Oh why, oh why did I not find this Ookla Halloween costume back when I was ten years old? That was my last year of trick or treating and I went as Darth Vader for the third year in a row. I wasn't even all that interested in going as I hit the "I'm too old for Halloween" blues. Things would have been different if I would have found this super-awesome-cool-to-the-max Ookla costume back in the day.
Back then I had no clue Ben Cooper made Halloween costumes based after my favorite Saturday morning cartoon Thundarr the Barbarian. It wasn't until about ten years ago when I found this one up for auction on ebay. I was fortunate to win the costume and add it to my Thundarr collection. Over at Plaid Stallions you can view this Ookla costume in the 1981 Ben Cooper catalog. (Scroll down to the second page.) Also on Plaid Stallions is a Canadian costume catalog showing a different Ookla costume along with Thundarr and Ariel costumes. Lords of light! I'd love to find those costumes!!! Also pictured in the same catalog is a Thundarr poncho!
Just look at that Ookla the Mok mask! Even with the off centered nose holes, it is a thing of beauty! Good old Ookla, the Chewbacca rip-off character that was named after UCLA. Why is he not UCLA's official mascot? I'll never know.
Okay, now I'm in the mood to watch some Thundarr. Grab a bowl of your favorite sugary sweet cereal and watch some episodes of Thundarr the Barbarian!
I recently picked up this 1963 coloring book featuring Kukla and Ollie and inside are two Halloween pages that I can share. I've been a fan of Kukla, Fran and Ollie since I was kid when I first discovered the show in the 1970s. Of course their origins go back many years before I discovered them.
After viewing the coloring pages here, go check out the fantastic official website, The Kuklapolitan!
Here's a clip from the TV show of Buelah the Witch singing that Old Black Magic.
Keeping with the Halloween theme, here's Fran Allison singing the Halloween song Punky Punkin.
Recently, I found a stack of early 1970s teen magazines and two issues feature the gothic TV soap, Dark Shadows. So for all the Dark Shadows fans, here's some reading material. (Click on the pages to read.)
(Click on this image and use as a desktop wallpaper!)
Last year I picked up an old TV Digest from 1962 (see below) with a great Leave It to Beaver Halloween cover. I was hoping for something Halloweeny inside the mag, but it's strictly a television guide. There's not even a special Halloween episode of Beaver listed. Come to think of it, I don't think there ever was a specific Halloween episode for Leave It to Beaver. There were episodes that could have worked as a Halloween episode. Like "The Haunted House" episode from season two or the third season episode "The Magician." That one begins in Uncle Artie's Magic Shop with Beaver in a Topstone witch mask.
Instead of using one of those episodes, I chose to post about one of my favorite Beaver episodes as a go-along with the TV Digest cover. "Sweatshirt Monsters" from season six! In this episode, Beaver and his pals decide to buy some monster sweatshirts from Tildens Sporting Goods and wear the gruesome looking shirts to school. There's no need for me to spoil the episode, but needless to say, Beaver ends up in the principal's office.
The stars of this episode are the swell monster sweatshirts that were inspired by the (weirdo) hot rod monster shirts by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and other California airbrush artists from that same era.
If I was in the 8th grade like Beaver and his pals, I would have also spent my allowance on one those shirts. Just look at that crazy artwork! It's hard to see in the store display, but there are seven shirts in the window. Versions of the shirts in front (with subtle differences) were worn by the boys in the episode. So we know there were two of each of the four shirts made. A set for the store display and a set for the actors. Hmm...I've often wondered if any of these prop shirts survived. Were they packed away in the costume department or were they given to the actors or crew afterwards? Also, I wonder who the artist was? Vincent Dee is listed as the costume supervisor, so I'm sure he had a hand in creating or at least choosing the artwork.
It's hard to see any of the shirts straight on and without any obstructions in the episode, so I've attempted to piece together the images of the main four shirts.
As for the three hidden shirts in the back, you need to use your imagination to fill in the blanks of what these might have looked like.
There's no telling what the original colors were, so for fun, I took a stab at colorizing the monsters.
We finish with the TV Digest cover that kickstarted today's blog post!
Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Shazam, Isis, Groovy Goolies, Fat Albert, Star Trek, Ark II, Jason of Star Command and so many others defined my childhood Saturday mornings and the thanks has to go to Lou Scheimer.
I was sad to hear the news about his passing. He was one of the co-founders of the great Filmation animation studios and helped produced so many fun memories for kids of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He and his talents will be missed!
I had the honor of meeting Lou Scheimer back in 2000 at the San Diego Comic-Con. It was so much fun listening to him talk about animation and the history of Filmation at his panel. He was also kind enough to visit with a bunch of us after the panel and sign autographs. He signed this cel from one of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons, Flash Gordon. For me, this cel represents childhood good times in front of the TV!
Even though Jedi Week has started, I had to post something to celebrate the 36th anniversary of Star Wars! I'm reminiscing about this 1983 Movie Channel monthly preview guide.
It was February 1983 and we were magically getting The Movie Channel for free! My family had been enjoying The Movie Channel and Showtime free for a couple of years before Star Wars premiered on cable TV. It would be two more years before we got a VCR, so I was really excited for the opportunity to watch Star Wars multiple times in the comfort of my own home.
For my family, it truly was must see TV on a Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. on February 1st, 1983. We were all parked in front of the Zenith with soda and popcorn anxious to return to that galaxy far far away! It really was a fun night, especially for my parents and grandma who hadn't seen the film since 1977.
Because we were receiving The Movie Channel for free, we naturally didn't get the monthly preview magazine in the mail. I really wanted a copy for my Star Wars collection in a bad way, but the only way to get one was to visit our local cable company. I talked my mom into taking me there. Inside the office, I asked the clerk if I could have a preview guide. She replied that she could only give them out to Movie Channel subscribers. I'm sure my eyes rolled back into my head, but I blurted out, "Oh yeah, we're subscribers!" The clerk handed me the preview guide that you see above. Great elation fell over me at the success of my quest! As I turned to leave, the clerk asked for my address. Due to my young age and the blinding glee from my prize, I had no clue why she needed my address. I gave it to her freely with a big smile on my face. Instead, I should have ran out, jumped in the car and told my mom to cheese it out of there as fast as possible.
The next day I came home from school to find out that we lost The Movie Channel and Showtime. I only had the pleasure of watching Star Wars over and over for about a week. Maybe three or four viewings and that was all. I tried to get my parents to subscribe, but they said no.
Luckily, I used my trusty tape recorder and captured the whole movie on audio cassette tape. I listened to this over and over and it helped take the sting out of the thought of missing the movie the rest of the month. Here's my tape with original Coca-Cola stains!
In the back of The Movie Channel preview guide is an ad for the First Ever Great Robot Giveaway!
Of course, I missed out on the chance to enter this contest, but at least we can see the commercial. Video uploaded to YouTube by platypuscomixll.
Be sure to check back later today as we start Jedi Week in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi!
Five years ago I found this odd pair of 3-D glasses. Back then I wasn't able to find any info about these neat cardboard goggles. Were they early 3-D glasses for movies or were they used for eye testing? I had no clue. I put them on a shelf and they remained a mystery....until today.
Dig the atomic style logo printed on the ear piece.
I have learned that these glasses were intended to be used for television back in 1954. Geneoscope Video Technique was invented by Mrs. Genevieve Lott-Fuller and copyrighted November 9, 1953. Soon after the copyright was issued, WEEK-TV of Peoria, Illinois signed a contract for use of the 3-D process. According to an article in Broadcasting Telecasting, the glasses were expected to sell for $1.50.
Wow, how cool is that? I didn't know that television was trying to jump on the three-dementional fad train that was hitting movie theaters at the same time. Of course it makes total sense! (I thought the first 3-D television broadcast was in 1982.)
From a 1954 International Projectionist article about Geneoscope - "Primarily for television 3-D, this process is claimed by its sponsors to be applicable to theaters as well. In this system the viewer does all the work, wearing a pair of "shadow boxes" with lenses over each eye. One lens cuts down the speed of the light rays from the screen (that's what the man says!), the other letting the beam pass normally. The result is one image hitting the retina a split second before the other, thus giving the stereo effect."
Even though I now know what my glasses are, I'd love to know more about Geneoscope. What was the live show that aired in spectacular Geneoscope on WEEK-TV? Was it a flop? Did the 3-D process work? How quickly did Geneoscope fade into 3-D and television history?
Last month, I was sad to hear about the passing of TV legend Gerry Anderson. I've been a life long fan of his work and I enjoyed reading many of the tributes that flooded the internet after his passing. I really don't have much to contribute, but I did find three Space: 1999 TV Guide ads.
These ads are kind of special to me as they represent some of my earliest TV memories and my intro into the world of Gerry Anderson. The first two ads are from 1975 when the show first aired on KRCG Channel 13, our local CBS affiliate out of Jefferson City, Missouri. Fun that it premiered on September 13th! That's the same date in the show when the moon is knocked out of orbit in 1999.
I was only five when Space: 1999 premiered and it was only on in late night. Not the best viewing time for a toddler like me. Still, I made the best of it by watching with my dad and brother.
Besides my introduction to Space: 1999, this TV time slot was also my intro to Star Trek. It was a far out double feature as seen in the 1976 ad below.
Trying to keep up with Moonbase Alpha and the Starship Enterprise was torture at that time of night. I would always try to stay awake like my dad and older brother, but I kept going in out of consciousness only catching glimpses of both of these amazing shows. Usually I'd wake up to loud action scenes just in time to see a monster or someone dying a horrible death. Eventually when I did go to bed, usually carried in by my dad, I would wake up from a cathode ray tube nightmare. This is how I mostly remember watching Space: 1999 as a kid and I loved every tortured moment of it!
Rest in peace Gerry Anderson and thanks for all the puppets and groovy space entertainment!
Yesterday I was snooping around in an antique store and lucked on a set of Munsters paper dolls! The set was far from complete and it was missing the original folder, but for three bucks the dolls are perfect for a flea market friday post!
I guess you can say the Munsters got the memo for casual flea market friday! This is how they look before applying the paper clothes. Herman must have thrown out his shoulder at the funeral home since he's bandaged up with some yellow tape.
Poor Marilyn lost all of her clothes, so I didn't want her to feel out of place in this scan. Of course she always felt out of place during the show, so I guess that's appropriate. I'm thinking that Herman is missing a cowboy hat to go with his lasso.
Eddie is the next to disappear for the lack of paper clothing. I like that they gave Herman the suit of armor from the first episode, Munster Masquerade. Did Grandpa steal that jacket from the Invisible Man?
At least father and daughter will be ready for St. Patrick's Day!
That's it! No more Munsters paper clothes for my paper dolls, so I guess I'll have to stop playing with them. Hmm...maybe that wasn't worth my three bucks! Visit the Gothic Tea Society blog to see the missing folder that once housed the paper dolls.
Who remembers Salem's Lot? I remember back in 1979 when the two-part Salem's Lot miniseries premiered. I really had to beg my mom to let me watch it and luckily she gave in. This show really freaked me out, but I loved every creepy moment. All of us kids at school could not stop talking about that blue Nosferatu style vampire! Here are two original TV Guide ads from November of 1979.
