May162019 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Toon Time #2: Quick Draw McGraw for Kellogg’s

Toon Time #2: Quick Draw McGraw for Kellogg’s

Advertising
From the age when corporations directly sponsored TV shows comes this color animation cel from 1959. It features Baba Looey of The Quick Draw McGraw Show on top of a wagon spiriting a Kellogg's banner. The show was sponsored by Kellogg's when it debuted in 1959. Kellogg's - The BEST to You Here's a sample of the opening theme for the show, although this particular cel is not part of it.
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Apr252019 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Retrotisements — 1979 Station Wagons

Retrotisements — 1979 Station Wagons

Retrotisements
For my latest gallery of vintage car ads I'm going to focus on one particular segment, in this case it's station wagons from the 1979 model year. Having never owned one I can't speak to the experience of what it's like, but I always crack a smile whenever I see a classic family truckster still on the road. So in the spirit of old school station wagons, let's take a look from what was hot off the assembly line 40 years ago from a sampling of American and foreign automakers. Chrysler The seventh-generation Town & Country was in its second year as the mid-sized LeBaron wagon. It had formerly been the company's full-size station wagon. Pontiac The 1979 Safaris were available in several trim packages. This ad highlights the mid-size Grand LeMans Safari and the full-size ...
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Nov292018 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
TV Listings Flashback: November 29, 1973

TV Listings Flashback: November 29, 1973

TV & Radio
It's been awhile since my last TV Listings Flashback, so let's get right to it! Here are the evening/prime time TV network TV listings from November 29, 1973. This particular grid is courtesy that day's edition of the Tampa Times. Let's take a look and then get into the shows. Remember that visiting any of the Amazon show title links below will help me in keeping this site running! I'm going to focus on just the three big networks although you can see what PBS and the local independent station had in store that evening too. Channel 8 (WFLA - NBC) 6:00 Local news / NBC Nightly News 7:00 What's My Line? 7:30 To Tell the Truth 8:00 The Flip Wilson Show with guests Richard Pryor and Tim Conway 9:00 Ironside "The Hidden Man" - POW returns home, discovers that revenge-cr
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Nov12018 by grayflannelsuitNo Comments
Wire Service: London Hospital 1928

Wire Service: London Hospital 1928

Photography
September 8, 1928 – ABOVE LONDON’S CHIMNEY POTS – On the roof of the West London Hospital, situated in the busy Hammersmith quarter of the great Metropolis, has just been constructed a sand pit. This enables the child-patients to enjoy the delights of the sea-side which would otherwise be impossible. Our picture shows some of the children in the sand-pit.
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Oct32018 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Greatest Misses: Van Halen

Greatest Misses: Van Halen

Music
Even the most popular and successful bands have songs that speak only to a (relatively) devoted few. In Greatest Misses, I'll count off the least popular song on band's albums, not including brief interludes, joke songs, or generally any abnormally short song. I'm using the super scientific method of counting streams from a band's Spotify catalog, so you know it'll be accurate. First up: Van Halen. One interesting note about this first entry, that I would like to do some further research on. Of the 12 songs listed, 7 of them are the last song on the album. Do people just get to the end of a record and decide, "Nah I'm good, I'll listen to something else now"? Strange. Anyway, here's the list and then the Spotify playlist: "On Fire" - Van Halen "Outta Love Again" - Van ...
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Sep262018 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Now Playing: On the Waterfront

Now Playing: On the Waterfront

Movies
From the September 26, 1954 edition of the Dayton Daily News comes this ad for Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando. The movie, a genuine box office smash, had already been out a few months when this ad ran. Although it didn't earn nearly the money that blockbusters such as White Christmas or Rear Window did, it earned eight Academy Awards including Best Picture.
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Aug202018 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Vintage TV Show Trading Card Packs of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s

Vintage TV Show Trading Card Packs of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s

TV & Radio
Few things indicate that a TV show has broken through into pop culture at large like getting its own set of trading cards. Naturally, most of these programs don't really need or deserve a trading card set, but that's another topic altogether. While some shows -- particularly ones heavy on action or in the sci-fi/fantasy genres -- lend themselves to interesting cards, more often than not you just got a still photo of some cast member that says, "Remember that this was a person on our show? So do we." Regardless, let's look take a trip back to the days when you could find cards for almost any show imaginable, issued by giants of the field such as Topps, Donruss, and Fleer.
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