Tag Archives: Nostalgia

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Spin Again Sunday: The Bride Game, 1971

The Game: The Bride Game, “the exciting game of planning a wedding.”

Copyright Date: 1971.

Object: “To be the first girl to get her complete matching wedding party along with the necessary accessories for the wedding ceremony.”

Recommended For: “Girls 8 to 14.” I don’t think they really needed to specify girls.

The Box: What girl could resist that full-length portrait of wholesome bridehood? Well, lots of girls probably could and did, but it would have snared me.

The box photo immediately called Tricia Nixon to my mind.  That might have been what Selchow & Righter was going for—Tricia Nixon did marry in 1971. Tricia’s gown was downright sexy, however, compared to the prim one our box bride wears.

The Board: In the early 1970s, Selchow & Righter (best known for Parcheesi and Scrabble) tried to carve out a niche in girls’ games. In this series, we’ve seen another of their offerings—the Emily Post Popularity Game. Like that game’s board, this one features misty pastel graphics.

Game Pieces: Regular colored pegs, wooden rather than plastic. The die is unusual; it has a natural wooden finish and sports numerals instead of dots.

Game Play: Before she can march down the aisle, each player must collect cards representing a bride, a groom, and honor attendants ALL IN THE SAME STYLE. Yes, the instructions give that last part in all caps. You wouldn’t want to commit a disastrous faux pas by having a groom dressed in “Daytime Formal” style and a Maid of Honor dressed for a “Semi-Formal” wedding, would you?

The grooms

The attendants

The brides. So, readers, what apparel would you pick?

Some of the other game cards. I’m glad the snazzy lingerie is something new, rather than something old or, worse, borrowed.

Each player must also collect a wedding cake card, a bridal bouquet card, and a wedding ring card, as well as cards representing something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.

While collecting these cards, players circle the board and visit the pastry shop, flower shop, jewelry store, and bridal salon. When all the cards are in hand, players can start marching toward the altar.

Today’s Bonus Feature: When it comes to bride-related toys, this game doesn’t live up to the Bonnie Bride doll, who could actually toss her bouquet. You know it was a quality product, since it was “sold only at food markets.”

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Family Affair Friday: Season 1, Episode 11, “Take Two Aspirin”

Welcome to the latest installment of my weekly Family Affair series!

Season 1, Episode 11, “Take Two Aspirin,” 11/28/1966

Written by: George Tibbles. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

The prospect of spending three months in New York makes Uncle Bill restless, both at home and at work.

Buffy and Jody spy on a jumpy Uncle Bill. Prominent here is the rarely seen Davis TV, rabbit ears and all. You might think that, like Chekhov’s gun, the TV will become important later. It doesn’t.

He jumps at the chance to work with his old friend Dave McCovey on a project in Mexico. Dave is building a pipeline, and three other engineers have disappointed him.

“You have to go around that shale,” Uncle Bill tells Dave. That’s the kind of engineering advice you can only get from Bill Davis (and only on site).

Besides respecting Bill’s engineering acumen, Dave also admires his friend’s attitude toward family. “You love ’em but you don’t get tied down,” Dave says, launching Bill into a tizzy of worry.

Meanwhile, at home, Cissy leaves to spend the weekend with a friend, and French comes down with the flu. Buffy and Jody do their best to take care of French, and you can imagine how that goes.

On a call home, Bill gathers that French is sick and that the twins are cooking. Understandably, he becomes alarmed. First grader Jody doesn’t even know the difference between the words “fly” and “flu.” These are definitely not kids who should be trusted near an oven.

French feels better after a nap–until he sees what Buffy and Jody have prepared for him.

Buffy’s “omelet”

Jody’s peanut butter sandwiches (laced with aspirin!)

French’s reaction.

After a quick swoon, French rallies enough to take the twins out for dinner. Cissy arrives home unexpectedly to an empty apartment and becomes alarmed. Uncle Bill picks that moment to phone home again, and his own nervousness increases.

Odd overreactions drive this episode. I’m fan-wanking that the sudden death of the kids’ parents left all the Davises with PTSD and hair-trigger nerves.

Uncle Bill does reach French later and finds out that he’s okay. While they’re talking, the twins break a vase in the hallway, and French announces that “the Ming” is gone. The phone line cuts out, and Bill’s left believing that the family has been robbed.

The “Ming”

Bill decides to head for home. By the time he arrives, of course, everything’s fine. He suggests a school composition topic for Cissy–the tricks that the imagination can play. (Cissy’s planned topic was long hair on men!)

My Thoughts

This rather choppy episode is not one of my favorites. Mr. French is at his irritable best sick in bed, though.

“Sloshing damp rags on a chap when he’s lying down–that’s not cricket.”–French after Jody awakens him by dropping a wet cloth on his head.

The twins’ attempts to cook are also funny.

Guest Cast

Dave McCovey: Norman Alden. Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard.

Norman Alden’s voice was perhaps more memorable than his face. He was a ubiquitous guest on 1960s and 1970s TV shows. Generation Xers like me might remember him as Polly’s father on My Three Sons, Frank Heflin on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, or the voice of Aquaman on Superfriends. He died in July of this year.

Continuity Notes

Jody’s turtle gets a final mention–he dies while Uncle Bill is out of the country. (Previously referred to as Dinky, the turtle is called Alexander in this episode.) Scotty the doorman is mentioned but not seen. Uncle Bill’s service in Korea comes up again. (He contracted malaria, but he didn’t let it slow him down.)

Random Fashion Moment: The kids’ going-out-to-eat-on-a-rainy-day clothes are cute.

Today’s Bonus Feature
This article about Anissa Jones is from TV Radio Mirror, March 1967. It includes adorable publicity photos of Jones, Johnny Whitaker, and Sebastian Cabot on an outing at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Enjoy my whole Family Affair series!

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Old-Time Radio Episode Spotlight: “Home for Thanksgiving”

“A day of thanksgiving belongs to no one people and no one land, but is in the hearts of all people of all nations who love and understand, and who face each today with courage and each tomorrow with unbounded faith.”–Paul Henreid in “Home for Thanksgiving,” Family Theater, November 27, 1947.

About This Episode: This is a heart-warming story about a former German prisoner of war returning to his battle-scarred hometown with his pregnant American bride. Paul Henreid’s performance transcends the sometimes stilted dialogue. (Joan Leslie’s performance, not so much.)
Google-worthy Reference: UNRAA, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, an international effort to bring relief to war victims.

To everyone celebrating Thanksgiving today, best wishes for a warm and wonderful holiday. I’d like to offer my own thanks to those who’ve become regular readers of this blog since I started it in August. It’s great fun sharing my embarrassing treasures with you!

U.S. President Harry Truman meets Thanksgiving dinner. (Apparently, the practice of “pardoning” the ceremonial White House turkey didn’t start until 1989.) Source: Public Domain Review

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Weird Words of Wisdom: A Million and One Tricks With a Strand of Pearls Edition

“If you don’t know what foods are fattening, ask your chubby friends, because they will know.”

This week’s offering in my Weird Words of Wisdom series will help you get your glamour on for upcoming holiday celebrations—or at least help you learn to stand like a model.

Betty Cornell’s Glamour Guide for Teens, 1951 (1958 printing)

About the Book: This 25-paperback, written by “famous model” Betty Cornell, purports to offer the secrets of beauty and popularity. Actually, it focuses mostly on grooming basics.

About the Author: Betty Cornell is not the pensive blond on the book’s front cover—she is the white-gloved brunette on the inset photos and the back cover. In the 1940s, she was one of the country’s busiest models of juniors’ fashions, but she actually got her start modeling plus-size clothes. She tells her own story in this book’s introduction—the story of how she went from a “tubby teen” to the possessor of “one of the smallest waistlines of any model in New York.”

At age 16, she decided to “really go to work” on her weight problem. By 1947, according to this syndicated newspaper column, she stood 5’ 8.5” tall and weighed only 90 pounds! (The article claims that her waist measured 19.5 inches, and her hips and bust were both 30 inches.)

It’s lucky that 1958 readers didn’t know her 1940s stats, or they might have raised skeptical eyebrows at all her cautions against starvation diets and overly dramatic weight loss.

In 1951, when this book was first published, Cornell had aged out of her career as a junior model. Writing books for teens was the start of a new career. Her other titles would include All About Boys, Betty Cornell’s Teenage Popularity Guide, and (more oddly) Betty Cornell’s Teenage Knitting Book.

In 1952, she married John Joseph “Jack” Huston of Philadelphia and went on to raise three children. Jack died in 2010, at which time Betty was still alive. In 1977, she was one of several former models interviewed for the book Eileen Ford’s Beauty Now and Forever: Secrets of Beauty after 35. Now that’s a book I’ve got to get my hands on!

The Basics of a High School Wardrobe, According to Betty Cornell

Several slips
Half-slips in nylon and cotton (“Cotton to starch for wear under summer skirts”)
Three or four bras
Panties (“Preferably shirred to give good curve control”)
Girdle
Two or three pairs of nylon stockings
White wool socks for sports
Colored socks to match sweaters and skirts
Assorted sweaters, both long- and short-sleeved. (“Pastel colors look pretty in short-sleeved pull-ons.”)
One good basic suit in a neutral color.
Skirts, both pleated and plain, in dark colors and plaids. (“Wool usually wears the best.”)
A raincoat.
A good basic coat, box cut or flare cut.
A dressy coat. (“Here you can take to fitted lines, for you will wear this coat with party dresses and well-cut fitted suits.”)
A party dress.
A formal.
Low-heeled school shoes.
Dress-up shoes. (With Cuban heel—in calf or suede.)
Evening slippers.
Warm gloves for school.
Dress-up gloves. (“A pair of white cottons, kept clean, will fill almost every bill.”)
A hat. (“For church and formal afternoon parties.”)

Sample Menus for Weight Control
Breakfast: Half a grapefruit, 1 poached egg on rye or whole wheat toast with small amount of butter, 1 glass of milk.
Lunch: Small container of cottage cheese, fresh fruit, any kind of lean meat sandwich, consommé, milk
Dinner:  1 glass of tomato juice, generous serving of broiled calf’s liver, serving of cooked carrots, tomato and lettuce salad with lemon juice, fruit Jello, milk.

The liver alone would do much to control my appetite.

Recommended Hairstyles, Based on Face Shape

Round Face: Smooth sides. “The simpler the hair style the better.”
Square Face: Should be short or shoulder-length, never chin-length. “A short bang or flip at the forehead is a flattering touch.”
Long and Narrow Face: Should always be wavy, never straight. “In-between lengths are the best.”
Heart-Shaped Face: “A soft bang at the forehead will help to mask the width.”
Pear-Shaped Face: “She should keep the interest to the top and have her hair at the bottom short enough to curl just slightly over the edges of the jaw.”
Oval Face: “The teen with the oval face may do as she pleases.” (Wow!)

Quotes from Betty Cornell’s Glamour Guide for Teens

“Often it is necessary to squeeze blackheads in order to force out the little plugs of dirt…After squeezing, rub the skin with ice cubes.”

“Beautiful hair is about the most important thing a girl has.”

“When it comes to shampooing your own hair, plan to save at least one night a week for the job. Most teens prefer Thursday night because it puts their hair in shape for the weekend.”

“As for making up your eyes, don’t. Young eyes need no enhancement.”

“To walk gracefully one must move the leg in one piece.”

“The next time you get up to dance, pull in those tummy muscles, tuck in your fanny, pull up your rib cage, and then dance. If you keep your arm lightly on your partner’s shoulder and your head high, you’ll look as light as a thistledown, be you five feet one or five feet eleven.”

“If you’ve ever watched a model in repose, you’ll notice that she stands with one foot at a right angle to the other, rather like a ballet dancer.”

“You should shave your legs at least once a week, and your underarms less often…”

Why every girl should wear a girdle: “Even a teen with a trim figure needs to coax her curves a bit when it comes to wearing slim skirts and slacks. To me there is nothing more repellent than a protruding fanny or a bulging tummy marring the outline of a narrow silhouette.”

“Get to be known for your sense of color or your sense of accessory. Be the girl who knows her way with a scarf or can do a million and one tricks with a strand of pearls.”

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Spin Again Sunday: The Waltons (1974)

This week, my series on vintage board games is taking us to Walton’s Mountain.

The Game: The Waltons Game

Copyright Date: 1974.

Recommended Ages: 8 to 14.

Game Box: The colors are drab, which perhaps befits the Depression setting. The actor caricatures are good, as such things go. John Boy’s head is the biggest–frequent Waltons viewers will appreciate how fitting that is.

Object: “Be the first player to get rid of all your cards.”

Game board

Game Play: Like the H.R. Pufnstuf Game, this is a card game masquerading as a board game. All the cards are dealt at the beginning of the game; playing one card each turn, players try to complete puzzles featuring Waltons characters.

Game Board: The board, which features pictures of common Waltons settings, serves as a place to complete the puzzles. (The top puzzle, strangely, includes a non-regular cast member.)

An example of a completed puzzle. Anachronism alert: It’s very unlikely that a conservative 1930s farm wife would have had pierced ears.

My Thoughts: I’m surprised I didn’t own this game as a child because my family loved The Waltons. Watching the show together was a big weekly event, and it spawned a running joke that persists to this day. During the early seasons, the show’s end signaled my bedtime. My parents always tried to hustle me off to bed as the final scene faded to black, but I wasn’t having it. Didn’t Earl Hamner’s voice always announce, “Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode?” I would argue that I needed to see “the scenes.” My parents still bring this up when my own daughter is stalling at bedtime.

A John Boy card can be used to compete any puzzle. Of course it can.

Bonus Feature: Although we loved the show, my family also loved laughing at its corniness. I remember how amused we were by this Waltons parody on The Carol Burnett Show.  I don’t think we ever referred to the series as anything other than The Walnuts from then on. (The sketch more than lives up to my memories. Vincent Price and Joan Rivers as Ma and Pa Walton? Awesome!)

Read my whole Spin Again Sunday series!

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Family Affair Friday(ish): Season 1, Episode 10, Beware the Other Woman

I’m sorry that this week’s installment of my Family Affair series is late. Yesterday was my birthday, and I was caught up in a mad whirl of festivity. (Actually, I was so exhausted from my work week that I fell asleep at 9 p.m.)

Season 1, Episode 10, Beware the Other Woman, 11/21/1966
Written by: Elroy Schwartz. Directed by: William D. Russell.

Synopsis

An old friend–Louise Marshall–re-enters Uncle Bill’s life. Meanwhile, Cissy finds a new friend, Sharon.You can tell that Sharon is sophisticated because she describes herself as “between mothers,” with the third one having left recently. She’s also a total you-know-what stirrer, who convinces Cissy that Uncle Bill will marry Louise and ship the kids back to Terre Haute.

Sure, Sharon looks sweet here, but she sets a total Davis weep-fest in motion.

Cissy’s first impulse is to make sure that she and the twins are meeting Uncle Bill’s every need, so that he has no wish to marry. At her age, she should be able to see the fatal flaw in this plan.

The kids “help” Uncle Bill prepare for an evening out.

When that doesn’t work, she shares her fears with the twins–way to go, Cissy! Soon, everyone is bawling.

These tears aren’t terribly convincing.

Uncle Bill is able to set things right, of course. He says he has no immediate plans to marry, and marriage wouldn’t mean separation for their family anyway. He also reveals that Louise’s husband with killed in the Korean War, a few feet from where Bill was standing. (Then, he switched their dog tags and headed for Manhattan…Whoops. Right city and decade. Wrong show.)

Commentary

This episode gets way too maudlin, but it has a few nice moments.

Cute horseplay-with-Uncle-Bill scene.

Elroy Schwartz is the brother of Brady Bunch and Gilligan’s Island creator Sherwood Schwartz and a prolific TV writer in his own right. His Brady Bunch writing credits include the one where Marcia and Greg run against each other for student body president and the one where Tiger gets lost.

Guest Cast

Ted Gaynor: John Hubbard. Sharon James: Sherry Alberoni. Louise Marshall: Rita Gam.
Sherry Alberoni was a Mousketeer in 1956-57.

Source: Wikipedia

She worked frequently in TV in the 1960s and would appear in several more Family Affair episodes. In the 1970s and 1980s, she provided many cartoon voices, such as Wendy in Superfriends.

Rita Gam won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1952. She’s best known for serving as a bridesmaid for Grace Kelly, a subject on which she’s given many interviews.

Rita Gam must have been very tall or worn mega heels to achieve a height so close to Brian Keith’s.

Fun Facts

Cissy is good at chemistry. Sharon lives in apartment 12B. Uncle Bill is a Korean War veteran.

Continuity Notes

This episode is filled with poignant references to abandonment and separation in Terre Haute.

Notable Quote

“It just happens that I love you so much I’m not ever gonna let you down, you got that through your head?”–Uncle Bill

Read my whole Family Affair series!

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Spin Again Sunday: Barbie Miss Lively Livin’ (1970)

In this week’s edition of Spin Again Sunday, we enter the mod world of Barbie, circa 1970, through the Miss Lively Livin’ Game. (This world was so exciting that Barbie lost the ability to enunciate her Gs.)

Copyright Date: 1970.

Recommended Ages: 8-12.

Game Box: Graphics in groovy shades of hot pink, orange, and purple add pizzazz to the box. The main photos shows tween girls with unfortunate bangs playing the game while stretched out on a shag-carpeted floor.

Game Board: This rainbow-rific board doubles as an advertising vehicle for Mattel; it shows many dolls and fashions available at the time.

Game Pieces: Photographs of Barbie, her friends Christie and P.J., and her cousin Francie.

Object: To succeed in having five different kinds of fun.

That first one gave me such trouble in high school.

Game Play: Traveling through Barbie’s world, girls attend school, shop at the Unique Boutique, go on dates, and spend time “doin’ things.” They wear metal bracelets and try to earn charms representing each kind of fun.

The charms

The first person to collect two of each charm proceeds to the pageant area. Fix your hair, grab your boyfriend, and receive your crown, Miss Lively Livin’! (The game includes a paper crown, which the winner has the prerogative of wearing throughout the subsequent game.)

My Thoughts: I like this game now because it includes photos of great mod Barbie fashions.

I’m sure I would’ve loved it as a child, too–the bracelets and crown are such a nice girly touch.

Bonus Feature: Here’s a 1970 commercial for the ultra-flexible Living Barbie. The Brady Bunch‘s Maureen McCormick was also flexible, it appears.

Though the doll was called Living Barbie, she had a Lively Livin’ House, which the Miss Lively Livin’ game board mentions.

A Living Barbie from my collection. She’s wearing Super Scarf, one of the outfits shown on the game board. I love the wool miniskirt, chain belt, and boots–it reminds me of the fashions Mary Tyler Moore wore in her show’s first season.