vintage TV Archives - Retro Reminiscing Video and Pictures

The Swing Wing: The Toy That Looked Like a Neck Injury Waiting to Happen

The Swing Wing was a wonderfully weird 1960s toy introduced by Transogram Games in 1965. It was worn on your head like a little cap, with a long ribbon or tail attached. The idea was to whip your head and neck back and forth until the tail spun around like a helicopter. Think Hula Hoop, but for your head.

The commercials made it look like pure kid fun: boys and girls swinging, twisting, dancing, and making the Swing Wing fly around them. But watching it now, you can almost hear every chiropractor in America screaming.

It was supposed to be Transogram’s answer to the Hula Hoop craze, with company hopes that it might become the next big toy sensation. It didn’t.

That’s probably why people remember it now more as a “what were they thinking?” toy than a classic. It had the perfect 1960s formula: bright colors, a catchy commercial, kids moving around like crazy, and absolutely no adult in the room asking, “Should children be violently snapping their necks for fun?”

Looking back, the Swing Wing is peak retro toy madness. Simple idea, great commercial, questionable safety, and the kind of thing that makes you wonder how any of us made it out of childhood with our heads still attached

Did You Watch Super Chicken?

Super Chicken was one of those cartoons that felt like it was made for kids, but the jokes were flying right over our little heads and landing with the grown-ups. It was part of George of the Jungle, which aired on ABC starting in 1967, along with the other segments Tom Slick and Super Chicken. It came from Jay Ward Productions, the same folks behind Rocky and Bullwinkle, so you knew it was going to be loaded with silly names, smart-aleck humor, and jokes that moved faster than most of us realized at the time.

Super Chicken’s real name was Henry Cabot Henhouse III, because of course it was. He was a wealthy chicken superhero who would head off to fight crime with his lion sidekick Fred. And poor Fred always seemed to take the worst of it, which led to that famous line: “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred!” That was the kind of cartoon writing I appreciate more now than I probably did back then.

The whole thing only had 17 original episodes as part of George of the Jungle, but like so many Saturday morning cartoons, it lived a lot longer in reruns and in our memories. Between the theme song, the goofy superhero setup, and that classic Jay Ward humor, Super Chicken was one of those quick little cartoons that didn’t need much time to leave a mark.

Who remembers Super Chicken? And did you watch it for him, George of the Jungle, or Tom Slick?

Who Remembers The Galloping Gourmet?

Before cooking shows became calm, polished, and perfect, there was Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet. He didn’t just walk onto the set, he practically burst in, full of energy, jokes, charm, and enough butter and wine to make every 1970s kitchen feel fancy. His show became a hit in the late 1960s and early 1970s, long before Food Network made TV chefs everyday celebrities.

In this clip, he’s doing what we would now call a kitchen “hack,” showing how to clarify butter with the help of a Dixie Cup, which also happened to be the advertiser. Back then, that kind of thing didn’t feel like a forced product placement. It was just part of the show, part cooking lesson, part commercial, and all entertainment. And somehow, Graham Kerr made even melted butter seem like a performance.

When Tippee-Toes Tiptoed Into Trouble

Leave it to the early 1980s to give us a controversy over a baby doll’s bare bottom.

Mattel’s Tippee-Toes was one of those dolls that was supposed to look cute, innocent, and lifelike. She could crawl, and like a lot of toy commercials from back then, the ad was aimed right at kids sitting in front of the TV, probably during cartoons or family programming. But then came the part that got people talking: the commercial showed the doll’s little bare backside.

That may sound pretty tame today, but back then one viewer found it offensive enough to complain to David Horowitz, the consumer advocate best known for Fight Back! with David Horowitz. Horowitz was the guy people turned to when they felt a product, commercial, or company needed to be called out. He built a career on standing up for consumers, testing products, and bringing viewer complaints into the spotlight.

The issue even made its way to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1982. Horowitz appeared on Carson and discussed the Tippee-Toes commercial, reportedly showing both the original ad and the changed version after complaints were made. It was one of those perfect Johnny Carson moments where something small, silly, and strangely serious all came together on national television.

Looking back, it feels almost impossible to believe this was a controversy. We grew up with talking dolls, creepy ventriloquist dummies selling chocolate milk, clowns selling cereal, and commercials that would probably send today’s internet into a panic. But a baby doll’s bare bottom? That was enough to get a consumer advocate involved and Mattel’s attention.

It’s a funny little reminder of how much TV, advertising, and what people considered “offensive” has changed over the years. Tippee-Toes was just trying to crawl across the screen, but somehow she crawled right into consumer TV history.

Did The Twilight Zone Dummy Creep You Out Too?

After posting the Nestlé’s “makes the very best… chaaawwwwclit” commercial, a lot of you asked for this one. Go ahead and share your favorite dummy and I’ll try and do some research on it… Politicians are not allowed, though, lol.

Now let me take you back for a second.

There are certain things from back in the day that just stuck with you—and not always in a good way. For me, one of them was that ventriloquist dummy from The Twilight Zone.

I’m talking about the episode “The Dummy.”

When you watched it as a kid, you didn’t overthink it. You just felt it. And something about that dummy—Willie—just wasn’t right. That grin, those eyes… the way he just sat there like he knew something you didn’t.

The episode stars Cliff Robertson as a ventriloquist whose life is starting to fall apart. His act is slipping, his confidence is gone, and he becomes convinced that his dummy is actually alive.

At first, you’re thinking, “okay… this guy’s losing it.”

But then things start happening.

You hear the dummy talking when he shouldn’t be.

You start picking up on his personality… and it’s not a good one.

There’s this edge to him—controlling, almost mocking.

And now you’re hooked.

Because you don’t know what to believe.

That’s what Rod Serling did better than anybody. He didn’t just scare you—he made you question everything you were watching.

And then comes that ending.

No spoilers if someone hasn’t seen it—but let’s just say… the control isn’t where you think it is. And when it hits you, it sticks.

What really got me though? The look of that dummy.

Nothing fancy. No special effects. Just that fixed smile, those eyes that seem to follow you, and that black-and-white lighting that made everything feel just a little more off than it should.

Back then, ventriloquist dummies were everywhere—variety shows, comedians, you name it. Nobody thought twice about them.

Until this.

After that episode? Yeah… different story.

You started looking at those things a little sideways.

And if you really got into it, you probably remember they did it again with another episode called “Caesar and Me.” Same idea… just as unsettling.

But for me, this was the one.

It took something ordinary… and twisted it just enough to mess with your head.

And I’ll tell you this—after seeing it back then…

I never trusted those dummies again.