Halloween Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Oct52017 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Another Gallery of Vintage Halloween Costume Slides

Photography

These days preserving memories of Halloween parties and trick or treating is as simple as clicking an icon on your phone. Back in the day it not only meant fumbling with a camera and film, but also finding a way to preserve all those spooky and cute memories. To remind us all of simpler Halloween times, here is a brand new gallery of 13 vintage slides (some Kodachrome) depicting kids (and kids at heart) getting into the Halloween spirit with costumes, jack-o-lanterns, parades, parties, and of course trick or treating for candy! Many of the classics are here, like cats, princesses, clowns, skeletons, football players, pumpkins, robots, and ethnic costumes of varying degrees of PC-ness. There are also some truly inventive, homemade costumes as well. Almost all of these were taken in the 1...

Oct32017 by Chris Holmes2 Comments

The Revenge of Halloween Retrotisements!

Retrotisements

By my count this will be at least the third gallery of vintage Halloween advertisement I've shared here, although it's been a long time since the last one. So let's scare up a good time by checking out some spooky ads from years gone by!

Oct12017 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

The Countdown to Halloween 2017 Has Begun!

Blogstuff

Once again your humble curator has signed on to be an official Halloween Cryptkeeper! As always, this means throughout the month of October you’ll see all sorts of fun, spooky posts with a Halloween theme, along with the usual, non-scary tomfoolery of course. I’ll also be posting some scary stuff on my Tumblr and Facebook pages, so check them out too! To join in the fun and see other blogs participating in the countdown, just click the Beistle skull icon in the upper right. And of course you can view all of my previous Halloween content by clicking here or by checking out the fun Halloween stuff I have on Tumblr. Boo!

Oct242016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Happy Birthday to It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Advertising

One of the greatest television specials of all time, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, is celebrating its 50th birthday this year! Let's take a moment to recognize this essential piece of our childhoods and to pay homage to the man behind it all, Charles M. Schulz. The now-yearly tradition began on October 27, 1966, when CBS debuted the half-hour animated special -- the third such Peanuts show -- as part of its Thursday evening lineup. Here are a few newspaper ads from that day. Now as far as I can tell, the first reference to the Great Pumpkin appeared in the Peanuts comic strip almost exactly 7 years before the show, in October 1959. Here is that strip:

Oct72016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

A Gallery of Vintage Halloween Costume Slides

Photography

These days preserving memories of Halloween parties and trick or treating is as simple as clicking an icon on your phone. Back in the day it not only meant fumbling with a camera and film, but also finding a way to preserve all those spooky and cute memories. To remind us all of simpler Halloween times, here is a gallery of 13 vintage slides (some Kodachrome) depicting kids (and kids at heart) getting into the Halloween spirit with costumes, jack-o-lanterns, parades, and of course trick or treating for candy!

Oct72016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Don’t Touch That Dial #3: The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, 1976

Advertising, TV & Radio

I was a little too young to have seen the Paul Lynde Halloween Special from 1976, but as a lifelong Kiss fan I knew of it. Here's a national newspaper ad that ABC ran for the special, which aired on October 29, 1976. Featured on the show were Tim Conway, Roz Kelly, Margaret Hamilton, Florence Henderson, Betty White, and of course the aforementioned Kiss.

Oct22016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Hollywood Beauty #6: Paulette Goddard at Halloween

Movies, People

If there's one thing I love even more than Halloween, it's a Halloween pinup. This 1940s Paulette Goddard photo is rather tame by my usual standards but it's a beauty just the same.

Oct22016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The Countdown to Halloween 2016 Has Begun!

Blogstuff

After sitting out for a few years, I'm back on the roster as a Halloween Cryptkeeper! That means throughout this month you’ll see all sorts of fun, spooky posts with a Halloween theme. Along with the usual, non-scary tomfoolery of course. I’ll also be posting some scary stuff on my Tumblr and Facebook pages, so check them out too! To join in the fun and see other blogs participating in the countdown, just click the Beistle skull icon in the upper right. And of course you can view all of my previous Halloween content by clicking here. Boo!

Oct232015 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Sears Catalog Goodness #2: Fall 1958 Halloween Costumes

Ephemera

In Sears Catalog Goodness I pull one page from a vintage Sears catalog to highlight neat, interesting, or just plain funny images and products sold by one of America’s greatest retailers once upon a time. You knew I couldn't go the whole Halloween season without sharing some vintage costumes from Sears, right? Well I'm not about to disappoint you on that front, so here is a page from the Fall 1958 catalog featuring the biggest heroes and stars of the day -- Zorro, Superman, Lassie, Woody Woodpecker, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Bugs Bunny, and "Pop-Eye the Sailor Man." The name characters on this page are great, of course, but my eye is drawn toward the costume that probably dates this assortment more than any other -- Satellite Joe, the "man of tomorrow." If that doesn't screa...