, then the other would pop in with the famous “pfft!” punchline, turning heartbreak into a quick laugh.

Hee Haw first debuted on CBS on Sunday night, June 15, 1969, as a summer replacement series. Later, when it moved into syndication, many viewers came to remember it as a Saturday evening tradition, though the night depended on the local station.

For a lot of families, Hee Haw was easy comfort TV: country music, goofy sketches, familiar guests, and jokes that were silly enough for everyone in the room to understand. And “Pfft! You Were Gone” was one of the bits that stuck.

Ware oh ware are you tonight?

Love, American Style: The Show Where Familiar Faces Got Another Shot

Love, American Style was one of those shows that could only have come from that late ’60s and early ’70s TV era. It aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974 and was built as a romantic-comedy anthology, with different short stories each week about dating, marriage, misunderstandings, and all the funny little disasters that came with love.

The format was the secret. Since every episode had new stories, the show could bring in all kinds of guest stars: older stars people already knew, TV regulars between shows, comedians, singers, and young actors just starting out. It was a perfect landing place for performers whose biggest days may have cooled off, because they didn’t have to carry a whole series. They could pop in for one funny segment, remind viewers they were still around, and get a little prime-time shine again.

It also helped launch or boost newer names. Future stars like Diane Keaton, Sally Struthers, Albert Brooks, and Harrison Ford appeared on the show, and one segment later became the starting point for Happy Days.

That was the charm of Love, American Style. You never knew who would show up. One week it might be a familiar face from older TV or movies, the next week someone who would become famous later. It was light, colorful, a little cheeky for its time, and full of that ABC Friday night energy.

For a lot of actors, it wasn’t just another guest spot. It was a way to stay visible, stay working, and remind America, “Hey, you remember me.”

Organ Music Made Soap Operas So Dramatic

Soap operas got their name because the early daytime radio dramas were often sponsored by soap and household-product companies. The “opera” part came from the big emotions, dramatic turns, heartbreak, secrets, and cliffhangers. Basically, it was everyday life turned way up.

That old organ music became part of the soap-opera sound, especially in radio and early television. A live organist could underline a romantic moment, a shocking reveal, or that famous “tune in tomorrow” cliffhanger. One dramatic organ sting could make a raised eyebrow feel like a family emergency.

The Secret Storm was one of the long-running CBS daytime soaps. It aired from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974, and followed the Ames family through all the marriages, heartbreaks, secrets, and tragedies you’d expect from a classic soap. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life.

For a lot of us, that organ music is half the memory. You could be in the next room and still know somebody on TV had just gotten terrible news.

ABC Promotes Combat!

An hour after posting the intro, I thought it would be fitting to share this old ABC commercial for Combat!.

TV promos back then were simple, but they knew how to sell a show. A few dramatic scenes, serious narration, and suddenly you knew Tuesday night meant war drama, danger, and another mission with Sgt. Saunders and Lt. Hanley.

Combat! aired on ABC from 1962 to 1967 and followed a frontline American infantry squad during World War II. The show starred Vic Morrow and Rick Jason, with stories that often went beyond the usual good guys versus bad guys setup. It showed soldiers tired, scared, angry, loyal, and still trying to hold on to their humanity in the middle of war.

This promo is also a time capsule of how television used to treat war dramas. It was entertainment, yes, but it carried a seriousness that made it feel different. The Greatest Generation was still very much present in American life when this aired, and many viewers did not need the show to explain what sacrifice meant.

Posting this on Memorial Day feels right. Not because a TV show can fully capture what they went through, but because it reminds us how much World War II shaped the families, fathers, uncles, neighbors, and veterans many of us grew up around.

Remembering Combat! On Memorial Day

Since this is Memorial Day, I thought the intro to Combat! was worth sharing.

This was another one of those shows a lot of our dads watched. To a kid, it looked like an action show: soldiers, rifles, tanks, explosions, and that serious opening that told you this was not going to be a cartoon-style adventure.

But Combat! was different from a lot of TV war shows. It followed an American infantry squad fighting through Europe during World War II, and it often focused less on glory and more on fear, loss, duty, and the bond between men trying to survive. The series aired on ABC from 1962 to 1967, starring Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders and Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley. It ran for five seasons and 152 episodes, making it one of television’s longest-running World War II dramas.

Looking back, I can understand why Dad watched it. Many in that generation either served, knew someone who served, or grew up in the shadow of World War II. For kids, we saw the uniforms and action. For them, there was probably a lot more behind it.

On Memorial Day, Combat! is a reminder that the Greatest Generation was not made up of movie heroes. They were young men asked to do impossible things, many of whom never came home.