May 2022 No. 20 $10.95
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THE FINAL DAYS OF MOE HOWARD
Hi-yo, Satu ay morningrd ! Th e Lone Ran ger in animation!
The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World of
SERGIO ARAGONÉS!
B. J. THOMAS in one of his final interviews
Get a kung-fu grip on the history of G.I. Joe! TV’s Route 66 • George Maharis interview • Contests You Wanted to Win & more!
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Featuring Andy Mangels • Will Murray • Scott Saavedra • Scott Shaw! • Mark Voger • Michael Eury MAD © EC Publications. G.I. Joe © Hasbro. Lone Ranger © Universal.
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ALTER EGO #176
BACK ISSUE #134
BACK ISSUE #135
BACK ISSUE #136
The Golden Age comics of major pulp magazine publisher STREET & SMITH (THE SHADOW, DOC SAVAGE, RED DRAGON, SUPERSNIPE) examined in loving detail by MARK CARLSON-GHOST! Art by BOB POWELL, HOWARD NOSTRAND, and others, ANTHONY TOLLIN on “The Shadow/Batman Connection”, FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, JOHN BROOME, PETER NORMANTON, and more!
BRONZE AGE RARITIES & ODDITIES, spotlighting rare ‘80s European Superman comics! Plus: CURT SWAN’s Batman, JIM APARO’s Superman, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT’s Marvel custom comics, MICHAEL USLAN’s unseen Earth-Two stories, Leaf’s DC Secret Origins, Marvel’s Evel Knievel, cover variants, and more! With EDUARDO BARRETO, PAUL KUPPERBERG, ALEX SAVIUK, and more. Cover by JOE KUBERT.
SILVER ISSUE, starring the Silver Surfer in the Bronze Age! Plus: JACK KIRBY’s Silver Star, SCOTT HAMPTON’s Silverheels, Silver Sable, Silver Banshee, and more! Featuring KURT BUSIEK, STEVEN BUTLER, TOM DeFALCO, STEVE ENGLEHART, RON FRENZ, STERLING GATES, RON MARZ, FABIAN NICIEZA, ALEX ROSS, MARSHALL ROGERS, JOE RUBINSTEIN, ROGER STERN, and cover by FRENZ and SINNOTT.
BRONZE AGE COMICS STRIPS! SpiderMan, Friday Foster, DC’s World’s Greatest Superheroes starring Superman, Howard the Duck, Richie Rich, Star Hawks, Star Trek, MIKE GRELL’s Tarzan, and more! Plus Charlton’s comic strip tie-ins and the MENOMONEE FALLS GAZETTE. With COLAN, GOODWIN, GIL KANE, KREMER, STAN LEE, ROMITA, THOMAS, TUSKA, and more.
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KIRBY COLLECTOR #83
BRICKJOURNAL #74
COMIC BOOK CREATOR #28 OUR ARTISTS AT WAR
THE LIFE & ART OF
DAVE COCKRUM
FAMOUS FIRSTS! How JACK KIRBY was a pioneer in all areas of comics: Romance Comics genre, Kid Gangs, double-page spreads, Black heroes, new formats, super-hero satire, and others! With MARK EVANIER and our regular columnists, plus a gallery of Jack’s pencil art from CAPTAIN AMERICA, JIMMY OLSEN, CAPTAIN VICTORY, DESTROYER DUCK, BLACK PANTHER, and more!
Amazing LEGO® STAR WARS builds, including Lando Calrissian’s Treadable by JÜRGEN WITTNER, Starkiller Base by JHAELON EDWARDS, and more from STEVEN SMYTH and Bantha Bricks! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, AFOLs by GREG HYLAND, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK (including a LEGO BB-8), and more! Edited by JOE MENO.
STEVE BISSETTE career-spanning interview, from his Joe Kubert School days, Swamp Thing stint, publisher of Taboo and Tyrant, creator rights crusader, and more. Also, Part One of our MIKE GOLD interview on his Chicago youth, start in underground comix, and arrival at DC Comics, right in time for the implosion! Plus BUD PLANT on his publishing days, comic shop owner, and start in mail order—and all the usual fun stuff!
Examines US War comics: EC COMICS (Two-Fisted Tales, Frontline Combat), DC COMICS (Enemy Ace, All American Men of War, G.I. Combat, Our Fighting Forces, Our Army at War, Star-Spangled War Stories), WARREN PUBLISHING (Blazing Combat), CHARLTON (Willy Schultz and the Iron Corporal) and more! Featuring KURTZMAN, SEVERIN, DAVIS, WOOD, KUBERT, GLANZMAN, KIRBY, and others!
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Follows his career from fandom to redesigning the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and his introduction of X-MEN characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird (plus his design of Wolverine’s alter ego, Logan). Includes later work on THE FUTURIANS, unused character designs, and other rare material! Written by GLEN CADIGAN with introduction by ALEX ROSS.
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Spotlighting the artists of ROY THOMAS’ 1980s DC series ALL-STAR SQUADRON! Interviews with artists ARVELL JONES, RICHARD HOWELL, and JERRY ORDWAY, conducted by RICHARD ARNDT! Plus, the Squadron’s FINAL SECRETS, including previously unpublished art, & covers for issues that never existed! With FCA, MICHAEL T. GILBERT, and a wraparound cover by ARVELL JONES!
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The Crazy Cool Culture We Grew Up With
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Issue #20 May 2022
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Departments
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Retrotorial
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Voger’s Vault of Vintage Varieties Moe Howard’s Final Years
23 Photo by Gage Skidmore
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Columns and Special Features
11
Retro Toys GI Joe
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Oddball World of Scott Shaw! Our Ambassador of Cartooning, Sergio Aragonés
20
RetroFad Hot Pants
45
Too Much TV Quiz
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RetroFanmail
Retro Interview George Maharis
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20
Scott Saavedra’s Secret Sanctum Contests You Wanted to Win… But Didn’t
11
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Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon Route 66
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ReJECTED RetroFan fantasy cover by Scott Saavedra… will return next issue.
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Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning The Lone Ranger
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Retro Music B. J. Thomas RetroFan™ issue 20, May 2022. (ISSN 2576-7224 ) is published bimonthly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage pending at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RetroFan, c/o TwoMorrows, 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, $29 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Sergio Aragonés cover photograph © Sergio Aragonés. MAD © EC Publications. The Lone Ranger and Tonto © Universal. B. J. Thomas photograph © B. J. Thomas. GI Joe © Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2022 Michael Eury and TwoMorrows. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.
BY MICHAEL EURY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow CONTRIBUTORS Michael Eury Rich Goldschmidt Rod Labbe Andy Mangels John Michlig Will Murray Scott Saavedra Scott Shaw! Mark Voger
DESIGNER Scott Saavedra PROOFREADER David Baldy SPECIAL THANKS Mark Evanier Ernest Farino Hake’s Auctions Heritage Auctions
VERY SPECIAL THANKS Sergio Aragonés George Maharis
Sergio Aragonés is sort of like Santa Claus—a jolly figure with facial hair who spreads joy and happiness and has been around as long as most of us can remember. His inept barbarian, Groo the Wanderer, a comic book he produces with wordsmith Mark Evanier, turns 40 this year. Long before Groo, Sergio was doodling devilish toons starring Cain, Abel, and other horror hosts for spooky DC comic books like House of Mystery… and thanks to Señor Aragonés, at DC “Plop!” became much more than just a funny sound effect. Even for those of you who have never flipped open a funnybook, Sergio’s cartooning style will be instantly recognizable, especially if you’ve picked up an issue of MAD Magazine in the past six decades. You may have actually seen Sergio himself on TV, or in the movies, or seen his work in books or animation. Truly, he’s one of the all-time greats, and in this issue his friend, RetroFan columnist Scott Shaw!—a pretty darn impressive cartoonist himself—digs into Sergio’s past in a fabulously fascinating biography. Those of us who grew up in front of the TV in the Sixties remember that cool guys with cool cars were common across the dial. It took car customizers George Barris and Dean Jeffries to rev the Batmobile and the Monkeemobile, respectively, into television acclaim, but all the handsome, hip George Maharis had to do was hop into his Corvette convertible to make it the hottest wheels on TV. Sixties viewers got their kicks watching him and co-star Martin Milner on their trendy roadtrip drama, Route 66, and in this issue columnist Will Murray looks back at the show, while interviewer Rick Goldschmidt chats with Mr. Maharis himself—who’s an amazing 93 years young at this writing! We’re graced with one final celebrity guest this issue, but sadly he is unable to witness the results. Pop singer B. J. Thomas, who rocketed to the top of the charts with “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” was interviewed last year for RetroFan by Rod Labbe, but Mr. Thomas unexpectedly passed away shortly thereafter. As such, we’re honored to share with you what is B. J. Thomas’ final interview. On a cheerier note, we say hello to Mark Voger, our new columnist, keeper of the Vault of Vintage Varieties. Each issue, Mark will be bringing us a funky flashback to some treasure from our past—starting with this issue’s exploration of the last years of the Three Stooges’ Moe Howard. (There’s no truth to the rumor that Mark got a banged bowl-cut to prepare for this article, but we’re told a couple of his neighbors filed a restraining order against him for eye-poking.) That may seem like an issue-full of material in itself, but you RetroFan regulars know that ye ed loves to cram two issues’ worth of content into each NEXT ISSUE edition. So there’s also GI Joe, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, contests you wanted to win… but didn’t, and more in store. So get ready for another groovy grabbag of the crazy, cool culture we grew up with! July 2022 No. 21 $9.95
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DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: After RetroFan #16 had gone to press, Will Murray, who penned its column on the 1966 Marvel Super Heroes cartoons, discovered a Stan Lee interview on YouTube where Stan the Man states, contrary to popular belief, that Iron Man, not Sub-Mariner, was the anthology show’s replacement installment once Spider-Man was pulled out of its line-up to star in his own series. And apologies to John Cimino, author of issue #19’s Bandai Pro Wrestler Erasers article, for the omission of his name in the “Acknowledgments” section of our page 2 masthead. RetroFan regrets the errors.
ASTRO BOY
oman... rr-fect Catw Meet the pu
AR JULIE NEWM
Take a Pleasant Valley Sunday spin in The Monkeemobile!
Saturday morning TV’s King of the Jungle!
TARZAN! Pebbles Cereal History • The Untouchables • Search • Soviet Expo ’77 & more! Featuring Andy Mangels • Will Murray • Scott Saavedra • Scott Shaw! • Mark Voger • Michael Eury Catwoman © DC Comics. Astro Boy © Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. Tarzan © Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
VOGER’S VAULT OF VINTAGE VARIETIES
Moe’s Final Years BY MARK VOGER Remember how Superman wore his costume under his Clark Kent clothes, and would run to a phone booth to tear ’em off and become Superman? Moe Howard was kind of like that in his golden years. Sure, he walked around in grandpa spectacles, a beige turtleneck, and a plaid jacket—practically the uniform of senior citizens in the Seventies. But that neatly parted white hair? On a moment’s notice, Howard could comb it into something more familiar to his generations of fans: a perfect Moe “bowl-cut” hairstyle. In other words, Howard was always ready to “become Moe”— the eye-poking, face-slapping, belly-punching ringleader of that beloved slapstick trio of yesteryear, the Three Stooges. This was the superpower of the comedic actor born Moses Harry Horwitz (1897–1975) in where else but Brooklyn. I saw it happen. With my own peepers, I once saw Moe Howard, kindly old man, whip out a comb and transform himself into Moe Howard, Three Stooges boss. On a cloudy, drizzly Saturday afternoon in 1973, Howard made an appearance at an old-fashioned movie theater in Camden County, New Jersey. This was Stooges country. Howard got a hero’s welcome that day. Despite a dearth of opportunities to work, and the declining health of he and his fellow surviving Stooges, Howard surreptitiously kept his hair in that bowl-cut, but combed to one side, as he had throughout his career. (Did you think Howard went to the fiveand-dime wearing those crazy bangs all those decades?) Howard never really gave up on the Stooges… that is, until shortly before his death at age 77 from lung cancer. A quick history: Howard was born in the Bensonhurt section of Brooklyn, hence that singular rat-a-tat cadence. In the middle Twenties, he and his big brother Samuel (stage name “Shemp,”
because that’s how their immigrant mama pronounced “Sam”) joined up with frizzy-haired violinist-comic Larry Fine, as the onstage “stooges” of caustic vaudeville star Ted Healy. The foursome made its film debut in “Soup to Nuts” (1930), written by cartoonist Rube Goldberg. When Shemp left the act to go solo in 1932, he was replaced by his and Moe’s little brother, Jerome (stage name “Curly”), whose childlike persona made him a fan-favorite. Then Healy and his stooges parted ways, with Healy steadily scoring movie roles as a single. In 1934, the newly minted “Three Stooges” made their first of 190 comedy shorts for studio honcho Harry Cohn’s Columbia Pictures. (Meanwhile, Healy’s solo career was cut short with his mysterious, alcohol-exacerbated death in 1937.) But health woes plagued the trio during their long Columbia run. Due to Curly’s series of strokes beginning in 1946 (which led to his 1952 death at the shockingly young age of 48), he was replaced by Shemp. Due to Shemp’s sudden death by heart attack in 1955, he was replaced by roly-poly comedian Joe Besser (the guy who, as Howard often pointed out, used the catchphrase “Not so hard”). But times were changing. In late 1957, after 23 profitable years, Cohn unceremoniously decided not to renew the Stooges’ contract with Columbia. Blonde, statuesque actress Greta Thyssen—a former Miss Denmark who once doubled for Marilyn Monroe—made three shorts with the Stooges, and was the leading lady in their final
(ABOVE) Moe Howard combs his hair into a perfect Moe “bowl-cut” during an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show (1973). © Mike Douglas Entertainments. RETROFAN
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Voger’s Vault of vintage varieties
Columbia short, “Sappy Bull Fighters” (released 1959). Though Thyssen interacted charmingly with the trio in its swan song, she was not enamored of the Stooges. “They were fine, yes, but I wasn’t that interested in it,” Thyssen told me in 2010. (The actress died in 2018.) “I didn’t quite understand that those kind of shorts would later be so admired and loved. I didn’t know anything about it, really, to tell you the truth.”
TELEVISION REVIVAL
Their Columbia shorts behind them, the Stooges were washed up. Until they weren’t. Howard and Fine engaged yet another “third Stooge,” Joe DeRita (stage name “Curly-Joe”), and the trio carried on, albeit with less-than-spectacular live bookings. Things looked bleak until— cue triumphal music—the still-burgeoning medium of television introduced the Three Stooges to a new generation. Beginning in 1958, Columbia released the 190 shorts to television. The shorts proved to be a surprise hit with children despite, or because of, their plentiful violence, not to mention their sometimes adult themes such as infidelity, alcohol, smoking, and gunplay. (After all, the shorts weren’t initially intended as kiddie fare.) The Stooges didn’t share in the TV profits, but received a profound career bump. Far from finished, the trio was “hot” again, starring in six movies (feature-length ones this time), singing on musical recordings, and making several appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show—a pinnacle of entertainment success in those days. The Stooges also lent their likenesses to an animated TV show and, for the second time in their history, a comic-book series. Most of the Stooges’ Sixties films were produced by Howard’s son-in-law, Norman Maurer, an artist-turned-filmmaker who had history, professionally and familially, with the trio. In 1947, Maurer
(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Publicity photos of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, and Curly Howard.
(LEFT TO RIGHT) Greta Thyssen (a former Miss Denmark), Joe Besser, Larry Fine, and Moe Howard in “Sappy Bull Fighters” (1959), the Stooges’ final Columbia short. (OPPOSITE) Thyssen and Moe in “Sappy Bull Fighters.” © Columbia Pictures. 4
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Voger’s Vault of vintage varieties
married Moe’s daughter, Joan. Beginning in 1949, he edited and illustrated the earlier run of Three Stooges comic books (with his partner and fellow artist, Joe Kubert) for St. John Publications’ Jubilee imprint. “They were nice guys,” Kubert once told me of meeting the Stooges at the time of the Maurers’ wedding. “Curly was still alive, but he had been failing, and he was ill. He came in in a wheelchair, and he was in pretty bad shape. Larry was still great and hopping around. Moe was terrific at the time. This was in ’47, which was like 1,000 years ago.” Kubert—the revered Sgt. Rock artist and art-school figurehead, who died in 2012—called Maurer “one of the few certifiable geniuses of our profession.” After Columbia dropped the Stooges shorts, Maurer stepped in as their co-manager (with Howard), by degrees getting more and more involved in film production. (Maurer broke into the movie biz as associate producer of the 1958 sci-fi film Space Master X-7, in which his father-in-law had a small role.) Maurer ascended to the position of director for the boys’ final two movies, the Jules Verne parody The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963) and the Western comedy The Outlaws is Coming (1965). The awkward young hero of The Outlaws is Coming was played by Adam West, a year prior to his
Joe Besser (TOP LEFT), Joe DeRita (TOP RIGHT), and (ABOVE) Ted Nealy.
Cover of the comic book The Three Stooges #1 (1949, St. John Publications). Note the signature of Norman Maurer, who married Moe Howard’s daughter, and later produced Three Stooges movies. © Normandy Productions.
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(LEFT TO RIGHT) Adam West, Joe DeRita, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine in The Outlaws is Coming (1965), the Three Stooges’ final feature-length movie. © Columbia Pictures.
breakthrough as the star of TV’s Batman. During a 2000 interview, I asked West what it was like to play straight man to three old masters. “I remember how introspective and quiet they were off camera,” said West (who died in 2017). “To come in as the leading man—and, as you put it, the ‘straight man’—was a real challenge, you know, with their antics. Because you have to resist any kind of smirk, any kind of hey-aren’t-we-funny communication to the audience. Don’t you? So I had to be very seriously involved with their conundrum and their misadventures, and really believe, for them to play off me and for them to be funnier than me. Right? You have to do that. “I think it worked pretty well, because my character was open-faced naive. The lady marshal (played by Nancy Kovak) even did his shooting for him.” Did Howard—who always called the shots for the trio—have any advice or special direction for West during shooting? “Well, Moe was always directorial,” West allowed. “Yeah, there were moments when we discussed—as you do when you’re making a film—the timing and levels of whatever we were doing, and maybe a better way to say something or stage something. Because he really knew, you know. He knew what worked best.” Another player in The Outlaws is Coming was Sally Starr, one of ten local TV kiddie-show hosts invited to make a cameo in the film. (The cameos were a thank-you from the Stooges for the TV exposure that led to the trio’s resurgence.) Philadelphia’s Starr was already immersed in Old West lore; from the Fifties through the Seventies, she wore a spangle-y cowgirl costume as host of a kiddie show (titled Popeye Theater for the most part), on which she faithfully aired Stooges shorts. “I’ll tell you, they were so kind and courteous to me,” Starr told me of working with the Stooges, when we spoke in 2005. (The TV 6
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(LEFT) Philadelphia TV personality Sally Starr, who aired Stooges shorts on her local kiddie show, made a cameo in The Outlaws is Coming. (BELOW) The Stooges did fresh poses for many covers of their 1959–1972 comicbook series, in costumes and settings that reflected the stories within. Shown is issue #36 (Sept. 1967). © Normandy Productions.
personality died in 2013.) In the film, Starr portrayed real-life outlaw Belle Starr, and got muddy during a spirited fight scene with Kovak. “That was the first time I ever had professional make-up put on me,” Starr continued. “I couldn’t stand it. I felt like I was wearing a mask, especially the eyelashes. I said to Moe, ‘Moe, I can’t open my eyes!’ He said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘These eyelashes! What do I need these for?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ He said, ‘If you don’t like ’em, pull ’em off.’ They were so great to me.”
Voger’s Vault of vintage varieties
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Dell Publishing’s 55-issue Three Stooges comic-book series (1959–1972) and Cambria Studios’ animated TV series The New 3 Stooges (1965–1966) were hardly in-name-only ventures for Howard, Fine, and DeRita. The boys did fresh poses for many of Dell’s photo covers, in costumes and settings that reflected the stories within. They also filmed live-action “bookends” for the animated series, and voiced their cartoon counterparts. The bookends were like “old home week.” Emil Sitka, a supporting player who first appeared with the Stooges in 1946, was in several of the live-action segments, which were directed by Edward Bernds, who helmed many of the boys’ shorts and features, also beginning in 1946. This is not to say the live segments were the Stooges at their finest. The boys look tired, the film stock is chintzy, and the
audio can be atrocious. But the old magic is still there. In the live footage, the Stooges are seen golfing, cooking, camping, beaching, performing dentistry (with DeRita in drag as a nurse), riding minibikes, and performing a magic show. After some light— very light—slapstick, Howard would address the camera and say something along the lines of, “Now, bend your eyeballs around this next cartoon.” So truly, the wraparounds are akin to the old shorts. After a decade of long-form films and live appearances, the Three Stooges returned to the format that made them superstars. The trio also played in TV commercials for Simoniz car products, Dickies work clothes, the Arthritis Foundation, U.S. payroll savings plans, and, of all things, Aquanet hairspray.
The Stooges filmed live-action “bookends” for Cambria Studio’s animated series, The New 3 Stooges (1965–1966), and also voiced their cartoon counterparts. © Cambria Studios Productions/Normandy-TV III Productions.
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All of this extracurricular activity spoke to the trio’s old-school work ethic. They wanted to work. For the comics and TV toons, the boys could have merely signed the contracts and collected the dough. But they were actual participants in both ventures.
UNCOMPLETED PILOT
The end of the line for the Stooges was Kook’s Tour (1970), the trio’s uncompleted pilot for a proposed comedy travelogue series, directed by Maurer. What remains of the pilot does not look promising. The boys—no longer wearing their trademark hairstyles—appeared aged and moved slowly while camping and fishing amid scenic locales. During shooting, fate intervened when Fine had a stroke from which he partially recovered, but never enough to return to professional performing. (With the existing footage and some padding, Maurer cobbled together a 50-plus-minute film that was released on the grainy 8mm format later in the decade.) In the years that followed, Howard often visited Fine at the Motion Picture Country Home Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. Wrote Howard in his posthumously published memoir Moe Howard and the Three Stooges (1977, Citadel Press): “Every visit to him became more trying. He would tell me jokes which were very hard to understand because of the thickness of his speech. (My hearing problems didn’t help.) But I would yock loudly to cover the tears welling in my eyes.” Howard kept a hand in show business with personal appearances, including lectures on college campuses. Howard made four guest appearances on The Mike Douglas Show, during which he busted out his Superman move, combing his hair into the Moe bowl-cut on camera to the delight of the studio audience. Howard related backstage anecdotes and triggered messy pandemonium while demonstrating the art of pie-throwing (with Douglas and guest Ted Knight as pie recipients). Howard boasted about being a dead-shot pie-thrower while filming the Stooges shorts. “I was so accurate,” he said, “that the studio auditors claimed that I had saved them tens of thousands of dollars with my accuracy in the pie-throwing.” Howard told Douglas that he never received complaints from irate mothers over violence in the Stooges shorts, just from “confused Parent-Teacher Associations.” After recounting the genesis of his
Joe DeRita, Moe Howard, and Larry Fine in Kook’s Tour (1970), their uncompleted pilot for a proposed comedy travelogue series. © Normandy Productions.
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distinctive hairstyle, Howard referred to similarities between his bowl-cut and so-called “Beatle haircuts” by adding, “This must have been 20 years before the Beatles were born.” Then Douglas asked if the boys were ever injured while filming. “Are you fooling?” Howard retorted. “Teeth got knocked out. Stitches in the head. I broke my ankle twice. My ribs are half gone.” During this period, Howard made his final movie appearance in the low-budget horror flick Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls (1973), which starred John Considine as the suave title fiend. Howard played an audience volunteer at a “demonstration of supernatural powers.” (He even does a bawdy gag during his scene.) Howard posed for a Doctor Death still with knockout Sivi Aberg, a former Miss Sweden who once played a henchwoman to Cesar Romero’s Joker on Batman. Think of it: Of the countless hundreds of movie stills for which Howard posed throughout a film career that dated back to 1908, this was the last. And doesn’t Howard look delighted?
Voger’s Vault of vintage varieties
Moe Howard and Sivi Aberg (a former Miss Sweden) in the low-budget horror film Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls (1973). This was Moe’s final appearance in a film. © Freedom Arts Pictures Corporation.
THE LINE-UP THAT NEVER WAS
On two occasions near the end, Howard tried to revive the Stooges without Fine, though this is not mentioned in his memoir. Both times, it was with DeRita and longtime Stooges foil Emil Sitka standing in for Fine. The plan was for Sitka to play Harry, “cousin” of Larry. In The Three Stooges Scrapbook (1982, Citadel Press) by Joan Maurer with Jeff and Greg Lenburg, Howard’s son-in-law Norman Maurer recalled a meeting that he and this latter-day Stooges line-up had with producer Alan J. Factor and other investors, to discuss a film, titled Make Love Not War, to be shot in the Philippines. Recalled Norman: “Moe, Joe, and I were shocked at the way Emil acted at the meeting. Suddenly, it was star time. While executives announced what days we would be filming in Manila, Emil said, ‘Well, I don’t know if I’m available’ and ‘I’ll need a limousine.’ Moe and I were slack-jawed. Joe was shocked.” Not surprisingly, that deal fell apart. The second attempt followed Fine’s death from a stroke on January 4, 1975. Howard, DeRita, and an apparently forgiven Sitka were set to appear in The Jet Set, a racy comedy from director Al Adamson and producer Samuel M. Sherman of IndependentInternational Pictures. IIP, the company behind Satan’s Sadists and Dracula vs. Frankenstein, was a scrappy low-budget outfit with a penchant for providing work to veteran actors who were by then forgotten by the Hollywood mainstream.
Howard’s ravaged appearance in surviving publicity photos lead me to believe that they were taken for this project, not the earlier Filipino one. Animated though Howard is in the photos, that shoe-black hair dye and flashy print jacket can scarcely hide the devastating truth: Howard was by then visibly suffering from the lung cancer that would shortly claim his life. Still, according to The Three Stooges Scrapbook, Howard pressed on without disclosing his illness. Ever the Stooges’ leader, Moe kept DeRita and Sitka in the loop about when they would film their Jet Set scenes. Inevitably, Moe’s condition deteriorated. According to David Konow in Schlock-O-Rama: The Films of Al Adamson (1998, Lone Eagle Publishing), Sherman asked if he could shoot some footage of Howard in his backyard “to edit in later, à la Plan 9 From Outer Space” (Konow’s quote). Alas, by then, Howard was too far gone. “The next call I got was from Moe’s son (Paul Howard),” said Sitka, as quoted in The Three Stooges Scrapbook. “He told me the sad news that Moe was dead.” This all tells us that, for the record, Moe was, in his final weeks, preparing to “become Moe” once again in front of a film camera, even as he was dying of cancer. That’s a pro for you. The Jet Set was renamed Blazing Stewardesses and released in 1975. The surviving Ritz Brothers, Harry and Jimmy, took the Stooges’ place, more or less. Shortly after Howard’s death, NBC Nightly News aired a then-recent interview he’d done with TV reporter Jack Perkins— not as an obit, but for an already planned segment about the stillgrowing Stooges cult. “If some little joke that we did wasn’t funny, the smack in the stomach at the end of the joke got the laugh,” Howard told Perkins, in what was certainly his final interview. Howard noted that the Stooges were popular “internationally,” and quoted a young fan who once told him, “I don’t mean to be smart or anything, but I’m sure the Three Stooges films will go on forever.” An addendum was provided by Besser in Not Just a Stooge (1984, Excelsior Books), his memoir written with the intrepid Lenburgs. According to Besser, Howard—who was not the most emotionally demonstrative of people—began writing letters to Besser in the final weeks of his life. “Moe’s letters interested me because during our years together, I found him unable to express his feelings,” Besser told the Lenburgs. “Now, with his days truly numbered, I think he wanted to express those feelings to me that he never could before.” Besser also recalled that he received an unexpected phone call from Howard. Besser recounted their brief conversation in his memoir: “‘Joe, this is Moe,’ he said, his voice sounding tired and weak. ‘How have you been?’ “‘Moe, I couldn’t be better,’ I said, touched by his call. ‘It’s been a long time—18 years!’ “Moe chuckled a bit. ‘Yes, it has, Joe. Those years were great times,’ he said. ‘I’ve been real sick lately, so I’m sorry that I haven’t answered yours and [Besser’s wife] Ernie’s letters, but I think about you daily.’ “Moe started sounding weaker by the minute, so finally, I decided to cut the conversation short. ‘I’ll keep you in my prayers, Moe. God bless you and goodbye.’” According to Besser, Howard passed away five days after that call. With Howard’s death, there could be no further Stooges RETROFAN
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Voger’s Vault of vintage varieties
The Three Stooges line-up that was never meant to be: Joe DeRita, Moe Howard, and Emil Sitka pose in the Seventies. Sitka, a longtime Stooges foil, was stepping in for Larry Fine.
reunions. Norman Maurer died in 1986, Besser in 1988, DeRita in 1993, and Sitka in 1998.
GHOSTS ON THE STAGE
I was a ninth-grader when I saw Howard onstage in New Jersey in 1973. Hmmm… now, where was it? My younger brother Brian, another attendee, and I have narrowed the venue down to two possibilities: It was either the Harwan Theatre in Mount Ephraim or the Coronet Theatre in Audubon. Both were Twenties movie houses situated on traffic-y King’s Highway. Neither remains standing. The booking likely dovetailed off of an appearance by Howard on The Mike Douglas Show, which was taped in Philadelphia, a quick hop across the nearby Ben Franklin Bridge. How did I learn about it? I’m guessing I spotted an advertisement in The Philadelphia Bulletin, which published a “zoned” South Jersey edition that was delivered to our doorstep daily. Brian recalls that he was playing street hockey when I suddenly interrupted him and said he “had to go” with me to see Howard. My mother and sister dropped us off and went shopping. (They both later said they regretted not attending the show.) The theater was packed with mostly school-aged Stooges fans. We’d all grown up watching the trio every weekday after school on Channel 6 in Philadelphia, on the kiddie show hosted by the aforementioned Sally Starr. (“Your gal Sal,” she always called herself.) There was electricity in the air. We were gonna see Moe! In person! But first, the theater screened Flying Deuces (1939), a feature starring Laurel and Hardy. This was followed by a Stooges short, which I believe was “Wee Wee Monsieur” (1938), making this a double feature of French Foreign Legion-themed comedies. (I can’t swear to this, though I know for certain it was “a Curly,” meaning a short with Curly Howard playing the third Stooge.) 10
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When the title card showing Curly, Larry, and Moe flashed on the screen, accompanied by that insane rendition of the Stooges’ instrumental theme “Listen to the Mockingbird” (the one with the bird noises), loud cheers erupted in the theater. Finally, the man himself walked out and stepped in front of a microphone to a roaring ovation. Yes, his ears were long, and the bags under his eyes had bags. But there was no mistaking it: This was Moe. It felt cathartic—like a sacred rite, almost—to tell Moe via our cheering, whistling, and clapping how deeply we appreciated the entertainment he and his cohorts created way back when. Howard’s brothers Curly and Shemp never lived to see their resurgence in popularity. Howard and Fine did. Howard’s act was the one he’d been cooking up on college campuses. First, he told some time-tested behind-the-scenes stories, like the one about Fine getting stabbed in the forehead with a prop pen while shooting “Heavenly Daze” (1948). Howard grew solemn as he recounted his “kid brother” Curly’s careerending stroke on the set of “Half-Wits Holiday” (1946). Then, Howard did something remarkable. He conjured up the ghosts of his old comrades in comedy. He actually re-created familiar Three Stooges bits himself, slapping and eye-poking imaginary Larrys and Curlys to his left and right. It sounds sad, one man playing all three Stooges. But it was actually touching and very sweet. And what a revelation it was to hear that voice, that distinctive, grating, only-from-Brooklyn voice, saying, “Spread out!” and “I’ll moider ya!” Howard performed a magic trick for we lucky few that afternoon, again bringing the Stooges to life. He was by himself, but he wasn’t alone. MARK VOGER is the author and designer of five books for TwoMorrows Publishing, including Monster Mash: The Creepy, Kooky Monster Craze in America 1957–1972 (a Rondo Award winner), Groovy: When Flower Power Bloomed in Pop Culture, and Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture. Voger worked in the newspaper field as an entertainment reporter and graphic artist for 40 years, and lives at the Jersey Shore. His favorite food is a toss-up between SpaghettiOs and Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts. Please visit him at MarkVoger.com.
RETRO TOYS
GI JOE BY JOHN MICHLIG
This story begins in the early Nineties. There are a couple of things you have to understand (and remember) about the early Nineties. This was well before the era of social media and iPhones. There was no internet to speak of. It was much more possible to be oblivious of certain fads and phenomena while still being a relatively “with it” individual. This might help explain my reaction the day I walked into a shop called The Toy Wizard that my girlfriend (now wife) spotted near her apartment one afternoon. Upon entering, my jaw dropped to the floor. It was a showroom full of the toys I played with when I was a kid. Major Matt Mason. Hot Wheels. Model kits. Lego sets. Batmobiles. And, in a corner of his own, the king of all toys: GI Joe. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There were soldiers, accessories, a Deep Sea Diver, and even the very same six-wheeled ATV that was my trademark accessory among my neighborhood cohort. The man behind the counter—the Toy Wizard himself, J. R. Giguere—came closer. “So, you’re a GI Joe collector?” That’s when I asked the question that started the engines. “People collect GI Joes?”
GETTING UP TO SPEED
Truth be told, I had no idea that there was any market for—or interest in—the toys we grew up with. A quick look at the price tags on some of the displayed items made it clear to me that I’d better get my GI Joes and Mego super-heroes out of my parents’ basement before they ended up in a rummage sale.
The darling of Toy Fair 1964, GI Joe—America’s movable fighting man—in his classic Soldier and Sailor variations. © Hasbro. Courtesy of Heritage.
Almost immediately after meeting the Toy Wizard, I wrote my very first article. It was for a new magazine called Baby Boomer Collectibles (this was before persons born on and after 1965—like myself—began identifying as “Generation X”), and, though Major Matt Mason was my topic, I opened by explaining I was a “GI Joe guy.” Then I learned about an event called Toy Fair in New York. I decided to take a chance—it was my first commercial air flight, my first visit to the Big Apple, and my biggest bluff to date as I talked my way into a media pass to the show. I made a beeline to the giant Hasbro showroom to listen to their various pitches and promotions. I approached a person wearing a Hasbro nametag (and possessing what I considered suitable gravitas) and asked: “What about GI Joe?” “GI Joe!” he replied, as if awoken from a stupor. “We have big plans and big news ahead —can’t reveal anything yet.” He called over what looked to be a young intern who took down my name and contact info. In 1992, Hasbro released 12-inch “Hall of Fame” GI Joes that harkened back to the fully articulated figures my age group had RETROFAN
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Thirty years after GI Joe’s Toy Fair debut, the GI Joe Convention 1994 was held in New York on board the aircraft carrier Intrepid. Photo courtesy of John Michlig.
both a bit out of our respective elements, we traveled the convention together at times, and sat in on each other’s interviews. One thing we learned early on was that much of the real “dealer action” takes place at the hotel, in this case the Grand Hyatt. Business cards and hand-lettered signs are all over the lobby, and doors are flung open on nearly all floors. “Come in! Adventure Team Joe’s Needed! Yo, Joe!” shouted one poster on the 23rd floor. It was in that room—as I stood next to a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, mind you—that three different people approached bearing issues of Baby Boomer Collectibles magazine with my GI Joe cover story for me to sign. played with as kids. Were they about to bring back the classic, fully articulated man of action, GI Joe? This is when fate stepped in. After a pretty mind-bending experience at Toy Fair (I’m fairly sure Vin Diesel was one of the toy demonstrators), I made it back to LaGuardia and onto my flight home. As luck would have it, I was seated across the aisle from a man with a head of Hi Infidelity-era Kevin Cronin hair, and he was talking to his seatmate about what they’d seen at Toy Fair, and what they might feature in their company’s new toy-collecting magazine. I introduced myself. It turns out that his employer was Kalmbach Publishing, known worldwide for their magazines about model railroading. They were about to launch a new magazine called Collecting Toys. And they had an actual travel budget for writers.
AIRCRAFT CARRIER
Things moved quickly. We took a meeting and decided I should go to the just-announced First International GI Joe Collectors Convention in New York, held aboard the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier. The event was branded as the 30th Salute to GI Joe; this would be my very first foray into the world of corporate-authorized conventions. Hasbro was 100% invested in the event, so it meant that if anything big was going to be announced or hinted at for the GI Joe product line, this would be the place to hear about it first. Things got interesting my very first day there; I met Pulitzer Prize–winning author Susan Faludi, who wrote Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women. She was preparing a story for Esquire and collecting data for a future book about male aggression that became Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man. As we were 12
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Originally hailing from the collection of Hasbro creative director Don Levine, handcrafted original prototypes for GI Joe’s Soldier and Sailor figures. Yes, that’s a Ken doll enlisted into the Navy for this proto-Joe! © Hasbro. Courtesy of Heritage.
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“Make sure you have your pens ready if you bump into Don Levine or Stan Weston tomorrow,” I said, evoking names from the GI Joe product history I had found in my research. “Who are they?” everyone replied. On the first-floor convention headquarters set up by the show organizers, staff members were busily eating pizza and assembling some truly impressive goody packages for Dealers (who paid $185 to set up at the convention) and Officer’s Club members (non-dealers who ponied up $285). Attendees who spent extra got bonus materials—for dealers, it was display and table space, a shirt, hat, patch, special limited edition small and large figures in specially made boxes, dog tags, etc.; Officer’s Club members got a variation of the same package minus display space. Dealers and members of the Officer’s Club were also invited to have dinner with Hasbro on Saturday night. I admired the Dealer exclusive 12-inch MP figure, one of only a few hundred produced by Hasbro for the convention. The next day on the convention floor, one of these metal-helmeted Joes was offered for sale. Opening bid: $300. The convention event culminated in a press conference held on the Intrepid, and I was flabbergasted to see Joe Kubert standing with a group at the front of the room. Kubert was a giant in the comics world, having done the artwork for early GI Joe comic books in the mid-Sixties—a surprise celebrity, to be sure. Long story short, Hasbro—via recently acquired Kenner—was introducing a new small-size GI Joe product line called Sgt. Savage, blister-packed figures in the tradition of the Real American Hero line. Other than the participation of Kubert, it was underwhelming to an “old school” GI Joe fan. It looked like our old friend, the 12-inch fully articulated man of action, was not of importance to Hasbro anymore. However, when I looked to my right during the introductions, I saw an older man seated in front watching the proceedings. As various speakers talked about the “heritage of the classic GI Joe,” he listened with the look of someone watching his child graduate. I couldn’t resist; when the speakers were finished and the press was rushing toward the Sgt. Savage product table, I walked over to the older gentleman and thrust out my hand. “You created GI Joe, didn’t you,” I said. “Yes, I did,” he replied. That’s how I met Don Levine, and that’s how I became “GI Joe’s biographer.”
BIRTH OF A NOTION
Did Don Levine indeed create GI Joe? Sure, but it’s a complicated story. The basic “origin story” of GI Joe was already relatively well known within the industry at that point. Licensing agent Stan Weston of Weston Merchandising comes to Hasbro’s Don Levine with a fairly outlandish idea: Why not create a doll for boys to play with? Levine rallies the troops at Hasbro, ignores the naysayers, and out pops a fully articulated man-of-action—the world’s first “action figure,” GI Joe. Weston takes a small payout rather than a royalty and lives to regret it. The true story, of course, contains much more nuance than that. The convention aboard the Intrepid made quite an impression on Levine. He was aware that GI Joe collectors and enthusiasts existed, but he had no grasp of the magnitude of their mania. The sight of so many dealers’ tables laden with the fruit of what he and
(TOP) In late 1964, DC Comics devoted two back-to-back issues of its Showcase tryout comic to GI Joe, with these dynamite Joe Kubert covers. Inside, however, were DC battle reprints. (BOTTOM) Three decades later, Kubert (LEFT) confabbed with one of Joe’s fathers, Don Levine (RIGHT) at the 1994 GI Joe Convention. Showcase TM & © DC Comics. GI Joe © Hasbro. Photo courtesy of John Michlig.
his associates created so many years prior made him very receptive to my earnest follow-up calls. A newer version the GI Joe origin story was in those days reinforced by a just-published book entitled The Official 30th Anniversary Salute to GI Joe by Vincent Santelmo, who dubbed himself “the world’s foremost expert on collecting all things related to Hasbro’s GI Joe.” In Santelmo’s version, Levine, creative director at Hasbro Toys, takes a meeting with “toy designer” Weston, wherein Weston suggests a military doll for boys based on “his” TV show “The Lieutenant.” Here’s the twist: On his way back to the office from the meeting, Levine sees in an art supply store window an articulated artist’s model, a light bulb turns on in his head—and the rest is toy history. RETROFAN
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Winner of the RetroFan Editor’s Choice for the coolest GI Joe toy of all time, 1966’s Space Suit and Space Capsule ensemble. © Hasbro. Courtesy of Heritage.
(RIGHT) From Year Two (1965) of the product line, the ultra-rare African-American version of the original GI Joe Action Soldier. © Hasbro. Courtesy of Heritage.
There was, as you can imagine, quite a bit more to the story. Once I had access to Levine, I immediately began locating and contacting the other “players” in the narrative. Stan Weston was my very first call, and he got back to me very quickly. “Johnny,” he said (henceforth, he would always refer to me as “Johnny”). “So, you want to hear the real story of GI Joe? Get comfortable.” I’d done a bit of pre-Google research on Weston. Even if he’d nothing whatsoever to do with the creation of the GI Joe product, his resume would be very impressive. He was born on April Fools’ Day, 1933, originally Stanley Alan Weinstein. He attended New York University before serving in the Army; after his discharge, he earned his bachelor’s degree and M.B.A. In light of the anti-Semitism of the period, he changed his name to Weston and worked at the advertising agency McCann Erickson in Manhattan before starting his own licensing firm there, Weston Merchandising Corp. As a licensing agent he represented the TV 14
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series Dr. Kildare, the Kingston Trio, and comedian Soupy Sales, among many other high-end personalities and properties. Later, in 1970, he formed Leisure Concepts, the source of many, many successful products. In 1989, Stan Weston was inducted in the inaugural class of the Licensing Industry Hall of Fame—ahead of Walt Disney. But that’s not all. He also executive-produced the motion pictures Gardens of Stone (1987) and Vision Quest (1985), and had just finished co-executive-producing The Shadow (1994). He even did some acting, appearing in the films The Power (1984), Torment (1986), and later, The Book (2010). As you can imagine, he felt the need to correct the record. No, the meeting he had with Levine back in 1963 was not concerning
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which is the razor, and then sell them an awful lot of razor blades along the way. I never forgot that.” With that in mind, Weston was taken by the colorful layouts of military medals and decorations in the volumes. He began to see the armed forces as a bonanza for accessories. He’d spend his lunch hours at the New York Army-Navy store on 42nd Street, and the United Nations souvenir shop, assembling a collection of military insignias, chevrons, and miniature flags—52 dollars’ worth, to his recollection. But there was one last element to introduce. Weston recalled that, about a week before his meeting with Levine, he was on a Sunday afternoon walk with Larry Reiner, the head of the games division at Ideal. Recently, Larry Reiner had been in a brainstorming meeting for Ideal’s popular Tammy doll line. According to G. Wayne Miller’s book Toy Wars, Reiner’s mind drifted off after talk turned to making older relatives for young Tammy. Someone suggested making Tammy’s father a fireman and her uncle a policeman, and Larry got a big idea: How about a soldier doll? It could be a “military mannequin” that could be posed and hold on to weapons and equipment. He evidently told his boss, Lionel Weintraub, about his concept after the meeting, but heard the refrain familiar to all in the toy business of that era: “Boys will never play with a doll.” Reiner, who died in 2001, told Vincent Santelmo for another of his GI Joe books, The Complete Encyclopedia to GI Joe, “Naturally, I had to offer my concept to the company [Ideal] based on the terms of my Don Levine’s GI Joe artifacts spread across John Michlig’s hotel room bed in employment contract; however, Weintraub Providence, Rhode Island. Photos courtesy of John Michlig. never offered me a release which would free me from any legal obligation to Ideal.” A sticky situation, but why waste a good concept? Reiner said he a TV show called The Lieutenant, he asserted. In fact, some time relayed his idea to Weston and agreed that the concept would be before that he’d met with the publishers of the Encyclopedia pitched as Weston’s idea and that any revenue it generated would Britannica about licensing the name and content of the Encyclopedia be split 50/50. Britannica book products. About three weeks later, he was surprised On April 11, 1963, Levine arrived at Weston’s New York office to by the arrival of a truck at his house in East Meadow, Long Island. discuss Weston’s concept of (to quote a letter sent to Levine from It unloaded complete sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Weston on June 20, 1966): Encyclopedia Britannica Jr., the Great Books of the Western World, and Compton’s Encyclopedia. …Developing a rugged-looking military figure that would be created “What a resource!” Weston recalled. He told me he hauled the in scale, similar to Mattel’s ‘Barbie,’ but one that could be fullyboxes of books down into his basement, and then spent months jointed so that It could be positioned behind all sorts of military looking though each volume page by page looking for product weapons produced in scale to the basic figure itself; one that could ideas. He remembered the marketing concept he’d learned from wear ‘doll-type’ military costumes and have scale accessories, etc. Elliot and Ruth Handler, founders of Mattel Toys and creators of Barbie. At the meeting, the letter goes on to say, Weston showed “Elliot kept on drumming into my head the so-called ‘razor and “various samples of military insignia, chevrons, buttons, etc.” Levine razor blade’ idea,” he remembered. “Sell them Barbie the doll, RETROFAN
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was impressed. He advised Weston to put his pitch on paper and send it to the Hasbro offices so he could get proper credit. This is where the two stories diverged for years, however. Levine recalls, upon leaving Weston’s building, walking down 55th Street toward Fifth Avenue. At this point, he’d get very specific when telling the tale: He claimed he passed by the Art Brown art supply store where, in a display window, he saw an assortment of wooden mannequins of the type artists use as models. They were—wait for it—fully articulated so the figures could attain any pose the artist needed. This, he claimed, was his lighting-from-the-sky moment, and thereafter it was the story he would tell whomever would listen. Is it any wonder the book I wrote for the GI Joe Masterpiece Edition book-and-figure package we produced in 1996 was an oral history, complete with conflicting accounts?
TWISTS AND TURNS
The story took more twists as I dug deeper. Weston provided copies of letters he’d sent to Levine at Hasbro in the years after the GI Joe product was launched and became an enormous success. He was clearly not happy that Levine was taking sole credit for the idea. This excerpt is from the June 20, 1966 letter: How do you think I felt when on July 23rd, 1965 I picked up a copy of The New York Times and read an article (copy enclosed for your still further education): “The idea originated In 1962 with Don Levine, Hasbro’s vice president in charge of creativity... The concept took form when Mr. Levine passed an art supply store and saw a sculptor’s model figure in the window. Out of this grew the ‘fully articulated’ figure of G.I. JOE.” To the above I say, “Bullsh*t!”
At the GI Joe Con of 1996, John Michlig’s wife-to-be (in the gray sweater) pretends to ask Joe-related questions of a Hasbro rep while Michlig sneaks this photo of the real story behind her. The two men confronting each other are GI Joe co-creators Don Levine (LEFT, BACK TO CAMERA) and Stan Weston, in their first encounter in decades. Here, according to Michlig, Weston is “reminding” Levine not to take sole credit for the conception of America’s movable fighting man. Photo courtesy of John Michlig. It should be noted, however, that the “proof of concept” letter that Weston sent to Levine at Hasbro dated April 12, 1963—the pitch-meeting summary letter that Levine suggested he send —indeed never mentioned “The Lieutenant” in any manner, but it also never mentioned a fully articulated figure. It was a “rugged-looking scale doll for boys” that included a plethora of accessories.
THE WAR AT HOME
A Hasbro happening from the 1996 Florida GI Joe Convention in the Kennedy Space Center, reuniting many former Hasbro associates who had not seen each other in decades. (TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT) Stan Weston, Jerry Einhorn, Janet Downing Taylor, Sam Speers, Don Levine. (BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT) Kirk Bozigian, Mike Herz (Majic Productions, the convention organizer), John Michlig. Photo courtesy of John Michlig.
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Inside Hasbro in 1963, meanwhile, Levine had an uphill battle ahead of him. First and foremost, Merrill Hassenfeld, the president of Hasbro, a family business started by Polish immigrant brothers Henry (Merrill’s father) and Hillel as Hassenfeld Brothers, emphatically did not want to get into “the doll business.” Second, everything would have to be developed and engineered from scratch—no OEM (Original Equipment Manufactured) of a figure or armature was available to cut costs. Third, hand stitching and painting of the sort required to create clothing and faces could only be done overseas, and up to that point Hasbro had manufactured everything in local Pawtucket. Fourth, the product and its accessories would have to be completed by Toy Fair 1964—which was nearly impossible, given the ten-month deadline to design, engineer, develop, manufacture, and package the line. Fifth, if they are successful, the “boy doll” will be immediately copied. Sixth – and most important—a boy will never play with a doll.
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(RIGHT) Poster for the 1945 film, The Story of G.I. Joe. (BELOW) A well-worn cover to the October 1956 issue of G.I. Joe, an exuberant war comic by the looks of it.
heavy smoke. Finally, as the story goes, the substance was buried behind a new warehouse and paved it over for a parking lot. Further legend has it that the substance would occasionally add insult to injury by periodically “bubbling up” in the area now known as Delta Drive. (A great story and often told, but found to be untrue according to an investigation in 2014 by a TV station in Pawtucket.) The recall represented a huge financial loss to Hasbro, and Hassenfeld was not in the frame of mind to roll the dice and risk the company and his employees’ livelihoods. As luck would have it, Merrill Hassenfeld was visiting Israel at the time. Levine resolved that he and his team at Hasbro would use the time to define and construct—in secrecy from the rest of the company—a fully articulated soldier that would be compelling enough to make parents comfortable with the concept of their male offspring playing with… a doll. So, irrespective of who thought of what and when they thought of it, the future of a “doll for boys” would come down to the persuasive and problem-solving prowess of Don Levine and his team at Hasbro.
GETTING GI JOE ACROSS THE FINISH LINE
And then there was Flubber. Hasbro broke new ground when they decided to license a tie-in to the Disney film Son of Flubber. In the movie, Flubber (“Flying Rubber”) was a substance that could levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky. In real life, the Flubber toy was a mixture of rubber, mineral oil, and possibly Borax, sodium borate, according to company documents. Flubber hit the shelves in early 1963, and soon about 1,600 reports of rashes and sore throats tied to the product and knockoffs from other companies were reported. These reports prompted an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, a lawsuit, and then a voluntary recall by Hassenfeld Brothers. No direct link was found, but Hassenfeld said, “We want to be 100% certain of the safety and health of our children.” So, how do you get rid of tons of recalled Flubber? Legend has it that Hasbro first tried to dump it at sea, only to find it floated and found its way back to Narragansett Bay. They then allegedly tried to burn it, but the substance wouldn’t ignite and only produced
Everyone knows how this ends (if you don’t, you can always pick up a copy of GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action by yours truly). Levine’s team, consisting of, among others, Jerry Einhorn, George Barton, Gerry Pilkington, Janet Downing, Sam Speers, Walter Hansen, and Hugh O’Connor, worked doggedly to develop figures, accessories, and packaging for figures. Levine swore the team to secrecy as they met and conquered challenge after challenge to make a pretty good idea into a fantastically realized product. Levine and many of his team were combat veterans themselves, so they knew well the accessories they needed and often found “prototypes” for the artists to copy in their own basements and storage sheds. They came up with names for each branch of the armed services—Rocky the Marine Paratrooper, Ace the Fighter Pilot, Skip the Navy Frogman—but, ultimately, it was Don Levine, a veteran of the Korean War, who alighted upon the solution that arguably sealed the deal. He recalled the 1945 movie The Story of G.I. Joe—or, in other tellings, stumbled upon the movie when it was shown on TV. That would be the name of the figure, whether Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Paratrooper, etc. GI Joe was born. Levine put it all on the line and presented the concept as realized by his team to Hassenfeld, who knew a winner when he saw one. At the 1963 Toy Fair, Hasbro sales reps were instructed to never, ever use the word “doll.” Some recall being told they would be fired RETROFAN
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Characters TM & © DC Comics.
right then and there if the “d” word came out of their mouths. GI Joe was a fully articulated man-of-action—an action figure. And an entire product segment was born.
SUCCESS HAS MANY FATHERS
As for Weston, the old trope was that he made a bad deal; he’d “given away” one of the greatest boys toys product ideas ever created for a mere one-time payment of $100,000. Adding insult to injury, when Weston passed away in 2017, the Los Angeles Times headline read “Stanley Weston, who conceived of G.I. Joe but reaped few financial rewards, dies at 84.” One must recall that this was 1963. This was a guaranteed payout of $100,000—that’s a six-digit number—vs. a few percentage points of a product that may or may not earn out of its production and development costs. If you look up that L.A. Times story online, you will also see the following supplemental sidebar: For the record: This obituary on licensing agent Stanley Weston referred to him as the person who conceived of G.I. Joe, the action figure doll. Toy inventor Lawrence Reiner, who died in 2001, also played a role in its creation and, like Weston, was compensated for his efforts. Their families disagree on the level of each man’s involvement. Weston made no bones about the fact that it was Reiner who suggested to him that the “boy’s doll” be articulated. He may well have taken the payout because he wanted to ensure that he could compensate Reiner as per their agreement. Looking at his subsequent business moves, one might say Weston used his portion of the $100,000 windfall wisely. Weston went on to found Leisure Concepts in 1970, and by the end of 1973, the company was responsible for 40–50 game or toy concepts on the market or ready to launch. Weston, via the wide range of properties he represented, created Captain Action for the Ideal Toy Company. (Ever wonder how Captain Action could mix Marvel and DC characters? Because Weston either licensed or struck deals for both.) [Editor’s note: See RetroFan #7 for the Captain Action story.] In 1973, he made one such deal with Jay Emmett, head of Licensing Corporation of America, which handled the licenses for DC Comics’ characters. Unfortunately, the big toy companies all passed on his idea for super-hero action figures, so he went to Marty Abrams, the head of upstart Mego. Weston also helped develop the Super Friends cartoon for television in order to boost sales of the Mego action figures and was a major part of the group that developed the Eighties cartoon series ThunderCats, licensing its products worldwide. [Editor’s note: Our own Saturday
G.I. Joe, fighting man from head to toe. © Hasbro. Courtesy of Heritage.
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NOT-SO-SUPER DECISION During one of our many conversations about his career during research for my books about the creation of the GI Joe product, Stan Weston related the time Jay Emmet of Licensing Corporation of America offered him the entire DC character portfolio—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and about 784 other characters—for $10,000,000. “And, can you believe it? I passed.”
morning television guru, Andy Mangels, begins a multi-part history of Super Friends in RetroFan #26!] And, did I mention he hired Don Levine as Leisure’s vice president for research and development? It was not a long-lived situation, but remarkable nonetheless in light of their sparring over the GI Joe concept (which continued even after they hadn’t seen one another for decades).
TELLING THE STORY
In 1996, I partnered with Don Levine to create the GI Joe Masterpiece Edition, which was a book-and-figure package that reproduced Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine GI Joes—as well as a special edition Astronaut—in all of their fully articulated glory. Hasbro had no interest in recreating “that ugly body,” as they called it, so Levine and I had them reproduced independently. I would field 2AM calls from Hong Kong, asking if it was okay if the figures had “swirls” on their limbs resultant of the way in which the plastic cooled in the mold. I said, “Of course!” (When I was kid, I honestly thought those “swirls” were arm hair.) The book itself was ostensibly “by Don Levine, with John Michlig,” but I actually researched and wrote it myself. At that point, the somewhat contradictory stories I was getting from persons involved in development of the project—particularly Weston and Levine—made me decide to make it an oral history. I followed up the Masterpiece Edition with GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action. I had more time for fact checking, so it was a far more detailed account of the creation and evolution of the brand. Promoting both projects meant going to GI Joe conventions and meeting “in the flesh” many of the persons I’d interviewed over the phone, which was really gratifying. Also,
retro toys
of G.I. Joe,’” recalls his brother, Jay. “And a young boy came up to him and said, ‘Thank you. Joe made me a better student and a better boy.’ That’s probably worth more in the realm of heaven than any royalty.”
CODA
Somewhere in America… Don Levine and John Michlig at a Target Store Joe signing, late Nineties. Photo courtesy of John Michlig.
this was, in many cases, the first time these people had been in the same room in decades. So it was in 1996, at the Space Center in Florida—just three years after my first foray into the GI Joe convention phenomena back in New York on the Intrepid—where I shared “guest of honor” status with pretty much all of the surviving Hasbro GI Joe development team from 1963, as well as package artists who had never met many of the corporate folks. It was a weekend of warm and heartfelt reunions, reminiscing, passing around pictures of kids and grandkids, and one very tense moment. On the first day of the show, my very patient wife and I were in one of the exhibit rooms looking at some of the new Hasbro GI Joe products laid out on tables at the head of the room. Also in the room were Don Levine and his wife, Nan. Every few minutes, a collector would approach Levine for his autograph on a book, product package, or actual GI Joe figure (we found the chest or back provides the best surface). Suddenly, I saw Stan Weston walking with fervor and purpose toward Levine. I knew from our conversations that they hadn’t seen other in person for decades—this was going to be another reunion. I began to walk toward them, but had to retreat when I saw that Weston had begun speaking very sternly to Levine, poking his finger at his chest. I overheard him warning Levine that he “better give credit where credit is due” when he speaks in public. Indeed, one of the jobs I had given myself on the book tour was reminding Levine to use the pronoun “we” when describing the creation and development of the GI Joe product. He had the habit, however, of referring to himself as “the father of GI Joe,” etc. Now, decades after their last in-person meeting—and in spite of years of accomplishments above and beyond the mere toy industry for Weston—he still felt the need to put Levine “in his place.” Nevertheless, Weston took things in stride. “Stan once told me a story about how he was introduced at a convention as ‘The Father
In 2015, Weston filed suit in federal court to seek termination of Hasbro’s copyright to GI Joe in 2020, when it was scheduled to lapse, using a provision of copyright legislation that went into effect in 1978. The suit claimed that the value of the copyright interests that he transferred to Hasbro “exceeds $100 million.” In the suit, Mr. Weston described overseeing Hasbro’s fabrication of the “outfitted action figures” that became GI Joe, and contended that each side in the dispute viewed him as its “creator and author.” His lawyer, Bert Fields (yup—the same Bert Fields who reps Tom Cruise and George Lucas and every other famous person you know of), said that the case was settled in 2016 and that the terms were confidential. Weston passed away the next year. Don Levine had a few adventures after the GI Joe resurgence before he died in 2014, but probably nothing to match designing and manufacturing an Osama bin Laden action figure for a CIA psychological warfare program called Devil Eyes in 2005– 2006. Levine evidently developed a 12-inch lifelike figure whose face was painted with a material that, when heated, would peel off to reveal a demon-like visage with green eyes and black markings. In 2014, the CIA acknowledged the existence of the program but said it had been discontinued after Levine had produced only three prototype figurines. “To our knowledge, there were only three individual action figures ever created, and these were merely to show what a final product might look like,” CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani was quoted as saying in Reason magazine. “After being presented with these examples, the CIA declined to pursue this idea and did not produce or distribute any of these action figures. Furthermore, the CIA has no knowledge of these action figures being produced or distributed by others.” In 2014, the doll was sold at auction for $11,879, part of Levine’s estate and with a certificate of authenticity provided by Levine’s son. When asked in 2014 about Levine’s involvement in the program, his family said in a statement, “Don Levine was a dedicated Patriot, and proud Korean War veteran. When called on, he was honored to assist our country.” JOHN MICHLIG is a writer, product developer, photographer, and graphic designer who co-created, with Don Levine, the GI Joe Masterpiece Edition book-and-figure set that was responsible for returning the original fully articulated man of action to the lives of hundreds of thousands of fans. He is also the author of GI Joe: The Complete Story of America’s Favorite Man of Action, It Came from Bob’s Basement!: Exploring the Science Fiction and Monster Movie Archive of Bob Burns, and he produced and co-authored Kong: King of Skull Island, featuring the art of Joe DeVito. He has worked as a consultant for Hasbro and Kenner, and is currently entering the unavoidable vortex of podcasting to help promote his long-awaited next project, Eighth Wonder: The Amazing True Story of Carl Denham and the Beast-God of Skull Island. RETROFAN
May 2022
19
RETROFAD
Hot BY MICHAEL EURY
“Who wears short shorts?” Remember that line from the old Nair commercial? Sure, you do… and you’re either cracking a nostalgic grin or cursing me for reminding you of those nasal-voiced singers. Back in the Seventies and Eighties, though, it seemed like everybody wore short shorts. Even Tom Selleck, the original (and for most RetroFans, the only) Thomas Magnum (sorry, Jay Hernandez), whose squats and abductor/adductor exercises really paid off (he would’ve saved a lot of gym time if Suzanne Somers had hawked the Thighmaster while Magnum, P.I. aired). The handsome television and film veteran, who since 2010 has exclusively worn long pants as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on the CBS drama Blue Bloods, apologized a while back in an Entertainment Tonight interview, “I know my shorts were too short, everybody tells me.” There’s “everybody” again. Yes, the same “everybody” that was kung-fu fighting in the Seventies now has the audacity to kick poor Tom Selleck in the shins for wearing short shorts! Give the guy a break, will ya? Those short shorts hiked Magnum’s ratings! At least he had the prudence not to wear the era’s other abbreviated-britches fashion fad—hot pants. Yes, hot pants, the shorter-than-short-shorts pants for women, made their official premiere in 1970 and quickly became the rage in casual and professional attire. Woven from flexible, synthetic blends, hot pants were a hybrid of the miniskirt—the ladies’ wear that got shorter, and shorter, and shorter during the sexual revolution of the Sixties—and the women’s liberation movement of the Seventies, which freed females from unadventurous dresses in the male-dominated workplace and allowed them to wear pants if they so desired. Short shorts, the Nair-immortalized successor to hot pants, were actually their precursor. In the Forties, conventional wisdom dictated tasteful limits in how much flesh a lady could flash, and
(ABOVE) Detail from an early Seventies fashion ad for hot pants. Magnum, P.I. © Universal Television. The Royal Teens © The Royal Teens. Airline photo © Southwest Airlines. Jet magazine © Jet Publishing. Archie’s Pals ’n’ Gals © Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Supergirl © DC Comics. The Dukes of Hazzard © Warner Bros. Television.
(RIGHT) Hot pants creator Mary Quant. Dutch National Archives. 20
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high-cut women’s shorts were generally limited to athletic wear. Ladies’ demurely hemmed casual shorts had an inseam of several inches, and their wear was relegated to summertime outdoor events such as beachside boardwalk strolls, backyard barbecues, and lawn games like badminton or croquet. Then came the Fifties, when teenagers began to shake, rattle, and (rock-and-) roll on the dance floor. Bold young gals took to wearing high-waisted, side-zippered “short shorts,” a controversial fashion statement. Society at large tsk-tsked the randy Rizzos and Runaround Sues who pranced about in such provocative pants. “Oh, man, dig that crazy chick!” intoned the opening line to a popular 1958 radio hit by the New Jersey dance band The Royal Teens, a tune about the brazen vixens that would “dare wear short shorts.” Sound familiar? The song, “Short Shorts,” co-written by Bob Gaudio, who would form The Four Seasons with falsetto-master Frankie Valli, got a leg up on the record charts to the #3 position and was licensed decades later in those Nair hair-removal television ads that are still earworming through your head. Miniskirts became a sensation in the Sixties, accentuating curves and flaunting thighs, but doing so with an air of respectability that short shorts lacked. Dame Mary Quant, the legendary designer whose trendy London clothing boutique, Bazaar, was ground zero for many of the Mod fashions that dominated that decade, adapted the lots-of-leg look to pants. Her stylish shorts with an average inseam of two inches transformed the former short shorts into a trendier design that was tailor-made for a range of environments, from the dance floor with a sexy top to the workplace with a ribbed turtleneck. By the time the fashion industry trade journal Women’s Wear Daily coined the name “hot pants” (also “hotpants”) for the look in 1970, a new fad was born. Hot pants quickly became a fashion sensation. Some businesses adopted them as uniforms for their female employees, particularly industries that subtly peddled sex appeal alongside their product. Miniskirts had already become part of the airline industry’s dress code for its “stewardesses” (flight attendants), and in 1971 Southwest Airlines made the friendly skies even friendlier by dressing its stewardesses in orange
Pants hot pants—with white, side-lacing go-go boots. Cheerleaders for sports franchises picked up the look, from the Philadelphia Phillies’ Hot Pants Patrol to the most famous, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who co-opted the hot pants look in the Seventies and never let it go. Hot pants became popular for women in the workplace, allowing them to vaunt their sexuality while still commanding an air of decorum. Critics decried hot pants as risqué or inappropriate, but that only encouraged more women, fueled by a popular wave of feminism, to adopt the look. The media went wild covering the trend, with features such as “Hot Pants, or ‘Knockout-Shorts,’ Worn by Sexy, Proud Women” in the March 25, 1971 edition of Jet magazine and the Newsweek cover of March 29, 1971 that proclaimed hot pants as the “Anything Goes” fashion. Hot pants could be spotted on young actresses in TV sitcoms and commercials and in movies. Print ads featured no end of longlegged ladies in hot pants selling every product imaginable… including hot pants. “Good girl” cartoonists like Dan DeCarlo, Stan Goldberg, and Bob Oksner dressed their curvaceous comic-book cuties in hot pants, from Archie Comics’ Betty and Veronica to Marvel Comics’ Chili to DC Comics’ Supergirl (who wore red hot pants from the early Seventies well into the Eighties). 1971’s Talking Busy Barbie, decked out in hot pants, proved that Mattel’s popular dress-up doll had legs and knew how to use ’em. You could sport a “Down with Hot Pants” patch on your jeans jacket or spin 45s with several different songs titled “Hot Pants,” from where-are-they-now? musicians Young Holt Unlimited, Jimmy Patrick, The 20th Century, or Syl Johnson (the latter of whom released a platter called “Annie Got Hot Pants Power”). Even some courageous gender-bending men wore hot pants, including “Rocket Man” Elton John. Camel hawked its “short-short filter cigarettes” in an ad featuring a men’s tailor whose business was called Mr. Stanley’s Hot Pants. Mary Quant’s latest innovation was a hit well beyond the fashion runways and clothiers. Then along came the Godfather of Soul. Hot pants had barely left the assembly lines for the racks when singer James Brown recorded his racy hit single “Hot Pants” for his 1970 album Sex Machine. Brown’s song celebrated the fashion statement’s empowerment of women—“ ’Cause a woman got to use what she got, to get just what she
wants—hey!” His song also emphasized hot pants’ inherent naughtiness. “The girl over there with the hot pants on, Filthy MacNasty all night long.” The adult film business also quickly glommed onto the name, with X-rated fare like Dagmar’s Hot Pants, Inc. (1971) and Hot Pants Holiday (1972) steaming up windshields at drive-in theaters. Since hot pants left little to the imagination, they became the unofficial “uniform” of prostitutes as they prowled the pavement. (James Brown was right when he sang, “The girl over there with the hot pants on—uh! She can do the Funky Broadway all night long!”) Still, nice girls continued to wear hot pants, even sewing their own at home from the numerous patterns marketed by McCall’s and Simplicity. But the pendulum swung too far with the 1976 release of director Martin Scorsese’s streetwise film drama, Taxi Driver, where a coquettish Jodie Foster, in her breakthrough performance, played a teenage hooker who wore… you guessed it. After that, hot pants didn’t have a leg to stand on as a widely accepted fashion. The working girl retired her hot pants into the dark vestiges of her closet. Only gutsy gals with supermodel bods dared wear hot pants from this moment on, like actress Catherine Bach, who squeezed into super-tight blue-jeans cut-offs from 1979 through 1985 on TV’s The Dukes of Hazzard and so popularized the look that it bore her character’s name: Daisy Duke shorts. By the end of the decade, few people wanted to call them “hot pants” anymore, and “short shorts” were now the “in” thing with women, as well as men and the Magnum, P.I. costumers. The name “hot pants” has since maintained a salacious definition, as evidenced by the title of comedy writer Susan Silver’s 2017 memoir, Hot Pants in Hollywood: Sex, Secrets & Sitcoms. Fashionistas and rock starlets still wear hot pants, but they’re now considered costuming—a long way from the day when a Seventies saleswoman could don them for a business presentation. But hot pants have never gone away… they’ve just been rebranded. From sherbet-hued Hooters waitress shorts to quad-enhancing bicyclist’s shorts to skin-tight yoga shorts to butt-boosting booty shorts—to actual “hot pants,” the name resurfacing as for retro-wear—it’s obvious that a lot of people feel like James Brown when he sang, “Hey! I like-uh hot pants!” RETROFAN
May 2022
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Pop Culture Books HOLLY JOLLY
Celebrating Christmas Past In Pop Culture
HOLLY JOLLY is a colorful sleigh ride through the history of Christmas, from its religious origins to its emergence as a multimedia phenomenon. It 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 interviews with CHARLES M. SCHULZ (A Charlie Brown Christmas), ANDY WILLIAMS (TV’s “Mr. Christmas”) and others, the story behind DARLENE LOVE’s perrennial hit song Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), and more holiday memories! By MARK VOGER, the profusely illustrated HOLLY JOLLY takes readers on a time-trip to Christmases past that you will cherish all year long! (192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 ISBN: 9781605490977 (Digital Edition) $15.99
MONSTER MASH
GROOVY
Time-trip back to the frightening era of 1957-1972, when monsters infiltrated America in monster magazines, toys, games, trading cards, and comic books. This profusely illustrated full-color hardcover covers that creepy, kooky craze through features on FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine, the #1 hit “Monster Mash,” Aurora’s model kits, TV shows (SHOCK THEATRE, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS, and DARK SHADOWS), “Mars Attacks” trading cards, Eerie Publications, PLANET OF THE APES, and more! It features interviews with monster creators, publishers, and TV stars, with a Foreword by TV horror host Zacherley, the “Cool Ghoul.” Written and designed by MARK VOGER!
From Woodstock, “The Banana Splits,” and “Sgt. Pepper” to “H.R. Pufnstuf,” Altamont, and “The Partridge Family,” GROOVY is a far-out trip to the era of lava lamps and love beads. This profusely illustrated hardcover book, in psychedelic color, features interviews with icons of grooviness such as PETER MAX, BRIAN WILSON, PETER FONDA, MELANIE, DAVID CASSIDY, members of the Jefferson Airplane, Cream, the Doors, the Cowsills and Vanilla Fudge; and cast members of groovy TV shows like “The Monkees,” “Laugh-In” and “The Brady Bunch.” Revisit the era’s rock festivals, movies, art, comics and cartoons in this color-saturated pop-culture history written and designed by MARK VOGER!
(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 ISBN: 9781605490649 (Digital Edition) $11.99
(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 ISBN: 9781605490809 Digital Edition: $13.99
Get all three Mark Voger books above for just $99.95! Normally $124, save $24!
IT CREPT FROM THE TOMB
Since 2000, FROM THE TOMB has terrified readers worldwide. This second “Best of” collection of the UK’s preeminent magazine on the history of horror comics uncovers Atomic Comics lost to the Cold War, rarely seen (and 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 a myriad of terrors from beyond the stars and the shadows of our own world! It features comics they tried to ban, from ATLAS, CHARLTON, COMIC MEDIA, DC, EC, HARVEY, HOUSE OF HAMMER, KITCHEN SINK, LAST GASP, PACIFIC, SKYWALD, WARREN, and more! Edited by PETER NORMANTON. (192-page Trade Paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490816 (Digital Edition) $10.99
HERO-A-GO-GO!
HERO-A-GO-GO! celebrates the camp craze of the Swinging Sixties, when just about everyone—the teens of Riverdale, an ant and a squirrel, even the President of the United States—was a super-hero or a secret agent. RETROFAN magazine and former DC Comics editor MICHAEL EURY takes you through that coolest cultural phenomenon with this all-new collection of nostalgic essays, histories, and theme song lyrics of classic 1960s characters like CAPTAIN ACTION, HERBIE THE FAT FURY, CAPTAIN NICE, ATOM ANT, SCOOTER, ACG’s NEMESIS, DELL’S SUPER-FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, the “Split!” CAPTAIN MARVEL, and others! Featuring interviews with BILL MUMY (Lost in Space), BOB HOLIDAY (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman), RALPH BAKSHI (The Mighty Heroes, Spider-Man), DEAN TORRENCE (Jan and Dean Meet Batman), RAMONA FRADON (Metamorpho), DICK DeBARTOLO (Captain Klutz), TONY TALLARICO (The Great Society Comic Book), VINCE GARGIULO (Palisades Park historian), JOE SINNOTT (The Beatles comic book), JOSE DELBO (The Monkees comic book), and more! (272-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $36.95 ISBN: 9781605490731 (Digital Edition) $13.99
AMERICAN TV COMIC BOOKS (1940s-1980s) From The Small Screen To The Printed Page
A fascinating and detailed year-by-year history of over 300 television shows and their 2000+ comic book adaptations across five decades. Author PETER BOSCH has spent years researching and documenting this amazing area of comics history, tracking down the well-known series (STAR TREK, THE MUNSTERS) and the lesser-known shows (CAPTAIN GALLANT, PINKY LEE) to present the finest look ever taken at this unique genre of comic books. Included are hundreds of full-color covers and images, plus profiles of the artists who drew TV comics: GENE COLAN, ALEX TOTH, DAN SPIEGLE, RUSS MANNING, JOHN BUSCEMA, RUSS HEATH, and many more giants of the comic book world. If you loved watching The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, The Andy Griffith Show, The Monkees, The Mod Squad, Adam-12, Battlestar Galactica, The Bionic Woman, Alf, Fraggle Rock, and “V”—there’s something here for fans of TV and comics alike. (192-page FULL-COLOR TRADE PAPERBACK) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605491073 (Digital Edition) $15.99
THE BEST OF FROM THE TOMB This first collection compiles features from its ten years of terror, along with new material meant for the NEVER-PUBLISHED #29 • (192-page Digital Edition) $10.99
LOU SCHEIMER
CREATING THE FILMATION GENERATION
Biography of the co-founder of Filmation Studios, which created the first DC cartoons with Superman, Batman, and Aquaman, ruled the song charts with The Archies, kept Trekkie hope alive with the Emmywinning Star Trek: The Animated Series, taught morals with Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and swung into high adventure with Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, live-action shows Shazam! and The Secrets of Isis, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Written by LOU SCHEIMER, with RetroFan’s ANDY MANGELS. (288-page Digital Edition) $14.99
TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.
TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 E-mail:
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THE ODDBALL WORLD OF SCOTT SHAW!
Our Ambassador of Cartooning
SERGIO ARAGONÉS BY SCOTT SHAW!
In 1963, the United States discovered the cartoons of Sergio Aragonés, and funnybooks have never been the same. Sergio’s first piece, “A MAD Look at the U.S. Space Effort,” first appeared in MAD #76 (Jan. 1963.) MAD was already altering my perception of the adult world. I had started reading the then-outrageous magazine with issue #69, only ten months earlier than Sergio’s initial contributions, which really got my attention. It not only included Sergio’s first article for MAD, it also featured tiny cartoons by the new guy lurking in the margins of many pages, replacing the cerebral “Marginal Thinking” written gags in the previous issues. Sergio’s “Drawn-Out Dramas” were incredibly detailed and always funny; eventually, they became known as “Marginals.” I didn’t realize it at the time, but Sergio also came up (ABOVE) Ladies and gentlemen, our ambassador of cartooning, Señor Sergio Aragonés, in a 2021 photograph in his studio. (INSET) A cartoon from Sergio’s first feature for MAD magazine, “A MAD Look at the U.S. Space Effort,” from MAD #76 (Jan. 1963). Photo courtesy of Sergio Aragonés. © Sergio Aragonés and E.C. Publications, Inc. RETROFAN
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The oddball world of scott shaw!
with that issue’s cover gag and the next two, as well! That was an impressive premiere for a young cartoonist who just arrived in the United States. By 1972, Sergio had not only become a MAD mainstay, he also became a cartoonist who was recognizable at a glance. His mustache was much fuller than it was when he arrived in New York City a decade earlier and he had grown to be a healthy, handsome, and hip fellow. The fiery glint in his eye showed that Sergio was a man who enjoyed life to its fullest. I can attest to it all, because I first met my friend Sergio at the 1972 San Diego Comic-Con (a.k.a. “San Diego’s West Coast Comic Convention”) at the El Cortez Hotel. And he intimidated the bejabbers out of me. The only cartoonists who I personally knew then were my San Diego mentors—generous, kind-hearted men my father’s age or older who had grown children and who wore suits when they visited Comic-Con. The underground cartoonists I’d met were older and more cynical, but not much different than me and my friends. Why was I intimidated when I first met Sergio? Remember Dos Equis Beer’s “Most Interesting Man in the World”? Well, I had just met the most interesting man in my world. I’d never met an adult remotely as cool and talented as Sergio. He was very friendly, even after I forced upon Sergio a copy of Ken Krueger’s Gory Stories Quarterly, the first comic my cartoons appeared in. Unlike older cartoonists, Sergio didn’t have a negative view of underground comix—he was only 35 at the time—and wasn’t offended by the gooey star of my story, “The Turd.” Sergio encouraged me to continue my quest for legitimacy in the comics field. From then on, we saw each other at Comic-Con and similar events. After he co-founded Los Angeles’ CAPS (Comic Art Professional Society), Sergio and I had more time to get to know each other. We even conspired to self-publish a funny-animal anthology comic, Wild Animals. It was sidelined by our unforeseen divorces, but eventually was published by Pacific Comics in 1982. We became close pals over the four decades in the meantime.
WHO HE IS AND HOW HE CAME TO BE
Sergio Aragonés Domenech (“Domenech” being the second or maternal family name) was born on September 6, 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellon, Spain. When he was six months old, the Spanish Civil War forced his mother Isabel and Sergio to relocate to Frejus, on the Vichy side of France, while his father Pascual—who was a medical student —stayed to fight the Fascists. Little Sergio attended pre-school. “One of my earliest memories is that while I was there, I stole a toy from another child, and I was forced to return it and apologize,” Sergio recalls to RetroFan. Things were very hard for Spanish refugees to survive in France. The French were suspicious and fearful of immigrants due to the influence of WWI hero-turnedtraitor General Philippe Pétain, who was allied with Adolf Hitler. That made it very difficult to earn a living. Isabel, a master of 24
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(LEFT) Portrait of the artist as a young vaquero. Sergio Aragonés arrived in Mexico in 1942 at the age of five. (BELOW) Famous for his MAD marginals, his first one actually appeared on schoolwork when he was six (1944). Images courtesy of Sergio Aragonés.
embroidery, sewed burlap bags, while Pascual raised rabbits in a cave to trade for food. In 1939, Sergio’s father finally joined them. Elisa, Sergio’s younger sister, was born in 1940. “My happiest memory of France is sitting in the bars of my father’s bicycle while he was riding when he reached out and grabbed ahold of a passing truck,” Sergio recalls. “Suddenly, it was like we were flying!” He also recalls crying when his teacher got mad and yelled at another kid named “Sergio” in his class. Then there was this surreal experience: “I was outside playing with a little lead soldier that disappeared in the snow. I started to cry when a soldier appeared, who was probably having memories of his own child. He found my toy and gave it to me. When I told the story to my mother, she was terrified. The only soldiers around were German soldiers!” When General Francisco Franco won the Spanish Civil War with the help of Hitler, the anti-Fascists had to escape Spain or perish. The Spanish government, in exile, helped charter ships, and in 1942 the Aragonés family moved to Mexico. During the voyage, their ship was surrounded by German submarines, but fortunately, they escaped without an incident. According to Sergio, “I had more food than I’d had in years! And I was fascinated by one of the other passengers, who was an artist. I loved to watch him painting. And my feet were growing so big while we were aboard the ship, my father took a knife and cut off the toes of my shoes. He told me to tell the kids I’d meet that it was the latest fashion in Europe.” His parents were trying to
The oddball world of scott shaw!
prepare Sergio and Elisa for Mexico and the fact that they were going to once again be strangers and that they would arrive without money. The Mexican government helped the refugees with some money before they could find work. Since he had been taught French while in France, when his family arrived in Mexico, five-year-old Sergio spoke with a thick French accent. “I was afraid of the kids around the block because of their taunting of my accent and my European-style short pants,” he remembers. “I stayed inside our apartment drawing, reading books about Tarzan, Zorro, and pirates, American comic strips in the newspaper, and doing embroidery.” Sergio learned embroidery from his mother Doña Isabel, who was taught that art form when she was raised in a nunnery. She taught embroidery and sold blouses to bring in money for the family. Isabel was a sweet lady and an excellent cook, who once served her specialty, paella, to the “Usual Gang of Idiots” on the 1973 MAD trip to Mexico. “I’ll never forget watching gigantic Jack Davis protectively hold an umbrella over my tiny mother while she was preparing our delicious meal outdoors in the rain.” Meanwhile, Sergio’s father Pascual sold clothing and advertisements for a living. When he spotted a newspaper ad looking for “extras who don’t look Mexican” for the film The Saint Who Forged a Country (1942), Pascual’s life changed for the better. Pascual was a Spaniard and looked it. Being a film extra became an easy second career. “He’d say, ‘I just stand there in my costume and I get paid,’” Sergio recalls of his dad. Sergio’s father helped to form the Actors Mexican Guild with Cantinflas, Jorge Negrete, and others. Then he became the representative for the union, a presence in the movie industry to assure compliance with their rules. His role made Pascual a very popular man who became friends with a number of celebrities. When Pascual realized that
A drawing by George Woodbridge of his friend and fellow MAD “idiot” Sergio Aragonés. Date unknown. © Estate of George Woodbridge. (BELOW) The first published MAD Marginal cartoon. From MAD #76 (Jan. 1963). © Sergio Aragonés and E.C. Publications, Inc.
production jobs in entertainment paid better than acting gigs, he entered the production end of the industry and became an executive producer. His independent productions included Animas Trujano with Toshiro Mifune and Viva Maria with Brigitte Bardot and Jean Moreau. Pascual Aragonés died at age 59. “He always hoped that I’d be part of the business,” Sergio says. “I spent a lot of time at the movie studios, watching actors getting make-up applied, getting costumed, sitting for hours memorizing lines on the set, and waiting for their turn to act. I sometimes had to work in the editing room—which always smelled terrible— picking up, hanging, and rewinding strips of film. The only good thing was, when I’d roll up old nitrate film very tightly, it made a wonderful smoky and stinky bomb. My friends really liked to set them off! What my father did in the production end was to make certain that movies stayed within their budgets and juggled where and how to make the movie scenes work. I didn’t want to grow up and do any of that! The only reason I loved being at the movie studio was to play. Since I was the son of Don Pascual, I was allowed to go to the prop building, where I could find anything I needed to let my imagination go. In the cowboy town built on the back lot, I was either the ‘sheriff’ or the ‘bad guy,’ with real guns or rubber ones. I played detective on whatever sets weren’t being used. What a time!” Sergio’s sister Elisa married actor German Robles and had two children. German was known for his portrayal of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and other monstrous fiends. Unfortunately, those roles stuck in the minds of Mexican theater and moviegoers. “When German starred in the play The Lady of Camellias with Dolores Del Rio, members of the audience would yell, ‘Watch out, Dolores, he’s gonna bite your neck!’”
THE BUDDING CARTOONIST
When the Aragonés family first settled in Mexico City, finances forced them to share their apartment with another family. Sometimes the parents would take turns babysitting each other’s kids. When they didn’t, Isabel and Pascual would take Elisa and Sergio along with them. “One time, my parents took us to the home of rather successful friends,” Sergio says. “It was a lovely house with large rooms and very white walls. My parents brought along paper and a box of crayons. When I ran out of paper, I couldn’t resist the
Sergio Aragonés’ first comic-book page, drawn at age nine. Image courtesy of Sergio Aragonés.
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Sergio, age 19, works on a school project with a fellow student as others look on. Photo courtesy of Sergio Aragonés. (BELOW) The artist discovered Batman and was instantly fascinated. A sample from “A MAD Look at Batman” first seen in MAD #106 (Oct. 1966) and reprinted multiple times since. © Sergio Aragonés and E.C. Publications, Inc. opportunity to make my own mural. The adults didn’t notice it until they found me behind the couch, finishing my masterpiece.” Sergio was an average student, always distracted by the urge to draw at his school desk. However, he cleverly used his cartooning to make a few centavos by charging his classmates for his drawings done to complete their homework—until the teacher caught on. He spent the money on a set of toy lead bullfighters and bulls. At home, Sergio sketched cartoons on the blank pages in his father’s old ledgers, often drawing exploits of his favorite comics characters such as Little Lulu and funny animals. Young Sergio was also indelibly influenced by stories he watched in movie houses. “The refugees from the Valencia region often met to talk about current affairs and news from home in a room they called ‘The Casa Valencia,’ located at the top of Cine Aladino, a small theater,” Sergio explains. “It showed only black-and-white Fleischer Brothers shorts among other pre-war cartoons and movies with Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, and others. Those comedies, early animated cartoons, comic books, and the U.S. newspaper comic strips were the most influential part of my childhood.” By 1945, Sergio was in the second grade at the Spanish elementary school. He wore a uniform and played the drums with the band as his classmates entered the building. “One day at school, during recess, a classmate walked up gave me two American comic books to read, two issues of Batman. I was five years old and I’d never read a four-color comic before— Mexican comics were printed only in black and white or sepia—and I’d never seen a character like him. I was studying each and every panel when I heard the school bell ring at the end of the day—I’d completely forgotten to return to class! I constantly drew dozens of images of Batman coming toward you, consisting only of his head, a foreshortened hand, his cape, and his tiny feet far below.” 26
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In make-up for his college theater group. Photo courtesy of Sergio Aragonés.
The next year, Sergio entered the French-Mexican school, Liceo Franco Mexicano, and continued learning French from grades three through nine. “While I was with my friends, I had to speak Spanish the Mexican way, so they wouldn’t make fun of me,” he remembers. “And when I was with my parents, I had to speak in the Castillian way, pronouncing the letter ‘z’ in the right places, so my parents wouldn’t get mad at me.” (That’s why spelling was not taught in Mexican and Spanish schools.) With so much to juggle, Sergio eventually learned Italian, but didn’t learn English until he’d moved to the U.S. Even as a kid, Sergio had impeccable taste when it came to animated cartoons. “I loved cartoons so much that when I joined the Scouts of Mexico and my patrol was formed, we had to choose a mascot, usually ‘The Bears,’ ‘The Tigers,’ or ‘The Eagles.’ Some of us chose names like ‘The Hawks,’ ‘The Owls,’ or ‘The Roosters.’ I had chosen Tex Avery’s ‘Droopy,’ with him dressed as a scout, with a uniform and everything. The guys loved it, but the old leaders said ‘NO!’ We ended with ‘Los Pinguinos,’ a.k.a. ‘The Penguins.’” Ironically, Tex Avery did some of his best work for MGM, the same cartoon studio that employed a top cartoonist who wrote Sergio’s first animation primer. “When I grew up in Mexico, all I knew about animation was what I’d seen in the cinema, but not a single fact about how to animate. Late in elementary school, a kid sold me a book about animation that was written in English, Preston Blair’s instructional classic, Animation (Walter Foster, 1948). What a discovery! I read that book until it fell apart. I filled the corners of all of my books with little animation drawings of parachutists, bombs, cars, etc. It was fun flipping them for the other kids. They were my original Marginals.” Like many clever young freelancers, Sergio was willing to exploit his abilities however he could, even if it was the first time he tried
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it. “During the holidays, I painted local store windows,” he tells RetroFan. “Instead of getting paid, I bartered with the owners of the barbershop, the bakery, the grocery store, and the music record store. The first job was a Christmas window. I didn’t know what type of paint to use, so I did Santa and his elves with oil paint! What did I know? After that, I only used water-based paint!” Young Sergio was a big fan of wrestlers, too. “When I was 14, I believed that wrestling was real. It was 1952 and my friends and I would take over a booth at Kiko’s, a little diner, so we could watch wrestling on television, a medium that was quite new to Mexico. One night, my father asked me if I wanted to see the wrestling matches in person. One of the wrestlers was a favorite of mine, Tonina ‘The Whale’ Jackson, who was up against El Cavernario ‘The Caveman’ Galindo. After I saw the Caveman give Tonina a dirty kick in the crotch, medics were called. They took Tonina out of the ring on a stretcher. My father, the delegate for actors, took my hand and led me to Tonina’s dressing room. I was really concerned about my luchador hero’s injuries. But when we opened the door, there was Tonina, getting dressed and looking fine, on his way across town to shoot scenes for a feature film, Huracan Ramirez. I suddenly realized that wrestling was fake!”
‘THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEMENTED’
In 1953, Sergio entered Academia Hispano Mexicana, a preparatory school similar to U.S. senior high schools that taught students to become professionals. Then, engineering was a career that was considered successful by many Spanish parents. He didn’t have much enthusiasm for that goal, but Sergio still lived with his parents and did what they wanted him to do. At least the school “newspaper”—no longer mimeographed on paper but in a display case on one of the school’s hallways—featured his cartoons. The newspaper’s female editor thought that Sergio was good enough to sell them. At the time, the concept of getting paid for his drawings had never entered Sergio’s mind. “I just liked to draw on my own. I didn’t even know what a ‘professional cartoonist’ was. I was making up my own gags and stories to entertain myself and my friends. It never entered my head that anyone might want to publish my work and pay me for it.” Sergio’s sister Elisa had an art teacher who told Sergio that he should submit his cartoons to magazines. In 1953, Sergio’s first-published cartoons appeared in SIC, a Mexican humor magazine. But that school newspaper editor was only half-correct because no money exchanged hands. Due to that monetary omission, Sergio still doesn’t consider it to be his first professional sale because he wasn’t paid. That wouldn’t be the case for long. “Meanwhile, the school editor had gathered some of my newspaper cartoons—which had improved by then—and without my
(LEFT) Anti-Francisco Franco cartoon from España Libre #7 (June 1962). © Sergio Aragonés. (INSET) El Cavernario “The Caveman” Galindo, a colorful wrestler of Sergio’s youth. © Respective rights holder.
knowledge, sold them to Ja-Ja, a Mexican gag cartoon digest magazine. After that, she told all our friends that I was going to pay for everyone’s lunch and bowling! I didn’t know how to react because I didn’t have enough money… until the editor revealed that I had gotten paid for the cartoons that would appear in Ja-Ja. That’s what I consider to be my first published material. It was 1954, and I was 16. After Ja-Ja, other Mexican publications were publishing my work, including covers. Then I got a weekly page in w magazine, an important journal for which I worked for over ten years. Each of my Mañana pages featured a half dozen of my gag cartoons, all with the same theme, much like my later ‘A MAD Look At...’ articles.” So, how did Sergio’s parents perceive his fixation with cartooning at this point in his life? “They thought I was demented.” Even though Sergio didn’t consider himself to be a “cartoonist” quite yet, he did have a cool new nickname. “It was a new school and I didn’t know anyone,” he reminisces. “One day I was hanging around the soccer field and some of the other boys were playing. I was wearing a printed shirt—which was the trend at the time—with a pattern of tiger stripes. One of the kids asked me if I wanted to join the game. After I played for a few minutes, one of the other kids yelled, ‘Tigre, Tigre, pass me the ball!’ The name stuck. I became ‘Tigre,’ the tallest kid in school. No one ever challenged me.” A school requirement was that students had their choice of two vocational classes: automotive mechanics or bookbinding. Sergio chose book binding to re-bind his favorite books by Jules Verne, Emilio Salgary, Alexander Dumas, and others. He also made binders for 70 r.p.m. records as gifts to girls he liked. “In 1955, I entered engineering school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), but after a few months, I realized that I didn’t understand a word of any of the classes. I confronted my father. ‘Dad, I don’t know sh*t.’ He was devastated, but when I suggested architecture school for the next year, he agreed. 1955 was my year of bohemia—no school, drawing cartoons for publications, and working weekends in Acapulco for a scuba-diving school. There, I filled tanks, picked up tourists, assisted in the boat, etc. My only pay was using scuba tanks for free while I was helping out there.” This was post-WWII, when scuba-diving equipment became available to civilians. Sergio’s interest in diving led to his only television performance as a comics icon. “Back at the university, I formed a club with colleagues who also enjoyed scuba diving. We practiced at the UNAM Olympic swimming pool. I figured I had the time to go to Las Estacas, a beautiful natural park in the state of Morelos, with a great river and an underwater slalom with obstacles! RETROFAN
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“While I was out snorkeling in that river, I realized that I was near the location of Irish McCalla’s Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (1955–1956), where my father was representing the Actor’s Union. I dropped by to say hello, but just as I left, the Mexican director of the TV series, Ismael Rodriguez, ran up in a panic. Sheena’s stuntwoman hadn’t shown up and they needed a stunt diver ASAP. My father mentioned that I was an experienced diver. Minutes later, I fit myself into Sheena’s costume, put on a red-haired wig, climbed a tree, jumped out of the tree while holding onto a thick rope, swung out on the rope, let go, dove into the water—and that was it. I changed my clothes and went back to snorkeling. But I never got to meet Irish McCalla.” [Editor’s note: Readers, you can meet Irish McCalla in our Sheena TV show history in RetroFan #12.] Apparently, Sergio spent more time in the water entertaining people than Flipper. “One day in 1955, my friends and I went to the pool, but we were not allowed to go in. It was because women were trying out for the synchronized swimming team that performed aquatic ballets. They wouldn’t allow any males into the pool during the auditions. When I told my friends, ‘Hey, I can get in,’ they laughed. I told the man in charge that I needed to talk to the coach, an American lady who’d been an accomplished swimmer. The longer we spoke, the more my friends would whistle! By luck, she needed a ‘clown diver.’ I told her I was her man! That was the start of a new career for me. I learned a few routines and we did shows. It was a lot of fun. Later, I got a call from Elvira Castillo, the 1954 ‘Miss Mexico’ who had a professional aquatic group. She needed a diving clown, too! I had plenty of time so I joined. It was fun being the only male in the group.” Then there was the time when Sergio wore a gorilla suit in a swimming pool. “Elvira had another diver, Victor Yturbe, a.k.a. ‘Piruli,’ who later became a famous singer and owned his own nightclub. We concocted a skit in which he was ‘Tarzan’ and I was a ‘Gorilla’ in a beautiful gorilla suit. But after I dived into the pool, it was destroyed, with loose ‘fur’ hairs coating the surface of the water.” This was the basis for one of Sergio’s first autobiographical
Irish McCalla’s screen-worn outfit from the short-lived Sheena, Queen of the Jungle television series. Now picture Sergio Aragonés wearing it. Courtesy of Heritage. stories, appearing in TwoMorrows’ Streetwise (2000), an Eisner Award-winning anthology.
U.S. BOUND
Meanwhile, back in higher education, Sergio kept busy juggling studying and his accelerating career as a cartoonist. “In 1956, I re-entered UNAM, this time to study architecture,” Sergio recalls. “It had another hallway newspaper with a weekly slot for me to fill, even while I was continuing to sell gag cartoons to Mexican magazines. That’s where I learned how to draw so fast!” While representing his union in Cuernavaca on the set of The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956), Pasqual invited Elisa and Sergio to visit. While there, the teenage kids were photographed with one of the film’s stars, Guy Madison. Watching them shoot the film, which featured a stop-motion Allosaurus animated by King Kong’s visual creator Willis O’Brien, Sergio noticed that none of the actors were looking in the same direction because the dinosaur would be added in post-production. Sergio cleverly suggested to his dad that they should come up with something to improve the actors’ “line of sight.” Pascual passed this on to the film’s director, who readily agreed. “Soon, I was painting the dinosaur’s head on a flat piece of plywood, which they cut out and attached to a long wooden stick.” If you watch The Beast of Hollow Mountain, please note that everyone’s looking directly at the Allosaurus. Sergio served in Mexico’s military. “In 1957, I was in the Marine Conscription, and because of my diving experience, as an ‘observer,’ I joined two frogmen—in Mexican, ‘Hombres Rana’—who were officers in the Mexican Navy. I got permission from my university, and in Acapulco, we boarded the frigate ‘California,’ and a WWII ship, the USS Hutchinson (PF-45) Tacoma Class, another frigate. For a couple of months, I dove with the officers and was present in a ‘war game.’ It was quite an experience.” Sergio also performed on stage and studied the work of the world’s finest pantomime performers. “I played a part in The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder, The Beautiful People by William Saroyan, Danton’s Death by Georg Büchner, and a few plays by H. Azar. The great French mime Marcel Marceau was in Mexico, doing his pantomimes. The theater group got passes and I acted as a translator for them. It was (LEFT) Sergio was both a dramatic and presumably colorful presence at the Aquatic Ballet, but a great time. I chatted with another pantomimist I’d (RIGHT) a comical one, shown here monkeying around. Photos courtesy of Sergio Aragonés.
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You like gorillas? Sergio has you covered. (LEFT) Panel from his autobiographical story, “The Gorilla Suit,” from Streetwise (TwoMorrows, 2000). (CENTER) In an office full of treasures, MAD publisher Bill Gaines was dwarfed by only one, a gift from his fastest artist, this giant hand-crafted paper mâché King Kong face peeking in his window. (RIGHT) Things get hairy for Sergio’s long-time friend, Scott Shaw! Illustrations TM & © Sergio Aragonés.
admired for a long time, Jaques Tati. I also befriended Alejandro Jodorowsky, who was in Mexico and opened a pantomime school. I told Alejandro that I did not want to become a mime, but I intended to apply the experience to my pantomime cartoons. He loved the idea, and I played a part in a couple of his shows, sketching on a large glass easel while I was a mime in white face.” Meanwhile, Sergio was still selling his cartoons like crazy. With a healthy cartooning career in Mexico, why did Sergio decide to move to the United States? “At that time, most of the cartoons published in Mexico were political material such as editorial cartoons. There weren’t any original Mexican comic strips other than Condorito. All of the strips appearing in the Mexican newspapers were reprints, primarily from the U.S. My weekly slot in Mañana magazine didn’t pay nearly enough for me to make a living. I decided that I had no choice. The only way to do better for myself was to either move back to Europe, or to take my chances in the United States. After I acquired an issue of Writer’s Digest magazine, I learned what the standard pay rates were for cartoonists in the U.S. That was enough for me.” As a test run, Sergio traveled to Los Angeles, stayed with relatives, and sought out new clients in Southern California. In 1961, he made two sales, a gag cartoon for sophisticated San Diego Magazine and a regular feature, “Jose the Bullfighter,” for San Diego’s Toros bullfighting magazine. The responses were so encouraging that Sergio went back to Mexico City, sold most of his possessions, and set out—via many long bus rides—for New York City, the home of most U.S. publishers. “In 1962, on my first night in New York City, I slept on a bench by the East River,” Sergio tells RetroFan. “The next day, I walked to Greenwich Village. During the day, it was a perfect Italian neighborhood, but after the sun set, beatniks started to appear. My first job was in the Flamenco coffee house, reciting material I’d memorized, all written by the great Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. That was my night job, but during the day, I visited publishing houses to sell my cartoons, but without much luck. The
editors’ reactions were often, ‘This is too crazy! No words? You should go to MAD magazine!’ …which, of course, I did. “When I walked into the MAD offices, I was so nervous that I blurted out ‘Antonio Prohias!!!’ to the receptionist, Gloria, who was the wife of EC and MAD cartoonist Joe Orlando. I had been a fan of MAD since the Fifties; I couldn’t read it because my English was almost nil—but the artwork! I hadn’t seen anything like it in my life. By good fortune, Prohias—the creator of Spy vs. Spy—happened to be visiting MAD’s offices. He introduced me to the editors as his ‘brother from Mexico.’ (Of course, Prohias referred to all his friends as ‘brothers.’) And that was that! MAD launched my career as a cartoonist... and I’m still at it!” Of course, until he had earned enough money, Sergio needed a place to stay in NYC. “MAD was not only my sole source of work, its staffers and freelancers became my U.S. family. I didn’t have enough cash to stay in a hotel, so Jerry DeFuccio—assistant editor for MAD, comic-book collector, knowledgeable comics expert, and a great friend—allowed me to spend my nights in MAD’s offices. For security’s sake, they locked me inside, which fortunately included a bathroom and a good coffeemaker. MAD publisher Bill Gaines had a particularly comfortable sofa, too. I spent time reading old issues of MAD, admiring the magnificent original pages of art by Drucker, Clarke, Wood, Martin… it was magic.”
IT’S A MAD WORLD
There was also a unique perk to being a member of “The Usual Gang of Idiots.” “The ‘MAD trips’ were equally magical, with many of its staff and freelance cartoonists. Getting to know them better, even sharing rooms or tents, was a delight. The trips—paid for by Gaines—took us to Europe, Africa (on safari), Tahiti, Morocco, and Mexico. There, I introduced my American family to my Mexican family, one of the best days of my life.” Since 1963, Sergio’s “A MAD Look At...” and “Marginals” have appeared in every issue of MAD, from #76 through the latest issue except one; his artwork got misplaced during shipping. RETROFAN
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Publisher Bill Gaines (LEFT) and Sergio (RIGHT) poolside during the first MAD trip to Mexico. (BELOW) Memories of MAD, with noted atheist, the late Bill Gaines, looking down from heaven. © Sergio Aragonés and E.C. Publications Inc. Sergio wrote and drew 16 MAD paperback books, which sold so well that most of them went through many editions. They were big sellers at bus stations and airports. They are: Viva MAD (1968), MAD About MAD (1970), MAD-ly Yours (1972), In MAD We Trust (1974), MAD As the Devil (1975), Incurably MAD (1977), Shootin’ MAD (1979), MAD Marginals (1980), MAD As a Hatter (1981), MAD Menagerie (1983), More MAD Marginals (1985), MAD Pantomimes (1987), More MAD Pantomimes (1988), MAD As Usual! (1990), Totally MAD (1991), and Next MAD Book (1992). Unfortunately, sales began to drop in the early Eighties due to the appeal of coin-op video games. Within the next decade, the genre of the original humor massmarket paperback went extinct. Having already lived in four countries, Sergio traveled all over the world. “I traveled extensively with my wife and with my friend Dick Young, a great documentary filmmaker. With him, I visited Bhutan in the Himalayas, Antarctica, Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia Island, and Ernest Shackleton’s incredible Antarctic odyssey. And then the comic-book conventions in Europe, Malaysia, Brazil... So many friends, so many colleagues.” Sergio temporarily relocated to Europe. “While staying in Europe from 1966 to early 1968, I had the opportunity to meet my favorite cartoonists who lived in Spain,” he remembers. 30
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Various covers to original cartoon collections of Sergio’s work, including a cover rough next to the final cover to Shootin’ MAD. © Sergio Aragonés and E.C. Publications, Inc. Cover rough courtesy of Heritage.
“I was greatly honored when La Codorniz—a weekly humor magazine—published a few of my cartoons. It was one of my big influences when I was young. I also met the editor of France’s Pilote magazine, Asterix co-creator/writer René Goscinny, and a number of other cartoonists I admired when I was a teen. I was honored be asked to contribute a page to Pilote.” When Sergio returned to New York City, he unintentionally entered the world of four-color comic books. “I went back to the MAD offices to say hi to the guys. When I asked for Joe Orlando, they told me that he’d become an editor over at DC Comics. When I went to see Joe, he and cartoonist Ric Estrada were nervously waiting for a writer to show up with a script for Young Romance, one of the comics Joe edited. I told Joe, ‘Go to lunch, I’ll write a couple of stories for you.’ While he was gone, I went to the DC library and studied a few romance comics to learn the basics. I ‘wrote’ two ten-page stories, mostly drawing the story with text to be corrected
The oddball world of scott shaw!
Both well-travelled and well-friended, Sergio (with face in profile, holding his nose) is surrounded by associates, amigos, and their signatures in this photo from the 1972 MAD trip to Mexico. Courtesy of Sergio Aragonés
by the editor. Joe loved them, and Ric left to draw from my script. That was the beginning because I had never written a professional story before!” Sergio’s first and only love story appeared in Young Romance #155 (Sept. 1968), titled “He’ll Break Your Heart!” Hanging around DC’s offices made Sergio available for a variety of assignments. He wrote—sometimes primarily in loose sketches—stories for The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, Angel and the Ape, Inferior 5, Young Romance, Leave It to Binky, Binky’s Buddies, and “Stanley and His Monster” in The Fox and the Crow. Sergio also plotted three stories for The Witching Hour #8 (Apr.–May, 1970), but never received credit. The stories were drawn, respectively, by Neal Adams, Nick Cardy, and Alex Toth (who took credit for writing Sergio’s story). Sergio also drew “Cain” gag filler pages for House of Mystery, “Abel” gag filler pages for House of Secrets, “Mordred, Mildred, and Cynthia” in The Witching Hour, and similar material for other DC horror titles. Sergio did the same thing for Joe Kubert’s war comics, including Our Army At War and Star Spangled War Stories. And then there was Bat Lash. Sergio helped create and design the DC Comics Western character that was very much in the tradition of James Garner’s Maverick, a decent and clever outsider who’d rather use his wits than his gun. “Carmine asked me to add the flower
in Bat Lash’s hat; the rest was mine.” Sergio got credit for writing the plot of #1 and issues #3 through 7. However, Sergio did a lot more than the credits indicated. Decades later, Sergio would get another crack at Bat Lash. But Sergio’s most obscure “artwork” appeared in various romance comics. In 1971, DC went to an expanded page count and 25¢ format, accompanying its new stories by filling its pages with reprints from its files. Since the reprints were usually from the early Sixties, hairstyles and fashions were extremely out of date by 1971. Sergio helped to change hairdos, add sideburns and mustaches, and visually adjust clothing to meet then-current standards. None of his work on these was documented, signed, or paid for! Sergio was also a member of the legendary gang of artists called “The Crusty Bunkers.” He recalls, “Every time I visited MAD, which was quite often, I’d visit Neal Adams’ Continuity studio afterward. It was a great gathering of artists. While waiting for them to finish their work before we could go out for drinks and dinner, I’d sit down with them and ink pages that did not interfere with the artists’ styles. I think I still have a T-shirt they gave me.”
THE MARK OF GROO
In 1968, Sergio and his first wife moved to Los Angeles. The next year, Sergio met a kid who would become his primary collaborator, Mark Evanier, who recalls: “I first met Sergio in early 1969. We had
Binky’s Blast (LEFT) as published in Leave It to Binky #61 (July 1968) and (RIGHT) the original art. © DC Comics.
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(LEFT) A 2013 photo from Comic-Con International with (LEFT TO RIGHT) Neal Adams (who didn’t get the loud shirt memo), Sergio Aragonés, and Scott Shaw! (RIGHT) Sergio drew a sketch of each Inkpot Award winner at the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con. Walter Koenig is shown here at right receiving his Inkpot Award as Comic-Con founder Shel Dorf looks on. Photo by Alan Light. a comic-book club in West Los Angeles. One of our members had arranged for Sergio to be our guest speaker. He and I spoke briefly that day, but then I ran into him a few times after. “Later that year, I worked for Marvelmania International, that sold mail-order merchandise of the Marvel characters,” Evanier continues. “Sergio dropped by the office and we began to know each other. In late June of 1970, Steve Sherman and I had been hired by Jack Kirby to assist [Kirby] with the new comics he was preparing for DC, and we were still working for Marvelmania, although not for long. We went to New York City to visit Marvel’s offices and attend the New York Comic Convention. Steve and I were sightseeing when we heard someone yell, ‘¡Mis amigos!,’ and across the street, there was Sergio. We hadn’t planned on
it, but Sergio took us in, gave us a tour, and introduced us to the MAD staff. The following weekend, Sergio and I hung out at the convention together, and when we were both back in Los Angeles, we began getting together for lunch. We somehow haven’t gotten sick of each other since then.” Now that Sergio was working in mainstream comics as well as at MAD, he started dreaming up a new character, one that he intended to write, pencil, ink, and own. “In the mid-Seventies, on another trip to Europe, I decided that I wanted to do a humor comic of my own. My first idea was a satire of Tarzan, starring the apeman’s twin brother, an inept jungle hero whose helpful deeds were unintentionally destructive... basically Groo! I thought that I had the perfect idea, but walking around Paris, I passed a cinema
Sergio co-created the offbeat Western series Bat Lash. (LEFT) Cover to Bat Lash #5 (June–July 1969), by series artist Nick Cardy, wherein Bat meets the bandit… (RIGHT) Sergio Aragonés, known to all as “El Pajaro.” The cover becomes amusing once you realize that nobody can out-draw Sergio. TM & © DC Comics. 32
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that was showing an animated feature titled Tarzoon, Shame of the Jungle! It was nothing like what I wanted to create, so the character I needed eventually became a barbarian. I made sketches, comic pages, plots, and more to develop my new character. Then I went to talk to publishers without mentioning that my new star was an idiotic barbarian. They all immediately wanted to work with me, but when I specified that I wanted to own the rights, they’d change their minds. One new publisher even told me that, ‘The day that we give away the rights will be over my dead body!’ Years passed, and in 1982, Mark Evanier asked me if Steve Gerber could use a story that I had drawn to be included in Steve’s Destroyer Duck charity comic. By then, Pacific Comics was publishing books with the copyrights belonging to the creators. After Mark suggested them, I got in touch with Pacific’s Schanes brothers, Steve and Bill. They said that they would be pleased not only to publish my comic but also distribute it. I asked Mark if he would assist me with the dialogue, since my sense of humor is basically pantomime with a bit of bad English. He accepted, and a great working relationship began. Not only did he help me with the text, Mark’s enormous experience in writing and editing comic books taught me a lot about how to do things right. He was not only a colleague, but also a teacher, and today we still work the same way: no disagreements, just a lot of back-and-forth collaboration. What a mensch!” Mark and Sergio were two of the three founders of Los Angeles’ club for print cartoonists, CAPS. Mark explains how it was formed: “The Comic Art Professional Society was founded in 1977. Sergio and I liked to get together at the Numero Uno pizzeria on La Cienega Boulevard, often with our mutual friend, writer Don Rico. At one such dinner, we got to talking about all the people in L.A. who wrote or drew comics or cartoons who didn’t know each other. This was when there weren’t many conventions and most of those folks didn’t attend the few that were held. So one of us said, ‘We oughta form
Artist at play, Halloween edition. Sergio and friends have Fall fun “at my old apartment.” Also shown above are fine artist Robert Cabeen (laughing), writer/producer Mick Garris (the vampire), and William Stout (in sunglasses). a club,’ and the other two said, ‘Right!,’ and we started a club. There was a little more to it than that, but not much.” “Groo the Wanderer” first appeared in 1982 in Eclipse Comics’ Destroyer Duck #1, a comic book created by Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby in the hope that its sales would help Steve pay the lawyer fees for his battle against Marvel Comics over the ownership of Howard the Duck. A number of fellow creators stepped up and without pay produced the rest of the benefit funnybook. Sergio wrote, drew, and lettered his untitled four-page story that introduced Groo, with coloring by Gordon Kent. Sergio and Mark’s deal with Pacific Comics was much more than a new project for the duo. With Groo the Wanderer, Neal Adams’ Ms. Mystic, and Jack Kirby’s Captain Victory and the Galactic
AWARD-WINNING CARTOONIST
In this image taken from the June 1972 Academy of Comic Book Arts (ACBA) Newsletter, Sergio is holding his Shazam Award for the story “The Poster Plague.” Photo by Michele Wolfman.
Sergio has been the recipient of a number of awards: f Shazam Award (1972) f San Diego Comic-Con’s Inkpot Award (1976) f National Cartoonists Society (NCS) Reuben Award for Humor Comic Book (1973, 1974, 1976) f NCS Reuben Award for Magazine and Book Illustration (1989) f NCS Reuben Award for Special Features (1977) f Charles Schulz Award (1999) f NCS Reuben Award for Gag Cartoons Award (1983) f Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year (1996) f Will Eisner Award for Humor Comics (1992, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001) f Sweden’s Adamson Award for Best International Comic Strip or Comic Book (1985) f Harvey Award for Humor (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) f Mexico’s La Plumilla de Plata/“The Silver Inkpen” Award (2016) f Best Foreign Work (Magnor) in Barcelona, Spain (1995) f “La Catrina” International Book Fair in Guadalajara Mexico (2002) f San Diego Comic-Con International’s Icon Award (2016) (ABOVE) The Sergio-topped CAPS Award. RETROFAN
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Rangers (1981) and Silver Star (1983), Pacific had wooed three of mainstream comics’ most important and experienced creators. It ushered in a new era of independent comics concocted by mainstream professionals. Groo eventually became one of the longest-running creatorowned comic-book properties, outlasting two of the companies that published it (see sidebar). Ironically, the only established barbarian character with a longer history in comics than Groo is Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian, who was first licensed for comics by Marvel in 1970. The original “Groo Crew” consisted of Sergio, Mark, letterer Stan Sakai, and colorist Gordon Kent.
The first page to the first Groo the Wanderer story. Written and drawn (and created, of course) by Sergio Aragonés. From Destroyer Duck #1 (1982). © Sergio Aragonés. Sojourn (White Cliffs Publishing Co.) was editor Joe Kubert’s 1977 experimental tabloid-format comic full of short, continuing stories, including Sergio’s “T.C. Mars, Very Private Eye.” Only two issues were published. Eclipse’s Crossfire #18 (Jan. 1987) through 26 (Feb. 1988) featured Mark Evanier’s “Show Business” column, with illustrations by Sergio. Hollywood Superstars (Marvel, 1990–1991), more or less set in the same reality as DNAgents and Crossfire, featured more of Mark’s columns, again with illustrations by Sergio. Both square-bound “Platinum Editions,” Buzz & Bell, Space Cadets (Malibu, 1991) and Smokehouse Five (Malibu, 1991) were collections of material originally created by Sergio as weekly strips for European magazines. The Mighty Magnor (Malibu, 1993) was Sergio’s first and only (so far) super-hero creation, starring a mega-powered cyborg from another world. Having once been Jack Kirby’s assistant, Mark Evanier was Sergio’s super-hero Sherpa. This six-issue series started off with a “first time ever in comics” fold-out on one of the editions of #1, possibly the very best gimmick in a decade that was loaded with comics covers gimmicks. But the diabolic duo was far from done with the cape-and-underwear crowd.
PLOP! AND OTHER FABULOUS FUNNYBOOKS
Of course, although Groo the Wanderer has been his longest-running and best-known character, Sergio has created a number of other significant comics and stories. “The Poster Plague” was a seven-page story written by Steve Skeates and drawn by Sergio for DC’s House of Mystery #202 (May 1972). It was Sergio’s first-ever multi-page story, rather than the one-page gag fillers he usually did for DC. This one—about a college campus festooned with posters displaying dire warnings— got such immediate attention from readers, including the 1972 Shazam Award for “Best Humor Story,” that it laid the groundwork for DC’s 1973–1976 weird humor comic Plop!, for which Sergio created the concept of “Plop!” He recalls, “I’d hoped to hire top underground cartoonists to work on less-controversial but darkly humorous stories. Unfortunately, the only one who wound up in Plop! was Lee Marrs.” The series lasted for 24 issues, with Sergio being the only funny cartoonist who was a regular contributor. Sergio had 52 four-color pages to play with in DC Super-Stars #13 (Mar.–Apr. 1977), in an issue themed The Wild and Wacky World of Sergio Aragonés. He wrote most of his own material, but also with Steve Skeates and Jack C. Harris. Some of this material was unpublished Plop! stories.
The bloodthirsty crowd on the cover of Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer #23 (Jan. 1987) features some familiar faces: (A) Scott Shaw!, (B) Sergio Aragonés, (C) Mark Evanier, (D) Stan Sakai, letterer and (E) Tom Luth, colorist. Also included are cartoonists Don Dougherty, Al Jaffee, Nick Meglin, and Bob Foster. © Sergio Aragonés.
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GROO’S MANY PUBLISHERS Groo has had a long history in comics, with a half-dozen publishers. Here are all of them, in chronological order:
ECLIPSE COMICS f Destroyer Duck #1 (1982). This untitled Groo debut was visually written, designed, penciled, inked, and lettered by Sergio, and with color by Gordon Kent. The comic doesn’t list an editor. (Even when publishers have listed a company employee as Groo’s “editor,” Mark Evanier has always been the actual Groo editor.)
PACIFIC COMICS f Starslayer vol. 1 #5 (Nov. 1982). This untitled five-page backup Groo story was the first collaboration of Sergio, Mark, and Stan. f Groo the Wanderer vol. 1 #1–8 (Dec. 1982–Mar. 1984). Colorist Gordon Kent’s final issue was #4; he left to concentrate on his career in animation. Tom Luth took over as colorist and worked on Groo for decades, finally retiring after finishing Groo Meets Tarzan.
ECLIPSE COMICS f Groo Special #1 (Oct. 1984). Sergio, Mark, Stan, and comics creator/coloring company owner Murphy Anderson had finished an issue of Groo the Wanderer for Pacific Comics, but Pacific shuttered before it was printed. Sergio had already made a deal with Marvel to publish Groo under its Epic label, but Marvel’s production wouldn’t sync with Murphy’s coloring process and the entire issue was rejected by Marvel. Murphy’s outfit did a lot of coloring for Eclipse, so they were prepared for his process and published this one-shot.
MARVEL/EPIC f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer vol. 2 #1–120 (Mar. 1985–Jan. 1995). Sergio also created a number of Marvel Age covers, often with Christmas themes.
IMAGE COMICS f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo vol. 3 #1–12 (Dec. 1994–Nov. 1995). The Groo Crew called their own shots at Image, but the responsibility of packaging each issue took extra time and effort.
DARK HORSE COMICS Rather than publishing Groo as an ongoing series, Dark Horse has opted for a series of miniseries: f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo (four issues, 1998) f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo and Rufferto (four issues, 1998) f Sergio Aragonés’ Mightier Than the Sword (four issues, 2000) f Sergio Aragonés’ Death and Taxes (four issues, 2001–2002) f Sergio Aragonés Groo: 25th Anniversary Special (one-shot, 2007) f Sergio Aragonés’ Hell on Earth (four issues, 2007–2008) f Sergio Aragonés’ The Hogs of Horder (four issues, 2009–2010) f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo vs. Conan (four issues, 2014) f Sergio Aragonés’ Friends and Foes (three issues, 2015) f Sergio Aragonés’ Fray of the Gods (four issues, 2016) f Sergio Aragonés’ Play of the Gods (four issues, 2017) f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo Meets Tarzan (four issues, 2021) Stan Sakai and Sergio have a sharp disagreement. © Sergio All of these Dark Horse multi-issue Groo story arcs have been Aragonés. reprinted in softbound collections.
IDW f Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer Artist’s Edition (2012). Measuring 12x17 inches, this book is composed of high-resolution photos of Sergio’s original Groo pages from the tale “The Wager of the Gods,” which ran in Marvel/Epic’s Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer vol. 2 #96–99. It also features covers, odd pages from other stories, sketches, a foreword by Mark Evanier, and other goodies, including Sergio’s redrawn version of the very first Groo story from Destroyer Duck #1. There was also an exclusive Comic-Con International variant edition with a different cover. RETROFAN
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Joe Giella, Neal Adams, Frank Miller, and Bruce Timm), and Wonder Woman (drawn by Brian Bolland). This goofy little series also featured artwork from a variety of other artists, but most super-hero fans turned up their noses at it. In the late Nineties, Sergio and Mark ventured into other new territories, including horror comics, and Dark Horse was happy to publish them. Sergio Aragonés’ Boogeyman (1998) was a four-issue series with a horror-host named Mr. Diggs, narrating short horror tales with EC-style repercussions, but with fun. There were also two spooky one-shots: Sergio Aragonés’ El Dia De Los Muertos (1998), with goofy U.S. tourists intruding on the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, and Sergio Aragonés’ Blair Witch? (1999), a loose parody of the then-popular film The Blair Witch Project. Sergio and Mark also worked on Dark Horse’s 1997 one-shot, The Mask: Virtual Surreality [conceived by ye ed, then the (LEFT) Explaining the concept of “plop” in Plop! #1 (Sept.–Oct. 1973). (RIGHT) writer of the Adventures of the Mask comic]. DC Super-Stars presents the Wild and Wacky World of Sergio Aragonés (Apr. 1977). Sergio Aragonés’ Louder Than Words (Dark TM & © DC Comics. Horse, 1998) was a six-issue collection of new pantomime gag cartoons. In 2001, Dark Horse published a second six-issue collection, Sergio Aragonés’ Rather than just create another super-hero, why not make fun of Actions Speak. everyone else’s instead? Collaborating with the “Big Two” publishers, the master cartoonSergio was a huge fan of Matt Groening’s The Simpsons on Fox. ist’s Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel and Sergio Aragonés Destroys He’d even walk away from the middle of Thanksgiving dinner so DC were both cover-dated June 1996. Both one-shots featured the he wouldn’t miss a single episode. When Bongo Comics editor unique treat of seeing Sergio’s pencils inked by many of the top Bill Morrison learned of Sergio’s passion for all things Springfield, artists of both publishers. Mark was a big part of the fun, too. Bill asked him if he’d like to write and draw a story for Bongo’s Having already destroyed super-heroes, in 2000 Sergio and horror anthology, Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror, a four-color Mark set their sights on sci-fi. Sergio Aragonés Stomps Star Wars was replication of The Simpsons’ annual Halloween show. Sergio readily a natural for Dark Horse Comics, holder of the Star Wars license. agreed, and the result was a 13-page story titled “Xt’tapalatakettle’s Sergio easily conquered the task of drawing Dreadnoughts, AT-ATs, Day,” written and drawn by “Sergio Ara’goonie’s,” with dialogue and Airspeeders, but Lucasfilms’ primary concern seemed to be by “Shambling Scott Shaw!,” published in Bart Simpson’s Treehouse that the MAD cartoonist might draw their boss a wee bit too pudgy. (George was fine with it.) Mark did what he always does... or doesn’t. Mark and Sergio concocted a third approach to funny super-hero stuff. They’d already created their own and then obliterated the super-heroes of two major publishers. The only thing left was to create a cartoony admirer who hung out with realistic super-heroes. It was titled Fanboy, and over six DC Comics issues in 1999, Finster Fanboy met Superman (drawn by Jerry Ordway), Green Lantern (drawn by Gil Kane), the Justice League of America (drawn by Brent Anderson), Sgt. Rock (drawn by Joe Kubert and Russ Heath), Batman (drawn by Dick Sprang, Jim Mooney,
(LEFT) Sergio Aragonés Funnies #1 (July 2011). (RIGHT) Fanboy #5 (July 1999). © Sergio Aragonés. Batman TM & © DC Comics.
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(LEFT TO RIGHT) Cover to the German edition of Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel, original art to Sergio Aragonés’ Louder Than Words #3 (Sept. 1997), and Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC (1996).
of Horror #5 (Sept. 1999). This directly led to Sergio writing and drawing stories and covers for Bongo’s The Simpsons Present Bart Simpson, from issue #50 (Oct. 2009) to 75 (Sept. 2012). He also created stories for Bongo’s flagship The Simpsons series, from #163 (Feb. 2010) to 185 (Dec. 2011). Space Circus (Dark Horse, 2000) was a lighthearted four-issue story by Mark and Sergio about an Earth boy who runs away with the circus… to outer space. The alien designs were outstanding, and Tom Luth’s coloring has never been so wild as it was here. In 2007, DC licensed Will Eisner’s “The Spirit” to star in a new series written and drawn by the late Darwyn Cooke. Starting with the 14th issue (Mar. 2008), Sergio and Mark signed on as The Spirit’s co-writers, with Sergio also supplying rough layouts for each page. Their first Spirit story was illustrated by Mike Ploog, an outstanding former assistant to Eisner. But as Mark and Sergio pressed on, the visuals for the stories became tame, and at times, inappropriate. Their final Spirit issue was #25 (Mar. 2009). Bat Lash (DC, 2008) was a six-issue return of the cowboy that Sergio had created 40 years earlier. He and Western writer Peter Brandvold wrote the story, and John Severin provided wonderful visuals. Dark Horse Maverick 2001 was a one-shot summer special that featured one of Sergio’s greatest autobiographical stories, “Bhutan.” When he was in the Eastern Himalayas, Sergio met a holy man who was fascinated by a single comic strip. “Bhutan,” about how comics affect people all
Panels from Sergio’s contribution to The Mask: Virtual Surreality (1997). Art © Sergio Aragonés. The Mask TM & © Dark Horse Comics.
over the world, has plenty of humorous elements, but it’s also sobering and reveals Sergio’s genuineness as a storyteller and as a person. He followed with “The Time I Met Richard Nixon” in Dark Horse’s Autobiographix (2003), edited by Diana Schutz. Solo #11 (DC, Aug. 2006) was the only issue of this series that was devoted entirely to the work of a humorist. Sergio’s content included three autobiographical stories: “I Killed Marty Feldman,” “Heroes,” and “It’s Always Hard at the Beginning! Or My First Three Nights in N.Y.” Mark helped out with “A Batman Story,” which eventually led to Sergio designing a wacky Batman statue for DC Direct in 2012. Sergio’s most personal comic-book series was Bongo’s Sergio Aragonés Funnies (#1–12, July 2011–Feb. 2014), which many of his fans consider as his finest work. Each issue featured outstanding covers, gags, short strips, and games, plus autobiographical stories. Sergio wrote and drew every story in all 12 issues. Its high quality has a lot to do with the fact that his friend Bill Morrison was its editor. Sergio also found himself as the basis for characters in other comics, including as “El Pajaro” in DC’s Bat Lash #4 (Apr.–May 1969) and “Serji-X Arrogantus” in Marvel’s Star Wars vol. 1 #8–10 (Feb.–Apr. 1978).
SERGIO ON THE MAGAZINE RACKS AND BOOK SHELVES
Outside of MAD, Sergio contributed to a number of magazines throughout his career. He was the guest illustrator of a mid-Sixties issue of Fact, a controversial quarterly magazine published by Trident Press. During that decade, he also drew a few illustrations for the underground humor magazine The Realist after MAD’s John Putnam put him in touch with its editor, Paul Krassner. Sergio drew the “Incredible Unpredictable Issue” cover for DC Comics’ in-house fanzine Amazing World of DC Comics #13 (Nov. 1976). Marvel/Epic’s Epic Illustrated vol. 1 #27 (Dec. 1984) introduced Marvel’s readership to Groo with a RETROFAN
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two-page text article by Mark Evanier with illustrations by Sergio and an untitled four-page Groo story by Sergio, Mark, Stan, and Tom. Marvel/Epic’s Sergio Aragonés’ Groo the Wanderer vol. 2 #1 would appear three months later. Sergio’s work has also been present in a number of actual books, some with rather surprising themes. Stand-up comedian Jackie Kannon became a publisher in 1958 when he teamed up with a printer named Alexander Roman to create Kanrom, a publishing house that specialized in edgy material such as political humor, bathroom jokes, and risqué gags. They published a bestseller, the JFK Coloring Book (1962), illustrated by MAD’s Mort Drucker. Sergio illustrated a number of books for Kanrom. He also drew cartoons for a popular Kanrom series Sam, The Ceiling Needs Painting, essentially human footprints manipulated into various risqué positions with funny captions. The writers of the series of Sam books included Topps founder Woody Gelman, Sy Goodstadt, and Mel Poretz. Better known is the Fannie Hillman: Memoirs of a Jewish Madam series, which starred a sweet old Jewish lady who ran a brothel, written by Rochelle Davis Larkin, Joan Slomanson, Sol (“Israel Bond, Oy-Oy-7”) Weinstein, Francine Lehrman, and Robert Anthony. The initial Fannie book sold 250,000 copies in its first ten weeks and grew to four volumes. Sergio drew the cover of the fourth installment. Sergio also illustrated a 1966 book of definition gags, Up Your Lexicon, written by John De Coursey. A “sister” company of Kanrom, Alexicon, published another book about a horny old woman, 1970’s Aunt’s in Your Pants: Memoirs of a Dirty Old Woman. Sergio wrote and illustrated all of the gags. Mothers Are Funnier Than Children, written by Betty Rollin, “with Supplementary Evidence Provided By Jean Kerr, The New Yorker, Oscar Wilde, Dear Abby, Herb Caen, Punch, Ogden Nash, Dave Morrah, MAD, Patrick Dennis, Ellen Williamson and Others” (Doubleday & Company, 1964), featured a number of Sergio’s pantomime humor illustrations and the cover. Henry the Smiling Dog (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1966) was a children’s book, one of those that adults enjoyed as well, written by Henry Blankfort and illustrated by Sergio. MAD’s Sergio Aragonés On Parade (EC/ Warner Books, Apr. 1979–Sept. 1982) was a twice-published collection of some of Sr. Aragonés’ best-loved cartoons from his first 18 years at MAD. Joan Ashkenas’ and Sergio created two different editions of Comics and Conversation: Using Humor to Elicit Conversation and Develop Vocabulary (JAG Publications, 1985). Sergio really enjoyed working on these intelligent books. The Death of Groo the Wanderer (Epic/Marvel, 1987) and The Life of Groo the Wanderer (Epic/Marvel, 1993), both by Sergio, Mark, Stan, and Tom, were bookend graphic novel stories that were each 64 38
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(RIGHT) Cover to DC Comics’ own fanzine, Amazing World of DC Comics #13 (Oct. 1976). (BELOW) Batman a lá Sergio. Sculpt by Jim Shoop. TM & © DC Comics.
(ABOVE) Serji-X Arrogantus, the Arrogant One, has, canon or not, a very familiar face. From Star Wars #8 (Feb. 1978). Art by Howard Chaykin and Tom Palmer. © LucasFilm LTD. (LEFT) Sergio takes on the Simpsons for Treehouse of Horror #5 (1999). © Bongo Entertainment, Inc. Art © Sergio Aragonés.
pages long. In 2002, Bob Chapman’s Graphitti Designs collected both into the high-end book The Death & Life of Groo. 3-D specialist Ray Zone and Sergio collaborated on 1989’s Aragonés 3-D, a collection of new gags by Sergio that Ray converted to 3-D, with special glasses included. The Groo Chronicles books (1989) reprinted the Destroyer Duck Groo story and the Groo issues published by Pacific Comics and Eclipse. The next year, Dark Horse began publishing
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(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) Original art for Henry, the Smiling Dog published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons (1966), about all we can show you from 1982’s World’s Best Dirty Limericks (don’t some of those faces look familiar?), title page illustration from Aunt’s in Your Pants: Memoirs of a Dirty Old Woman (1970), original art for Mothers are Funnier than Children (1964), and Fanny Hillman, Memoirs of a Jewish Madam (1965). Original art courtesy of Heritage.
collections of the Marvel/Epic Groo material with alphabetically themed titles: Sergio Aragonés: The Groo Adventurer (1990), The Groo Bazaar (1991), The Groo Carnival (1991), The Groo Dynasty (1992), The Groo Exposé (1993), The Groo Festival (1993), The Groo Garden (1993), The Groo Houndbook (1999), The Groo Inferno (1999), The Groo Jamboree (2000), The Groo Kingdom (2001), The Groo Library (2001), The Groo Maiden (2002), The Groo Nursery (2002), and The Groo Odyssey (2003). In Harvey Kurtzman’s Strange Adventures (Marvel, 1990), “Captain Bleed” was written and laid out by Harvey Kurtzman, drawn and lettered by Sergio, and colored by Tom Luth. Paradox Press, a division of DC Comics, was formed in 1993 to publish graphic novels that were not typical comic genres. Paradox published a series of 17 Big Books, anthologies with real-world themes. Sergio contributed to nine of them, including the first and last volumes from that series: The Big Book of Hoaxes (1996), The Big Book of Losers (1997), The Big Book of Scandal (1997), The Big Book of the Unexplained (1997), The Big Book of Bad (1998), The Big Book of the Weird Wild West (1998), The Big Book of Grimm (1999), The Big Book of Vice (1999), and The Big Book of the ’70s (2000). Sergio Aragonés’ Groo: The Most Intelligent Man in the World, was a reprint collection of Sergio Aragonés’ Groo (Dark Horse, 1998). Subtitled “Beeps, Bleats, Boskas, and Other Common Intergalactic Verbiage,” Star Wars Galactic Phrase Book and Travel Guide (Del Rey/ Ballentine Books, 2001) by Ben Burtt, “an invaluable tool for galactic travelers,” featured illustrations by Sergio. Sergio created the covers and illustrated a series of three books written by his partner-in-crime Mark Evanier, which were collections of Mark’s columns for The Comics Buyers Guide and other sources. Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life (2003), Wertham Was Right! (2003), and Superheroes in My Pants (2004) were all published by the fine people who bring you this magazine, TwoMorrows.
Zounds! A Browser’s Dictionary of Interjections by Mark Dunn, “with Cartoon Commentary by Sergio Aragonés,” was published by St. Martin Griffin in 2005. MAD’s Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragonés (Running Press Book Publishers, 2010) was a big coffee-table book that was a retrospective of five decades’ worth of Sergio’s contributions to MAD.
SERGIO’S TV LAUGH-IN AND MOVIE MADNESS
Sergio’s done a lot of work in other media, as a production cartoonist but also as on-camera characters and as himself. Here are some of his television projects. On NBC’s It’s a Wacky World, which aired on September 13, 1971, Sergio worked as a writer, “my first work with George Schlatter.” This was a primetime special intended to spark a weekly series, but the network passed on the idea. It was a reunion for Sergio and Jacques Tati. Produced by George Schlatter, The Shirley MacLaine Special (March 12, 1977) was a speculative look forward at the United States’ next 200 years, starring Shirley MacLaine, and Sergio as himself! Sergio had a dual role in the second iteration of NBC’s Laugh-In (1977–1978). Not only did he create animated segments for the show, but producer George Schlatter also cast Sergio as one of the on-camera personalities in this somewhat obscure revival of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Out of 14 regular performers in this six-episode series, only Sergio, Wayland Flowers and Madam, and Robin Williams became known to the general public. Sergio didn’t need to do any acting or animating for Schlatter’s hour-long special Li’l Abner in the Dogpatch Today (NBC, 1978) to make it a very important event in his incredible life. Instead, Schlatter hired him to design a variety of set elements in the cartoon style of Li’l Abner’s creator, Al Capp. But when the fellow who was scheduled to ink and paint Sergio’s comic-strip pages got injured in an automobile accident, William Stout called for help from Los Angeles’ RETROFAN
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(LEFT) Sergio in the role of Desk Clerk #1 in Norman… Is That You? (1976). © MGM. (RIGHT) Sergio plays himself in the “You Can’t Win” episode of Bob, a comedy about a comic-book artist (1993). © Paramount Television.
CAPS pro cartoonist club. Its members got the work done in the roomy studio shared by Stout, Dave Stevens, and Richard Hescox. And while on the set of the TV special, Sergio met his future wife, Broadway dancer-actor Charlene Ryan, who played the part of Capp’s “Stupifying Jones” in the TV special. A few years later, Schlatter once again hired Sergio for his new primetime series, Speak Up, America (NBC, 1980), to provide more live-action and animated performances. It only lasted two episodes. Real Kids (NBC, 1981) was hosted by kids, with stories about kids, and aimed at a kid audience, but adults wrote most of the material. “I appeared on camera as well as creating cartoons that comprised the set,” Sergio tells RetroFan. Peter Billingsley (A Christmas Story) was the show’s kid host. Bob (CBS, 1992–1993) was a primetime sitcom about a comicbook artist played by Bob Newhart. In the episode “You Can’t Win,” original airdate January 29, 1993, Sergio guest-starred with fellow cartoonists Bob Kane, Mel Keefer, Jack Kirby, Mell Lazarus, Jim Lee, and Marc Silvestri, who, along with Newhart, all wore snappy tuxedos at a fictitious industry awards ceremony. Sergio’s also had a few experiences in films, as an actor and as a gagman/storyboard artist. The comedy Norman... Is That You? (1976), directed by George Schlatter and starring Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey, was about a distraught black man who discovers his son is gay and is determined “to set things right.” The movie hasn’t aged well, but Sergio has. His role as an unnamed motel desk clerk is still funny and charming. To Kill a Stranger (1984), directed by Juan Lopez Moctezuma, was a grim film about a sex crime and vengeance. It starred Dean Stockwell, Donald Pleasence, Aldo Ray, and Sergio as “Major Keller.” Sergio was hired to create and storyboard visual gags for George of the Jungle (1997), based on the 1967 Jay Ward cartoon series [see RetroFan #17—ed.]. When the film was released, Sergio also did some George of the Jungle comics in his own style for Disney Adventures digest. 40
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ARAGONÉS IN ANIMATION
Then there was animation, which young Sergio learned the hard way. “In 1958, Rene Cardona, Jr., the son of a movie director, was a good friend of mine,” Sergio recalls to RetroFan. “His father was going to direct a movie, Santa Claus, and wanted to include some animated sequences. ‘Sergio, we can make it!’ said Rene. I did not know anything about the reality of animation production... but that didn’t stop us from making a serious attempt. We built a light-box based on the instructions in the Preston Blair book. We made holes in the cels with a stationary punch, and I drew hundreds of penciled and inked frames. Rene shot it with a 16mm camera. All of the backgrounds images were from the same calendar. It took months! “I asked my father to see it in the Churubusco Studios projection room before we showed it to Sr. Cardona. But it was so bad, jumping all over, that we couldn’t show it to Rene’s father. I never attempted to animate again until Laugh-In in 1977, with the assistance of Hoyt Yeatman, a young man but already a terrific animator and visual-effects expert who went on to work on blockbuster films. I had a great time learning to do it and seeing the results on network TV.” Sergio’s next foray into animated cartoons was much more successful. “In 1976, I did the animated titles for the first of two Mexican films, La Palomilla al Rescate, and its sequel, both directed by Hector Ortega. I went to Mexico to get prices for the production of the animation, but I got much better deal in the U.S. and with quality animation by Larry Huber and Argentinian cartoonist Jaime Diaz.” Sergio created animated segments for the CBS Doris Day ToDAY Special, airing on February 19, 1975, which starred Rich Little, John Denver, and Tim Conway. Cher... Special (ABC, April 3, 1978) featured Dolly Parton, Rod Stewart, The Tubes, and a very cool animated sequence by Sergio. Sergio also created animated sequences for the various TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes series that began in 1984, and Fox’s MAD series of 2010–2013.
The oddball world of scott shaw!
(LEFT) In the future world of Futurama, Sergio is the last cartoonist, er, standing in the episode “Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences.” © Fox Television Animation. (RIGHT) Cover art for what was for years a top cartooning trade publication, Cartoonist PROfiles #7 (Aug. 1970), showing the perception and the “reality” of MAD’s offices. Art © Sergio Aragonés.
The 1/2 Comedy Hour (1991) was a live cable comedy show with a format that resembled Laugh-In. Sergio animated some gags featuring a character designed by… Mark Evanier. Animation director Joe Horne invited Sergio to design and storyboard a song sequence, DEVO’s “Gimme Toys,” for the Christmas special episode of the Cartoon Network 2006–2007 series Class of 3000, created by musician André 3000.
Sergio—or more accurately, Sergio’s head—appeared in Futurama’s Season Seven/Episode 11 “Lrrrreconcilable Ndndifferences” (Fox, August 26, 2010). The Casagrandes’ consulting producer Lalo Alcaraz and coexecutive producer Miguel Piga asked Sergio to perform the voice “Paco the Parrot” in the Nickelodeon series’ “Mexican Makeover” episode that originally aired on September 18, 2020. “We thought it would be hilarious to bring in people we love and admire,” said Alcaraz. “The thing is, he is an icon and he has a really cool voice and he plays this old Mexican parrot and he’s spot-on.” Sergio has since recorded a second appearance of Paco. Sergio has worked in advertising as well, both for print and animation. “I did some in Mexico, but I have been reluctant to work in advertising,” the cartoonist confesses. “The pay is very good, but there are too many people involved in the decisions. I enjoyed working with the agency that represented GoGurt yogurt, but that’s about the only time I did advertising.” However, Groo and his friends have been merchandised in a number of ways, including statues, PVC figures, magnets, metal figures, a collectible card game, buttons, a lunch box, a Christmas ornament, T-shirts, hats, and more.
MAD ABOUT SERGIO
© Downhome Publishing, LLC.
In 1982, Sergio and his family moved from Hollywood to a hilly, rustic town north of Los Angeles. It was a good fit for them all. Sergio even had a studio that was located over a printer shop. He and the owner became friends, so even in the middle of the night, Sergio always had keys to let himself inside to make a few Xeroxes if he needed them. Infinity Sergio. What could be better? RETROFAN
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The oddball world of scott shaw!
(LEFT) A Sergio contribution to fellow MADman Bob Clarke's personal sketch book. (RIGHT) There are artists who can draw crowd scenes, and then there is Sergio Aragonés, who’s in a class all by himself. Created for George Woodbridge in 1965. Both © Sergio Aragonés. Courtesy of Heritage. In 2009, the Ojai Valley Museum celebrated Sergio’s career with an exhibition, “Mad About Sergio.” Not only did it feature an accurate replica of his home studio and dozens of pieces of his art from MAD and elsewhere, he even decorated the walls of the museum with hand-painted Marginals. Sergio also gave a regular lecture over the duration of the show, doing chalk-talks while answering questions from the locals. Sergio’s hobbies include wood-carving, model-ship building, toy collecting (especially Donald Duck and the Simpsons), and making elaborate art-gifts for his family. Having a table for decades next to Sergio in Hall “A” at the San Diego Comic-Con International, I can attest to something that many people assume are jokes from Sergio or Mark. Time after time, ardent fans approach Sergio, tell him that he’s their favorite cartoonist of all time, and then gratefully thank him for creating MAD’s Spy vs. Spy. Sergio kindly corrects most of them because he
doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. He loved Antonio Prohias, but thinks that misidentifying him is pretty funny. However, in 2021, the rebooted MAD #17 dedicated the entire issue to the work of Sergio, with a new article, “A MAD Look at... MAD Magazine,” and a brand-new page of Spy vs. Spy, the only one ever done by Sergio. Finally, when fans tell Sergio how much they love his MAD strips with the-guys-with-the-pointy-noses, he no longer has to grit his teeth. I’m very lucky to have been friends with Sergio for so long. We’ve shared long drives to comic conventions as well as Thanksgiving meals. We call each other in the middle of the night to talk about Svengoolie and Mexican monster movies. We often include each other in our cartoons and comics. Toys R Us is no longer around, but the only thing that’s more fun than cruising the mega-toy store chain’s aisles with Sergio is playing Quick Draw! with him, Mark, and our fellow and sister cartoonists (see sidebar).
(LEFT) Sergio and Mark Evanier gently poke fun at their friend, the Oddball-in-Chief, Scott Shaw! (CENTER) The nearly all-Sergio (he drew the Spy vs. Spy but not the fold-in) issue of MAD #17 (Feb. 2021). MAD © E.C. Publications, Inc. (RIGHT) Sergio drew this sketch for Scott in the style of George Herriman's Krazy Kat as an apology for accidentally hitting him in the temple with a tossed VHS tape. © Sergio Aragonés. 42
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The oddball world of scott shaw!
A strange and mysterious creature that Sergio doodled while he was having dinner with Scott Shaw! © Sergio
Original art from "The Shadow Knows" from MAD #131 (Dec. 1969). © Sergio Aragonés & E.C. Publications, Inc. For these reasons, Sergio is also a person who inspires me, both as a cartoonist and a man. Sergio researches more than you’d assume. Although he’s a cartoonist, he realizes that his audience is changing along with modern advancements. He has a huge library of visual reference books, most of which Sergio put in storage after he discovered Google Images. Sergio plans, using notebooks he fills with concepts, plots, page-by-page rough sketches, and turnaround model sheets of new characters and architecture. If you look closely at the fantasy-civilizations and ships in Groo, you’ll notice that every detail is consistent.
QUICK-DRAW CARTOONIST Sergio Aragonés, Mark Evanier, and I have been doing “Quick Draw!” shows for decades, primarily during Southern California comic conventions. I think that they’re more a demonstration of how fast cartoonists think than how fast they draw. “Quick Draw! came about due to Garry Sassaman, who was then program director of Comic-Con International in San Diego and its sister convention, WonderCon in Berkeley,” Mark recalls. “He said it would be fun to have a program event where cartoonists matched wits to draw gag cartoons in front of an audience. I asked Sergio and Scott Shaw! and a few other artists, and we experimented with different drawing games... and the next thing I knew, we were doing it annually at both cons in the biggest room they could spare.” Of course, no matter who the guest-cartoonist is, Sergio is—inevitably and absolutely unintentionally—the game’s standout performer. – Scott Shaw! (ABOVE) At the 2012 Reubens’ Award dinner, (LEFT TO RIGHT), businessman Paul Gerrish, Sergio Aragonés, Bill Morrison, and fellow Quick-Draw!er, Scott Shaw!
Aragonés.
Sergio meets his deadlines. Sergio works when the work demands it. When he was younger, he’d work like a firefighter, sometimes staying awake for days to finish a story, a gag article, or a sudden assignment. And Sergio takes on challenges. If the story calls for thousands of accurately armed and costumed Prussian soldiers charging over a hill in perspective, that’s exactly what he draws, without swipes, cheats, or silhouettes. Sergio is often referred to as “the world’s fastest cartoonist,” as he very well may be. But deadlines and Quick Draw!s aside, speed doesn’t matter if the material is unexceptional. I respect Sergio’s self-trained abilities—to persevere in the comics industry, to think fast and funny, and to draw with confidence and appeal—are much more impressive than a swift pen. In 2019, Warner Bros.’ brass laid off MAD editor (and Sergio’s friend and former editor) Bill Morrison, who was originally hired to refresh the brand with mostly new writers, artists, and features. Soon after, WB decided to go with mostly reprints in MAD, with new Marginals by the last MADman standing. Besides those, Sergio always has new projects and commissions to keep him busy at the drawing board every day, with his familiar style still evolving, still improving, still impressing, still heartfelt, and still funny. Sergio Aragonés truly is the most interesting man in the world… of cartooning! For 50 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
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Looking for the perfect book to cozy up with? See what we have!
WILL MURRAY’S 20TH CENTURY PANOPTICON When viewers recall Route 66, they think of it as a television show that starred Martin Milner and costarred George Maharis. Because Milner received top billing and drove the Chevy Corvette convertible that was a non-speaking cast member, it was universally assumed to be Milner’s show. But that wasn’t the way it started. The show was actually—if you’ll pardon the expression––a vehicle for Maharis. “I met this rugged 10th Avenue bruiser named George Maharis,” recalled producer Herbert Leonard. “I liked his style. We used him in Naked City. It was obvious he was star material. But I had no idea what to do with him. So we paid him option money to keep him tied up. Then we came up with Route 66.” Mararis starred in the first hour-long episode of Leonard’s acclaimed Naked City. In a 1959 episode scripted by Stirling Silliphant, “Four Sweet Corners,” Maharis played Johnny Gary, a discharged veteran who discovers that his kid sister has joined a Hell’s Kitchen shoplifting ring in his absence. He and his Army buddy, Lincoln Ridgeway, played by Robert Morris, investigate. In the end, the two hit the road to see what America has to offer them. This was going to be the jumping off point for Route 66. A writer’s strike delayed shooting five months. In the interim, Morris died unexpectedly as a consequence of an epileptic seizure. He was only 25. The producers scrambled to replace him. It came down to two actors. They chose experienced Martin Milner over an unknown named Robert Redford. By that time, Leonard and co-producer Silliphant had abandoned the Army-buddy premise. Now, the idea was to follow two footloose young men as they moved around the country, seeking a place to put down roots. Their working title, The Searchers, was discarded because that had been a recent John Ford Western. So they named the program after the Mother Road, Route 66, which wound from Chicago to Los Angeles. They considered buying the rights to “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” which Nat King Cole had first recorded, but opted to have Nelson Riddle write a catchy new theme instead. It charted on its own. The backstory was simple. Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock were young New Yorkers from opposite sides of the tracks. Buz worked for Stiles’ father, who died unexpectedly, leaving Tod broke. Stiles dropped out of Yale and with Murdock hit the road searching for a future they could not imagine, taking up odd jobs along the way, meeting kooky people, and seeing America as it really was in the early Sixties from Tod’s Corvette convertible. “The Corvette was important in creating the image we wanted,” Silliphant remembered. “It helped to
Get Your Kicks Off BY WILL MURRAY
George Maharis as Buz Murdock and Martin Milner as Tod Stiles, the handsome actors who revved ladies’ hearts on TV’s road-trip drama, Route 66. © Columbia Pictures Television. RETROFAN
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establish the character of Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock right at the outset. We invested $150,000 in the pilot film before we had a sponsor. The Corvette has been part of the idea from the start.” Unsurprisingly, Chevrolet agreed to sponsor the show. Tod invariably drove. Maharis observed, “People are always asking me, ‘How come you never drive the car?’ And I say, ‘Well, it’s supposed to be Marty’s car.’ Then they want to know why he never lets me drive it. No reason. It’s just written that way.” In a huge departure for television, the series was shot in actual locations instead of Hollywood backlots, using locals as extras. It was a risky, expensive gamble, but it paid off. Due to being on location filming Exodus, Maharis wasn’t directly involved until the pilot started shooting in February 1960. “When I got back from Israel,” he recalled, “they told me to report to Concord, Kentucky. Which is where I met Marty. I had never met him before. Of course, you get the script, you’re on the set, and there it is.”
ROCKY ROAD
Route 66 suffered production problems from the start. They sought a Mississippi River location for the grim pilot episode, “Black November,” but had to settle for Kentucky’s Ohio River. It almost never snowed there, but a sudden blizzard blew in, forcing production to shut down. Pickup shots were filmed in Los Angeles. Unavoidably, problems beset the traveling production crew as they moved into the first season. The second episode had Buz and Tod working a shrimp boat in Grand Isle, Louisiana. They began shooting just as the mosquito season started, making for a difficult time. Still in the Gulf of Mexico for the fourth episode–– where the pair took jobs on a floating oil rig––a storm brewed, stranding the crew on the rig. When they needed a storm, they had to create one of their own. “One of the things that makes our show unique and successful is its mobility,” commented Milner. “By moving about to different towns and cities, we get sure-fire realism that can’t be duplicated in the studio. Man! When you see a smoking Louisiana bayou on
Publicity photo of Buz (BACK) and Tod (FRONT) in the sleek Chevy Corvette. © Columbia Pictures Television. 46
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Nelson Riddle’s Route 66 theme song was a hit, both in the U.S. and abroad—and co-star George Maharis also scored success as a singer. © Capitol Records. our show, it’s the real thing. Our fans are aware of that and they like it.” “It costs a few dollars more,” observed Silliphant, “but it comes off better. When you film on location, everything is more authentic and more believable. The actors feel it, too, and they respond.” Due to the stresses of traveling between locations, they planned two or three episodes in or around a fixed spot, often airing them several weeks apart. At the vanguard of this caravan was co-producer and head writer Stirling Silliphant. “Stirling would pick locations from the map,” revealed Executive in Charge of Production Sam Manners, “interesting places where events were happening, like a big cattle auction in Reno, or a major harvest. Both he and I would visit these places and check them out. Then Stirling, or a writer he chose, would build a story around Tod and Buz in that place.” “You can’t write a piece about Texas sitting in an office in Hollywood,” explained Silliphant. “You have to get the feel and the smell of the [location].” “Stirling was one in one million, as far as I was concerned,” praised Maharis. “The guy wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. I mean, he’d come up with more stuff. And even though a lot of the times you had to cut, there was still plenty of meat on the bone. He was very prolific. And he was also very open. He wrote most of the Route 66s. He had a great imagination, a sense of story, a sense of drama.” Given the logistics of perpetually scouting fresh locales, Silliphant often fell behind schedule. “If Stirling had a month to write a script, he’d goof off for three weeks and write it in a week,” remembered Milner. “That was his M.O. There were times when we started the script, and we didn’t know how it ended because Stirling hadn’t written the end yet. I can remember particularly in Cleveland, calling Stirling and saying, ‘How does this thing end? You know, we gotta know what happens here.’ And he’d tell us over the phone.” It wasn’t long before audiences noticed that none of episodes were shot
Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon
anywhere near the actual Route 66. Letters poured in, complaining, “The boys are lost again!” “You understand the show’s title, Route 66, is just a symbol,” explained Milner defensively. “The stories may be set in any town in any state, not just those communities actually on the highway.” “We crossed it twice,” noted Maharis, “once in New Mexico and later in California, but ride on it?—never. It’s just turned out to be a symbol of our always-on-the-go format.”
WAGON TRAIN FOR BEATNIKS
Initially, Route 66 was slow to find its audience. Transogram issued this Route 66 board game in 1962. “Everybody––sponsors and all––thought the show would be an overnight smash hit,” side of the law. This brings him into conflict with a dangerous pair said Maharis. “I didn’t. Our competition was too tough, for one of juvenile delinquents played by a very young Martin Sheen and thing––77 Sunset Strip and The Flintstones. We got so-so reviews. It James Caan. took us 12 weeks to turn the corner.” Tod Stiles usually got into a different kind of trouble. In one Critics derided it as “Wagon Train for Beatniks.” Footloose Tod episode, he accidentally drinks a mickey meant for someone else and Buz were called “bums.” and imbibes a dose of LSD. Now paranoid and delusional, he’s on “We are not bums,” Milner retorted. “We want to see the country the run, with Buz trying to bring him back to reality. Tod also had an and we work hard at whatever job we find.” uncanny knack for falling for psychologically oddball or damaged “We’re looking for something,” echoed Maharis, “but we don’t women. know what it is.” Both seekers fell in love every season, but their quest to put When Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac caught the show, he down roots excluded matrimony. That would split the team and kill considered suing, thinking Route 66 was a ripoff of his 1957 memoir, the series, of course. On the Road. The contrast between the two stars was distinct. Tod was “I never heard of the book until a few weeks ago,” Leonard a blond, freckle-faced Ivy League type while Buz was a dark, insisted. “The show was my conception and Stirling’s. We were trying two-fisted street kid, the classic angry young man. Yet they worked to show two young guys searching for values in the modern world.” well as a team. Midway through the 1960–1961 season, CBS president Jim “You usually try to bring an actor into a role who has the style Aubrey complained that the show was too downbeat. He ordered and emotional power that you want,” Maharis pointed out. “I was more “broads, bosoms, and fun,” or Route 66 would be axed. very close to Buz. I was a person who was raised in the streets of Aubrey wanted a roadshow 77 Sunset Strip. This led to episodes New York, and I was primarily a person who reacted with his gut. like “The Clover Throne,” showcasing Anne Helm as a buxom sex Marty was educated differently than I was.” kitten named Sweet Thing. “There really wasn’t very much of me there,” Milner rememFortunately, the sponsor sided with the producers. bered. “As you evolve over the course of the series, more of you Once America discovered Route 66, it became a critical and creeps into the character. But Stirling Silliphant wrote that charratings hit, garnering an Emmy for Maharis and others. acter, and identified the character that I played with himself. And “Frankly, we have been overwhelmed with the public acceptance Bert Leonard identified with the character that George Maharis of the shows,” Silliphant admitted. ”Although our shows are known played. He was kind of a tough New York kid, Bert Leonard was, in the trade as ‘sick’ shows because they do not have the patently and he identified with Maharis, and Stirling Silliphant was kind of happy endings that mark most TV dramas, they have grown well educated, so he identified with the character that I played.” healthier and healthier ratings wise.” Route 66 was like a traveling anthology show in the way the LIFE IN THE FAST LANE protagonists would enter a locality and become embroiled in the Despite the grueling schedule, the production made every lives of the troubled people they met. Often, the pair functioned as deadline. Fan mail poured in; most of it for Maharis. His Brandocatalysts to expose or resolve issues not their own. esque persona resonated with younger viewers. He became a Periodically, shows focused on Tod and Buz, providing glimpses heartthrob. into their pasts. “Maharis is controversial,” observed Silliphant. “The teenagers In “The Mud Nest,” a mishap takes the boys to a town where an are crazy about him, but he bores their parents stiff. He’s too awful lot of locals who resemble orphan Buz Murdock live. This puts primitive. The adults like Marty because he’s a gentleman. They the duo on the trail of Buz’s unknown parents. Could his mother be a only tolerate George because Marty seems to like him.” famous anesthesiologist? Would he accept or reject her? Problems persisted. A union issue prevented shooting in In “And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon,” Buz is motivated to Pittsburgh. “Good Night, Sweet Blues” was written with Louis avenge the death of the social worker who kept him on the right RETROFAN
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(LEFT) Hey, “Bud” is supposed to ride shotgun, not “Ted.” From the spoof “Route 67” in MAD #70 (Apr. 1962), written by Larry Siegel and drawn by Mort Drucker. MAD © E.C. Publications, Inc. (RIGHT) Pete Millar ribbed the show as “Route Sickety Sicks” in Drag Cartoons #1 (June–July 1963). © The Pete Millar Family. Armstrong in mind. But they ended up settling for jazz vocalist embroiled in the plans of horror actors Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Ethel Walters instead. She won an Emmy for it. and Lon Chaney, Jr.––playing themselves––to revive their most Maharis often butted heads with directors and writers who famous monsters. This proved to be the final time Karloff put failed to comprehend his character. He also had a habit of improon the famous Frankenstein’s monster make-up. Chaney also vising his dialogue. transformed into the Wolf Man one last time. “When I play a scene,” he admitted, “I listen to the other actors and answer the ROAD TO OBLVION way I would if the scene were part of real One episode proved pivotal. But not in a FAST FACTS life. Sure, sometimes I don’t speak my lines good way. Trouble hit when the company exactly the way they are written.” went to Texas to film “Even Stones Have Many Route 66 episodes were also Eyes,” in which Buz is blinded in an accident. improvised. During one scene, Maharis had to dive into “A lot of the stuff was impromptu freezing water. A local doctor was called in because they would write stuff that didn’t to give him give him a shot of B12 vitamin to fit where we were,” Maharis explained. keep him going. Unfortunately, the needle “But it was all very inventive, and very good was not clean. Subsequently, Maharis came because it forced you to come up with a down with infectious hepatitis. solution.” “I think he wore himself out,” explained ROUTE 66 “Our episodes have almost no plot,” Milner. “We did one show in a hotel f No. of seasons: 4 Silliphant admitted candidly. “The stories swimming pool. The heater hadn’t been f No. of episodes: 116 are about the people who make this country turned on and the water was cold. A couple f Original run: October 7, 1960– great, and about two young men who are of stuntman went in and couldn’t take it. March 20, 1964 searching for identity and meaning. They But George spent a lot of time in the water. f Primary cast: George Maharis, show the country we live in––parts of it I don’t think you can catch hepatitis from Martin Milner, Glenn Corbett that most people would never have an that, but he got a cold and his resistance f Network: CBS opportunity to see.” was low.” f Executive producer: Herbert B. Mysteriously, the Corvette was They planned for Maharis to miss Leonard upgraded every year without an explanafour shows, but his health kept him sidelined eight months. At loose ends, Tod tion. In one script, it was slated to go into SPIN-OFFS AND REMAKES: freewheels from city to city, periodically the drink––presumably to set the stage f Route 66 (NBC-TV remake starchecking in on a hospitalized Buz by for a new model. But the scene proved ring Dan Cortese as Arthur and phone. Murdock is said to have contracted unnecessary and was never filmed. James Wilder as Nick, running “echovirus.” The Halloween 1962 episode, “Lizard’s June 8, 1993 through July 16, 1993, Before long, Maharis informed Leg and Owlet’s Wing,” found Tod and for a total of 4 episodes) producers that he would be leaving the Buz at the beginning of Route 66, working series at year’s end. for a Chicago hotel, where they become 48
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Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon
“He’ll be back next year,” countered Sam Manners, “because we have him under contract.” For Season Three, Maharis did return for a trio of episodes shot in Cleveland. The reunion ended when exhaustion led to a relapse. “I wasn’t feeling well, but I kept pushing,” Maharis revealed. “By the time we got to St. Louis to shoot an episode called ‘Hey Moth, Come Eat the Flame,’ I had nothing left.” Maharis split the blame. “The recurrence was my fault and theirs. I shouldn’t have done all the stunts or worked such long hours after I went back. I was supposed to work only three hours a day, according to the doctors. But I’ve never been sick before in my life. I felt all right, so I plugged on. That’s why I blame them. They shouldn’t have let me do it.” The next episode was shot around Marharis’ absence. When he didn’t return, it was shelved. Early in 1963, Maharis was suspended. Lawsuits erupted. Publicly and privately, Maharis complained, “My troubles with Route 66 go way back. Some of those scripts were nothing. Half of the time I couldn’t communicate anything to an audience. It wasn’t in the role. I’d insist they rewrite my part so that made them mad, but I had to feel what I was doing made sense, was logical, had meaning.” Maharis also expressed disappointment that his co-star never called or sent a get-well card. “He sounds like he’s kind of mad at me,” Milner told TV Guide at the time. “I’m sorry. We never had any trouble during the first years of the show. I guess this illness has sort of gotten to him, which is understandable.” This photo ran regrettably small in RetroFan #14, so let’s give it a In later years, Milner explained, “There wasn’t really better presentation here. Route 66’s Halloween 1962 episode, “Lizard’s strife between us, but we never really connected. We Leg and Owlet’s Wing,” is famous for its ghoulish guest stars: Peter didn’t have much in common, so we didn’t socialize Lorre (seated), plus Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man and Boris Karloff together, but there were no sparks on the set or as the Frankenstein Monster—the final time the latter two ever anything like that.” appeared in their monster make-up. Route 66 © Columbia Pictures Television. Photo Once again, Tod went solo. In a gesture to continuity, courtesy of Ernest Farino. he catches a glimpse of an eccentric girl named Vicki Russell, played by Julie Newmar, whom he had met the previous season in Tucson. In “Give an Old Cat a Tender Mouse,” Tod Silliphant created an ex-Army Ranger fresh from the jungles of chases her all over Memphis, trying to reconnect. Farcically, he fails. Vietnam named Lincoln Case. It was just a bone Stirling Silliphant threw to a restless audience. They thought they found the perfect Linc in a past Route 66 Finally, the producers gave up on Maharis returning and aired a guest-star, but Burt Reynolds declined to abandon his recurring final episode featuring the duo, which had been held back because role in Gunsmoke. CBS deemed it morbid. “A Gift for a Warrior” had been the first As it happened, another show about modern young adults, It’s show shot for that ill-fated season. a Man’s World, was abruptly cancelled, freeing up its star, Glenn “There was never any explanation as to what happened to Buz,” Corbett. They put him in two Texas-based episodes as a guest-star. Maharis pointed out. Lincoln Case was introduced in “Fifty Miles from Home.” He Once more, a search was launched to replace one of the stars. returns to Houston from Vietnam, fearful of his explosive temper They experimented with a young actor who played Lee Winters in and swift instinct for violence. He’s pursued by a lovesick young girl “Suppose I Said I Was the Queen of Spain?” named Willow, played by Susan Oliver. Linc’s first encounter with “Bert Leonard wanted to use Robert Duvall,” Milner recalled. Tod Stiles starts with a misunderstanding and ends in a fistfight. “And we used Robert Duvall in two episodes, and of course he was The two men soon find mutual respect. marvelous. But CBS wouldn’t accept him in the role on a week-toFortunately, Corbett clicked with Milner. week basis because they felt he was too off-beat.” “He’s the same kind of guy I am,” Corbett said of his co-star. A decision was made to devise a character and find an actor to “He’ll cross the river with you. He’s out for the same type of advenfit him. Thinking back to the Naked City story that started it all, ture I am. Marty knows Tod Stiles better than anybody else and RETROFAN
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Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon
often acts the part as he sees it. Each time you do a show, you feel the characters as yourself grow.” Milner returned the sentiment. “Glenn and I really got along well. We became very good friends.” Adjusting to his new series took Corbett the remainder of the season. “It was tough trying to establish the new character all at once,” Corbett related. “The longer I play the character of Lincoln Case, the more I realize he’s closer to me than the role I played in the other series. Linc and I think alike in a lot of areas. I hold life a sacred thing, and so does Lincoln Case. The way he swings, I swing. He loves life, and so do I. And when told he was something of an idealist, he was quick to say, ‘I am and work for it.’” Strangely, Bert Leonard still wanted Maharis back in the saddle. His thought was to somehow squeeze all three actors into the Corvette. Maharis was adamant. “At this point I admit that the show was the high point of my career, but I have no intention of allowing it to become my road to oblivion.” The strangest and most memorable Route 66 episode of all aired during the transition. “The Cruelest Sea of All” found Tod and Linc in Florida where Tod encounters a woman dressed only in seaweed who emerges from the Gulf of Mexico. She claims to be a mermaid, but she doesn’t have
When Glenn Corbett replaced George Maharis as Martin Milner’s road buddy (RIGHT), the television journals were quick to cover the cast change. Route 66 © Columbia Pictures Television. TV Guide © TV Guide.
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Route 66 grabbed lots of TV magazine covers, with TV Guide covering the troubles behind the scenes. Route 66 © Columbia Pictures Television. TV Guide © TV Guide.
Will Murray’s 20th Century Panopticon
a tail. Tod assumes she’s just another lost soul, but begins to fall for her. Linc cautions that maybe she’s telling the truth. When Elissa, played by Diane Baker, finally returns to the sea––never to return––the question is left unresolved. But the implication is that she really is some species of ocean dweller. New footage featuring Linc Case was shot so the unfinished “Soap Pop and Paper Flags” finally aired as the season finale, with Corbett speaking the lines originally written for Maharis. Despite a ratings rebound and renewal for the 1963–1964 season, a decision was made to end the series with a two-part episode resolving Tod’s four-year journey. “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way” was a screwball story involving inheritance, treachery, murder, Russian spies, and anything else Stirling Silliphant could think up. The will of a wealthy businessman stipulates that his daughter (Barbara Eden) will inherit only if she marries Tod Stiles. Various schemers seek to prevent that. But romance blossoms. And marry they do. It almost costs Tod his life. Linc loads the happy couple’s luggage into the Corvette, and they ride off into the honeymoon sunset. Linc decides to return to Texas. And so the final curtain closed on Route 66. “We knew when George left the show it was over,” Herbert Leonard reminisced. “But we had our audience and the network and sponsor renewed us for a fourth season with Marty and Glenn. Eventually, though, the audience got bored with us, which was to be expected. It’s sad when you think about the show’s potential. The people at Chevrolet and I had been discussing taking Tod and Buz to Europe after the fourth season. Route 66 could have been the
first American series shot abroad. I think if George had stayed, we would have run for years.” Director James Sheldon observed, “Stirling wrote a very interesting character in Buz Murdock. George made Buz fascinating and Marty provided the perfect balance. Glenn was a handsome guy and a competent actor. But he didn’t have the spark that George did, and his on-screen personality was much closer to Marty’s.” Amazingly, given their mutual rancor, Bert Leonard attempted to work with Maharis years later, according to Martin Milner. “He wanted to do a two-hour reprise of Route 66––a reunion show with George and me––but it never came to fruition. The reason that I heard it never happened was because Bert couldn’t get along with the network. He was used to having control.” A 1993 TV revival was jury-rigged from a premise that made no sense. The illegitimate son of Buz Murdock inherits a classic 1961 Corvette and hits the road with a new partner in wanderlust. It was deservedly cancelled after only four episodes. Route 66 was already in the process of being replaced by U.S. Highway 40 when its namesake TV show was launched back in 1960. Now both are treasured examples of lost Americana. 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.
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RETRO INTERVIEW
At Home with
George Maharis BY RICK GOLDSCHMIDT
I caught up with Route 66 actor George Maharis at his Beverly Hills home as he was watering his garden on an unusually hot 80-degree January day—January 16, 2021, to be exact. At 93 years old (the internet has his age wrong, at a year younger), he spends his time between the desert and Beverly Hills. He says it’s easier to get around at his desert home and hasn’t been out much due to COVID-19. These days Maharis spends much of his time painting and golfing, but was happy to take a few moments to chat with me on behalf of RetroFan. RetroFan: The pandemic brings to mind your film, The Satan Bug (1965). That movie is very relevant to what is going on today. Would you like to remake it as COVID-19? George Maharis: Ha-ha! When I originally got that script, the story had nothing to do with a deadly virus being unleashed on the world. In the original script it was about a bank heist. After the Kennedy assassination, it was changed into the espionage thriller that it was. We shot it in the desert and back then… there was nobody around. The desert was quite deserted. RF: My late friend and Rankin/Bass composer, Maury Laws, used to say to me, “The Rankin/Bass films weren’t real heavy parts like the roles in Bad Day at Black Rock.” You worked with the director of that film on this! What was that like? GM: John Sturges! Yes, he was great with male actors, but not so much with actresses. In fact, there was a famous actress hired for The Satan Bug that he ended up firing because he couldn’t get along with her, and then ended up hiring Anne Francis, who was able to make it work. Of course, Anne and I worked together in Route 66. Anne actually appeared in Sturges’ Bad Day at Black Rock (1955).
Pictures Television. Publicity still courtesy of IMDb.com. Maharis photograph courtesy of Geroge Maharis via Rick Goldschmidt.
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RF: A friend of mine gave me an issue of TV Radio Mirror from February 1964. It had the headline on the cover: “Husband accuses George Maharis of Wife-Stealing.” I went on to read the story, and
The Beverly Hillbillies © CBS.
(ABOVE) George Maharis as Buz Murdock in a publicity still from his weekly TV drama, Route 66. (INSET) A recent photo of George. Route 66 © Columbia
RF: Many of the actors in The Satan Bug appeared in Route 66. Was this by design? I noticed James Doohan (Scotty from Star Trek; Rankin/Bass’ Willy McBean & His Magic Machine) and Lee Remick even have small parts in the film. GM: It was just the way things worked out. I had never worked with Richard Basehart before, so that was fun. But you’re right—Ed Asner, Frank Sutton, Anne, were all people I worked with previously in the series.
it was actually a very sweet story about your friendship with your agent Mimi Weber. The reason I bring this up now, you were red hot at the time and signed to or already filming The Satan Bug. Was Mimi your agent through all of this? GM: I was with the William Morris Agency originally, and I met Mimi when she worked at MCA. She helped me get some parts early on and we became friends. She parted ways with MCA over some sort of dispute, and I hired her to handle my dealings with Epic/Columbia records. I needed someone to deal with all of that. Since I was traveling the country with Route 66, I actually flew into New York to record my first album with them in six hours, and then I had to head back to wherever we were filming the series. Things got a bit hectic, and Mimi helped with all of that. She went through a bad divorce, and her husband named me in all of the legal stuff, but it all got worked out. RF: I picked up one of your records lately. I am a singer and musician too, and I really liked your style and voice. GM: Well, thank you. I appreciate that. RF: Another film I love of yours is Quick! Before It Melts (1964). Robert Morse did some performances in the Rankin/Bass specials and called me up a few years ago to thank me for my [Rankin/Bass] book and to tell me how special the shows were to him. You and Robert were almost like a comedy team in this film. What was that like? GM: That was my first starring role in a film, and originally, we were supposed to shoot it in Alaska. There was some sort of an earthquake there, and they ended up doing the snow scenes on sound stages. Bobby Morse was a pleasure to work with and a real talent. His work in Tru, a 1989 play as Truman Capote, was outstanding. I don’t think he quite got the recognition he deserved. RF: As far as television went, some of your earliest appearances were in one of my favorite series, Naked City. In fact, you appeared in four episodes prior to landing Route 66 with Herbert B. Leonard. GM: Yes, I did. The episode “Four Sweet Corners” was sort of a buddy-type pilot episode for Route 66. In fact, when I showed up for Route 66, I was surprised to see Marty [Milner] there, as I thought the
Maharis as a guest on The Judy Garland Show, from a contact sheet of behind-thescenes photos from the short-lived comedy/variety television series. Garland’s program ran on CBS during 1963–1964 but was routinely beaten in the ratings by competitor NBC’s powerhouse Western Bonanza and was cancelled after a single season. Maharis was a guest on episode 4, originally airing on October 20, 1963. © CBS. Courtesy of Heritage.
actor I worked with in Naked City [Robert Morris] was going to be Tod. [See the Will Murray’s column on Route 66 for the full story.—ed.] My last Naked City was with Eli Wallach, who played a crooked detective, and I played a boxer in “Death of Princess.” “Fire Island” was a favorite from the first season, as I got to work with Henry Hull and Michael Conrad and the first cast of the series. I played Stroke Strokirch in the episode “The Manhole,” in which I was a real heel. I played a full range of characters, thanks to Stirling and Bert. Stirling Silliphant was magic to me. I loved his writing! RF: First thing that comes to mind about Route 66 is, did you ever get to meet Nelson Riddle? GM: Yes, I did! What a great theme song he did for our series! He told me he based it on an earlier song by Jimmy Dorsey called “Oodles of Noodles.” Of course, he did some
work on Naked City for Bert, along with Billy May, who was also great and worked on all of that big band stuff. RF: Did you know that “Lizard’s Legs and Owlet’s Wings” [Route 66 S3/Ep 6, original airdate 10/26/62] came out on Blu-ray in 2020 with the commercials, bumpers, and next-week tag? GM: No, I didn’t realize that. It was such a treat to film that episode at the Chicago O’Hare Inn with Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and the screen’s Wolf Man, Lon Chaney, Jr. We actually came to Chicago from Utah to film that. From the big outdoors to inside a hotel. Another thing about shooting around the country back then was that each state and city was drastically different, unlike today. Utah wasn’t anything like Chicago, and I enjoyed that about the series.
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retro interview
something was wrong with Inger and shortly after she committed suicide. This was her second attempt, and it was successful. It was really quite sad. RF: You had another series pilot, with Blake Edwards, called The Monk. What happened with that? GM: Yes, that was an Aaron Spelling/Danny Thomas Movie of the Week for ABC in the fall of 1969. There was some kind of a writer’s strike going on then and they were going to make it a series, but ABC ended up going with a Burt Reynolds series called Dan August instead.
(LEFT) Sexy antics heated up the South Pole in director Delbert Mann’s 1964 comedy Quick! Before It Melts, based upon Philip Benjamin’s novel Quick, Before It Melts. Maharis played opposite comic actor Robert Morse and the fetching Anjanette Comer. Also featured in Quick! was a pre-Batgirl Yvonne Craig. © MGM. Poster courtesy of Heritage. (RIGHT) Yikes! This stylish poster gives us the willies! Just imagine how terrifying the movie must be! George Maharis led the all-star cast of 1965’s The Satan Bug as government agent Lee Barrett, who races to locate a pilfered biological weapon. As Maharis reveals in this interview, the original screenplay had a different plot from the filmed version. © The Mirisch Corporation. Poster courtesy of Heritage.
RF: I actually live near where that was filmed in Rosemont, Illinois. The hotel is no longer there, but other hotels are. The three episodes of Route 66 that you filmed in Chicago are some of my favorites. The one where you saved Sorrell Brooke is outstanding. Sorrell later played Archie Bunker’s boss on All in the Family and Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard. You shot at many places I have been over the years. 54
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GM: Yes, we shot in Grant Park, the Art Institute, the Wrigley Building, etc. We helped give Sorrell his courage to meet the woman he was in love with at the answering service. Another great Stirling Silliphant story.
RF: One of your favorite actresses to work with in the series was Inger Stevens. Years later, she was slated to be your co-star in the 1970–1971 series, The Most Deadly Game, but she died before that and the part was recast with Yvette Mimieux. GM: Yes, that was a Mort Fine and David Friedkin series. Inger and I always got along great! It had been some time since I saw her, and when she came in to meet with us in Mort Fine’s office, I could tell something was not quite right. I remember telling Mort that
RF: There has been a lot written and said about your departure from Route 66, especially in TV Guide during the series. Some have said you and Marty didn’t get along. Some things said you had difficulty with the producers. What is the real story? GM: Marty and I got along great. None of that was true… it was pure tabloid to grab readers. Marty and I never had an argument about the acting or even personally. We were very different types of people, but that is what made the chemistry work. Marty was a family man and I was a free spirit, Marty was more focused on the lines, and I was impulsive. We actually worked together quite well. Another thing I remember that the producers did regarding my age was, they took five years off and said I was born in 1933. They thought it would look better if I was in my twenties instead of my thirties. I don’t remember if they did the same with Marty. RF: I always loved how you went off into your speeches and put a lot of emotion into them. It never seemed like you were really acting. An actor’s studio approach. GM: I always felt that I had to live the part. I had to get into the role and believe what the character was feeling. It always became very emotional. I was given the freedom to
retro interview
go off the page and put my heart into it by Stirling and Bert. RF: Did you like Bert Leonard? When you got sick with your infectious hepatitis during the series—did this cause some friction between the two of you? GM: No, I never blamed Bert. James T. Aubrey, President at CBS, came to Bert and myself and said they might have to cancel the series. The fans wanted to see me. For that reason, I ended up coming back too early and having a relapse. One episode, “A Gift for a Warrior,” with Lars Passgård and James Whitmore, that got shelved for content, and ended up airing I believe after my second departure from the series. It was about a German sailor wanting to kill the father he had never known. RF: A friend of mine always brings up the fact that you got sick from being in the water with Barbara Barrie in the episode where you lost your sight. Then when you returned from your illness, they put you back in the water with Joanna Moore. Why didn’t they switch your part to Marty?
GM: Ha-ha! In hindsight, that would have made sense. I don’t recall what led up to that or what the reason was. I also remember shooting another episode with Leslie Nielsen around that time with the sharks in the water. RF: Another great episode that involved water was the Buster Keaton, Joe E. Brown, and Jenny Maxwell episode “Journey to Nineveh.” Jenny Maxwell shot Blue Hawaii with Elvis around that time, and you ended up kissing her in the Corvette! I have a great press photo from that one. What was that like? GM: I didn’t know much about Buster before we filmed that one. I wasn’t all that familiar with his comedies prior. But I will tell you that in the scenes by the lake, I couldn’t help from laughing, and we had to do multiple takes. Buster was hilarious! We didn’t shoot much with Joe E. Brown. He only had small scenes at the beginning and end. RF: It is really a shame that you had to be replaced on Route 66 by Glenn Corbett. Many fans complain about those episodes and the fourth season. It isn’t that Glenn wasn’t a good actor,
but there wasn’t much chemistry between him and Marty, and they were hard to watch. GM: It was like having two Martys. They were both very line-driven, focused actors. Our make-up man on the series, Abe Haberman, told me he was told by the producers to make him look like me. They made him wear similar clothes and even cut his hair like mine. Abe said Glenn resented that very much. RF: Several months ago, when [Confederate] statues were being torn down around the country, I happened to watch the episode “To Walk with the Serpent,” which was filmed in Boston. Again, still relevant to what is happening today. I always loved the episodes where you guys were heroic. GM: Yes, we stopped the kids from vandalizing the statues. You are right, still relevant, and will be for years to come. RF: What film or work are you most proud of? GM: It is hard to pick one. One film I did in Europe in 1970 was called The Last Day of the War. I am not sure what it was called when it was released. It was about a German scientist’s daughter helping an Army sergeant, played by me, find him before the SS does. It was really quite good. RF: In the 1964 TV Radio Mirror article, it mentions that you had to shoot photos at Mimi’s apartment because yours had paintings everywhere. Are you still doing lots of paintings? GM: Yes, I love it. Painting lets you be free to do what you want to do. It is just you, the paint, and the canvas. In acting, you have to deal with the director, other actors, producers, writers, etc. This is all me, and what I create. RF: Well, on behalf of all the fans of your work, I want to thank you for the years of entertainment! GM: I appreciate that and enjoyed talking with you.
The cast of TV’s The Most Deadly Game: (LEFT TO RIGHT) Yvette Mimieux as Vanessa Smith, a role played in the pilot by Inger Stevens; Ralph Bellamy as Ethan Arcane; and George Maharis as Jonathan Croft. The series, which premiered October 10, 1970, ran only 13 episodes, but originally hopes were high enough for the program that at least two original novels based upon the series were published. © Aaron Spelling Productions.
Miser Bros. Press co-founder RICK GOLDSCMIDT is the historian/biographer for Rankin/Bass Productions and the author of several books on the revered holiday films and other movies produced by the company. www.miserbros.com and www.enchantedworldofrankinbass.blogspot.com RETROFAN
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Too Much TV COLUMN ONE
1) Andy Griffith 2) Connie Sellecca 3) David Soul 4) Cloris Leachman 5) Art Carney 6) Kate Mulgrew 7) Bob Denver 8) Suzanne Pleshette 9) Pat Morita 10) Jack Palance 56
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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 popular TV star in Column One corresponds to a forgotten TV show in Column Two. Match ’em up, then see how you rate!
RetroFan Ratings
I pity the fool who watched these duds.
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) Casablanca (5 episodes, 1983) B) Dusty’s Trail (26 episodes, 1973–1974) C) Mr. T and Tina (6 episodes, 1976) D) Flying High (19 episodes, 1978–1979) E) Maggie Briggs (6 episodes, 1984) F) Lanigan’s Rabbi (5 episodes, 1976–1977) G) Bronk (25 episodes, 1975–1976) H) Salvage 1 (19 episodes, 1979) I) The Nutt House (10 episodes, 1989) J) Mrs. Columbo (13 episodes, 1979–1980) Bronk © MGM Television. Casablanca © Warner Bros. Television. Dusty’s Trail © Reel Media International. Flying High © Mark Carliner Productions. Lanigan’s Rabbi, Mrs. Columbo © Universal Television. Maggie Briggs © Lorimar Television. Mr. T and Tina © The Komack Company, Inc./Wolper Productions. The Nutt House © Buena Vista Television. Salvage 1 © Sony Pictures Television. All Rights Reserved.
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ANSWERS: 1–H, 2–D, 3–A, 4–I, 5–F, 6–J, 7–B, 8–E, 9–C, 10–G
SCOTT SAAVEDRA’S SECRET SANCTUM
Contests You Wanted to Win… But Didn’t BY SCOTT SAAVEDRA The first contest I recall not winning was a chance for 100 old comic books. Or, if I changed my mind (never), I could choose another prize like 100 straw baskets or 100 pounds of English muffins. The contest was the 1979 edition of the Benson & Hedges 100 Sweepstakes sponsored by the cigarettes of the same name (hence the 100 theme of the contest). For years, Benson & Hedges 100’s advertised themselves as longer than King Size cigarettes, and being longer… well, smoking them could lead to wacky predicaments (beyond the expected health problems). In one such print advertisement, a groovy guy bent his cigarette when he somehow got his love beads caught around it (how the cigarette was supposed to support the love beads is anybody’s guess). The 100 old comic books was a prize that would not be mine in part because I couldn’t enter the contest. You can’t win if you don’t play (also, the odds are against you). In any event, as a mere lad of but 19 summers, I was too young to participate. It said so in the small print. Always read the small print.
The Benson & Hedges 100’s sweepstakes ran from the Seventies and into the Eighties offering 100 feet, pounds, or other units of a possible prize; some great (100 old comics!) and some deep in the non-great category (100 gallons of sour cream). Each prize offering was essentially a separate contest and so required a purchase of two packages of B&H 100’s per to enter. © Altria, Inc.
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Though the words “contest” and “sweepstakes” are often used interchangeably, the latter is defined as a game of chance, whereas the former is a game of skill. In other words, when I won second place in a patriotic poster contest in sixth grade, it was due to my skill. The first place winner, my younger brother Mark, won due to my father’s skill, since that was who actually produced the top poster. My father has long since passed, and I only mention it now because it’s little stories like these that bring humanity to the otherwise serious business of discussing retro popular culture. Also, I didn’t get the top $10 prize that was due me. You could buy a lot of comic books in 1971 for $10. So, contests… they require skill. Sweepstakes, on the other hand, are supposed to be a matter of chance. You, me, my younger brother Mark, or anyone can win if luck is with them. The Publishers Clearing House has a very well-known sweepstakes with millions of dollars in prizes that can be won without any particular skill at all (though at one time, the ability to lick stamps was paramount). I actually did win a PCH
Elements of a 1968 sweepstakes mailings for Publishers Clearing House. Courtesy of archive.org/Ted Nelson’s Junk Mail Cartons. prize some years ago, but it happened outside of RetroFan’s Sixties to Eighties time frame and so will go unmentioned here (oh, don’t make a face… it was just a cheap necklace). Whatever you call them, they are an opportunity for the public to win something. Winning is fun. Playing to win is fun until you discover that you didn’t win, which is—sorry to be a downer—the most likely scenario. For the holder of the contest, whether a charity or business, the upside is increased public interest and, even more important, increased sales. The Benson & Hedges 100’s sweepstakes, according to Promotion magazine (April 15, 1974), created “multi-millions” for the brand over three years. Winning is fun. Just as an historical aside: P. T. Barnum created the promotional contest in 1850 to generate interest in the first U.S. appearance of a singer most Americans had never heard perform, Jenny Lind. To enter, you simply wrote a poem that would be turned into a song to be performed by “the Swedish Nightingale,” as Lind was known. Her American tour was a massive success in part because Americans wanted to hear the winning song performed.
YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY WON
The financial success of the Benson & Hedges promotion was no doubt helped along by the requirement to buy two packages of the cigarettes and send in the wrappers to enter the sweepstakes in the first place. That was how things worked in the Retro Years, as we shall see. But eventually laws were changed, and sweepstakes like the one that Publishers Clearing House ran is part of the reason this change happened. The Publishers Clearing House is so associated with its promotional Sweepstakes it’s easy to forget that PCH is an actual business. In the days before PCH, magazine subscriptions were sometimes sold door-todoor by individuals working alone or with a team. They were known in the profession as
canvassers. The canvassers made very little money per subscription, so selling in volume was important. A former manager of a canvassing team, Harold Mertz (no relation to Fred), came up with the idea of offering subscriptions for multiple magazines via mail order and, in 1953, created PCH. And that was the business, to sell magazines. Inspired by Reader’s Digest magazine’s success with its sweepstakes, in 1967 Mertz created a sweepstakes for PCH. You could win prizes of 25 cents all the way up to the amount you might win in, say, a patriotic poster contest—ten dollars. Your odds of winning were 1 in 10. The PCH sweepstakes proved to be very popular and helped Mertz’s company sell more magazines, which, of course, was the goal. The success created a significant competitor, American Family Publishers, and ever-larger prizes. Television ads for the PCH sweepstakes began appearing in 1974. The iconic Prize Patrol that surprises a winner with a giant check full of lots of zeroes was unleashed in 1989. PCH was a direct mailing powerhouse for years, and its sweepstakes and their very optimistic declarations of your chances of winning did end up creating problems for many. But, as I said, in the Retro Years, the rules were different.
YOU MUST BE THIS TALL TO ENTER
Early comic-book contest from Action Comics #1 (June 1938). TM & © DC Comics.
Comic books actually have a pretty long history of contests. The first issue of Action Comics (June 1938) not only featured Superman’s debut, but a contest that could be entered simply by tearing out a page—per instructions—from the issue’s Chuck Dawson (who?) story, coloring it, and then mailing the finished work in to the publisher. A cash money award of one whole dollar (worth nearly $20 today) was to be given to 25 young entrants. Seeing as how Action Comics #1 is now an astronomically valuable collectible worth up to about four million-plus simoleons, I wonder how many of these treasures are missing Chuck Dawson pages. You would think RETROFAN
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this sort of thing would matter to collectors. But in 2010, a ridiculously small amount of Action Comics #1—a mere four pages out of 64—sold for more than $6300. So normal rules don’t apply here. The early years of contests in comic books came to its logical—or, perhaps, just its inevitable—conclusion with Win A Prize comics in 1955. “The World’s First Giveaway Comic” promised 500 prizes per issue for readers. The first issue asks the reader to draw a spaceship or finish a limerick among other challenges with dozens of prizes given in each contest. The connection of the prize to the feature could be loose to nonexistent. The prizes seemed to be mostly for kids like bicycles, games, and opera glasses (hey, my dad once came home with a bunch of opera glasses—the kind that snapped into a case—and we played with those for ages), but the contests were open to young and old. Who was responsible for such a crazy comic book? You shouldn’t have to ask. The innovative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (creators of Captain America, the first romance comics, and, at the time, the publishers of a failing comic-book company) combined with Charlton, the bottom-of-the-heap publisher of a ton of badly printed comics. Each issue was hosted by Uncle Giveaway, a jolly sort wearing a green suit and hat so stuffed with cash that it can barely contain the riches. Uncle Giveaway introduced stories of different genres (science fiction, circus love, etc.) and even stars in one. Win A Prize was, sadly, a loser that lasted only two issues. Joe Simon has said that prizes were given out.
YOUR PRIZE IS NOT TRANSFERABLE
One of the stranger Joe Simon/Jack Kirby comic books, Win A Prize, lasted just two issues in 1955. Art by Jack Kirby. Meanwhile, the creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, after multiple lawsuits against and indignities from DC Comics, benefited from a public-relations campaign that brought to light just how badly they had been mistreated over the years. Not wanting to have a dark cloud hanging over their big movie moment, DC Comics agreed to give the gentlemen a yearly stipend, healthcare, and a return of their credit as the official creators of the Man of Steel. The real winners of the Superman; The Movie contest? Truth, Justice, and the American Way. And Joe and Jerry. There was also a contest for Superman II, with the top prize being a Superman cape that was worn on-screen. The winner of the cape, Darvin Metzger, worked in a comic shop. Later, as a married father of two, he sold the cape through an intermediary to an unidentified buyer. According to Miranda Collinge, in an article for esquire.com (“What Happened to Superman’s Cape?”), it came up for auction twice since, with the most recent owner somewhat surprised but ultimately pleased to have paid—in just minutes of bidding—nearly $200,000 for the film treasure.
ENTRIES RECEIVED AFTER DEADLINE WILL BE DESTROYED
Previously, I’ve mentioned in Secret Sanctum about how I once tried to launch my then-youngest brother into lower Earth orbit. I can’t really say more until I’m absolutely sure the statute of limitations has run out. My point is that I was really, really interested in the Space Program. Revell, maker of the few plastic models I’ve ever built, had an amazing sweepstakes that made my head explode with the possibilities. They were offering to one lucky
Superman: The Movie was the biggest thing to happen to comic books since the Batman TV program of the Sixties. Two lucky comic-book readers won a chance to be in this big movie that also starred actual big-time movie stars Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman. In the run-up to the big movie, DC Comics featured narrow ads each with a letter of the alphabet. Cut up your comic books to collect the letters to spell Superman and Blink and you’ll miss them. The Great Superman Movie Clark or Kal-El (Clark’s Kryptonian name) Contest winners Tim Hussey and Ed Finneran (yellow at a minimum combined cost of $4.55 arrows) dash and spin around past the camera in this and you get a chance to have a role in the screen capture from Superman: The Movie. TM & © DC Comics/ new movie. The winners were California’s Warner Bros. Tim Hussey and, from Massachusetts, Ed Finneran, 13 and 14 years old, respectively. They filmed a scene set at Smallville High (where young Clark Kent was the water boy for the football team) in which, despite spinning around toward the camera as they ran, they were gone in a blink. [Editor’s note: Contest winner Ed Finneran related his experience in our sister publication, TwoMorrows’ Back Issue, in issue #109, a Superman: The Movie 40th Anniversary Edition.] 60
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him about it once the sweepstakes were over. Engblom’s was the only inquiry in more than 40 years. Amazing. The Gemini module is still there at OMSI, should you care to visit. And, if photos online are any indication, the kids love it. The Gemini wasn’t the first rocketship available via a contest, and I’m not referring to the cardboard cheapie things you could order from comic books for around $2.98 and up. In 1959, Kraft Foods had a contest to win a trainer spaceship made by AerojetGeneral Corporation, a supplier to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), as a promotion for its Jet-Puffed marshmallows. The contest simply requested that entrants come up with a swell name for the Aerojet spaceship, like maybe “Space King” or “Buddy” (Kraft’s helpful suggestions). Unlike the Gemini module contest, the winner, a young girl from Missouri whose name I was unable to discover, was able to keep the spaceship. The winning name of the spaceship has also been lost to time. Amazingly for the young winner and her friends, the Aerojet was designed to be used by humans as young as six years of age (what was NASA up to, anyway?). It had four seats sitting at control panels facing a rear-projected front screen with scenes of space. It also had “Vernier Rockets for guidance in space flight.” My heart skipped a beat at that part, but I seriously doubt the thing had working rockets. Still, what a great thing to play in. A side note: This Aerojet may have toured the country—at the very least, it made its way to the California Bay Area—before the contest. Or possibly more than one rocketship was produced.
The Gemini Spacecraft prize was worth about $5,000 at the time (about $41,000 today) and an incredibly large prize for a kids contest of the day. © Revell USA LLC. boy or girl or boy an actual 19-foot Gemini module prototype made by McDonnell Douglas with knobs and switches and everything (except for the explosively powerful Titan II propulsion rocket and working launch pad—still, not a bad deal). There was a downside. Well, there were two downsides. The first was that I didn’t see the ad, which appeared in Boy’s Life and various DC comics, until years later. So, darn it all to heck. The second—and this is the worst part—was that the winner would not be able to keep the Gemini module. Robbie Alan Hanshew, then 13, was the “lucky” winner. The module ended up being donated to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland. The ad says, “How will it feel to present your spacecraft to your city for a park or museum?” Lousy, that’s how it’d feel. Fortunately, the Gemini module wasn’t the entire prize package—Robbie did get to take home a guitar and “every Revell Model Kit” (easily over 200 models, I’m guessing). According to some excellent research by cartoonist Mark Engblom (comiccoverage.typepad.com), who contacted Revell, Howard Reider, a former PR and Marketing Manager, came up with the Gemini promotion, and not a single person had tried to contact
You could enter the contest for an Aerojet-General Training Space Ship as many times as you were able to convince a parent to let you devour bags of Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows (an empty bag was required for each entry). © The Kraft Heinz Company.
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the weekend and $250 to help feed him per the ad: “Don’t think we’re kidding.” In an “Oh, look, an eccentric sub-culture” pre-contest profile from Life magazine (Oct. 16, 1964), Roth admitted that kids like him because, “I look like someone their parents wouldn’t like.” After searching two years’ worth of Car Modeler magazine and all of the internet, I suspect this particular contest may have been called off as I could find no record of any winner, but I hope not. In any event, Roth and Revell held another contest later that same year for a “Boss-fink saying” contest (example: “Put your best fink forward”). How finky.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
This ad detail for a contest that would bring an utter stranger into your home for a weekend ran in the March 1965 issue of the ultra-wholesome Boy’s Life magazine. What parent would sign off on this? Eventually, the exact timeline is a bit unclear, the Aerojet was donated to the winner’s elementary school and from there moved to the front of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, which eventually had it dismantled in the late Sixties–early Seventies (it looked too much like a missile, and this made people uncomfortable). Truthfully, I probably couldn’t be trusted with a real spaceship. I played “splash down” in a neighbor’s pool with my GI Joe Official Space Capsule long enough to dissolve the paper “control panels,” and I didn’t do my Joe in the Authentic Space Suit any favors either, ruining a future collectable. I suppose there’s a lesson to be learned here, but I’m ignoring it. I really wanted that Gemini module.
VOID WHEREVER PROHIBITED, RESTRICTED OR TAXED
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth [see RetroFan #10] was a creative force in the Kustom Kulture world (a broad term encompassing creativity in the custom car and motorcycle sphere). His best-known creations were Rat Fink (a huge grinning, mutated, cartoon rodent) and his various car customizations, some of which became the basis for Hot Wheels cars and Revell models. Rat Fink and his similarly nasty looking group of friends became Revell plastic kits, as well as sparking a mini-craze for outrageous-looking creatures with cars. The 6-foot-4-inch-tall, somewhat beatnik-y Roth was a creative force and large presence with a wicked gleam in his eye. So my question is this: Would your parents be cool with you having this man about whom they likely knew nothing stay over for the weekend, needing to be fed large quantities of food? Because for one Revell contest, a weekend with Ed “Big Daddy” Roth in your home was the prize. Roth was no stranger to promotions and contests. He was a judge (at least two years running) for custom model car contests from Revell and Pactra, a model paint company. Winners got to visit Roth at his studio (and go to Disneyland and the Brown Derby). But this 1965 contest to name a new Big Daddy “Rothfink” creature is a bit of a mystery. The winner of the contest was to get Roth for 62
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Now, the law is different and no purchase is necessary. A legitimate sweepstakes these days always have an AMOE (Alternate Method of Entry). How is this requirement enforced? By irate losers who contact the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and/or the United States Postal Service, who, if needed, will investigate. This is, more or less, what happened to the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. Concern that sweepstakes like the one from PCH (and Reader’s Digest and American Family Publishers) were strongly suggesting purchases needed to be made to have a better chance at winning. Some, mostly people who could least afford it including many elderly, spent hundreds and even thousands of dollars in an attempt to have a better shot at getting the big money prizes. One couple in Norwich, Connecticut, encouraged by the excessively positive mailings from PCH, waited for hours one Super Bowl Sunday for the extremely large check that never came. A lawsuit and a tougher sweepstakes law followed. Legal headaches, technology, and declining interest in magazine subscriptions have forced Publishers Clearing House to adapt. The privately owned company started selling merchandise in 1985 and has expanded its offerings since. According to its website, PCH currently is a “direct-to-consumer company offering a unique blend of curated multi-channel shopping and free-to-play, chance-to-win digital entertainment across a network of web- and app-based entertainment properties.” I take them at their word. While PCH does have a number of online games with much smaller cash prizes and greater odds of winning, they still have the large marquee sweepstakes, currently with a top prize of $7,000 a week for life. The odds of winning? 1 in 6.2 billion. The winner, if there is one, will be announced in 2022. How do I know that? I read the small print. JUDGE’S DECISIONS ARE FINAL You may read this article as often as you like. The minutes you’ve spent reading the words of this article become the property of Scott Saavedra’s Secret Sanctum and none can be returned. This article subject to the local, state, and federal laws of your community. Secret Sanctum bears no responsibility for personal or property damage as a result of the text. Immediate family members are ineligible from commenting negatively and being paid attention to. If you’ve read this far, you are a winner. Seriously.
SCOTT SAAVEDRA is a Retro Explorer operating from his Southern California-based Secret Sanctum. He is a writer (more or less), artist (occasionally), and graphic designer (you’re soaking in it). Check out his Instagram thing, won’t you, at instagram/scottsaav/
ANDY MANGELS’ RETRO SATURDAY MORNING
The
Pencil art from Filmation’s Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour Saturday morning cartoon show. © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
Lone Ranger BY ANDY MANGELS
Welcome back to Andy Mangels’ Retro Saturday Morning, and return with us to the thrilling days of yesteryear! The most famous question of the Old West is, “Who was that masked man?” The most famous hero of the dusty plains is the Lone Ranger, clad in a black mask and carrying a gun loaded with silver bullets. Riding with Tonto, his faithful Indian sidekick, the Lone Ranger fights injustice on his galloping horse Silver, leaving behind a cloud of dust as he lets loose the hearty cry of “Hi-Yo, Silver!” Justice rides again as the “super-heroes” of the Old West battle rustlers, land barons, and thieves, and meet other famous historical heroes… and villains! Saddle up with us now as we take a look at the two major Lone Ranger animated series, as well as a few oddities along the trail!
ORIGINS OF THE LONE RANGER
No fictional Western hero is as well known as the Lone Ranger, and yet most people are a bit fuzzy as to his actual origins. Where and how were Lone Ranger, Tonto, Silver, and Scout created? And how did they come to the animation world? The first answer would appear to be simple: The character was created for a radio show on Detroit station WXYZ and is thought to have debuted on January 30, 1933, although several “try-out” episodes had been aired in the previous weeks. The Lone Ranger characters and story were generally credited to George W. Trendle, WXYZ station owner, and Fran Striker,
although other folks took part in the process, and arguments among historians rage about who contributed what. Research shows that shortly before Christmas 1932, Trendle had a staff meeting to discuss new adventure programs for the station. Attending was Brace Beemer, then the station manager (and later, one of the Lone Ranger’s voices). Trendle wanted to replace their failing radio shows with a show featuring a mysterious adult hero with altruistic motives, something like Douglas Fairbanks’ Zorro or Robin Hood. Trendle also wanted something kids would love and that the station could license out for the lucrative market of radio premiums. A mask for the character was discussed among the staffers, and various other ideas were thrown out. At a second staff meeting after Christmas, when Trendle mentioned the Texas Rangers, a staffer (reportedly Harold True) suggested the name “Lone Ranger.” Trendle placed a call to Buffalo, New York writer Francis H. Striker to further develop the characters and story… although show director Jim Jewell has stated he was the writer who wrote the earliest scripts, not Striker. In the main Lone Ranger story—although his origin wouldn’t be told for a few years—Texas Ranger John Reid was ambushed by bad guys (with five fellow Rangers, including his brother, Captain Dan Reid), and only survived thanks to being nursed back to health by Tonto, a Mohawk Indian. Once he was healthy again, Reid donned a domino mask (made of his dead brother’s vest) and RETROFAN
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became a vigilante man-of-mystery, riding his all-white horse Silver and loading his gun with silver bullets. Tonto helped in the mission of justice, astride his own brown American Paint Horse, Scout. Tonto’s creation was largely ascribed to Striker, though interviews with those involved in production quibble about whether Striker or director Jim Jewell are responsible for Tonto, the silver bullets, and some other elements. One important rule was handed down: the Lone Ranger’s silver bullets were used to wound only, never to kill. As for the Ranger’s cry of “Hi-Yo, Silver, Away!,” director Jewell recalled in 1976 that it came from actor George Seaton being unable to laugh for the opening narration. Alternate takes with “Hi-Yi!” and “Yippee!” were tried, before Jewell suggested the actor boomingly shout the more genteel British expression of “Heigh-Ho!” An immortal catchphrase was soon born. The series occasionally used Native-American words, though many have stated they have no parallels in real Native languages. Most significant was the term “kemo sabe,” which was often translated on the show to mean “Trusted Scout” or “Faithful Friend.” In a 1976 interview for the book Who Was That Masked Man? The Story of the Lone Ranger, Jewell said that the word came from a 1915 boys’ camp named Kee Mo Sah Bee at Mullet Lake, Michigan, owned by his father-in-law. Jewell also claimed that he chose the name Tonto based on word other Native Americans would use—Tonto, meaning “wild one”—for a drunken Indian who often visited the boys’ camp. Striker, meanwhile, claimed Tonto’s name came from a Western script he had been working on pre-Lone Ranger. Tonto was a member of the Potawatomi tribe, but according to online sources, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation have no word similar to “tonto” or meaning “wild one.” The Lone Ranger radio show (and all later iterations of it in live-action and animation) utilized parts of Gioacchino Rossini’s William Tell Overture as their theme song—though some parts are from Bedrich Smetana’s Die Moldau—and it has become so synonymous with the hero that most people don’t know its original name, preferring instead to call it the “Lone Ranger theme.” Over it, the announcer would intone, “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty ‘Hi-Yo, Silver!’ The Lone Ranger. ‘Hi-Yo, Silver, away!’ With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early West. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.” The year following its debut, The Lone Ranger proved popular enough to go national on the Mutual radio network, which aired adventures each Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 1934 to 1942, before the series moved to ABC radio from 1942 to May 27, 1955. After 22 years on the radio airwaves, the Lone Ranger and Tonto transitioned to ABC television for a long-running live-action series starring mostly Clayton Moore as the Ranger (though John Hart starred in 26 episodes) and Native-American actor Jay Silverheels as Tonto (Silverheels was of Mohawk and Seneca tribal heritage). The series ran eight seasons, from September 15, 1949 to September 12, 1957, then continued with weekend network repeats until 1961. Syndication repeats followed, meaning that The Lone Ranger never really left the air! In all, 221 episodes were produced for television. 64
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Arcade cards of Lee Powell (the Lone Ranger) and Chief Thundercloud (Tonto) promoting Mutual Broadcasting's The Lone Ranger radio program (1938). (LEFT) The Lone Ranger looking very stylish in an early comic-book apperance from Dell Feature Book #3: Heigh-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger (1938). (BELOW) Promotional still for the movie The Lone Ranger featuring the beloved stars of the television show, Jay Silverheels (Tonto) and Clayton Moore (the Lone Ranger). © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
In its pre-Sixties’ history, the Lone Ranger starred in two Republic movie serials: The Lone Ranger (1938) and The Lone Ranger Rides Again (1939). After the TV series ended, Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels starred in two feature films, The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958), while CBS put together Return of the Lone Ranger as a 1961 television pilot. Nineteen novels were written featuring the heroes from 1936–1956, 13 Big Little Books were published between 1935–1950, a newspaper comic strip ran from King Features Syndicate from 1938–1971, and
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Screen captures from the first Lone Ranger animated “adventure” (there is a lot of repeated animation). Its purpose unknown, it was produced for Pathegrams, a subsidiary of Pathé. © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
over 200 issues of Lone Ranger and spin-off series for Tonto and Silver were published from Dell Comics and Western Publishing/Gold Key Comics. So, what about the animated series, you ask? Keep reading, kemo sabe…
AN EARLY ANIMATED MYSTERY
The first-ever Lone Ranger cartoon was created some time in the late Thirties, but its origins are shrouded in mystery. The blackand-white short runs 2:40 minutes and is titled “The Masked Rider.” Released on 16mm film, it unspooled to 95 feet. Produced by Roy Meredith for Pathegrams, no other credits exist on the short, including copyrights or credits for the characters’ owners. The short has title cards for dialogue and narration, but the only other sound is the familiar theme music. Amusingly, one of the Ranger’s dialogue cards says “Hiegh-o Silver… Away,” which is both incorrect and misspelled. The plot is simple: Tonto spots a hanged man, and Lone Ranger saves him, only to discover cattle rustlers have stolen the rancher’s herd. A protracted gun battle ensues (reusing the same scene four to five times) before the rustlers give up and Lone Ranger and Tonto ride away. The origins and release of the short are debated by historians. Some feel that it might have been done as some kind of promotion for Merida Bread, a sponsor of the radio show. Others point to a series of animated films sold to kids by Pathegrams as part of
“Movie Komics” Animated Films boxed sets for Cine Vue projectors, perhaps in conjunction with the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Companions in that series included Superman, Little Orphan Annie, and Dick Tracy. The Lone Ranger was parodied in two theatrical shorts at the time. Warner Bros. released Looney Tunes’ “The Lone Stranger and Porky” on January 7, 1939, directed by Robert Clampett. In it, Porky is rescued from “Villain” by the horse-riding Lone Stranger. MGM’s parody was released November 23, 1940, and titled The Lonesome Stranger. The nine-minute cartoon saw the Lonesome Stranger fight the Killer Diller Boys, losing his pants in one scene!
FORMAT FILMS ANIMATES THE MYTHOS
In 1954, Jack Wrather purchased the complete rights to The Lone Ranger for his company, Wrather-Alvarez (with then-partners Maria Helen Alvarez and John Hill), and the firm took over production of the live-action Lone Ranger series and all licensing. By 1958, after a lawsuit against his partners, Wrather bought them out, and split their holdings into several companies, including Lone Ranger Inc., Lone Ranger Television, Lone Ranger Pictures, and Lassie Television (he also owned the rights to the world’s most popular media collie dog). Format Films was a company headed by Herb Klynn, formerly of UPA. Klynn and Jules Engel had left UPA in 1959, taking with them many of their animation compatriots, intent on starting a
Format Films’ The Lone Ranger pan production cel (1966). © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
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(INSET) Michael Rye, voice of the Format Films’ Lone Ranger. (LEFT) A two-cel The Lone Ranger set-up with its unusual impressionist backgrounds (1966), signed by Format Films’ Herbert Klynn. © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
new studio. In 1961, they produced The Alvin Show, a series for primetime CBS based on Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.’s singing-chipmunk novelty songs. Engel left the company for England, and Klynn renamed the company Format Productions in 1965. Format sub-contracted to Warner Bros. and created 11 Road Runner shorts and three Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales shorts before they got the rights to do The Lone Ranger for CBS. It is unclear whether Wrather approached Format Films to create the Lone Ranger cartoon, or if they approached him. Nonetheless, a deal was struck in 1965 for a new Lone Ranger animated series from Format. Work began to storyboard a sample story, “Ghost Riders,” shown at Wrather’s private projection room to a special guest: CBS’ Fred Silverman. Silverman loved the project, and bought it on the spot for Saturday morning airing. In 1964, Fred Silverman had been hired as director of daytime programming at CBS, and he decided to launch Saturday mornings as a kid’s domain. As part of a “SuperHero Saturdays” strategy [see RetroFan #18—ed.] to counteract ABC’s hit cartoon of The Beatles, he launched Filmation’s New Adventures of Superman, Hanna-Barbera’s Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles, and reruns of Mighty Mouse and Underdog alongside The Lone Ranger, charging a premium 66
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FAST FACTS THE LONE RANGER No. of seasons: Three No. of episodes: 26 episodes (three stories per half-hour episode) Original run: September 10, 1966– September 6, 1969 (syndicated) Studio: Format Films
PRIMARY VOICE PERFORMER CAST Michael Rye: Lone Ranger Shepherd Menken: Tonto Marvin Miller: Announcer, Warlock Richard Beals: Tiny Tom Agnes Moorehead: Black Widow Hans Conreid: Mephisto Paul Winchell: Rain Maker Additional Voices: June Foray, Janet Waldo, Howard Morris, Denver Pyle, Jay North, Victor H. Perrin, Herbert C. Lytton, Glen Cochran, Nestor Paiva, Don Doolittle, Henry Corden, Frederic Villani, Nancy Houch, Herbert Vigran, Douglas Young, Peter Leeds, Frank Gerstle, Harold Peary
price (up to $9750 per minute) to advertisers who knew an average of 14 million children would be glued to the TV screens and thus see their commercials. Format’s Herb Klynn wanted a distinct look for the series, and between Walt Peregroy’s impressionistic backgrounds (made of colored-paper collages and thick, penciled borders) and several boldline artistic styles for the characters (achieved by using chinagraph grease pencil on top of animation cels), the show’s team achieved a show that didn’t look like any others on the air. Two of those on Klynn’s team were Disney legends Art Babbit and Bill Tytla, who directed several of the episodes. Sadly, despite a cool style, the actual animation for the series itself was lackluster, with stilted movements, freeze-frames, and cropping above the mouth so no movement was needed when characters spoke. Due to a dearth of trained animators in the U.S., some of the animation was done at the Halas and Batchelor Cartoon Film studio in London, England, while other parts were provided by a subcontract with the animation wing of Atransa Park Studios in Australia. This was one of the earliest examples of outsourcing to foreign animation teams; the overseas contracting was eventually known as “runaway production,” and it led to the death of U.S.-produced animation by the Nineties. The Format series made virtual super-heroes out of the Western duo; Lone Ranger became the world’s best trickshooter, and Tonto’s marksmanship with
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the bow and arrow became miraculous. Wrather didn’t want the heroes to ever kill, despite the significant gunfire—and shots with characters pointing gun barrels directly at the viewer—and the network guidelines wanted violence toned down anyhow. Many of the explosions or fight scenes were thus tempered by starbursts or other flashes of color, much in the same way the Batman TV show used flashing sound effects to punctuate and hide its violence. Although many of the tales were traditional Western tropes, the Lone Ranger stories didn’t stay solely in the realm of reality, with dinosaurs, monsters, and science-fiction elements thrown in with glee. The show was clearly influenced by both ABC’s campy Batman series and CBS’s The Wild, Wild West. Like those shows, the villains were rather arch and campy, and included several names that would later be adopted for Marvel characters, including Black Widow, Black Knight, Puppetmaster, the Fly, Frogman, and Mephisto. Other villains included Iron Giant, Prairie Pirate, Dr. Destructo, Mr. Happy, Rainmaker, and Terrible Tiny Tom. One element that was different than previous stories was that everybody seemed to recognize and know the Lone Ranger, including local law enforcement, politicians, and villains. And in a rather daring move, Tonto was given many solo stories; even his pet eagle, Taka, was given a one-story spotlight! Although the series tried to treat Native-American characters and stories with respect, all Indians spoke with stilted Pidgin English, and there were no real differences shown between Comanche, Cherokee, or other tribes. The Lone Ranger was voiced by Michael Rye, a radio voice talent and announcer who had worked on such shows as The Cisco Kid (1943–1945) and Jack Armstrong, The All-American Boy (1944–1946). A few decades later, he would voice Apache Chief and Green Lantern on Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends. Tonto was voiced by Shepard Menken, a child actor on radio and TV actor in the Fifties. He had previously worked for Format on The Alvin Show. Most of the secondary cast voices were either longtime radio actors, or animation stars-in-the-making. Like its predecessors, The Lone Ranger used the William Tell Overture liberally throughout each episode. The specific version of the show’s theme music—arranged by Vic Schoen and conducted
The Lone Ranger and Tonto race into action minus their trusty steeds. © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
Pencil art from The Lone Ranger episode “Cult of the Black Widow” (Format Films, 1966). © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage. by Johnny Gregory—was recorded in London with a 40-piece orchestra that included members of both the London Philharmonic and London Symphony. The galloping theme was reportedly reused in Eighties TV syndication ads for the live-action Lone Ranger series! The lengthy opening narration by Marvin Miller said, “When the factories first began to send their pall of smoke over the cities, and farmlands of the East offered only the barest living, Americans turned their faces toward the West. They poured into the new territory by the thousands… fording the mighty rivers, climbing the mountains, fighting Indians and outlaws… praying... toiling... dying. It was a hard land, a hostile land. Only the strong survived... a new American breed: the pioneer. In this forge, upon this anvil, was hammered out a man who became a legend... a daring and resourceful man who hated thievery and oppression. His face masked, his true name unknown, with his faithful Indian companion at his side, he thundered across the West on his great RETROFAN
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Tonto and the Lone Ranger meet the Brady Kids in the episode “Long Gone Silver.” Lone Ranger © Universal. Brady Kids © Paramount. white stallion, appearing out of nowhere to strike down injustice and outlawry... and then, vanishing as mysteriously as he came. His sign: a silver bullet. His name: The Lone Ranger!” CBS aired The Lone Ranger for three seasons, from September 10, 1966 to September 9, 1969, in a half-hour format. Each episode featured three stories, with 13 episodes in the first season, and another 13 episodes in the second; a total of 78 separate shorts were produced. The third season was all reruns, and the show galloped off into the sunset—and occasional syndication—in the fall of 1969. One person who wasn’t a fan of the cartoon was George Trendle, who is quoted in the 1976 book Who Was That Masked Man? The Story of the Lone Ranger as saying in 1969, “those animated cartoons they run of The Lone Ranger are downright ridiculous.” If Trendle didn’t like this series, the Lone Ranger’s next animated appearance probably made his head explode.
was Jack Wrather, and he was involved with with [Filmation’s owner] TelePrompTer. So, when we wanted to use Lone Ranger and Tonto, it was a bit of corporate synergy, though that phrase hadn’t been invented yet. It was just ‘good business’ back then. So, I called and made a deal with him.” In the Brady Kids episode “Long Gone Silver,” when Bobby Brady orders a pin from the Lone Ranger Fan Club, magical mynah bird Marlon tries to turn it into silver. In the process, he accidentally brings the horse Silver to the Brady Kids. The kids soon meet the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and they have to work together to get Silver out of the treehouse safely… and help the police catch the Masquerade Gang! But while Marlon tried to magically return the Lone Ranger, Tonto, and their horses back to their own time… they ended up elsewhere… and wouldn’t be seen for a while.
HI-YO… THE BRADY KIDS?
In preparing for the fall 1980 schedule, Filmation wanted a do-over on The Lone Ranger, and Wrather—a major stockholder in TelePrompTer—gave it to them. CBS picked up The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour, packaging two popular media heroes in one show. In his 2012 interviews for Lou Scheimer: Creating The Filmation Generation, Scheimer said, “Originally, we wanted to use the two TV actors, Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, in the voice roles. I called Clayton Moore’s agent, and I asked him if Clayton would see me, and I asked if he could also send Jay Silverheels. Obviously, he figured out I was going to talk about Lone Ranger. I showed them the presentation we’d shown the networks, and I said we’d like to use their names and their voices. And I told him how it was a fairly easy job because they just had to read their characters in the proper voices and would be a quick paycheck. I said, ‘You’ve just got to read the material, you don’t have to memorize any lines. It’s an hour’s work tops every week.’ “Moore had come in with these big dark glasses on, like his mask. And he said, ‘You can’t do that. You can’t do a half-hour show in a half-hour or hour. You’ve got to rehearse it. The Lone Ranger always memorizes.’ I said, ‘No, it’s an animated show. No one’s
Perhaps the oddest adventure that the Lone Ranger ever had came courtesy of Filmation Associates, who teamed the masked man up with none other than… the Brady Kids? From September 1972 to September 1974, Filmation produced The Brady Kids for ABC, mirroring the line-up of the popular primetime sitcom, The Brady Bunch. The kids would always meet in their backyard clubhouse, set in a tree, from which they would launch adventures. Three of the stories had guest-stars from other mediums: Superman (which Filmation had already animated), Wonder Woman (which Filmation had once planned to animate), and Lone Ranger (which Filmation wanted to animate). Founded in the early Sixties by animators Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland, with ex-disc jockey Norm Prescott, Filmation Associates had been riding high on Saturday morning animation since the 1966 debut of their The New Adventures of Superman series. Filmation chief Lou Scheimer had tried to get The Lone Ranger from Wrather for CBS in 1965, but the project went to Format instead. By 1972, fortunes had changed. According to Scheimer, in my interviews with him for the 2012 TwoMorrows book, Lou Scheimer: Creating The Filmation Generation, “The guy who owned the rights 68
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FILMATION TRIES AGAIN
andy mangels’ retro saturday morning
going to photograph you or anything. You can read it!’ He said, ‘I don’t think I could do that as the Lone Ranger.’ And he turned to Silverheels and said, ‘Mr. Silverheels, how do you feel about this?’ And the guy said, ‘Any way you want to go, Mr. Moore.’ And he turned back to me and said, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t do this without the proper amount of rehearsals.’ And they turned and walked out of my office!” Silverheels died on March 5, 1980, thus ending any chance the duo could change their minds. Mindful of the importance of racial representation, a hallmark of Filmation shows, Scheimer auditioned a Native American named Ivan Naranjo, a member of the Blackfoot/Southern Ute tribes. “He was just terrific. We gave Tonto a lot more dialogue than he had previously had on radio or TV; he was very well educated. And then I got a good idea for the Lone Ranger. I called William Conrad… I asked him to do the voice of the Lone Ranger, and he said he’d do it. For some reason, possibly related to the Actors’ Strike, William Conrad didn’t want to use his own name on the show. I’ve also heard that his agent didn’t want him associated with a kids’ show, despite the fact that he had been the announcer on the original Bullwinkle Show. So, we spelled his name backwards, and he became ‘J. Darnoc.’” As with its predecessors, the show used the William Tell Overture as its theme, and other public-domain music to score the scenes. To create a more realistic look, Filmation’s artists did some rotoscoping (tracing animation over filmed live-action footage) of models dressed in costumes walking, running, fighting, and shooting; with horses as such a major feature in the show, footage of horses were also rotoscoped. The late Darrell McNeil, a layout artist for The Lone Ranger, told me in 2006 that “My main memory about doing freelance layout on The Lone Ranger was having to finally learn how to draw horses because they were a pain, but you had good designers, like Bob Kline, who gave you very detailed model sheets showing you how to make the character work. Of
course, the tricky part was having a show with a character who actually shot a gun, and be able to get away with that.” Scheimer echoed that sentiment. “One of the toughest things about doing Lone Ranger was that we had to be very sensitive about the use of weapons. Even in the radio show, he used a gun, but he only used it to keep people from hurting themselves or being hurt, never for purposely hurting others. And he got in lots of fistfights and brawls. We had to come up with tricky ways to get around that, using his guns for sharp-shooting techniques, and taking out the fighting. Despite the fact that it was in all the original TV shows, and kids saw reruns of those and other Westerns all the time, it wasn’t okay for Saturday morning cartoons to show gun or fist violence. But the Lone Ranger was the best guy on a planet with a six-gun, so it was okay to shoot a gun out of a bad guy’s hand or use trick shooting to save a life or foil an evil plan. But he never shot to kill, and he never shot at anyone.” The Filmation stories were a period piece of the late 1800s, firmly grounded in both history and educational moments, though they did wobble around about a 30-year span of time. One story told of Ulysses S. Grant at the joining of railway lines at Promontory Point, Utah, while another set historical scenes within the opening of the Oklahoma Territory in 1899. Plots included elements of oil drilling, conservation of stripped lands, and more. Educational tags from Lone Ranger or Tonto at the end gave more facts about the history. “We came up with an interesting tactic to bring in some of the prosocial or educational messages in the stories,” said Scheimer. “It was more likely that they would be talking about where they lived and what the world was like then, and Tonto would talk about stories of the West, and the Lone Ranger would do historical stuff. If we featured somebody like President Ulysses S. Grant in the show, they would discuss who he was and what he did. We had characters appear like Nellie Bly, Mark Twain, Alfred Nobel, Fredrick Remington, Jesse and Frank James, Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, famed naturalist John Muir, even fictional Tom Sawyer… you name them! If they were around, they were used!” Ted Field, former CBS director of Children’s Programming, told me in a 2006 interview, “One of the things that was very important to CBS at the time with The Lone Ranger because it was children’s programming, is we wanted to give some educational thrust to it. Well, I had been a history major in college, and I was always into Western Americana, so we would make every story true to the era it occurred
Comin’ at ya! Promotional or bumper cel, c. 1980. © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
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Bumper production cel and background, c. 1980. © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage.
(INSET) William Conrad. Wikipedia. in, and we used historic people that actually existed, and there’d be a button at the end of each show, where the Lone Ranger would tell the audience something about the historical context and characters that were involved in the episode.” Most of the episodes were written either by story editor Arthur Browne, Jr. or by Dennis Marks. The talented Tom Ruegger, who later helped create Animaniacs, Tiny Toons Adventures, and Pinky and the Brain, among others, wrote one episode, “The President Plot.” In it, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were helping at the Promontory Point, Utah golden spike ceremony for the first transcontinental railroad. A villain was trying to stop it and President Grant, on the way to Promontory Point (in reality, Grant was not there). Suspiciously, in 1999, when Warner Bros. did the Wild, Wild West feature film, it had almost the exact same fictional story! “They must have watched The Lone Ranger from Filmation,” writer Tom Ruegger said wryly in a 2006 interview. One story that stood out for fans was “The Black Mare,” which detailed how the Lone Ranger saved the wounded Silver from a mad buffalo attack in Wild Horse Valley and gained such a strong bond 70
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FAST FACTS THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE LONE RANGER Series Title: The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour Series Title: The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour Series Title: The Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Show (1982–1983 Sunday reruns) No. of seasons: Two No. of episodes: 16 episodes Original run: September 6, 1980— September 1982 (ABC, Saturdays) Studio: Filmation
PRIMARY VOICE PERFORMER CAST William Conrad: Lone Ranger, Narrator Ivan Naranjo: Tonto Frank Welker: Sheriff, Jesse James, Mayor of Promontory, others Alan Oppenheimer: Alfred Nobel, Dan Reid, others Lou Scheimer: Buffalo Bill, John Muir, Mark Twain, President Grant, others Jay Scheimer: Belle Starr, Patty Kelly, others Erika Scheimer: Annie Oakley, Bridget Kelly, Nellie Bly, others Lane Scheimer: Jed, Jordan, others
Production cel (TOP) with corrosponding pencil animation art (BELOW). © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage. with the horse. Dennis Marks wrote that touching story for the first season. The first season of The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour debuted on September 13th, 1980 on CBS. The series did well in the ratings, and was picked up for a second season, announced in April 1981 to the press. CBS was counting on the new live-action feature film The Legend of the Lone Ranger to help bolster its series. The film was released to theatres on May 22, 1981. It had tremendous negative publicity and bombed badly at the box office. “We knew even before the fall season began that our show had probably just been shot down by a silver bullet,” Scheimer said. Nevertheless, on September 12th, 1981, The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour debuted, with some new Tarzans, 12 new 11-minute Lone Ranger episodes, and 13 new Zorro shows. The run came to an end the following year, and the newly titled The Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Show shifted
andy mangels’ retro saturday morning
Filmation’s Lou Scheimer in a screen capture from the documentary Animation Maverick: The Lou Scheimer Story (2008). (RIGHT) A cel set-up from The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour (Filmation, 1980). © Universal. Courtesy of Heritage. over to Sunday mornings in a half-hour format of reruns for the 1982—1983 season. Most of the Filmation crew who worked on The Lone Ranger were soon at work on a more successful property: creating the massively popular He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in 1983 [which we’ll explore in RetroFan #22—ed.]!
A SILVER BULLET LEGACY
In the time since the Filmation series, The Lone Ranger has had a rocky ride. The character has not appeared in animation since then, except in parodies on shows such as Family Guy, MadTV, and Robot Chicken. A 2003 live-action Lone Ranger TV movie aired on the WB network, serving as the pilot for a possible new series, but it fell flat. Even worse was The Lone Ranger, a 2013 film from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, starring Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto. Produced with an enormous budget, the film failed miserably at the box office, and was savaged by critics. The Lone Ranger has maintained a place in the publishing world, thanks to publication of a second newspaper comic strip from 1981–1984, books by Moonstone (2012), and comic books by Topps (1994) and Dynamite (2006–2018). [Editor’s note: Those Lone Ranger comics will be explored in our sister magazine, Back Issue #138, on sale in August 2022.] The Format animated series has mostly faded into obscurity, though a few Eighties videos were released. The Filmation series has fared slightly better, with Eighties releases on videotape and the eventual release of the series on DVD. On December 18, 2007, following the success of DVD releases of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, BCI Eclipse released The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro, Vol. 1 DVD Set as part of a series of the Filmation library on DVD. The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger and Zorro, Vol. 2 was released on July 15, 2008, shortly before BCI Eclipse went out of business. Each was a two-disc set produced by the author of this very article, Andy Mangels, and included all episodes, plus multiple crew interviews, image galleries, and PDF episodic scripts. Both sets are now out of print and demand big dollars in online sales. The rights to The Lone Ranger have traveled down many canyons. The Wrather properties were sold to Southland International
Television in 1985, then to Broadway Video in 1994, then to the UK’s Classic Media in 2000, then the UK’s Entertainment Rights (who owned the Filmation Library) in 2006, who merged their name with Classic Media. DreamWorks Animation bought Classic Media in 2012, renaming it DreamWorks Classics, which was, in turn, bought by NBCUniversal in 2016. Currently, Universal Pictures owns The Lone Ranger and the rights to the Filmation show (and presumably the Format version). In today’s world of mass shootings and mistrust of anyone in power, in addition to much-needed mindfulness and awareness of the history and horrors heaped on Native Americans, perhaps the Lone Ranger and Tonto need to take a break from their adventures. After all, they’ve had almost 90 years of riding Silver and Scout through the dusty Wild West, always exiting before grateful townfolk can thank them. Surely a silver hammock awaits, and a chance to hang up the mask for a while? And when the time is right again, we’ll all hear that musical fanfare, spot a cloud of dust on the horizon, and hear a hearty “Hi-Yo, Silver, Away!” Unless otherwise credited, the quotes from Lou Scheimer are from the autobiography he wrote with Andy Mangels, for Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation. Mangels’ interviews with Darrell McNeil, Tom Ruegger, and Ted Field were conducted in 2006. Artwork and photos are courtesy the collection of Andy Mangels and Heritage Auctions. 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 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, released by Abdo Books in 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
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THE
CHARLTON COMPANION by JON B. COOKE
An ALL-NEW definitive history of Connecticut’s notorious all-in-one comic book company! Often disparaged as a second-rate funny-book outfit, Charlton produced a vast array of titles that span from the 1940s Golden Age to the Bronze Age of the ’70s in many genres, from Hot Rods to Haunted Love. The imprint experienced explosive bursts of creativity, most memorably the “Action Hero Line” edited by DICK GIORDANO in the 1960s, which featured the renowned talents of STEVE DITKO and a stellar team of creators, as well as the unforgettable ’70s “Bullseye” era that spawned E-Man and Doomsday +1, all helmed by veteran masters and talented newcomers—and serving as a training ground for an entire generation of comics creators thriving in an environment of complete creative freedom. From its beginnings with a handshake deal consummated in county jail, to the company’s accomplishments beyond comics, woven into this prose narrative are interviews with dozens of talented participants, including GIORDANO, DENNIS O’NEIL, ALEX TOTH, SANHO KIM, TOM SUTTON, PAT BOYETTE, NICK CUTI, JOHN BYRNE, MIKE ZECK, JOE STATON, SAM GLANZMAN, NEAL ADAMS, JOE GILL, and even some Derby residents who recall working in the sprawling company plant. Though it gave up the ghost over three decades ago, Charlton’s influence continues today with its Action Heroes serving as inspiration for ALAN MOORE’s cross-media graphic novel hit, WATCHMEN. By JON B. COOKE with MICHAEL AMBROSE & FRANK MOTLER. SHIPS OCTOBER 2022! (256-page COLOR SOFTCOVER) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-111-0
THE
TEAM-UP COMPANION by MICHAEL EURY
THE TEAM-UP COMPANION examines team-up comic books of the Silver and Bronze Ages of Comics— DC’s THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD and DC COMICS PRESENTS, Marvel’s MARVEL TEAM-UP and MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE, plus other team-up titles, treasuries, and treats—in a lushly illustrated selection of informative essays, special features, and trivia-loaded issue-by-issue indexes. Go behind the scenes of your favorite team-up comic books with specially curated and all-new creator recollections from NEAL ADAMS, JIM APARO, MIKE W. BARR, ELIOT R. BROWN, NICK CARDY, CHRIS CLAREMONT, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, STEVE GERBER, STEVEN GRANT, BOB HANEY, TONY ISABELLA, PAUL KUPPERBERG, PAUL LEVITZ, RALPH MACCHIO, DENNIS O’NEIL, MARTIN PASKO, JOE RUBINSTEIN, ROY THOMAS, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, and other all-star writers and artists who produced the team-up tales that so captivated readers during the 1960s, ’70s, and early ’80s. By BACK ISSUE and RETROFAN editor MICHAEL EURY. (272-page SOFTCOVER) $36.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-112-7 • SHIPS AUGUST 2022!
BRITMANIA
by MARK VOGER
Remember when long-haired British rock ’n’ rollers made teenage girls swoon — and their parents go crazy? BRITMANIA plunges into the period when suddenly, America went wild for All Things British. This profusely illustrated full-color hardback, subtitled “The British Invasion of the Sixties in Pop Culture,” explores the movies (A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, HAVING A WILD WEEKEND), TV (THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR), collectibles (TOYS, GAMES, TRADING CARDS, LUNCH BOXES), comics (real-life Brits in the DC and MARVEL UNIVERSES) and, of course, the music! Written and designed by MARK VOGER (MONSTER MASH, GROOVY, HOLLY JOLLY), BRITMANIA features interviews with members of THE BEATLES, THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO, THE KINKS, HERMAN’S HERMITS, THE YARDBIRDS, THE ANIMALS, THE HOLLIES & more. It’s a gas, gas, gas! Written and designed by RETROFAN columnist MARK VOGER. (192-page COLOR HARDCOVER) $43.95 • (Digital Edition) $15.99 ISBN: 978-1-60549-115-8 • SHIPS NOVEMBER 2022!
TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.
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RETRO MUSIC
B. J. Thomas Mighty Clouds of Joy
Singer B. J. Thomas in a professional photo taken shortly before his passing on May 29, 2021. © B. J. Thomas.
BY ROD LABBE I bought my first B. J. Thomas album in 1972: Billy Joe Thomas (Scepter Records), which included his melancholy hit single, “Rock and Roll Lullaby.” By then, of course, he’d already conquered the music world with “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” a certified phenomenon. Written for the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (20th Century Fox, 1969) by the legendary music team of Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David—and winning a Best Song Oscar, to boot—“Raindrops” played on every radio station, jukebox, and turntable, circa 1969. It transformed B. J. Thomas, country boy, into an international superstar. Even before “Raindrops” and its subsequent hoopla, B. J. had won me over. I loved “Hooked On a Feeling.” No, not the “oogachaka” version (which I consider heresy), but the classic “Hooked” from 1968, with soaring vocals that wind and flow like molten gold. Ah, I can hear B. J. now, sweeping me along to an earlier time and place, when life wasn’t quite so complicated. Billy Joe Thomas is what I consider his finest LP, a startling collaboration bringing together several big names of the day: Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Paul Williams, and Jimmy Webb, among them. I especially enjoyed “A Song for My Brother” (written by Jimmy Webb) and “Happier Than the Morning Sun,” Stevie Wonder’s contribution that deserved a top ten Billboard finish. Stevie also accompanies B. J. on the harmonica. Tunes as fresh today as they were in ’72. Yep, B. J. sang the soundtrack of my life back then. We were young, optimistic, and looking forward to a future that didn’t include such science-fiction concepts as COVID-19 and climate change. I went along for a great ride and would never come down to earth again, even as the years piled on disappointment, triumph, and tragedy. It’s now 2022. Our world isn’t quite so new, and optimism is a word one encounters mostly in a dictionary. Still, some things never change, like the chills I get whenever I hear B. J. singing about mighty clouds of joy and rock-and-roll lullabies. It led to my approaching him for an interview, and lo and behold, he consented! We met in early February of 2021, had a great conversation, and both of us knew we’d created something special (RetroFan was our only venue of choice). I immediately started sketching out the perfect introduction. Imagine my shock when, weeks later, B. J. was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Not a happy situation. B. J. met the news stoically, taking precious time to thank fans, family, loved ones, and friends for their support in what would undoubtedly be a terrific struggle. His attitude remained positive. “I’m a fighter,” he told me, “but I could use your prayers.” Heartfelt good wishes from admirers across the globe notwithstanding, Billy Joe Thomas slipped away on May 29, 2021. I received the news with a heavy RETROFAN
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heart. By then, our interview was in editing phase, and a part of me just did not want to continue. I felt only sorrow… and an aching loss that made my soul bleed. Devastated, I went for a walk. The setting sun was a jumble of blue, yellows, and pinks. And it occurred to me—our paths had crossed for a reason. I’d no right to stop it. I would do my part and help him reach out and touch the people he loved. So, here we are: B. J.’s last big interview. Feel them? Those mighty clouds of joy, rolling in? I sure can. RetroFan: This is crazy. Am I really about to interview B. J. Thomas, the guy behind “Hooked On a Feeling” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”? Punch me, man, ’cause I gotta be dreamin’!
would you mind terribly if we discussed it first? BJT: I’d love to. That’s one of my favorites, as well—a very special project near and dear to my heart. RF: You collaborated with famous songwriters and performers on the disc, like Carole King, Jimmy Webb, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Paul Williams, Stevie Wonder, and even Duane Eddy! What an innovative idea! BJT: Billy Joe Thomas was the first album of its kind for me. Every song was written by a well-known artist, and if it could be arranged, I recorded with them. Steve Tyrell and Al Gargoni produced. We wanted the Beach Boys to do back-up on “Rock and Roll Lullaby.” Brian Wilson was contacted, we played it for him, and he gave us his blessing.
Some of B. J.’s versatile albums. © B. J. Thomas.
B. J. Thomas: Sounds like you’re a fan from way back, Rod. RF: I most definitely am, B. J. Hardcore and devoted to the max. Spun many a Billy Joe Thomas platter on my rack system [laughs]. And even boogied to them! BJT: I’m already smiling. RF: Your music has always been upbeat, and you make it all sound easy… though I know nothing worthwhile comes easily in life. BJT: No, it doesn’t. My career didn’t just take off, though some people might think otherwise, what with “Raindrops.” There have been many days and nights, before and since, spent worrying and working and going forward against fearsome obstacles. RF: Since I mentioned my favorite album of yours, Billy Joe Thomas, in the intro, 74
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RF: But what happened? They’re not on the cut. BJT: That’s how things are in this business. Unless you sign a legal, binding contract, agreements often crumble. We flew out to California and met with Brian, but we never got the Beach Boys. Instead, four very accomplished singers did their part, and you can’t even tell. They sounded exactly like the real thing. RF: You mean Dave Somerville and the Ron Hicklin Singers? BJT: Those guys, yes. I can’t tell you how pleased we were. Their backing vocals brought everything together, just as we’d envisioned. Beautifully done. RF: And no one can tell the difference! Cha-ching! Money saved! How would you rate the album?
BJT: Bar none, Billy Joe Thomas is the best LP I’ve ever done. I’m proud of what my team accomplished. While in California, we recorded with Carole King and John Sebastian, too. Delightful all around… and a hit single didn’t hurt. RF: Duane Eddy played lead guitar on “Lullaby”! How cool is that? BJT: Duane’s one of rock and roll’s true pioneers. He contributed a twangy guitar accompaniment, lifting “Rock and Roll Lullaby” to a whole other level of excellence. RF: “Happier Than the Mornin’ Sun” by Stevie Wonder is quintessential B. J. Thomas. His harmonica solo defines the word “incredible.” BJT: Wasn’t he marvelous? Performing alongside an immense talent of Stevie’s caliber made me feel like I’d arrived as an artist. There were at least four number-one songs on that album, by my estimation, but Scepter went bankrupt, a disaster for everyone at their label. We were successful in South America and around the world, but here, everything fell apart. RF: Why? BJT: Scepter was a singles company primarily. Even Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach, two of their biggest names, struggled with album sales. Scepter just couldn’t or wouldn’t follow through… they never even wanted to press the records! Billy Joe Thomas was a quality production, and we were all extremely disappointed when Scepter dropped the ball. RF: Is that your genuine birth certificate on the album’s cover? BJT: [laughing] It is. Now I can’t lie about my age, anymore. I’m 78. RF: Eh, a whippersnapper. BJT: I appreciate the compliment! Thank you, Rod. RF: Scepter didn’t pay royalties or issue gold records, I read. Unbelievable. BJT: Unbelievable, but true. They were always having financial problems. You must be registered with the RIAA [Recording
retro Music
Industry Association of America] to get gold records, and they couldn’t afford the membership fee [laughs]. I had better luck elsewhere. In 1972, we signed with Paramount Records, and I released two albums that tanked: Songs and Longhorns & Londonbridges. Paramount was absorbed by ABC Records, and my first single for them took off like a rocket. RF: “Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.” A surprise success? BJT: Sure surprised the heck out of me! I’d just finished my first album for ABC, Reunion, and it lacked a strong single. At the last minute, Chips Moman, who produced, played “Somebody Done Somebody Wrong” for me, co-written with Larry Butler. Right away I knew, “This’ll be a smash.” We cut the record in Nashville, and it was such a pleasure to work with Chips. A real professional. The back-up band was the American Studio Group, which should be in the Hall of Fame, since they were on over 400 hit records. RF: I bought both the single and album. Amazing how quickly it burned up the charts! Right to #1 in the spring of 1975. Didn’t you win a Grammy? BJT: We did. Best Country Song. A real shot in the arm, career-wise. When you have a powerhouse record behind you, especially a number one, touring becomes a whole lot easier. I couldn’t depend upon the album sales, but the singles were a different story. RF: I also loved your version of the Beach Boys’ “Don’t Worry, Baby,” in 1977. Dare I say you had a better arrangement than the original? BJT: Oh, feel free to say it [laughs]! A lovely arrangement. We reached #17, while theirs failed to make the top 20. Ours could’ve gone higher, but ABC wasn’t promoting singles or its artists in the best way. That’s something I’ve encountered my entire singing career. Being out on the road is where I find my true energy. It’s the other side of things—dealing with recording companies, watching the charts, looking for a hit—that can be physically and emotionally draining. RF: How’d you cope? Must’ve been frustrating, especially when producing quality product.
Thomas’ smash hit “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” written by the dynamic duo of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was a gold-record-earning smash and helped catapult director George Roy Hill’s Western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid to even greater success. © 20th Century Fox. Poster, lobby card, and gold record courtesy of Heritage.
BJT: I’ve done a lot of soul-searching and never felt comfortable touring without a top 40 song on the charts. Self-doubt can be crippling. It led me to a serious prescription drug addiction, and soon I was caught up in the never-ending game of swallowing pills to sleep and pills to stay awake. Drugs were much cheaper and more accessible in those days. I’d miss engagements, too, or just walk out and leave. Totally shameful behavior. If it hadn’t been for Gloria, my courageous and supportive wife, I wouldn’t be here today. I was headed down the road of self-destruction. You learn from your mistakes, and I most assuredly learned. I’m thankful to God for sitting on my shoulder. I’m one of the lucky guys who survived. RF: Pitfalls of fame, they come with the territory. BJT: It can be a treacherous path for anyone, and if I could do it all over again, I’d be smarter and more concerned about my health. Drugs are a vicious cycle. So is alcohol. I found out the hard way. RF: You appeared on the Tonight Show around the time of “Rock and Roll Lullaby,”
and Johnny Carson lectured you about drug use. BJT: A turning point. I wasn’t embarrassed—he helped me recognize the dangers of my situation. RF: I’m always intrigued by success stories. Were you trained as a singer? BJT: No, I just took to it; I was a kid who liked to sing, that’s all. Outside of learning how to breathe in high school choir, I never had formal training. I sang with my older brother’s group, The Triumphs, and we made a few recordings and developed a particular sound. For me, the most significant thing about being in a band was the chance to do an album. RF: Which turned out to be “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” featuring a great cover of the Hank Williams standard. BJT: Yes, in 1966, on the Pacemaker label. My dad absolutely loved country music, and I essentially sang for him. We weren’t expecting a hit record [laughs]! No one was more surprised than us when stations started picking up the song. It went to number eight nationally and number one in Houston. RF: You signed with Scepter not long after. RETROFAN
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retro Music
BJT: A fast and furious education. Right away, I learned the music industry was an up and down thing. More up than down [laughs]! For one, you must constantly record to keep your public aware. In 1966, I had a legit hit, but I wasn’t prepared. It blindsided me! I didn’t realize I needed to concentrate on being in the studio. I moved up to Memphis and got busy, and by ’68, I’d done “Eyes of a New York Woman” and “Hooked on a Feeling.” Things were chugging along, but I was frazzled. I couldn’t relax for a second without consequences. RF: I love “Hooked On a Feeling.” I was a freshman in high school and remember the evocative opening with a sitar. So late-Sixties! You wove pure magic. BJT: That one really put me on the map. And you know what? It’s fresh. I don’t think it’ll ever go out of style.
BJT: Not at all. I’d developed laryngitis from three weeks of one-nighters. The doctor didn’t want me to sing for another three weeks and said, “This is the worst throat I’ve ever seen.” Whoa! I didn’t know what to do! I showed up at Burt’s anyway. We started running the song down, and Burt never said a word until later. He loved my rougher vocal! Next day, I went back and sang it five more times. We recorded the single version with just a guitar, a banjo, and a stand-up bass and recut it later at Columbia Studio. Phil Ramone was the engineer. RF: Then you knew this would be for a movie.
RF: Any inkling of the cultural tsunami ahead? 76
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RF: “Raindrops” dominated. I literally heard your voice everywhere! At beaches, in cars, at football games, and school functions. No escape! BJT: That’s a good thing [laughs]. It was a sensation across the board. I tied with Elvis for record airplay, and The Beatles for record sales in 1970. I couldn’t believe the staying power! And look at us, here we are, still discussing “Raindrops” today. RF: I heard Robert Redford disliked it. BJT: Redford didn’t want a top 40 song in his movie because there was nothing about rain, story-wise, and he saw Butch Cassidy as more of an art film. Eventually, he came around, and I’m certainly glad he did!
RF: Was the money machine working overtime? I mean, you were a major act. BJT: The practice back then was simple: recording companies refused to pay. That’s why the majority of singers and performers toured. I’d be gone three hundred days a year, doing shows around the country. If you’ve had successful records with a lot of airplay, it obviously helped your live performances. People are more apt to buy concert tickets. I wasn’t rich, not by a long shot, and I depended on touring to generate a decent income. RF: Speaking of airplay, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” put you in the history books. BJT: God watches over and guides us, and He’s watched over me. This happened to be one of those epic, life-altering moments. Mr. Bacharach and his lyricist, Hal David, were writing tunes for Dionne Warwick at Scepter. One day, the label’s owner, Florence Greenberg, asked me if I’d mind moving to New York City. “I’m pretty sure I can get you a song with Bacharach and David if you do,” she said. Wow! I couldn’t believe it! They were the hottest team in music at the time. Truly, I hero-worshipped Burt; he was a giant. My wife and I packed up and relocated; I’d be working with Burt at his apartment in Manhattan.
BJT: Yeah, sure. Only I’d no idea how big it would be. There was some initial resistance to its contemporary feel, at first… but time has helped out there. Now, the film is remembered mostly for “Raindrops.” Burt did a brilliant score, and Fox wanted a Bacharach/David song to play over the end credits, like “Alfie.” The bicycle scene had already been filmed, so he placed it there.
RF: On the surface, it’s a polished pop anthem, very hopeful in the face of life’s sundry thunderstorms. BJT: The message is a deep statement. Burt wrote so simply and said so much. If you’re free, does it really matter if your feet get wet? The ideal melding of singer, movie, and writer/musician. I’ve yet to experience anything like it since or before. RF: Despite other people interpreting “Raindrops,” it will always belong to you. BJT: I think you’re right, and I realize that doesn’t sound very humble. Personally, I never grow tired of singing Hal David’s lyrics. They lift me up, and the music is solid gold. RF: Whenever you let go on a song, it’s undeniably smooth. Even effortless. BJT: A generous compliment. With “Raindrops,” I stuck very closely to how Mr. Bacharach wrote it. Usually, I like to mess with the melody, but not with this record. B. J. co-starred in the 1973 Western Jory, which introduced teenage actor Robby Benson as a young gunslinger. © Avco Embassy Pictures. Courtesy of Heritage.
RF: Looking at you now, I can tell you’re still in awe of the situation. BJT: I am, Rod, I am. Bacharach and David were huge—I was in awe of him then
retro Music
RF: Has Hollywood ever come knockin’ on your door? You had that Clint Eastwood thing going! Like Kris Kristofferson in his prime. BJT: I was in two films and enjoyed myself both times. Gloria and I talked seriously about what direction I should take. My touring schedule already kept me away from home an entire year. She asked me to pick between the two, movies or music. She just wanted to know. I picked music because that’s where I wanted to devote my energies.
and will forever be in awe of him. He’s a musical genius. “Raindrops” hit #1 and stayed there for four weeks. The first day, it sold 300,000 copies. That’s mammoth. First #1 of the Seventies, followed by a gold record, an Oscar, and several Grammy nominations. RF: I dug your performance at the 1969 [Academy Award] show, an example of creative innovation. I couldn’t tell if it was Bacharach or a scene from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. BJT: With all those choreographed bicycles rolling in and out of the stage, I couldn’t tell, either. An astonishing production number. RF: Seriously, you looked like a movie star yourself, firing that six-shooter and ambling about in cowboy duds. BJT: What a night! At the rehearsal, I saw what they were planning, and it was surreal. Almost overwhelming. I wore Sundance’s clothes! The highlight of my career, without a doubt. RF: An encouraging start for a brand new shiny decade. Looking over your shoulder, what did the Sixties mean to you? BJT: An era of things happening, socially, politically, and musically. A fantastic time in music history. We had all the greats, like Sinatra, Motown, Beatles, Elvis, the English invasion, you name it. So much innovation; the energy level was way up. By far, that era produced the best popular music. RF: You weren’t a protest singer. Ever feel pressure to bend to societal changes? BJT: It’s like this: I was a guy on the outside looking in, and I couldn’t afford to be a part of the protest movement. It would’ve hurt my career. I did appreciate the struggle for Civil Rights and all the black writers, entertainers, and singers who were taking a stand. What an enormous thrill it was for me to hear someone like Jackie Wilson or Aretha Franklin belt out a tune. Giants of our industry. RF: You strike me as an introspective man and a spiritual one, too. BJT: My faith is simple—live and let live. I don’t judge anyone. Some people mistakenly refer to me as a minister, which I am not. I’m just a guy who believes in treating his fellow men and women with respect and admiration.
RF: What were the films? BJT: Jory (1973) was one, starring Robby Benson and John Marley. Years later, I did Jake’s Corner (2008). In retrospect, I could’ve acted more, I think, but I wanted to explore music and all it had to offer. Turned out to be the best choice. Gone but not forgotten, B. J. Thomas’ music lives on in the hearts of RetroFans. © B. J. Thomas. RF: The music scene has changed so much since the days of “Raindrops.” I never listen to the radio anymore, unless it’s an oldies station. BJT: Change is natural. Nothing stays the same, and the best way of handling it is to adapt. That’s what I’ve done, but my style hasn’t really changed. Unfortunately, once you begin growing older, the songwriters don’t bring you new stuff anymore. One of my idols as a kid was Ricky Nelson. He was my first catalyst, when I actually thought, “Hey, I can do that.” Ricky made it work. I thought he was remarkable. Uniquely himself. And he stuck to his guns, as far as music went. That’s a great philosophy—be true to what and who you are. [Editor’s note: See RetroFan #15 for more about Ricky Nelson.] RF: You’ve done quite a lot in the gospel market, and your albums have been rewarded with multiple Grammys. Yet, I’ve noticed you seem to be moving away from that… BJT: I am. Doing gospel just doesn’t fit with what I’m all about as a performer. It’s a vastly different market from the one I was raised on. I’m more contemporary, so I’ve been concentrating on the music I grew up with and love.
RF: Your longevity as a musical artist has been extraordinary. BJT: The business has changed so much that even Paul McCartney and James Taylor have difficulty getting airplay. For a lot of us, even some of the huge artists, radio is no longer a viable outlet. There was a time when you could hear my records on the radio, but it’s been hard doing that for the last 20 or so years. RF: You’ve a loyal fan base, that’s very obvious. Don’t you find it a little mind-boggling, after so many years? BJT: I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for those who’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. One thing I’m proudest of is that I’m one of the 50 most-played recording artists in the last 50 years. Couldn’t have reached that milestone without fans and friends continuously supporting my efforts. Dedicated to the memory of Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942–May 29, 2021). From 1986 through 2014, New England-based writer ROD LABBE regularly contributed to Fangoria magazine. His other magazine credits include Famous Monsters of Filmland, FilmFax, Scary Monsters, and others. Rod has received 12 prestigious Rondo Awards. His previous RetroFan interviews include the Cowsills (#8), David Selby (#11), and Lara Parker (#17). RETROFAN
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[Re RetroFan #15’s] The Battle of the Super Seven: I’m sure someone has beaten me to these corrections, but didn’t Black Vulcan of Super Friends beat Superstretch as the first black super-hero on TV by a year? He first appeared in 1977, if memory serves. Also, the law firm Shea/Gold is actually Shea/Gould. I used to deliver packages to their offices at 1251 Sixth Avenue back when I worked at the messenger center of the building in the early Nineties. Other than those two mistakes, the article was very enlightening. I remember watching The Super Seven when it originally aired and haven’t seen those characters since, except in articles for Back Issue and RetroFan. “The Great Rural Purge”: Over the last few years watching Petticoat Junction Saturday mornings on MeTV has become a guilty pleasure, but after watching the whole run, it had really run its course and was time to go. As for variety shows, The Dean Martin Show debuted in 1965 and ran to 1974, where it then segued into The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, which ran from 1974 to 1980, then the last few were aired in 1984. DELMO (THE SAINT) WALTERS, JR. Response from ANDY MANGELS: Derp. The Saint is correct on both counts. I don’t know why I made the first error. Black Vulcan appeared in two episodes of The All New Super Friends Hour in 1977. So, it would have been correct if I had said, “Superstretch was the first black super-hero on TV to have his own show.” The second error was probably an auto-correct, as I have the spelling of Gould in my early drafts and notes. Before anyone remarks on the statement about Superstretch and Microwoman being the first married couple—citing the two appearances of Hawkman and Hawkgirl in The All New Super Friends Hour—it’s not clear if the Hawks there are married, mostly because we don’t know which version of the Hawks they are.
I wanted to give a shout out to Ernest Farino for his heartfelt write-up [in RetroFan #16] on Sue Randall, the actress who played Miss Landers on Leave It to Beaver. Fantastic 78
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job. It was a wonderful read and great to see so many photos of her various roles collected together. I also want to add that I am the creator of the blog Love Boat Insanity (loveboatinsanity.tumblr.com) and the “clever fan” who composed the faux Love Boat title card Ernest referenced in a sidebar debunking Sue Randall’s appearance on that show. GORDON THOMAS FRANK Ernest Farino’s Sue Randall column was the sleeper hit of the issue, Gordon, warming a lot of readers’ hearts; including Dan Paulun, a regular RetroFan reader, who wrote with some additional credits for Ms. Randall that were shared with Mr. Farino. That message was unfortunately misplaced, but below appears a reply from ERNEST FARINO which addresses those credits: In 1961, Sue appeared as Orson Bean’s wife in “The Country Mouse” (a.k.a. “The Secret Life of James Thurber”), Season Two, Episode 25 of The DuPont Show with June Allyson (March 20, 1961). Loosely based on humorist James Thurber (and preceding NBC’s series My World and Welcome to It starring William Windom in 1969–1970), the storyline reads, “A cartoonist finds it impossible to concentrate on his next commission either at the family home in the country or in the chaos of the city,” and was directed by Robert Butler and written by James Allardice. Sue also co-starred with Jane Darwell and Roger Perry in “You’re Only Young Twice” (August 1, 1960), one of six unaired pilots presented as CBS’s summer anthology series The New Comedy Showcase. This episode was directed by Arthur Lubin (who created Mr. Ed and directed 131 episodes), and was written by Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf (who wrote 53 I Love Lucy episodes) and Norman Tokar (who wrote 93 Leave It to Beaver episodes). Mr. Paulun also pointed out that, oddly, The Encyclopedia of Television Pilots: 1937–2012 by Vincent Terrace (McFarland, 2013) did not include Sue’s pilot Up On Cloud Nine (which clearly was produced, since we included a photo from it). Our thanks to Mr. Paulun for adding to our chronicle of Sue’s career!
Orson Bean and Sue Randall in The Country Mouse (a.k.a. The Secret Life of James Thurber), 1961.
I’ve been a big fan of Logan for years. I have the first three books, the movie, and the TV series. Michael York not only gave a great interview, but I feel that there is more to mine. I do have to disagree with William F. Nolan’s take on the movie because some of those visuals/elements that were in the movie, but not in the book, helped make the movie. I think of the part where the wake-up with robot was so chilling that if it was not in the movie, then it might not be well remembered. Don’t get me wrong, the actors were great, but it was touches like that which elevated the movie. The Marvel Super Heroes animation was bad on many fronts, but they were able to capture the feel of the actual comic books. It is why I think it is remembered so well even though it was not well-made. Please give Mr. Murray a special thank-you, and let him know I used to watch it on UHF Boston station channel 25. PATRICK MOREAU
“Running with Logan” brought back so many memories of one of my favorite films. I enjoyed the article and interviews. This article made me want to dig out my DVD of Logan’s Run and watch it again (for the hundredth time)! Scott Shaw!’s look at one of my favorite outrageous personalities, Wolfman Jack: Why is there not a biopic of this guy’s life being made? (Wolfman Jack, not Scott. When Mr. Shaw’s life story gets turned into a movie it will no doubt be an animated film.) His role in my favorite movie of all time, American Graffiti, is just a small part of the Wolfman’s adventure-filled life.
Thanks for the article on drive-ins. I could probably ramble on forever about my experiences with them, both as a child (get those pajamas on early and fill the back of Dad’s station wagon with every blanket and pillow in the house!) and as a teenager (the backseat was always better because, well, there were bucket seats in the front…). David Mandel’s article on comics original art was right on the money. When I bought my first piece of original art, it intrigued me to know that this was the actual piece of paper that was touched by my favorite artist. And as a budding cartoonist, I got a nice hands-on lesson on how comic art was made. Finally, the piece on H. R. Pufnstuf was terrific! It always struck me as the “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” of Saturday morning TV… Yeah, it’s not about drugs, no matter what its creators say. Sure it isn’t. MICHAL JACOT
I was passing through the Barnes & Noble at 555 Fifth Avenue in New York on Thursday, when I spotted issue #16 of RetroFan. I suppose I’ve seen other issues of the magazine, but I bought this one because of the article on the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons, which I still remember very fondly from their original run (on WOR-TV Channel 9 in New York; they started out with John Zacherle as host, I think, but later replaced him with someone called “Captain Universe,” who wore a costume that sort of resembled that of the Forties Captain Marvel). I just wanted to say that I very much enjoyed the article (I know Jacques Urbont, the composer—in fact, I see him all the time) and also the article on Sue Randall, as well as the piece on the Drive-In Theater. But the piece on the cartoons was the highlight—I found the discussion of story adaptations particularly fascinating. I recently acquired a couple of Region 2 DVDs devoted to these cartoons, and I thought I had seen virtually all of the installments, but that proved to clearly not be the case, based on what I saw on these DVDs from the Netherlands—there were a couple of Hulk cartoons that I never recall seeing, for example; I did miss some of the Sub-Mariner installments because in New York City, the Marvel Super Heroes cartoons were programmed opposite The Green Hornet on Friday nights, so I missed some of those
particular cartoons. I only wish that there had been some discussion about the “stock music” used as background underscoring in the cartoons, in addition to the theme songs that opened and closed the shows. BRUCE EDER
The article My Weekly Reader by Scott Saavedra brought back many fond memories, along with the entire September 2021 issue. However, a key issue of Senior Weekly Reader focused on comics! The June 16–20, 1969 copy was a delight to find as the cover featured Superman, Batman, and Robin. The short article itself was very disappointing as it reflected the disparaging attitudes from ten years earlier. The enclosed [at right] was not my personal copy, as I was 16 years old at the time and too sophisticated for the simplified writing. I was also a full-fledged comic-book fan whose collection was still blossoming. [Re Marvel Super Heroes]: In New York (WOR-TV), they had a contest to name the “computer” that host Captain Universe would communicate with during the show. It was nothing more than an oscilloscope with blinking lights. At 12 years old I sent in my submission, written on Marvel Comics stationary. I couldn’t spell “Beany” as in Beany and Cecil and it came out as “Benny.” Imagine my excitement when Captain Universe read my letter and announced my name on television. I ran up to my mother, “Hey, Mom, they just said my name on TV!” “That’s nice. Dinner is in ten minutes.” In 1966 I collected anything and everything related to Marvel Comics. I even collected a milk carton advertising the Marvel Super Heroes TV show [see inset]. I kept this milk carton for over 40 years until I sold it to a collector in Canada. This was displayed in J. Ballmann’s book, The Guide to Marvel Silver Age Collectibles. MAX GOTTFRIED
I also watched the Marvel Super Heroes show in Boston. I discovered it when I went into my friend’s kitchen during his birthday party, and it was on TV. I ran out, told all the kids at the party, and we all settled into the kitchen to watch. Unfortunately for me, Bozo was on at the same time on another channel and it was a constant battle with my brother, Bozo’s number one fan, over which show we would watch. Will Murray mentioned Dr. Doom’s appearance on the show. I remember I was very disappointed that Doom looked nothing like the Marvel comic-book character. The show used an actor in a Halloween mask to portray Doom. The same Halloween mask that we had! I have attached a photo (left) of myself modeling the mask back in the late Sixties. ALAN NAHIGIAN
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
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HOLA, MY FRiENDS! USUALLY I SiT AT COMic-CON AND OTHER COnVENTiONS SiGNiNG BOOKS, SELLiNG ARTWORK, and AUTOGRAPHiNG COMiCS.
Because of the pandemic, we have to take care of ourselves and wait to go back to cons without fear… the security that everyone is protecting everyone.
…From my studio at home.
excuse me, but…
meanwhile, with the help of my daughter christen, we have been selling originals and doing commissions…
So if you are a fan, a collector, or like my work, please get in touch with us!
ns
oo Aragones cart ns oo rt ca es on ag Ar @gmail.com
RetroFan: The Pop Culture You Grew Up With! Remember when Saturday morning television was our domain, and ours alone? When tattoos came from bubble gum packs, Slurpees came in superhero cups, and TV heroes taught us to be nice to each other? If you love Pop Culture of the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties, TwoMorrows’ new magazine is just for you! Editor MICHAEL EURY (author of numerous books on pop culture, former editor for DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics, and editor of TwoMorrows’ Eisner Award-winning BACK ISSUE magazine for comic book fans) has assembled an unbeatable roster of regular and rotating Celebrity Columnists to cover the pop culture you grew up with: • ANDY MANGELS (best-selling sci-fi author and award-winning pop culture historian) • ERNEST FARINO (Emmy Award-winning visual effects designer, animator, and director) • SCOTT SHAW! (acclaimed cartoonist, animator, Emmy Award-winning storyboard artist, and historian) • WILL MURRAY (pulp adventure novelist and pop culture historian) • SCOTT SAAVEDRA (graphic designer, cartoonist, and COMIC BOOK HEAVEN creator) • MARK VOGER (renowned pop culture newspaper columnist and book author), and others!
RETROFAN #21
RETROFAN #22
RETROFAN #23
RETROFAN #24
RETROFAN #25
Meet JULIE NEWMAR, the purr-fect Catwoman! Plus: ASTRO BOY, TARZAN Saturday morning cartoons, the true history of PEBBLES CEREAL, TV’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and SEARCH, the MONKEEMOBILE, SOVIET EXPO ’77, and more fun, fab features! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Surf’s up as SIXTIES BEACH MOVIES make a RetroFan splash! Plus: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, ZORRO’s Saturday morning cartoon, TV’s THE WILD, WILD WEST, CARtoons and other drag-mags, VALSPEAK, and more fun, fab features! Like, totally! Featuring columns by ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW, and MARK VOGER! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Meet the stars behind the Black Lagoon: RICOU BROWNING, BEN CHAPMAN, JULIE ADAMS, and LORI NELSON! Plus SHADOW CHASERS, featuring show creator KENNETH JOHNSON. Also: THE BEATLES’ YELLOW SUBMARINE, FLASH GORDON cartoons, TV’s cult classic THE PRISONER and kid’s show ZOOM, COLORFORMS, M&Ms, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Interviews with Lost in Space’s ANGELA CARTWRIGHT and BILL MUMY, and Land of the Lost’s WESLEY EURE! Revisit Leave It to Beaver with JERRY MATHERS, TONY DOW, and KEN OSMOND! Plus: UNDERDOG, Rankin-Bass’ stop-motion classic THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, Christmas gifts you didn’t want, the CABBAGE PATCH KIDS fad, and more! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
Meet Mission: Impossible’s LYNDA DAY GEORGE in an exclusive interview! Celebrate Rambo’s 50th birthday with his creator, novelist DAVID MORRELL! Plus: TV faves WKRP IN CINCINNATI and SPACE: 1999, Fleisher’s and Filmation’s SUPERMAN cartoons, commercial jingles, JERRY LEWIS and BOB HOPE comic books, and more fun, fab features! Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
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RETROFAN #15
RETROFAN #16
RETROFAN #17
RETROFAN #18
RETROFAN #19
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.
Our BARBARA EDEN interview will keep you forever dreaming of Jeannie! Plus: The Invaders, the BILLIE JEAN KING/BOBBY RIGGS tennis battle of the sexes, HANNABARBERA’s Saturday morning super-heroes of the Sixties, THE MONSTER TIMES fanzine, and more fun, fab features! Featuring ERNEST FARINO, ANDY MANGELS, WILL MURRAY, SCOTT SAAVEDRA, SCOTT SHAW!, and MICHAEL EURY.
Interview with Bond Girl and Hammer Films actress CAROLINE MUNRO! Plus: WACKY PACKAGES, COURAGEOUS CAT AND MINUTE MOUSE, FILMATION’S GHOSTBUSTERS vs. the REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, Bandai’s rare PRO WRESTLER ERASERS, behind the scenes of Sixties movies, WATERGATE at Fifty, Go-Go Dancing, a visit to the Red Skelton Museum, and more fun, fab features!
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RETROFAN #10
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RETROFAN #12
RETROFAN #13
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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!
HALLOWEEN ISSUE! Interviews with DARK SHADOWS’ 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!
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!
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!
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!
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
RETROFAN #5
RETROFAN #6
RETROFAN #7
RETROFAN #8
RETROFAN #9
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!
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!
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
TwoMorrows. The Future of Pop History.
TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Raleigh, NC 27614 USA 919-449-0344 E-mail:
store@twomorrows.com
Order at
www.twomorrows.com
RETROFAN #1
RETROFAN #2
RETROFAN #3
RETROFAN #4
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!
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99
(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $8.95 (Digital Edition) $4.99