RetroFan #13 by TwoMorrows Publishing

March 2021 No. 13 $9.95

There is nothing wrong with your television set…

ZONE OUT ON SCI-FI TV ANTHOLOGIES

Exclusive interviews with Lost in Space’s coolest couple

D R A D D O G K MAR and MARTA KRI STEN

THE MULTITALENTED

Saturday Morning’s

BOB CRANE

DYNOMUTT

Wham-O’s fabulous

FRISBEE

Who Created Archie Andrews? • Partridge Family Trading Cards • Lava Lamps • & more!

82658 00430

FEATURING Ernest Farino • Andy Mangels • Will Murray • Scott Saavedra • Scott Shaw! • Michael Eury

RetroFan: The Pop Culture You Grew Up With! If you love Pop Culture of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties, editor MICHAEL EURY’s latest magazine is just for you!

RETROFAN #11

HALLOWEEN ISSUE! Interviews with DARK SHADOWS’ Quentin Collins, DAVID SELBY, and the niece of movie Frankenstein GLENN STRANGE, JULIE ANN REAMS. Plus: KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER, ROD SERLING retrospective, CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST, TV’s Adventures of Superman, Superman’s pal JIMMY OLSEN, QUISP and QUAKE cereals, the DRAK PAK AND THE MONSTER SQUAD, scratch model customs, and more fun, fab features! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

RETROFAN #6

RETROFAN #7

RETROFAN #12

Hollywood interviewer CHRIS MANN goes behind the scenes of TV’s sexy sitcom THREE’S COMPANY—and NANCY MORGAN RITTER, first wife of JOHN RITTER, shares stories about the TV funnyman. Plus: RICK GOLDSCHMIDT’s making of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, RONNIE SCHELL interview, Sheena Queen of the TV Jungle, Dr. Seuss toys, Popeye cartoons, DOCTOR WHO’s 1960s U.S. invasion, and more fun, fab features! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping! Look for #13 in February 2021!

RETROFAN #8

RETROFAN #9

RETROFAN #10

Interviews with MeTV’s crazy creepster SVENGOOLIE and Eddie Munster himself, BUTCH PATRICK! Call on the original Saturday Morning GHOST BUSTERS, with BOB BURNS! Uncover the nutty NAUGAS! Plus: “My Life in the Twilight Zone,” “I Was a Teenage James Bond,” “My Letters to Famous People,” the ARCHIE-DOBIE GILLIS connection, Pinball Hall of Fame, Alien action figures, Rubik’s Cube & more!

With a JACLYN SMITH interview, as we reopen the Charlie’s Angels Casebook, and visit the Guinness World Records’ largest Charlie’s Angels collection. Plus: interview with LARRY STORCH, The Lone Ranger in Hollywood, The Dick Van Dyke Show, a vintage interview with Jonny Quest creator DOUG WILDEY, a visit to the Land of Oz, the ultra-rare Marvel World superhero playset, and more!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with the ’60s grooviest family band THE COWSILLS, and TV’s coolest mom JUNE LOCKHART! Mars Attacks!, MAD Magazine in the ’70s, Flintstones turn 60, Electra Woman & Dyna Girl, Honey West, Max Headroom, Popeye Picnic, the Smiley Face fad, & more! With MICHAEL EURY, ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, and SCOTT SHAW!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Interviews with ’70s’ Captain America REB BROWN, and Captain Nice (and Knight Rider’s KITT) WILLIAM DANIELS with wife BONNIE BARTLETT! Plus: Coloring Books, Fall Previews for Saturday morning cartoons, The Cyclops movie, actors behind your favorite TV commercial characters, BENNY HILL, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, 8-track tapes, and more!

NOW BI-MONTHLY! Celebrating fifty years of SHAFT, interviews with FAMILY AFFAIR’s KATHY GARVER and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour’s GERI “FAKE JAN” REISCHL, ED “BIG DADDY” ROTH, rare GODZILLA merchandise, Spaghetti Westerns, Saturday morning cartoon preview specials, fake presidential candidates, Spider-Man/The Spider parallels, Stuckey’s, and more fun, fab features!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

ALM

D OU

OL ST S

RETROFAN #1

ALM

D OU

OL ST S

RETROFAN #2

RETROFAN #3

RETROFAN #4

RETROFAN #5

LOU FERRIGNO interview, The Phantom in Hollywood, Filmation’s STAR TREK CARTOON, “How I Met LON CHANEY, JR.”, goofy comic Zody the Mod Rob, Mego’s rare ELASTIC HULK toy, RetroTravel to Mount Airy, NC (the real-life Mayberry), interview with BETTY LYNN (“Thelma Lou” of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW), TOM STEWART’s eclectic House of Collectibles, and MR. MICROPHONE!

Horror-hosts ZACHERLEY, VAMPIRA, SEYMOUR, MARVIN, and an interview with our cover-featured ELVIRA! THE GROOVIE GOOLIES, BEWITCHED, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, and THE MUNSTERS! The long-buried Dinosaur Land amusement park! History of BEN COOPER HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, character lunchboxes, superhero VIEW-MASTERS, SINDY (the British Barbie), and more!

Interview with SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE director RICHARD DONNER, IRWIN ALLEN’s sci-fi universe, Saturday morning’s undersea adventures of Aquaman, horror and sci-fi zines of the Sixties and Seventies, Spider-Man and Hulk toilet paper, RetroTravel to METROPOLIS, IL (home of the Superman Celebration), SEAMONKEYS®, FUNNY FACE beverages, Superman/Batman memorabilia, & more!

Interviews with SHAZAM! TV show’s JOHN (Captain Marvel) DAVEY and MICHAEL (Billy Batson) Gray, the GREEN HORNET in Hollywood, remembering monster maker RAY HARRYHAUSEN, the way-out Santa Monica Pacific Ocean Amusement Park, a Star Trek Set Tour, SAM J. JONES on the Spirit movie pilot, British sci-fi TV classic THUNDERBIRDS, Casper & Richie Rich museum, the KING TUT fad, and more!

Interviews with MARK HAMILL & Greatest American Hero’s WILLIAM KATT! Blast off with JASON OF STAR COMMAND! Stop by the MUSEUM OF POPULAR CULTURE! Plus: “The First Time I Met Tarzan,” MAJOR MATT MASON, MOON LANDING MANIA, SNUFFY SMITH AT 100 with cartoonist JOHN ROSE, TV Dinners, Celebrity Crushes, and more fun, fab features!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99

The Crazy Cool Culture We Grew Up With

CONTENTS Issue #13 March 2021

Columns and Special Features

Departments

Retrotorial

Retro Travel Photo Gallery The Lost in Space Jupiter Experience

Retro Interview Lost in Space’s Mark Goddard and Marta Kristen Ernest Farino’s Retro Fantasmagoria Sixties’ Sci-Fi Anthology Series

68 52

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning Dynomutt and Blue Falcon

Scott Saavedra’s Secret Sanctum Magazine Column Generic food

Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon Who Created Archie Andrews?

Retro Radio Bob Crane, from Behind the Mic to Behind Enemy Lines on Hogan’s Heroes

Oddball World of Scott Shaw! The World Famous San Diego Zoo, Part One

RetroFan™ #13, March 2021. Published bimonthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: RetroFan, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Six-issue subscriptions: $68 Economy US, $103 International, $27 Digital.

RetroFad Lava Lamps

Retro Toys The Frisbee

Too Much TV Quiz

Celebrity Crushes

Super Collector Partridge Family Trading Cards

RetroFanmail

ReJECTED RetroFan fantasy cover by Scott Saavedra

Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Lost in Space © Space Productions. Mark Goddard and Marta Kristen photos by Michael Eury. Dynomutt and Blue Falcon © Hanna-Barbera Productions. Bob Crane photo courtesy of Scott Crane; used with permission. Frisbee © Wham-O. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2021 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. ISSN 2576-7224

by Michael Eury

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow CONTRIBUTORS Michael Eury Ernest Farino Carol M. Ford Douglas R. Kelly Andy Mangels Will Murray Ron Plourde Scott Saavedra Scott Shaw! Ernest Votto DESIGNER Scott Saavedra PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Jim Amash Ivan Briggs Sam Calvin Shaun Clancy Scott Crane Hake’s Auctions Heritage Auctions Victor Malafronte Joanne Marshall Mark Thomas McGee Monster Bash Dan Roddick Rose Rummel-Eury Ted C. Rypel John Sargent David J. Schow WICC-600 AM Radio Mark Wolf

May 2021 No. 14 $9.95

Who loves ya, baby?

VERY SPECIAL THANKS Mark Goddard Marta Kristen

Don’t STEAL our Digital Editions! C’mon citizen, DO THE RIGHT THING! A Mom & Pop publisher like us needs every sale just to survive! DON’T DOWNLOAD OR READ ILLEGAL COPIES ONLINE! Buy affordable, legal downloads only at

www.twomorrows.com or through our Apple and Google Apps!

& DON’T SHARE THEM WITH FRIENDS OR POST THEM ONLINE. Help us keep producing great publications like this one!

RETROFAN

While RetroFan is an escape from real-world problems like the COVID-19 outbreak, if not for the pandemic our cover feature might have been somewhat different. When I approached Lost in Space co-stars Mark Goddard and Marta Kristen to ask permission to conduct the interviews you’re about to read, I mentioned to them that I intended to group their features with interviews with Angela Cartwright and Bill Mumy. This would have complemented Shaun Clancy’s June Cartwright interview in RetroFan #8 to bring to you discussions with each surviving Lost in Space cast member. Then we all got lost in place as the pandemic hit and forced us indoors. The editorial slowdown I mentioned last issue affected a variety of plans for the magazine, including my ability to reach out to Angela and Billy in time for this issue. So hopefully we’ll circle back to those Space Family Robinson siblings for a future edition. Still, you’ll find the behind-the-scenes anecdotes shared by Mark and Marta a fascinating peek into the world of Lost in Space for both fans and casual viewers of the classic Sixties series. As I write this editorial on August 31, 2020, RetroFan #10 has been available for less than one week, arriving three weeks after its stated release date. That, unfortunately, was another side effect of the pandemic, beginning with inspection delays that occurred when the magazine, which is printed in China, arrived at the California port. Even subscription copies arrived later due to slowdowns at the U.S. Post Office. This is frustrating for us here at TwoMorrows, as we’re as anxious to share each issue with you as you are to read it, but in this crazy world some things are simply beyond our control. We appreciate your patience and support, and hope our distribution has returned to normal by the time this issue goes on sale in February. The pandemic has also put the kibosh on our “Retro Travel” feature for a while, since about the only exotic place ye editor and our writers can visit during Stay at Home quarantines is the grocery story (which we actually go to this issue, through Scott Saavedra’s “Secret Sanctum” column about generic food). Luckily, this issue’s “Oddball World of Scott Shaw!” column doubles as a “Retro Travel” piece, vicariously taking readers to the World Famous San Diego Zoo. Scott has written a trivia-loaded history about Southern California’s renowned animal planet, also known for its media ubiquity including Joan Embery’s appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds LP. Scott provided enough vintage photographs to wallpaper a lion’s den, so we’re serializing his piece to conclude in the next issue (which will include a look at TV’s Zoorama series, which has been requested by some readers). NEXT ISSUE Most of us grew up watching the late Bob Crane on Hogan’s Heroes—maybe you still catch the show each night on MeTV. Fewer people are aware of Crane’s pre-Hogan fame as a popular L.A. disc jockey, so this issue guest writer Carol Ford, Crane’s biographer, brings us the story. No matter what you think you know about Bob Crane, you’ll discover a richer portrait Star Holy Backstage Pass! of a multifaceted creative artist in Carol’s superb Trek Saturday The Lean retrospective. Years Morning And that’s not all, RetroFans! In the pages that Sasquatch! Bigfoot follow are Ernest Farino’s far-out photo journey on TV Behind through The Twilight Zone and other classic sci-fi antholthe Scenes of Your Favorite TV ogies, Will Murray’s search for Archie Andrews’ creator, Shows! Andy Mangels’ look at Saturday morning’s Dynomutt, Van Williams and guest writer Doug Kelly’s dizzying history of the Ready WWF to WrestleFest Frisbee. All that and more is waiting for you, making Rumble? Game RetroFan #13 yet another groovy grab bag of the crazy, Zoorama • The Saint in the Sixties • Scooby-Doo Super Collection & more! cool culture we grew up with.

March 2021

TV TIE-IN TOYS NO KID WOULD WANT!

The Man Behind the Mask

FEATURING Ernest Farino • Andy Mangels • Will Murray • Scott Saavedra • Scott Shaw! • Michael Eury

Batman © DC Comics. Bigfoot and Wildboy © Sid and Marty Krofft Productions. Green Hornet © The Green Hornet, Inc. WWF WrestleFest © Technōs Japan Corp. Kojak © Universal Television. All Rights Reserved.

Lost in Space © Space Productions.

RETRO INTERVIEW

MarTa MarK KrIsTEN GODDarD by Michael Eury

A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, Mark Goddard, born Charles Harvey Goddard, quickly became a familiar face on television once he, a graduate New York City’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts, arrived in Hollywood in 1959. He played Cully the deputy on the TV Western Johnny Ringo (1959–1960), and was next seen as Sgt. Chris Ballard on the crime drama The Detectives (1959–1962). Soon thereafter, he acted in a pilot for a sci-fi series that he at first thought would never make it to the air. Fate had other ideas, and Lost in Space, where Goddard played the brash, handsome Major Don West, enjoyed an 83-episode run during its three seasons on the air (1965–1968) before becoming a pop culture icon. Goddard’s other television credits include Perry Mason, The Virginian, Many Happy Returns (a one-season family sitcom, in which he co-

starred with Elinor Donahue), The Fugitive, The Mod Squad, Adam-12, The Streets of San Francisco, Quincy M.E., One Life to Life, and General Hospital. His film credits include A Rage to Live, the Disney comedy The Monkey’s Uncle, Blue Sunshine, Roller Boogie, and the 1998 Lost in Space reboot. He acted opposite Liza Minnelli on Broadway in The Act in 1978. A native of Oslo, Norway, Marta Kristen, born Brigit Annalisa Rusanen, lost her birth parents early in life and spent her first five years at a Norwegian orphanage. She was adopted in 1949 by an American couple that relocated her to Detroit, Michigan. A decade later her family moved to Los Angeles, where teenage Marta began acting. A breakout role for her occurred on the 1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode “Bang! You’re Dead,” where her co-star was a young Billy Mumy, with whom her career would

soon be entwined. She rose to stardom as Judy Robinson, eldest child of the Space Family Robinson on Lost in Space, but, as she discusses in the interview following, her role was diminished as the show progressed. Kristen’s other television credits include The Loretta Young Show, Leave It to Beaver, The Eleventh Hour, My Three Sons, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mannix, Project U.F.O., Remington Steele, and more recently, The Vamps Next Door. Her screen credits include Beach Blanket Bingo, The Mephisto Waltz (uncredited), Battle Beyond the Stars, 1998’s Lost in Space, and Inspirit. Mark Goddard’s and Marta Kristen’s talents are many and varied, but it is as Don West and Judy Robinson that fans have come to adore them. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Mark and Marta during their appearances at the Monster Bash Conference near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 18–20, 2019, and both have shared their recollections about Lost in Space and other topics in these back-to-back exclusive interviews for RetroFan readers.

RETROFAN

March 2021

retro interview

MeeT MajOr DON WesT

Mark Goddard, October 2019. Photo by Michael Eury.

MarK GODDarD

from the captain because he didn’t want him to know that he wasn’t doing anything. That’s how it was. Irwin called all the shots and people weren’t scared of him, but they had a respect for him that if you don’t do it right, he won’t be pleased with you. You’d get that look. I didn’t want that, so I just stayed away from him. RF: What exactly was that “look”? Did he stare at you from under his glasses? MG: He’d just glare at you. You’d just know he meant business. He was a good producer. He knew what he was doing.

FA ST FAC TS Lost in Space

RetroFan: Let’s start with a question I normally would ask you at the end. What is it about Lost in Space, a show that you did 50 years ago, that commands all this attention? Mark Goddard: It’s all about nostalgia. It’s about people who were watching the show when they were nine, ten years old. They’d come home and Mom would tell them, “If you don’t eat your dinner, you’re not going to get to watch the show.” It was a good-feeling show and a show from the heart, whereas Star Trek was from the head—it was cerebral. People would get a feeling from our show. It was silly, it was inane, but it had some values to it. We showed the relationship between the father and the son that was homey and very good. The mother was respected, and so were her daughters... That’s why— it’s a family show.

have something to play off of. As they came into the show, they became more of the favorites of the writers or whoever because they were easy to write for. Jonathan Harris, Dr. Smith, he was a brilliant actor. He knew how to capture an audience and he knew what to do. In any scene with Jonathan Harris, he always had to have the last word to it. I might have a scene with Dr. Smith and if you look at the end, he would say, “Indeed.”

RF: That’s a good observation, but as you know, better than I, when Lost in Space started, it was darker in tone. Once the show shifted to color, the humor and emphasis on Dr. Smith evolved. MG: In black and white, it was about a family lost in space. It was about adventure, and the adventures they’d have being lost in space—with aliens or monsters, or whatever it might be. Then, they added Dr. Smith and the Robot to the show because they had to

RF: Tell me about Irwin Allen, who created the show. MG: I didn’t get to know him very well. Irwin and I had a relationship like… remember the movie, Mr. Roberts, with Jimmy Cagney and Jack Lemmon?

RETROFAN

March 2021

RF: [chuckles] MG: That’s how it would end. He had a way of knowing that the camera ended on him. That’s a technique. I couldn’t do that. I’d be like, “Okay, let’s go… let’s do some more.” RF: Was Harris easy to work with? MG: He was great to work with. He and I got along great. Very well.

RF: Uh-huh. MG: Irwin Allen would be the Jimmy Cagney character and I’d be the Jack Lemmon character. Jack Lemmon’s character always wanted to stay away

` No. of seasons: Three ` No. of episodes: 83 (84, counting pilot) ` Original run: September 15, 1965– March 6, 1968 ` Primary cast: Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright, Bob May (Robot), Dick Tufeld (voice of Robot) ` Network: CBS ` Creator/Producer: Irwin Allen

Spin-offs and remakes: ` The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie: Lost in Space (airing September 8, 1973, a HannaBarbera-produced cartoon reimagining the series with a slightly altered cast with the exception of Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith and “Robon” the Robot) ` Lost in Space (1998 movie reboot, starring William Hurt, Gary Oldman, Mimi Rogers, and Matt LeBlanc, and featuring cameos by original LIS actors) ` Lost in Space (2018–present Netflix reboot, starring Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, and Parker Posey)

retro interview

RF: Definitely a visionary, not just your show, but Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants… MG: Yeah, yeah. He knew how to make explosions. He didn’t like actors. He liked explosions—that kind of stuff. I don’t think he was crazy about actors. Look at all the actors he had in The Poseidon Adventure—Gene Hackman and others. He didn’t use them—they were drowning half the time! [Michael laughs] The movie The Towering Inferno, with two of our finest actors, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. Did he make them [act]? He was a visionary, but had a different kind of vision than someone like Stanley Kubrick would have.

Mark Goddard as Don West in an autographed publicity photo. Lost in Space © Space Productions. Courtesy of Heritage.

What he did—he was the master of disasters, but not that I respected it because I was an actor and I knew he wasn’t crazy about me. I don’t think he liked me, to tell you the truth. I did my work, I didn’t give him a hard time, never went in his office. He didn’t know I was around. He came on the set one time and I hid behind one of the phony rocks. He said, “Goddard, what are you doing there?” I said, “Eh.” I just didn’t want him to know I existed. I was happy to come to work, do Goddard’s earliest TV series were adapted into comic books by Dell. (TOP) Four Color #1142, from late 1959, starring Johnny Ringo. (BOTTOM) Four Color #1219 from early 1962, starring The Detectives (including a future Caped Crusader of Gotham City). © CBS.

my lines, go home to my wife and child, go the races with Guy Williams, and have a good time and play golf on the weekends with the likes of Tony Curtis and Buddy Hackett. I couldn’t put up with any negativity that would come from thinking Lost in Space was not the show that I wanted in life. RF: Goes to show you that everybody’s got a boss looking down his nose at you at one time or another. MG: I’m probably the only actor that will say this about him. She’ll [nods to Marta Kristen] say he was great. He just wasn’t my kind of guy. RF: He was the master of disaster and maybe favored explosions over actors, but had the good fortune to work RETROFAN

March 2021

retro interview

What’s in the cards for Major West and Judy? Goddard and Kristen-focused Lost in Space trading cards, plus the illustrative box from which they were sold. © Space Productions. Courtesy of Heritage.

with talented actors who could bring the emotion to his disasters. MG: That’s nice of you to say, but I don’t see that. I don’t see any actors he worked with that had emotions—not on Voyage, not on Lost in Space… RF: What about Gene Hackman in The Poseidon Adventure, where he’s hanging on over the fire and let’s himself go, sacrificing himself? MG: That’s not acting, that’s just… “I fell off a chariot into the sea and went, ‘Ahhhhh.’” That’s not acting, that’s just making a sound. RF: So, how did you get the role of Major Don West? MG: Irwin Allen and I had the same agent. In those days, agencies would package people. They’d put the producers, the directors, the writers together and package the deal. The actors would come along and they’d put them in where they wanted them to fit. I was with GAC, General Artists Corporation. [Lost in Space] came along and my agent there said, “You want to do this science-fiction show?” I said, “No, I 6

RETROFAN

March 2021

don’t want to do science fiction—I don’t like science fiction.” They said, “But, yeah… it’s about a family.” I said, “No, I don’t want to do science fiction.” I did Westerns, I did The Detectives, but I’m not a fan of science fiction. “I don’t want to be Flash Gordon, I want to be Paul Newman.” But the agent said, “Just do the pilot. It pays good money. It pays [for] 21 days. Just take the money and run. No one’s going to see this show.” So, I did it and it turns out a lot of people saw the show. They were all four years old! They were watching it at age 11. RF: Lost in Space’s costumes are about as famous as the show itself. But I understand your initial reaction to wearing silver lame wasn’t a positive one. MG: [When getting into costume to shoot the pilot,] I looked in the full-length mirror and saw a grown man cry. … I was dressed in a shiny silver space costume with silver painted boots that appeared to be size 17. … I took a deep breath, took a second look at the image of a wrapped aluminum baked potato, and said to myself, “How the hell did this happen?”

RF: You grew to appreciate the role and the show over time… MG: I don’t mean to put it down. It’s been great. It’s the gif t that never stops giving. I love seeing the fans and the fans love the show. That’s why I like to do these shows [like Monster Bash]. I love to see the fans. They say, “I love you, I love the show.” You can’t go wrong with that. They care about it. When I did The Act with Liza Minnelli on Broadway, if you read the playbill, I don’t mention Lost in Space at all. I don’t mention it. To me, it was a kid’s show and that’s it. I didn’t realize at the time, but the kids watching it grew up to be astrophysicists and doctors and computer experts and people who did very well in life and were inspired by this crazy little show I was involved in. Then I respected it more. I came to respect it. RF: At its time it was part of the Space Race, which captivated kids and the culture during the Sixties. I was a kid at the time and was fascinated by Lost in Space. MG: The fans are loyal and wonderful. It wasn’t the best show in the world, but kids

retro interview

enjoyed it and they grew up to be loyal to it. It’s wonderful. When I do shows like this, I can say hello. They want to buy a picture or one of my books, that’s fine. People like yourself who want to interview me. I’m not involved in the industry anymore, but I’m happy to do it for you. You’re creative enough to write a book, a magazine, an interview. I’m happy to do it for you, although I’m not getting anything out of it. I’m not getting a job out of it. The industry has passed me by, but knowing you is not over—knowing you is an experience. RF: I appreciate that. Let’s talk about another of your cast members—Bob May, the actor inside the Robot. MG: Bob May was in the shell of the Robot. Irwin Allen was very adamant that the viewers not know that someone was inside. One day Billy [Mumy], friendly as he was, asked Bob if he wanted to join us for lunch. Bob said, “No thanks. I’m going to the bank during break.” Now, picture this. Bob wore a black turtleneck jersey, black pants, and black paint around his eyes and nose so as not to be detected while in the silver-painted contraption. I thought to myself, “He’s going where, looking like that?” After lunch, I asked Bob how everything turned out at the bank. He boastfully said, “Mark, you wouldn’t believe it. There I was, waiting in line, and everyone in the other lines was looking at me.” He then added with a cocky smirk, “I guess they all recognized me as the Robot from Lost in Space.”

RF: You and Guy Williams hung out, went to the races together. Were you ever recognized as the guys from Lost in Space? MG: Nobody notices anybody at the horse races. Nobody notices anybody in California—too many stars there! When I was in New York doing The Act with Liza Minnelli, I got noticed a lot more— especially when I went to Studio 54. [chuckles] That was a lot of fun. That was during the heyday with Mick Jagger’s wife, Bianca, and the artist—pop artist [Andy Warhol]—they were all friends of each other and friends with Liza Minnelli. Those were exciting days—those were good days. I had a good life. RF: You began a whole new act of your life’s story after your acting career. MG: I’ve had a blessed life. I was an actor for 30 years and became a specialeducation teacher for 26 years. I worked with kids with behavioral problems in Massachusetts. I’ve tried to do the right thing in my life. I’ve messed up, as I write in my book [To Space and Back, by Mark Goddard]! RF: Tell me a about teaching special-ed. MG: These kids have behavioral problems. I chose that because I had a blessed life. I had friend growing up with an alcoholic father and a mother working at the A&P and he didn’t have it good. He went to a reform school in Newton because he got in trouble, and I realized that if Pete and I could have changed lives, it was just a matter of birth. I was born to my parents and he was born to his parents. But we were the same. We had the same athletic ability, we had the same mind, both fairly intelligent, nice looking, sense of humor—except we happened to be brought up in different atmospheres. That made me want to work with kids from difficult environments and then maybe I could help them a little bit—have a better life. Major West, front and center, with some of the cast in a behindthe-scenes Lost in Space set photo. (Join us next issue as Ernest Farino shares more set pics from LIS and others Sixties TV favorites). © Space Productions. Courtesy of Ernest Farino.

Mark’s memoir, To Space and Back (iUniverse, 2008), is available from Amazon. © Mark Goddard.

RF: Sometimes people with special needs are overlooked by others. MG: I had some impact, and that’s good. RF: You positively impacted lives. MG: Some. Maybe more than I realize. RF: I bet you did. MG: It reaches out. I’ve been lucky and wanted to give it back. When I was in trouble, Buddy Hackett gave me a hundred-dollar bill. I said, “Buddy, I can’t pay this back.” He said, “Don’t worry about it, just pass it on.” RF: That’s the best advice to give. My wife and I had a friend who died of cancer who kept a wad of money in his pocket because, “You never know who you might meet who might need it.” MG: Oh, God bless him. RF: Well, thank you for your time! MG: Thank you! Mr. Goddard’s answers to the questions about his Lost in Space costume and Robot actor Bob May are excerpted, with his permission, from his memoir, To Space and Back (iUniverse, 2008). RETROFAN

March 2021

retro interview

MeeT JuDy RoBiNsON

MK: I think because, as you said, there were so many things on the outside of our society in the Sixties going on—the Vietnam War…

MarTa KrisTeN Marta Kristen, October 2019. Photo by

RF: He was the saboteur that got the Robinson family lost in space to begin with…

Michael Eury.

RetroFan: I want to start with a question that I often end an interview with: Let’s talk about the legacy of Lost in Space. What is it, 50 years into this phenomenon, that has given it this longlasting mystique? Marta Kristen: I always tell people that I think the reason why it has lasted so long is because the center of the show is about family. It’s not an overt message—but it’s an underlying message. There’s a morality tale throughout the show and eventually what happens at the end of the show is the family wins and the family stays together and we’ve struggled together. That sounds very idealistic, because it’s a family adventure series about monsters and spaceships and meteors… but the basic premise and the basic theme of the show is the struggle we go through and we survive as a family. RF: I was a kid back then and largely remember watching the color episodes. But as an adult I’ve gone back and rewatched the show and am absolutely fascinated by the first season, in black and white. At that point, there was more a sense of menace, and as you’re aware, over time Lost in Space became lighter and campier and comedic, much like the tone of the mid-Sixties. Tell me about that evolution. 8

RETROFAN

RF: …civil rights protests… MK: …all kinds of social issues changing— it was an evolution in our society in so many different ways. I think the darkness of the first season changed because it went into color and became visually more like a cartoon and the flavor of the show changed. The black and white made a huge difference in visually how it was presented. I think they went hand-inhand in many ways. I think with Jonathan [Harris]—Dr. Smith—wanting to change his character and not be the villain.

March 2021

Marta Kristen as Judy Robinson. Lost in Space © Space Productions. Courtesy of Ernest Farino.

MK: He was the saboteur… but Jonathan felt he would be eliminated in the show. He began to, in a way, manipulate the writing by doing his own writing and becoming the villain you love to hate— the coward. So that began to change and through that, the flavor of the show began to change as well in the second season, out of necessity because it became about the Robot and Bill [Mumy] and that threesome. It was funny and became lighter in tone. RF: To tie into your earlier comment, the original villain of the piece became sort of the dysfunctional family member. MK: Exactly, and we couldn’t get rid of him because he became beloved by so many people. He was a wonderful actor and a charming man in person. He knew how to present himself. He knew how to save his character. He ended up loving Dr. Smith as the character that he created. He said he was always doing [an impression of actress] Martita Hunt, “Ooohh, oooh.” [laughter] You could see that because he had worked with her on Broadway. RF: The colorful costuming is part of the appeal of the show. When you were filming the first season, were the costumes as colorful? MK: No. I was wearing a red top and navy blue, but yes, it was done for black and white. Later on, we became, as Mark [Goddard] said, “the Easter colors.” I liked the second year because I thought it was

retro interview

like a sunrise. I was in yellow and orange. It was quite beautiful. RF: The Easter colors. MK: And the third year was more like the Easter colors. I was in purples, or lavenders, soft yellows. RF: A missed tie-in: “Lost in Space Peeps.” MK: [laughter] That’s right! What happened? RF: When the show changed, was it more difficult? How did you, as an actress, adapt? MK: I never had a lot to do after the first year. RF: Yes, when the menacing tone went away and the show became lighter and more kid-oriented, your character was seen less… and even Don West, to a degree—he ended up being more of a foil to Dr. Smith. So some of the original cast dynamic changed. MK: I had been promised before I did the show that I would have a great deal to do, and Major West and I would have a relationship and it would go from there. We would probably get married and have Marta Kristen as Judy Robinson in a color publicity still on the Lost in Space set. Lost in Space © Space Productions. Courtesy of Ernest Farino.

children and it would have been quite lovely. I would have interesting issues dealing with having a relationship in space. It was a disappointment to me, frankly. Before I started doing this show, I had been the ingénue that you would call to do serious pieces. I was on the first twoparter [crossover] on television, and it went from Dr. Kildare to Eleventh Hour, with Tony Dow. I was very involved in theater, so I considered myself a serious actor. I had dreams of going to New York prior to coming to Los Angeles. My father was a professor of philosophy and my mother was a schoolteacher and they both took a sabbatical for a year to come to Los Angeles and for my father to write a book. My mother had family in Los Angeles. I had ambitions of continuing in theater and started a theater company eventually in Los Angeles, by the way. It was voted one of the top theater companies by NPR, “The Best Small Theater Company.” We did Pinter and O’Neill, all the wonderful playwrights—serious theater. So I was very disappointed that I didn’t have much to do. I accepted it in a way, but carried the disappointment with me. I would talk to Irwin Allen, the producer, about it. He’d say, “Yes, we’re going to have more for you to do. We already have it in the can.” It turns out in the fourth year I would have had more to do. There was talk about a lot of changes they were going to make and part of it—because people were writing in saying, “Why don’t Don RETROFAN

March 2021

retro interview

and Judy have more to do? Why aren’t they together?” RF: That was what the fans were expecting. MK: Yes, they were contacting CBS and saying, “We want more.” RF: So the cancellation was a surprise to you because you were all expecting to go into Season Four. Had the ratings slipped? MK: It was a surprise. The ratings had not slipped. Irwin Allen was involved in his other projects and was sort of putting Lost in Space on the back burner while he did other things. The head of CBS was saying, “Where are the storylines? We want to see them for the next year.” Irwin kept putting him off and ignoring him, and you don’t ignore the head of CBS. He was the guy who made all the decisions. Now you’d have a gaggle of people making decisions. He said, “If you’re not going to give me the information, then you’re cancelled.” RF: Then at the same time, he was developing and launching The Time Tunnel on a competing channel.

MK: Right, and I don’t think CBS was thrilled with that. They were also, as I said, Irwin had plans to change the show and they wanted to hear more about that. I’ve been told after the fact that there were a lot of changes planned, and Mark and I would be having the center [stage]. RF: It’s unfortunate that wasn’t realized. MK: Yes, it was, but as an actor, you just say, “Well, what’s next?” RF: Any disappointment you felt, we weren’t aware of it from your performance. MK: Oh, well, good. RF: You were very much a professional. Your credits and experience, and of course June’s and Guy’s… this cast had some considerable credits. Even Billy. MK: Oh, Billy! RF: Before Lost in Space, you had worked with him on Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ “Bang! You’re Dead.” MK: “Bang! You’re Dead,” and Hitchcock directed it. That was such an honor. I had done a previous Hitchcock show, where I played a girl that was killed. RF: Did he direct that episode? MK: He did not direct that, but he saw it and wanted to use me for “Bang! You’re Dead.” So it was wonderful to see Billy on the set of Lost in Space. I said, “Wow, here we are again!” RF: How old were you when you started acting? MK: I started acting… I was adopted when I was five from Norway. I got off the plane, and my parents said that I walked like Charlie Chaplin. I guess I was trying to diffuse Christmas fun on the Lost in Space set with Marta Kristen and Bob May as Robot. © Space Productions. Courtesy of Ernest Farino.

RETROFAN

March 2021

my great fear. [chuckles] They said, “Oh, that’s interesting.” Both of them being educators, they recognized how to enrich the potential. RF: How wonderful that they gave encouragement. MK: I didn’t speak English at first. They got me into dance and musical theater. I did community theater from the time I was eight years old. I actually was in a group that was very well known in Bloomfield Hills [Michigan] and got a lot of press doing that. When we came out to California, I was in a Jewish deli and a man came up and said, “My name is James Harris. I’m producing a movie with Stanley Kubrick called Lolita.” This is when I was 15. “I would be very interested in meeting with your parents and see if you would be able to do a screen test for Stanley Kubrick. Of course, I’d like your parents to read Lolita.” My parents said no, that it wasn’t a good direction, but James Harris, without any strings attached, got me an agent— one of the top agents—Kurt Frings in Los Angeles, who represented Elizabeth Taylor. He was just wonderful and helped me from the very start. He saw a potential in me and a certain “light,” which he talked about. He said, “You could do some very great things,” and that started my career. Also Ruth Roberts, who worked with Loretta Young and was good friends with Loretta Young, she got me my first show and that was playing the daughter of two alcoholics—a little different from Lost in Space! RF: What year was that? MK: I think that was 1961 or 1962. I started working right away and having the great representation I did, people took that seriously. After a while, I didn’t have to audition. They’d say, “We want Marta Kristen,” and there I’d be—on the set. Irwin… RF: Tell me about him. MK: I remember my audition—I didn’t have to audition, I went to meet him. I wore a pink bouclé suit and it was a beautiful pink, and big, round earrings. He said, “I want that girl.” I guess he liked the color and the earrings, and I guess he’d seen some of the things I’d done. RF: He made a good choice.

retro interview

MK: Thank you! RF: There was nothing that was askew with that cast. Everyone had chemistry and worked well together. MK: Yes! My granddaughter was big in musical theater and now she’s in casting. She’s still interested in acting, but she loves casting. Casting is everything! If it’s not cast well, things don’t work. It’s a machine in many ways—the ensemble. RF: Then you have the challenge of outlandish plots and a robot and other things taking the viewer’s eye off the cast. MK: It was a very difficult time for June and Guy because they were supposed to be the stars of the show. They had great chemistry together—almost too great. Recently we were watching the Blu-ray for the 50th anniversary. I said, “Oh, my God. They’re touching all the time. They’re looking at each other lovingly and holding each other.” Then the music would start.

CBS apparently saw the same thing and sent a note that said, “No touching.”

Marta Kristen and the artist of the Judy Robinson portrait she’s holding, John Sargent (johnsargentartstudio.weebly. com). Photo by Michael Eury.

RF: It was the times. Rob and Laura Petrie still slept in separate beds! MK: That’s right! In fact, the two-parter show [Dr. Kildare/ Eleventh Hour crossover] I did was about abortion. You couldn’t even say “pregnant” on television at the time.

your shoulders back.” My mother would tap me on the back. My father said, “Be proud.” At one time I was going through a difficult time and said, “What am I going to do?” He said, “Reach out to people and look them in the eye and smile and engage.”

RF: Things were starting to change. On The Flintstones, Wilma was pregnant, and that was a cartoon! They never said, “pregnant.” They probably said, “expecting”… MK: …“with child.” More Biblical point of view!

RF: That is advice we should heed today, since so many of us keep our heads buried in our smartphones or devices. Well, I certainly enjoyed our chat. Thank you for your time! MK: Thank you!

RF: You’re very gracious, and I see you enjoy the fans. MK: I do. As an actor, you’re a people observer. I used to be very, very shy. I’d walk in a room and didn’t want to be seen. My father would say, “Stand up, Marta. Put

Special thanks to Marta Kristen for factchecking the interview. For more about Marta’s career or to book her for a personal appearance, visit www.martakristen.com. Special thanks also to Monster Bash for providing the venue for both interviews, and to Rose Rummel-Eury for the transcriptions. RETROFAN

March 2021

RETRO TRAVEL PHOTO GALLERY

THe JUpiTer

by Michael Eury The Jupiter Experience is a traveling exhibit of Lost in Space original show props, costumes, and collectibles and a recreation of the Jupiter 2’s flight deck. Shown on these two pages are photographs taken by ye ed of the Jupiter Experience at the October 2019 Monster Bash in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (for more on that show or to learn about the next Monster Bash Conference, which is coming June 18–20, 2021, visit www.monsterbashnews.com/bashscrap19october.html). If you’re interested in booking the Jupiter Experience for a convention, contact Tom Pfrogner at tompfrogner@sprintmail.com. In the meantime, enjoy these photos.

RETROFAN

March 2021

ExperieNce

RETROFAN

March 2021

HOLLY JOLLY

ALTER EGO #168

ALTER EGO #169

ALTER EGO #170

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #24

MARK VOGER’s sleigh ride thru Christmas pop culture! Explores movies (Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life), music (White Christmas, Little St. Nick), TV (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), books (Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol), decor (1950s silver aluminum trees), comics (super-heroes meet Santa), and more! Featuring CHARLES M. SCHULZ, ANDY WILLIAMS and others!

Two RICHARD ARNDT interviews revealing the wartime life of Aquaman artist/ co-creator PAUL NORRIS (with a Golden/ Silver Age art gallery)—plus the story of WILLIE ITO, who endured the WWII Japanese-American relocation centers to become a Disney & Warner Bros. animator and comics artist. Plus FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, JOHN BROOME, and more, behind a NORRIS cover!

Spotlight on Groovy GARY FRIEDRICH— co-creator of Marvel’s Ghost Rider! ROY THOMAS on their six-decade friendship, wife JEAN FRIEDRICH and nephew ROBERT HIGGERSOM on his later years, PETER NORMANTON on GF’s horror/ mystery comics, art by PLOOG, TRIMPE, ROMITA, THE SEVERINS, AYERS, et al.! FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT and Mr. Monster, and more! MIKE PLOOG cover!

JACK KIRBY is showcased cover-to-cover behind a never-before-printed Kirby cover! WILL MURRAY on Kirby’s contributions to the creation of Iron Man—FCA on his Captain Marvel/Mr. Scarlet Fawcett work—Kirby sections by MICHAEL T. GILBERT & PETER NORMANTON—Kirby in 1960s fanzines—STAN LEE’s colorful quotes about “The King”, and ROY THOMAS on being a Kirby fan (and foil)!

TIMOTHY TRUMAN discusses his start at the Kubert School, Grimjack with writer JOHN OSTRANDER, and current collaborations with son Benjamin. SCOTT SHAW! talks about early San Diego Comic-Cons and friendship with JACK KIRBY, Captain Carrot, and Flintstones work! Also PATRICK McDONNELL’s favorite MUTTS comic book pastiches, letterer JANICE CHIANG profiled, HEMBECK, and more! TIM TRUMAN cover.

(192-page FULL-COLOR hardcover) $43.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 • Now shipping! ISBN: 978-1-60549-097-7

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships April 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships June 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

COMIC BOOK CREATOR #25 WORLD OF TWOMORROWS

BACK ISSUE #125

BACK ISSUE #126

BACK ISSUE #127

BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH discusses his new graphic novel MONSTERS, its origin as a 1980s Hulk story, and its evolution into his 300-page magnum opus (includes a gallery of outtakes). Plus part two of our SCOTT SHAW! interview about HannaBarbera licensing material and work with ROY THOMAS on Captain Carrot, KEN MEYER, JR. looks at the great fanzines of 40 years ago, HEMBECK, and more!

Celebrate our 25th anniversary with this retrospective by publisher JOHN MORROW and Comic Book Creator magazine’s JON B. COOKE! Go behind-the-scenes with MICHAEL EURY, ROY THOMAS, GEORGE KHOURY, and a host of other TwoMorrows contributors! Introduction by MARK EVANIER, Foreword by ALEX ROSS, Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ, and a new cover by TOM McWEENEY!

CREATOR-OWNED COMICS! Featuring in-depth histories of MATT WAGNER’s Mage and Grendel. Plus other indie sensations of the Bronze Age, including COLLEEN DORAN’s A Distant Soil, STAN SAKAI’s Usagi Yojimbo, STEVE PURCELL’s Sam & Max, JAMES DEAN SMITH’s Boris the Bear, and LARRY WELZ’s Cherry Poptart! With a fabulous Grendel cover by MATT WAGNER.

“Legacy” issue! Wally West Flash, BRANDON ROUTH Superman interview, Harry Osborn/Green Goblin, Scott Lang/ Ant-Man, Infinity Inc., Reign of the Supermen, JOHN ROMITA SR. and JR. “Rough Stuff,” plus CONWAY, FRACTION, JURGENS, MESSNER-LOEBS, MICHELINIE, ORDWAY, SLOTT, ROY THOMAS, MARK WAID, and more. WIERINGO/MARZAN JR. cover!

“Soldiers” issue! Sgt. Rock revivals, General Thunderbolt Ross, Beetle Bailey in comics, DC’s Blitzkrieg, War is Hell’s John Kowalski, Atlas’ savage soldiers, The ’Nam, Nth the Ultimate Ninja, and CONWAY and GARCIA-LOPEZ’s Cinder and Ashe. Featuring CLAREMONT, DAVID, DIXON, GOLDEN, HAMA, KUBERT, LOEB, DON LOMAX, DOUG MURRAY, TUCCI, and more. BRIAN BOLLAND cover!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Spring 2021

(224-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $37.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships March 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships May 2021

TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History.

KIRBY COLLECTOR #79

See “THE BIG PICTURE” of how Kirby fits into the grand scheme of things! His creations’ lasting legacy, how his work fights illiteracy, a RARE KIRBY INTERVIEW, inconsistencies in his 1960s MARVEL WORK, editorial changes in his comics, big concepts in OMAC, best DOUBLE-PAGE SPREADS, MARK EVANIER’s 2019 Kirby Tribute Panel, PENCIL ART GALLERY, and a new cover based on OMAC #1! (84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

OLD GODS & NEW: A FOURTH WORLD COMPANION (TJKC #80)

Looks back at JACK KIRBY’s own words, as well as those of assistants MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN, inker MIKE ROYER, and publisher CARMINE INFANTINO, to show how Kirby’s epic came about, where it was going, and how he would’ve ended it before it was cancelled by DC Comics! (160-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $26.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 • Ships March 2021 ISBN: 978-1-60549-098-4

KIRBY COLLECTOR #81

BRICKJOURNAL #66

“Kirby: Beta!” Jack’s experimental ideas, characters, and series (Fighting American, Jimmy Olsen, Kamandi, and others), Kirby interview, inspirations for his many “secret societies” (The Project, Habitat, Wakanda), non-superhero genres he explored, 2019 Heroes Con panel (with MARK EVANIER, MIKE ROYER, JIM AMASH, and RAND HOPPE), a pencil art gallery, UNUSED JIMMY OLSEN #141 COVER, and more!

YUANSHENG HE’s breathtaking LEGO® brick art photography (and how he creates it), the many models of TOM FROST, and the intricate Star Wars builds of Bantha Brick’s STEVEN SMYTH! Plus: “Bricks in the Middle” by KEVIN HINKLE and MATTHEW KAY, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, Minifigure Customization with JARED K. BURKS, and more!

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Summer 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Now shipping!

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 E-mail:

store@twomorrows.com

Order at twomorrows.com

ERNEST FARINO’S RETRO FANTASMAGORIA

Misty Regions

Collage by Ernest Farino.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents a Way Out ride One Step Beyond The Twilight Zone to The Outer Limits—it’s a Thriller!

The Classic Sci-Fi, Horror, and Mystery TV Anthology Series of the Sixties by Ernest Farino “To a child caught in the middle of turmoil and conflict, a doll can become many things: friend, defender, guardian. Especially a doll like Talky Tina, who did talk, and did commit murder—in the misty regions of The Twilight Zone.” — Rod Serling (“Living Doll,” 1963) Shock Theater and Son of Shock, packages of classic Universal horror films released to television syndication in 1957–1958, launched the Silver Age of “all things monsters” in the late Fif ties to the mid-Sixties, including Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, the Aurora monster model kits, the Mars Attacks cards, and much more. Although Vampira was the original television horror host (1954–1955), the Shock packages also rejuvenated the television “horror host” including Zacherley, Ghoulardi, M. T. Graves, and Moona Lisa, all the way up to

today’s Svengoolie on MeTV. [Editor’s note: See RetroFan #2 and 6 for more on TV horror hosts.] Television networks saw green amidst the blood red and soon FCC chairman Newton N. Minow’s “vast wasteland” (TV) was crawling with all things that go bump in the night. In addition to the sitcoms The Addams Family, The Munsters, My Favorite Martian, and Bewitched, a serious approach was taken with a spate of anthologies: The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, One Step Beyond, and Way Out. There were a few others, such as The Veil and Great Ghost Tales, but these six series represented the most notable, popular, and enduring examples of mystery and imagination. By 1960, 30 Western series aired in primetime, including Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Rawhide, Have Gun Will Travel, and Bonanza. Time magazine reported on April 30, 1959 that “Last week eight of the top ten shows were horse operas.” Those were all great shows, but clearly it was time to shake things up in suburbia. To paraphrase Rod Serling, the monsters were due on Maple Street…

As Bette Davis said in All About Eve, “Fasten your seatbelts—it’s going to be a bumpy night.” It’s almost impossible to discuss these sci-fi/horror/mystery anthology series without occasionally giving away something, so if that spoils things for you, avert your eyes… RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

“Good Evening”—Much has been written in books and magazines (and blogs and Facebook groups) about these series. Given space limitations, a magazine like RetroFan cannot expect cover them in depth. Thus, “for your consideration,” we offer a short overview of each series followed by a closer look at a favorite episode or two. Photos from other episodes captioned with scintillating trivia will hopefully round things out. Your mileage will vary—everyone has their favorites and odds are yours will be overlooked. But there you are…

The Twilight Zone Rod Serling (LEFT). The original opening narration claimed that “There is a sixth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.” When producer Bill Self asked what happened to the fifth dimension, Serling said, “I don’t know. Aren’t there five?” They could only think of four, so the narration was rewritten to what we’re familiar with: “There is a fifth dimension…”

Rod Serling: “Well, The Twilight Zone is in essence an imaginative itinerary of storytelling in which we utilize bases of fantasy, science fiction, the occult, extrasensory perception, anything that is imaginative, wild, or, as in the States we call it, ‘kooky.’” For months Serling argued that a mystery-suspense show could compete with all the medical and Western shows. The series was finally greenlit by CBS and premiered on October 2, 1959. The first narrator was The March of Time’s Westbrook Van Voorhis, but he sounded “a little too pompous.” Serling then wanted Orson Welles, but Welles asked for too much money. Despite skepticism that a “writer” could do the job, Serling stepped in, everybody loved his introduction, and he stayed on as the series host. Serling held to an exhaustive schedule. When his home office door was closed, that’s when he would dictate his scripts into a recorder. “I remember him on the Dictaphone,” recalled Serling’s daughter Jodi to SyFyWire in 2019, “and waving to us to go away, I’m busy right now. But he was always around for us as children. He was a great father.” Film director John Frankenheimer (The Train, Seven Days in May) first worked with Rod Serling in 1954 on a TV drama called A Knife in the Dark, for which Serling was paid $200 (about $1,900 today). 16

RETROFAN

March 2021

Frankenheimer told Alex Simon of The Hollywood Interview, “We were very good friends. He was a terrific writer. I did a Playhouse 90 once where we were in really bad trouble with the script. So I went to see him and he asked a lot of questions. He’d never read the script, mind you, but in a matter of hours the new scene was ready and it worked beautifully. Rod was a genuinely good man and he died much too young.” The series describes “the twilight zone” as “the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man’s fear and the summit of his knowledge.” In fact, Serling got the name from the term airline pilots use for the area when both the clouds and ground blend together causing them to lose their bearings. The iconic opening title sequences were produced by UPA (United Productions of America), famous for their Mister Magoo cartoon shorts and the animated features 1001 Arabian Nights and Gay Purr-ee. Herb Klynn and Stephen Bosustow were in charge and the animation team that consisted of Rudy Larriva (director/ animator), Sam Clayberger (layout/backgrounds), and Joe Messerli (title logo/overlays). At one point, programming head Jim Aubrey ordered that the cost per episode had to come down and mandated shooting on videotape instead of 35mm film. However, after six episodes it was determined that little was being saved, so the show went back to shooting on film. The Sixties video quality is marginal, which makes these six episodes hard to watch. The six episodes were shot consecutively but placed randomly throughout the broadcast schedule. Since today’s on-screen guides often list episode numbers, the six are listed here in the order of broadcast, not production: “The Lateness of the Hour” (Ep 8), “Night of the Meek” (Ep 11), “The Whole Truth” (Ep 14), “Twenty-Two” (Ep 17), “Static” (Ep 20), and “Long Distance Call” (Ep 22). The Twilight Zone spanned 156 episodes from 1959 to 1964 (TV “seasons” were much longer in those days), and there are many exceptional episodes. (Yes, there are some clunkers, but that’s inevitable, just based on the law of averages.) Standout episodes include “The After Hours” (with Forbidden Planet’s Anne Francis), “Perchance to Dream,” “The Midnight Sun,” “The Dummy,” “Twenty-Two,” and “It’s a Good Life” (with youngster Billy Mumy sending adults “off to the cornfield”). “Living Doll” starred future Kojak Telly Savalas. Tracy Stratford, as the little girl, would later voice Lucy Van Pelt in 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. The Talky Tina doll was voiced by June Foray (Rocky of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle) and is the same voice used by Mattel for their actual Chatty Cathy doll.

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

One of my personal favorites is “And When the Sky Was Opened,” in which three astronauts return from space only to disappear one by one. Even on the printed page, Richard Matheson’s original short story ends in a chilling fashion. “The Bewitchin’ Pool” aired June 19, 1964 as the series finale. I always liked this episode—perhaps as a kid I related to the idea of disappearing from the real work into a fantasyland. Due to problems with production sound most of the actors had to revoice their dialog for the exteriors. Unfortunately, Mary Badham (who previously starred in To Kill a Mockingbird opposite Gregory Peck) had returned home to Alabama and it was too costly to bring her back to L.A. Voice actress June Foray was once again called in, this time dubbing Badham’s lines for the exterior scenes.

Unfortunately, Foray’s voice work, while excellent as usual, is noticeably different than Badham’s own voice as heard in the interior scenes. Jodi Serling said that “‘Walking Distance’ was my father’s favorite episode. There were pieces of him in it, dealing with the loss of his father because he wasn’t able to be released from the Army in time before his father died. So it was a personal story for him, a lot about loneliness and loss. He evoked themes of prejudice and love and war, subjects that were all part of what he had dealt with for most of his life.” So now, a few photos to highlight some of the standout episodes…

(RIGHT) “Eye of the Beholder” director Douglas Heyes’ own sketch of the makeup for William Gordon (the doctor). © CBS.

Now, see what happens when you smoke cigarettes…? © CBS.

(ABOVE) “Two” takes place in a post-apocalyptic city and starred only Charles Bronson and future suburban house-witch Elizabeth Montgomery (RetroFan editor Michael Eury and this writer still carry a brightly burning torch for La Liz, so if you thought she might be skipped over here you’re sadly mistaken…). The episode was filmed on the backlot of Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, which was falling apart due to disuse, thus requiring very little set decoration. © CBS.

(LEFT) Donna Douglas as the unveiled “Janet,” personally autographed to this author several years ago. Douglas was most well known for playing the sexy but innocent “Ellie May” in The Beverly Hillbillies. © CBS. Maxine Stuart played “Janet” under the bandages, as she was a more experienced actress with a voice that was less feminine than Donna Douglas. Maxine Stuart said, “I loved doing the show. I thought it was beautifully written. And we got the shock factor that Rod was going for with the unveiling of Donna Douglas: ‘If that’s not beautiful, I don’t know what is!’ Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder!”

RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

In “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” a 707 airliner is caught in a time warp, and at one point, briefly back in prehistoric times, they look down and see a Brontosaurus. The stop-motion dinosaur was animated only once but shot with two cameras to get a wide view and close-up at the same time. Project Unlimited used the model created a year before for the feature film Dinosaurus! © CBS.

(LEFT) Rod Serling visits the lovely Inger Stevens, star of “The Hitch-Hiker.” The punch line of this episode is a little predictable, and has since been appropriated in TV and films such as Jacob’s Ladder and The Sixth Sense, but Stevens’ subtle but effective performance is engaging and holds the episode together. © CBS.

(ABOVE) Grant Keate applies the William Tuttle-designed makeup to “gremlin” actor Nick Cravat, a lifelong friend of superstar Burt Lancaster. Cravat later appeared with Lancaster in The Crimson Pirate, Run Silent Run Deep, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. © CBS. Future Captain Kirk William Shatner delivers a riveting performance as he experiences a “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” Written by Richard Matheson and directed by Richard Donner (Superman, 1978), is a terrific, energetic episode and remains one of the most famous and well-remembered episodes of the entire series. © CBS.

(ABOVE) “To Serve Man” is one of the most famous episodes. Ted Cassidy, as the Kanamit, would later play Lurch on The Addams Family, and in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid he is the recipient of what William Goldman described in his screenplay as “the most aesthetically exquisite kick in the balls in the history of the modern American cinema.” © CBS.

RETROFAN

March 2021

(LEFT) Author Charles Beaumont visits Devil actor Robin Hughes during “The Howling Man.” Beaumont wrote 22 episodes as well as 7 Faces of Dr. Lao and The Masque of the Red Death. Sadly, Beaumont died of a combination of Alzheimer’s and Pick’s disease, aging him rapidly along with the progressive dementia to the extent that he looked 95 at the time of his death—at age 34. © CBS.

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

“The Invaders”’ Agnes Moorehead has no dialog and her tour-de-force performance becomes a valuable example of top-flight pantomime for acting students. Moorehead’s career ran the gamut from Charles Foster Kane’s mother in Citizen Kane to Samantha Stevens’ mother in Bewitched. © CBS.

“Little Girl Lost” is one of this writer’s favorite episodes, and shows how helpful it can be to have a physicist living next door. Most kids fear “monsters under the bed” at one time or another; here the little girl falls out of bed—and into another dimension. © CBS. (LEFT) Rod Serling appeared on the cover of local and national TV Guide magazines and newspaper supplements as the series gained in popularity.

(ABOVE) “To Agnes – With Love,” proclaims meek Wally Cox to his room-sized computer. The real object of his affections is Millie, played by none of than Mayfield’s heartthrob schoolteacher, “Miss Landers,” Sue Randall. (Where was “Miss Landers” when I went to school…?) A profile on Sue Randall is coming soon in RetroFan. This episode was also directed by Richard Donner (see RetroFan #3 for Glenn Greenberg’s interview with Donner). © CBS. (LEFT) The Twilight Zone comic book first appeared in 1961 in Dell’s Four Color series. Then Gold Key’s version premiered in 1962 and ran for 91 issues until 1979. Many comics notables contributed, including Len Wein, Alex Toth, Walt Simonson, George Roussos, Leo Dorfman, Joe Certa, and Frank Miller (of The Dark Knight and Sin City fame, whose work on this title was his first professional job in comics). © CBS. (RIGHT) If full size comics were too much for you, there were “Mini-Comics,” including a Twilight Zone story about a Xerox copier with a mind of its own. © CBS.

The paperback Stories from the Twilight Zone was first published by Bantam Books in 1960 and contained “The Mighty Casey,” “Escape Clause,” “Walking Distance,” “The Fever,” “Where is Everybody?,” and “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.”

RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

(LEFT) This photo, which also appeared in the September 8, 1964 issue of LOOK magazine, may have been shot at Leslie Stevens’ Hollywood home. (LEFT TO RIGHT) Andro from “The Man Who Was Never Born,” the Box Demon from “Don’t Open Till Doomsday,” the Empyrian from “Second Chance,” Allyson Ames (Leslie Stevens’ third wife. who appeared in “The Galaxy Being” and “Production and Decay of Strange Particles”), an Ebonite from “Nightmare,” and the Bifrost client from “The Bellero Shield.”

The Outer Limits The Outer Limits premiered Monday, September 16, 1963 and

continued on Monday nights at 7:30PM (ET). And lemme tell ya, my life was never the same. The Twilight Zone was intriguing, intelligent, thought-provoking, and sometimes unnerving. But it was, shall we say, “gentler.” The Outer Limits, on the other hand, had monsters! Now we’re talkin.’ Similar to the Serling’s introductions for The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits opened with dramatic, sometimes foreboding voiceover introductions. This format became something of a standard for anthology shows, including the tape recorded “instructions” launching each Mission: Impossible. For Outer Limits, Stefano and Stevens struck gold with the casting of Vic Perrin, whose serious but intriguing vocal quality instantly drew the viewer in.

“There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We can reduce the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits.” I can distinctly remember my younger brother walking over to the TV set to adjust the picture (long before remote controls) and my shouting, “Don’t touch it! They are controlling the TV!” Kind of silly even for an 11-year-old, but that’s how compelling the opening was at the time (and how naïve we were about technology). How many times did the TV actually talk directly to you…? My brother jumped back from the set as if hit by an electric shock and sat on the floor motionless for the next hour. And at the end of the episode, when the Control Voice said, “We now return control of your television set to you…,” I let out an audible 20

RETROFAN

March 2021

(LEFT) The Outer Limits promo artwork by Charles Schneeman, who had previously created artwork for the pulps Astounding Stories and Wonder Stories. The original painting is owned by producer Joseph Stefano’s son, Dominic. © MGM/UA. (RIGHT) Co-creators Joseph Stefano (LEFT) and Leslie Stevens. Stefano was previously known for adapting Robert Bloch’s novel Psycho into a screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock.

sigh. (Looking back it feels like I must have held my breath for the whole hour). Author David J. Schow tells RetroFan: “When I was eight years old I had no idea that The Outer Limits was poised to become not only a lifework for me, but a life partner. The success of Marc Zicree’s Twilight Zone Companion in 1982 cleared the path for my own Outer Limits Companion book in 1986, not to mention a second book, The Outer Limits At 50 (2014) and two sprawling, supplement-rich Blu-ray releases from Kino-Lorber and Via Vision. I can honestly claim that The Outer Limits was one of the reasons I became a writer in the first place. It thrilled me as a child and enriched me as an adult. Moreover, I still enjoy it. I still notice oddities on each new viewing, and that, to me, denotes something of durable artistic value. It’s my single favorite television series of all time (but you probably guessed that already).” Ted C. Rypel paved the way for organized Outer Limits fandom with his two-volume fanzine The Outer Limits: An Illustrated Review. “I was at ground zero on September 16, 1963 when ‘The Galaxy Being’ first slid through Cliff Robertson’s TV monitor into my living room,” recalls Ted for RetroFan. “The cosmic probing bit deeply into my soul. In the late Seventies I was compelled to write and publish the first fanzine dedicated to The Outer Limits. That zine put me in touch with Joseph Stefano, as well as the world’s leading expert on Outer Limits, David J. Schow. The series

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

(LEFT) Vic Perrin’s “Control Voice” narrations for each season were recorded all together in one or two sessions and thus he rarely had any idea what the episodes were about. He joked that he had a God-given ability to sound authoritative on things he knew nothing about. After recording engineer Peter Cutler worked with Vic Perrin on numerous commercials in the Eighties, Perrin recorded an Outer Limits-style outgoing message for Cutler’s answering machine. Cutler said that Perrin “was a real class act, always professional, and just a joy to be around.” (RIGHT) Bob Johnson, Daystar Productions’ account manager, added yet another vocal talent. Best known as the voice who recited the tape recordings on Mission: Impossible, Johnson provided alien voices on The Outer Limits and can be heard in “Counterweight,” “Fun and Games,” “The Guests,” “Specimen: Unknown,” “The Invisibles,” “ZZZZZ,” “Don’t Open Till Doomsday,” “The Mice,” “The Zanti Misfits,” “It Crawled Out of the Woodwork,” and “Corpus Earthling.”

I don’t recall if I started off with “The Galaxy Being,” but I definitely remember the third episode, “The Architects of Fear.” Partly because the first issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland that I came across was issue #26 with the Thetan from that episode on the cover (and a feature article on the series inside). Precursors to this story include Theodore Sturgeon’s 1948 short story in Astounding Science Fiction, “Unite and Conquer,” which describes humans unifying against a fake alien threat, an idea Sturgeon explored again in “Occam’s Scalpel” (If magazine, 1971). In the comic story “The Last War on Earth” by Harvey Kurtzman (Weird Science #5, Jan.–Feb 1951), science creates a fake threat from another world, and finally, in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel The Sirens of Titan (1959), a fake invasion is carried out to unite Earth and eventually leads to world peace. Remarkably, the final appearance of the Thetan was blacked out by many TV stations as being too frightening. Letters to TV Guide ranged from complaint to compliment— • “What happened? Channel 5 censored out the best part of the show, that’s what! I don’t think I’ve ever been so mad in my whole life.” • “This action reminds me of something a police state would do.” • “Why put the program on the air at all…?” • “This policy is a great service. I am sure the viewing audience will be more than happy to watch Monday Night at the Movies.” • “I felt they had a personal interest in my five children. It would be nice to know that our other two TV stations were just as concerned.”

continues to haunt my imagination with its darkly intelligent, dramatic probings into both untold universes and the uncomfortable recesses of the human condition. That The Outer Limits has maintained its eerie fascination for new generations of viewers—and laid the groundwork for shows like The X-Files and Black Mirror—is a tribute to its lasting, spellbinding, and sometimes disturbing power.” “Awe and mystery,” indeed…

Make-up artist Fred B. Phillips begins the process of transforming Robert Culp. The make-up would go through several stages leading up to the final monster suit. © MGM/UA.

Cinematographer Conrad Hall, Oscar®-winner for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty, and Road to Perdition, gave The Outer Limits its distinctive “look” in 15 episodes with chiaroscuro lighting and unusual camera angles. Stark lighting was frowned upon back then due to the limited contrast range of TV sets in the Sixties, but fortunately Hall and Stefano and Stevens ignored those constraints. Conrad Hall went on to photograph many excellent feature films, including two of my favorites from director Richard Brooks, In Cold Blood and The Professionals.

RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

Whether this close-up of Robert Culp in advanced stages of “transformation” is actually in the episode has been debated, but I can confirm that it is there—for a split second prior to a dissolve to the next scene. A tantalizing few frames of the nearly complete creature. © MGM/UA.

At Project Unlimited in Hollywood, Gene Warren, Sr. (in white shirt) helps put the final touches on the full monster suit. © MGM/UA. (ABOVE) Hungarian stuntman/actor Janos Prohaska practices with the arm extensions for the monster suit. Animator Jim Danforth, working at Project Unlimited, built the leg stilts. Sadly, Janos Prohaska died in a plane crash in 1975 at age 54 while working on the ABC series Up from the Ape. © MGM/UA.

So now, a few photos highlighting other episodes… (RIGHT) Jacqueline Scott played Cliff Robertson’s wife in the premiere episode, “The Galaxy Being,” in 1963. As she signed this photo for the author, he asked her about working with Robertson. Ms. Scott smiled and remarked, “It was great. We’d known each other since we were kids!” Ms. Scott passed away July 23, 2020 at age 89.

(ABOVE) The Galaxy Being was cleverly created by fitting actor William Douglas in a dark gray, rubber wet suit. By reversing the image to a “negative” and matting that element into the normal scenes, the creature appeared to be bright white with shimmering spots of energy glinting across its surface (the pinpoint light reflections on the shiny rubber suit). © MGM/UA.

(RIGHT) Robert Culp and Arlene Martel contemplate the “Demon with a Glass Hand,” from a story by Harlan Ellison. Culp would achieve TV prominence opposite Bill Cosby in the espionage series I Spy. Arlene Martel was also known as T’Pring, Mr. Spock’s betrothed, in the Star Trek episode “Amok Time.” 22

RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

(LEFT) The creature most symbolic of the show was Gwyllim from “The Sixth Finger,” the result of accelerated evolution. Here, Jill Haworth checks him out. Under the make-up is David McCallum, star of films such as The Great Escape and, of course, as “Illya Kuryakin” in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. series [coming in RetroFan #15].

(ABOVE) The stop-motion Zanti Misfits produced by Project Unlimited were animated by Al Hamm (not Jim Danforth, as has been incorrectly stated in the past). Hamm had animated Speedy Alka-Seltzer in the Fifties. In 1997 “The Zanti Misfits” was ranked #98 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.”

(RIGHT) Diana Sands grapples with a globular alien in “The Mice.” It was unusual in 1964 to cast an African American as a central character, and as a female doctor to boot (not a nurse). She interacts closely with Henry Silva’s character at a time when blacks and whites rarely touched each other on television. While excellent here, Sands’ standout performance has to be as Sidney Poitier’s sister in A Raisin in the Sun. Sadly, Diana Sands passed away from cancer in 1973 at the all-too-young age of 39. (LEFT) Even mutants have to eat. Robert Duvall, later famous for the Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, and the Lonesome Dove miniseries, takes a lunch break during “The Chameleon.” Author/ publisher Sam Calvin cites this as a favorite, remarking that “Duvall, with his too-low eyes and high-pitched giggle, is more than a little unnerving. His delight in his new incarnation adds to the nightmare. ‘You do look a little peculiar, man.’”

The Helosian alien from “O.B.I.T.” stopped in at 1313 Mockingbird Lane during The Munsters episode “If a Martian Answers, Hang Up” in 1965. The Munsters © NBCUniversal.

(RIGHT) The Outer Limits board game by Milton Bradley. One of the primary collectibles from the series, and nowadays a bit pricey if found in good condition and complete. © MGM/UA.

RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents is the granddaddy of anthology shows, airing on CBS and NBC from 1955 to 1965 for 268 episodes (from 1962 to 1965 it was renamed The Alfred Hitchcock Hour for 93 episodes). Hitchcock directed 17 episodes and one of the hourlong episodes. The series capitalized on Hitchcock’s fame as a film director and, conversely, his droll on-camera introductions (written by James B. Allardice) made him all the more famous to the general public. Hitchcock, a master of publicity and promotion, evolved from being a “we-know-thename” director to a genuine personality. His promotional featurette for Psycho in which he personally conducts a guided tour of the Bates Motel was innovative and further contributed to his visibility. The TV series provided TV Guide, May 16–22, 1964. © TV a practical benefit as well: Guide. financed with his own

money, Hitchcock used his TV crew to make Psycho, capitalizing on the “well-oiled-machine” of professionals used to working together, resulting in a more efficient and cost-saving production. The opening theme, now commonly thought of as “the Hitchcock theme,” was actually a short classical piece, Funeral March of a Marionette (Marche funèbre d’une marionnette) by Charles Gounod, originally written for solo piano in 1872 and orchestrated in 1879. There are some terrific episodes in this series, though many fall into the category of rather mild murder mysteries. However, the show is almost always interesting for the range of seasoned, as well as “before-they-were-famous,” actors, including Dick York, Phyllis Thaxter, Mildred Dunnock, Alan Napier, Robert Vaughn, Vincent Price, Robert Redford, Inger Stevens, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Steve McQueen, Bruce Dern, Walter Matthau, George Segal, Claude Rains, Joan Fontaine, Thelma Ritter, Joseph Cotten, Vera Miles, Peter Lorre, Bette Davis, Jessica Tandy, Roger Moore, John Cassavetes, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The series also employed notable directors, including Paul Henreid, Norman Lloyd, Arthur Hiller, Robert Altman, and Ida Lupino. William Friedkin, who would later direct The French Connection and The Exorcist, was thrilled when Hitchcock visited the set of the episode he was directing. Years later, when asked if “the master of suspense” imparted any words of wisdom or advice, Friedkin said that Hitchcock’s only comment was, “It is customary, Mr. Friedkin, that our directors wear a necktie.” Here are just a few of the notable episodes… “The Jar” was scripted by James Bridges from Ray Bradbury’s 1944 Weird Tales story. Pat Buttram, Mr. Haney in 144 episodes of Green Acres, brings his down-home persona to this episode as well. Buttram purchases a mysterious “jar” from a circus sideshow, mystifying his neighbors and gaining much popularity. Except from his young, coquettish wife, Thedy, in an engaging performance by the underrated Collin Wilcox (who played Mayella Violet Ewell, the object of the trial in To Kill a Mockingbird). Thedy gets her comeuppance in the end, having made fun of the Jar for the last time. © Universal Television.

(RIGHT) Good clean fun… Even a show like Alfred Hitchcock Presents can benefit from merchandising, and here we have a bar of Ivory soap with the famous profile.

RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

(BELOW) “Man from the South” starred (LEFT TO RIGHT) Peter Lorre, Steve McQueen, and Neile Adams (married to McQueen at the time). Lorre bets gambler McQueen that he can’t light his cigarette lighter ten times consecutively. If he wins, the man gives him his new car. If he doesn’t, the cost is—a finger. This episode ranked #41 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time” and was later remade in the film Four Rooms with Quentin Tarantino directing a segment called “The Man from Hollywood.” © Universal Television.

“An Unlocked Window” concerned a serial killer in the neighborhood where some private nurses have locked themselves in a large house (the Psycho house for the exteriors)—except for one basement window… Dana Wynter, known to sci-fi fans for the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) starred, and the episode earned an Edgar Award for writer James Bridges (who went on to write and direct The Paper Chase and The China Syndrome). According to TV Guide, the cast was not given the final pages of the script to safeguard its shocking ending. Says Ernest Farino: “My family’s two-story house in Massachusetts had a long, narrow room that became the TV room. My mother, grandmother, and aunt would faithfully watch Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, and others. Following ‘An Unlocked Window’ (which I did not see at the time), all they could talk about for a week was ‘the nurses episode,’ possibly freaked out more than normal because they—and the cast—are women. Pre-internet, it took me years to identify ‘the nurses episode.’ But the search paid off—the episode holds up well.” © Universal Television.

(RIGHT) Putting a Face to the Name: Staff hairstylist Florence Bush coifs Jean Hagen. Mostly at Universal, Florence tallied an astonishing 1,644 TV episodes, with a handful of feature films and TV movies to boot. You have no doubt seen her name on the Hitchcock series (and the film Psycho), as well as everything from Wagon Train to The Jack Benny Show to Leave It to Beaver. Even so, Thriller producer William Frye told movie poster archivist Ron Borst that he [Frye] was often frustrated since, in his view, Florence kept giving all the actresses the same hairstyle over and over! © Universal Television.

Thriller Thriller was a show that I generally didn’t care for so much,

although there are some excellent episodes. The series seems to be too “soft” in terms of murder mysteries and dramas. Nothing wrong with any of that, but when the host ends his introduction by saying, “It’s a thriller—or my name isn’t Boris Karloff!” you expect a little more. (Of course, his name wasn’t Boris Karloff—it was William Henry Pratt—so maybe that should have been a tipoff…)

Douglas Heyes, who directed some of the best Twilight Zone episodes including “Eye of the Beholder,” “The Invaders,” and “The Howling Man,” seemed to feel the same way. He told Ben Herndon for Twilight Zone magazine in 1982: “Thriller was not a scary show when it first began. The first five or six episodes were gangster stories, crime stories, and adventure stories, and the series was not doing well. Universal asked me why Thriller wasn’t getting the good ratings. To me, it seemed terribly obvious. When you say, ‘Boris Karloff presents Thriller,’ the audience RETROFAN

March 2021

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

believes you’re going to show them something scary, something spooky. They asked me to write and direct one which had those elements in it to see if that was really what the public wanted. So I wrote and directed “The Purple Room” and I threw in ghosts and people rising from the dead and secret passages

and portraits that moved. I threw in everything! Clanking chains, candles that blew out—everything in the genre. The ratings began to rise af ter that.” Even so, there are a few episodes worth noting…

(ABOVE) In “The Incredible Doktor Markesan,” newlyweds Fred and Molly visit Fred’s mysterious uncle Konrad Markesan. Turns out Markesan has kept his dead colleagues alive, reviving them to recite over and over the testimony against Doktor Markesan that led to his dismissal at the University. Actor Dick York (Fred) told John Douglas in Filmfax how they got Karloff’s face to decompose: “Make-up man Jack Barron ground up Bromo Seltzer and put it on his face. They sprayed him with water and it went pop, pop, pop and his face just ‘deteriorated.’ It was a great idea.” © NBCUniversal.

NBC certainly went the distance in promoting Thriller, complete with large billboards, as shown here. © NBCUniversal. 26

RETROFAN

March 2021

Boris Karloff with director Robert Florey. Florey was the original director of Universal’s 1931 Frankenstein, only to be replaced by director James Whale. Thirty-one years later, these two legends finally worked together.

(BELOW) Issue #1 of the Boris Karloff Thriller comic book was cover-dated October 1962. The title was changed to Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery with #3 (Apr. 1963) when the TV series was cancelled, then continued to issue #97 (Feb. 1980). Artists included Ray Bailey, Tom Gill, Alberto Giolitti, Mike Peppe, Jerry Robinson, Mike Sekowsky, and Giovanni Ticci. © NBCUniversal. (ABOVE) A promo photo of Carolyn Kearney as Molly, turned into a zombie for meddling. In the episode Molly lies back in her coffin and closes the lid, which Sam Juliano described on the website Wonders in the Dark: “What may well be the most horrifying image in the history of television is the zombified Molly closing the lid to her coffin, a ghastly image as terrible as any imagination could ever conjure.” Kevin Hoover agreed, posting online that he “first saw this episode as a child, and the final scene with Molly closing the coffin lid has haunted me all my life.” © NBCUniversal.

ernest farino’s retro fantasmagoria

ONE STEP BEYOND

As Jean-Marc Rocher wrote on the IMDb, One Step Beyond “was an extension of the tradition of radio horror and supernatural dramas such as Lights Out and The Witches Tale. However, no solutions to these ‘real’ mysteries were ever found, and viewers were left to wonder, ‘was it real…?’” For example, Virginia Leith, sultry, statuesque model and actress, appeared in “The Bride Possessed,” the first episode of One Step Beyond. Leith’s character has a startling change of personality and accent, leading back to a woman killed in an accident—or was it murder? (Leith is most well known for the cult film The Brain That Wouldn’t Die as the talking head, affectionately known by fans as “Jan in the Pan.”) Many such episodes of One Step Beyond are intriguing, but for me, none are as memorable as key episodes from The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. One thing’s for sure, the theme music by Harry Lubin remains one of the creepiest supernatural themes Host John Newland introduces an ever written. episode. © CBS.

WAY OUT

Way Out ran from March to July 1961 with strong ratings, but failed to sustain its audience and was cancelled after 14 episodes. Author/host Roald Dahl introduced each episode. Married for 30 years to actress Patricia Neal (The Day the Earth Stood Still), Dahl’s novels for children include James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also wrote the screenplay to the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. In “False Face,” a stage actor plays Quasimodo and after a successful opening night, the actor discovers that he cannot remove his make-up. This episode features a spectacular make-up by Dick Smith, who later created the make-ups for The Exorcist, and a version of this makeup was included in Smith’s Do-It-Yourself Monster MakeUp Hand Book published by James Warren in 1965. Mark Shostrom, make-up artist on Men in Black and many others, said that he once showed one of Dick’s handwritten notes to a court-certified handwriting analyst and asked what she could determine about the writer (she had no idea who Dick Smith was). She looked at it, then looked up and said, “This man is a genius.”

Ottola Nesmith as the Zuvembie, Eula Lee Blassenville in the Thriller episode “Pigeons from Hell.” Nesmith enjoyed a lengthy career as a supporting actor, although often in small parts that went uncredited. For horror fans, she can be seen in The Wolf Man, Invisible Ghost, The Leopard Man, The Return of the Vampire, and The Son of Dr. Jekyll. © NBCUniversal.

That wraps up our brief journey through the misty regions of shadow and substance, of things and ideas. We now return control of this magazine to you, until next issue when the Control Editor will bring you the astonishing story of a hirsute missing link named Bigfoot who prowled the wilds of Saturday morning television. Special thanks to Sam Calvin, Mark Thomas McGee, Amy Roy, Ted C. Rypel, David J. Schow, and Mark Wolf. All pictorial matter reproduced herein derives from the voluntary, non-compensated contributions of pictorial or other memorabilia from the private collections of the author, and from the select private archives of individual contributors. ERNEST FARINO recently directed an episode of the SyFy/Netflix series Superstition starring Mario Van Peebles, as well as serving as Visual Effects Consultant.

RETROFAN

March 2021

RETROFAD would work in an electric lamp without Fire is mesmerizing. Despite the burning down the house. (Incidentally, destruction it can cause, we love to just like Colonel Sanders’ chicken, this gawk at it, from a single candle “secret recipe” remains unknown flame to a blazing inferno. Same to the general public today.) The with water. We’re soothed by result was what Craven-Walker the ripples of a pond, and called an “Astro Lamp”: a clear entranced by the ocean’s glass cylinder in various crashing waves. Face it— shapes containing a mixture people are like cats (selfof colored wax and luminous licking aside), tantalized liquid, where the wax, when by wiggling, shimmering heated, would bubble up and movements such as hula swirl down the tube, heated dancing, The Blob, and and irradiated by a 25 to 40 twerking booty in hip-hop watt iridescent light bulb. videos. by Michael Eury By 1965, Craven-Walker was So what could be a better marketing his Astro Lamp in eyeful than lava, which mixes Europe. At a European trade show, a the flash of fire with the fluidity of pair of American businessmen, Adolph water? Wertheimer and Hy Spector, acquired the How about a Lava Lamp, American rights for the product and brought that conduit of counterculture it to the States as the Lava Lamp, or “Lava Lite,” coolness, which brings the beauty initially operating out of Chicago’s Lava Manufacturing of magma into the home without a Corporation. firestorm of devastation! Originally, the U.S. Lava Lite was marketed to In 1963, the year before The Beatles cosmopolitan sophisticates. Ascot-wearing swingers who invaded the U.S.A. on their first American reeked of Hai Karate found the bubbly, hallucinogenic tour, a different Brit, Edward Cravenglow of the lamp a perfect complement for the Mantovani Walker (1918–2000), conceived a Hi-fi LPs they played in their shag-carpeted bachelor pads. “motion lamp” after seeing the “The lite of a Million Moving Shapes,” the Lava Lite was contents of a pub’s improvised hawked as the “in” gift of the year and as “head trips that egg timer—actually, a loaded offer a motion for every emotion.” Lava lamp models cocktail shaker—dribble over reflected a variety of tastes, such as onto a stovetop. Then again, “The Aristocrat,” “The Consort,” “The Craven-Walker was known Regency”… and yes, ladies, “The for having a watchful eye. As a Empress,” with its hot pink glowing World War II pilot in the Royal goo, was available for you, too. The Air Force, he courageously flew units were marketed in the U.S. for aerial photographic reconnaissance anywhere from $10.60 to $149.50, missions over Germany. By the time with most models averaging in the the Swinging Sixties rolled around, $18.95–$29.95 range. Lava Lamps Craven-Walker had reinvented were soon the rage in American himself into one of the first households, and were naturalist filmmakers, using common in the living rooms the name “Michael Kaetering” and kids’ bedrooms of the to produce a short film titled traditional family home. Traveling Light, where a female You could also find a dancer (Craven-Walker’s wife, (ABOVE) Ain’t nothin’ Lava Lamp alongside a fellow nudist) performed an like the real thing, Rolodexes and staplers on underwater ballet in the buff. baby! An “Astro Lamp” many office desks. (I wonder how many of you will model Lava Lamp from Meanwhile, on the other search for this on YouTube before Mathmos, produced in side of the pond, Edward finishing this article.) the Nineties during the Craven-Walker continued to For his motion lamp, product’s resurgence of peddle his Astro Lamp, and Craven-Walker brought popularity. © Mathmos quite successfully, at that. in inventor David George Ltd. Photo: Novemberchild/ He founded a lighting Smith to concoct a Wikimedia Commons. company that ultimately chemical compound that

Needpix.com.

DMGualtieri/Wikimedia Commons.

LAVA LAMPS

RETROFAN

March 2021

Sixties-era ads for the “Lava Lite.” For every taste imaginable! © LAVA®.

took the name Mathmos, and by the late Sixties he was moving seven million Astro Lamps a year, making him fabulously wealthy. The Lava Lamp/Astro Lamp blasted off in worldwide popularity during 1967’s Summer of Love, and why wouldn’t it, being the perfect marriage of Space Age technology and psychedelia? It began to pop up as a prop on various British television shows, being seen on Doctor Who, The Avengers, The Prisoner, and elsewhere. No two Lava Lamps were alike, each plopping out a unique and ever-shifting light show. It was sort of like a tactile acid trip with no harmful side effects. Young people were particularly enchanted by it, and Lava Lamps became standard college dorm décor in the Late Sixties and early Seventies. Really, Joe College, what could be more outasite than a Lava Lamp swirling its purple (or whatever color) haze across your blacklight-poster-decorated dorm room wall? In addition to being a beacon of counterculture fashion, it provided hours of entertainment for the deliriously stoned student who no longer had to freak out by simply staring at a blank wall. Lava Lamps became party favorites, of ten being the only light in a darkened room pulsating with dancing kids whose evenings and brain cells were going up in smoke.

Craven-Walker, aware of the Lava Lamp’s fascination among people imbibing in the drug culture, purportedly said in a marketing pitch, “If you buy my lamp, you won’t need drugs.” During the mid-Seventies, the plug was pulled on the Lava Lamp craze, with sales tanking to a mere 200 units per week in 1976. The fad soon bubbled away. Remarkably, in the late Eighties and early Nineties, the Lava Lamp enjoyed a mindblowing resurgence in popularity, reportedly selling more units in the Nineties than it did in the previous three decades combined! Like the tie-dye T-shirt and the Smiley Face emoticon, the Lava Lamp has become immortalized as an icon of Sixties hipness, a perennial item that blends mood lighting with retro chic style. This image was fortified by the 1999 film comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, when Austin’s extracted mojo (“the essence of Austin Powers’ sex drive,” according to the Powers Wiki) swirled and jiggled like a Lava Lamp. (A miniature Lava Lamp was an accessory for the “Austin ‘Danger’ Powers” action figure.) While there have been ownership changes over the years, both the American company, LAVA®, a subsidiary of Schylling (www.lavalamp.com), and the product’s originator, the U.K.’s Mathmos (www.mathmos.com), continue to produce their magma light shows in a range of sizes, colors, and shapes that include copper platforms, spaceshipshaped bases, and wall-mounted units. Here’s to the far-out ooze that refuses to snooze! RETROFAN

March 2021

RETRO TOYS

Magical Flight

What makes us grab that Frisbee and throw it back? by Douglas R. Kelly

For most of us, the Frisbee has always been around: flying across the backyard, across the parking lot, across the quad, across the golf course. In fact, when you think of the Frisbee, dollars to donuts that you picture it in flight rather than sitting on a table or in a gym bag. If it had a tongue (okay, and a brain and a central nervous system), that round piece of plastic would say, “Throw me, launch me, put me out there so I can see the world the way the birds see it.” It wasn’t always plastic. The earliest flying discs were made of metal, and they weren’t designed to be thrown through the air— they were designed to hold pie. Beginning in the late 19th Century, the Frisbie Pie Company, based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, sold its products in metal tins measuring approximately nine and a half inches in diameter. According to most sources, it wasn’t long before workers at the bakery were chucking the empty pie tins back and forth on their breaks, along with students at Yale University, in nearby New Haven. (The Frisbie Pie Company also made cookies, which they sold in tins, the lids of which reportedly sailed back and forth along with the pie tins.)

(LEFT) A seven-year-old Dan Roddick prepares to make a leaping catch, circa 1955. Note his expression of pure joy. Jack Roddick. (INSET) This postcard from the Thirties shows the Hartford, Connecticut, location of the Frisbie Pie Co. (TOP) An original Frisbie pie tin, used by the Frisbie Pie Company and thrown around parking lots and college campuses in the first half of the 20th Century. All product photos shown herein are by and courtesy of Doug Kelly.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Anything shaped like a disc, of course, can be sailed through the air, and there are stories of people in other parts of the country doing so. One of these was Fred Morrison, an inventor living in California who enjoyed throwing paint can lids and pie tins around as a kid. In the late Forties, with his business partner Warren Franscioni, Morrison started experimenting, first with metal and then with plastic, in an effort to come up with a disc that would fly well and be durable enough to last more than a few throws. The two men formed a company, Pipco, which was short for “Partners in Plastic.” Their first plastic disc, the Flyin-Saucer, was relatively crude by today’s standards, but the partners worked at refining the design. In the early Fifties, after Morrison and Franscioni had gone their separate ways, Morrison formed a company, American Trends, which produced an improved version of the Flyin-Saucer. All of this led to Morrison’s Pluto Platter, which was a substantial improvement flying-wise over the Flyin-Saucer and eventually became the basis for the Frisbee of the future. In 1955 or 1956, Morrison met and began working with Rich Knerr and A. K. Melin, the founders of the Wham-O company in southern California, and together they introduced the first flying discs bearing the Wham-O name in early 1957. Some time later, after hearing that students at Harvard University used the word Frisbie to describe the throwing of pie tins around the campus, Knerr adopted the word for his company’s flying disc. Technically, he spelled it incorrectly—Frisbee—but that was the name that went on to become synonymous with the flying disc. (Wham-O would also score major hits with its Superball and Hula Hoop toys.)

Pluto Platters, like this late Fifties example, featured the names of planets around the rim. © Wham-O.

Cultural Phenomenon

Sales of the Frisbee were slow at first, but as the Sixties dawned, the plastic discs increasingly were seen flying through neighborhoods all across the U.S. The idea that the Frisbee was some kind of fad fell by the wayside as time went on and sales went through the roof. What was it about the Frisbee that attracted people? “There was a fascination with its flight,” says Dan Roddick, multiple-time Frisbee champion and a legend in the world of Frisbee. “I’ll never forget doing a tour to Australia in the 1970s… it was the first time I had ever shown a Frisbee to people who had never seen it fly before. We’re inured to it now because we know what it does, but when you’ve never seen it, your eye is fooled because you’re expecting gravity to take effect, like when someone throws a ball.” Roddick believes the way those early Frisbees were made helped fuel this perception. “I think that, in the early going, that ‘magical flight’ felt more magical because the early discs were a lot lighter in construction. A typical Flyin-Saucer or Pluto Platter was probably 90 grams, and now, an Ultimate disc is 175 grams, a golf disc can be 160, or 180. That’s twice as heavy, so [today’s discs] are less vulnerable to the wind. I think that people were just enamored with this brand new kind of flight.” It’s impossible to tell the Frisbee story without Roddick in the frame. Growing up in Pennsylvania, he had his first contact with a Frisbee at an early age. “For my fifth Christmas, my parents gave me a Pipco Flyin-Saucer. We really started playing with it when I was five. We played back-and-forth games… we camped a lot, my dad was a motorcycle rider and it traveled easily in the saddlebag, so we took it everywhere we went.” During visits as a teenager to the 1963 and 1964 World’s Fairs in Seattle and New York, Roddick

(LEFT) This c. 1970 regular Frisbee (85 grams in weight) is still in the original packaging. © Wham-O. (RIGHT) World Frisbee Champion Victor Malafronte gets some air as he executes a between-thelegs catch in Berkeley, California, in 1977. Photo by Jodi Stein.

The 108-gram Pro model Frisbee was introduced by Wham-O in 1964, and it represented a big step forward in flying disc performance. © Wham-O.

RETROFAN

March 2021

retro toys

and his father took part in Frisbee demonstrations presented by Wham-O, which opened the Roddicks’ eyes to the fact that there were other people out there who were as into Frisbee as they were. Nicknamed “Stork” (a moniker that stuck) during a 1972 Ultimate Frisbee game between his alma mater Rutgers University and Princeton University, Roddick’s style of play resulted in the concept of constorksion. “I’m long-limbed, 6-5 and a half, probably 175 pounds, and I tended to make a lot of very convoluted catches, with pretzel-like positioning with arm going through leg, over around shoulder, catching the disc over head, that kind of thing. ‘Contortion’ and ‘Stork’ got tied up, and it ended up being constorktion.” “Constorksion” in action: Dan “Stork” Roddick shows how it’s done at a Seventies disc tournament. Doug Fluitt.

Glow-in-the-dark Frisbees have been popular since Wham-O introduced the first one in 1969. Just hold this mid-Seventies example under a light for a minute or two, then head out into the night for a moonlighter session. © Wham-O.

Novelty discs, like these “Flying Cuckoo Saucer” mini discs (3.75 inches in diameter), included as prizes in boxes of Cocoa Puffs cereal during the Sixties, make for a colorful collecting theme.

Wham-O had plenty of competition almost from the start. This is an early Wiffle Flying Saucer, produced by the Wiffle Ball Company.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Competition

Frisbee the toy was becoming Frisbee the sport. Most people were casual Frisbee players—throwing and catching for fun and enjoyment—but competitions involving distance, accuracy, and other Frisbee action had been around since the Fifties. Things picked up big-time when Wham-O introduced the Pro model Frisbee in 1964. “Pros represent the start of modern day Frisbee sports, and I started collecting Pros in 1969,” says Victor Malafronte, author of The Complete Book of Frisbee. He also started collecting titles, one of which was “Original World Frisbee Champion” when he won the first Invitational World Frisbee Championships in Pasadena, California, in 1974. “It was an invitational event, I think like, 100 people got invitations to compete. It was at the Rose Bowl and I just happened to win it that year. It makes me the first one, which is all I really wanted.” Malafronte became known for a specific, and at the time, unorthodox way of throwing, dubbed the Two Finger Macho Sidewinder throw. Using this grip, he set a distance world record: “It was over level ground, and I did 538 feet. That was with a Wham-O World Class 40 mold, which was about 117 grams. It was what’s called the ‘classic’ Frisbee design.” Success breeds competition, and numerous companies got into the act and produced their own versions of Wham-O’s market leader. But none of these competitors could call their product a Frisbee, as Wham-O owned the rights to that name. So Skyway Products came out with the Finger Flinger, Voss-Reynolds made the Turbo Disc, Wiffle Ball put out the Wiffle Flying Saucer, C.P.I. introduced the Saucer Tosser, Superflight produced the Aerobie Superdisc, and there were many more. Brumberger may have come the closest to infringing the name with its Giant Frizzy. Guts Frisbee was one of the earliest games to be developed, going back to 1958. Typically, five players on each side attempt to throw the disc through the opposing side’s goal space without the disc being caught. The winner is the team that reaches 21 goals first; if the teams are tied at 20 points apiece, the winner must win by two goals. Ultimate Frisbee got its start in the late Sixties as a high school game, which then caught on in a big way on college campuses. That 1972 Ultimate game between Rutgers University and Princeton University reportedly was the first college Ultimate game, and it was played on the same piece of ground, at Rutgers, on which the first intercollegiate football game had been played, 103 years earlier to the day. That was appropriate as the two games have some similarities to one another, as well as to soccer. Ultimate is played between two teams on a field with end zones, and the object of the game is to score by catching the Frisbee—a “pass”—in the other team’s end zone. Today, there are Ultimate Frisbee leagues all over the U.S., including at many colleges and universities. But many believe that the king of Frisbee sports is disc golf, which has grown exponentially since the Sixties. If you’ve been living on Mars (or under a Pluto Platter) for the last 30 years, disc golf is just what it sounds like: players throw discs toward a “hole” (usually a chain link basket) on a dedicated course. The score is kept, much as in the standard game of golf, according to how many throws each player makes before putting the disc into the

retro toys (FAR LEFT) Today’s golf discs, such as this Leopard fairway driver by Innova, offer greatly improved accuracy and distance over the golf discs of 30 and 40 years ago. (LEFT) Wham-O’s Frisbee Fantasy Series discs, produced during the early Eighties, are popular with collectors for their sharp artwork. © Wham-O.

basket. The player with the lowest total score (for the 9-hole or 18-hole course) wins. Disc golf is perhaps the best example of the ongoing name debate. Although it’s known both as disc golf and Frisbee golf, Wham-O is just one player in the disc golf market. “Wham-O does a little bit in Frisbee golf, because it would take a lot for them to try to get a piece of that market,” says Victor Malafronte. “Now there are six or seven big companies that are making golf discs. You have Discraft, you have Innova, you have Dynamic Discs, you have Prodigy.” In general, golf discs are smaller and are more dense and flexible than standard Frisbees, characteristics that enable a golf disc to be thrown further and with greater accuracy.

Strength in Numbers

The growth of Frisbee and related games and sports inevitably resulted in the creation of organizations to manage, encourage, and facilitate participation. Even the names of these organizations point up the Frisbee-versus-disc question. Dan Roddick, along with winning numerous championships over the years, served both as director of the International Frisbee Association (IFA) from 1975 to 1982, and as president of the World Flying Disc Federation from 1986 to 1992. Does he see the names of these organizations as reflecting the growth of disc sports and the fact that Wham-O was getting more and more competition from other manufacturers? “Absolutely,” Roddick says. “And the interesting twist to it is that, my first journalistic effort, when I was at Rutgers, was Flying Disc World. So I probably put in print the generic term first. Many of the early things done under the aegis of the IFA were done by Wham-O, exclusively. It was all Wham-O money. Once they put me in place there [at the IFA], I had regional directors out there, I had Frisbee World magazine, we had the Frisbee World Championships… Frisbee Frisbee Frisbee. It made sense for Wham-O, because any publicity that came with the activity, guess where the shelf action was? Frisbee. “But as the market started to broaden, with companies like Innova and Discraft and others beginning to get a foothold—first just through enthusiasts and then actually getting shelf space— and going into major [outlets], it just increasingly made sense for it to become a generic sport, like virtually all others. Whether

A recent reissue (or reproduction) Frisbee, sporting a retro look. This package is easily spotted as a reissue as it has a copyright date of 2017 on the back of the cardboard along with Wham-O’s website URL. © Wham-O.

it’s surfing, or golf, or whatever… they all work with various manufacturers. That was a very hard transition for Wham-O to make, because it’s good to be king! Why share lunch, especially when you’re buying lunch? A hard transition, and I was right in the middle of it, and I had my critics on either side. In retrospect, particularly with people in the sport, it gave me a lot of latitude. I was still working for the company that made Frisbees (Mattel Sports owned Wham-O, at that point) and I was the director of the World Flying Disc Federation. You can imagine that that would raise eyebrows.”

Tracking ’Em Down

There’s bad news and good news when it comes to vintage discs. The bad news: early examples of some of them, such as the American Trends Flyin-Saucer and Pluto Platter, often come with big price tags. Like, many hundreds-of-dollars big, and occasionally into four figures. The good news is that, with more than 70 years of flying disc history to dig into, there’s an enormous number of cool and wonderful discs out there waiting to be found. You won’t be surprised to learn that condition is king with older discs. “You can get a Pluto Platter for anywhere from $10 for a common color one that has dog bites all over it, to thousands of dollars for a pristine example in a rare color,” says Roddick. “If you just want a cool Pluto Platter to put in a frame and hang on the wall, you can get away pretty cheap. But if you want a significant, important disc that potentially will gain in value, then you need RETROFAN

March 2021

retro toys

DEEPER DIVE

to become more knowledgeable and find out what the key components are. When someone tells me something like, ‘I have There are some cool resources available for furthering an old Mars Platter that we used to throw around up at the camp one’s Frisbee education. Many books have been written, for years, would you like it?’ That might be interesting to see, but but two stand out for their history content and details if it’s a beat-up and dog-bitten disc, I generally advise them to on specific discs. Dr. Stancil E. D. keep it as a family heirloom and enjoy it because it Johnson wrote Frisbee: A Practitioner’s usually doesn’t have much value as a collectible.” Manual and Definitive Treatise, Many (though not all) discs came in some kind of published by Workman Publishing packaging, whether a plastic bag attached to a header Company in 1975. Johnson gives card, or a cellophane-wrapped piece of cardboard. the reader a picture of the world of The older the disc, the less likely it is that it’s still in it’s Frisbee in the Seventies, including packaging. If it is, depending on the condition of the pointers on various types of throws packaging, the asking price can easily double. and catches, and key Frisbee events Stickers, on those discs that originally came with and organizations of the time. He them, are another challenge. Some collectors consider even includes a section on canine a disc incomplete if it doesn’t have its intact original Frisbee that features the legendary sticker in its center. These often gradually wore off Ashley Whippet, whose vertical leap had to be seen discs due to repeated use, of course, but others were removed to be believed.The Complete Book of Frisbee, written by intentionally by owners intent on improving a disc’s flying Victor Malafronte and published by American Trends performance. Either way, an original sticker not only looks sharp, Publishing Co. in 1998, examines in-depth the history of but also can help in identifying the model (name) of the disc. Frisbee and features a detailed identification and value Any scratches or other marks (yes, including dog bite marks) guide to collectible discs. If you want to know what to lower the value of a disc, as do stains or writing on a disc. But look for in older discs, or just want to learn more about an exception might just be made if you have a disc with Ashley the discs you already have, get this book. Whippet’s bite marks… if you could prove that the legendary The website marvinsflyingdisccollection.com is Frisbee dog actually did the crunching! (See the “Deeper Dive” stuffed full of photos and sidebar.) descriptions of discs of Victor Malafronte believes one of the most-wanted Frisbee all kinds, sizes, and eras, items isn’t even an actual disc—it’s an original pie case (also and is a great way to get known as a pie safe) from the Frisbie the lay of the land FrisbeePie Co. in Connecticut. These wise. The same can be said wooden cabinets were used of flyingdiscmuseum.com. by the company to display And look up “The Invisible the product, and likely String” on YouTube. were most often thrown It’s a 94-minute 2012 out once a shop closed documentary tracing down or stopped the history of Frisbee carrying Frisbie’s and how these spinning products. pieces of plastic get into Flying discs have people’s heads. a built-in advantage over many other kinds of collectibles when it The “Chip Chucker” is, yes, a plastic cow chip disc. The comes to display: they make underside states that it’s the original Old West throwing wonderful “art” when hung disc, which may be just a load of… baloney. on a wall, and due to their size, they can be inter-changeable. Put a push pin in a strategic place, my kids loved them—no need for nightlights, just those discs hang up your 1959 Pluto Platter or 1973 C.P.I. Saucer Tosser, and hanging on the walls. Probably the most fun was collecting you’re in business. But be careful, because these things tend to novelty discs… things like the B.F. Goodrich tire, the flying pickle, multiply, and it can get out of hand before you know it. “Nobody the flying cow chip, the sailing sombrero. People love these… they understands… relatives and friends will think you’re a hoarder,” see these and go, ‘Oh, that’s really cute, it looks just like a pizza. says Dan Roddick, “if you just take them into a back room and And it can fly!’” say, ‘Look at this, I have 800 Frisbees.’ They’re going to think you’re crazy. But if you organize it in a rational way and say, ‘Oh, DOUGLAS R. KELLY is editor of Marine Technology magazine. His I specialize… I only have discs that have (for example) states on byline has appeared in Antiques Roadshow Insider, Back Issue, them. I have one of every state, here’s the wall with the states on it. I don’t have them all yet, and I’m really looking for a Wisconsin.’ Model Collector, and Buildings magazines. He thinks Wham-O should get with it and produce a gasoline-powered Frisbee. Or maybe That makes sense, then you’re not a crazy person. My specialties a hybrid. included a wonderful glow-in-the-dark disc collection, because 34

RETROFAN

March 2021

ANDY MANGELS’ RETRO SATURDAY MORNING

Dynomutt and Blue Falcon by Andy Mangels

Welcome back to Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning. Since 1989, I have been writing columns for magazines in the U.S. and foreign countries, all examining the intersection of comic books and Hollywood, whether animation or live-action. Andy Mangels Backstage, Andy Mangels’ Reel Marvel, Andy Mangels’ Hollywood Heroes, Andy Mangels Behind the Camera… three decades of reporting on animation and live-action—in addition to writing many books and producing around 40 DVD sets—and I’m still enthusiastic. In this RetroFan column, I will examine shows that thrilled us from yesteryear, exciting our imaginations and capturing our memories. Grab some milk and cereal, sit crosslegged leaning against the couch, and dig in to Retro Saturday Morning! Since September 1969, one particular Great Dane ruled Saturday mornings, courtesy of the team at Hanna-Barbera Productions and CBS. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and The New Scooby-Doo Movies had aired every week, with the ever-hungry Scooby and his human friends—Shaggy Rogers, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley—in the Mystery Inc. van, foiling the plans of spooks, monsters, crooked real estate dealers, and others. But by 1976, CBS’s option on the show was at an end, and CBS executive Fred Silverman had moved to rival network, ABC. Silverman snapped up the series… with a caveat; he wanted Hanna-Barbera to add a new element to the series, a companion show to freshen it up. Super-heroes were all the rage with Super Friends, Shazam!, and The Secrets of Isis on Saturdays, reruns of Adventures of Superman and Batman in syndication, and The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, and Wonder Woman on primetime. Silverman wanted super-heroes, Hanna-Barbera loved mysterysolving dogs… and thus was born the legendary Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder!

The Birth of a Robotic Dog

New Yorker Joseph Barbera and New Mexico’s William Hanna had worked together for over three decades by 1978. They met while working for legendary animator Rudolf Isling at his MGM animation department. Their first major collaboration was 1940’s Oscar-nominated theatrical short Puss Gets the Boot, a cat-andmouse story that would birth the Tom and Jerry characters. They produced hundreds of cartoons for MGM until the company closed in 1957, after which they founded their own studio. H-B Enterprises produced the first original animation for television in

1957—NBC’s The Ruff and Reddy Show—and in later years, under the name Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. since 1959, they would produce such hits as The Flintstones and The Jetsons, The Yogi Bear Show and The Adventures of Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, and many more. Often the shows were for primetime viewing, but by the end of the Sixties, they and Filmation Associates were producing most of the material shown on Saturday mornings. Working side-by-side at Hanna-Barbera as sound editors were Joseph Ruby and Kenneth Spears, and in 1959, the pair began to write episodes of series together and develop shows. Their first big hit was Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, which they co-created, but they left shortly after all the new episodes for the series were completed, frustrated that they couldn’t move up on the ladder to the role of associate producers. After a period of time at DePatieFreleng Enterprises, Ruby and Spears began working for Fred Silverman at CBS—and then ABC—taking West Coast pitches for the New York-based executive. Silverman then asked them to help supervise the Saturday morning shows, especially the new Scooby-Doo series he had just nabbed for ABC. Because networks worked closely with studios on content at that time, RubySpears not only contributed to the series, they actually created its companion, working for both ABC and Hanna-Barbera. Speaking in a 2005 DVD interview, Fred Silverman said of the network switch for Scooby-Doo, “I said, ‘You know we really ought to take this and make it big and important, and do an hour. But let’s introduce second characters. It’s a great opportunity to create a new star. And basically, let’s take the same thinking that went into Scooby-Doo, where we kind of made fun of the horror genre, and do this with the super-heroes.’ The Dynomutt concept was basically kind of a put-on of Batman, you know, where you had a very, very stern Batman kind of character, and Dynomutt was the equivalent of Robin, but he was going to kind of be a goofball, where he could never get anything right, much to the consternation of his boss.” RETROFAN

March 2021

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

Ruby and Spears started developing an idea called “Wonder Mutt” that was a dog from outer space that had contraptions and super-powers. Changing directions, they took the idea of a talking dog to its next level, altering it to add robotics and telescoping limbs to create the goofy Dynomutt; robots and bionic powers were looming large thanks to primetime television hits (and in fact, The Bionic Woman eventually got a Bionic Dog named Max). As suggested by Silverman, Ruby and Spears also “borrowed” heavily from the popular Batman series to create blue-caped, gadget-carrying, millionaire crimefighter Blue Falcon. Although no origin was ever given to Dynomutt or Blue Falcon, they existed in the same universe as the Scooby-Doo characters; in fact, the Scooby gang appeared as guest-stars in multiple episodes. Unlike the globetrotting teens, though, Blue Falcon was based in a big city known as… Big City. Blue Falcon was secretly a millionaire playboy art dealer named Radley Crown, a dashing man who lived in a deluxe penthouse apartment. Unlike Batman with his Robin “the Boy Wonder,” Crown had a supersophisticated robotic pooch known as Dynomutt, also known as Dog Wonder. The closest thing to an origin for Dynomutt is actually culled from Hanna-Barbera promotional sales sheets for the series. It states about the “Outrageous comedy about a screwed up robot dog and his caped crusader master” that: “Modern science invents a perfectly developed robot Doberman. Then someone in the lab crosses a wrong wire when assembling the dog’s computerized brain. The result—a robot dog with the mind of a mechanical nincompoop. Viewers never know what to expect from this nuts-and-bolts, electrically short-circuited canine detective. And neither does his partner, the famous Blue Falcon, who is almost reduced to tears when he realizes what he’s stuck with for a partner. But Falcon persists, and accepts his robot’s shortcomings, always allowing him back for another caper. “Dynomutt’s brain may malfunction, but his futuristic body remains true to its design. He can stretch his head and legs around corners and under doors. In a moment, he can instantaneously activate a helicopter blade from the top of his head and fly into the sky. When not engaged in zany escapades, Dynomutt works as a janitor in an art gallery run by Blue Falcon, who is disguised as an art dealer. But when trouble threatens, 36

RETROFAN

March 2021

they both dash to the Falcon’s lair, jump into the Falcon car, and speed off to the scene of delightful comedy and adventure.” Like Batman, the Dog-namic “Daring Duo” has their own kind of alert system. When alerted to a crime by the Falcon Flash, Crown and Dynomutt would switch to more super-heroic garb and head to the Falcon’s Lair (conveniently also in the penthouse), where they would be briefed on a giant TV screen by secret agent Focus One. Then, with crimes to be fought, and costumed evildoers to vanquish, they would dash off in the Falconcar (or other assorted Falcon vehicles) and engage in daring do… or attempt to, as Dynomutt often caused unintentional trouble. Through the stories, Blue Falcon would often refer to Dynomutt as “Dog Blunder,” and Dynomutt would nickname Blue Falcon “B.F.” Quoting the sales sheet again: “These endless gags, created through the magic of animation are sources for a continuing series of comical situations. Humor is the key ingredient, with suspenseful cliff-hanger scenes, where Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon stumble into exotic clever traps. But always, the duo makes equally clever, funny escapes.” In a 2005 DVD interview,

FA ST FAC TS The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour ` No. of seasons: One ` No. of episodes: 16 episodes ` Network: ABC ` Original run: September 11, 1976–September 3, 1977 ` Segment title: Dynomutt, Dog Wonder

Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics ` No. of seasons: One ` No. of episodes: Four two-part stories/eight parts ` Network: ABC ` Original run: September 10, 1977–March 11, 1978 ` Segment title: The Blue Falcon and Dynomutt

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

co-creator Joe Ruby said that “It’s just the counter-play of the two… he’s a hero, and you’ve got a moron for your sidekick. He was always getting messed up by his dog, it was mechanical, and [had] two left feet.” As noted, the Dynomutt stories had cliffhangers, as well as a blustery, knowing narrator who reminded viewers of the Batman show’s narrator. The first ten minutes’ segment of Dynomutt always ended with the pair of heroes caught in a trap from the villain of the week. The cliffhanging peril would, of course, be solved after a quick commercial break, often through a combination of Blue Falcon’s skills and Dynomutt’s bumblings. By episode’s end, all was well in Big City.

Dog Designs and Dyno Debuts

With the series plotted and scripts in the works from HannaBarbera’s usual suspects, work began on designing the look of the series. The job chiefly went to Alex Toth, a celebrated comic artist who had been working with Hanna-Barbera from 1966–1968, designing characters and vehicles, and drawing storyboards. Toth had designed the looks of Hanna-Barbera’s Space Ghost, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Dino Boy and the Lost Valley, Herculoids, and others. In 1973, he had returned to Hanna-Barbera to adapt the famed DC Comics heroes for the Super Friends series. Aided by Steve Nakagawa, Toth turned out dozens of pages of beautifully moody designs for Dynomutt, many of them a bit more serious than the comedic show needed. He also designed a cowl and look for Crown/Birdman that has had fans asking for decades if he was some relation to Space Ghost; the resemblance was clear and distinct. Toth also devised the show’s mayor—reportedly the first African-American elected official on Saturday morning cartoons, the Mayor was also played by a black actor—as well as the looks of the show’s many villains: Mr. Hyde and Hyde Dog, Lowbrow, the Gimmick, the Worm, Fishface, Manyfaces, Superthug and Zorkon, Mr. Cool, the Queen Hornet, Beastwoman, and others. The villains even had their own supergroup in one episode: the Injustice League of America! Blue Falcon and Dynomutt’s arsenal was also designed mostly by Toth. The Falconcar originally had a giant “F” on its top, but that only appears in one episode and was eliminated; unlike the Batmobile, the Falconcar flew through the air! Other items for Blue Falcon included the Falconclaw, the Falconlift elevator, an Instant Delayed Action Falcon Balloon, a Falconbelt with Falcon communicator, Falcon Suctioncup Feet, the Falcon Instant Anti-Car Thief Ejection Seat, a Falcon Garbage Can, the Falcon Fan Snapper, and more. Dynomutt’s extra features included a Dyno-Parachute, Dyno-carving Knife, Dyno-Mallets, Dyno-Jets, Dyno Dum-Dums, a Dyno Power Pack, a Dyno Rocket Lever, a Dyno Car Wash, a Dyno Flotation Collar, the Dyno Bubble-Trap, the Dyno Enlarging Powerpack, a Dyno-Yo-Yo, Dyno-Antivacuum Vacuum, Dyno-Helium Sniffer, Dyno-Winch, Dyno Bad Guy Box, Dyno Paint Kit, and Dynomutt’s Dynocopter and Dynocycle! Holy Batman, that’s a lot of gadgets! The voice cast was full of Hanna-Barbera regulars, including the deep voice of Gary Owens—who had also voiced Space Ghost for the company—as Blue Falcon. In a 2005 DVD interview, Gary Owns said, “Dynomutt and Blue Falcon were really favorites of mine. I enjoyed them very, very much. You see the storyboards first, and you see what kind of character it is. He’s authoritative…

(ABOVE and BELOW) Model sheets for Dog Wonder and his feathered friend. Courtesy of Andy Mangels.© HBP.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

Blue Falcon used his wits, and the wits of Dynomutt, to help him out. But usually, Dynomutt would get klutzy.” The role of Dynomutt went to Frank Welker. In a 1997 interview with a Los Angeles newspaper, Welker said, “I remember they originally wanted an Art Carney-type voice. I tried different voices. We actually recorded about eight shows doing an Art Carney voice. And then we decided we didn’t like it and I didn’t have quite as much ad-libbing ability in there, and we switched to more of a Freddie the Freeloader (Red Skeleton’s hobo character) voice. We could ad lib and be goofy with Gary (Owens who played the Blue Falcon). It was really a blast.” Sixteen 30-minute episodes of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder were created for the first season of the series. Announced to the press in late March with the rest of the fall season announcements, the show finally debuted on Saturday, September 11, 1976 on ABC as the second half of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, along with following week. This has confused fans for years, as those four stories were technically aired as eight segments. Perhaps to make up for the dis to Blue Falcon and Dynomutt of only four new stories, Hanna-Barbera made their characters a part of the Laff-A-Lympics series. The concept for the show was based on a popular sporting event called Battle of the Network Stars, but instead of featuring TV stars getting wet in bikinis and short shorts, this one did a mega-mix on the Hanna-Barbera library. Suddenly, all of the Hanna-Barbera animated characters, human or animal, lived in the same universe, and knew each

FA ST FAC TS Primary Voice Cast new half-hour episodes of Scooby-Doo that occasionally featured Scooby’s country cousin, Scooby-Dum. Episodes aired weekly, except for a special airing on Thursday, November 25, 1976, which was Thanksgiving Day; it was part of ABC’s Thanksgiving Funshine Festival. A little more than a week later, on December 4, 1976, ABC changed its schedule and renamed the show The Scooby-Doo/ Dynomutt Show. It was essentially the same series as before, but now in a 90-minute slot, with a rerun of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! filling the last third. That incarnation ran for the rest of the season, through September 3, 1977, when ABC decided to change the format again.

Laughing at Laff-A-Lympics

Although the real-life sporting event the Olympics had been held in 1976, ABC decided that the title still held a cache. Debuting September 10, 1977 was Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, a twohour Saturday morning block by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Smushed into the two hours were five segments: The Scooby-Doo Show, the new Laff-A-Lympics, The Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, the new Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, and reruns of ScoobyDoo, Where Are You! Four new Dynomutt adventures were created, though they were split into two-part stories; half would show one week, leading to a cliffhanger, and the second half would air the 38

RETROFAN

March 2021

` Frank Welker: Dynomutt/Dog Wonder, Freddy Jones ` Gary Owens: Radley Crown/the Blue Falcon ` Ron Feinberg: Narrator, FOCUS One, the Worm

Guest Characters ` Don Messick: Scooby-Doo, Mumbly, the Gimmick, Lowbrow ` Casey Kasem: Shaggy Rogers, Fishface, the Swamp Rat ` Heather North: Daphne Blake ` Pat Stevens: Velma Dinkley ` John Stephenson: Chief Quimby/Wiggins, Eric Von Flick, the Shadowman, the Red Vulture, the Blimp, the Glob ` Allan Melvin: Superthug ` Bob Holt: The Gimmick ` Dick Beals: The Dyno-Handy Helpers ` Henry Corden: Willie the Weasel/Mr. Hyde, the Prophet ` Joan Gerber: Madame Ape Face ` Julie McWhirter: The Queen Hornet ` June Foray: The Beastwoman ` Larry McCormick: The Mayor ` Lennie Weinrib: Superthug ` Ralph James: unknown ` Regis Cordic: unknown

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

other. In total, 45 Hanna-Barbera characters were featured, competing in Olympics-styled events for gold, silver, and bronze medals. Sixteen episodes were produced for 1977–1978. The characters were split up into three teams, two heroic, and one villainous, while hosting/commentary duties were by Snagglepuss and Mildew Wolf, and characters such as Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Jabberjaw, and Peter Potamus made guest appearances. The Scooby Doobies were: Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, and Scooby-Dum (from The Scooby-Doo Show); Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon (from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder); Captain Caveman, Brenda Chance, Taffy Dare, and Dee Dee Sykes (from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels); Speed Buggy and Tinker (from Speed Buggy); Babu (from Jeannie); and Hong Kong Phooey (from Hong Kong Phooey). The Yogi Yahooeys, mostly anthropomorphic animals from H-B cartoons of the Fifties and Sixties, were: Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo Bear, Cindy Bear, Yakky Doodle (from The Yogi Bear Show); Huckleberry Hound, Pixie, Dixie, Mr. Jinks, and Hokey Wolf (from The Huckleberry Hound Show); Quick Draw McGraw, Snooper, Blabber, Augie Doggie, and Doggie Daddy (from The Quick Draw McGraw Show); Wally Gator (from The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series, a.k.a. The Wally Gator Show); and Grape Ape (from The Great Grape Ape Show). Finally, the Really Rottens were: Mumbly (from The Mumbly Cartoon Show); Dinky Dalton, Dirty Dalton, and Dastardly Dalton (from The Quick Draw McGraw Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show); and original villain characters Dread Baron, Mr. Creepley, Mrs. Creepley, Junior

Creepley, Orful Octopus, the Great Fondoo, Magic Rabbit, Daisy Mayhem, and her pig, Sooey. Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics ran in its two-hour block for half of the season, throughout 1978. ABC also reran old episodes of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder as a solo series, airing them Saturday mornings from June 3, 1978–September 2, 1978 (just before the teen-skewing American Bandstand in most markets). For the fall 1978–1979 season, ABC dropped Dynomutt, Dog Wonder and the reruns of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The newly retitled Scooby’s All-Stars was now 90-minutes, and eight new Laff-A-Lympics were produced (which still included Blue Falcon and Dynomutt as competitor characters). This series ran until Fall 1979 before leaving the air; Laff-A-Lympics would, however, return to ABC during the latter part of 1980, and again in 1986. Dynomutt didn’t disappear completely. ABC resurrected him once more, with reruns as part of The Globetrotters/Dynomutt Hour from September 8–October 27, 1979, before letting him go. The show went into syndication worldwide in 1979, and the Daring Duo left for a new network; the reruns transitioned over to NBC, which aired The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour with the Funky Phantom from September 27–November 15, 1980. Repeats of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder later aired on USA Network’s Cartoon Express during the Eighties, often showing materials used only in the complete episodes of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour. Cartoon Network later broadcast it as part of their daily CartoonA-Doodle-Doo, through February 1999. Boomerang showed the

Heavens to Murgatroyd, the Daring Duo competed in the star-studded Laff-A-Lympics show. © HBP.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

run off and on from January 2008 to January 2015, but some of the episodes were not complete. Most unusual was the choice to remove the series’ laugh-track…. As with many Hanna-Barbera comedies, Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, had been originally recorded with a laugh track. Its airings on ABC, NBC, and USA all included the track, but when Turner took over the Hanna-Barbera library in 1991, it removed Dynomutt’s laugh track! Thus, if you see episodes taped (or uploaded) from Cartoon Network or Boomerang or watch the modern DVDs, you’re not seeing the complete show!

A Falcon’s View of Later Appearances

During the years that Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (and Blue Falcon) were on the air, Hanna-Barbera licensed them out to toy companies, but there wasn’t a significant amount of licensing. Rand McNally published some storybooks and coloring/ activity books. The duo appeared in some card games, on a set of PrestoMagix transfers, on puzzles, and on a board game. Dynomutt got a parachute toy, while Blue Falcon got a Halloween costume. The most famous Dynomutt item is a metal lunchbox and thermos. The Daring Duo also appeared on some items marketed as Laff-A-Lympics, as well as items under the catch-all title of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. Interestingly enough, a live-action Dynomutt was seen by the public at Hanna-Barbera’s Marineland attraction in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The costumed character (BELOW) posed for pictures and charmed kids alongside Huckleberry Hound, Jabberjaw, Yogi Bear, and Scooby-Doo! Hanna-Barbera’s Marineland opened on May 27, 1978, but was sold off in 1981. Dynomutt and Blue Falcon also appeared for a time in comic books, when Marvel licensed The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera characters for a line of adventures. Many of these were written by Hanna-Barbera writer Mark Evanier, and some were drawn by animation staffers. The books were then reprinted in foreign countries, most famously in England, where some stories never published in the U.S. saw print. [Editor’s note: For more information about Hanna-Barbera comic books, please see issue #129 of our sister publication, BACK ISSUE, on sale from TwoMorrows in July 2021.] Warner Home Video finally released The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour: The Complete Series as part of its Hanna-Barbera Golden Collection on DVD in March 2006. The four-disc set did contain all 16 first-season episodes, but it was far from complete. The original opening and closing titles for the combined show 40

RETROFAN

March 2021

THE SCOOBY-DOO/ DYNOMUTT HOUR THEME SONG

Written by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera, and Hoyt Curtin (BF) The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour (SD) Scooby-Dooby-Doo! (DM) And Dynomutt, Dog Wonder! (both laugh) They’ve got it all together, and do you know what? (SD) No, what? Scooby-Doo is hangin’ ’round with Dynomutt! (DM) That’s me! While Scooby-Doo is tanglin’ with a spooky ghost, (SD) Yeah? Dynomutt is catching crooks or folding clothes. (DM) You betcha! They make a super pair, with a super show to share: (SD) Scooby-Dooby-Doo! (DM) And Dynomutt, Dog Wonder! (both laugh) (Instrumental) Yeah, they make a super pair, with a super show to share: (BF) Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder! (SD) Scooby-Doo! (DM) And Dynomutt! (both laugh)

DYNOMUTT DOG WONDER THEME SONG

Written by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera and Hoyt Curtin Flashing through the sky, he’s a go-go guy! Stronger than a train, with a so-so brain! (DM) Uh, you talkin’ about me, Blue Falcon? Gosh! He’s fearless, scareless… a little too careless! Dynomutt… he’s a go-go dog person! (DM) That’s me: Dog Wonder! (Instrumental) He’s fearless, scareless… a little too careless! Dynomutt… he’s a go-go dog person! (DM) That’s me: Dog Wonder!

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

were missing; instead, the individual series titles were used. Additionally, the laugh track was gone, as were any bridging elements from between the shows. There were Special Features however, including some documentary shorts and interviews with the creators and voice actors including Fred Silverman, Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, Gary Owens, Frank Welker, and others! Sadly, when Warner rereleased the DVD set in 2017 as part of its Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection, they removed all of the Special Features, so buyer beware. Get the black-border Golden Collection, not the red-border Diamond Collection! The release of the Laff-A-Lympics episodes—which featured Blue Falcon and Dynomutt—to home video is a complicated affair. In January 2010, Warner released Scooby’s All-Star LaffA-Lympics vol. 1, containing episodes #1–4. Target got a second volume that same day, Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics vol. 2, with episodes #5–9. That second volume was finally released to other stores and online October 2010. That still left episodes #10–16 of Season One unreleased, as well as episodes #1–8 of Season Two. In July 2012, Warner released a two-disc DVD set titled ScoobyDoo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games, which featured a new ScoobyDoo special, plus 12 episodes of Laff-A-Lympics. But they weren’t just any episodes: they were #1, 4–5, 8–16. Later in the year, Warner re-released that set as Laff-A-Lympics: The Complete First Collection… even though it only contained 13 of the 16 shows and was thus, not complete! For those trying to keep track in the confusion, Warner has not released—in any format—the four later episodes of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, aired as two-parts each on Scooby’s All-Star Laff-ALympics. The company has also not released any of The ScoobyDoo/Dynomutt Hour series in its original, unedited form. Finally, Warner has not released the final eight second-season LaffA-Lympics episodes from Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics in any format. Fans wanting to compare the edited versions with original versions, or who want to see the original The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour opening theme and ending credits theme, should check out YouTube. In the last decade-plus, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon have had more merchandising than when they were on the air. Action figures, maquettes statues, retro Mego-style dolls, mini-figures, and Funko Pops have been created for them. Newer comic appearances at DC Comics have included a team-up with the Super Sons and Scooby-Doo. Both heroes appeared in later Hanna-Barbera shows on Cartoon Network. In a May 1998 second-season episode of Dexter’s Laboratory, titled “Dyno-Might,” Blue Falcon asks genius Dexter to help him repair a damaged Dynomutt. That episode, which saw Gary Owens and Frank Welker reprise their roles of Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, was nominated for an Emmy Award! In August 2004’s Johnny Bravo episode “Johnny Makeover,” Blue Falcon (voice of Gary Owens) teams up with “Weird Al” Yankovic and Don Knotts to redesign Johnny’s show! And on the series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, both Blue Falcon and Dynomutt made numerous appearances… including as Spanish versions of themselves! Maurice LaMarche voiced “Azul Falcone,” while André Sogliuzzo provided the accented voice of Dynomutt. In 2000, Cartoon Network’s Toonami site released a four-part Flash-based comic of Blue Falcon and Dynomutt. The storyline has

(ABOVE) Marvel Comics’ Dynomutt #2 (Jan. 1978). Cover art by Paul Norris. (BELOW) Blue Falcon is one swinging super-hero! © Hanna-Barbera Productions.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

apparently not been archived online, and remains an elusive element of Dynomutt history. Returning from whence they started, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon later appeared in the August 2012 second-season ScoobyDoo! Mystery Incorporated episode, “Heart of Evil.” This show gave an origin for Dynomutt; security guard Radley Crown’s dog Reggie is injured by a robot dragon, and brought back to cyborg life as Dynomutt by Dr. Benton Quest (from the Jonny Quest series). Between Crown’s occupation and the violent and grim depiction of Blue Falcon—including multiple homages to Frank

DYNOMUTT – EPISODE TITLES

Miller’s Batman of The Dark Knight Returns and lines like “a guilty man’s bones snap like twigs beneath the grip of justice”—this episode is generally considered to be apocryphal for Dynomutt purists. Frank Welker returned to voice Dynomutt, but Blue Falcon was voiced by Troy Baker. On February 26, 2013, Warner released a new direct-to-DVD movie, Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon, bringing the Scooby gang into a metatextual crossover with their old friend. This time out, the gang traveled to San De Pedro California to attend the Mega Mondo Pop Comic-Con-a-Palooza; any resemblance to San Diego’s Comic-Con International was intentional, as they’re even at the same convention center! There, Shaggy and Scooby—cosplaying as Blue Falcon and Dynomutt—run into TV actor Owen Garrison (voiced by Jeff Bennett, channeling Adam West), who played the Blue Falcon for a TV series. The aging star is bitter that Hollywood has rebooted his character in a dark new film, starring Brad Adams (the voice of Diedrich Bader) as a “new and improved” Blue Falcon that relies heavily on technology, and whose robot dog Dynomutt (returning voice actor Frank Welker) is more dangerous Robocop-dog than goofy super-pooch. Mask of the Blue Falcon is a fun romp, and the metatextual content offers Easter Eggs aplenty, including cameos by Super Friends characters Wonder Woman, Wonder Twins, Apache Chief, and Black Vulcan, plus Frankenstein, Jr., the Impossibles, Space Ghost, the Herculoids, Speed Buggy, and more. Purists

The first 16 episodes are included on the Warner Bros. DVD Collection The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour: The Complete Series. The four later episodes, aired as twoparts each on Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, are not yet included on any DVD set.

#1 Everyone Hyde! (Production No. 83-4) #2 What Now, Lowbrow? (Production No. 83-5) #3 The Great Brain… Train Robbery (Production No. 83-1) #4 The Day and Night Crawler (Production No. 83-2) #5 The Harbor Robber (Production No. 83-5) #6 Sinister Symphony (Production No. 83-6) #7 Don’t Bug Superthug (Production No. 83-7) #8 Factory Recall (Production No. 83-8) #9 The Queen Hornet (Production No. 83-9) #10 The Wizard of Ooze (Production No. 83-10) #11 Tin Kong (Production No. 83-11) #12 The Awful Ordeal with the Head of Steel (Production No. 83-12) #13 The Blue Falcon vs. the Red Vulture (Production No. 83-13) #14 The Injustice League of America (Production No. 83-14) #15 The Lighter Than Air Raid (Production No. 83-15) #16 The Prophet Profits (Production No. 83-16) #17 Beastwoman (Production No. 83-21, 83-22) #18 The Glob (Production No. 83-17, 83-18) #19 Madame Ape Face (Production No. 83-19, 83-20) #20 Shadowman (Production No. 83-23, 84-24)

RETROFAN

March 2021

Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning

In the film, the gang meets up with the second Blue Falcon (bombastically voiced by Mark Wahlberg) and Dynomutt (voiced by Ken Jeong). Blue Falcon II is Brian Crown, the son of Radley Crown, who became a crimefighter when his father retired to Palm Beach, Florida. Dynomutt is smarter now, having had his intelligence increased, and Falcon is aided by teen female assistant Dee Dee Skyes (one of the Teen Angels from the series Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, here voiced by Kiersey Clemons) and male assistant Keith (voice of Henry Winkler). The Falconcar is now a much cooler spaceship-like craft known as the Falcon Fury. Directed by Tony Cervone, Scoob! is a fun romp of a film, though the near-wholesale re-voicing of the iconic cast members is jarring for a while. There are Easter Eggs aplenty to not only other Hanna-Barbera characters, but also to many of the iconic Hanna-Barbera producers, writers, artists, and voice actors. The movie’s end credit sequence offers a coda that shows Blue Falcon establishing a new super-hero team, the Falcon Force, but you’ll have to watch it to find out the chosen members! Looking to the future, Dynomutt—and possibly Blue Falcon, too—will appear in Jellystone! on HBO Max, likely in 2021. The new animated series is being developed and produced by C. H. Greenblatt, and is said to be a show that features many HannaBarbera characters living and bedeviling each other in the central town of Jellystone.

Dyno-Legacy

While Dynomutt and Blue Falcon may not be Hanna-Barbera’s greatest super-hero creations—that honor belongs to Space Ghost by any measurement—the characters have survived and thrived for 45 years on television, toys, media, and in the memories of fans. If you have yet to partake in the adventures of the Daring Duo, Blue Falcon has a quote for you from Scoob!: “Guys, adventure’s calling, and it’s for you!”

have noted that by presenting characters directly outside of the Scooby-Doo franchise to be fictitious it negates the shows like Laff-A-Lympics and crossover comics in which the Scooby gang share reality with the other cartoon characters. But given that both DC and Marvel have had comics and TV shows based on their characters fictionally set within their fictional universe—i.e., Spider-Man reading a Fantastic Four comic or Wonder Woman viewing Adventures of Superman on TV—it’s easy enough to bend Mask of the Blue Falcon into continuity. The most recent appearance for the Daring Duo is their largest yet, though it was not without its birthing pains. In production since mid-2015, the computer-animated Scooby-Doo crossover movie, Scoob!, telling the origin of the Scooby gang, was set for theatrical release in September 2018, but was pushed back to May 2020. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic shut down movie theaters, and Warner was forced to make an unprecedented decision. They released Scoob! for digital sales online in the U.S. on May 15, 2020, although it did screen theatrically in some worldwide markets, and even a few American sites.

Artwork and photos are courtesy the collection of Andy Mangels, unless otherwise credited. Quotes from Fred Silverman, Joe Ruby, and Gary Owens are from the short documentaries “Eerie Mystery of Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt’s History” and “In Their Own Words,” from the March 2006 Warner DVD release The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour: The Complete Series. ANDY MANGELS is the USA Today bestselling author and co-author of 20 books, including the TwoMorrows book Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation, as well as Star Trek and Star Wars tomes, Iron Man: Beneath the Armor, and a lot of comic books. He recently wrote the bestselling Wonder Woman ’77 Meets the Bionic Woman series for Dynamite and DC Comics, and has written six Fractured Fairy Tales graphic novels for Junior High audiences, for Abdo Books (January 2021). He is currently working on a book about the stage productions of Stephen King and other projects. Additionally, he has scripted, directed, and produced Special Features and documentaries for over 40 DVD releases. His moustache is infamous. www.AndyMangels.com and www. WonderWomanMuseum.com RETROFAN

March 2021

Too Much TV If your old man used to gripe that you’d never learn anything with your nose glued to the boob tube, here’s your chance to prove him wrong. (Father doesn’t always know best.) Each of the TV characters in Column One corresponds to a musical instrument he or she played in Column Two. Match ’em up, then see how you rate! COLUMN ONE

1) Maynard G. Krebs 2) Morticia Addams 3) Tracy Partridge 4) Fat Albert 5) Radar O’Reilly 6) Briscoe Darling 7) Data 8) Beaver Cleaver 9) Veronica Lodge 10) The Siren, Batman villainess 44

RETROFAN

March 2021

RetroFan Ratings

And a’one-a, and a’two-a!

10 correct: Fine-Tuned RetroFan Sock it to me, baby! I bet you know theme song lyrics too! 7–9 correct: Rabbit-Eared RetroFan Dy-no-mite! You wasted your childhood with the rest of us! 4–6 correct: Fuzzy-Receptioned RetroFan Up your nose with a rubber hose ’til you spend more tube time! 0–3 correct: Tuned-Out RetroFan Ya big dummy! Put down that book and go watch some classic TV!

COLUMN TWO

A) Bugle B) Clarinet C) Harp D) Shamisen E) Violin F) Accordion made from a radiator G) Electric keyboard H) Bongos I) Moonshine jug J) Tambourine The Addams Family © Filmways Television Productions. The Andy Griffith Show © Mayberry Enterprises. The Archies © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Batman © DC Comics/Warner Bros./Greenway Productions. Fat Albert and Leave It to Beaver © NBC Universal Television. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and M*A*S*H © 20th Century Fox Television. The Partridge Family © Sony Pictures Television. Star Trek: The Next Generation © CBS Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.

RETROFAN

March 2021

ANSWERS: 1–H, 2–D, 3–J, 4–F, 5–A, 6–I, 7–E, 8–B, 9–G, 10–C

CELEBRITY CRUSHES

Connie Stevens by Ron Plourde The date was October 7th, 1959. Cupid let go his arrow and it pierced my breast and from that day forward I was in love. Head over heels in love! I had just seen a vision of beauty that only heaven could create. The object of my affection, you ask? Her name was Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia. You might know her better by another name, Connie Stevens, and the television show was Hawaiian Eye. Oh, by the way, I was four years old. As you might imagine, Hawaiian Eye quickly became one of my favorite show. Her character of Cricket Blake was a singer in a nightclub. She would sing a popular song just about every week, and for me that would be the highlight of the show. I would love to have this series on DVD, but rights issues with the very music she sang make this series cost prohibitive. So, alas, I have to content myself with clips from her singing on YouTube. Starting in 1959 she had a contract with Warner Bros., so she would pop up on a lot of the shows of that period, such as Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, and many others, and I would sometime be lucky enough to catch these. My first movie experience with Connie was in 1965. The film was Two on a Guillotine, with Dean Jones and Cesar Romero. Her filmography started in 1957 with Young and Dangerous, all the way to Just Before I Go in 2014, with Sean William Scott. I have several of her films in my collection, but Two on a Guillotine has always been my favorite. She also has had a wonderful television career, starting in 1958 on The Bob Cummings Show, with highlights including so many great TV shows of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties such as Love, American Style, The Muppet Show, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote. Plus many others too numerous to mention here. Oh, and did I mention my angel could sing? Aside from her singing on Hawaiian Eye, she also has a varied recording career. Her first of nine albums titled Concetta in 1958, she recorded some popular standards of the day, scoring minor single hits. In 1959, she recorded a

novelty song with Edd Byrnes from 77 Sunset Strip called “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb),” scoring #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100. As a solo artist she placed #3 with her biggest hit, “Sixteen Reasons.” In addition to television, film, and music careers, Connie has also been active on Broadway and nightclubs through the years. In 1968 she starred in Neil Simon’s production of The Star Spangled Girl with Anthony Perkins and Richard Benjamin. She was also a regular on the Las Vegas nightclub circuit during the Seventies and was always well received by audiences and critics alike. And now we come to a chapter in her career that has endeared her to me even more than her beautiful looks and voice, and that is her work with the USO. Being a veteran of both the U.S. Army and Navy, this organization has always been so important to our service members around the world. In 1969 and 1987 she toured with Bob Hope in Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf. In 1997 she wrote, edited, and directed a documentary entitled A Healing, about Red Cross nurses who served during the Vietnam War. Among her other charitable works is the Windfeather Project, which awards scholarships to Native Americans. Unfortunately, the sad part of my unrequited love is I have never personally met the object of my affection. She has been at many shows signing autographs, but the stars have just not aligned for a meeting, although I wrote her a letter some years ago and she graciously sent me a beautiful color 8 x 10 autographed photo. At 81, she is still going strong, so I can only hope to someday meet my celebrity crush in person and have my photo taken with her. RON PLOURDE served in the U. S. Army for seven years and switched over to the U. S. Navy Submarine Service for another seven years. He is an incurable collector of pop culture. (Realizing you have a problem is the first step to recovery.) He currently resides in his native Massachusetts with his wonderful wife of 38 years and their two ragdoll cats, Ariel and Sebastian.

Hey, lovelorn, quit sobbing into your pillow and writing diary entries—instead, share your Sixties/Seventies/Eighties Celebrity Crush with RetroFan readers! You can become famous, get three free copies of the magazine, and earn a whopping $10 as well. Submit your 600-word-maximum Celebrity Crush column to the editor for consideration at euryman@gmail.com. 46

RETROFAN

March 2021

SCOTT SAAVEDRA'S MAGAZINE COLUMN

ARTICLE Contents: Processed Words About Generic Label Food Weight: Light

by A Writer

This is an article about generic label food products written by a writer. It will contain all of the most basic facts and a minimum of colorful commentary of the type you would expect to find in a brand name article written by a brand name writer. It may not, however, use the Grade A Fancy words or sentence formulations that you have grown accustomed to in a Secret Sanctum column. This, however, benefits the consumer. A generic writer allows the publisher to save money on brand name writer perks (a lotto ticket in the pay envelope, back rubs, etc.). These savings are passed on in the form of more words at no increase of charge to you.

The Article, Section One

Late-era Baby Boomers and a majority of the Generation X cohort in the mid-to-lower income segments of the U.S. population likely were aware of generic label food products in their childhood to late teen years. Generic label products were found in packaging that was simply white (or sometimes yellow) with minimal—if any—design flourishes. The name of the product (such as “Light Beer”) would be the most prominent element with required content information such as weight and ingredients added in much smaller type. Such products would often be found confined to a dedicated area of the store rather than next to their brandname counterparts. This helped shoppers be aware of items that otherwise did not receive advertising to create interest. In addition to canned and prepared foods, generic labels were found on consumables for the home, paper towels, bleach, beauty aids, and the like.

Jewel Markets has been credited as the first national supermarket chain to carry generic label products beginning in 1977. But the concept of unbranded consumer goods appears to have begun in France a year earlier at Carrefour, a hypermarket (a combination of supermarket and department store). Other grocery retailers followed due to consumer interest. Generic label products are not to be confused with store or off-brand labels which are designed to be appealing to consumers in the manner of better known national brands and can be of better quality. “[Generic label food products] experienced a period of popularity in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during a period of high price inflation.” This is a quote from the Wikipedia entry on the subject. That source is now exhausted. The Seventies were indeed a time of high inflation. The Gerald Ford administration attempted to help ease inflation in 1974 by encouraging more saving, less spending, and home vegetable gardens. This initiative was called “Whip Inflation Now,” or WIN. Several The WIN button promotional WIN button designs were was a fail. Wikimedia issued, and this is perhaps what is most Commons.. recalled of that effort as the buttons were widely mocked. In fairness, the RETROFAN

March 2021

Scott Saavedra's magazine column

An opened generic can of Mixed Nuts has survived the decades by being used to hold mixed nuts and bolts (this is true). Photo by the Writer.

WIN-emblazoned sweaters were even worse. Increasingly, families went from single-earner households to two-earner households just to pay for normative expenses. Finding ways to economize on basic needs was a priority for all but the most financially secure.

executive leadership, sales, marketing, product, support, operations, and corporate culture all align and mature in a compelling manner that is meaningful to anyone who encounters the collection of people…” [The Writer, annoyed by corporate-speak, takes a cof fee break.]

The Writer’s mother would purchase supermarket newsstand periodicals directed at America’s housewives (a group of persons whose main job was to have zero personal time), such as Woman’s Day and Family Circle. Such periodicals would regularly feature articles on ways to economize. Ever hopeful, the mother would closely read each set of recommendations and with sad regularity she would be annoyed by the suggestions. The mother was already doing most of them (“I was already making my own clothes!”) and the others simply would never apply. The frequent “eat out less” suggestion in particular was a source of her ire as if her family of nine regularly going out to eat was even a consideration.

Article, Section Two

In the beginning, as the generic label foods popped up around the country they were popular with consumers who had to find savings where they could. The minimal design and lack of branding did not in anyway convey an aspect of quality or exceptionalism. They looked basic and that was part of the reason they were cheaper than brand name items. To better appreciate the lack of branding it may help to understand exactly what branding is. The Mojo Media Lab describes branding as ”knowing and consistently living from a true identity, from a real story, so that 48

RETROFAN

March 2021

Personal Recollection #1

Okay. America in the 20th Century (the RetroYears) is a story of branded products and their impact on our lives. Ford, CocaCola, General Electric, McDonalds, IBM, Apple, and Starbucks were—and are—brands (businesses) producing brands (products) that made their reputations and fortunes. Brands can have meaning to consumers. Some want only Coca-Cola while others prefer Pepsi while others still— like the Writer’s father—was a Royal Crown man. Smith Brothers Cough Drops were one of the first products to sell in branded packaging. Their popular drops had previously been sold loose in glass jars but,

Scott Saavedra's magazine column

tired of losing sales to imitators, they began packaging them in 1872. Smith Brothers Cough Drops are still sold today. Branded products live or die by reputation. The brand owner is responsible for that reputation which must be nurtured for continued success. No such expectations are placed on the generic product since it is nothing beyond what it says on the package (“Pre-Creamed Shortening”). However, the upkeep and care of national brands cost incredible amounts of money. That cost is passed on to the consumer. In the case of generics little to no advertising was used to promote them. The packages were often grouped together in a kind of “value huddle” with plenty of signage indicating the savings to be had versus brand products. The minimalism of the early generics was certainly striking compared to a market’s usual stock, but what exactly constitutes generic design was not written in stone. A white package with black lettering was considered to be a “true generic” since it cannot be simplified. Yellow packaging with secondary identification such as Ralphs Supermarket’s old “Plain Wrap” brand was a semi-generic. And a private label or store brand designed to look like a generic was an imitation generic. You weren’t expecting this level of detail, were you? If you don’t believe that package design is important, think of all the stuff you wanted as a kid. The packaging (and advertising) was a huge part of why you had to have Mr. Bubble, Mr. Potato Head, or Cap’n Crunch. Would you really need, and I mean really need, the Aurora Frankenstein model without that wonderful James Bama artwork on the box? Economic pressures sent many families to search for ways to stretch their weakening dollar. But what markets discovered to their surprise was that the price of a generic was not a primary purchasing motivator. It was the fact that the consumer was getting a savings of 20% to 50% off national brands on nearly every generic purchase. What they wanted was value. Unfortunately, the means by which that value—an illusion, really—was created was what helped ultimately end the generic label foods as an appealing category. How generic manufacturers (sometimes a major brand producer, sometimes not) brought prices down was to cut costs by changing formulas, simplifying manufacturing, and by using cheaper grade of ingredients. In the case of generic beer, namebrand brewers were known to not use a specific formula but rather whatever was leftover from their main production. To

NO NAME OF THE NORTH

The still-active generic No Name brand in Canada is sort of a generic label living fossil, much like the oelacanth fish grizzled sea-farers pull up in their nets every few years. No Name, which first appeared in 1978, was inspired by the French generics from Carrefour hypermarkets and used similar yellow packaging rather than the plain white originally seen in the U.S. However, while U.S. generic foodstuffs were uneven in quality and manufacture, No Name worked to have the highest possible quality in each category to provide the best possible value (there’s that word again). The end result was that the generics of the Seventies and Eighties faded away while No Name, and this is crazy, for a time at least was, wait for it, one of Canada’s most popular brands. No Name has spruced up its packaging over the years and has even run advertising campaigns, a definite departure from generic protocol.

Packaging as generic as it gets. Two screen captures from a commercial.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Scott Saavedra's magazine column

better understand what this means for the consumer, let us look at the humble frozen pea. The average consumer may not pay much attention to frozen peas, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given the subject quite a bit of thought. There are four grades of frozen peas. ` U.S. Grade A (or U.S. Fancy) possesses “a good color… practically free from defects… tender.” You’d date this pea. ` U.S. Grade B (or U.S. Extra Standard) has “fairly good flavor… a reasonably good color… reasonably free from defects… reasonably tender.” Sounds reasonable. ` U.S. Grade C (or U.S. Standard) possesses “fairly good flavor… fairly good color… fairly free from defects… fairly tender.” Reasonable and fair seem so close in definition but okay. ` Substandard. Avoid. (For the advanced consumer, USDA measuring tools are available so that you may determine food quality for yourself. The USDA Pea Sizer works on both canned and frozen peas and sells for $24. Another useful inspection aid is the set of frozen pea color cards that can be yours for $110. These prices are believed to be accurate at the time of publication.) There is actually one other grade that the USDA uses: human grade or edible grade. Thankfully, this applies to pet food, which almost never truly meets that standard (it would make the product too expensive). Some may say that the edible grade just barely applied to generic label foodstuffs, but they’re just being churlish. It is true, generic label foods were usually made of standard grade ingredients which doesn’t sound impressive, but if you’d like to look on the bright side, it certainly doesn’t sound dangerous. But then we are talking about products that were—

THE GENERICS YOU CAN’T BUY

An Eighties Ralphs commercial screen save shows that the grocery chain could really capture the zeitgeist (a Grade A Fancy word) of the generics moment by having the shopper wear a generic style T-shirt. © Kroger Company.

officially—one step above substandard (one supposes—hopes, really—that this is still within the range of human edibility). There have been reports that generic label foods were sometimes better than brand name products. That was not the Writer’s experience, so for now, it’s just crazy talk. Adding to generic food quality concerns was the fact that they weren’t consistently produced. Ingredients, formulations, and even manufacturers could change from batch to batch. Consumers had no way to truly know what they had until it was in their collective mouths. This led to a reputation not so much as products that were affordable but mostly as something cheap and, ultimately, undesirable unless you truly could not afford anything better.

Personal Recollection #2

As an older teen in the late Seventies, the Writer was perhaps a bit too much aware of the reduced reputation of the generic label foods. Oat Circles (or whatever the Cheerio’s knockoff was called) came nowhere near the perfection of its branded counterpart. The Writer wondered if there was any concern about buying

William Shatner The Earl Hays Press in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Sherman Oaks, California, gets a smoke makes generic props for film and television and has done so since 1915 (!). from his pack of You may have seen their handiwork via an internet meme showing various Morley cigarettes, performers over the last 60 years reading the exact same prop newspaper. a popular fake Earl The most popular images show actor Ed O’Neill reading the same news over Hays brand, in a decade apart on Married with Children and Modern Family. the hyper-classic Why use fake, generic brands in film and television? Producers don’t 1963 Twilight Zone want to give free advertising to real brands and brand owners don’t want episode “Nightmare their precious products associated with whatever stupid things a character at 20,000 Feet.” may do with it. Morley cigarettes A wide variety of fake food labels are also a part of the Earl Hays catalog, feature a variety of which can be viewed at www.theearlhayspress.com, but finding screencaps designs. Morley was the Smoking Man’s brand of them in use was difficult. Which is too bad since they make some of choice on The X-Files and has been seen more interesting food items like SMEAT (a SPAM lookalike), canned Porkchops O’ recently on The Walking Dead. Morley package © The Chunky (?), and Healthy Oats O’s (another fool-hearty attempt at Cheerios). Earl Hays Press. The Twilight Zone © CBS. I did, however, find Bill Shatner with generic cigarettes so... enjoy. 50

RETROFAN

March 2021

Scott Saavedra's magazine column

generic products or shame at not being able to afford brand names since, in this Writer’s memory, there were many, many generic products of all types in the home. The stress of such a difficult financial time. The struggle to make ends meet. Having to buy such low-grade consumables certainly had to make one feel… poor?” “Doesn’t ring a bell,” said the Writer’s mother. Well… good. Then there was the mystery of the single generic label can of red kidney beans. It spent at least a decade in the panty and only disappeared when the kitchen was remodeled. Why didn’t the beans get eaten? “Did I forget to use something?” The Writer’s mother is unable to explain the generic label kidney beans long, unloved existence.

Article, Section Three

As the reputation of the generic product waned and, perhaps more importantly, the economy improved, consumers largely returned to familiar brands. Such was the concern about product quality. In a New York Times article on the subject (Oct. 5, 1986), a consumer researcher noted that shoppers who would buy generic products avoided generic dog food, thinking it a “sign they didn’t care about their pets.” Retailers weren’t fans of the generics as a category either because such items took up just as much space as the branded items but had very thin profit margins. The sales of generics peaked around 1983. By the end of the Eighties, generic label products of all types essentially disappeared from the shelves. At least in the U.S. But they were noticed. Repo Man is pretty much the bestknown popular culture reference to the generic era. The 1984 movie, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, has been described as a science-fiction cult comedy. The Writer saw the movie and remembers only the generic labels (the Writer is also a designer, loves package design, and maybe has an attention disorder). There were plenty of real generics and some created for the movie such as “drink” and “food,” which the Writer to this day thinks is very funny (that’s not weird, is it?). In 1985, Public Image Limited, fronted by John Lydon (the artist also known as Johnny Rotten), put out a 12-inch vinyl that featured a generic design (inspired by the Ralphs generic products of the time).

Emilio Estevez glares in front of generic food products in 1984's cult science fiction comedy, Repo Man. © Universal Pictures.

Marvel Comics, often referring to themselves (ironically?) as the House of Ideas, produced in 1984 The Generic Comic Book to, well, ride the wave of excitement that generic products must have produced. It was a prime example of a plain package holding substandard ingredients. On the surface, generic labels had elements of being a fad. They seemed to be everywhere, they were successful, mocked, and then they were gone. The national brands, dominant even during the generic heyday, continue to appear on your grocer’s shelves. These days they fight for sales against other enemies. Private label brands (think of Costco’s Kirkland or Whole Foods 365) that feature higher quality than the generics and lower prices than the better-known brands are one. The other danger comes from millennials who are prone to shun national products and shop both local and internationally when possible. There is no doubt that the business of selling foodstuffs to a fickle audience of millions of consumers remains a challenge requiring constant vigilance and innovation. One thing never changes, though—there remains no viable substitute to the original, one-and-only Cheerios. And that is the end of the article about generic label food. The Writer is done. Very useful to the understanding of generics were two books, Retailing Strategies for Generic Brand Grocery Products by Jon M. Hawes (UMI Research Press, 1982) and Private Labels: Store Brands & Generic Products by Philip B. Fitzell (AVI Publishing Company, 1982). Also, thanks must go out to the Writer’s mother, who owns the mixed nuts generic can found sitting in her garage where it has been since purchased new in the later quarter of the Twentieth Century. It was the inspiration for this article.

An Albertsons’ newspaper ad (from May 28, 1981) for various generic food stuffs including “slices.” © Albertsons, Inc.

THE WRITER is a Retro Explorer operating from his Southern California-based Secret Sanctum. In addition to word-smithing he is a graphic designer and artist. Check out his Instagram thing, won’t you? instagram/ scottsaav/ RETROFAN

March 2021

rews?

Who Cr

by Will Murray

Archie d e at

WILL MURRAY’S 20TH CENTURY PANOPTICON

America’s teenager (sorry, Dick Clark) shares a malt with Veronica and Betty in

If you were young and read comic books back in simpler, pre-pandemic times. Recolored Bob Montana art originally produced the day, you read Archie Comics. It was almost for the cover of 1952’s Archie Annual #4. TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. unavoidable. This has been a fact of life to the present day. For nearly 80 years, Archie and his friends have been an American institution. And popular that by 1942, he headlined his own comic book. Before he’s been a teenager for most of that time! long, Archie muscled the super-heroes out of Pep. When first introduced, Archie Andrews was about ten years Originating artist Bob Montana always claimed that he created old, give or take. That was how artist Bob Montana first depicted the character: “John Goldwater, the president of the firm, came him. Almost immediately, this changed. to me and said they’d like to try and create But I get ahead of myself…. a teenage strip. John thought of the name This Kid’s Got Pep ‘Archie’ and together Archie emerged out of a pulp-magazinewe worked it out. I turned-comics company named MLJ after its created the characters founders, Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkliet, and developed it and and John L. Goldwater. They produced the eventually ‘MLJ’ was original patriotic super-hero, the Shield, changed to ‘Archie months before Marvel’s more famous Comics.’” Captain America. Their roster competed Shield artist Irv Novick with Marvel and DC super-heroes, and while backed up Montana: they sold well, MLJ produced no breakout “Bob created the character ‘Archie…’ John characters. What to do? Goldwater is claiming that he created the Bob Montana, John Goldwater conceived the idea: character. That’s not true. I was in the office Archie illus“The year 1942 was a time when people were just beginning when Bob walked in with that character and trator, at to realize that youth was making an impact on the world. I was presented it to MLJ. Goldwater did not create his drawing the character; Bob did.” a young man, and I could write draw and write, and I wanted to board. Photo Contrast this with the publisher’s 1988 start a comic strip that would benefit by the trend. Superman was courtesy of Ivan remembrance: “Innumerable sleepless the really big smash. Where do you go from a super-hero? You Briggs. (INSET) nights, dreaming and writing and rewriting go the opposite of super-hero, and that is the ‘normal’ man. The Archie comics characters that would catch the public’s ‘normal’ man in an age of teen awareness––who would it be?” president John fancy as Superman had, was not just an Louis Silberkliet’s son, Michael, declared: “The inspiration Goldwater. ‘idea,’ but a conscious appraisal of my was the Andy Hardy movies.” Reportedly, Goldwater noticed kids lining up to catch the latest installment and recognized an experiences in the Middle West, California, untapped audience. and elsewhere.” Goldwater also claimed to have doodled the Those Mickey Rooney comedies were big box office between prototype Archie sketch. 1937 and 1946. Rooney played a teenaged Midwesterner forever Sadly, this is a common creative conflict, especially when a getting in and out of harmless trouble. Ten installments had corporate property unexpectedly snowballs into a multi-million appeared by the time Archie Andrews debuted in Pep Comics dollar bonanza. Everyone remembers events dif ferently–– #22 in 1941. The gap-toothed redhead from Riverdale proved so sometimes because they want to. 52

RETROFAN

March 2021

Also present at the birth, artist Joe Edwards offered his own eyewitness account: “One day, John Goldwater called me and Bob in, and said, ‘We’re a little troubled. Everything out there is Superman and there is a lot of competition. I know you two guys just got out of school. Write whatever you know.’ So Bob and I sat down and worked it out. ‘Well, how about a teenage boy?’ It was a simple as that because we knew it. So we wrote stories about a guy going out to get girls and dating, and how to get a job to make it, which was a simple formula, adding a blonde and brunette. If you recall, everybody used to have a buddy. That’s where Jughead came in.” Edwards always credited Montana more than Goldwater: “Bob was the catalyst to really develop these things. He had kept a scrapbook when he went to high school, which I saw. He drew people at the soda shop and all that, so when it came time, we used the material. In other words, we relied on something that was true, and we developed it.” One drawing depicted a crude caricature of Montana himself—looking like a primitive Archie Andrews. Another influence loomed large. Not Andy Hardy, but a similarly popular teenager. This one had his own radio show. “Have you ever heard of Henry Aldridge?” asked Joe Edwards. “Well, that was part of our template. We realized that was good. We enjoyed that radio show because it was part of our life. As a result, we put it down on paper and made a comic book out of it. We all relied on experiences in our own life with the girls, taking the girls out.” Contrary to John Goldwater’s account, Henry Aldrich was a seminal influence, although Andy Hardy fed into the early thinking as well. Writer William Woolfolk, then scripting MLJ super-heroes such as Steel Sterling, remembered editor Harry Shorten inviting him to dinner at a restaurant in Greenwich Village. “I thought: how nice! Shorten is dining me to show his appreciation…. Instead, he pulled out a yellow pad and pencil. How nice! He wants to sketch me! Instead of No. 2, he wanted to ‘pick my brains’ for a series like the hugely successful Henry Aldrich radio serial––which became the ‘original’ Archie. I don’t know how many of the writers’ ‘brains’ that he ‘picked.’ He didn’t pick mine. I told him I could pay for my own dinner. And that was that.” Shorten never disputed this influence. “Henry Aldrich was a popular radio show and the kid made a tremendous impact. I suggested… that we start a strip with a Henry Aldrich-type kid.” The Aldrich Family, which ran from 1939 to 1953, was famous for its opening, where the teenager’s mother caterwauls, “Henreeeeee! Hen-ree Al-drich!” MAD magazine’s Jerry DeFuccio knew Bob Montana and recalled a conversation about how Archie Andrews got his name: “We had some schnapps… and he commented on Archie being named Calvin, as a possibility. You could lean on the Cal… as in the shouted Hen… in Henry Aldrich. Calvin was ruled out as it suggested the Protestant reformer. Archie was entrenched as Archie the bartender in Duffy’s Tavern.” Duffy’s Tavern was another popular radio show. In the first strip, Archie tells Betty to call him ‘Chick.’ Chick was Montana’s preferred name for the character. The nickname was never mentioned again.

(ABOVE) Mickey Rooney as Andy Hardy, an Archie influence. (RIGHT) Archie #1 (Winter 1942). Cover by Bob Montana. Love Finds Andy Hardy © MGM. Archie TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Both, courtesy of Heritage.

No doubt Goldwater named the character, giving him the last name of Andrews, perhaps after Andy Hardy’s formal first name. He always claimed he conceived the first name as well. “I had gone to school with a boy named Archie, who was always in trouble with girls, parents, at school, etc. Therefore, I resolved to reverse the usual procedure. Instead of boy-meetsgirl, etc., I would have rivals for Archie’s affections. So was born the girl-next-door, Betty, and glamorous and rich Veronica.” In another account, Goldwater revealed that both women were modeled on a pair of amorous “novitiates” who pursued him on shipboard during his return to New York after years of traveling the country. But these factors were only part of the story. Montana’s experiences at Haverhill High School in Massachusetts were just as significant. The son of Vaudeville performers, young Bob toured with his parents, finally settling down in time for high school. Thus began a rare period of stability, what Montana later called “the best four years of my life.” “Bob Montana modeled his comic strip after his own high school experience,” asserted Jeff Cuddy, who inked him. “He was quite shy himself and would watch the passing parade, and, as it was passing him by, he would sketch it.” “To me, he appeared to be a shy guy from the outside looking in and wishing he could be hellions like some of them were,” said Ruth Harding, who also assisted Montana. “He traveled all over,” recalled Peg Bertholet, the artist’s widow. “He didn’t have many years of associating with actual schoolchildren. In Haverhill, it was the first time he went to a RETROFAN

March 2021

Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon

Edwards recalled, “We were looking for a name that would be common, ordinary, and they said, ‘You can’t get any more common than “Betty.’ So it stuck.” Veronica Lodge was a mix of sultry actress Veronica Lake, and an upperclass classmate. Although named after the Boston blueblood Lodge family, originally she affected a Southern accent. “Veronica was a couple of things that we put together,” Edwards said. “Veronica was a real woman that lived up near Bob’s town. Bob had a crush on her. She was the sexy belle of the town. All the high school kids loved her and were after her, but they couldn’t catch her. So we put that into the feature.” The faculty, Mr. Weatherbee, Miss Grundy, and others, Montana took from life. “The other characters are teachers I knew and persons in my hometown,” he admitted. “Archie characters look much like the persons they are patterned after, though they’re highly exaggerated caricatures.” Still others were adapted from media personalities. “We used to kick ideas around,” noted Edwards. “‘Which comedian do you like best?’ I said, ‘Laurel and Hardy.’ So when it came time for a second banana, Laurel’s name came up. We designed Jughead [after him]. Look at the comics: you’ll see Stan Laurel. And Pop Tate was Oliver Harvey. We just gave him a little bit different mustache.” Archie was an All-American Everyteen, average but amiable, continually stumbling Pals, Gals, and Places from one pickle to a fresh predicament, Originally, Archie was barely teenager. struggling to balance school and girls. “I created ‘Wilbur’ with Lynn Streeter “Everything that happens to Archie as the artist and the character came out happened to me in school,” Montana joked. looking exactly like him,” remembered “There’s one great difference. Archie always Harry Shorten. “Later we signed Bob gets out of his troubles in the end, but it Montana to draw ‘Archie’ and the kid came seems to me that I was always stuck. Guess out as being about eight-years-old; he was I didn’t have a Jughead to get me out of much too young. I was writing the script tight places.” and wrote him as being a teenager and he (TOP) The Archie brand grew in Once, a piece of apparatus Montana was came out just right.” the Fifties with these and other operating in science class blew up and struck Overnight, Archie experienced a growth titles starring Archie’s pals and the ceiling. His teacher quipped, “You finally spurt. After that he got stuck as the eternal gals. (BOTTOM) In the Sixties, got the highest mark in the class!” American teenager, perpetually 17. the red-headed teen fought “We never made Archie malicious,” By the end of 1942, Archie had been given bad guys as a super-spy and a observed Edwards. “If anything happened, it his own title. For 21-year-old Montana, who super-hero! TM & © Archie Comic was always because something happened that was fresh out of art school, Archie was a relief Publications, Inc. he didn’t intentionally do. He wouldn’t hurt from having to draw super-heroes. anybody, but circumstances would work out “Archie is such a pleasure to draw,” he where he was always in hot water at school.” commented. “None of the intricacies of [the The early stories used localities familiar to Haverhill residents, company’s super-heroes,] the Web, Black Hood, or Hangman.’” but after Montana moved on, more and more Riverdale became The supporting characters also came from Montana’s days at associated with New York’s tri-state area. John Goldwater Haverhill High, whose replica statue of Rodin’s The Thinker was claimed it was modeled after Hiawatha, Kansas, but that appears prominently displayed at the fictitious Riverdale High. Blonde revisionist in hindsight. Eventually, the setting was established as Betty Cooper was the first. simply Midwestern. “I was going with a girl named Betty when I started the strip,” Montana and Edwards worked on the strip for about a year, Montana explained. The real Betty’s brother, Harry Lucey, later overseen by Harry Shorten, who remembered, “That was the became an important Archie artist. greatest time of my life. We worked on ‘Archie’ in hotel rooms school that he really liked. He met the kids and had a good time. I know he was very happy at this point in his life. I think he enjoyed high school so much that he was more the average American high school student than most high school students are.” “He had the best memories of Haverhill High,” agreed daughter Lynn. “Haverhill is where the characters are from.” “Your ideas come from life and its experiences,” Montana pointed out. “High school was the most interesting part of my life. It was what I knew most about.” That “Archie” was semi-autobiographical is difficult to dispute. Peg Bertholet confirmed this. “Bob described himself as Archie. He did have Archie’s two front teeth, and he wore his hair brushed over with a wave the way Archie does.” Not to mention his freckles plaid pants and polka-dot bowtie. Artist Sam Burlockoff noted, “Bob Montana reminded me of Archie because he had red hair and a grin like Archie’s. It was almost like a caricature of Bob Montana: he drew himself as Archie.” Vic Bloom, who dialogued Archie’s debut, may have been just as important. In 1940, he scripted “Wally Williams, American Boy,” which reads like a trial run for Archie. Especially given the presence of a blonde named Betty and a best friend nicknamed Jughead. This college-themed strip was set in Riverview, not Riverdale. Bloom’s byline soon vanished from the strip.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon

When comics sales started softening after the war, superheroes lost their appeal. Not Archie Andrews. “Archie was mainstream,” explained Jeff Cuddy. “It just clicked Just as Archie #1 was released, military duty called. Montana with people. The war was over. The guys were coming home. They joined the Army Signal Corps. Another artist, Harry Sahle, wanted normalcy. They were tired of killing, tired of traveling. stepped in to continue the feature, refining Archie’s look as an They want to settle down, have their families, their jobs. They evolving replacement team coalesced around Shorten. wanted normalcy, and Archie filled the bill.” Another MLJ artist, Gil Kane, saw Sahle as transformational. By 1949, rich foil Reggie Mantle was starring in Archie’s Rival, “He was very fast, and he turned out what Reggie Mantle. Archie’s Pal, Jughead debuted became the new Archie character. In other that year. Archie’s Girls, Betty and Veronica words, his work was based on Montana, but followed in 1950. with adaptation and interpretation. Sahle “They recognized that the sales were became the center point.” good,” Joe Edwards noted, “so Betty and Edwards recalled, “Bob and I were in the Veronica got more attention. They were in Army and they asked [Sahle] to take over for, the ‘Archie’ stories, but they were like side I think the third or fourth of Archie. Harry was characters; then MLJ realized that there was very gregarious. He was doing Archie, and something [there].” then they groomed Bill Vigoda. When Bob By this time, the cast had grown to include and I went into the service, we were worried Moose McGee, his girlfriend Midge Klump, whether or not Archie would be carried a little and Jughead’s occasional gal, Big Ethel. further.” “We needed a character,” said Edwards. They needn’t have. The Adventures of Archie “Ethel was taller than most, because the tall Andrews radio show was launched in 1943. girl always felt out of place, so we needed Sahle, too, disappeared into the service while somebody who would fill the bill. So a design Montana continued working on the feature went out. Sam Schwartz worked on it, and from his Army base. when it came to ugly, he knew how to draw “We recognized it immediately,” said ugly, so he designed Big Ethel. If you read his Haverhill resident Charles Hayden, who was stuff, he really used her.” stationed overseas when he first saw the strip. Artist George Frese, who also wrote Archie “Bob used ‘The Thinker!’ I was in the Army in stories, created the dim-witted jock whose Italy and I said, ‘I know him! Bob Montana!’ last name kept changing. “He needed a sports I said, ‘This kid used Haverhill High School character, and George Frese’s son, who is as a setting. This is my school.’ I saw so many going to high school, knew a guy like Moose. things in that strip that were familiar.” And this guy also used to go, ‘Duhh.’ George Aside from the Thinker statue, the names put him in the comics, and he caught on.” of the school papers were identical. The Yet Montana’s classmates insisted that main teenage hangout was the Chok’lit Moose Mason was inspired by a fellow Shop, a thinly disguised Haverhill ice cream student, Arnold Dagget. emporium. In the Fifties, the Archie line exploded. “The Chocolate Shop––we all knew darn One writer was Sy Reit, who had created well where the Chocolate Shop was,” laughed Casper the Friendly Ghost, and had informally Promotional brochure from 1964 introduced the public to Archie, drawing a Mrs. Rita Walker, who lived two streets away touting the syndication success of from Montana. “He used to go there all the preview for the feature which hit print a week the Archie newspaper strip. TM & © time and draw cartoons on napkins.” before the official debut. Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Courtesy “Perhaps my longest stint was writing for of Heritage. War Hero, Postwar Boom Archie Comics, first under the editorship of Stateside, Archie was a hit. Overseas, he was Harry Shorten and later Richard Goldwater,” a lifeline. According to Michael Silberkliet: he recalled. “In those years––mainly the “It wasn’t so much what it meant to kids as what he meant to 1950s––we created many new Archie titles––some still in use. I GIs. There were letters from soldiers who said that after a battle, remember starting Life with Archie, Archie’s Madhouse, and Archie’s they read Archie comic books. It reminded them of home. Betty Joke Book. Harry and Richard had terrific artists working for represented the girl-next-door and they wrote how much she them––I recall Bob Montana and Sam Schwartz (whose fine work reminded them of their girls.” has been unfortunately neglected).” Returning to civilian life, Montana launched an Archie Sam Schwartz is best remembered for developing Jughead. newspaper strip, never to revisit the comic books, which had “He made Jughead!” Joe Edwards asserted. “Jughead was a become a virtual factory. second banana. If you look at some of them, Jughead makes “It’s impossible for one man to do it all,” explained Montana. remarks that came out of vaudeville. Sam was given the “The newspaper is about all I can handle.” and at Montana’s summer home in New Hampshire and had a great time.”

RETROFAN

March 2021

Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon

assignment to do ‘Jughead.’ He put in personality and that’s what Editor Victor Gorelich explained, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was makes the [characters] live.” very popular, and so was Get Smart. We were unsuccessful with Assistant Jeff Cuddy saw the character as another aspect of the super-hero books, and John Goldwater decided to make the Bob Montana. “Jughead was his personality, but his looks he gave Archie characters into super-heroes. Frank Doyle wrote the first to Archie. The twist on that eternal ‘Pureheart the Powerful’ story and many of triangle was that instead of the boys the other stories, too.” chasing the girls, the girls were chasing Bob White drew the Pureheart stories, Archie.” where Reggie was called Evilheart and Montana himself gave differing Jughead was Captain Hero. Bill Vigoda accounts of the origin of Forsythe drew the Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E. P. “Jughead” Jones––(Van Jones, episodes, as well as some Pureheart and according to the artist). Sometimes, he Evilheart installments. was a composite of various classmates; In the Sixties, serious efforts were at other times, he simply sprang from made to license the property. A TV pilot the artist’s inkwell. “I never knew him,” was filmed in 1962, starring Frank Bank, Montana said flatly. with Cheryl Holdridge as Betty and Mikki An important new artist entered Jamison as Veronica. Jerry Brite played the picture in the early Fifties. Dan Jughead. Network executives passed on Life DeCarlo was hired by Harry Shorten with Archie because they felt viewers would to draw some episodes to supplement be reminded of Leave It to Beaver’s Lumpy Harry Lucey and the other regulars. Rutherford when they recognized Bank. DeCarlo recalled, “The pay wasn’t Retaining the other cast members, a too good, but I did it and he liked it–– new pilot was shot with John Simpson as but I didn’t go back right away. Finally… the lead (see inset). The renamed Archie he called me up and wanted to know show depicted a cheerful but lazy high what happened, why I wasn’t around. schooler with a Rube Goldberg streak of The gang as rendered by longtime Archie I said, ‘Well, you know I’m very busy…. inventiveness. The story revolved around artist Dan DeCarlo. Original cover art to The people that I’m working for now Archie’s misadventures with a primitive Archie’s Pals ’n’ Gals #165 (Sept. 1983). TM let me do my own thing. But when I matchmaking computer, with Betty & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Courtesy of do work for you, it’s ‘Draw like Bob and Veronica’s romantic machinations Heritage. Montana.’ And it’s hard to look at your complicating the existing complications. reference, and then back at your own This version also failed to sell. page. It’s very slow, and very tedious The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis had and I didn’t like it too much.’ He said, ‘Come on in, and you can apparently cornered the teenage draw any way you like.’ That made me go back with him.” comedy market [see RetroFan #5— Freed of such artistic limitations, DeCarlo evolved into the ed.]. Except for playing a zombie in seminal Archie artist, whose sexy but innocent rendition of Betty Night of the Living Dead, Simpson’s and Veronica became the standard that still stands today. acting career ended here. Bob Montana stuck with his newspaper strip until the day in Undaunted, the owners turned died in 1975, having vowed, “I’ll go on as long as to animation, where the characters Archie will––as long as Archie keeps me young.” could be recognizably themselves. Success soon Stan Goldberg, who took over from Montana, followed. In 1968, The Archie Show centered around once said of DeCarlo, “He was always considered the familiar gang as an animated rock band, The to be one of the greatest cartoonists in the Archies. Emulating The Monkees, the producers business. Forget Bob Montana and all the other release a single. It charted. “Sugar Sugar” guys. For the past 45 years, there’s only been one followed in 1969, knocking the Rolling Stones out look for Archie, and that’s Dan’s.” of the #1 spot. It was bubblegum music, yes. But teens and Trend Chasing preteens gobbled it up. Three hit albums followed. TV and Decade by decade, Archie followed the ever-changing teenage film adaptations of Archie have been with us ever since, each one trends. In the Fifties, there were the Beatniks. In the Sixties, targeted toward a new generation. But that’s another column. it was Hippies. After that, they battled drugs and dealt with The eternal question of the unbroken triangle of Archie, Betty discrimination and environmental issues. Even AIDS prevention. and Veronica, has never been definitively settled [alternate Whatever was trending, the unchanging Archie gang leapt upon reality tales aside—ed.]: Who does Archie prefer? it. Dan DeCarlo admitted, “You know, I’m always asked that During the Sixties, there was a brief secret agent incarnation, question! But Betty is by far the more popular one. I can’t warm “The Man from R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E.,” followed by a super-hero up to Veronica. I don’t understand her. But I love Betty.” experiment, Archie as Pureheart the Powerful. “We’ll never tell,” stated Michael Silberkliet. 56

RETROFAN

March 2021

Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon

John Goldwater allowed, “I figured Betty to be the nice girl-next-door, the kind of girl Archie would marry if he ever got married. Of course, he won’t. Archie will never marry. He’ll always be 17.” There, Goldwater and Montana agreed. “Archie will never get married,” Montana vowed. “That would destroy the strip.” And there it must rest….

Perennial Popularity

How has Archie and the gang stayed popular from bobbysoxers to Generation Z? Opinions vary. Joe Edwards: “We would say, ‘Look, it’s a good character.’ [Montana] seemed to hit a right nerve with ‘Archie.’ Of course, there was no teenage strip so we were lucky, and it developed.” “It was good, clean fun,” said Montana’s daughter, Lynn. “I don’t think he ever wrote Archie for the teenagers. He wrote for the adult looking back on his teenage years and reminiscing.” “It’s the adults who read the comics—adults and small children,” insisted Goldwater. “And they get a feeling of security from seeing small-town family life, as we do it in Archie.” “It rang a bell with teenagers certainly, in whatever era,” countered Jeff Cuddy. “It was a normal subject: teenage boys and girls and their relationships, their complaints, gripes, and insecurities, the teenager awkwardness that never goes away. That’s the reason it’s still popular.”

“Archie is Americana,” asserted Michael Silberkliet. “Archie is a kid you’d like to see your kid be, with two legs under the car, with wrenches.” Always self-effacing, Bob Montana took a much simpler view: “We all need to laugh at ourselves. We all need a good sense of humor.” Special thanks to Shaun Clancy and Jim Amash. WILL MURRAY is the writer of the Wild Adventures (www.adventuresinbronze. com) series of novels, which stars Doc Savage, The Shadow, King Kong, The Spider, and Tarzan of the Apes. He also created the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl with legendary artist Steve Ditko.

Want more Archie? Check out the September 2018 edition of our sister mag, Back Issue #107, for an “Archie in the Bronze Age” issue! Order at twomorrows.com.

Advertise With Us! RetroFan & BrickJournal Ad Rates: Back cover or inside cover: $1000 ($900 for two or more) Full-page interior: $800 ($700 for two or more) Half-page interior: $500 ($425 for two or more) Quarter-page interior: $300 ($250 for two or more)

Alter Ego • Back Issue • Comic Book Creator • Draw • Jack Kirby Collector: Back cover or inside cover: $800 ($700 for two or more) Full-page interior: $600 ($500 for two or more) Half-page interior: $300 ($250 for two or more) Quarter-page interior: $150 ($125 for two or more) AD SIZES: COVERS & FULL-PAGE: 8.375” wide x 10.875” tall trim size, add 1/8” bleed. (7.625” x 10.125” live area.) HALF-PAGE: 7.625” x 4.875” live area (no bleeds). QUARTER-PAGE: 3.6875” x 4.875” live area (no bleeds).

Call or e-mail for frequency discounts! Send ad copy and payment (US funds) to: TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 919-449-0344 E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com

We accept check, money order, and all major credit cards; include card number and expiration date.

These rates are for digital ads supplied (PDF, JPEG, TIF, EPS, InDesign, or Quark Xpress files acceptable). No agency discounts apply.

RETROFAN

March 2021

All characters TM & © their respective owners.

BOOKS FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

ER EISN RD AWAINEE! M NO

MONSTER MASH

GROOVY

MARK VOGER’s time-trip back to 1957-1972, to explore the CREEPY, KOOKY MONSTER CRAZE, when monsters stomped into America’s mainstream!

A psychedelic look at when Flower Power bloomed in Pop Culture. Revisits ‘60s era’s ROCK FESTIVALS, TV, MOVIES, ART, COMICS & CARTOONS!

(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $11.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-064-9

(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $13.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-080-9

MIKE GRELL

LIFE IS DRAWING WITHOUT AN ERASER Career-spanning tribute to a comics art legend! (160-page FULL-COLOR TPB) $27.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-088-5 (176-page LTD. ED. HARDCOVER) $37.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-087-8 (Digital Edition) $12.99

KIRBY & LEE: STUF’ SAID

ED AND EXP COND SE ION! IT ED

ISBN: 978-1-60549-094-6

THE MLJ COMPANION

Documents the complete history of ARCHIE COMICS’ super-heroes known as the “Mighty Crusaders”, with in-depth examinations of each era of the characters’ history: The GOLDEN AGE (beginning with the Shield, the first patriotic super-hero), the SILVER AGE (spotlighting the campy Mighty Comics issues, and The Fly and Jaguar), the BRONZE AGE (the Red Circle line, and the !mpact imprint published by DC Comics), up to the MODERN AGE, with its Dark Circle imprint! (288-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $34.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-067-0

COMIC BOOK IMPLOSION

In 1978, DC Comics implemented its “DC Explosion” with many creative new titles, but just weeks after its launch, they pulled the plug, leaving stacks of completed comic book stories unpublished. This book marks the 40th Anniversary of “The DC Implosion”, one of the most notorious events in comics, with an exhaustive oral history from the creators involved (JENETTE KAHN, PAUL LEVITZ, LEN WEIN, MIKE GOLD, and others), plus detailed analysis of how it changed the landscape of comics forever!

ER EISN RD AWAINEE! NOM

(136-page trade paperback with COLOR) $21.95 (Digital Edition) $10.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-085-4

(272-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $36.95 (Digital Edition) $13.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-073-1

IT CREPT FROM THE TOMB Digs up the best of FROM THE TOMB (the UK’s preeminent horror comics history magazine): Atomic comics lost to the Cold War, censored British horror comics, the early art of RICHARD CORBEN, Good Girls of a bygone age, TOM SUTTON, DON HECK, LOU MORALES, AL EADEH, BRUCE JONES’ ALIEN WORLDS, HP LOVECRAFT in HEAVY METAL, and more!

EXPANDED SECOND EDITION—16 EXTRA PAGES! Looks back at the creators of the Marvel Universe’s own words, in chronological order, from fanzine, magazine, radio, and television interviews, to paint a picture of JACK KIRBY and STAN LEE’s complicated relationship! Includes recollections from STEVE DITKO, ROY THOMAS, WALLACE WOOD, JOHN ROMITA SR., and other Marvel Bullpenners! (176-page FULL-COLOR trade paperback) $26.95 (Digital Edition) $12.99

HERO-A-GO-GO!

MICHAEL EURY looks at comics’ CAMP AGE, when spies liked their wars cold and their women warm, and TV’s Batman shook a mean cape!

(192-page trade paperback) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $10.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-081-6

ER EISN RD AWAINEE! NOM

JACK KIRBY’S DINGBAT LOVE

The final complete, unpublished Jack Kirby stories in existence, presented here for the first time, in cooperation with DC Comics! Two unused 1970s DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET tales, plus TRUE-LIFE DIVORCE and SOUL LOVE magazines! (176-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-091-5

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES:

THE WORLD OF TWOMORROWS

8 Volumes Covering The 1940s-1990s

MAC RABOY

Master of the Comics

OR -COL FULLDCOVER HAR RIES SE nting me f docu ecade o d y! c a e h s histor ic com

MAC RABOY perfected his art style on such 1940s comic book creations as DR. VOODOO, BULLETMAN, SPY SMASHER, GREEN LAMA, and his crowning achievement, CAPTAIN MARVEL JR., before moving on to illustrate the FLASH GORDON Sunday newspaper strip. Author ROGER HILL documents the life and career of the master artist in a full-color hardcover with never-before-seen photos, a wealth of rare and unpublished artwork, and the first definitive biography of a true Master of the Comics! (160-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $14.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-090-8

TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.

Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com

TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

RETRO RADIO

Bob Crane Radio Legend by Carol M. Ford

From Behind the Mic to Behind Enemy Lines on Hogan’s Heroes

It’s six o’clock in the morning on March 9, 1962, in Los Angeles. Alarm clocks all over Southern California start ringing. Coffee pots begin to percolate, and bleary-eyed residents crawl out of bed to start the day. For those who tune in to KNX 1070 on their AM radio dial, they are greeted by the wild and outlandish morning show hosted by the future Colonel Robert E. Hogan. The man behind the microphone is none other than Bob Crane. Throughout the morning hours Monday through Friday, replays during the afternoon, and occasionally, special broadcasts on Saturday, Bob Crane would entertain his radio listeners. Before annoying Colonel Wilhelm Klink behind enemy lines at Stalag 13 on Hogan’s Heroes, Bob was causing a ruckus in his listeners’ homes. The Bob Crane Show radio program was extremely popular with listeners and advertisers alike. Considered a radio genius by his broadcasting colleagues on both East and West Coasts, Bob did things in radio that had rarely, if ever, been done before. Dubbed the “King of the L.A. Airwaves” and often called the “shock jock” of his day, Bob Crane revolutionized radio for generations to come.

Bob Crane as Colonel Robert E. Hogan on Hogan’s Heroes (circa 1966). From the personal collection of Carol M. Ford. Hogan’s Heroes © Viacom.

RETROFAN

March 2021

retro radio

Humble Beginnings

Bob Crane was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on Friday, July 13, 1928, to parents Alfred and Rosemary Crane. He had one older brother, Alfred Thomas, who went by Al, Jr., and who was born in 1926. Shortly after Bob was born, the Cranes moved to Stamford, Connecticut, about 30 miles south of Waterbury and situated on the banks of Long Island Sound across from Manhattan. Bob had a happy childhood and grew up in a Russian/Irish-Catholic home. When Bob was about ten years old, his parents took him and his brother to the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing, New York. There, on that fateful trip, Bob saw for the first time Gene Krupa in person—playing the drums. And oh, those drums! Bob was mesmerized from the start, and Krupa became one of Bob’s musician idols, along with Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton, Arte Shaw, Cozy Cole, and many more. As a little boy standing in the Fair grounds and from that moment on, music and drums would be omnipresent in Bob’s life. He would dream of sitting in on drums with the name bands of the day. He could never have known that one day, those dreams would come true. Later on, as a Hollywood star, he got to know and befriend many of his musician idols, and in turn, to Bob’s delight, they were happy to let him play drums on occasion with their band. Growing up, Bob was a happy-go-lucky kid and quite popular in school. In junior high school, he organized neighborhood parades and community sports teams, and he taught his friends how to play drums. By the time he got to high school, Bob was

IN-DEPTH BIOGRAPHY

Since his untimely death on June 29, 1978, Bob Crane’s unofficial biography has become akin to a broken record. Like a skip in the acetate, his murder and the scandal that grew from it have been the repeated focus of attention, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. Over time, the line between fact and fiction blurred, and his life story became distorted. All perspective on Bob Crane as a human being was lost, and he became nothing more than a two-dimensional cartoon character without depth, understanding, or definition. Now, nearly two hundred people who knew the Hogan’s 60

RETROFAN

March 2021

Bob Crane on the air at his first radio station, WLEA, in Hornell, New York, 1950. Courtesy of Scott Crane. Used with permission.

fronting a jazz band—The CraneCatino Jazz Band, which would play not only for high school assemblies, but also for events in Stamford and surrounding Connecticut towns. While in high school, he also played with the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra (but he was never a paid member; his participation was through a statewide program for high school music students to rejuvenate the orchestra during tough financial times). He had an army of school friends, and whether they traveled in his circle or not, everyone knew Bob Crane, Stamford High School’s “Drummer Boy.” World War II was raging around the globe when Bob was in high school, and his brother Al served in the United States Navy on the U.S.S. Bunker Hill in the Pacific Theater of War. On May 11, 1945, the Bunker Hill was attacked by two Kamikaze planes, and Al was badly injured. The war and his brother’s serious injuries would have a lasting effect on Bob throughout his life, and later on, it would play a major part in his decision to accept the role of Colonel Hogan. Bob Crane graduated from high school in 1946. He had aspirations of becoming a drummer with a Big Band, but by 1946, the Big Band era was coming to an end. He decided to turn his sights to radio, figuring it would allow him to stay close to the music he loved so much. As with drumming, he had been drawn to radio and the radio personalities who entertained him. As a kid, he used to put on mock/pretend radio shows in his room for Heroes star personally and better than most (family; friends as far back as elementary school; colleagues in radio, television, theater, and film) have spoken out on Bob Crane’s behalf, and in many instances, for the first time. Within the pages of this book, they share their memories and thoughts about a man whom they knew as an exceptional and talented musician, a genius in radio, a sharp-witted comedian, a gifted actor and director, a man driven to success, a doting and loving father, a loyal friend, and a kind and gentle spirit with a sunny personality, a man who, while not perfect, was vastly different from how he has been presented over the decades. Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography balances the scales and sets the record straight, providing a full and complete history of Bob Crane, clarifying who he really was, and just as importantly, who he was not. Learn more: www.vote4bobcrane.org Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AM Ink Publishing, and major book retailers worldwide.

retro radio

his best friend Charlie Zito and his sweetheart (and later his first wife) Anne Terzian. Soon after graduation and while working at a jewelry store in Stamford, Bob started sending out tapes and letters to radio stations throughout Connecticut, New York, and elsewhere on the East Coast. But no one nibbled. He even made a cold call on his honeymoon! In May 1949, Bob and his new bride Anne were honeymooning in the Poconos in Pennsylvania, and a short distance from the hotel, there was a radio station—WVPO, whose call letters stand for the “Voice of the Poconos.” Bob was so determined that one day, he just walked right over to the WVPO station, located in Stroudsburg, and asked for a job! The station said no, and dejected, Bob returned to his hotel, where hotel staff chided him as their “Voice of the Poconos.” Bob was not deterred. In March 1950, his persistence paid off. He received a call from WLEA in Hornell, New York. He was eager to accept, and after packing up what his cousin Jim Senich called the “broken down jalopy,” Bob made his way north. Before he could make it to the station, however, his car really did break down! A local farmer, pulling a cart of hay in a horse-drawn wagon, kindly offered Bob a lift to Hornell. Bob arrived at WLEA, with bits of hay sticking up out of his suit jacket. “I’m here for the job!” he announced, beaming with pride. “Great!” WLEA said. “Here’s the broom!” To Bob’s shock and dismay, the offer was to work as the station’s janitor, not on the air. Bob took the job, anyway, and for about a week, he swept the floors and emptied trash bins. Then something remarkable happened. During Bob’s first week at WLEA, the station went through a major staffing upheaval, and WLEA was soon in need of a new morning host. They thought their new janitor was pretty funny, cracking jokes as he cleaned. After one week, Bob was offered the job as WLEA’s weekday morning host. Within the month, he was promoted to program director. A star was born.

no ad-libbing. These were paid ads, and if you know anything about advertising, changing the ad copy for a product or service is verboten! Enter Bob Crane. Bob broke all the rules when it came to radio, and he reinvented the medium. At WLEA, Bob would, as he called it, “enhance” paid promos. Borden’s Milk was one of WLEA’s sponsors that had bought airtime during Bob’s show. Bob wouldn’t just read the ad. Oh, no! Instead, he took a little saltshaker and filled it with water. As he read the copy, he ad-libbed, “Borden’s Milk is so fresh, we’re milking the cow right here in the studio.” He then took the waterfilled saltshaker and shook it over a glass of water, creating the sound effect of milk dripping into a pail. He then continued, “The

The Radio Genius

Bob Crane believed in learning. He once remarked that while in school, he didn’t pay as close enough attention to his lessons as he should have. After graduation, he became serious about education and started reading books on just about everything, from English grammar to music and radio. In 1949, he took a course in station operations/radio techniques at the University of Bridgeport, but aside from that one course, his learning was through keen observation and self-study. He analyzed many different radio personalities—how they ran their shows, told their jokes, and delivered their lines. He kept notes on what he liked and what he believed worked, and he tossed the rest. As time went on, he started to develop his own show style by meshing certain elements together. WLEA served a smaller market share of listeners. Thus, WLEA was the perfect station for Bob to get his feet wet and experiment with a unique show style. One gimmick he used almost immediately was the use of sound effects, which he applied to paid advertising spots. During the Golden Age of Radio and even today, a DJ or radio personality would read the ad copy as typed—no alterations,

Crane at WICC, c. 1953. Bob was the morning drive-time personality at WICC Radio in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from 1952–1956. One of his many on-air gimmicks was the hen that rated the records. Courtesy of WICC-600 AM Radio, Bridgeport, CT. Used with permission.

milk is so fresh, why, the eggs are fresh, too!” At that moment, he cued up a record and played a quick sound effect of a hen cackling as she was laying an egg. Immediately after, he returned to the commercial. The gimmick worked, and Bob began to ponder—if he could do sound effects, then why not voices. He began doing different voice impersonations as part of his radio show, working them into his program. In addition, he kept a drum in his studio booth, and for the entire length of his radio career, he would drum along to songs as he played them on the air. Bob remained at WLEA for about nine months. In early 1951, he returned to Connecticut—first for a short, three-month stint at WBIS in Bristol, and then he hopped over to WLIZ in Bridgeport. RETROFAN

March 2021

retro radio

Bob often explained that he was hired at radio stations for the strangest reasons. At WBIS, they had played his demo reel too slow, and thinking Bob had a deep voice, like Edward R. Murrow, they hired him. When Bob arrived at the station, and they heard him talk (Bob talked fast, with a higher pitch), WBIS was stunned. But WBIS also thought he was funny. After working as the station’s morning man for a short time, Bob was promoted to program director. Not long after, WLIZ was looking to replace their morning host, who had an apparent drinking problem. In April 1951, WLIZ offered Bob the job under one condition: he must not drink! Bob didn’t have a problem with that stipulation because he neither drank nor smoked. So he transferred to WLIZ. Bob was only one year into his radio career, and already, he was on a meteoric rise to the top.

The Mighty WICC

WLIZ is usually missed in the telling of Bob’s story, if his radio career is spotlighted at all. Bob started at WLIZ in April 1951. In November 1951, WLIZ bought out WICC, home of the New York Yankees (WICC is still home of Yankees’ broadcasts). WICC had a stronger signal than WLIZ, so in February 1952, WLIZ management fired all of WICC’s staff and transferred its own WLIZ staff to WICC. From WICC’s original on-air line-up, they only kept the Yankees’ baseball games. It was, without a doubt, a hostile takeover. However, this takeover propelled Bob’s radio career to even greater heights. He became WICC’s morning drive-time host, as well as program manager, program director, and Junior Achievement Advisor. At WICC, Bob continued to improve his show. He played his drums on the air along to the records, and he continued to “enhance” the commercials. Within a very short time, he was taking New England by storm. He also started taking some on-air risks. Bob’s cousin Jim Senich told us about the grinder shop incident. (Author’s note: For non-New Englanders, a grinder is a hoagie or a submarine sandwich.) One of WICC’s paying advertisers was a local grinder shop/deli. This deli had developed a new specialty sandwich, and they paid WICC to promote their new sandwich during Bob’s show. Bob was to read this ad as it was written, and he did—but not without taking some liberties. He read on the air, “You won’t believe what they put in their specialty sandwiches! They have ham and cheese and roast beef and turkey. And not only that, but these sandwiches are also made with sticks and rocks and dirt and bits of concrete!” Imagine if you were that deli owner, and you heard that coming out of your radio! 62

RETROFAN

March 2021

(RIGHT) Crane with WICC colleague Morgan Kaolian (as Angie the Antenna Man) performed skits together on live television on WICC’s Channel 43, c. 1953. Courtesy of Morgan Kaolian and WICC-600 AM Radio, Bridgeport, CT. Used with permission.

(LEFT) WICC lobby card for radio personality Bob Crane, c. 1955. Courtesy of WICC 600-AM Radio, Bridgeport, CT. Used with permission.

The deli owner was livid. He called WICC’s general manager and screamed, “I want you to fire that guy, right now!” But within the hour, the deli owner called back. “Never mind!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got a line out the door and around the block! I’ve never been so busy in my whole life! People want to know what I’m actually putting in my sandwiches, and they are buying them to find out!” It was a double lesson for Bob. First, be more careful. Not every advertiser is going to like having their product or service “enhanced.” Second, when done properly, it works. He had discovered a key to keep a listener’s interest. Instead of turning the dial when the commercial came on, his audience stayed and listened, curious to know what this radio Mad Hatter was going to do next. Think of when you watch the Super Bowl. Even if your team isn’t playing, you watch often out of curiosity to see the commercials. That is akin to what Bob Crane was doing in radio—over 60 years ago. Rating songs was another of Bob’s on-air antics. These were not the hits of the day, however. These were the bombs. The songs people hated. The goose eggs. His ratings system consisted of the sound effect of a hen that cackled and laid eggs to rate a record. The more eggs that plopped into the basket, the worse the record was! By 1955, Bob was a tremendous success at WICC, and he wanted to expand his horizons. His sights were fixed firmly on New York City. He wanted more than anything at that time to make the move across Long Island Sound and get into the New York radio market. He knew program directors in Manhattan could hear WICC across Long Island Sound, and he wrote

retro radio

letters to them (on WICC letterhead, no less!). He wanted desperately to work in New York City. But it was not to be. While Bob was gazing across Long Island Sound and envisioning the Manhattan skyline, CBSowned WEEI in Boston was struggling. At WICC, Bob was destroying WEEI in the market share ratings. CBS reached out to Bob and offered him a job at WEEI. Stubborn and confident that New York was only a matter of time, Bob turned it down. CBS was not going to take “no” for an answer. They made him a counter offer he couldn’t refuse, and soon, Bob Crane’s whole life was about to change.

Hollywood Calling

On August 11, 1956, Bob Crane signed off WICC for the last time as Bridgeport’s morning “town crier.” He had been lured by CBS to relocate to the West Coast, and specifically, Hollywood. Long-time KNX morning man Ralph Story had decided to depart KNX and host the $64,000 Question. This left CBS in a bind. They needed a new KNX host for their morning drive slot. They also needed to boost WEEI’s ratings. CBS got creative, killing two birds with one stone. They offered the KNX morning slot to Bob. They believed that if he accepted, it would get him out of WEEI’s market and solve their problem at KNX. Bob was not so easily tempted, however. He was used to doing his radio show his way. Having worked at radio stations without contractual obligations to the Engineers’ Union, Bob got away with a lot, including the ability to play—or spin—his own records. In the Fifties/Sixties, that was something only engineers who worked for unionized stations could do, not DJs. DJs could not touch the records. Bob said he would consider KNX, but only if he could do his radio show his way, and that meant playing his own records. CBS wanted Bob Crane, and they wanted him badly—badly enough to enter into negotiations with the Engineers’ Union and fight for Bob’s demands. Those who worked with Bob at KNX explained to us that it almost led to a big strike between the Engineers’ Union and KNX. In the end, KNX prevailed, and special dispensation was made to allow Bob to play some of the records. Bob’s engineer would play songs and commercials. Bob would play sound effects, gimmicks, segments from variety

(LEFT) A drummer since about ten years of age, Crane took his drum set and drumsticks with him wherever he went, including to every radio station where he worked, and later, to his dressing room on the set of Hogan’s Heroes. His drumming talents are featured in two episodes of Hogan’s Heroes. Here, c. 1956, Bob is drumming on the air, which he did daily, along with the song being broadcast over KNX-CBS Radio. Courtesy of Scott Crane. Used with permission. (BELOW) Crane at KNX-CBS Radio, c. 1964. Bob Crane’s work in radio was innovative and revolutionary. According to a KNX promotional flyer: “The Bob Crane Show [is] the wildest, funniest morning program in radio. Besides keeping you posted on sigalerts, weather, sports, and the best of the ‘good’ music, Bob Crane pokes fun at just about everybody, including his boss, his sponsors, and his guests. He’s the only radio personality who hosts leading film and TV stars for live, unrehearsed interviews daily.” Photograph by Sylvia Norris. From the personal collection of Carol M. Ford.

shows, and his own skits and voice impersonations. With everyone satisfied, Bob accepted the job at KNX and entered a five-year agreement with CBS. On September 13, 1956, Bob Crane went on the air for the first time at KNX in Hollywood, and a radio legend came into his own. Listeners who were used to the deep, quiet, subdued intonation of Ralph Story were in for a shock. Like glass shattering on the kitchen floor, Bob burst onto the radio scene in Southern California, and he changed radio forever. Everything he had learned at stations WLEA, WBIS, WLIZ, and WICC were put to the test at KNX. At first, listeners were not too sure about their new morning radio host. Bob Crane’s style was brash and is best described as “organized chaos.” It was a significant change for Bob, too. KNX broadcast out of CBS Columbia Square in the heart of the entertainment industry. This was not a small or even medium-size station. This was Columbia Square. Columbia Square began operations in 1938, and throughout the Golden Age of Radio, it had been home to the best and brightest stars in radio, including (but not limited to) Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Red Skelton, Edgar Bergen, Eve Arden (Our Miss Brooks), and Steve Allen. Dramas included Gunsmoke, Man Behind the Gun, Dr. Christian, Yours Truly, Johnny RETROFAN

March 2021

retro radio

(LEFT) Bob Crane getting into make-up for The Donna Reed Show. During the time that Bob was on Donna Reed (1963–1964), he was also working full-time at KNX-CBS Radio. He would do his morning show from 6:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m. every day, then run over to Columbia Studios to rehearse or film his segments of Donna Reed, then run back over to KNX to prepare for his next day’s show. From the personal collection of Carol M. Ford. (RIGHT) Crane interviewed thousands of celebrity guests on his KNX radio show. He’s pictured here with legendary actor Jack Lemmon, one of Bob’s idols. Courtesy of Scott Crane. Used with permission.

Dollar, and The CBS Radio Workshop, to name just a few. Musical performers included Eddie Cantor, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, and Gene Autry. The Bing Crosby Show and The Ed Wynn Show were broadcast from Columbia Square, and the pilot episode of I Love Lucy was filmed “on the Square.” As a child, Bob had listened to and idolized such radio shows and performers, and this was a far cry from his humble beginnings on the East Coast. Would he be able to match such radio royalty? Over time, Bob proved that he not only could match such esteem, but in some cases, surpass it. He perfected his program and invented the technique of sampling; in other words, he made his show seamless from start to finish. It was not segmented in any way. An ad (which he would usually “enhance”) would run through into a skit, which would overlap a song (during which he would drum along with it—again, he kept his drums in the studio with him), and then time and weather reports would have additional flare. He would just roll the entire show together, and something he had done during the first hour would be revisited later on and perhaps throughout his show, almost like a running theme. He was able to control his records—the sound ef fects, gimmicks, skits, and pre-recorded voice impersonations (that he would interact with, live on the air, as if that person were real and sitting in the studio with him). He and his engineer (first Dave Jarecki, and later on, Jack Chapman) had what was referred to as “mute communication.” Since his engineer played records and commercials and Bob played the other records, they had to communicate quickly and silently through the glass window separating them in the booth. They knew exactly when to pick up and place the needle/stylus on the records to make the show work. At one point, Bob had six turntables around him in his studio, which he called “the horseshoe.” No engineer could have kept up with Bob and his innate ability to identify 64

RETROFAN

March 2021

precise grooves on an album just by looking at it. I compare it to the movie The Matrix, and the characters’ ability to read the green coding lines in the film. At one point, Bob had over 20,000 albums in his collection, many of them his own creations of skits, voice impersonations, and sound ef fects. KNX dubbed Bob Crane radio’s “Man of a Thousand Voices” and a “radio genius.” Bob’s show seemed to be spontaneous, as if everything was just springing to his mind. However, he prepared extensively for his show. He would arrive at the station right at six o’clock in the morning, fly into his studio, and run The Bob Crane Show until nine o’clock in the morning. After he got off the air, he would go to his office, where he would work throughout the day preparing for the next day’s show, meeting with song pluggers, writing skits, and reviewing advertising.

The Live KNX Celebrity Interviews

In October 1958, KNX decided there would be a new component added to Bob’s show: the live celebrity interview segment. This portion extended Bob’s show by 45 minutes, and they aired live Monday through Friday beginning at nine o’clock a.m. The interviews were rebroadcast Monday through Friday between two and five o’clock p.m. Bob’s live celebrity interviews were an instant success. In their promotional materials, KNX hailed The Bob Crane Show as “the wildest, funniest morning program in radio. Besides keeping you posted on sigalerts (pollution reports), weather, sports, and the best of the ‘good’ music, Bob Crane pokes fun at just about everybody, including his boss, his sponsors, and his guests. He’s the only radio personality who hosts leading film and TV stars for live, unrehearsed interviews daily.” By this time, Bob indicated that he was more than a DJ. He preferred being called a radio personality.

retro radio

he could not act professionally. As Bob recalled to Del Moore in an early Sixties interview, CBS told him: “You will not do television unless we give you the approval—and we’re not gonna give you approval!” It didn’t mean he didn’t try. His first known amateur acting role was in a 1959 community theatre production of the play Tunnel of Love. In 1960, Bob returned to community theatre and performed in Who Was That Lady I Saw You With? His acting idols included Jack Lemmon, Gig Young, and Jonathan Winters, among others, so these plays were a perfect fit for him. And if he couldn’t act professionally, he figured he could perform in community theatre to gain acting experience. Back in Bridgeport, Bob had a taste of television when, in 1953, WICC launched a fledgling UHF station, Channel 43. Bob and fellow WICC artist, traffic reporter, and funnyman Morgan Kaolian performed improvisational skits in the style of Ernie Kovacs. The station was a failure because UHF was in its infancy and expensive, and very few owned the special bowtie antenna required to receive the signal. Morgan relished telling the story of when Bob held up a $100 bill on camera and announced, “Whoever calls the station first, wins the money!” But nobody called! It was enough, however, to give Bob a bit of TV confidence. In 1959, KNX allowed Bob to film a small, 45-second stint in the pilot episode of a proposed television series, Picture Window. Producer Max Schulman (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) was from Westport, Connecticut, and had listened to Bob at WICC. Schulman practically begged KNX to allow Bob to take part in the series, first as the lead, then as a co-star, until finally, KNX agreed to a bit part in the pilot. The series was never produced, but it is considered Bob’s first professional acting performance. The Transition to Acting What Bob did not want was When Bob first accepted the offer to be was a television talk show from KNX, CBS had a feeling that host. He wanted to act. When Bob Crane in his KNX-CBS Radio booth, 1964. From the their new, good-looking, talented, Jack Paar stepped down as host of personal collection of Carol M. Ford. and exceptionally driven radio The Tonight Show, Bob was given personality might have acting the opportunity to replace him. on his mind. Being in Hollywood, the risk was always high for He refused the offer. Bob explained, “I wanted to make it as an DJs in Southern California to “get their start” in radio but then actor, which is something the TV personalities can’t do. My wife very quickly transition to acting. CBS had invested a lot in Bob, kept looking at the Jack Paar show and telling me that’s what bringing him out from the East Coast and settling with the I should be doing on television. But I kept telling her she was Engineers’ Union for him to run his show his way. They needed to wrong. A guy like Jack Paar [was] a brilliant host on The Tonight ensure he was going to stay put, at least for a little while. Show, but he couldn’t go into movies and play different parts. It’s At the time he was hired at KNX, Bob signed a five-year almost impossible for anyone, in fact, to do both. I’ve had loads of contract with CBS. This contract contained a “no acting” clause. opportunities to do a Johnny Carson-Jack Paar-Steve Allen-type This meant that for the duration of Bob’s first contract with KNX, show. It’s the easiest thing for somebody to say, when they see

Bob ran his interviews in the same manner as a late-night television host, such as Jack Paar, and later, Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and David Letterman, and currently, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel. Celebrity guests included the A-listers of the day, including but not limited to Jack Lemmon, Jonathan Winters, Gene Krupa, Richard Chamberlain, Paula Prentiss, Dick Van Dyke, Dick Clark, Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling, Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, and more, as well as a horde of others, from a young adventurous New Zealander named Alan Hall to “the gentleman who shines the shoes.” Over the next seven years, Bob interviewed close to three thousand prominent individuals from the entertainment industry. Bob Crane became one of the most successful radio personalities at KNX and in Southern California. In fact, The Bob Crane Show was so successful that advertisers had to pay KNX a premium to advertise their product or service during his program. Not only that, but advertisers could never buy time only on Bob’s show. Advertising on The Bob Crane Show was always bundled with other programs, so advertisers were forced to buy time elsewhere in addition to Bob’s show. As popular as he was, Bob never quite made it to the top spot in the Southern California market share. That honor would always remain with his radio rival, Dick Whittinghill, at KMPC in Los Angeles. The argument was made, however, that while Whittinghill may have had the market share (and just by a slight margin), Bob had the people “in the industry” because of his celebrity interviews. And because he had the industry insiders, it was easier for him to take his next step: to become an actor. But he had to wait. CBS wasn’t going to let him go that easily.

RETROFAN

March 2021

retro radio

what I do with guests, ‘Let’s just stick a camera in the studio,’ but I’ve never wanted to do that. Art Linkletter and a lot of other good friends in broadcasting told me I was a fool not to branch out into the television emcee business and maybe become another Jack Paar or Johnny Carson. But I couldn’t see it. Once you become identified as a TV emcee, you’re dead as an actor, and actor is what I wanted to be more than anything else.” The moment Bob’s five-year KNX contract came up for renewal, he renegotiated. By this time, Bob was a KNX moneymaker and a radio celebrity, and CBS did not want to lose him. To keep their star radio personality happy, CBS lifted the no-acting clause and allowed him to professionally act. From 1961 on, Bob had a yearly contract review and renewal, and while still formal by CBS standards, it had become more of a gentleman’s agreement. After Bob signed one contract (dated June 6, 1963), KNX’s then-program director Harfield Weedin included a note to Bob that read, “You’ve made Mr. Sutton [KNX general manager] and me very happy men. Thanks again.—HW.” The acting door was now wide open, and Bob stepped through it. Immediately, Bob started receiving offers and accepting small roles in films and television series. These included Man-Trap (1961), Return to Peyton Place (1961), The Twilight Zone (1961), The Dick Van Dyke Show (December 1962), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (January 1963), and The Donna Reed Show (March 1963–December 1964). While on The Donna Reed Show, Bob continued to work full time at KNX. Donna Reed coached Bob in acting, and in 1964, at her suggestion, Bob took an acting course taught by American actress and acclaimed acting instructor Stella Adler. Bob Crane left The Donna Reed Show of his own accord in December 1964. There were no hard feelings. He did not leave because he wanted more money. He was not fired for allegedly hitting on Donna Reed or costar Ann McCray (he did not). The reason Bob gave was that he had become bored with the premise. He wanted to act, not play the husband/father/next door neighbor. Offers for a leading role came flooding in, including for Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and My Mother, the Car. Throughout this entire time, Bob continued his radio show at KNX and stayed active in community theatre. In addition, he performed a small part in the film The New Interns, released in theaters on June 1, 1964. Then he had a fateful meeting with producer Jerry Thorpe. A new situation comedy was in the works, and it was set during World War II behind enemy lines in a prisoner of war camp. Bob wasn’t so sure, but nonetheless, he decided to meet with coproducers Edward H. Feldman and Bernard Fein about thencalled Hogan’s Raiders. He liked the idea, so on December 22, 1964, he agreed to screen test with Werner Klemperer. Their screen 66

RETROFAN

March 2021

Bob drumming while in costume as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, c. 1967. Hogan’s Heroes fans should take note that the Liberty Aviation Museum (www.libertyaviationmuseum.org/) in Port Clinton, Ohio, is the official home of the Hogan’s Heroes props and costumes/uniforms display. Courtesy of Scott Crane. Used with permission.

chemistry was instant, and they clicked. Bob was offered the role of Colonel Hogan. The pilot episode for Hogan’s Heroes began filming on January 7, 1965, and it wrapped on January 19, 1965. Remembering his older brother Al and other relatives and friends who had fought, were injured, and died in the war, Bob was sensitive to the feelings of veterans. He wanted their feedback, and in fact, he insisted upon it. While he loved the premise of Hogan’s Heroes, if veterans were going to be offended by it, then he wanted no part of it. The pilot episode (minus the laugh track) was sent to veterans’ groups across the country. After screening it, veterans relayed their approval, stating that without humor, they never would have made it through the war. Bob was sold. He accepted the role of the brash, ingenious American Army Air Force officer Colonel Robert E. Hogan. Bob continued to work at KNX for at least half of the first season of Hogan’s Heroes, and now, he was holding down two high-profile, full-time jobs. In June 1965, shortly after signing a new contract with KNX, he abruptly changed his mind. He had to choose between KNX and Hogan’s Heroes; he couldn’t do both

retro radio

A REMARKABLE, YET COMPLICATED MAN Since June 29, 1978, Bob Crane’s radio career has been merely a footnote to the three over-arching statements about his life and death: Hogan’s Heroes, his brutal and still-unsolved murder, and the sex scandal that came to light during the murder investigation. The truth is not as sensational as one might think, and Auto Focus and other resources contain much misinformation— sometimes deliberately. In an interview with The New York Times on September 29, 2002, Auto Focus director Paul Schrader stated: “You know, [John Henry] Carpenter was not as important in Crane’s life as he is in the film. It is a distortion… My intent with Auto Focus is not to be true or definitive. People’s actual lives are not really that interesting. And with Crane I wanted to get at something meaty. Otherwise, who cares? Would you want to watch a movie about Alan Hale?” It must be made clear that the scandal surrounding Bob Crane was and is nothing more than media glare. It has been proven by law enforcement and others that Bob had consensual sex with adult women only, and Bob occasionally photographed or videotaped some of these women with their knowledge. It is also important to stress that Bob recognized he had a sexual addiction and was seeking professional counseling shortly before his murder. Remember the era: This is 1978, a time when talking openly about one’s addiction—any addiction— was taboo and unaccepted in society. Bob turned to one person—his counselor—who talked with us in great detail about Bob’s struggles, decision, and strong determination to change. As Bob Crane’s official biographers, Linda J. Groundwater, Dee Young, and I spent over a decade talking with more than two hundred prominent individuals from Bob Crane’s life—family; friends as far back as grade school; coworkers in radio, television, theatre, and film; and the minister who was counseling Bob shortly before his murder. We also carried out an extensive literature review of more than 600 published articles, audio recordings, radio airchecks, and video documentaries pertaining to Bob Crane’s life and career. This was all done in the effort to discover Bob Crane’s true and complete life story, which we present in our book Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography, on our website www.vote4bobcrane.org, in our podcast Flipside: The True Story of Bob Crane, and via multiple social media accounts. With endorsement from Bob Crane’s family and estate, we continue to research his life so we can provide clarity about this remarkable yet complicated man.

without endangering his health. He rolled the dice and gambled on Hogan’s Heroes. And he won. On August 16, 1965, Bob Crane aired his final show over the KNX airwaves, formally surrendering his career in radio and to give the world “a gift of laughter” as Colonel Hogan. Hogan’s Heroes is still, to this day, beloved by many. People have fond memories of watching the series with their father and/or grandfather. It airs regularly on MeTV and the Sundance Channel, and is available on DVD. Fans simply cannot get enough. While Bob was starring on Hogan’s Heroes, he continued to stay close to radio. In 1967–1968, he donated many hours of his time for the U.S. Armed Forces Radio Network, producing recorded broadcasts for American troops serving overseas. In the 1970s, he went back on the air at KMPC, filling in for his radio rival Dick Whittinghill and broadcasting a year’s worth of specials for the station. He guest-hosted at several stations across the country, and in January 1976, Bob Crane returned to WICC to help the station celebrate its 50th anniversary, going on the air with WICC host “Big Al” Warren. Dee Young, who also worked at WICC as the station’s assistant business manager and is now retired, met Bob that day. She recalled: “I always remember his smile. He had the greatest, greatest smile. He was so nice and pleasant to everybody, and he seemed very happy to be back in Bridgeport and visiting WICC.” Bob Crane may be best known for Hogan’s Heroes, his murder, and a tabloid scandal. But there was so much more to this talented, driven, kind, multifaceted man—not the least of which was his unprecedented and revolutionary career in radio. CAROL M. FORD has worked in the publishing industry since 1997. She earned her BA degree with Honors in English/ Liberal Arts from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in Glassboro, New Jersey. She is the Director of Editorial Services, an editor, and a managing editor for Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc., a health care association management, marketing, and publishing firm located in Southern New Jersey near Philadelphia. Working with nurse leaders, she oversees the production of several clinical peerreviewed nursing journals, publications, and textbooks. Carol is the author of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography, which details the life of the late radio personality and Hogan’s Heroes star, and among other written works, is the editor and owner of Golden Linings, a charitable book series that raises money for shelter and rescue animals. She is owner and CEO of Carol M Ford Productions, LLC. In addition to managing podcast post-production services for clients, she is also currently producing the podcast Flipside: The True Story of Bob Crane (available for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn Radio, Stitcher, Spreaker, and everywhere podcasts are found). Visit Carol’s website at www.carolmford.com for all of her work. RETROFAN

March 2021

THE ODDBALL WORLD OF SCOTT SHAW!

WGASA and Other

ODDBALL SECRETS of the

World Famous San Diego Zoo! Part One by Scott Shaw!

If you’ve been binge-watching Animal Planet’s The Zoo: San Diego as I have, I’m sure you’ve noticed the dedication, enthusiasm, and pride of SoCal’s world famous zoo’s employees. They’re not acting—that’s all genuine. Although I no longer know any current employees of the world famous San Diego Zoo, 50 years ago, I knew many Zoo staffers who were exactly like this new batch. I’ve had a lifelong relationship with the Zoo, including: I first visited the Zoo at the age of three; served as the first president of the San Diego Junior Zoological Society; displayed my artwork at the Zoo’s public nexus; worked there during college as a “waste control technician”; and had a father who was in a key position there. I loved the Zoo then and I love it now, even though it’s completely dif ferent—and even better!—from the San Diego Zoo I grew up with during the first two decades of my life. But first, here’s a history of Balboa Park’s “world famous” San Diego Zoo. And believe (RIGHT) San Diego Zoo founder Harry Wegeforth and lion cub pal. (FAR RIGHT) Wegeforth and Galapagos tortoises, 1928.

RETROFAN

March 2021

me, growing up in San Diego, everyone referred to it as “world famous”—without the hyphen—because the world famous San Diego Zoo was the #1 tourist attraction in town. Promotional signage for the Zoo was ubiquitous, and every single one of ’em included the phrase “world famous.” So I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to get used to it. Blame San Diego for my “world famous” compulsion. In fact, to make things easier on you, I’ll only use its initials, WFSDZ, most of the time. (But the Zoo really is “world famous!”)

(OPPOSITE & ABOVE) Collection of mid-century San Diego Zoo postcards.

Zoo History

The world famous San Diego Zoo came into existence over a century ago, so it’s built up a lot of history. Here’s some essential background information. The San Diego Zoo is considered to be one of the finest zoos on the planet, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, it began in 1916, when San Diego physician Dr. Harry Wegeforth and his brother drove past Balboa Park (once known as “the gem of San Diego”) and heard the roar of a lion. Investigating, they found its source: a male lion from a small zoo exhibit at the 1915–1916 Panama-California Exposition. This got Dr. Wegeforth thinking about how San Diego needed its own zoo. After forming a team that founded the “Zoological Society of San Diego,” the doctor approached the Exposition and asked if he could have its no-longer-exhibited array of wolves, coyotes, bears, monkeys, lions, bison, elk, and deer. The Expo agreed, and that menagerie became the core residents of what was often referred to as “Wegeforth’s Folly.” Harry also adopted the hairy former mascot of a Navy ship, a young female brown bear named Caesar, who he drove to the Zoo in the passenger’s seat of his car. Although the public didn’t take him seriously, in 1921 Dr. Wegeforth talked the city of San Diego into granting him permanent land for his zoo in Balboa Park. When local San Diego philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps expressed interest, the doctor

asked her for funding to build fences around its boundaries. (That’s when the Zoo began charging admission at the whopping amount of ten cents an adult.) She also financed the Scripps Flight Cage, at 96 feet high and 115 feet long, at the time the biggest aviary in the world. Receiving international attention in 1925, the WFSDZ added a number of marsupial animals from Australia, including two koalas. Things grew from there, and are continuing to grow every day. The Zoo still calls Balboa Park its home, which stretches 100 acres across the park. It contains more than 3,700 rare and endangered animals representing over 600 different species. The WFSDZ’s collection of exotic plants is worth even more than the critters. Known for its global projects and endangered species breeding programs, the Zoo has a “sister,” the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, in nearby Escondido. The San Diego Zoological Society also operates the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, and the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy.

My Zoo and Welcome to It

But before we delve into the secrets, I want to make it clear that I’m mostly describing the WFSDZ I grew up in, from 1954 to 1979. And although I’ve checked my facts on Zoo history, I’m describing my own experiences from memory. In no way should I be construed as a representative for the San Diego Zoo. I’m just a proud San Diego boy with some cool and funny true stories for RetroFan readers. RETROFAN

March 2021

The Oddball World of Scott Shaw!

(LEFT) Goat Mountain, 1926. (RIGHT) Scripps Flight Cage, which stretches 96 feet high.

The first time I ever visited the WFSDZ was in 1954, when I was all of three years old... or less. I was already obsessed with jungle animals. (I didn’t know about dinosaurs yet.) And I could spell “zoo,” since the word was all over San Diego. Anyway, my parents took me to the thing that I knew how to spell. I was very young, so I’m sure we didn’t stay all day. The two experiences that are still clear in my mind are seeing the giraffes strolling in and out of their incredibly tall wooden barn and walking across an overhead walkway that stretched over every one of the water-filled lanes that contained alligators, crocodiles, and a monstrous alligator turtle. That memory is especially vivid. When we returned home from the Zoo, my parents asked me, “So what did you see today?” I must have been very angry about the cages themselves, because according to my mother, my disgusted answer was, “I see’d da wire.” Feh. Of course, that was only the first of countless trips to the Zoo. The WFSDZ soon became one of this kid’s two most favorite destinations in San Diego. (I also loved Balboa Park’s nearby San Diego Museum of Natural History and the huge Corythysaurus skeleton dramatically imbedded in one of its walls. I even took a “natural history” lesson in the Museum’s basement as a little kid and helped stuff a taxidermy-preserved sea lion when I was in college.) Zoo admission was free to kids 12 and under, and San Diego elementary school kids were treated to at least one field trip to the Zoo every year. My fifth grade Zoo trip coincided with the unexpected appearance of measles all over my face, arms, and hands, so that visit was cut short. My mom picked me up and took me to see my pediatrician, Dr. Mena, whose office was located just three minutes away on Park Blvd. Then I went home to a darkened room and listened to the Colpix Quick Draw McGraw record album over and over. (I wasn’t allowed to read, draw, 70

RETROFAN

March 2021

or watch television because at that time it was believed that light could permanently damage a measles patient’s eyesight.) [Deprive a kid of TV? Barbarism!—ed.] The WFSDZ’s Children’s Zoo opened in 1957, a maze-like “zoo within the Zoo” project spearheaded by the Zoo’s director, Dr. Charles Schroeder, intended to be the best petting zoo imaginable and enjoyable for parents as much as their children. Its paddocks were full of goats, sheep, and other safe-to-pet critters, where a kid could buy an ice cream cone full of carrot and celery strips to feed the critters… or himself. Plus—and this was discontinued by the Seventies—children had the opportunity to ride atop the thick carapaces of gigantic Galapagos tortoises. Animal health and insurance issues put an end to that. What would Charles Darwin say? In 1958, the Children’s Zoo added a mouse tunnel, a snake pit, a turtle aquarium, and a house of spiders, scorpions, and insects. Charles Shaw, the Zoo’s Assistant Superintendent and Curator of Reptiles, noted that “adults at the Children’s Zoo outnumbered the kids, and unlike kids, their heads got bumps in the small enclosures.” When no one was around, I once climbed into the aforementioned snake pit, since none of the reptiles were poisonous. Unfortunately, the experience failed to prepare me for working in the entertainment and advertising industries. I was also unprepared to get severely scratched on my forearm by one of the Children’s Zoo’s raccoons during a second grade class visit.

My Dad the Zoo Cop

My father, Garlin V. Shaw, was born in central Illinois in 1918, grew up as a farm kid who hoped to become a sign painter, enlisted in the U.S. Navy, went through boot camp in San Diego, and shipped out to Pearl Harbor just in time to have his ship capsized by a Japanese torpedo in 1941. A fast-track “mustang” officer,

The Oddball World of Scott Shaw!

he survived a number of Pacific Theater battles during WWII, met my mother, got married, had a baby weirdo (me) in 1951, and moved us all to San Diego in 1954 to eventually retire from the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander and former commanding officer of San Nicolas Island, the so-called “Island of the Blue Dolphins.” The day after his retirement from the Navy, he started his second career, one as a security guard at the world famous San Diego Zoo. He started out on the night shift, when the newbie zoo-cop faced down an automatic ice machine for three hours (he only heard the rattling and assumed that someone had broken in) and while taking a smoke break on a moonless night, felt the hot breath of a black panther on his nape of his neck, caged but still only inches away from him. Working his way up to the day shift, he once grabbed a thief going through the exit turnstile who was smuggling two golden marmosets out of the Zoo. Dad says he was tipped off by the guy’s flinching and groaning as the tiny primates bit him downstairs. The terrible smell of their feces was also a poo-clue! Since he was a smart man and good with people, “G. V.” (as he was nicknamed) soon rose to the position of the Zoo’s Chief of Security. One of his more unique assignments was to write instructions for his team of security guards in case of cataclysmic emergencies that would affect the safety of the Zoo’s visitors and staff. The scenarios he planned for included: a major earthquake, the collapse of the Skyfari bucket ride, a terrorist attack, escaped criminals hiding inside the Zoo, escaped animals trying to get out of the Zoo, and atomic war, among about 15 more. Another memorable assignment was when he was asked to oversee the necessary security measures when Japan’s Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako visited the world famous San Diego Zoo on October 9, 1975. They were on a 15-day tour of America and visited the Scripps Institute of Oceanography the same day. The Japanese leaders’ tour of America was initiated by U.S. President Gerald Ford. Their visit directly led to the JapanUnited States Friendship Act of 1975. At no time did my father demonstrate the anger and resentment of many of his contemporary war veterans

toward the assignment, nor the emperor. Dad once told me, “Most of the Japanese sailors involved didn’t want to be killing us any more than the U.S. sailors wanted to be killing them, but war is war.” He never displayed any postwar trauma, other than staring into the flames in our fireplace and chain-smoking cigarettes. Thanks to my dad, we always had free passes to the Zoo to hand out to friends, teachers, relatives, and fellow cartoonists at the San Diego Comic-Con. My father retired from the Zoo in 1981, but all of those cigarettes finally caught up with him in 1986.

The Junior Zoological Society

One day, Dad mentioned to me that the San Diego Zoological Society was planning to start up a new educational club for young animal enthusiasts. (In 1917, the Society faced financial challenges in maintaining the growing animal collection. The San Diego Sun had long been interested in establishing a zoo in Balboa Park, and offered to use his newspaper to publicize the Zoo and campaign for funds. Its publisher ran an animal-related contest in the Sun in with a circus. He also arranged for the circus to charge children a 50-cent admission fee that would include a membership to the “Junior Zoological Society”; 12 cents would go to the circus, 38 cents went to the Zoological Society. Within two months, the Zoo was out of trouble!) Anyway, I somehow wound up as the president of the San Diego Junior Zoological Society, an institutional moniker that made “the Legion of Substitute Heroes” sound cool by comparison. Our mentor/chaperone/adviser was the head of the Education Department, Mr. Brereton. He was a friendly “absentminded professor” type who reminded me of Sterling Holloway. He was interested in tarantulas, and even had a print shirt that was festooned with images of tarantulas, which I always envied. We broke up the group into specific groups animals that we were particularly knowledgeable about. Then we would volunteer as informal docents available to the public if they wanted to know more about any animal in the park. Surprisingly, my specialty wasn’t reptiles, although I often pestered the Zoo’s Curator of Reptiles as well as the Zoo’s Assistant Superintendent, a nice guy named Charles Shaw (no relation; I already had one relative at the Zoo), who seemed to appreciate my mania for paleontology. No, I went even weirder and became our club’s expert on what I referred to as the “Dr. Seuss animals,” (FAR LEFT) Zoo benefactress Belle Jennings Benchley, cheek-to-beak with a friend. Benchley became the Zoo’s first female director. (TOP LEFT) Belle and a tapir support the war effort by entertaining the troops, 1943. (BOTTOM LEFT) Belle with ape friends Albert, Bonoba, and Bata, 1949.

RETROFAN

March 2021

The Oddball World of Scott Shaw!

marsupials, such as kangaroos, koalas, and Underground Film Society. We hadn’t seen my favorite, the platypus. I also met my first a single underground film, other than Don wife while in this group. I was 14, she was 15, Glut’s impressive and hilarious amateur so it never even got to handholding then. We movies he showed at Forrest J Ackerman’s reconnected years later, and five years after “Ackermansion,” but since we were actually that… we disconnected. (It was quite a divorce more of a comic book/sci-fi/monster movie when you consider that I was also juggling it club, we mainly used the hip term not to get with a lawsuit against Filmation Studios over a mocked or bullied. But we did attempt to vampire duck. Really. My pal Andy Mangels— make our own unauthorized underground also a regular here at RetroFan—can confirm it!) film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic In February 1968, the Zoo was adding onto short story about time travel, dinosaurs, and the gift shop near its exit, and had erected consequences, A Sound of Thunder (1952). Future Dr. Charles R. Schroeder, a plywood barrier around the worksite. It Hugo Award recipient Greg Bear started director of the San Diego Zoo wouldn’t be up for long, so my father pulled building the armature for the stop-motion star from 1954–1972. of the movie, a ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex. some strings and before I had time to really Meanwhile, I was cajoling my father for prepare for it, I was asked to paint a cartoon three things we desperately needed to give mural on the barrier! I used black paint to draw our film a touch of credibility: tropical khaki clothing, rifles with some goofy zoo animals on its vertical surface, a hard trick unless plugged barrels, and, by the way, access to the WFSDZ’s access you’re used to doing it. I wasn’t and the results were far from roads which were forbidden to anyone but Zoo personnel. That what I’d hoped for, but it briefly gave my cartooning some public was quite a bold demand, but of course, my dad really delivered exposure. At the time, I was a senior attending San Diego’s Will C. Crawford High School and drawing cartoons for The Pacer, the the goods. First, he called up some of his buddies at San Diego’s school’s biweekly newspaper, which ran an article about my zooMCRD—a.k.a. Marine Corps Recruit Depot—and charmed them mural with the headline, “Watch Out For This Artist – He May Be into allowing him to borrow some khaki shirts and plugged rifles. Famous Some Day.” (Didn’t they realize that there are absolutely We wore tan shorts and a few of us had plastic pith helmets from no famous cartoonists in America? We’re all obscure!) Disneyland, so the combination was quite convincing, at least if no one noticed that we were 15-year-old boys. I still don’t know how my father was able to arrange this, Teenage Safari but on a busy Saturday morning, hundreds of Zoo attendees In my senior year at Crawford High, I was lucky to have a were shocked to see what looked like a teenage safari and film number of fanboys (and one fangirl!) friends—many of crew carrying rifles enter the WFSDZ’s front entrance and walk whom were integral to the creation of San Diego Comicacross the Zoo grounds to one of the access roads on the south Con—who were the core of the school club we founded, the side of the park. We got a lot of stares. We shot a lot of usable footage, but like most kids, we had the passion and interest but graduation was beckoning to many of us from around the corner. We didn’t advance much further with the production of our bottom-of-the-barrel-budget Bradbury blockbuster. By the way, in addition to noted and prolific science fiction author Greg Bear’s participation in the creation of San Diego ComicCon, Crawford High’s cartoonist/illustrator/fine artist/code artist John Pound, physics professor/author Roger Freedman, and poet/sommelier David Clark, were not only key committee members, Jack Kirby turned (most) of us into deadly assassins from Apokolips, the San Diego Five String Mob (plus one) in DC Comics’ Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #144 and 145. Before he drew DC Comics’ Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, RetroFan’s own Scott Shaw! was part of the San Diego Zoo’s crew, where he provided his mural, which was written up in a 1968 edition of The Pacer.

RETROFAN

March 2021

Wild Animal Park

The San Diego Zoological Society became interested in developing the Wild Animal Park in 1964, with Director Dr. Charles Schroeder, a veterinary authority, was its primary proponent. The idea of the park began as a supplementary breeding facility for the San Diego Zoo, which would allow ample space for large animals. The animals would be exhibited in a natural environment rather than in cages. In 1964, the park was assessed financially and chose its most expensive option: a natural environment zoo development. The main purposes of this zoo were to be species conservation and breeding of animals for the San Diego Zoo and other zoos, as well as providing areas

The Oddball World of Scott Shaw!

(LEFT) Architectural drawing by Charles Faust of the entrance to the Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. (ABOVE) Main entrance, 1960. (RIGHT) The entrance served as the backdrop for this Sixties Union 76 magazine ad. © Phillips 66. Co.

where zoo animals could be conditioned. Opening Day was on May 10, 1972. The general layout of the park, designed by Charles Faust, included an African fishing village, an African fishing village, large lagoon with a jungle plaza, an aviary at the entrance of the park and approximately 50,000 plants for landscaping. The first two animals to arrive at the park were the nilgai (an antelope from the plains of North India), and the black-and-white striped Grant’s zebra (native to East Africa). Other animals to arrive at the park include gemsboks, sable antelopes, greater kudus, white rhinoceros, Indian rhinoceros, the Indian rhinoceros, and ten cheetahs. On June 30, 2010, the “San Diego Zoo’s Board of Trustees” voted to change the name of the park from the “Wild Animal Park” to the “San Diego Zoo Safari Park” to clarify what it offered. (The word “safari” is supposed to emphasize “the park’s spacious enclosures of free-ranging animals”—as opposed to “the closer quarters of the Zoo.” I encourage you to visit them both.)

The Secret Meaning of ‘WGASA’

The fabled WGASA Bush Line no longer exists. A few years ago, the San Diego Safari Park replaced it with an open-air shuttle called the African Express. But in 1972, when the former supplemental breeding facility opened as the San Diego Wild Animal Park, the WGASA Bush line—a silent, electric monorail tram—was the primary way for visitors to view the park’s population of animals in an environment remarkably similar to the African veldt in terms of vegetation, terrain, temperature, and size. The planning for the park began in 1964, and since he was going to be the Chief of Security for both the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park, my father was part of the team assembled to plan its transition from a private breeding experiment to a moneymaking public attraction. Incredibly progressive for a team of middleaged white men, the park would reflect the lifestyles and cultures from various African countries. At one of their seemingly endless meetings, the topic of an electric tram was addressed. Everyone was all for it, but they

couldn’t agree on a name. My father was sitting next to Charles Faust, the designer of most of the Zoo’s “modern” organic enclosures in the early Sixties and those parts of the Wild Animal Park that weren’t designed by Mother Nature. When the wave of suggested names for the tram died down, there was a long pause. Then Chuck Faust stood up and said with confidence, “I think it should be called ‘The WGASA Bush Line,’” and sat back down. Without hesitation, the rest of the all-white team—probably relieved that Faust’s suggestion sounded really “African”—never thought to ask what it meant, and approved it. And that’s how the WGASA Bush Line was supposedly named. But as I said, my dad was sitting right next to Faust, who’d been doodling on one of those yellow legal pads. Barely after the park’s designer had announced his choice for a name for the tram, my father looked down at the pad, and this is what he saw, arranged in a column, with the first letter of each word circled: Who Gives A Sh*t, Anyway? The name “WGASA” then was submitted to a committee for approval, remembered Chuck Bieler, a Zoo official at the time. He too was aware of its true origin, but the others weren’t: “It was just a neat African-sounding name. They said, ‘That sounds great,’ without any knowledge of what it meant.” Bieler later became the Zoo’s executive director and for decades, told people that the name actually stood for “World’s Greatest Animal Show Anywhere.” Yeah, riiight. In the Nineties, my family and I visited the SDWAP to be among display of audio-animatronic dinosaur figures throughout the park. It was during a brutal heat wave and I was pushing a baby carriage loaded with baby accessories as well as my son Kirby. Suddenly, we heard a blurting announcement that the visitors had five minutes to clear the place! We panicked; I was much heavier then, and there was no way I was capable of pushing a loaded baby carriage over the hills and valleys between us and the park’s exit. Fortunately, a utility vehicle was coming RETROFAN

March 2021

The Oddball World of Scott Shaw!

our way, so I flagged it down and begged for a lift for my family so we wouldn’t get locked inside the loaded SDWAP. When the two employees explained that was against the policies of the park, I pleaded in desperation that we were part of the “Zoo family.” That got me nothing but icy stares, so I added, “Who gives a sh*t, anyway?” Their reaction? Grinning, they both said, “Get on!” We reached the exit just in time. Thank you, WGASA!

The Quicker Picker-Upper

Surprisingly, before graduating Crawford High, I received a full scholarship to Cal Western University on Point Loma in San Diego. Looking back, I think that the college was somehow desperate to have a cartoonist working for their weekly campus newspaper. But since the summer of 1968 was still in front of me, I asked my dad if the Zoo was hiring guys my age… which was only 16. You had to be 18 to handle cash, so my father pulled a few strings— Dad was an honest, naval version of Sgt. Bilko—and I was hired as a “Waste Control Technician,” an effusive title for a mere groundkeeper, or as I referred to myself, a “trash picker-upper.” My job was to wander around a specified area of the Zoo, using a “grabber” metal trash-picker to stuff refuse into what looked like a tennis racquet with a gunny sack replacing the meshed strings. Although I was dealing with garbage, it was a wonderful job. Other than my home, the WFSDZ was my favorite place in San Diego. Another perk was that I was able to learn a lot about the Zoo’s residents and operation from their zookeepers, and occasionally, the curators. We weren’t buddies, but since I was obviously interested in animals, they endured my pestering them with countless questions. A few keepers even took me inside the “bedrooms” at the rear of each enclosure for its inhabitants to avoid the public if they wanted privacy. I also learned just how incredibly devoted the keepers were to their beasts, fully aware that, depending on the creatures they were caring for, they were risking their lives every day… and were fine with that unsettling fact. My contact with the public was minimal, except when I happened to be wearing my official WFSDZ khaki shirt, which bore one of those embroidered “name labels”… which misspelled my name as “Shan,” not Shaw. Only on those days would I be peppered with questions and comments by the tourists, inevitably including a friendly reference to “Mr. Shan.” If I was working in the “Hoof and Horn Mesa” or “Bear Canyon,” bus drivers would wing slices of Wonder Bread at the “brown

dipper” and I’d catch it in my gunny-sack trash basket. (A few years after I worked there, the WFSDZ switched from white bread to a healthier option, “bear biscuits.”) Applause or groans would follow, depending on my iffy ability to perform my “trick.” Speaking of tricks, I kind of tricked my father from doing his job at the Zoo. On weekends, a few hippies would set up shop in front of its entrance, sitting on the cement on either side of a blanket covered with new underground comix. And every weekend, my father would roust them away, since it was illegal to do business on property owned by the Zoo. (The city owned the parking lot.) My friends and I were very excited about underground comix and we considered them to be “the next step in comic books.” It upset me that my own father was constantly busting the people that provided many of the comix that were an influence on my not-yet-professional cartooning, so what th’ hell, I casually grilled my dad about his daily schedule, then, the next time I was working at the Zoo, I immediately shared my information with them! After that, every time he policed the area in front of the Zoo, the dealers were nowhere to be seen. But when my dad was elsewhere, not only did the underground comix dealers, their blanket, and their merch mysteriously appear out of nowhere, they actually gave me a small discount on the issues of Zap Comix, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, and Air Pirates that I paid for with money I earned at the Zoo. Wotta ironic deal, eh? Despite the close scrutiny I received as the son of the Zoo’s Chief of Security, I was offered a slot in the early morning shift of “waste control technicians” from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. I eagerly accepted. So, why would a teenage boy want a job that required waking up at 5:00 a.m.? The lure was simple: No Zoo visitors. These were the early hours when the animals were waking up and getting fed, the grounds were being hosed down, and it was, by far, the most interesting, most exciting, and most beautiful time to be part of the action at the Zoo. (What else could overwhelm the revulsion of cleaning public bathrooms on “the morning after”?) But I’ve gotta admit, the most fun I often had while working at the WFSDZ was after hours with no tourists present, I was in a lightweight utility vehicle, zipping around the park among the animals as the sun set. Ahhh, I felt like a new Ed “Big Daddy” Roth hot rod character, “Zoo Fink,” even though I was driving under 35 miles an hour! In 1932, the Zoo’s first veterinarian was hired—Dr. Charles Schroeder. He focused on treating and caring for animals using preventative procedures based on his scientific studies of disease

The Zoo comes to you! (LEFT) These camels get a day trip to appear in the 1958 Toyland Parade in San Diego. (RIGHT) A Sixties’ iteration of The San Diego Zoo View-Master packet, which was reissued throughout different decades.

RETROFAN

March 2021

WGASA Bush line and (INSET) its respective patch. Scott Shaw! reveals what the zoo acronym actually means in this column!

and illness. Schroeder’s writing on a wide variety of animalrelated subjects and his treatment of the Zoo’s residents was highly praised. He became the Director of the Zoo in 1954 and was my father’s boss. He had a reputation as a tough little German who would have been willing to do just about any job in the Zoo, if necessary. Dr. Schroeder was also considered to be “the Father of the San Diego Wild Animal Park.” He didn’t manage the place from behind a desk, and when I was working as a groundskeeper, I’d always say hello when I’d see him pop up all around the park at any time of day. I think he might have remembered that I was the kid who drew that ambitious but amateurish mural, because one day, my father brought home a gift to me from Dr. Schroeder! I unwrapped it to find a framed photo of the “Hodag,” a mythical creature that supposedly roamed Wisconsin and its northern city, Rhinelander. A closer look at the Hodag, a dangerous-looking critter, would reveal that the image of “the fiercest, strangest, most frightening monster ever to set razor-sharp claws on the earth” was actually patched-together photos of animals and farm implements, a sort of prehistoric PhotoShop! Something tells me that the good doctor knew just how nutty I really was. The WFSDZ’s Kenton C. Lint Hummingbird Aviary opened late in 1964. It was named after the Zoo’s Curator of Birds, often seen on the nature television series Zoorama. Located between Wegeforth Bowl and the Children’s Zoo, the round-topped aviary was as diminutive as its residents: only 64 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 12 feet high. It housed a collection of 23 different species of SCOTT SHAW!’S ODDBALL COMICS NOT-SO-LIVE! is an 80-minute presentation of comics that make you wonder, “How the !?!#%&!?! did this ever get published?” Scott’s been doing these shows at San Diego’s ComicCon International since the Seventies. Now you can finally see it for free on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ DwyQ fsf0NO4

tropical Brazilian hummingbirds, and 60 other species of tropical birds. When I worked at the Zoo, it was the one place in the park where I could take a break and achieve total peace. Sitting inside that peaceful sanctuary, if a visitor was dressed appropriately, they could actually promote the possibility of new hummingbird hatchings. By wearing a loosely knit sweater and was sitting quite still, it would attract the hummingbirds, who hover around, plucking thin fibers from their clothing, which the tiny birds would in turn use to build their equally small nests. NEXT ISSUE: Oddball World’s visit to the San Diego Zoo concludes with Joan Embery and Johnny Carson, Albert the gorilla and other zoo-stars, TV’s Zoorama, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, and more! Thanks to the “bitchen” San Diegan Joanne Marshall for jarring loose a few zoo memories! Visit the Zoo’s website at zoo.sandiegozoo.org For 48 years (and counting), SCOTT SHAW! has written and drawn underground comix, mainstream comic books, comic strips, graphic novels, TV cartoons, toys, advertising, and video games. He has worked on such characters as Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew (which he co-created with Roy Thomas), Sonic the Hedgehog, the Flintstones, the Jetsons, the Simpsons, the Futurama gang, the Muppet Babies, Garfield, the Garbage Pail Kids, and yes, even Annoying Orange. His career has garnered him four Emmy Awards, an Eisner Award, and a Humanities Award. Scott is also known for his “Oddball Comics Live!” visual presentation of “the craziest comic books ever published” and for his regular participation in “Quick Draw!” with Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés. He was also one of the teenagers who co-created what is currently known as Comic-Con International: San Diego, America’s biggest annual fan event. He can be reached at shawcartoons.com. RETROFAN

March 2021

SUPER COLLECTOR

The Partridge Family

Trading Cards C’mon, Get Collecting by Ernest Votto September 25, 1970 saw the debut of The Partridge Family (TPF) recommend the first two albums The Partridge Family Album and on the ABC television network. The weekly half-hour show The Partridge Family Up to Date), a Charlton comic-book series, was quickly embraced by an American public looking for good, View-Master reels [two different sets, a rarity reserved for only solid family entertainment. Inspired by a real pop music family, a handful of TV shows including Bonanza and Happy Days— the Cowsills (“The Rain, the Park and Other Things”) [see issue #8’s ed.], paper dolls, a TPF toy bus (value as of this writing: $1000 NM), cover feature—ed.], The Partridge Family, with its excellent mix posters, magazines, a Laurie doll (current value: $250 NM), PF of comedy, music, and attractive stars, was just too much for TV fan club items, paperback mystery novels (I bought the one with viewers to resist. Laurie on the cover when I was nine), coloring books, etc. One of the reasons the show took off right away was the But the one item most treasured by PF fans and collectors is amazing cast. They say that with the cast of the TPF there the set of Partridge Family cards! Call them bubble gum cards, was someone for everyone, and I have to trading cards, or non-sport cards, this was the agree. Oscar winner Shirley Jones (Elmer item that all PF fanatics wanted… and still Gantry) was the ultimate TV mom (no want today. offense, Mrs. Brady). David Cassidy (Keith) In 1971, during the height of Partridge would become one of the biggest music Family, David Cassidy, and Susan Dey stars of the Seventies because of his Partridge mania, trading-card giant Topps issued a Family success. Seventeen-year-old Susan 55-card The Partridge Family series. Each Dey (Laurie) was a very successful model pack offered eight cards plus one stick of before becoming a Partridge and would bubble gum—a steal at ten cents. It was so be nominated for a Best Supporting popular that Topps followed it with another Actress Golden Globe (1973) for her excellent 55-card series. work on the show. Danny Bonaduce as the Both series followed the same format, scene-stealing ten-year-old Danny Partridge except the first series of cards had yellow really helped to bring it home. Adorable borders on the front, while the second series seven-year-old Suzanne Crough (Tracy) of cards featured blue borders. was the family’s tambourine, triangle, and By the end of 1971, Topps issued a third cowbell player. Chris Partridge was played and final series containing a whopping 88 by Jeremy Gelbwaks (Season One) and Brian cards. These are distinguished by their green Forster (Seasons Two through Four). Let’s borders. Another important difference with not forget Laugh-In graduate Dave Madden the third series is that the print run must as our favorite manager, Reuben Kincaid. I have been smaller. The green border PF cards Unopened pack of cards. The was nine years old when the show debuted, are much harder to find than the other two PF wax wrappers featured an so my favorite character, of course, was the series and command much higher prices on illustrated of TV’s family band. gorgeous Laurie Partridge. the secondary market today. The yellow and © Sony Pictures Television. Courtesy of The show was very popular with young blue border series sell for about $1.00 per Heritage. people right out of the gate, so a ton of card or $100 per set in excellent condition. Partridge Family merchandise was unleashed The green border series will run you at least on the American public. Available for teens $2.00 per card and $200 per set in high grade. and tweens to buy: hit songs (including “I Think I Love You” The green series is a good investment, as there are not a lot of and “I Woke Up in Love This Morning”), hit albums (I highly them for sale on the secondary market. 76

RETROFAN

March 2021

(OPPOSITE PAGE and BELOW) A montage of Partridge Family trading cards from Topps: Series 1 (yellow borders), Series 2 (blue), and Series 3 (green). (LEFT) Opened pack wrapper. © Sony Pictures Television. Courtesy of Heritage.

I prefer the first card series of the three. It has the best photos, and the yellow borders are the most attractive of the different colors used. PF fans, collectors, and investors are also very interested in wrappers, unopened packs, empty display boxes, and unopened boxes. Roughly 50 years have passed since these items were originally made available to the public, so they are becoming harder to find and more expensive. Good investments! In my opinion, the wrapper artwork is bland, while the display boxes have an eyecatching photo of the cast. All three series contain great photos, with David Cassidy being featured the most. Under each photo there is a fun caption: “GETTING IT ALL TOGETHER,” “BERRIES FOR BREAKFAST,” “LAURIE AT THE KEYBOARD,” “HAPPY TIMES!”—well, you get the picture. The majority of the cards have puzzle backs (photo segments that connect like a puzzle to form one larger photo), and some card dealers actually sell the completed individual puzzles on eBay, a cool collector’s item. Some of the puzzle backs also contain an ad to “JOIN THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY FAN CLUB!” The rest of the cards have song lyric backs, branded as “The Partridge Family Song Hits.” The song lyrics are accurate and easy to see. They also list the writers for each song featured. PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator)-graded cards are very popular with PF collectors. eBay is a very good source to locate these coveted cards. Keith and Laurie PSA cards clearly sell for more than the other Partridges, for obvious reasons. A PSA-graded 9 (MINT) of David Cassidy or Susan Dey is going to run you around $20 per card. There are some real steals of the other Partridges up on eBay. A PSA-graded 10 (GEM MT) Finding an unopened box of TPF cards, like this Series 2 box, is a collector’s dream. © Sony Pictures Television. Courtesy of Heritage.

of any vintage PF card is hard to find, so don’t hesitate if you see one for sale. Also, SGC (Serious Grading Culture)-graded cards are also available in the collectors’ market. There are a number of different ways that fans can collect these vintage card treasures. You can do the obvious and put entire sets together from scratch, or purchase complete sets. You could collect cards of your favorite cast members. You could collect only PSA-graded cards. You could collect cards signed by the actors (I would recommend getting these cards signed in person at nostalgia shows to be sure the signatures are authentic). Some TPF actors turn up at pop culture conventions and collectible shows, although at this writing most such shows are postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. You might be wondering how to go about obtaining vintage PF cards. Well, I have some tips for you. First of all, check out flea markets as well as garage and garage sales—you can find some great deals if you luck out. Take a look at the classifieds in The Wrapper magazine (www.thewrappermagazine.com), a periodical that since 1978 has supported the non-sports card world. You will always find several ads with TPF cards for sale at very fair prices. Of course, there is always that huge auction monster, eBay, where there are always many card dealers selling TPF cards. Well, I’ve told you everything that you need to know about The Partridge Family cards. So, c’mon, get collecting! Dedicated to the memory of David Cassidy, Suzanne Crough Condray, and Dave Madden. Thanks for the happy times! ERNEST VOTTO is a freelance writer and a true Partridge Family fan residing in Coney Island. RETROFAN

March 2021

records, and other assorted cool, kitchsy items of yesteryear! In fact, I was even named after Samantha from Bewitched! Already, you can probably tell that I’ve been raised on all sorts of outasite things like The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, MAD Magazine, Elvis and Frank Sinatra, Holly-Hobbie, Snoopy, Sid and Marty Krofft, and a whole bunch of Hanna-Barbara/Filmation/Rankin-Bass cartoons, among many, many other things. I know that if I were to list all the sitcoms I watch and the other groovy things I love, I would probably have run out of space by now! Collecting super-cool antiques and collectibles is my favorite hobby. No matter if they’re authentic or reproduction versions, I love ’em all. I love records and late Sixties/early Seventies bubblegum music is my favorite! In fact, I learned all about your magazine from one of the grooviest, most talented bands I have ever listened to—the Cowsills! They are one of my most favorite music groups, and I just LOVED the interview conducted by Mr. Rob Labbe [RetroFan #8]. It was extremely indepth, and it really gave an organized account of the Cowsills timeline. I thought it was really funny that his sister was jealous of Susan and that Barry was her favorite. (I can relate to that!) I also thought that the Popeye, coloring book, and Smiley Face articles were fascinating! I would just love to see some articles about Rankin-Bass holiday specials, and weird merchandise featuring characters from old sitcoms! Keep on keepin’ on, and stay groovy as always! SAMANTHA SIBAYAN

I have thoroughly enjoyed RetroFan since #1. First correspondence. The commercial spokesperson article in issue #9 left out two of my favorites, Rosie the waitress (Nancy Walker, Bounty) and Mrs. Olson (Virginia Christine, Folgers Coffee, “Good to the last drop”). Andy Mangels’ look at Saturday Preview Specials was excellent; I look forward to part two. It reminded me of a network special featuring the cast of Happy Days (or possibly Joanie Loves Chachi) that haunts my memory. It was a Fifties nostalgia special that included a tragic teen ballad in the style of “Leader of the Pack”: Papparoni’s Pizzeria, Johnny drove the delivery van. Not too bright, but we all loved him, He was the Papparoni’s Pizza man. I definitely remember Erin Moran and Scott Baio, and kind of remember Marion Ross were all there, maybe Tom Bosley, too. Any idea what special this was? J. HOWARD BOYD

Samantha, you are one groovy chick! Good news: Rankin-Bass’ Rudolph appeared last ish, H-B’s Dynomutt is in this issue, and R-B’s Mad Monster Party is coming in issue #17!

I don’t, but many one of our readers does. If anyone can identify this Happy Days pizza spoof, write me at euryman@gmail.com and I’ll share the info here. And here’s a retro Rosie/Bounty ad for you. Hopefully it’ll be a quicker-picker-upper for the rest of your day.

We’re staying bimonthly, don’t worry—monthly publication would be beyond our editorial capability, and it’s also my belief that it would be too much of a good thing. And we’ll spotlight G.I. Joe as soon as possible. And his kung-fu grip, too.

I am a 16-year-old fan of all things groovy and retro. I think that your magazine is just the most! I love all the interviews you’ve had with awesome celebrities such as the Cowsills, Geri “Fake Jan” Reischl, and Kathy “Cissy Davis” Garver. Unlike a lot of kids my age, I would rather spend my time collecting and learning about all the toys, comics, 78

RETROFAN

As usual another great issue of RetroFan [#9]. I really liked the long interview with William Daniels, as St. Elsewhere is one of my top five TV shows ever. He will always be Dr. Craig. I will now be on the lookout for his book. Thanks for the ABC comic book coverage [America’s Best TV Comics]. For years I wondered why Fantastic Four #19 was never reprinted in Marvel Collector’s Item Classics. Thank you also to Andy Mangels. I’ve been a fan of his since back in the day when he was in the fan press. He always makes whatever topic he chooses interesting. I have to say, he is one BRAVE SOUL to watch all those Saturday Morning Preview shows. They sound awful. I remember seeing only one: when Star Trek: The Animated Series was previewed. I loved the Cyclops article, because some of my oldtime favorites Amazing Colossal Man and its sequel, War of the Colossal Beast, and many others. Is it possible that any of these are on DVD? Maybe your correspondents can let us know if any of these are available and where. Some requests: Please do not go monthly! I love this magazine but I can’t afford 12 a year. How about coverage of how G.I Joe went from war toy to Adventure Team? I know it happened, but I don’t know the mechanics of how Hasbro did it. Can you also give us a history of the Wham-O Giant Comic? Where did this get done? Why has none of it been reprinted, or retooled? I’m sure it’s a cool story. STEVE ANDREWS

March 2021

Out of all the articles in RetroFan #9, I was surprised my favorite was Ad Men and Women. How funny we still remember them 50-some years later. Must’ve done something right to connect that way.

It’s not like a TV series character that, over time, has some depth to them. These folks, in contrast, were compulsive ciphers drawn to their chosen product. It wasn’t so much a sales pitch but an outright obsession. The only variable was whom they would try to convince and recruit to live life solely for that product? Perhaps it was that sheer manic predictability that made them so charming? I’d have to go with Mr. Whipple as the strangest and most endearing of all the pitchmen. Not only did he fixate on toilet tissue, but would try to repress the same bizarre quality in others giving it such weird irony. These days, if Mr. Whipple were still around, it would be, “Please don’t hoard the Charmin.” They used the same approach in many animated commercials where the key to happiness and self-fulfillment was the cartoon animal getting his mitts on the beloved box of cereal. Viewers at home, by extension, didn’t want to pass up that Utopian bliss and grabbed up their own boxes of Trix and Lucky Charms. I must’ve seen Captain Nice and Mr. Terrific when they were on. Yet, honestly, I remember nothing about either show (besides them being short-lived). Not enough episodes for syndication. Maybe where Batman was novel, a year earlier, we could now take such nonsense for granted? Or in too large doses, across the dial, it was wearing thin? Loved the Saturday Morning Preview Specials. One sounded worse than the next, which cracked me up. Bad cartoons with live-action hosts contractually obligated or on their way down. What’s so funny? Karmic payback! Most of the super-heroes I loved, circa 1966–1968, were deemed “too violent,” leading to inoffensive or music-based replacements. After that, no need to awaken early on Saturdays. Still, funny to see Darth Vader with Jim Backus, Marty Allen, and Soupy Sales. Random beyond belief! Actually learned something with your ABC TV Comics article. The Mr. Fantastic cover figure that seemed so Kirbyish, was, according to Scott Shaw!, Trimpe/Verpoorten work. News to me. Bought that later, as a back issue. But was unhappy they put it out. I always wanted to read FF #19 (Rama Tut) which was skipped over in Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics. Here, only half the issue was printed. Looked, as a kid, and could never find the back issue. Eventually, I did… by accident. At a barber shop, sitting there, right up top, was an FF issue with a cover I’d never seen. Sure enough: #19. But what are the odds of finding it, still intact, seven years after release? The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention article was fun and informative but the photographs, with collectibles, were too small to see anything. However, there was one gem, in the text, that I found to be wonderful news: Marta Kristen will be in RetroFan #13! Guess that’ll be eight months after the comic shops reopen. Can’t wait! JOE FRANK

“He likes it! Hey, Mikey!” pretty much every time I sat down to eat in the high school cafeteria. And to this day, thanks to Mason Reese, I have to stop and think whether it’s “smorgasbord” or “borgasmord.” The Benny Hill article was also interesting. I discovered him at an age when it was always fun to watch because you might catch a glimpse of naked boobs. But I got to love the raucous comedy and especially the helter-skelter chase scene at the end, with that infectious sax tune. Also of note this issue was the Captain Nice article. As a kid I couldn’t figure out why they would have two such similar shows (I thought the same thing about The Munsters and The Addams Family); I thought, “gee, don’t the guys at one network ever talk to the guys at the other two?” Kids have strange thoughts on how television works. And, again, only in RetroFan can you find articles dedicated to obscure shows like this. You can find books about the more enduring TV shows of the day, but stuff like this is fun to see. More, please! Finally, the article on MANC just made me drool. Visiting this convention is one more thing to put on my bucket list. A final suggestion. In elementary school, it was always a special day when we got our copy of Weekly Reader; in high school, it was the arrival of Scope Magazine. Any chance of doing an article on these two subjects? Scope particularly sticks in my mind because of a comic strip called “Rebel.” I’d always wanted to learn a little more about that. MICHAL JACOT Michal, I haven’t thought of Weekly Reader (a.k.a. My Weekly Reader), “The Children’s Newspaper,” in eons! It and Scope (the school mag, not the minty mouthwash) would make a fascinating article… and if ye ed can find a knowledgeable writer to tackle it, you’ll find that subject in these pages one day. In the meantime, enjoy this Weekly Reader flashback from November 1960. Betcha it’ll make you want to reread our Major Matt Mason article back in RetroFan #5!

Marta Kristen is no longer lost in space, Joe, as of this issue! The biggest challenge RetroFan designer Scott Saavedra and I have is making everything fit in each issue, as we, and our writers (myself included), tend to pack two issues’ worth of trivia and treasures into each issue’s article. Sometimes, some photos appear smaller than I would’ve hoped, like with the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention article, but at least you’ll never feel like we’re cheating you of content!

Another fine issue of RetroFan! I can’t believe you’re already up to nine issues! I enjoyed the interview with Reb Brown, who, like the character he played, seems like an all-around good guy. I remember some comics fans grousing that this wasn’t a faithful adaptation of the Star-Spangled Avenger, but I was just happy to see some of my four-color heroes on TV. And while those live-action comics-based programs from the Seventies weren’t entirely true to their source, they opened the door for the big-budget movies we all thrill to today. And, obviously, they are well remembered by fans. I loved your article on Ad Men and Women! Where else but RF would you find insights and information on Mr. Whipple and Josephine the Plumber? Two more pitchmen of that time came to mind when I read this. The first one was Life Cereal’s Mikey. Since my name is Mike, I heard

Tell your friends about us, and share your comments about this issue by writing me at euryman@gmail.com. MICHAEL EURY Editor-in-Chief

RETROFAN

March 2021

REJECTED! Just keep telling yourself, "This isn't a real cover... this isn't real a real cover..."

by Scott Saavedra RetroFan Transmitted Bi-Monthly

WE CONTROL THE ARTICLE ABOUT BOB CRANE.

I am not Bob!

YES YOU ARE.

Sit quietly and we...I said SIT!... okay... we will control all that you see and read. All of it. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... the limits of... RetroFan! WE HAVE OUR EYE ON YOU.

Maj. Don West and Judy Robinson get lost in each other's eyes. They are found days later by talking vegetables. The short, tragic life of the square Frisbee with hardened edges.

Dynomutt, Scooby-Doo, and Astro walk into a Hanna-BAR-bera...

We Control The Fonts You See & Hear! 80

RETROFAN

March 2021

RetroFan: 2021 Issues!

RETROFAN #13

RETROFAN #14

RETROFAN #15

RETROFAN #16

RETROFAN #17

Holy backstage pass! See rare, behind-thescenes photos of many of your favorite Sixties TV shows! Plus: an unpublished interview with Green Hornet VAN WILLIAMS, Bigfoot on Saturday morning television, TV’s Zoorama and the San Diego Zoo, The Saint, the lean years of Star Trek fandom, the WrestleFest video game, TV tie-in toys no kid would want, and more fun, fab features!

Sixties teen idol RICKY NELSON remembered by his son MATTHEW NELSON, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., rural sitcom purge, EVEL KNIEVEL toys, the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Saturday morning’s Super 7, The Muppet Show, behind-the-scenes photos of Sixties movies, an interview with The Sound of Music’s heartthrob-turnedbad guy DANIEL “Rolf” TRUHITTE, and more fun, fab features!

An exclusive interview with Logan’s Run star MICHAEL YORK, plus Logan’s Run novelist WILLIAM F. NOLAN and vehicle customizer DEAN JEFFRIES. Plus: the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons of 1966, H. R. Pufnstuf, Leave It to Beaver’s SUE “Miss Landers” RANDALL, WOLFMAN JACK, drive-in theaters, My Weekly Reader, DAVID MANDEL’s super collection of comic book art, and more!

Dark Shadows’ Angelique, LARA PARKER, sinks her fangs into an exclusive interview. Plus: Rankin-Bass’ Mad Monster Party, Aurora Monster model kits, a chat with Aurora painter JAMES BAMA, George of the Jungle, The Haunting, Jawsmania, Drak Pack, TV dads’ jobs, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY.

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Feb. 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships April 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships June 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships August 2021

(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99 • Ships Oct. 2021

2021

Exclusive interviews with Lost in Space’s MARK GODDARD and MARTA KRISTEN, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon, Hogan’s Heroes’ BOB CRANE, a history of WhamO’s Frisbee, Twilight Zone and other TV sci-fi anthologies, Who Created Archie Andrews?, oddities from the San Diego Zoo, lava lamps, and more with FARINO, MANGELS, MURRAY, SAAVEDRA, SHAW, and MICHAEL EURY!

SUBSCRIPTION RATES Alter Ego (Six issues) Back Issue (Eight issues) BrickJournal (Six issues) Comic Book Creator (Four issues) Jack Kirby Collector (Four issues) RetroFan (Six issues)

ECONOMY US $68 $90 $68 $46 $49 $68

EXPEDITED US $80 $103 $80 $56 $59 $80

PREMIUM US $87 $113 $87 $60 $63 $87

INTERNATIONAL $103 $137 $103 $69 $72 $103

DIGITAL ONLY $27 $36 $27 $18 $18 $27

BACK IN PRINT IN 2021:

AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES The 1950s

MARVEL COMICS IN THE 1970s (Expanded Edition)

PIERRE COMTOIS’ sequel covers how STAN LEE became publisher, JACK KIRBY left Marvel, and ROY THOMAS rose as writer & editor! New edition with 16 extra pages! (240-page trade paperback) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $12.99 INCLUDES 16 EXTRA PAGES! BACK IN STOCK FEBRUARY 2021!

REED CRANDALL ILLUSTRATOR OF THE COMICS

(Softcover Edition) ROGER HILL’s history of Crandall’s life and career, with never-seen photos and unpublished artwork! NOW IN SOFTCOVER! (256-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $39.95 (256-page Digital Edition) $13.99 NEW SOFTCOVER EDITION IN STOCK FEBRUARY 2021!

NEW PRINTING WITH MINOR TEXT CORRECTIONS, AND EVEN BETTER BINDING AND DURABILITY! BILL SCHELLY tackles the Atomic Era of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis: EC’s TALES FROM THE CRYPT, MAD, CARL BARKS’ Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, the FLASH in Showcase #4, return of Timely’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, HUMAN TORCH & SUB-MARINER, & FREDRIC WERTHAM! (240-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $46.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 BACK IN STOCK FEBRUARY 2021!

TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History. TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA

The 1990s

KEITH DALLAS & JASON SACKS detail the decade X-MEN #1 sold 8.1 million copies, IMAGE COMICS formed, Superman died, Batman broke his back, Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN led to the VERTIGO line of adult comics, and gimmicky covers, skimpy costumes, and mega-crossovers ruled! (288-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $48.95 (Digital Edition) $15.99 BACK IN STOCK FEBRUARY 2021! LOOK FOR THE NEW 1945-49 VOLUME IN FALL 2021!

Phone: 919-449-0344 E-mail: store@twomorrows.com Web: www.twomorrows.com

DVD & BLU-RAY DISCS

WELCOME... TO THE FUTURE!

PLANET EARTH (1974)

NOW ON BLU-RAY WARNERARCHIVE.COM

PRINTED IN CHINA

GENESIS II (1973)