Check it Out! - Ciao Italia Archives Online

Every Saturday afternoon for the last 20 years, I've enjoyed the routine of watching cooking shows on PBS. These include Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, and of course Mary Ann Esposito, who hosted Ciao Italia which ranks as the longest-running cooking show on PBS. 

Ciao Italia first premiered in 1989 and ran for over 35 years...that's a lot of Italian cooking! Since Mary Ann Esposito has cooked so many authentic Italian favorites over the years she has built up quite a library of recipes and cooking footage from the series. If you head over to www.ciaoitalia.com you will find that she has shared many (if not all) of these recipes online in a wonderful database where you can click on any season and any recipe and view the recipe in full along with the film clip from the episode where it appeared. Simply click on "Seasons" and you will find them all. This is such a great site so be sure to check it out! 

Check it Out! An Irene Dunne Fan Site

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I was re-watching An Affair to Remember (1957) for the umpteenth time and that got me to thinking about the original film - Love Affair - and what a great job Deborah Kerr did of stepping into Irene Dunne's shoes when she took on the role of Terry McKay in the remake. That's not an easy task. Irene Dunne was not only a very classy actress, but a great comedian and I loved how she would utter serious lines with a smile.... like she was inwardly chuckling. Deborah Kerr was also a classy actress and she, too, had that quality of charmingly making fun of what someone is saying. The banter between her and Cary Grant is what makes An Affair to Remember so addictive to watch. 

So thinking about Love Affair led me to searching online for information about Irene Dunne... and I discovered a marvelous site that I want to share: The Irene Dunne Site. 

This site is chock-full of information about Dunne's film career, her life off the camera, and her singing and theater careers as well. It is very well organized and a delight to browse. Check it out! 

John Kobal's interview with Irene Dunne is definitely worth a read: https://irenedunnesite.jimdofree.com/press/interview-with-john-kobal-1972/

Cinematically Inspired Design - Check it Out!

Today we have a real treat to share! A few months ago I stumbled upon a great website called Mockingbird Lane where a cinema-loving woman named Marina Coates shares her love of architecture and design....especially set designs found in films and television series. Two great features of the site are her virtual TV/Movie Home Tours and her Cinematically Inspired Design tutorials. 

The TV/Movie Home Tours began with a behind-the-scenes virtual CG tour of the Petrie home from The Dick Van Dyke Show and has since grown to include the Bewitched house, Lucy and Ricky's apartment and country home from I Love Lucy, the Family Affair apartment, the Cleaver's home in Leave it to Beaver, and many more from classic TV shows. These are fantastic videos that show you all of the details of the houses you have seen countless times on television. Most are 15-25 minutes in length and honestly, you feel like you are walking in the house with a tour guide listening to fun facts about the show and all of the items in the house. 

She also has virtual tours of famous film houses like the North by Northwest house, The Parent Trap ranch, and the Inn from White Christmas. You don't want to miss these so be sure to check them out! 

Look familiar? It's the Ricardo's country house.

The Cinematically Inspired Design tutorials are even more amazing. Here, Ms. Coates shares her architectural experience with us and gives in-depth analyses of why the interiors of classic cinema houses look so good and tips on what we can do to improve our own interior designs. If you ever wanted to attend a class on classic Hollywood set design, this is it. 

If you are an art design nut like ourselves, then be prepared to set aside hours enjoying these videos!

Check it Out! Vintage Hollywood Commissary Menu Prints

There is a store for just about everything online. A few days ago I was thinking how interesting it would be to track down an original menu from a Hollywood studio commissary and, after doing a quick online search, came across this gem of a business: Vintage Menu Art. 

Someone already took the time and money to collect menus from the studio commissaries ( as well as lots of other great Los Angeles area menus ), scanned them, and is now offering them as prints to frame on a wall. What a neat idea! This would make for excellent kitchen wall decor. ( Click on the images below to view at a larger size.)

Menus were so much simpler in the 1940s-1950s. They didn't have pages and pages of food to choose from. Usually, one page featured it all, and hamburgers, cream of tomato soup, steak, cottage cheese, and bacon and eggs could be found on just about every menu. Paramount Pictures had a nice selection of more unusual items however, like Scotch Lamb Broth with Barley Soup, Veal Goulash and Swiss Bratwurst, Sweetbreads (!!), and a really nice choice of 10-cent desserts. That helps to emphasize their menu's slogan, "Eat, drink, and be merry for ye shall be a long time dead."

Below you will find the links to the studio commissary menus that Vintage Menu Art has to offer. But it is well worth checking their other menus out as well. Ozzie's Seafood sounds especially appetizing!

Paramount Studio Cafe - 1936 Menu

Paramount Pictures Italian Kitchen - 1955 Menu

Paramount Pictures Cafe Continental - 1956 Menu

The Brown Derby - 1957 Menu

MGM Studios - 1958 Menu

Warner Brothers Studio Commissary - 1963 Menu 

Check it Out! Iconic TV Homes Being Demolished

Recently ReMind Magazine posted an article about the famous Partridge Family and Bewitched house sets being demolished at Columbia Ranch. We are sharing the article below, which came from their website, www.remindmagazine.com. Check it out! 

https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/1845/iconic-tv-homes-demolished/

These houses sat empty for many years on the lot so it is understandable that they would want to demolish them to make way for more soundstages, but it is surprising that no one ever approached Warner Bros studios ( who now owns the Columbia Ranch lot ) to purchase the houses! If I had several million dollars lying around handy, I certainly would have offered to buy the Bewitched house and move it to a new location. 

The article does not mention anything about the Baxter residence from the television series Hazel ( 1961-1966 ) but that house will probably be demolished as well since it sat right next to the Bewitched house. 

Check it Out! - Sally Ann Howes and Howard Keel on "The Bell Telephone Hour" ( 1960 )

Check out this wonderful clip from a rare color episode of The Bell Telephone Hour ( 1960 ) featuring Sally Ann Howes and Howard Keel singing "Tonight" from the Broadway musical West Side Story. Two beautiful actors with beautiful voices. 

The Happiest Millionaire - Valentine Candy ( 1967 )

Valentine's Day is only ten days away, so we have a clip to share of Lesley Ann Warren's beautiful rendition of "Valentine Candy" from The Happiest Millionaire ( 1967 ). What has this to do with Valentine's Day? Absolutely nothing. It's just fun to listen to! 

ReMIND Classic TV Magazine

Last week I discovered the neatest magazine and in the most unlikely location - Dollar Tree. The magazine is ReMIND and it is filled with articles and fun stuff related to classic television shows and pop culture of the 1950s-1990s, plus loads of trivia games. Little did I know that this magazine has been around for well over 7-8 years! 

The Past is a Blast! 

If you like Closer magazine, then you will love this one. We shared some pictures down below so you can see what the interior looks like and, if you click on this link, you can read through a full issue digitally. 

The cover price is $4.99 per issue, but with a subscription, it is only $2 an issue. Better yet, with code "DOLLAR5" it is only $1 an issue. What a deal! Plus they give you a bonus trivia book. We all love puzzles, don't we? Click here if you want to take advantage of that deal. We don't get any kickbacks from this, we're just sharing it with you. 

ReMIND back issues are available on their website for $7.99 each (including shipping ). Not a bad price, considering they have some collectible issues.... especially that one with The Munsters on the cover. 

Keep your eyes open for the next installment of The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game because we will be giving away a one-year subscription to the magazine for the first person who can guess the screenshot. 

Check it Out! - Karen Wyman on The Ed Sullivan Show ( 1967 )

 

When Ed Sullivan says "here is something you won't forget" it means you are in for a special treat indeed. This man saw so many talented top-notch entertainers in his days as a variety show host, but he thought 16-year-old Karen Wyman's debut performance of "Why Can't I Walk Away?" ( from the stage production Maggie Flynn ) was something extra special....and it certainly was. 

Enjoy this clip from The Ed Sullivan Show - June 22, 1969. 

Check it Out! - The Landing of the Pilgrims ( 1940 )

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers! 

We hope you are having a wonderful day and counting all of your blessings. There is so much we can all be grateful for!

If you have a few minutes and want to watch something Thanksgiving-related then check out this fabulous little cartoon from 1940 - The Landing of the Pilgrims. It's a bouncy light-hearted look at how the pilgrims from the Mayflower came to America and contended with the Native Americans. It is far from being historically accurate but that's what makes it so wonderfully fun! 

Have a wonderful holiday! 

- Constance & Diana 

Check it Out! - Preparing for Bedknobs and Broomsticks

On October 7, 1971, Walt Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, a delightful and magical musical starring the late great Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson, had its world premiere in London. Earlier that day, John Noakes, the host of Britain's popular children's series Blue Peter, was in Leicester Square, helping the owner of the famed Odeon Theater prepare for this event. 

It takes quite a bit of doing to hang up those large BEDKNOBS letters outside the theater, not to mention suspending from the roof the lifesize mockup of Angela Lansbury as the witch Eglantine, so it is hard to believe that they undertook this task the very morning of the premiere! John was his usual brave self and climbed up those amazingly long ladders with ease. Check out the clip here: 

BBC Archive - Bedknobs and Broomsticks ( 1971 )

Unlike most Disney-related promo clips, this one did not follow up the news bit with footage from the film. I was hoping to find some newsreel clips of the actual premiere but had no luck, so you will just have to imagine what it was like that evening. 

Check it Out! - Mitzi Gaynor singing "Love is Blue" ( 1968 )

 

Can anyone top a Mitzi Gaynor performance? This glamorous woman was the full package deal....a fantastic dancer, singer, and actress, plus she had a fabulous figure! This performance from 1968 features Mitzi performing "Love is Blue", a Eurovision ballad that French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat made popular in the United States in 1967. 

Check it Out! - Giant Movie/TV Posters on Sale

If you have an afternoon free then here is something that will take up a good hour of your internet time - AllPosters is running a sale for new customers - 55% off all items plus free shipping. We're not affiliated with AllPosters and actually never bought from them before but this just seemed like too good a deal not to share. They have a great selection of 8x10" photos but more impressive is their line of photo posters. 24x32" and 30x40" posters are only $12.15 each after the markdown. Gadzooks! Once you start jotting down your favorite films and television shows to search, you'll likely end up spending more than one hour shopping.  

Check out some of the images they have down below: 

Check it Out! - Maureen O'Hara singing "Heather on the Hill"

During the 1960s, Maureen O'Hara guest-starred a number of times on The Andy Williams Show where she got a chance to entertain the audience with her beautiful singing voice. Maureen made a lot of dramatic films but, surprisingly, no musicals....even though she sang like a lark since she was a lass in Ireland. 

In this particular episode, she gives a lovely rendition of "The Heather on the Hill" from Lerner and Lowe's Brigadoon. Check it out! And if you enjoy this clip, be sure to look at Ms. O'Hara's performance of "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" on the short-lived The Jimmy Dean Show here. 

Check it Out! - Rare TV Show Releases from VEI

Visual Entertainment Inc. has released a number of rare television shows of the 1970s on DVD and they are currently running a great sale on these discs. You can pick up the complete series of The Protectors or The Persuaders for only $2.50, the complete collection of Angie for $5, or grab Henry Fonda's short-lived sitcom The Smith Family for $10. 

While any of these series are good, what is most exciting is seeing Bill Bixby's 1973 series The Magician finally get a release. MeTV posted an article several years ago about this series and the reasons why it should have lasted longer than one season. You can read the full article here. Needless to say, it is well worth checking out the series. 

VEI also released DVD sets of the short-lived sci-fi series The Immortal ( 1970 ) starring Christopher George, the 1971 Emmy-Awarding series Longstreet ( featuring James Franciscus as a blind insurance investigator ), and Barry Newman's legal drama Petrocelli ( 1974 ). All we need to wait for now is The New Perry Mason and Nanny and the Professor to get their own DVD releases. 

Check out Visual Entertainment Inc's complete television lineup at their website here. 

Check it Out! - Tony's Trading Site of TV/Film Annuals & Comics

If you love browsing antique stores and tend to stop and pick up old Dell or Golden Key comics just to admire their cover art ( especially the Movie/TV themed issues ), then you'll have to check out Tony's Trading Site of TV/Film Annuals and Comics. This great site is run by Tony ( natch ) and features a great selection of cover art from British "Annuals" of the 1960s-1980s. 

Film annuals are not something most Americans are familiar with since they are not common stateside. The closest thing to them is the Movie/TV-themed "collector issue" magazines you may see at a supermarket checkout line. You know, those glossy-covered-chock-full-of-pictures beauties that cost $10+. But even those aren't quite annuals because they feature articles on the entire run of a classic series ( e.g. I Love Lucy ) whereas annuals were released....well, annually. Since they were published while the series was still airing, the articles usually focused on the previous season's episodes and the cast. They also had newly-written stories based on the show and comic strips for the young fans to enjoy. 

Tony's Trading collection has a nice selection of TV-themed annuals of both American and British television series. The covers are real winners....the only disappointment is that the images were not scanned larger to properly enjoy them. Nevertheless, it's fun to find a resource like this. 

Click here to check out Tony's TV Annuals - and while you are there, head to his homepage to check out his other non-TV-themed annuals and his great collection of Doctor Who and Walt Disney books and VHS covers. 

Check it Out! - Chita Rivera on The Hollywood Palace

The lovely and leggy Chita Rivera made a marvelous guest appearance on The Hollywood Palace in November 1965 performing a peppy showstopper titled "Blue". I wasn't able to find out who wrote this piece but it certainly sounds like something penned from the hands of Jules Styne. Just a few months earlier, Chita had finished her run in the stage musical Bajour and would soon go on to play Jenny in the Threepenny Opera. 

Chita returned to The Hollywood Palace in 1968 with a go-go dance but that performance did not suit her as well as this classy dance. Check it out for yourself right here!

The Addams Family Mugs - The Mystery of Charles Addams' Halloween Mugmates

Back in 1964, the Pan-American Coffee Bureau released an ad that featured some eye-catching custom-designed mugs by Charles Addams. As most television fans are well aware of, Charles Addams was a cartoonist whose bizarre and yet amusing characters "The Addams" became the basis for a popular 1964 television series, The Addams Family, starring John Astin and Carolyn Jones. 

I first saw this ad in a graphic design book about 15 years ago and liked the mugs immediately. Every year when Halloween came around, I remembered the mugs and thought how nice it would be to find them at a second-hand store or rummage sale....but no such luck. So I finally searched for them on eBay and, again, came up with no results. That's when I decided to look at that graphic design book again and read the ad more closely. It appears that Mugmates were blank mugs that you could draw on. The ad was not promoting a set of Charles Addams mugs to purchase but rather giving you inspiration if you wanted to create your own matching coffee cups. "How interesting!" I thought. "I wonder what other famous artists created Mugmate designs?" That was another thought that led to a dead-end because I was not able to find other custom-designed Mugmates. But what I did discover was a very interesting radio broadcast from another curiousity-seeker that shared of the story of these Mugmates. Believe it or not, there was even a song written about them! 

Check it out here! 

The Mystery of Mugmates - https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-12-19/mystery-mugmates

It remains a mystery as to where these particular Charles Addams mugs reside today, but if I had to bet money I would say the Tee & Charles Addams Foundation have the set tucked away in a box in their archives. 

Mae West Singing "Light My Fire"

"There are no good girls gone wrong...just bad girls found out"

This sounds like the lyrics of a rock song, but instead, these are words from the tongue of Mae West, one of the most famous actresses of the 1930s. This sassy bombshell certainly knew how to play the bad girl, both onscreen and off. With her hefty bosom and her opulent hips, she knew how to sashay around a room and magnetically attract men to herself. Mae West was a refreshing sensation in the 1930s and 1940s, and as she got older, she didn't let her age stop her from enjoying life to its fullest. 

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough" she famously said. She opened up her own one-woman show in Las Vegas where she surrounded herself on stage with wall-to-wall muscle men, invested in real estate, wrote several books, and also recorded two rock-n-roll albums. Her first album, cleverly titled "Way Out West" ( 1966 ), became a surprise chart topper and a few crazy teens actually danced to Mae singing such pop hits as "Twist and Shout", "Shakin' All Over" and "Day Tripper". But even more extraordinary was Mae's follow-up album ( released six years later ) called "Great Balls of Fire". This rad album featured Mae singing such rock songs as "Rock Around the Clock", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", "The Naked Ape" and her very own version of The Doors' classic "Light My Fire". Rock on, Mae! 

Check it out here! 

Mae West's Great Balls of Fire Album

Check It Out! - The Definitive Guide to "Murder, She Wrote" Website

Are you a "Murder, She Wrote" fan? If you're not yet, then a visit to the website The Definitive Guide to "Murder, She Wrote" will make you one! 

The highly addictive mystery series premiered in 1984 with a star-studded pilot episode and went on to become one of the longest-running drama series in television history, lasting 12 seasons. Series star Angela Lansbury portrayed Mrs. Jessica Fletcher, a retired New England schoolteacher turned author who takes time out from writing to solve crimes...many of which take place in the not-so-sleepy village of Cabot Cove, Maine. 

Dr. Anne Del Borgo, a veterinarian living in Maine, put together this great website covering every episode of the series, trivia, an image gallery, interviews ( including one with series co-creator Peter S. Fischer ), and a really neat scrapbook chock full of clippings from newspapers, magazines, and press reports. There are also sections on the history of the series, statistics, and a bio of Angela Lansbury. 

For fans of the Murder, She Wrote book series there is a treasure-trove of material as well. You can find reviews of every book MSW-themed and plenty of stories submitted by fans just like yourself. 

Check it out and see for yourself! 

Click here to visit The Definitive Guide to "Murder, She Wrote"