Wednesday, February 28, 2007

On this day in 1883, Benjamin Franklin Keith opened up a new venue for family-friendly entertainment in Boston. From his success with this venture, vaudeville was born.



Above is a postcard announcing a vaudeville theater in Pennsylvania and assuring prospective patrons a polite time.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

On this day in 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the states, barring U.S. President's from running for more than two terms.



The only President who had run for more than two terms, having run four times, was Franklin Roosevelt. Though he won all four times, he died during his fourth term. Above is a badge from his 1941 inauguration.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Today is actor Tony Randall's birthday. Known best for his role as Felix Unger on television's The Odd Couple, Randall was a multifaceted actor (as well as a talented singer), starring in a number of movies and appearing on stage and screen for five decades.



Randall would reunite often with Jack Klugman, his Odd Couple partner, including the stage production of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys advertised on this Playbill.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

On this week's Sunday Funnies, we look at the late 1980's Lex Luthor. Always Superman's greatest nemesis, as part of John Byrne's reinvention of the entire Superman universe following DC Comics' Crisis On The Infinite Earth's, Lex Luthor was given real power. Money and influence to spare were at this Lex Luthor's command. In an era about to bring Gordon Gekko to the big screen, this made Luthor every bit as powerful, if not more so, than The Man of Steel. Luthor could afford not only to hire other to do his dirty work for him, but he had enough to ensure that money didn't lead anywhere near him.

Though Superman did eventually get this Luthor arrested, the charges seldom stuck and Luthor remained at the pinnacle of wealth and power in Metropolis.



The new Luthor's first cover appearance was on the fourth issue of Byrne's Man of Steel mini-series.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

As tomorrow is the birthday of Jim Backus, we decided to dedicate this week's Cartoon Saturday to the lovable, near-sighted Mr. Magoo, whose voice was eerily similar to that of Mr. Backus. Eccentric and wealthy, Magoo's inability to see things well (because of his reluctance to wear his glasses) got him into all sorts of trouble and made him look like a lunatic.



As made famous from the opening of his cartoon, Mr. Magoo had an interesting driving style. He drove backwards, against traffic and through things. It should come as no surprise that Mr. Magoo driving his car would make a delightful toy.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Boston, Massachusetts was incorporated as a city on this day in 1822. From this point on, "Bean Town" would be "Bean City"... except nobody calls it that.



Depicted on this vintage postcard is the green line making its way down Boylston Street.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Today is Senator Ted Kennedy's birthday. Only 30 when he took office in the Senate, he is second only to Robert Byrd for longevity in office.



Here is a button from Senator Kennedy's most recent campaign.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Though it was actually published a week earlier, it was this date in 1925 that appeared on the cover of the first issue of The New Yorker magazine.



Throughout it's history, the magazine published hardcover albums collecting some of the finest material. The album pictured about came from 1950, celebrating the first 25 years of publication.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

135 years ago today, The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Bordering Central Park, The Met is one of the largest and most respected museums in the world.



If you can't actually go to The Met, this convenient "pocket viewer" will apparently allow you to view 15 masterpieces from the museum's collection.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Cherry Coke was introduced to a thirsty public on this day in 1985.



In an effort combining model shipbuilding and recycling, this fine vessel was apparently created out the remains of someone's Cherry Coke binge.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

On today's Sunday Funnies, we remind you that Marmaduke was a big dog. Our intrepid research staff tells us that Marmaduke was in fact a Great Dane. Though Marmaduke's activities were exaggerated, generally Marmaduke was a fairly accurate portrayal of a dog's life, or at least the sorts of dogs who take over the household.



Despite sometimes causing trouble for his owners, Marmaduke is apparently a role model for other dogs, thus a Marmaduke Christmas ornament was issued promoting heartworm medicine.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

On today's Cartoon Saturday, we bring you Goober and the Ghost Chasers. It was about a group of teenagers and their dog who chase ghosts and ghouls. Although this may sound familiar, the fact that it was produced by Hanna-Barbera (the makers of Scooby-Doo) protected it from the obvious charges of infringement.



Here is a picture of Goober and the Ghost Chasers being used to sell a video of the show. Note how the girl of the group essentially has Daphne's body and Velma's head.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Today is Edgar Bergen's birthday. He was part of the radio duo of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Actually, at least on radio, he was bother parts of the duo of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.



The duo's story was once told as a Big Little Book, seen here.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Mustard, half of the famed condiment duo of "ketchup and..." fame, was first advertised in America on this day in 1758.



Above is an advertisement for mustard. Poor ketchup, always the bridesmaid.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Today is Valentine's Day.



This little buckaroo is hoping someone will be his Valentine.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The musical Rent began brief off-broadway run on this day in 1996.



Above is a flyer for the show.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Today is the birthday of America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. From humble log-cabin beginnings to his resolve during the nation's civil war, "Honest Abe" earned his reputation as one of the greatest leaders in our history through hard work, a strong will and a good sense of humor.



Apparently if you want "honestly good" oranges, you want "Lincoln" oranges.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

On this week's Sunday Funnies, we consider that we've never actually seen the strip Alley Oop. We're surprised to learn that it is still being published to this day, over seventy years since its debut. In fact the only things we know about Alley Oop are that the strip is about a caveman named Alley Oop and that the Hollywood Argyles had a number one hit record with their novelty song about him. Also, there was a recent postage stamp in his honor.



We, nor you, can no longer say you've never seen an Alley Oop comic strip, as above is a panel from one.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

On today's Cartoon Saturday we want to mention Silverhawks. It was produced by the legendary Rankin Bass, the folks behind almost every noteworthy christmas special except A Charlie Brown Christmas. They also did Thundercats, which was far more successful. We honestly don't remember watching Silverhawks and we don't remember what it was about (although cybernetic bird people in space seems to be the answer). We did enjoy some of the action figures, which tended to be marked down a lot. The villains in particular were conveniently of a size that made them fun to pit against the World's Greatest Super-Heroes that made up the Super Powers action figure line.



That green guy, offered as part of a lot with some mule-man, was a favorite. Not that the JLI didn't take him down, of course (but Super Powers Green Lantern had to be careful around the spinning blades...they are yellow you know).

Friday, February 9, 2007

The game of volleyball, originally called Mintonette, was created at the Holyoke, Massachusetts YMCA on this day in 1895.



Volleyball's appeal became worldwide, within 50 years of it's inception an international federation was formed and it later became an Olympic sport. Such is the appeal of the game that even Japanese super-heroine Sailor Moon is known to enjoy a game now and again.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Author Jules Verne, who took us to the moon, deep into the sea, around the world and right into the center of it, was born on this day in 1828.



Here is an early collection of several of Verne's tales, published in the early 1900's.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Larry "Buster" Crabbe celebrates his birthday today. In the days of the movie serials, he played both Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers! Before his career as a space hero, he was Olympic gold medalist in swimming. From the depths of the ocean to the stars above, let us remember Buster Crabbe!



Such was his reputation for fighting alien menaces and saving buxom women from intergalactic threats that he was rewarded with his own comic book adventures featuring his heroic, Earth-defending deeds!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Patrick Macnee, The Avengers' John Steed, celebrated his birthday today. He made bowlers and brollys cooler than an Aston Martin.



Here's a fine photograph of the dapper secret agent himself.

Monday, Feburary 5, 2007

Phoenix, Arizona was incorporated on this day in 1881.



This hand-colored postcard depicts what the city looked like circa 1920.

Sunday, February 4, 2007

On this week's Sunday Funnies, we remind you of Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern. One of the core stable of DC Comics' super hero lineup in the Golden Age of comics, the original Green Lantern was very different from his successors. Although later changed to fit better with the newer stories, the Golden Age Green Lantern's power ring was magic (as opposed to being an alien weapon, like the later Green Lanterns' power rings). It was almost limitless in power, but it did have on weakness: wood. This was interesting, since Green Lantern had a power ring that could do almost anything Alan Scott could imagine, and yet all a bank robber had to do to get away was knock him upside the head with a baseball bat.



The Golden Age Green Lantern is pictured on this cover alongside his sidekick Doiby Dickles, the book's comic relief.

Saturday, Feburary 3, 2007

This Cartoon Saturday, we ponder the animated adventures of Punky Brewster. As anyone alive in the 1980's knows, Punky Brewster was a heartwarming family sitcom about an orphaned girl (Punky) and her dog Brandon who were reluctantly taken in by grouchy old photographer (and building super) Henry Warnamont upon his discovery of them hiding out in his building.

In the cartoon version ("It's Punky Brewster"), which aired concurrently with the live action series ("Punky Brewster"), Punky was befriended by a little magical creature Glomer, who was essentially an orphan like her.

Although "Punky Brewster" was aimed at kids and "It's Punky Brewster" was also aimed at kids (presumably kids who already watched "Punky Brewster"), there was no connection back to the live action show from the cartoon. Live action Punky and her friends seemingly never met Glomer, nor did they have any memories of their strange adventures with Glomer.



Pictured above is a paper doll book which includes Punky, Brandon and Glomer.

Friday, February 2, 2007

Back on this day in 1802, the first leopard to be displayed in America was stopped by Boston.



Though that leopard probably just sat around wondering why he wasn't in the jungle anymore, these two leopards will happily provide salt and pepper to you.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Composer Victor Herbert was born on this date. He wrote many operettas in the early 20th Century, but his most recognized work today is his Babes In Toyland, as it has been both faithfully and loosely adapted every few years since it's inception.



Above is a marching band of wooden soldiers. Perhaps the most famous selection from Babes In Toyland is "Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers.